136: Dragonborn Empire

At the center of the Sagittarius Arm, the capital of the Dragonborn Empire — Yanhuang Ancestral Star.

This planet was no longer a natural creation.

It was over a hundred times the size of a standard star, its entire body exuding a dark-golden metallic luster, and its surface was covered in countless palace complexes as towering as mountains.

Underground cities, space cities, floating continents... countless in number!

The population of the Capital Star alone exceeded 200 quintillion!

The number of Stellar Level masters was in the hundreds of millions!

Nine five-clawed golden dragon phantoms, formed entirely of energy with distinct scales and eyes like stars, slowly swam around the planet, their low roars and pressure sweeping across hundreds of millions of miles of starry sky.

This was the heart of the Dragonborn Empire, the ultimate symbol of an ancient civilization that had stood tall in the Sagittarius Arm for a billion years — the Ancestral Dragon Court.

At this moment, in the deepest part of the Ancestral Dragon Court lay a Forbidden Ground called the Dragon Emperor Hall.

A figure wearing an imperial robe with dark-golden dragon patterns and a crown of stars stood with hands behind his back, looking up at the dome of the hall.

It was not a physical structure, but a projection of an infinite star map...

It precisely marked the detailed situation of over 156 million star systems, radiating 12,000 light-years across the entire Sagittarius Arm with a diameter of 113.5 quadrillion kilometers, centered on the Dragonborn Empire.

Every flickering point of light could represent the rise and fall of a civilization, a silent game...

He was the 2199th Emperor of the Dragonborn Empire — Yan Wuhuo, a Star Arm Level High-Rank powerhouse!

He had ruled this vast Empire for eight hundred thousand years!

His face appeared middle-aged, his majesty restrained, but in those deep eyes, the vicissitudes of eternity that seemed capable of devouring starlight were settled.

"Hum — —" On one side of the hall, the data stream on the star map, which represented the Empire's monitoring network and had been flowing steadily, suddenly rippled almost imperceptibly.

Yan Wuhuo did not even turn around; his brows merely twitched imperceptibly.

"What matter disturbs my stargazing?"

His voice was calm, yet it carried a grand Dao charm that seemed to resonate with the entire territory of the Empire, echoing throughout the hall.

"Your Majesty." A blurry phantom, seemingly condensed from countless streams of data light, appeared silently behind Yan Wuhuo and knelt on one knee.

He was the person in charge of the Empire's intelligence network, codenamed 'Shadow Dragon' — a Star Arm Level Low-Rank powerhouse!

"The Seventh Sector has captured an abnormal information disturbance. The source is the 2.3-Rank civilization, the Star Spirit Federation."

Shadow Dragon's voice was without waves, like the most precise instrument.

"The Star Spirit Federation has activated their highest-authority Deep Space Eye, locking the scan target onto — the Star Domain where the newly promoted 2.1-Rank civilization, the Human Federation, is located. The scan intensity is at the civilization survival level."

"Oh?" Yan Wuhuo slowly turned around, his gaze as tangible as substance, landing on Shadow Dragon.

"That group of nerds from the Star Spirit Federation has always prided themselves on being high-minded. What could make them use survival-level attention on a 'newborn' that has just touched the 2.1-Rank threshold?"

"According to intercepted fragmented information and traceability analysis..."

Shadow Dragon raised his hand, and a light screen unfolded between the two. On it, clips from the "Starlight Eternal" promotional video flashed rapidly, along with data streams of abnormal reactions from civilizations such as the Star Spirit, Wan Shang, and Sheng Hui.

"The trigger stems from a promotional video released by the Human Federation officials. In it, they claim to possess six Star Arm Level existences, and... explicitly mention that four of them are Innate Sun Body."

When the four words "Innate Sun Body" were spat out from Shadow Dragon's mouth, the temperature of the entire Dragon Emperor Hall seemed to drop by hundreds of millions of degrees instantly!

Even the phantom of the energy golden dragon surrounding the Ancestral Star seemed to freeze for a moment in its swimming speed!

A visible change appeared on Yan Wuhuo's calm, unruffled face for the first time!

His pupils contracted slightly, and a trace of the aura around him, vast as a sea of stars, leaked out uncontrollably, causing the space within the hall to emit a faint, unbearable hum!

"Innate... Sun Body?"

Yan Wuhuo's voice remained steady, but the meaning contained within it was like the core of a supernova about to erupt.

"Are you certain it is Innate Sun Body, and not the hearsay of an Acquired Sun Body condensed from an Innate Moon Body?"

