Sovereign of the Ashes

The spatial spring created by the Destruction Spring Overlord was far more stable than the shattered spacetime passage Sein had traveled through before.

This was what true mastery of spatial power looked like!

Sein felt almost no discomfort as he moved through the passage.

The journey itself was brief.

When the power of spatial laws was pushed to its limits, crossing vast distances to reach a distant star domain or even an entirely alien civilization in an instant was not difficult.

The surrounding space-time currents gradually receded, while the white light at the edge of his vision grew brighter and brighter.

As Sein reached the end and extended his hand, a powerful force yanked him through space and time, and he instantly materialized in an unfamiliar star domain.

Moments later, Fermera, the Rank Four God of Dusk Desire, and the members of the Ashen Star Pirates appeared one after another.

It seemed the relationship between the Destruction Spring and the Martial Civilization was not as close as Sein had assumed.

Or perhaps the Destruction Spring Overlord had simply thrown him here without much precision.

Either way, this was clearly not the homeplane of the Martial Civilization.

In fact, even across the surrounding starry expanse, Sein could not spot a single complete plane.

“This should be the Martial Civilization’s star domain. Spread out and search the area. See if you can find any signs of life,” Sein said after everyone had exited the spatial spring.

Fermera remained still. In most situations, her duty was to stay by Sein’s side and protect him unless he gave her a specific order.

After traveling through the Myriad Springs Worlds, the God of Dusk Desire—who had initially been forced to follow Sein—now genuinely admired him.

Sein was clearly a far more worthy figure to follow than the ruler of Water Ripple World, especially given that he could speak with the Lord of the Destruction Spring from the Myriad Springs Worlds.

“Yes, my lord,” the God of Dusk Desire replied respectfully. He then ordered their pirate crew to spread out and scout the surroundings.

Sein no longer needed to restrain him. He could already tell that this relatively weak Rank Four being had fully submitted to him.

Aribbean was easily the most enthusiastic among the crew.

But now that the God of Dusk Desire had submitted, Aribbean could not shake the feeling that his position within the Ashen Star Pirates was about to drop another rank.

A few days later, one of the pirates finally sent back a report—they had found something.

Before Sein and the others could arrive, however, the group that had discovered the anomaly came under attack. The communication channel dissolved into panicked screams.

Sein, Fermera, and the God of Dusk Desire were the first to reach the location.

After passing through an asteroid belt, they discovered an interplanar war already in progress.

Juemu World was a low-level dendro-attribute plane under the Rongyue Civilization’s control.[1]

Its native lifeforms were mostly plant creatures, though a number of flesh-and-blood creatures also existed.

The dominant race was a group of Treefolk with brown skin and thick, lush hair.

For most of its history, Juemu World had known relative peace.

Records showed that the Rongyue Civilization had once conquered it, but that painful chapter had long since been erased from collective memory.

At least since becoming part of the Rongyue Civilization, the Treefolk of Juemu World had lived fairly comfortable lives.

Although the Rongyue beings took most of the plane’s resources, what remained was still enough for the natives to live without hardship.

That peace, however, was shattered five hundred years ago.

When the powerful Dawn Empire from the surrounding star domains launched its invasion of the Rongyue Civilization, the creatures of Juemu World were dragged into a harsh new reality.

At first, they only had to send troops and supplies to the frontlines.

Once the flames of war crept to the outskirts of Juemu World, even the simple, low-desire Treefolk began to realize that the situation was turning dire.

They began to wonder whether the mighty Rongyue Civilization—a medium-sized planar civilization ruling nearly two hundred complete planes—was actually crumbling under the Dawn Empire’s assault.

Most of the low-tier creatures of Juemu World had never even heard of the Dawn Empire. Many had never left their homeplane in their entire lives.

Only those at the very top—especially the two Rank Four and above beings like the ruler of the Juemu World and the Fluffy Fairy—had any real understanding of the war, or of the Dawn Empire’s true strength.

As for the rest, they had almost no way of learning more.

Spending an entire life in confusion and ignorance—that was the reality for most lesser creatures.

“General, a group of unknown foreign beings has appeared outside Juemu World. They seem to be observing us. I have already sent a detachment from the left wing of the Crane Control Army to drive them off,” said a demigod-level humanoid in heavy brown armor as he addressed the Rank Five powerhouse before him.[2]

The Dawn Empire’s power structure was quite different from that of both Magus World and the Immortal Realm.

In Magus World, authority was built on divine towers and knightly orders.

The Immortal Realm, on the other hand, revolved around sects, with the various Great Sage Courts holding immense power.

The Dawn Empire, as its name suggested, was an imperial system where the authority of the emperor stood above all else.

There were no institutions like the Pharaohs’ Temple of the Amenkha Empire to keep that power in check.

Below the imperial family, the only forces with real influence were the great noble clans.

Among them, the Ximen Clan had risen to prominence through a marriage alliance with the founding emperor.

Because of that, their strength ranked among the top three noble clans in the entire empire.

Over the years, the clan had also produced a large number of Rank Four and above powerhouses.

Ximen Feixiao was one of the most outstanding figures of the younger generation, and the family had placed high hopes on him.

He was a burly man with a thick beard.

Interestingly, while the men of the Ximen Clan were all broad-shouldered and heavily bearded, the women were known for their fair skin and striking beauty.

Otherwise, their ancestor would not have caught the eye of the founding emperor.

Despite his rough and imposing appearance, Ximen Feixiao was actually known as a careful strategist, valued for his steady temperament and meticulous thinking.

If he had the choice, he would have preferred to grow up as a refined scholar—feather fan in hand, silk headscarf on his head—like the elites cultivated by the Li and Liu clans.

Instead, he now stood clad in heavy armor, gripping a demon-headed broadsword.

At first, Ximen Feixiao paid little attention to the sudden appearance of these mysterious outsiders.

The war in the Rongyue Star Domain had dragged on for nearly five hundred years. During that time, there had always been opportunists trying to profit from the chaos.

They did not dare confront the Dawn Empire’s main forces directly, choosing instead to pick at the edges.

He assumed this was just another group of space pirates or a wandering interstellar faction trying their luck.

But when his deputy reported fluctuations consistent with a Rank Four and above being, Ximen Feixiao finally raised his head and looked out into the void.

Translator’s Notes:

1. The characters used for “Juemu” (厥苜) combine 厥 jué, an archaic term meaning “his/her/its” or “to lose consciousness”, and 苜 mù, which means clover. The characters used for “Rongyue” (戎越) combine 戎 róng, an ancient term referring to weapons or warfare, and 越 yuè, which can mean “to exceed” or historically refer to peoples and states in southern China or Southeast Asia (Vietnam) in different eras. ☜

2. Juemu World appears to use a structure similar to the Song Dynasty’s prefectural armies (廂兵 xiāng bīng) system, where local garrison troops were originally formed for regional defense. This suggests that the Crane Control Army is likely divided into left and right wings (known as left and right prefectural garrisons in prefectural armies) tasked with protecting Juemu World. ☜