Imperial God Emperor

The night faded, and the formation candle-lit lanterns across the entire imperial capital gradually hid themselves among the rays of the morning sun.

To the Luo family, this night was emotional and unforgettable. After sending off the several aides of the influential authorities of the Snow empire, Father and Mother Luo again celebrated until midnight. But because of the excitement, they tossed and turned restlessly in bed and were unable to fall asleep. 

And also similarly sleepless, tossing and turning in bed, was the worried and upset Gu family.

For them, the sunrise and the chirping of the yellow oriole birds were no longer beautiful.

The next day at noon.

Even though the Luo's family was low-key and cautious, and had not released the news of the Gu family's withdrawal from the marriage arrangement, but no matter how strong a wall was there will always be a little crack where wind could seep through. Even tough silk fabric in the end cannot cover sporadic flames.

Early in the morning, the news of Gu Yangdao's way of bowing to those higher up, trampling on those lower down, breaking off the marriage arrangement with the Luo family, and ultimately ending worse off, begun to spread like wildfire. Like a cool breeze, it instantly spread throughout the streets, and became the main conversation topic in the teahouses and restaurants. 

The young and beautiful Gu Zhenzhen naturally became a laughing stock among the circle of aristocratic young women.

As soon as the Gu family of three had returned to their residence, they ordered the servants to close the doors, declined to see any guests, and stayed at home. Even Gu Yangdao claimed that he was ill and needed to rest and did not immediately return to the security department.

According to the servants of the Gu family, ever since Gu Zhenzhen got home she locked herself up in her room. From time to time there were anguished wailing and sounds of porcelain vases being shattered. 

Becoming a hot topic of discussion in the Empire at the same time of as this laughing matter, the Luo family, whose status skyrocketed overnight, was incessantly praised.

Since dawn, an endless stream of the trusted aides of officials and merchants had been coming to the Luo residence's door, presenting a variety of gold and silver treasures, and hoping to be on friendly terms with the Luo family.  

Especially Luo Yi, who had suffered the humiliation of his marriage being cancelled but did not retaliate. He was originally talented and had a pure and kind personality, and had even received compliments from the strongest God of War of Heaven Wasteland Domain, the Lord of the Light Palace. All of a suddenly, all of the aristocratic women in the imperial capital were scrambling to send over invitations and gifts to him. Some had even impatiently sent out a matchmaker to his door, making Mother and Father Luo too busy to attend to everyone. 

As for the person at the center of all these topics, the pride of the Human Race, Luo Yi had already set off to the Light City as early as when the morning star first appeared in the sky.

For him, after all these twists and turns, the so-called engagement and fame had already become a thing of the past. He and the Luo family were able to have the status that they had now all because of the Lord of the Light Palace.

The favour of a drop of water shall be returned with the gratitude of a fountain of water.

Luo Yi had long made up his mind that he needed to train diligently and master the [Limitless Sword Way] that Palace Lord Ye had gifted him. It was only by doing so that he would be more qualified to follow at Palace Lord Ye's side. 

As for marriage...

Luo Yi had already entrusted his parents to pass out the message that he absolutely will no longer consider it before he becomes a Heaven Ascension expert.

Given his current status and situation, he naturally did not have to worry about offending anyone. The circle of aristocrats could only sigh while wringing their hands. They had missed a great opportunity, and could only in the future find the opportunity to meet and make friends with the rising star of the imperial capital. 

In the next few days. 

Light City. 

In addition to the daily training in the Light Palace, Ye Qingyu led Gao Han to inspect and enforce the defense formations in Light City.

In the just over half a year that he was away in Clear River Domain, there were formation experts in the capital arranged by the Right Minister to repair the formations of the Light City. But these formations were as flimsy as oiled paper to Immortal Step boundary experts of the other domains, unable to withstand their attacks at all. 

The good thing was that Ye Qingyu's strength had long reached the Immortal Step realm. He picked out some suitable formation markings from the ancient bronze book, and injected them into the boundary formations around the Light City.

The Domain Gate and the domain stonewalls in the depths of the fire tree woods were also surrounded by the formations and protective boundaries, forming an impenetrable defense. 

These layer upon layer of formations and the protective boundaries could not only prevent the invasion of people of other domains and harming the people of the Snow capital, but it would also signal a warning the moment living creatures of other domains stepped into Heaven Wasteland Domain.

These days, while reinforcing the gap between the formations, Ye Qingyu also paid attention to the young military officer Luo Yi who was diligently practicing in the Fire Tree woods day and night.

Although he had just obtained the [Limitless Sword Way], but with his superb talent and power of understanding, there were already signs of him touching upon the essence in just a few days. Coupled with Ye Qingyu's occasional guidance, his breakthroughs could be described as rapid leaps.

Such an improvement was within Ye Qingyu's expectation. 

After all, on Luo Yi's body, there was a kind of aura. 

In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.  

The morning breeze had awakened the thick foliage of the Fire Tree woods. In the distance, the Light Palace, like a black four-sided hanging ink stone, was rising again. 

