Xiayu

“Patriarch Lü,” Yaoguang said. “This is our first time meeting.” “In this period, countless things across the country need rebuilding, and substantial efforts have been required to maintain stability in every region. So many pressing matters kept me so occupied that I was unable to come pay my respects to Speaker Yaoguang right away. This was my fault.” Lü Tianhe, a Martial Saint, carried himself with utmost deference. “No matter. Ensuring that not a single disturbance broke out across all the provinces of Dayu—you have done very well,” Yaoguang said. As they spoke, he was already leading the group toward the conference room. Just before they entered, however, Lei Yun approached him. “The family head has arrived.” Yaoguang paused, then said to Lü Tianhe and the others, “Go on inside first.” With that, he turned and walked back toward the villa entrance. He had no obligation to do this. No one would have faulted him if he hadn’t. Yet he did so anyway. Treating the worthy with respect. Soon, Su Chiming stepped out of a car, escorted by Su Hua, who had already attained the rank of Grandmaster. Also stepping out with him was Lin Xia, who had handed Buzhou Group over entirely to Su Yaoyu and been reassigned to remain by his side handling matters large and small. Seeing Yaoguang again, the woman serving as secretary-general of the secretariat was visibly dazed. Although barely a few months had actually passed since they last met, seeing Yaoguang now... A feeling as if an entire lifetime had elapsed welled up in her heart. After all, when they had last met, he was still borrowing the group’s facilities to hold meetings with representatives of the nine great families. Yet this time... He had leapt to become the ruler of the Kingdom of Dayu?! Moreover, considering the international situation and recent news... He seemed to have stepped beyond Dayu, beyond even the Central Continent, extending his reach all the way to the Crimson Star Empire at the very center of the world?! “Yaoguang, what is going on?” Su Chiming asked the moment he laid eyes on Yaoguang. “The people Kong Fang took with him seem to be working alongside the Snow Dragon Federation to hunt down Chixing’s forces, spreading out in all directions from the royal capital to seize the entire Crimson Star Empire?” “Yes,” Yaoguang replied. “You’ll need to get ready; we might be moving to a new place.” Su Chiming’s eyes immediately filled with utter disbelief. “Don’t tell me... after jumping from Tiannan’s provincial capital to Dayu’s royal capital, the next step is jumping straight to the Imperial Capital of Chixing?” “If you’re ready for it, that’s entirely possible,” Yaoguang answered with a smile. *Buzz!* At those words, Su Chiming felt as though an iron sledgehammer had struck his skull. His ears roared, and for a moment he could hear nothing of the outside world. Only after quite a while did he widen his eyes and stare at the smiling Yaoguang, who did not seem to be joking in the slightest. Then... His throat bobbed, and his voice suddenly stammered: “Wh-what do you mean by... ‘if we’re ready... that’s entirely possible’?” “Exactly what you think it means,” Yaoguang said. “I have an agreement with Xuelong. Setting everything else aside, as long as you’re prepared, you can go take over Chixing at any time.” Even though Su Chiming had mentally braced himself, hearing Yaoguang state the truth so bluntly still left his mouth hanging open unconsciously. He wanted to say something. Yet in the end, he could not utter a single word. Back when he first met Yaoguang and confirmed that he was indeed a nineteen-year-old Grandmaster, he had anticipated that Yaoguang would propel the Su family skyward in the future. But never in his wildest dreams had he imagined they would soar to such heights! Replacing the Liao family to take control of Dayu was one thing, but now... Yaoguang had blasted down this meteoric ascent at full throttle without looking back. And now, he was about to lead the Su family to replace Chixing and become the supreme hegemon of the world?! World hegemon! Half a year ago, he was just an aging magnate nearing retirement in Tiannan’s provincial capital, and now he was stepping onto the world stage to ponder the dilemma of governing the world... He wouldn’t have dared to dream this in his wildest fantasies. This leap in scale had come far too fast. He couldn’t keep up. He simply couldn’t keep up at all. “All right, let’s talk inside,” Yaoguang said. He guided the dazed, thoroughly overwhelmed Su Chiming into the conference room. The moment he walked into the conference room, everyone stood up and turned their eyes toward him. “Be seated.” Seeing this, Yaoguang pressed his hand downward toward the representatives of the nine great families. At once, the representatives all took their seats. The assistants behind them promptly retrieved their notebooks to record the proceedings. Yaoguang glanced at Lei Yun. She promptly turned on the projector, displaying a map of the entire Artifact Nurturing Realm before everyone’s eyes. The four continents of East, South, West, and North, along with the Central Continent where they were located. Of the five continents, the largest in area was the West Continent, which covered more than a third of the world’s landmass. The most economically prosperous were the South and North Continents—more precisely, the North Continent. This was Chixing’s stronghold. Developed by this world hegemon, it had served as the global political and economic center for centuries. As for the remaining Central and East Continents... The Central Continent was somewhat better off, home to two of the top ten economies: Dayu and White Pagoda. As for the East Continent, it was referred to as the Third World. Though not small in area, it was carved up among dozens of miscellaneous nations. The larger among these nations were roughly on par with Dayu, while the smaller had populations of only a few million. Their internal development was impoverished and backward. Certain nations had an annual GDP of only a few billion Chixing