Within the imperial palace, the air of the entire great hall seemed to be completely sucked dry in an instant. Everyone's heart leapt into their throats.
Xu Tianran snapped his eyes open. Within those sinister pupils, a terrifying brilliance erupted. He did not look at the complex damage reports or troop deployments; his gaze locked precisely onto the summarizing headline marked in conspicuous red font at the top of the light screen.
[ Heavenly Soul City has been breached.]
Only six words.
Xu Tianran's body suddenly stiffened. On his face, which was usually filled with hostility, all expression vanished, leaving him as rigid as a statue. The atmosphere in the hall became oppressive to the extreme.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Just as some ministers were about to reach their limit, nearly suffocating under this deathly silence, the corners of Xu Tianran's mouth began to curl upward at an extremely slow and eerie angle. The curve grew wider and more exaggerated until it finally transformed into a silent, ecstatic, and frenzied smile.
"Heh..."
A low, uncontrollable laugh, sounding like a wild beast, squeezed out from deep within his throat.
"Hehe... Hahahaha..."
The laughter grew louder and more unrestrained, eventually turning into a deafening roar that echoed through the grand hall.
"Hahahahahaha—!!!!!"
Xu Tianran straightened up from his throne. He spread his arms as if trying to embrace the entire world. On that handsome yet distorted face, there was an unparalleled sense of accomplishment and madness born from the realization of his grand ambition.
"I won! I won!!"
He roared toward the ceiling, his voice filled with long-suppressed desires and ambitions, which were finally being released in the most exhilarating way possible at this moment.
The ministers below were stunned at first, but they quickly reacted. Their faces were immediately plastered with fawning and fanatical smiles. The thunderous sounds of congratulations instantly drowned out the entire hall.
"Congratulations to Your Majesty! Great tidings to Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty's heavenly might is supreme! Uniting the continent is just around the corner!"
"The Sun Moon Empire is eternal! Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live!"
Xu Tianran immersed himself in this wave of flattery. He breathed the air greedily, as if even the atmosphere was filled with the sweet fragrance of victory. He slowly raised his hand, and the boisterous hall instantly returned to silence once more. Everyone looked up at their emperor with the most fanatical and worshipful gazes.
"Relay my decree."
Xu Tianran's voice carried a hint of raspiness due to extreme excitement.
" Heavenly Soul City, the capital of the Heavenly Soul Empire, has been breached by our imperial army. The Heavenly Soul Imperial Family has been annihilated. The Body Sect, which offered stubborn resistance, has been wiped out to the last man."
"Within a month, the imperial army shall occupy the entire territory of the Heavenly Soul Empire."
"This is a momentous occasion. I have decided that the entire world shall celebrate. The nation will observe three days of rest and celebration, allowing every citizen of the empire to share in my joy and this supreme glory belonging to the empire."
As soon as these words were spoken, the hall erupted once more in thunderous cheers. To annihilate an empire with thousands of years of heritage was a world-shaking achievement. And they were all witnesses and participants in this grand endeavor.
However, amidst this fanatical atmosphere, an old and steady figure appeared out of place.
Kong Deming, the founder of the Sun Moon Empire's soul tool technology and the empire's sole Rank 10 Soul Engineer, stood at the front of the crowd, his head slightly lowered and his white eyebrows tightly knit together. There was no joy on his face; instead, it was filled with deep concern.
He slowly stepped out of the ranks and bowed deeply toward Xu Tianran on the throne.
"Your Majesty."
His voice sounded exceptionally clear amidst the celebration.
"This old servant has one matter that is unclear."
The cheers in the hall gradually subsided, and everyone's gaze focused on this highly respected elder. Xu Tianran was in high spirits. Seeing it was Kong Deming, he felt no displeasure. Instead, with a hint of showing off, he tilted his chin up, signaling him to continue.
"According to what I know, both the Dou Ling Empire and the Star Luo Empire had sent reinforcements. Why... in the battle reports, was there no mention of combat with these reinforcements? Could it be that they retreated at the last moment?"
Kong Deming looked up, a searching light flickering in his cloudy old eyes.
Hearing this question, the smile on Xu Tianran's face became even more triumphant. He gave Kong Deming an appreciative look, as if saying, "You've finally asked the right question."