"The information source has undergone triple cross-verification. Although it is an artistic reproduction, the Law charm it simulates, after preliminary analysis by the 'Ancestral Dragon Star Dial', has a concordance rate of over 99.99% with the characteristics of the Innate Sun Body recorded in the database. The overreaction of the Star Spirit Federation also indirectly confirms its possibility," Shadow Dragon replied calmly.

Silence... A deathly silence enveloped the Dragon Emperor Hall...

Yan Wuhuo paced slowly towards the huge star map projection, his gaze landing on that insignificant blue spot representing the territory of the Human Federation.

His gaze was complex to the extreme...

There was shock! There was scrutiny! There was reminiscence!

And even more... a trace of an ancient gene named "dread", deeply buried in the depths of the Empire's Bloodline and inherited for a billion years, was activated once again!

"Innate Sun Body... Heh, what a Human Federation! What a... Heaven-Chosen Race!"

Yan Wuhuo's voice carried a hint of indescribable emotion, as if piercing through endless time.

"Your Majesty." Shadow Dragon raised his head, and a trace of gravity seemed to flash across his data-composed phantom face: "According to the first Ancestral Precept — 'Those not of our race must have different hearts'. If the Human Federation truly possesses four Innate Sun Body, their potential threat level must be immediately raised to... Catastrophe Level. Shall we initiate the 'Purge Plan'?"

"Purge?" Yan Wuhuo turned around abruptly, his imperial robe fluttering without wind, and fierce light like a bursting star erupted from his eyes!

"Shadow Dragon! You have followed me for three hundred thousand years, have you forgotten the most painful page in the Empire's history?!"

His voice was like a thunderclap from the Nine Heavens, exploding in the hall and shaking Shadow Dragon's phantom until it flickered!

"Three hundred twenty-seven million three hundred thousand years ago, the Tianyao Empire gave birth to an Innate Sun Body! At that time, my ancestor, the 1804th Emperor, just like you think today, upheld the Ancestral Precept that 'those not of our race must have different hearts' and wanted to take advantage of them before they matured. He personally led almost all the Peak Star Arm Level powerhouses to carry out a thunderous purge!"

Yan Wuhuo's tone carried a bone-deep heaviness.

"And the result?! That Innate Sun Body broke through to the Galaxy Level in a desperate situation! Carrying the brilliant might of heaven, he counterattacked my Dragonborn Empire! At that time, our Empire was a 2.7-Rank civilization, and our territory was more than ten million times what it is now! In that battle, the Empire's territory was almost destroyed! Stellar Level [beings] fell like rain! We even used ninety-nine percent of our national foundation! If not for the last trump card left by the Yanhuang ancestor that protected the Ancestral Star, you and I would have long been stardust in the sea of stars! How could we be here discussing a 'purge'?!"

Shadow Dragon bowed his head deeply: "Your subject... spoke out of turn! Please forgive me, Your Majesty! It is just that... the Ancestral Precepts are as such..."

"The Ancestral Precepts are dead! Civilization is alive!" Yan Wuhuo interrupted him, his voice low and full of power.

"A billion years of time! The reason my Dragonborn Empire has survived from one catastrophe after another until today is not because of blind slaughter, but because of assessing the situation and knowing how to... compromise and make friends!"

He walked to the star map and pointed at the vast Sagittarius Arm.

"Look at this Star Domain! A radius of 12,000 light-years, 156 million star systems! Why have there only been ten of us 2.4-Rank civilizations for a billion years? Does this endless sea of stars not give birth to an eleventh civilization with Star Arm Level existences?"

Yan Wuhuo asked and answered himself, his tone carrying cold mockery:

"No! It is because all newly born civilizations that possess a Star Arm Level Low-Rank existence, the moment they are discovered, if their strongest is only at the Low-Rank, they will be... wiped out by us in advance!"

"Why? Because a Star Arm Level High-Rank killing a Low-Rank is like crushing an ant! We must never give them any chance to grow up and threaten our status!"

"But, if when that civilization is discovered, its strongest is already Star Arm Level Mid-Rank, then it cannot be killed! A Star Arm Level Mid-Rank is not something that a High-Rank can easily annihilate! Only such a civilization has the qualifications to be 'allowed' by us to exist and join the Ranks of the 2.4-Rank! This is the unspoken rule of the Sagittarius Arm! The survival Law of the Sagittarius Arm!"

He paused, continuing to expound on the naked power hierarchy that belonged to the world of Peak powerhouses:

"Between Star Arm Levels, a difference of one word is a difference of heaven and earth!"

