32: Chapter 32 Taking a New Concubine

The people from the Ziyang Holy Land had all become prisoners.

After the battle, the Imperial Palace became quiet again.

But this quiet was different from before.

The footsteps of the patrolling Imperial Guards carried wind as they struck the ground.

The palace maids and eunuchs walked with their backs straight, and the spirit on their faces emerged from the bottom of their hearts.

All of this was because of the person sitting inside Zhaoyang Hall.

The reclusive Retired Emperor.

Inside Zhaoyang Hall.

Li Xuan sipped some spirit tea.

The tea was exchanged from the System shop, top-tier goods.

Wiping out the Saint from the Ziyang Holy Land and his group was, to him, about the same as taking a stroll after a meal.

The real prize was the information extracted from the Saint's Divine Soul.

A grand panorama of the world emerged in his mind.

Eastern Wastelands. Returning Void Dead Sea. Wilderness Desolation.

Li Xuan traced his finger in the air, and a massive world map took shape in his mind.

"Good grief, after all this time, our Great Xia is still in the 'exile land' of the outer server."

Li Xuan laughed. "They are the ones on the official server."

This didn't dishearten him; instead, it ignited his competitive spirit.

Constantly smurfing in the newbie village is boring.

If I'm going, I'm going to the biggest arena.

I'll go and test myself against the Prodigies of those Immortal Divine Dynasties and supreme Holy Lands.

Furthermore, he still had two Heaven-Defying "cheat" accounts he was raising.

"So that my two kids can walk sideways in the future, I, as their father, need to accumulate some initial capital in advance."

A thought arose in his mind. Main quest.

First stage: Unify the hundred surrounding countries and upgrade the Great Xia Dynasty into a 'King-Level Divine Dynasty'.

Zi Wuji's memory contained this information.

A King-Level Divine Dynasty must at least rule over a territory of a million miles, with national strength powerful enough to make the Ziyang Holy Land think twice.

With the few people Li Zhan has under him, he wouldn't be able to achieve that even if he fought until the end of time.

"It seems it's time to turn up the intensity for the Dynasty."

Li Xuan's thought shifted. Golden Throne Hall.

Emperor Li Zhan was sitting on the dragon throne, suffering from a headache over how to reward the meritorious officials, when a voice suddenly rang directly in his ears.

"Little Zhan, come to Zhaoyang Hall."

Li Zhan was shocked, nearly losing his composure. "The Old Ancestor is summoning me!"

He no longer cared about the astonished officials below; his voice trembled.

"All of you, withdraw! I am going to listen to the Old Ancestor's teachings!"

Immediately, he lifted his dragon robes and, disregarding imperial decorum, ran toward Zhaoyang Hall.

An incense stick of time later.

Li Zhan ran into Zhaoyang Hall, gasping for breath, and quickly stepped forward to kneel on the ground.

"Unworthy descendant Li Zhan pays respects to the Old Ancestor!"

"Rise." Li Xuan said, flicking his finger, and a gentle force lifted Li Zhan up.

"Our Great Xia has been spineless for too long."

Li Xuan's tone was calm, but Li Zhan felt his heart tighten as he heard it.

"It is time to make the people of this land remember the name of our Great Xia again."

He waved his hand casually. A light-and-shadow map formed by mana appeared in the center of the hall.

On the map, there were densely packed names of dynasties. Over a hundred of them.

"All the dynasties surrounding us—the weak ones, annex them. The strong ones, swallow them."

Li Xuan's finger tapped on a territory closest to Great Xia. "Start with this, the Black Wolf Dynasty."

Li Zhan's breathing became heavy.

The Black Wolf Dynasty was the Mortal enemy of Great Xia, and their small provocations on the border had never ceased.

If not for the Ziyang Holy Land backing them, a war would have started long ago.

Now, Wei Yong was dead, and that group of "Immortals" from the Ziyang Holy Land had also fallen into the hands of his own Old Ancestor.

The Black Wolf Dynasty was just a toothless tiger.

"This descendant understands! I will immediately mobilize the great army, lead the expedition personally, and expand the territory for our Great Xia!"

Li Zhan shouted excitedly, his eyes filled with ambition.

"Warfare, there is no need to be so troublesome." Li Xuan chuckled softly.

"I will gift you a few Guardian Divine Generals; they will sweep away everything for you."

As soon as his words fell, he reached out into the air toward the direction of the dungeon. Hum. Space distorted.

Four disheveled figures were dragged out of the dungeon from thin air and slammed into the center of the hall.

They were the four Marquis Elders of the Ziyang Holy Land whose cultivation had been crippled.

"Immortal, spare our lives! Senior, spare our lives!"

As soon as the four saw Li Xuan, they were frightened out of their wits, kowtowing and begging for mercy repeatedly; there was no trace left of their Marquis demeanor.

Seeing this, Li Zhan's heart jolted. These were the very four people.

He could not forget that not long ago, following behind the Saint, their pressure had almost crushed the entire Imperial Capital.

Now, they were just four dogs lying on the ground begging for mercy.

"Noisy." Li Xuan frowned.

He couldn't be bothered with nonsense and directly activated an Artifact Refining method from the Great Sun Furnace Scripture.

"Ah!" "No! You can't!" "My Divine Soul!"

Screams echoed through the hall as the bodies of the four Marquis Elders were enveloped in a ball of golden fire.

Their flesh, bones, and Divine Souls were all melted and reshaped within this fire, and even their wills were wiped clean.

Standing to the side, Li Zhan felt a chill throughout his entire body. This was not killing. This was refining people.

He watched helplessly as the four once high-and-mighty Marquises twisted and deformed in the fire, finally becoming four humanoid Puppets in pitch-black armor with blood-red eyes.