"Elder Kong asks a good question," Xu Tianran laughed loudly, his voice filled with satisfaction over his own strategic layout.
"The reinforcements from the Dou Ling Empire did indeed come. However, they will never reach Heavenly Soul City. The Sect Leader of the Holy Ghost Cult—Huo Yuhao—has already led all the elites of the cult to annihilate them entirely at the Heavenly Soul border."
"As for the reinforcements from the Star Luo Empire..."
A hint of playfulness and disdain entered Xu Tianran's smile.
"They were also intercepted outside the border by the Commander-in-Chief of our empire's three armies, Ju Zi, leading the main force. In the end, they didn't even dare to fire a single shot or cannon. They could only watch helplessly as Heavenly Soul City turned into a sea of fire."
These words ignited the crowd once more.
"The Holy Son... no, the Holy Sect Leader is mighty!"
"Commander Ju Zi uses troops like a god!"
"Your Majesty's strategic planning ensures victory from a thousand miles away. You are truly the chosen one!"
Praise rang out incessantly. However, upon hearing Xu Tianran's answer, Kong Deming's body stiffened almost imperceptibly. He slowly lowered his head to hide the thick, undeniable worry in his eyes. Then, without a word, he silently retreated back into the ranks.
What he actually wanted to ask about was not the Dou Ling Empire or the Star Luo Empire. To him, those two decaying old empires, even if united, were no match for the rejuvenated Sun Moon Empire and its soul tool technology. Annihilating them was only a matter of time.
What he really wanted to ask about was Sea Abyss City.
That city-state entrenched in the Star Luo Empire, filled with mysteries and terrifying power. That city ruled by Lu Jingming, possessing countless technologies that surpassed the era and even housing god-level powerhouses.
Kong Deming had originally thought the Battle of Heavenly Soul City would inevitably be a direct collision between the Sun Moon Empire and Sea Abyss City. He had even prepared for the worst-case scenario.
But, from Xu Tianran's answer just now to this detailed battle report... from beginning to end, there hadn't been a single word regarding Sea Abyss City. Xu Tianran didn't mention it. This meant that Sea Abyss City hadn't intervened at all.
He looked up at the spirited emperor on the throne, who was immersed in the ecstasy of his near-complete hegemony, and only a long sigh remained in his heart.
Xu Tianran did not notice Kong Deming's worry—or rather, he might have noticed it but simply didn't care. His heart was currently filled with an unprecedented, gargantuan ambition and sense of achievement.
The Heavenly Soul Empire is destroyed. Haha, just like that, it was destroyed by me.
Millennia of heritage, an ancient imperial family, the so-called orthodoxy... before my grand army, they were all vulnerable. The Body Sect, Du Busi—they were nothing but clowns trying to stop a carriage with their bare arms.
Next is the Dou Ling Empire, a nation even more decayed and weaker than Heavenly Soul. Within three months at most, I can completely erase them from the map.
And then, Star Luo—the most stubborn and powerful enemy.
Xu Tianran's gaze seemed to pierce through the palace walls, looking toward the far north. As for Sea Abyss City and Lu Jingming...
Xu Tianran certainly knew of their existence and the threat they posed. But his extreme, bloated confidence, fueled by victory, caused him to subconsciously push this threat to the back of the line. In his view, no matter how strong Sea Abyss City was, it was just a single city. No matter how many powerhouses they had, he had the Lord Ravagers on his side to deal with them.
An emperor for the ages? No, he wanted to be more than just an emperor. He wanted the radiance of the Sun and Moon to shine upon every corner of this continent for a thousand generations.
He was immersed in his grand blueprint, the smile on his face becoming increasingly fanatical and distorted. He did not see that in the shadows behind his throne, a minuscule ripple, like a wave on water, shimmered slightly before returning to calm.
In an indescribable, warped space between reality and illusion.
There was no up, down, left, or right here; no concept of time or space. There were only countless shattered, mirror-like planar fragments floating within a chaotic turbulence of energy.
A blurry figure, seemingly composed of pure phantoms, reclined lazily upon a throne woven from countless wailing souls. Before her floated a massive water mirror made of light and shadow.
