Emperor’s Domination

In the past few days, the eighteen monarchs didn’t dare to come bother Li Qiye. Meanwhile, Madam Zi Yan came to see him every day. More often than not, she even personally took care of his daily accommodations.

It didn’t stop there. Whenever Li Qiye was free, she would explain the current situation of the world and the Giant Bamboo Country to Li Qiye in great detail.

Today, she came to see him like always. Noticing that he was deep in meditation, she slowly sat down by his side.

A while later, Li Qiye opened his eyes and said with a smile: “Is there something else you want to tell me?”

“In the last two days, the Qing Clan has caused quite a stir. They demand justice from the Giant Bamboo Country for Qing Yu’s death. They even swore that they would never let this go.” Madam Zi Yan explained to Li Qiye.

“The truth is, you don’t need to tell me these things.” Li Qiye gently shook his head and said: “As the Royal Lord, I’m sure that you can deal with these matters in a satisfactory manner.”

“Hmm…” Madam Zi Yan wanted to say something, but she paused for a bit before continuing: “You have only been here for a short amount of time and aren’t familiar with many issues. This is a transitional period for you, so after you become used to it…”

Li Qiye interrupted her. He chuckled while looking at the madam before speaking: “Madam, don’t tell me you want me to become Giant Bamboo’s ruler?”

Li Qiye’s sudden interruption left her stunned for a bit. In fact, she had mentally prepared herself and was ready to hand over the Giant Bamboo Country to Li Qiye.

“I feel that you are right for it. For millions of years, outside of our progenitor, no one had ever been recognized by our Divine Guardian. Despite its inactivity, we all know that it has been shielding our country from war. There must be a reason why it chose you at this time. Besides, your dao of alchemy is peerless. And it’s not just me, all of the monarchs also feel that you can lead Giant Bamboo to the top of all the races.” Madam Zi Yan spoke in a serious manner. Her words were very sincere and came from her heart. She had plans to abdicate and was more than happy to do so as long as Li Qiye could lead the country down a more glorious path.

After hearing this, Li Qiye couldn’t help but smile. Then, he gently shook his head while saying: “Do you really think that I would become the Royal Lord of the country? Do you actually think that I came here just to take the reigns?”

This answer made the madam ponder for a moment before she was able to calm down and reply: “That is not what I meant. Although Young Noble Li might not have come for the Giant Bamboo Country’s throne, the Divine Guardian chose you. I trust that no one else is more suitable than you to become our ruler. I also believe that with you taking the reigns in the future, the country will naturally become even more prosperous.”

Li Qiye smiled and said: “Your words are correct, but also incorrect.”

Madam Zi Yan always had a good temper, so she gently said: “Which parts are incorrect? Young Noble Li, please point me in the right direction.”

Li Qiye looked at this charming and beautiful woman ahead, a woman with an elegant and noble aura that didn’t take away from her gentleness. He couldn’t help but smile and say: “First, you are correct with regards to the country prospering in my hands. Under my control, the Giant Bamboo Country would certainly stand at the top of the Nine Worlds one day and look down with disdain upon all the other races.”

Anyone else would think Li Qiye was being too arrogant and didn’t understand the immensity of the heaven and earth. Across this world, not too many heaven’s proud sons would dare to proclaim this.

However, Madam Zi Yan still attentively listened in a quiet and gentle manner. This aura of hers, an aura as soft as water, was quite pleasing and would make others feel relaxed.

Li Qiye paused here for a bit before continuing: “Second, I will not take the Royal Lord position of your Giant Bamboo Country since I have no interest in it. And even if I were to take this position, I wouldn’t be able to take your country to the glorious peak.”

Li Qiye’s words puzzled the madam quite a bit. His firm rejection caught her by surprise. His dao of alchemy was peerless, and such a talent would be sought after by countless great powers. If anyone else were to face the choice of ruling the entire Giant Bamboo Country, then even if they didn’t start salivating from temptation, they would at least hesitate a bit before declining.

However, Li Qiye didn’t have the slightest bit of yearning. It was as if controlling an entire great power was only a trivial matter to him.

The madam calmed down and looked at Li Qiye to say: “I can understand Young Noble not wanting to become our Royal Lord to rule the country… However, like you said, if you are in control, you will be able to take us to the glorious peak with your abilities, yet your second statement contradicted the first. May you explain this?” She carefully considered his words. Others might think that Li Qiye was spouting arrogant nonsense, but not the madam.