"Low-Rank only needs to condense 'one drop' of Law power to stabilize their Realm, initially grasp the authority of the Universe, and with one thought, can influence the operation of a star system!"

"Mid-Rank needs to accumulate the amount of 'one bucket'! The power of Law is thousands of times thicker, and with one thought, they can destroy a natural star system!"

"High-level requires one to be like a 'pool' of deep water! The Law is vast; destroying a newly entered low-level Star Arm Level is like crushing a slightly stronger ant to death!"

"And Peak!" Yan Wuhuo's eyes flashed with a hint of longing and gravity. "That requires the power of the Law to converge into an endless 'stream'! Once at that stage, a single glance can make the galaxy reverse its flow; it is truly invincible within the Star Arm! Only by reaching the Peak can a civilization be qualified to be called Level 2.5!"

"The reason why comprehending the Law is so powerful," he explained, "is simply because the Universe is just too vast! So vast that one dares not imagine it! Even condensing a sliver of the power of the Law has unimaginable might; it is a lever to pry the Origin rules of the Universe. A sliver of power is negligible in the Yuan Hai of universal rules, but when applied to a target, it is like the might of the heavens! This is the terror of the Law!"

His tone carried a hint of helplessness and reminiscence.

"My Dragonborn Empire has been established for over a billion years, and mid-level Star Arm Level powerhouses have never ceased to emerge. How could the depth of our foundation be compared to those emerging civilizations? We were once... even a Level 2.8 civilization that traversed the sea of stars!"

In Yan Wuhuo's eyes, a radiance of immense pride erupted, but it was immediately replaced by a profound sense of desolation.

"Our founding emperor, named 'Yanhuang', was a supreme powerhouse of the Galaxy Level, with a Lifespan of ten million years! It was he who led the Dragonborn to the glorious Peak!"

"What a pity... In pursuit of the elusive Realm above the Galaxy Level, our ancestor eventually disappeared without a trace. The Empire lost its greatest pillar and has since slowly withered. Having endured countless crusades and looting from civilizations of Level 2.5 and above from other star arms and even the core Star Domain... we relied on the many Galaxy Level trump cards left behind by Ancestor Yanhuang to allow our civilization to survive time and again, barely hanging on, and finally settling in this corner of the Sagittarius Arm."

He pointed to the other nine Level 2.4 civilization light spots on the star map.

"How do you think they rose to power? It was all by relying on one Innate Moon Body after another, enduring the long years, secretly accumulating, and finally breaking through to the mid-level Star Arm Level to become a Level 2.4 civilization in one fell swoop!"

"This is also why our country hasn't produced a Peak Star Arm Level in nearly a hundred million years, giving other civilizations a chance. For an Innate Moon Body to reach the Peak Star Arm Level is truly as difficult as ascending to the heavens..."

"As for... the Innate Sun Body?! In our billion-year history, we have only produced one—our ancestor!"

"The potential of the Sun Body is too monstrous! There is no Bottleneck when breaking through to the Star Arm Level! As long as there is enough time, one can steadily step into the Peak Star Arm Level! And even... has a great hope of peeking into the legendary Galaxy Level!"

Yan Wuhuo's tone was filled with complex emotions.

"The biggest purpose of our monitoring of lower-level civilizations is to prevent the appearance of 'monsters' with high Aptitude that we are unaware of! High Aptitude, for this Star Domain, is both a catastrophe and a hope!"

"The greatest lesson in history was the birth of an Innate Sun Body in the Tianyao Empire! Since then, successive emperors have truly understood that for a civilization possessing an Innate Sun Body, it is better to guide than to block! Blindly suppressing them will only spawn terrifying enemies sworn to revenge. Proper Fusion and friendly relations are the way to long-term survival."

"The Innate Sun Body is truly the darling of the Universe! For civilizations below Level 3, its birth is no longer a matter of probability, but a miracle!"

He looked at Shadow Dragon, his gaze finally becoming firm and filled with wisdom.

"The Human Federation possesses four Innate Sun Bodies... What does this mean? It means that as long as they do not die prematurely, their minimum future achievement will be four Peak Star Arm Levels! What kind of terrifying power would that be? It would be enough to sweep across the entire Sagittarius Arm and establish an unprecedented, unified Level 2.5, or even a higher-level, massive civilization!"

"Especially that Ancestor Chen in the promotional video; his status seems even higher than the six Star Arm Levels, yet I cannot see a single flaw! He is like a Mortal?! Faced with such potential, how should we Dragonborn conduct ourselves?"