Reflected clearly within the mirror was the scene inside the Sun Moon Empire's imperial hall—Xu Tianran's fanatical, distorted smile, the fawning and debauched behavior of the ministers, and Kong Deming's worry-filled back.
"Hehe..."
Phantylia let out a soft laugh. Her laughter was full of joy—the pure, heartfelt pleasure of seeing the most exciting part of a favorite play.
So... adorable, Phantylia thought. Her incorporeal gaze stared with great interest at the spirited Xu Tianran in the mirror.
In her eyes, Xu Tianran was like a child who had just finished building his sandcastle, gloating and dancing over his tiny masterpiece. Xu Tianran thought he was the chess player, the protagonist of this era, the emperor about to forge a hegemony for the ages. He had no idea that his so-called victory was merely a piece of candy someone had casually tossed aside. His so-called grand ambitions were, in Phantylia's eyes, no different from the efforts of ants moving house.
Phantylia extended a slender finger and lightly tapped Xu Tianran's forehead through the water mirror. She and Xu Tianran were collaborators, but that was merely Xu Tianran's wishful thinking. Perhaps Xu Tianran hadn't even noticed that he trusted Phantylia and Celenova too much. For an emperor, this was far too strange. After all, no emperor would wholeheartedly trust two Lord Ravagers who were clearly not benevolent entities.
Xu Tianran was already a plaything in Phantylia's hands. From the very beginning, in her eyes, he was not a partner. He was just a toy, a clown, a chess piece used to pass her bored hours.
Destruction... was never an art of a single moment.
Phantylia's thoughts drifted through the chaotic space. To her, simple, physical destruction was too crude, too dull. True destruction was an aesthetic. It needed to be carefully nurtured.
She needed to first give hope, give dreams—let a living being invest all of his ambition, all of his pride, all of his emotions into something he considered supreme. Let him believe he was about to succeed, that he was about to stand at the top of the world. And then... just as he was one step away from that peak, at the moment when he was most self-satisfied and spirited...
Phantylia's laughter became even more joyful, even carrying a hint of cruel sweetness.
...Personally grind everything he cherished—his hope, his dreams, his pride, his empire—into dust, bit by bit, right before his eyes.
At that time, what kind of expression would appear on his face? Shock? Disbelief? Anger? Or... total collapse and despair?
Ah... such an expression, such a moment, must be... the most wonderful scenery in this universe. The self-destruction of mortals is something one can never tire of watching.
This was the aesthetic of destruction belonging to the Lord Ravager, Phantylia.
She loved observing the intrigues among mortals; she loved appreciating those pathetic tragedies that ultimately led to self-destruction due to ambition, betrayal, conspiracy, and slaughter. She looked forward—very much looked forward—to the day Xu Tianran's spirit and body were destroyed simultaneously, and his soul completely defeated.
That would be the sweetest dessert she had prepared for herself in this boring play.
The smoke from the annihilation of the Heavenly Soul Empire had long been dispersed by the winds of time. But the giant wound torn into the continent by that tragic war had not healed; it was merely forcibly covered by a seemingly calm surface under the new order.
To everyone's surprise, after annihilating the Heavenly Soul Empire with lightning speed, the Sun Moon Empire's army under Xu Tianran did not press their advantage to march south toward the Dou Ling Empire. That massive and terrifying war machine seemed to have suddenly run out of fuel, falling into an eerie silence.
But every observant person knew this was not silence, but digestion. Like a giant python swallowing an antelope, it needed time to thoroughly turn this massive prey into its own flesh and power.
Across the vast territory of the former Heavenly Soul Empire, a silent transformation was taking place. The Sun Moon Empire's methods of governance displayed a "soft power" far more terrifying than its military might.
In what was once Heavenly Soul City, brand-new civilian soul tool factories filled with a sense of technology sprang up from the ground. Soul tools that in the past only soul masters and nobles could afford were now sent into the homes of ordinary people at extremely low prices.
Soul tool lunch boxes that could automatically heat food, soul tool washing machines that could automatically clean clothes, eternal soul tool lamps that provided stable lighting... these convenient creations that once existed only in the imagination rapidly changed the living habits of the populace.
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