They had no trace of living breath on them, yet they exuded the pressure of the Marquis Realm.

Li Xuan waved his hand, and the flames dissipated. The four Puppets fell with a thud, kneeling on one knee in unison before Li Zhan, motionless.

"These four Marquis Puppets will be your swords from now on." Li Xuan's voice was very calm.

"Their consciousness is gone; they will only listen to your commands."

Li Zhan stared blankly at the four Puppets before him, then looked up at Li Xuan.

His heart beat like a drum; he could hardly believe it. Marquis Realm. Those were legendary powerhouses of the Marquis Realm.

In this Wilderness Desolation, a single Marquis was enough to sweep across a Dynasty.

Now, the Old Ancestor had casually refined four of them and gifted them to him as bodyguards?

What kind of concept was this?

This meant that, let alone a small Black Wolf Dynasty, even if a dozen surrounding dynasties banded together, it wouldn't be enough for these four Puppets to snack on.

"With these four Guardian Divine Generals, unifying the hundred countries is just around the corner!"

Li Zhan was so excited he could hardly contain himself, kowtowing heavily to Li Xuan.

"The Old Ancestor's Divine Might is peerless! Li Zhan will certainly not fail your expectations!"

"Go." Li Xuan waved his hand. "For the Dynasty's expansion, there is another matter that should also be prepared."

Another guide emerged in his mind. A girl of destiny highly compatible with the "Great Sun Furnace Scripture".

Name: Su Muxue. Physique: Ten Thousand Treasures Glazed Body (Incomplete). Location: Three thousand miles away, Tianbao Chamber of Commerce.

"Transmit my decree." Li Xuan's voice rang in Li Zhan's ears again.

"In the name of the Great Xia Divine Dynasty, invite the number one Chamber of Commerce in the Eastern Wastelands, the Tianbao Chamber of Commerce, to my Imperial Capital of Great Xia."

"Just say, to discuss a business deal that can change the landscape of the entire Eastern Wastelands."

Although Li Zhan couldn't understand what the Old Ancestor wanted to do, he had already treated Li Xuan as a god and went to handle it immediately.

Very soon. A state letter stamped with the jade seal of the Great Xia Divine Dynasty and written personally by Emperor Li Zhan.

Was sent via 800-li urgent courier to the largest branch of the Tianbao Chamber of Commerce in the Wilderness Desolation.

Three thousand miles away, Tianfeng City. This was the largest trade center in the Wilderness Desolation, a hundred times more prosperous than the Imperial Capital of Great Xia.

Ninety percent of the industries in the city belonged to one power. The Tianbao Chamber of Commerce.

In the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce, a palace suspended in mid-air.

The Chairman, Su Wanjin, irritably slapped a piece of intelligence onto the table.

"Bastards! Those idiots from the Ziyang Holy Land, it's one thing that they usually act like tyrants, but this time they actually managed to get their Saint killed? And in some godforsaken Great Xia Dynasty?"

Su Wanjin was extremely annoyed. He didn't care about the life or death of the Ziyang Saint; what bothered him was that this matter affected his ability to make money.

At this moment, a manager walked in quickly and handed over a state letter with gold edges and jade inlays.

"Chairman, a state letter from the Great Xia Dynasty." "Great Xia Dynasty?"

Su Wanjin frowned and took it casually, his expression disdainful. "A Mortal Dynasty from a backwater place, what could they possibly have? Want to borrow money from us?"

He opened the state letter and glanced at it casually.

"Inviting my Tianbao Chamber of Commerce to discuss a business deal that will change the landscape of the Eastern Wastelands?"

Su Wanjin almost laughed out loud. "Young people these days, each one is more arrogant than the last! Who does he think he is? The emperor of an Immortal Divine Dynasty?"

Change the landscape of the Eastern Wastelands? Why don't you say you want to unify the Myriad Realms while you're at it?

Just relying on a Mortal Dynasty in a cursed land? A toad yawning—what a big mouth.

Su Wanjin didn't even think about it and was about to throw this thing away. His hand stopped halfway.

Great Xia Dynasty. The place where the Ziyang Saint went missing, wasn't it this Great Xia Dynasty?

Su Wanjin's eyes narrowed. He squinted and placed the intelligence report from the Ziyang Holy Land and the state letter together, looking back and forth.

A power that could make the Ziyang Saint and an entire fleet evaporate into thin air. A Dynasty that dared to say it wanted to discuss a business deal to "change the landscape of the Eastern Wastelands."

If there wasn't something fishy going on here, he wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death.

Su Wanjin had spent decades in the business world, and his intuition had always been accurate.

He immediately realized that this Great Xia Dynasty was definitely not simple.

This state letter was not an invitation; it was a probe. It was even a summons that could not be refused.

"Interesting." Su Wanjin pondered for a moment. "The greater the risk, the greater the profit. This muddy water is worth wading into."

He thought for a moment and shouted toward the door. "Someone, prepare the carriage! Bring the Young Miss along as well."

He had decided to personally take a trip to Great Xia. To probe the bottom of this mysterious Dynasty.

And also for a bit of his own selfishness. His daughter, Su Muxue, had a strange illness that countless famous doctors had seen, but it was useless.

Perhaps this Great Xia, which could create miracles, could bring him some hope.

Half a day later. A convoy composed of over a hundred gorgeous beast carriages drove out of Tianfeng City, heading toward Great Xia.

In the center of the convoy, inside a precious carriage pulled by eight one-horned celestial horses.

Although the young girl in the carriage was beautiful, her face was pale, carrying the haggardness of long-term illness. She was leaning against the window, gazing outside.

She was Su Muxue.