Sovereign of the Three Realms

The emperor smiled slightly. “The Imperial Jade Seal and Guardian Dragon Seal are objects that provide an air of legitimacy for the Myriad Domain. If they appear, they can’t be allowed to end up in the hands of the various sects, or they’ll have enough of an excuse to rebuild the empire. We had an appropriate excuse when we invaded last time, but we don’t have a good excuse to place our army on their borders this time.”

Although there were a great number of factions in the Divine Abyss Continent, there was still the greater picture to consider. The Great Scarlet Mid Region couldn’t openly deploy their armies on the border of another region for no reason. The other regions wouldn’t sit idly by if that happened.

“Your Majesty, we can absolutely find a reason if we don’t have one. Didn’t we leave behind multiple restrictions in the Myriad Domain? We can destroy those restrictions and then blame it on their sects, pinning the crime of disrespect on them. Wouldn’t that be an easy thing to accomplish?”

In reality, Great Scarlet had purposefully left behind the towers of bones and corpses, Bloodlight River, and Petrified Infant Forest to set the stage for a future invasion of the Myriad Domain. The Great Scarlet emperor nodded with a slight smile. “That is doable, but we don’t plan on sending forth a large army this time. The third rank sects don’t even need to participate.”

There were three third rank sects in the Great Scarlet Mid Region, and any one of them was strong enough to annihilate the combined force of all the sects in the Myriad Domain. The fourth rank sect heavyweights were delighted to hear this. This meant that the emperor was giving them a chance to prove themselves!

The strength of a Great Scarlet fourth rank sect wasn’t something that the fourth rank sects of the Myriad Domain could compare to. Each one had at least one or two emperor realm cultivators holding down the fort. It was only because there were three third rank sects in the Great Scarlet Mid Region already that the fourth rank sects were unable to advance further. After all, the quota for high level sects in each region was limited. The fourth rank sect heavyweights were delighted to hear their emperor’s words and rose to their feet.

“Your Majesty, the Qitian Sect requests to do battle.”

“Your Majesty, my Bamboo Sect requests to do battle.”

“Your Majesty…”

“Your Majesty!”

The fourth rank sects all clamored loudly for attention, afraid that someone else would steal a march on them. Everyone knew that this was a rare opportunity. Not only could they accomplish a meritorious deed for the emperor, they could also go to the Myriad Domain and loot to their heart’s delight. Who knew how much they could gain in terms of resources? The benefits were plain to see.

Although the Myriad Domain was in decline, that was only in regard to their talent. They still had all the resources that they had formerly. Although they’d been greatly injured in the disaster six hundred years ago, this period of time had also enabled them to recover roughly seventy percent of their resources, even if their martial strength was less than thirty percent of their peak. Being able to go to the Myriad Domain again to raid and loot meant an unprecedented chance to strike it rich.

A slight smile clung to the lips of the Great Scarlet emperor, a smile that embodied within it the wisdom of controlling everything. He raised his hands lightly and pressed them down. The heavyweights of the four sects all quieted down and returned to their seats, the very picture of docility.

“We know of your desire to do battle. However, this fight will be different from the one six hundred years ago. We had a good pretext for war last time, one no one could refute. However, even if we find an excuse this time, we must make good use of it. There must be no question of our legitimacy. Do you all understand?”

The Great Scarlet royal family had personally lead the armies six hundred years ago. This time, the Myriad Domain was only at thirty percent of its peak strength. There was no need to use a butcher knife to kill a chicken and create such a fuss.

“For the operation this time, the restrictions are key, but the most critical items are the Imperial Jade Seal and Guardian Dragon Seal. This two items are relevant to the Myriad Empire and thus a continuation of the war of that time. We have sufficient reason to make our move as long as it has to do with the Myriad Empire, understood?”

The fourth rank sect heavyweights all nodded, finally understanding what the emperor meant. Legitimacy was of utmost importance. They had to find a proper, righteous excuse before beating someone.

The Great Scarlet emperor waved his hand and began sounding off, “Qitian Sect, Bamboo Sect, Golden Glyph Sect, Zither Sect—the four of you shall travel to the Myriad Empire ruins and suppress the ceremony!”

“Four Quadrant Sect, Cloud and Wind Palace—you two shall go destroy the Great Cathedral.”

“Mystic Fire Sect, Nine Waves Sect—you two shall go suppress the Dark North Sect.”

“Thunder Note Hall, Great Roc Sect—you two shall go suppress the Regal Pill Palace.”

“Ice Spirit Sect, Desolate Oceans Faction—you two shall go cleanse all of the fifth rank sects in the Myriad Domain.” The empire had named sixteen fourth rank sects in the blink of an eye. Four would head to the ceremony, the other ten would team up in duos to the five fourth rank sects in the Myriad Domain, with the remaining two were tasked to manage all of the remaining fifth rank sects in the region. The ones who had been named all stood up to receive their orders. However, the two fourth rank sects sitting at the very front had yet to be called on. Their sect heads were feeling quite mystified.

Great Scarlet’s emperor soon locked his gaze on them. “Dragonslayers and Flowing Sands Sect, you shall go to Mt. Rippling Mirage. However, I will send a confidante with you; you two must listen to his commands.”

