Emperor’s Domination

Li Qiye left behind the spatial pouch then turned around to leave. Chi Xiaodie stood inside the tattered temple in a daze without being able to say a word.

She felt very aggrieved. Even though the Lion’s Roar Country was not comparable to grand sects or ancient kingdoms, it still had hidden forces and was far stronger than an ordinary minor country.

As the princess and golden daughter who was adored by the heavens, Chi Xiaodie was always spoiled by others; yet today, she came with Li Qiye to this desolate area as a servant. This was already one thing, and now she even had to do this dirty and tiring work as well.

She had never done such a menial task before, but today, she undertook this task like an ordinary servant in the secular world.

Chi Xiaodie was speechless for a long time before she eventually picked up Li Qiye’s spatial pouch and began to clean. Even though she was a Royal Noble, it was still a big challenge for her since this was her first time doing these menial tasks: dusting the floor and walls, then taking care of the weeds. Chi Xiaodie did quite a messy job for she couldn’t use her power which resulted in a silly scene.

Despite this being the case, Chi Xiaodie quietly did her job. Even though she felt wronged and dejected, she kept on doing this dirty work that was proven to be a challenge for her.

She was angry and she didn’t know whether she was angry with herself or Li Qiye. To sum it up, Chi Xiaodie would never do such a thing in the past, and her previous self would be quite surprised to see her doing this in the present.

Chi Xiaodie patiently endured her hot temperament with grief in her heart. Eventually, she managed to clean the temple.

After leaving the Ancestral Divine Temple, Li Qiye took a stroll around the area to gaze at the rolling mountains ahead. These mountains were like waves that reached all the way to the high clouds. There were also valleys with indiscernible depths, filled with unpredictable dangers — quite a magnificent spectacle.

Li Qiye slowly walked forward; although they seemed to be nearby, after a closer look, one would find that these mountains were several dozen miles away.

Li Qiye eventually reached the area opposite of the temple. This was a small peak; compared to the high mountains and vast rivers before it, it was truly insignificant and garnered nearly zero attention.

However, there was a dao shrine with only five rooms above this small peak. It had green tiles and gray walls and one couldn’t tell how long ago it was built. The green tiles had become gray from the accumulation of dust with weeds that spanned amongst its cracks.

However, compared to the decrepit Ancestral Divine Temple, this dao shrine was still doing much better since, at the very least, there were still traces of visitors.

Once one approached the building, one could see that there was a plaque hanging on its main door with two words: Lastingness Courtyard. One couldn’t tell how long these words had endured the passage of time because the initially pitch-black words already became an indiscernible white.

The gate of the shrine was wide open and unlocked so Li Qiye slowly entered. Once inside, he heard a thunderous snore that shook the shrine. It emanated from one of the rooms; Li Qiye eventually walked in it to find an old daoist lying on a bed.

The old daoist was lying face up in quite an unflattering pose. His arms and legs were spread wide to occupy the entire bed; it was quite unbecoming of a daoist.

He wore a shabby and old, oily daoist robe that had not been washed for who knows how many years. It was fortunate that his disheveled hair was not smelly, contrary to its appearance. Otherwise, the stench would be unbearable.

Although this old daoist was unkempt, with a lion-like nose and broad mouth, his face was quite well-sculpted. He was quite imposing, just like a traveler that was full of vigor and spirit.

The old daoist’s slumber was quite deep. Even when Li Qiye walked in, the old man still continued to snore. His thunderous snoring made others wonder whether he would actually wake up if someone were to carry him out of the dao shrine.

Li Qiye then looked at the old sleeping daoist without saying anything. He slowly glanced around the dao shrine and meticulously analyzed each tile as if he was conducting an archaeological study.

Li Qiye didn’t touch anything and only let his eyes do the work. In the end, Li Qiye carefully looked at the name “Lastingness Courtyard” and then quietly left.

Li Qiye arrived back at the Ancestral Divine Temple when it was almost dark, and the temple had become bright again. The wild weeds and vines around the area were all picked; the interior of the old temple was thoroughly cleaned and the broken areas were also repaired.

