Upon seeing the message, Lu Yuan immediately put away the Daluo sword core.
He raised his head and looked toward the sky.
The weather remained fine and mild, with the sun casting its radiance across the land without the slightest sign of abnormality.
Changes beyond the planet naturally could not be seen from here.
Yet Lu Yuan was well aware that days like these might not last much longer.
Without lingering in thought, he took a step forward.
Beyond serving as the headquarters and supreme seat of power for the Heavenly Court, the current Mount Tai Trial Academy now housed nearly all official government institutions. It functioned like a massive heart, radiating outward to the five super cities and thereby holding sway over all of Huaxia.
Lu Yuan arrived at the academy's tallest structure, which housed the extraterrestrial monitoring center.
By now, Elder Ji and the other high-ranking officials had already assembled there, along with members of the younger generation such as Zhu Qingyu.
"King Lu."
Seeing his arrival, the crowd gathered around him respectfully.
"What happened?" Lu Yuan gave a slight nod and turned his gaze toward the large central display.
Earlier, the official leadership had launched numerous satellites specifically to monitor movements outside Earth and transmit real-time data back to the surface.
Looking at the screen now, satellite feeds revealed countless beams of light converging in the distant depths of space.
Massive stars flickered in and out of view, accompanied by various interstellar warships and formidable vessels.
Upon closer observation, one could even make out figures of individual beings.
Ever since the onset of the second anomaly and revival, extraterrestrial beings had continuously converged on the Milky Way Star Sector. Those from nearby regions had arrived even earlier.
Judging by the current situation outside the planet, far more extraterrestrial beings had assembled.
They hovered just outside Earth, poised to descend at any moment.
Of course, the barrier of the Severance of Heaven and Earth remained intact.
"It seems the time for a full-scale invasion is drawing near," Lu Yuan said with a solemn expression, then continued, "Elder Ji, recall all personnel out on patrol, especially those stationed around the famous mountains and great rivers. At the same time, issue an announcement urging both ordinary people and Awakened to stay as far away from the mountains and rivers as possible.
"Furthermore, sanctuaries such as Mount Longhu and Mount Jiuhua must draw in their forces as much as they can. Before long, everything will change."
Although the power of the Severance of Heaven and Earth still held, extraterrestrial beings would find a way if they truly wished to invade.
On Earth, the famous mountains and great rivers were always the first to revive and undergo the most drastic transformations.
In other words, those locations were unique, least suppressed by the Severance of Heaven and Earth.
Certain powerful figures could exploit this gap to construct a conduit and send forces directly down.
Lu Yuan had encountered this very tactic in his past life, which had caused the human race to suffer heavily.
Now, he needed to prepare ahead—even before anything occurred.
"Understood, King Lu."
Elder Ji and the others had no objections to Lu Yuan's decision.
He was the Lord of the Heavenly Court and likely the future ruler of all Huaxia. Coupled with his peerless prestige, no one questioned his judgment; it was complete and total trust.
Lu Yuan then looked to Zhu Qingyu and the others, instructing the commanders of the Four Divisions to continue expanding their ranks. He also told them to select thirty-six promising individuals from the Trial Academy and set them apart. They did not need to be exceedingly powerful, so long as their potential was sound, as he had other plans for them later.
The Heavenly Court's basic framework was already taking shape.
His next step was to steadily expand it, as high-end combat power was still insufficient.
He needed to utilize the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token and the Investiture Decree to bestow providential luck upon them, which would make their cultivation and evolution far easier.
As for the members of the Four Divisions, they could not be reassigned for the time being. Their numbers were still sparse, and reallocating them would compromise combat readiness, leaving him to recruit only from the Trial Academy.
Zhu Qingyu and the others promptly nodded in acknowledgment.
Lu Yuan then returned to his quarters.
Rather than resuming his cultivation, he sat cross-legged and focused his mind on observing the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token and the Investiture Decree.
The Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token hovered in midair as before, letting fall strands of purple qi.
Influenced by it, the innate spirit below had turned entirely purple, radiating an aura of supreme dignity.
On the back of the Investiture Decree was an engraving of the Yongzhou Cauldron, while its face bore several names, led by "Di Yuan."
Beneath it were the Golden-Winged Great Peng, the Peacock King, and the sect masters of the Three Immortal Islands.
"Ever since I broke into the Saint Realm, the providential luck on the Investiture Decree has grown much denser, and through the help of the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token, my innate spirit's control over it has expanded considerably," Lu Yuan murmured to himself.
This was a recent discovery. It seemed he could direct the decree's providential luck and concentrate it into a specific name, granting the individual a temporary blessing that dramatically accelerated their cultivation and evolution.
It was why the Golden-Winged Great Peng and the other beast kings had already reached the Sovereign King Realm and continued to climb higher.
It was as if he were truly becoming a Heavenly Emperor capable of conferring divine titles.
Of course, there was still a long way to go before achieving that fully.
"In Huaxia's Daoist mythology, the Heavenly Court was a formidable power with a complete hierarchy: the Three Pure Ones, the Four Sovereigns, the Five Elders of the Five Directions, the Dragon Gods of the Four Great Rivers, the Emperors of the Five Sacred Peaks, the Six Ding and Six Jia, the Twelve Chronograms, the Twenty-Eight Constellations, the Thirty-six Heavenly Generals, and many more.
"To re-establish the Heavenly Court, all these roles are indispensable. With the aid of the Ancient Heavenly Emperor Token, I can achieve this."
Lu Yuan pondered the ancient mythological tales. While he did not know what the ancient Heavenly Court truly looked like, he felt he could draw upon this legendary system to fully construct his own.
He could begin with the Thirty-six Heavenly Generals—the candidates Zhu Qingyu and the others were tasked with selecting.
In the end, resisting the extraterrestrial invasion would rely on this foundation.
Without another word, Lu Yuan calmed his thoughts and once more immersed himself in cultivation.
He had been a Void Saint for several months now.
Next, he could begin accumulating power in preparation to advance toward the Demi-Saint Realm.
Time slipped by quietly.
Zhu Qingyu and the others followed his orders to the letter, training while scouting suitable candidates within the Trial Academy.
Though they did not know what King Lu intended to do with these recruits, they had no doubts and focused solely on executing the task.
Meanwhile, the students of the Mount Tai Trial Academy were thrilled upon learning that King Lu required candidates.
The Trial Academy housed Awakened who were deemed promising by the high-ranking leadership. Some were graduates of Zhendan Academy, while others had been recruited through exceptional exemptions, none of them older than thirty.
Without exception, every student in the academy yearned to join the Heavenly Court and follow King Lu.
To them, King Lu was an idol, someone they looked up to with reverence.
Presented with a chance to enter the Heavenly Court, each of them stepped forward with utmost enthusiasm.
Among them was an old acquaintance of Lu Yuan.
Chapter 228