Imperial God Emperor

Time slowly ticked by.

Both the Great Dragon Turtle Demon and Lin Baiyi were becoming increasingly anxious. 

Unfortunately, due to Ye Qingyu's appearance at the Alliance of Domains' divine temple, the surrounding security was a few times stricter than usual. The amount of sentry airships had increased greatly, and the entire divine mountain was incredibly secure. There was nothing they could do, and if they tried to enter by force, they would end up being slain on the spot.

Time passed by. 

The dark clouds in the skies were gradually dispersing.

A bright ray of sunlight fell from above, and the skies suddenly became clear. 

"Someone's coming out," a few people observed, instantly creating a huge commotion.

Experts who had come from all corners of the world began surging forward from the foot of the divine temple. 

A white airship flew out of an air terminal and cruised around like a small boat, bathing in the bright sunshine.

A figure in white stood ramrod straight at the airship's bow. His clothes were as white as snow; his hair black as ink itself. He looked extremely elegant, and who else was it, other than Ye Qingyu, the [Ice Sword Killing God]? 

Everyone exclaimed in surprise after a short moment of silence.

"Ye Qingyu is out." 

"He's perfectly fine, and it looks as if he wasn't injured at all."

"Did he... actually win?" 

"That's incredible. To think that he was able to walk out of the divine temple alive. Weren't both demons and humans intending to kill him in Ren Puyang's mourning hall? Could we have received the wrong news? Or perhaps..."

"Perhaps Ou Wuji and the Demon Race headquarters failed to take him down." 

"What exactly happened in the mourning hall?"

"Lin Yutang is also out, and he's with Ye Qingyu. How was he released from the secret dungeon?" 

"I have a feeling that something extraordinary happened inside the mourning hall."

Everyone was extremely shocked to see Ye Qingyu walk out of the Alliance of Domains' divine temple in one piece. This was because all of them knew what his trip to the mourning hall symbolized. Ren Puyang's funeral parlor was a real tiger's den and everyone had predicted that Ye Qingyu was probably doomed. No matter how famous he was, or how big a name he had made for himself recently, logically he would still be unable to withstand the might of the Alliance of Domains. After all, it was no Black Moon Immortal Palace. 

Now, however, Ye Qingyu was walking out of the mourning hall alive.

Not only was he alive, he looked very well nourished and unrestrained. 

This was what they could not understand.

The airship flew until it arrived at the foot of the divine temple. It then began to land. 

Ye Qingyu walked down from the airship with Lu Wei, Ren Xingyan, Uncle Lin and the others.

The Great Dragon Turtle Demon was overjoyed, his anxiety now gone. It then recalled something and rushed up to Ye Qingyu to say, "My Lord, my Lord, I bring urgent news from the Heaven Wasteland Domain," he said, without a care for what others thought. It was a top urgent matter that required Ye Qingyu's attention, and he could not calm himself down. In the next moment, he had passed a strip of jade the size of his palm over to Ye Qingyu. 

Ye Qingyu glanced at Lin Baiyi, who was standing beside him, before receiving the strip and reading its contents.

He looked calm even after he had finished reading, replying, "Noted. We'll discuss about this on our way back." 

The Great Dragon Turtle Demon nodded and let out a sigh of relief.

"My Lord," Lin Baiyi said as he greeted Ye Qingyu after he had finished speaking to the Great Dragon Turtle Demon. 

Ye Qingyu nodded and said, "You don't have to stand on ceremony with me, Brother Lin Baiyi."

He turned after he had finished speaking to look at Tang Chong and Lin Yutang. "Please go back. The headquarters of the Human Race have no one to lead them now; both of you have to return quickly to hold the fort. There are many matters that are awaiting you two to intervene and correct. We can't afford to let this chaotic situation continue. Now that Lord Ren Puyang's personal matters have been settled, you just have to go to the Heaven Wasteland Building to let me know when the burial is taking place. At that time, I'll bring Ren Xingyan over to attend the ceremony." 

Ye Qingyu had already accepted Ren Xingyan as his disciple before leaving the mourning hall.

He did this to protect Ren Xingyan.

After all, even though the force supporting Ye Chongsheng behind the scenes had temporarily retreated, it should not be underestimated. If it rose again, it would surely try to make things difficult for Ren Xingyan. As such, Ye Qingyu wanted the boy to follow him around. 

"Yes, Sir," replied Tang Chong. 

Lin Yutang bowed and acknowledged the order as well. He then spoke somewhat hesitantly, "Lord Ye Qingyu, since we have no one to lead us, why don't you hold down the fort yourself? If you lead us, then..."

Ye Qingyu waved his hands, "I've already made it very clear that the battle in the mourning hall was not about me. I won't take up the Chief Official’s post, and we'll have to find someone else for that seat. I will still care about matters pertaining to the headquarters of the Human Race. Both of you can feel free to act accordingly, and you can request for the second deputy to take over temporarily when he's back... oh, right, no one should ill treat Lord Ou Wuji's family." 

There was nothing Lin Yutang could do to persuade him to change his mind.

Like Tang Chong, Lin Yutang had hoped that Ye Qingyu would take up the post of Chief Official in the headquarters of the Human Race. With the fearsome reputation he had earned from today's battle in the mourning hall, things would go much more smoothly in the future if Ye Qingyu agreed. Both of them believed that none of the other major races would offer much resistance and their headquarters would be able to grow at a steady pace. The humans needed an iron-fisted and strong leader to guide them toward the proper path, but unfortunately Deputy Ye Qingyu kept refusing the offer. He was not really keen on the position. 

After making some simple arrangements, Ye Qingyu, the Great Dragon Turtle Demon and the others boarded another airship and left the Divine Temple District of the Alliance of Domains.

