Imperial God Emperor

The Battle of the Four Stars Sect eventually concluded.

From thereon, the sect itself ceased to exist.

Ye Qingyu was thorough in rooting out evil, and he had no pity for the chief culprits who held important positions. He executed nearly all of the martial arts experts that were involved with the forces of darkness and the mid-level executives were forced to become soldiers. He did not make life too difficult for the disciples at the bottom of the sect's hierarchy, however. After all, they were not really able to influence things in the Four Stars Sect and were purely following orders.

In the end, Ye Qingyu held firm and did not instantly expunge the sect from the world.

This was because he had recalled their sincere request to "allow the Four Stars Sect to continue to exist in the world of the living" earlier on at Capital Sky Peak.

After all, the Four Stars Sect had once played a pivotal and influential role in the Human Race. Over the long course of the history of the humans, the sect had achieved great merit for their people. Furthermore, it was only a few millennia ago when their ranks had been infiltrated and annexed by the forces of darkness.

Not all of the members of the Four Stares Sect were evil.

After giving his keynote speech, Ye Qingyu ceased to involve himself in matters pertaining to the Four Stars Sect. It was complicated, messy, and tedious, and he felt that the task was best suited for the Spokesperson and the White-robed Divine Guards of the Human Race. The Dragon Human Race would help them with it, and the Heaven Wasteland Empire had also dispatched a few important officials to observe and assist the humans. One of them was Luo Yi, the personal bodyguard of Ye Qingyu.

After that, Ye Qingyu returned back to Heaven Connect City.

He had purchased the supposedly haunted [Guanlan Mountain Manor] situated in the city, but he had not arranged for any renovations to be done. He moved in alone and casually repaired one of its main halls. After doing some simple cleaning, it became his quarters.

Originally, the rundown [Guanlan Mountain Manor] was on the shortlist of possible staging areas that Tang Chong gave Ye Qingyu to choose from. Rumor had it that an anonymous Quasi-emperor once resided in the manor, but no one knew where he had gone. Eight prodigies had taken a liking to it, but unfortunately, all of them went insane not long after they moved in. As such, the vast manor, which was surrounded by greenery and great scenery, was abandoned and eventually became a dump.

Ye Qingyu was a little motivated to buy the manor during that time, but unfortunately, he did not have enough influence then, so he had not dared to take the risk and ended up choosing the Stone Building. Now, as he already had some confidence in himself, he decided to come to the manor personally to take a look. Right from the start, he made some discoveries.

Of course, he did it only out of convenience.

His main goal of going to [Guanlan Mountain Manor] was to recuperate in solitude and train hard for a period of time. He wanted to completely digest everything he gained from the battle with the Quasi-emperor of the Four Stars Sect and head to the Dark Realm when Spokesperson Li had settled all matters pertaining to the sect, and after the situation of his own race was completely stable.

It was completely peaceful in [Guanlan Mountain Manor] for a few consecutive days.

Ye Qingyu did not train in self-isolation like ordinary warriors. Instead, he developed a few barren plots of land in the manor and planted various crops in them. His parents had died when he was young, and he had done plenty of things to survive. He was no stranger to this kind of farm work.

He irrigated the fields and tidied up the derelict yard by himself. He did not use any of his martial prowess, but performed all the chores like an ordinary civilian, manually moving each tile and brick, and cutting and trimming all the grass and branches slowly...

He started work at dawn and rested only when it was dusk.

At night, he rested in the ruinous main hall of the manor with his clothes on. His expression was relaxed and he looked as though he was enjoying himself.

He felt as though he had returned to his most primal state. All throughout the interior of the [Guanlan Mountain Manor], it was incredibly peaceful, and there was no outside noise to distract him. Ye Qingyu had completely forgotten about living by the sword, as if he was going to lead the life of a hermit.

No one dared to come to [Guanlan Mountain Manor] to disturb him.

...

The excitement in the Vast Thousand Domains had reached a fever pitch while Ye Qingyu was living in seclusion within [Guanlan Mountain Manor].

The defeat of the Four Stars Sect!

Two Quasi-emperors had been slain by the [Ice Sword Killing God]!

Every faction that got the news was instantly dumbfounded.

The results were entirely different from their initial predictions.

At first, they thought that the Four Stars Sect had a slight advantage in the battle, and that no matter who won in the end, it would drag on for a long time. Since time immemorial, any battle between any two major factions in the Vast Thousand Domains had lasted for a protracted period of time.

Many people with good sources of information had simulated the battle countless times before it began, and all of them believed that there would be no definite ending to it. Ye Qingyu would not be able to withstand the onslaught of the Four Stars Sect, while they could not do anything to the unpredictably strong Ye Qingyu. It was common knowledge.

However...

However, the eventual conclusion of the battle perplexed and shocked them.

As news of Ye Qingyu's victory spread, many people began to understand that there would soon be huge changes in the balance of power in the Vast Thousand Domains.

The destruction of the Four Stars Sect not only meant that a top-ranked sect of the Human Race had been crushed, but it also symbolized the beginning of the end of all of the human sects. Ye Qingyu, who represented the headquarters of the Human Race, had risen, and his meteoric rise was not only because his name had become extremely popular of late. It also meant that he had no match, and that the time of the humans would soon come to the Vast Thousand Domains.