The two sect heads hastily stood up to receive their orders.

“Everyone, I’m sure you’ve heard of the rumors of the Myriad Domain ancient herb garden. Apart from handing over the sky rank spirit herbs that you obtain on this trip, you can take care of all other gains yourselves. There is no need to hand them over.” The Great Scarlet emperor was well aware of the principle of giving his subjects a taste of something sweet in order to get them to act wholeheartedly. Everyone was delighted to hear these words.

The Great Scarlet emperor suddenly recalled something, “Oh right, if there is such a thing as a Longevity Pill recipe, you must investigate it thoroughly and present the recipe to us.”

The Longevity Pill could extend life by five hundred years. It was easy to predict the value of a pill like this. The Great Scarlet emperor even felt that if the pill recipe truly did exist, its value was even higher than sky rank spirit herbs!

The two sects in charge of the Regal Pill Palace were the Thunder Note Hall and Great Roc Sect. The two sect heads once again stood up and guaranteed, “Be at ease, Your Majesty. We will find this recipe even if we need to dig three meters into the ground.”

The Great Scarlet emperor smiled faintly, “Rumors state that the Regal Pill Palace also has many sky rank spirit herbs in their possession. Your burden is more onerous, and so you must investigate more thoroughly.”

“We will attend to this with all our might and not disappoint Your Majesty!” The two sect heads slapped their chests, affirming their promise.

The Great Scarlet emperor turned his gaze towards the Dragonslayers and Flowing Sands Sect. “On your trip to Mt. Rippling Mirage, look for a young man named Jiang Chen. According to my intelligence, he remains yet in Mt. Rippling Mirage. Not only does he possess a few sky rank spirit herbs, he’s the only one thus far who’s successfully refined the Longevity Pill. I want him alive, not dead.”

“Be at ease, Your Majesty, a mere Regal Pill Palace disciple will be simple to capture. To be favored by His Majesty is this kid’s fortune!’

The Great Scarlet emperor smiled faintly as more than a dozen medallions shot out, landing in each sect head’s hand. His tone was regal and filled with power, “One month. I only give you one month. If you don’t complete the mission in a month, then you have no need to return to see us.”

“Understood!” The sect heads nodded. Although a month wasn’t long, the mission didn’t appear too difficult to everyone. A Myriad Domain on the decline and so many fourth rank sects setting out at once—it was akin to a lion launching an attack on a rabbit.

The fourth rank sects of the Great Scarlet Mid Region were stronger than their Myriad Domain counterparts to begin with. The so-called fourth rank secs of the Myriad Domain were still affected by that disaster six hundred years ago, and their strength was still less than half of their peak. To send two Great Scarlet fourth rank sects to each Myriad Domain fourth rank sect was complete overkill, and nothing less than a dominating display of strength. In addition, all of the sects had sent representatives to the Grand Myriad Ceremony, and had left less than half of their total strength in the sects. Putting all the factors together, the already large gap in this competition of strength had just turned into an overwhelming difference.

The Great Scarlet emperor nodded with satisfaction when he saw the various sect heads brimming with confidence and flair. “Alright, time is of the essence. You all can go back to summon your people and make quick work of this mission.”

“Understood!”

When the sect heads of all the fourth rank sects had left the room, the Great Scarlet emperor smiled faintly and looked at the heavyweights of the three third rank sects who yet remained. “The third rank sects are the pillars of my Great Scarlet Mid Region. There is no need to use a butcher’s knife for cows to kill chickens. The situation around our region is rather complicated, and we need you three to defend our territory and support the empire’s fortunes. The burden on you is a hundred times heavier than them!”

The Great Scarlet emperor naturally needed to reassure the third rank sects some, having left them out of the operation this time, so that they wouldn’t develop feelings of estrangement. After all, some thoughts would still arise given that he’d set the third rank sects aside and had only deployed the fourth rank sects. “Due to your contribution to the Myriad Domain mission this time, each of you will receive one sky rank spirit herb from the harvest.”

As a hero of the times, the Great Scarlet emperor was well versed in the art of ruling. The heavy reward of a sky rank spirit herb each instantly quelled the grumblings in the hearts of the third rank sects. It actually left them slightly guilty, being rewarded like this without having put forth effort. Still, who wouldn’t be delighted at being able to receive a sky rank spirit herb for free? Although they might be able to loot other treasures in the Myriad Domain, what was any of it worth when compared to a sky rank spirit herb?

……

Back at the Myriad Grand Ceremony, the new Myriad Hidden Dragon rankings had been erected and was just waiting to be filled with names. The rules of the martial competition segment had been announced as well.

There were several hundred young geniuses participating this year, and roughly two hundred from fourth rank sects alone. The Regal Pill Palace stood out in this regard, as their participants were heavily outnumbered by the other fourth rank sects’.

According to the rules, the fourth rank sect geniuses were seeded candidates. The ones from other sects weren’t, and they would be participating in the first round of eliminations. After the first round, winning non-seeded participants would face off with seeded candidates, with the winners moving on. This meant that fourth rank sect disciples didn’t need to participate in the first round, and the seeded candidates wouldn’t meet each other in the second round. They would only clash together in the third round.