Countless pairs of eyes watched them leave.

Ye Qingyu made no attempt to hide his words to Lin Yutang and Tang Chong from the others, and as a result a few people who were trying to eavesdrop overheard their conversation. This caused a huge commotion instantly, and even though it was a simple exchange of words, and none of them explicitly said anything, the message within was enough to light up the entire Heaven Connect City. This was especially so when they noticed the expressions of the two Commanders of the White-robed Divine Guards. They had a feeling that something terrible had happened in the mourning hall. 

Very quickly, the entire Heaven Connect City was enveloped in shock and chaos. 

Countless factions were hell bent on finding out the truth about what had happened in the mourning hall.

What disappointed them the most was that the experts of various races who had witnessed the entire incident were unwilling to divulge much, as if they were afraid of something. They did not give out any concrete information. The human and demon martial arts experts who were on sentry duty outside the hall did not know what had happened inside, as the entire hall had been entirely sealed off from the public since it was set up. 

There was something that everyone could agree on though. It spread very quickly...

Insane Devil Ye, the [Ice Sword Killing God], had won again! 

It was incredible.

In the Heaven Wasteland Building. 

"Lord Ye Qingyu, the situation is extremely urgent. No one expected that the White Mountain Black Water Brute Race would rebel at this moment. They gave no warning signs, and when the Empire began to react, an entire swath of territory in the Northeast District fell into their hands. The warriors and officers that the Empire stationed in this district, along with the main body of the Northeastern Army, have been completely defeated and annihilated. The barbarians are crazy," Lin Baiyi reported briefly. "Other than that, other rebellions have taken place; the barbarians of the Great Northwest Desert, the Snow Ground Demon Court and the Southern Waters. They are of a smaller scale, however, and have been immediately suppressed. Her Majesty is furious and is prepared to march to the White Mountain Black Water himself. The sudden change of the situation in the Heaven Wasteland Domain from stable to chaotic has been attributed by Lord Lin Zheng, General Li Guangbi and the other important officials to a force from a foreign domain..." 

The Great Dragon Turtle Demon was wiping away his cold sweat as he listened.

Earlier that morning, just as Ye Qingyu left, the urgent news had been delivered.

No one expected that something like that could have happened. 

After Yu Xiaoxing became Empress, the Heaven Wasteland Domain had undergone a huge revolution. Peace and prosperity reigned in the domain now, and its grip on the lands controlled by the four major foreign races was exceptionally strong. It was originally as stable as a sheet of iron, and everyone thought that peace would continue to reign in the increasingly prosperous Heaven Wasteland Empire. Just at this moment, the spark of rebellion was lit, and the fiefdom of the four foreign races became chaotic. To the big wigs of the Empire, this was completely unexpected, and it left them scrambling to salvage the situation. 

Luckily, other than the rebellion of the White Mountain Black Water Brute Race, the revolts of the other three foreign races were quickly suppressed.

However, White Mountain Black Water was totally beyond control at this point. There was a mysterious power backing the barbarians, and the Empire failed to counterattack twice. The entire district fell into their hands, and Empress Yu Xiaoxing was so angry that she was ready to march forth to White Mountain, to quell the rebellion and destroy the White Mountain Black Water Brute Race. The other important officials like Lin Zheng held her back, however.

This was roughly how the current situation in the Empire was. 

Ye Qingyu nodded slightly after hearing Lin Baiyi speak.

He knew that something like this would happen sooner or later. To be honest, it did not surprise him much. 

The revolts happened more than half a year after his disappearance in the Wei River Mountain Range. This was understandable - the jackals, who had been eyeing the prosperous land of the Heaven Wasteland Domain, must have thought that he was dead and took the once in a lifetime opportunity to strike.

"My Lord, I'll make arrangements immediately to purchase the necessary travel pass. We'll be back in the Heaven Wasteland Domain in two hours time at most," the Great Dragon Turtle Demon hurriedly said. They had to submit their request for purchasing travel passes in advance, as there was always heavy traffic to and from the Domain Gate of Heaven Connect City. Due to urgency, they had purchased theirs at a premium, but still they had to wait for two hours. 

The Heaven Wasteland Domain urgently required an iron-fisted individual like Ye Qingyu to hold the fort now. 

Ye Qingyu thought about it for a while before nodding.

The Great Dragon Turtle Demon immediately went off to make the necessary arrangements.

He was not really worried about the Heaven Wasteland Domain. He could quell the rebellions easily and fish out all of the masterminds behind the revolts; getting rid of all of them would also be simple. His biggest concern now was still the death of Ren Puyang. He had already seized Wei Wubing's spirit earlier in the mourning hall, and he wanted to force him to speak and tell the truth. What sort of faction was behind him that would target the Human Race headquarters and plot to assassinate Ren Puyang in the Dark Realm? 

Ren Puyang was Ye Qingyu's benefactor.

As such, Ye Qingyu swore that he would uproot the mysterious force of evil behind his death. 

Ye Qingyu had a feeling that this force must be very terrifying. Perhaps, it was connected with the [Camp] behind the Four Stars Sect.

He drew out the white pill furnace and was about to interrogate Wei Wubing when the Great Dragon Turtle Demon returned as hurriedly as he had left. He looked angry and flustered, and he was panting as he charged in. "My Lord, my Lord... I've received news that the Dragonblood Dynasty has suddenly amassed a huge amount of troops and broke through the barriers separating our domains. They're led by the Dragon Human General, Xu Wuya, and have invaded the Heaven Wasteland Domain in one fell swoop. They claim to be intending to slaughter any living being in the Heaven Wasteland Domain... those damned Dragon Humans, they've officially declared war against the Heaven Wasteland Domain!"