Even though it was not completely free from the stains of mortality, it was definitely much better. It now carried the appearance of a place fitting for human inhabitants and was without the previous rotten look.

Once inside, Li Qiye saw Chi Xiaodie standing in the middle of the main chamber. There were two statues inside, and they were not deities worshiped by mortals.

Chi Xiaodie looked at one of the statues in a daze. She felt that it was very familiar but she couldn’t recall its origin at this second.

After Li Qiye came back, she asked: “Here… What statue is this?” This statue’s body was half slanted in a very strange pose as if it wanted to kneel, but it was still standing straight; it was seemingly waiting to be bestowed a title. Its eyes were also hidden no matter the angle it was viewed it; clearly, there was a pair of engraved eyes, but one couldn’t see them due to its odd posture.

Chi Xiaodie had wiped them clean. When she looked at them, especially the statue in the strange pose, she felt a familiar yet unrecognizable sensation.

Li Qiye also looked at the statue. He didn’t give an answer and instead replied with a question: “What do you think?” He secretly sighed. The years were heartless, but the high-spirited time was just like yesterday.

Chi Xiaodie wistfully responded: “If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking you.”

Li Qiye burst out in laughter then slowly said: “This your Chi Clan’s ancestor.”

Chi Xiaodie exclaimed after hearing Li Qiye’s response in shock: “M-my Chi Clan Ancestor?”

At this time, she understood why she felt that this statue was so familiar. The ancestral hall of her Chi Clan also worshiped the ancestor; even though they rarely went back to honor him, Chi Xiaodie had seen it two or three times.

She then inquired once more: “But why is the pose so strange?” She felt that Li Qiye knew everything. She, as the descendant of the Chi Clan, did not know about its ancestor as much as an outsider like Li Qiye. Perhaps Li Qiye was right; one must read more. The more one reads, the more one knows.

Li Qiye was silent for a moment while looking at the statue, then he said: “This was the pose he took when he was bestowed the title of Hundred Battles Godking.”

Chi Xiaodie was stunned after hearing this: “Hundred Battles Godking!”

She did not know that her ancestor had such a title so she asked in astonishment: “My ancestor was canonized as a god?”

“You can put it that way. A legendary existence recognized your ancestor’s feats so he especially bestowed him the title of Hundred Battles Godking. It could be considered one of the most domineering titles amongst all the divine generals of that generation.” Li Qiye softly sighed and went on to say: “During that era, your ancestor was the pride of the human race.”

Chi Xiaodie quietly muttered: “Hundred Battles Godking!” At this second, her blood was boiling. It was as if she personally saw her ancestor sweeping through the world and fighting against the gods and devils. How heroic and majestic was this? How honorable and grand was this endeavor?

She could feel the glory of her ancestor from his legend as she became lost in a hard-to-recover-from state of shock.

After a while, she regained her composure and asked: “How do you know these things?” Chi Xiaodie didn’t know these matters as the descendant of the Chi Clan, yet Li Qiye knew it like the palm of his hand.

Li Qiye looked at her and said: “This is why I said to read more. Those who rarely read become mere straw bags; a girl with big breasts but no brains is not a good thing.”

Chi Xiaodie scowled from both anger and embarrassment. She turned around and glanced at the other statue.

This carved statue was an ancient man with many hands. Each hand had a different action and each hand was different. Some hands wielded weapons while others shouldered the sky; there were also those with different hand seals. 1

Chi Xiaodie looked at this statue with many hands and asked Li Qiye: “Who is this?”

One statue was her ancestor, so the other one shouldn’t be a fictional character.

Li Qiye looked at this statue and took a while before opening his mouth: “Myriad Images True God!”

Chi Xiaodie responded with some bewilderment: “Myriad Images True God?” She had never heard of this title nor such a character before. She asked one more time: “Was this True God a follower of my ancestor?”

1. Raw for many hands was 10,000,000 (1,000 + 10,000 adjectives) so I’ll assume that it was not literal in this sense.