Yan Wuhuo provided the answer, his voice carrying unquestionable determination:

"Pass on my imperial decree!"

"First, from this moment on, all monitoring levels of the Human Federation by the Empire are to be raised to the highest! However, all hostile infiltration and probing plans are to be terminated immediately! Violators will have their nine generations exterminated!"

"Second, prepare a delegation of the highest specifications! Let my Crown Princess, Yan Ji, lead the team personally! Carry the Nine Dragon Star Jade, Million-Year Void Green Marrow, Immortal Dragon Soul Wood... and ten other imperial treasures as gifts, and head to the Human Federation!"

"Third, announce to the outside world that the Dragonborn Empire recognizes the Human Federation's status as a Level 2.4 civilization, and we are willing to conclude a brotherly civilization alliance treaty with them, to watch over and help each other, and explore the sea of stars together!"

Upon hearing this, Shadow Dragon's data-composed body trembled.

"Your Majesty! The Nine Dragon Star Jade is the treasure of the nation's Luck! Having Her Highness Yan Ji go personally... is this... too grand? And directly recognizing their Level 2.4 status might cause dissatisfaction among the other nine major civilizations..."

"Grand?" Yan Wuhuo snorted coldly. "Treating four Innate Sun Bodies, nothing is too grand! As for the dissatisfaction of other civilizations?"

A flash of world-dominating arrogance crossed his eyes.

"I am a high-level Star Arm Level! The Empire's billion-year foundation still remains! If they are unconvinced, let them come and try my 'Yanhuang Dragon Fist'!"

"As for that Nine Dragon Star Jade..." A hint of heartache flashed in Yan Wuhuo's eyes, but it was replaced by more determination. "You can't catch the wolf without risking the cub! Compared to the friendship of the four Sun Bodies and Ancestor Chen, what is a national treasure? If we can use this opportunity to allow my Dragonborn to befriend the Federation, or even have a chance at marriage, that would be a foundation that will remain unshaken for billions of generations!"

His gaze once again turned to the Human Federation on the star map, as if piercing through endless space, seeing the glorious future hidden within, like a rising sun about to burst forth.

"Remember, Shadow Dragon."

Yan Wuhuo's voice was low and filled with power, echoing in this ancient Dragon Emperor Hall, as if making an eternal vow.

"For true proud sons of heaven, my Dragonborn Empire shall not be an enemy, but... a guide, a friend protecting their Dao! This is a lesson written in blood!"

"This is the most important survival wisdom that has allowed us to survive for a billion years through one cosmic catastrophe after another!"

"Go. Convey my will to every corner of the Empire. Let all civilizations in this Sagittarius Arm see clearly how my Dragonborn will treat... the future master of the sea of stars!"

Shadow Dragon bowed deeply, the phantom composed of data streams becoming unprecedentedly solid, filled with solemnity and determination:

"Your subject... accepts the decree! I will surely implement Your Majesty's will across the sea of stars!"

The next moment, his figure dissipated in the great hall.

Within the Dragon Emperor Hall, silence returned.

Only Yan Wuhuo remained, standing alone beneath the vast star map, the dark gold dragon patterns on his imperial robes seeming to come alive, reflecting the stars on the dome.

He looked toward the direction of the Human Federation, silent for a long time.

Four Innate Sun Bodies...

The mysterious Ancestor Chen...

The sky of this Sagittarius Arm...

Is about to change...

His gaze seemed to traverse thousands of Star Domains, seeing the massive ruins of civilizations of Level 2.5 and above that had long turned into legends, buried in the cosmic desert...

The remains of those civilizations, like the bones of silent giant beasts, silently recounted in the cold Void Realm the inevitable withering after the Peak of power...

The flickering flames of civilization, the changing of the scepter of the sea of stars—the Empire has recorded too much over the past billion years...

A single mistake could cause a civilization to vanish just like that...

For a long time, this high-level Star Arm Level powerhouse, who had ruled the vast Empire for eight hundred thousand years, let out a barely audible sigh, filled with endless vicissitudes and a hint of relief, like a prophecy, and also like a witness:

"The bones of old gods float in the star graveyard..."

"And the crown of the new king..."

"Has already, at the edge of the firmament... quietly condensed."

"Dragonborn Empire, this time... must stand on the right side of history!"

"The rise and fall of civilizations, the changing of the sea of stars, has never stopped..."

"As the contemporary Dragon Emperor, I should be even more like walking on thin ice..."