Who else but a Martial Emperor could handle Ye Qingyu?

In the same vein, who else could go against the headquarters of the Human Race?

Who else could fight with the Heaven Wasteland Empire?

The other races, factions, and sects that had once clashed with the Heaven Wasteland Empire were now feeling restless and worried. Their key decision makers had many sleepless nights and kept waking up from nightmares to find themselves drenched in cold sweat.

Many other races and factions tried all ways and means to get in the good books of the Heaven Wasteland Empire.

Outside the Heaven Wasteland Building were dozens of long queues. There were so many leaders of important factions that were waiting to see the Great Dragon Turtle Demon, but after waiting for up to five days, even they could not be guaranteed an audience with him.

There were even many sects, races, and empires that had sent representatives to the Heaven Wasteland Domain to introduce themselves to Empress Yu Xiaoxing in the hopes of forming an alliance with her empire. They were willing to do the bare minimum to aid in the development of the kingdom.

Those empires that had acted high and mighty when they rejected signing the free-trade agreements with the Heaven Wasteland Empire were now panicking. They sent emissaries to apologize on behalf of their nations and sincerely requested to cooperate with the empire now. However, all of them were asked to return empty-handed.

In the past, they had treated the Heaven Wasteland Empire like dirt, but now, it was in a completely different league from them.

This was the reality for them now.

Even the headquarters of the Demon Race sent their representatives to make peace with their human counterparts. They even disposed of the commanders of the Black Guards that had taken part in surrounding the White-robed Divine Guards as a proper sign of goodwill. The headquarters of the other races also did likewise and presented themselves as humble and friendly.

The balance of power in the entire Vast Thousand Domains had changed.

As for the humans, it was inevitable that their dream of a golden age had come true. The status of their kind had greatly increased in every domain, and they could now walk openly in the streets without fear of harassment. The major factions that had kept a huge amount of human slaves in the past released them and were even willing to compensate them by demarcating out autonomous zones for humans, as well as offering to help them build their new homes with no strings attached...

"It's been so many years, sob... Finally, our people have produced a great figure of repute," an old human martial arts expert, who had been held captive and forced to work in a dark mine thousands of meters deep, cried with joy as he walked out of the underground cave and managed to see bright sunlight again.

"Now, the Heavenly Spirit Race will not dare to raid and raze our lands at will again... We're safe." The human civilians in a small principality situated in the Heavenly Spirit Domain exclaimed joyously. They had suffered from constant and callous bullying from the Heavenly Spirit Race, and they rejoiced by lighting bonfires and celebrating throughout the entire night in the square of their main city. The nightmare that had been plaguing their sleep was finally gone.

"Lord Ye Qingyu is the hero of our people and our savior!"

"May the Heavens protect Lord Ye Qingyu, I hope he'll live eternally!"

"Human martial artists of our generation should take Lord Ye Qingyu as an example and focus on improving themselves, training hard, and protecting their fellow human beings to repay their good fortune of being born in this era."

"Mum, when I grow up, I want to become a big hero like Lord Ye Qingyu!"

Similar words were spoken in every corner of the Vast Thousand Domains that was populated by humans. They spread like wildfire, and even the myriad races that resided in isolated off-worlds came to know about the huge shift in power. The fearsome reputation of Ye Qingyu, the [Ice Sword Killing God], was reverberating throughout the entire universe now.

Places like the Heaven Wasteland Domain, the Youyan Pass, Deer City, and White Deer Academy, where Ye Qingyu used to live and had fought before, became locations where countless talents from later generations came to make pilgrimage. The locals were overjoyed and danced with joy every day, while countless martial arts experts from foreign domains came swarming into their towns and lands to experience for themselves the path that Lord Ye Qingyu had walked.

The reputation of the [Ice Sword Killing God], Ye Qingyu, engulfed the entire Vast Thousand Domains, stirring up an unstoppable windstorm wherever it reached.

...

In the blink of an eye, one month had passed.

Ye Qingyu did not know what had happened outside of the manor.

He had kept all of his martial aura contained while he was within [Guanlan Mountain Manor] and worked from dawn to dusk. He never thought about cultivating his martial arts skills, but kept himself busy with tidying up and repairing the manor, clearing out the weeds and broken pieces of rocks, reconnecting the drainage, and drawing water. He even worked as a stonemason and created stone sculptures. For the past month, he had behaved like an ordinary person, and his heart had been as calm as still water.

This did not mean that he was slacking, however.

That was because Ye Qingyu had clearly felt that a mysterious power from Nature herself was congregating toward his body as time passed. It was not any kind of spiritual or magical force, but seemed more like imperial qi. It was formless, invisible, and could not be detected by his spirit, but somehow he could sense its presence. It kept congregating and he could not keep it from seeping into his body and limbs. It merged with each cell of his body, even successfully melding into his spirit.

It was an extremely strange and wonderful feeling.

Ye Qingyu had roughly guessed the reason for this strange phenomenon.

This is the power of faith and remembrance... The people are thanking me and praying for me. Their blessings and conviction are congregating on me. This invisible power will not help me improve my level of cultivation or increase my lifespan, but it can change the course of destiny!

That thought flashed into his mind.

Suddenly, he had a small inkling of the secret to becoming a Great Emperor.