Li Qiye looked at the elegant and noble woman before him; she did indeed resemble Yan’er in the past. He shifted his gaze and looked outside the window before slowly speaking: “The Giant Bamboo Country… This is a tranquil place, a land of peace. I do not wish to involve it in a bloody conquest. In the future, my path will be paved with blood and corpses… No matter how high the heavens might be, no matter how far myriad worlds are, I will kill my way to the very end. Because of this, let’s leave this serene place how it is right now, I do not want to tie it to my war chariot!” 1

At this point, he couldn’t help but sigh with some sadness in his heart.

At this moment, Madam Zi Yan couldn’t help but feel a bit lost. It was as if she saw an illusion; on the solitary path of the dao, Li Qiye walked forward alone. Behind him was an endless sea of blood that contained the floating corpses of his enemies, and the gods from the capital of the immortals were wailing in anguish.

Eventually, her mind returned. She couldn’t help but shudder as her heart skipped a beat. That illusion she just experienced was truly chillingly terrifying and caused her to feel that such an event would happen in the future.

“Another thing you are mistaken about, in my eyes, is that whether the Giant Bamboo Country is powerful or not doesn’t matter. This place is a peaceful land that I love. If possible, I hope that one day, I will be able to stop and stay in this place.” Li Qiye said while looking at the madam.

She couldn’t help but reply: “If that is the case, then why not stay now? I’m certain that the entire country would welcome you. You can think of the country as your home, and you can come and go as you please.”

“Home…” Li Qiye revealed a faint smile and gazed into the distance. After a while, he slightly shook his head and said: “It is impossible for me.”

At this point, Li Qiye paused for a bit before looking at the madam and smiled: “If you are willing to come with me, I will be more than happy to take you. Follow me and, in the future, you will definitely see many sceneries from the top of the peak.”

Madam Zi Yan was stunned by these words. Any other girl who heard such a thing would think that Li Qiye was teasing or flirting with them.

However, Madam Zi Yan didn’t think so; she didn’t sense any intention to flirt or tease from the tone of his words. In fact, this was not his first time proposing this idea. Back at Ancient Pine’s palace, he had said something similar.

“Boom!” Right when Madam Zi Yan was still in a daze, a majestic aura suddenly appeared in the sky. It was so powerful that it was as if its billowing waves reached the heavens itself. This mighty force instantly flooded the earth and drowned the entire capital.

“What’s happening?” The unrivaled aura that appeared without any warning and loomed over the capital caused all the citizens and cultivators within to be frightened. Even Royal Nobles and Ancient Saints were quivering in fear.

“A Virtuous Paragon!” Madam Zi Yan suddenly stood up with a shocked expression at the appearance of this aura and exclaimed: “This is an ancestor from a great power!”

The Giant Bamboo’s capital was a large city. In the contemporary times, ancestors from great powers would not easily show their face, but through the years, there would still be ancestors coming and going in this capital. However, no matter which great power they might be from, these ancestors wouldn’t act in such a wanton manner. They wouldn’t use their invincible aura to seemingly aim to suppress the entire capital.

This meant that the opponent wasn’t merely arrogant and instead came with malicious intentions against the country.

“Virtuous Paragon?” Li Qiye only narrowed his eyes after sensing this aura; his expression was essentially unchanged. Even a Virtuous Paragon was not a big deal to him!

“Your Majesty, not good, not good.” At this time, the Ancient Pine Demon Monarch came rushing in and saw Madam Zi Yan together with Li Qiye. He quickly said: “Your Majesty, something bad has happened.”

“Demon Monarch, what happened? Why are you so nervous?” Madam Zi Yan asked in a serious tone.

In fact, even if the demon monarch was not in a panic, she would still know that something big had happened. An aura suddenly erupting from a Virtuous Paragon was a sign of suppression. This newcomer obviously bore malicious intent towards the Giant Bamboo Country.

“People from the Huangfu Clan came.” Ancient Pine’s expression was quite unbearable to look at as he quickly said: “There are quite a few too. One ancestor is personally leading the group that consists of three high elders and five elders!”

1. The last sentence means “I do not want to involve it with my conquest”, but I kept it more like the raw.