coins—less than the annual profit of Buzhou Group alone. “Once the situation in Chixing stabilizes, the Su family will assume control of Chixing,” Yaoguang said, answering point-blank the question everyone had been burning to know. The moment these words left his mouth, even though many had already caught wind of rumors from various channels, they still could not help but suck in a sharp breath. In several pairs of eyes, disbelief flared. “Assume control of Chixing...” Li Cunyu’s heart quivered. “Will Xuelong agree to that...” “Those were the terms negotiated before we made our move,” Yaoguang said calmly. Jiang Sheng, Lü Tianhe, Li Cunyu, Xu Dengfeng, and the others exchanged glances. Involuntarily, their minds jumped to Hunyuan Martial Saints like Jiang Bairen, Jiang Banzi, and Lei Ting, who seemed to have vanished into thin air during the Xuelong Empire’s operation. Recalling the methods Yaoguang had used to crush the Liao family... Had all these figures been decapitated by Yaoguang?! Had he been responsible for decapitating Chixing’s leadership, while the Snow Dragon Federation was tasked with purging any remnants of Chixing’s Jiang family and securing control of the Crimson Star Empire? Only... How... How was that possible?! Lü Tianhe suddenly thought of something. Standing up, he gave a solemn bow and asked, “May I ask, Speaker Yaoguang... have you already comprehended the profound mysteries of heaven and earth and stepped into the realm of Heavenly Being?” Yaoguang glanced at the Lü family Martial Saint. Quick-witted indeed. Although he had not yet forged a Heavenly Being body, even if he were pitted head-to-head against a true Heavenly Being like Xie Bo’en in a fight to the death, the ultimate victor would unquestionably be him. Therefore... “You could understand it that way,” Yaoguang answered. With that, all the Grandmasters and Martial Saints present suddenly understood everything. A Heavenly Being! Yaoguang had already achieved the Heavenly Being realm! It made sense now. Everything finally made sense. Rumor had it that the Snow Dragon Federation’s Heavenly Being had suffered an accident. Chances were, Yaoguang was currently the sole living Heavenly Being in the world. Receiving such treatment as the world’s only Heavenly Being... It was only natural. One might even say the Snow Dragon Federation knew which way the wind blew. Yet even as they grasped this, the gazes everyone directed at Yaoguang turned surreal. A Heavenly Being. How had he become a Heavenly Being so fast? Not long ago, in the operation against the Liao family, he had displayed astonishing combat prowess, but in their eyes, that had merely been at the level of a Spirit Intent Martial Saint. How much time had passed since then? A Heavenly Being?! “I know the purpose of your visit today...” Yaoguang said. “However... if you wish to secure benefits for your respective families, you naturally must demonstrate your capabilities...” Before he could finish, Lü Tianhe took the lead to make a solemn pledge: “From this day forth, the entire Lü family is willing to follow Speaker Yaoguang’s commands without question.” On the other side, Jiang Sheng came to his senses as well. In fact, his response was even faster and more thorough than the Lü family’s: “The Jiang family is willing to honor Speaker Yaoguang as our lord and become Speaker Yaoguang’s vassal family.” This decision—practically selling his entire family to Yaoguang—caught Lü Tianhe slightly off guard. Yet right after, as he looked upon Yaoguang’s youthful face, realization struck him in an instant. A Heavenly Being! A twenty-year-old Heavenly Being! Even within the Artifact Sect, such an existence would be groomed as a core talent, someone who might one day even compete for the title of true disciple! Whether he eventually chose to journey to the Artifact Sect or remained stranded in this world due to a blocked path, it was foreseeable that the entire world would fall under his rule for decades to come. Though he had risen to power, he currently had few capable people at his disposal. If their families did not seize this moment to declare their loyalty, then ten or twenty years down the line, once the Su family’s younger generation matured under his tutelage, what place would remain for the great families?! Conversely, if they seized this opportunity... Though they would have to honor the Su family as their master, their future stature would rival the twelve great noble families of Chixing like the Shangguan family, leaping above the royal families of numerous nations. Realizing this, Lü Tianhe immediately altered his stance: “The Lü family is likewise willing to honor Speaker Yaoguang as our lord and heed Speaker Yaoguang’s orders.” With the Jiang and Lü families declaring their stances, the remaining families were quick to follow suit, voicing their pledges of allegiance one after another. In an instant, what had been intended as a spoils-division meeting transformed into a scene of mass vassalage. Seeing this, Su Chiming, who had only just gathered his wits, felt the corners of his mouth twitch... He couldn’t keep up. He really couldn’t keep up at all. At this moment, he desperately wanted to post a question online: *What does it feel like to get hard-carried to glory by your grandson?* *What is it like to wake up and suddenly find yourself the head of the world’s foremost aristocratic family?* ... Yaoguang had no idea what wild thoughts were running through Su Chiming’s head. While he was somewhat surprised by how sensible these aristocratic families were, it was indeed a time when manpower was urgently needed. Before the Su family’s own people matured, he still needed external help to maintain dominion over Dayu and Chixing. Therefore, he did not reject their pledges of fealty. With the full submission of these families, and given that Dayu would inevitably undergo world-shaking transformations under the Su family’s leadership, the gathering deliberated and decided to alter the dynastic title. Following Yaoguang’s proposal, the new national title was set—Xiayu.