The entire capital saw the scene. 

The Light Palace rose into the sky, like an incomparably tremendous ship. It first slowly rose, casting a shadow across the ground, then its speed increased, like a giant space-time shark, separating the ripples of space, and speeding towards the North western direction with an incomparably imposing manner. 

This scene was unforgettable for many people. 

And the little more informed nobles of the Snow capital were even more shocked, because only they knew what the rising of the Light Palace signified.

A journey that would once again enter the historical records of Heaven Wasteland Domain had come.

This day would be remembered by the entire domain.

……

Blue sky and white clouds.

The Divine Palace did not move at a fast speed. 

In the Light Palace. 

Ye Qingyu was sitting on a stone chair, and in his hand was a jade scroll from the Crown Prince Her Highness. He was carefully scrutinizing it.

On the left side of the palace stood the newly appointed attendant of Ye Qingyu, young soldier Luo Yi.

On the right side close to the door were four young soldiers, including Gao Qiu and Gao Shou, all of whom were soldiers of Youyan Pass who had followed Ye Qingyu to the Snow capital.

In addition, there was also a handsome and petite scholarly figure in the main hall. It was Lang Yong who was dressed in men's clothes and had her hair bunched up.

Ye Qingyu smiled lightly after reading the scroll.

He deliberately did not use the function of the Map of the Universe to control the Divine Palace, in order to let the news spread to the ears of specific people.

At that moment——

“Hey, hey... Little Leaf, you're going out to play but you didn't call me...” a strange and crafty voice suddenly sounded in the void 

“Exactly... Woof says he's going to sneak away... If woof hadn't pulled you back in time... He was going to go out there and drink and eat delicious food himself...” Silly dog Little Nine's voice spread out from the movements in the air.

Ye Qingyu rubbed his temple. 

He had unexpectedly forgotten about these two weirdos. It seemed as though they were tired of tormenting Snow capital, and were secretly following him to harm the rest of Heaven Wasteland Domain. 

The ripples gently moved in the air.

An ingratiating Old Fish with his arm wrapped around the silly dog who had a fawning smile on his face suddenly appeared from a shadow.

Ye Qingyu looked helplessly at these two scourges.

But on second thought, he decided not to worry about it. If they were not right in front of his eyes, he would instead be worrying about what big messes they were causing.

The next moment. 

He tapped his left finger, sending the Light Palace rising steeply skywards, heading for the north of the Snow Empire.

Along the way, the silly dog was constantly leaning against Lang Yong's body, like a plaster made of dog skin, and acting cute. Lang Yong was repeatedly giggling, and her eyes and brows were restored with a hint of a pretty expression unique to a young girl.

Old Fish, on the other hand, completely changed from his normal self. He sat there before the door of the Divine Palace, hugging his knees, like a curious baby, while gazing out into the landscape of Heaven Wasteland and clicking his tongue in amazement. 

There were special arrangements and considerations for this trip, so Ye Qingyu did not deliberately cover the trail of the Light Palace, and instead floated over the clouds with a slight intention of showing its power.

An hour passed in a twinkling. 

Wei City in the province of Qing Luan was already in sight.

Ye Qingyu stood at the door of the Light Palace, releasing his divine sense to overlook the entire territories of Wei City. 

Wei City could also be regarded as the hometown of Ye Qingyu. 

That year, when Ye Qingyu was still a third grade Marquis, he went to the Snow capital to report, and his first visit to Wei City was to find Sentinel Liao Tian's family, bury his body, repay his kindness, and comfort his family.

More than a year had passed since then. He did not know how Liao Tian and his family was doing. 

The eyes of Sentinel Liao Tian and several other sentinels when they risked their life without the slightest hesitation in order to stall for time once again appeared in his mind.

After a few moments. 

The Light Palace was firmly settled above the clouds ten miles outside of Wei City.

Although the Light Palace was different from ordinary formation airships and did not need to be constrained by the rules of imperial flying battleship, Ye Qingyu still followed the laws of the empire and did not place the Light Palace within the borders of Wei City

Gao Qiu went ahead to report to the city. 

Meanwhile, Old Fish and the silly dog, ever since they entered the boundaries of Wei City, had gone missing. Ye Qingyu was accustomed to the behaviour of those two ‘scourges’. He was not in the slightest worried about what difficulties they would encounter. But he was always vigilant to the fact that he may need to clean up after their mess.

He walked all the way towards the Wei City gate with Lang Yong and Luo Yi, as well as a few other armoured soldiers.

After ten minutes. 

Gao Qiu together with the Lord of Wei City, Fan Deyuan, the patrol battalion commander Guan Shandu and other people personally came out of the city to greet them at the city gate. 

The current Wei City had changed drastically.

After the battle of the Light City, the means of how the authorities of the imperial court restored the Snow empire to good condition could be described as thunderous. The force with which they enacted changed was unstoppable.

The Wu family that had been operating in Wei City for several years, finally, as a result of the evil that they had committed over the years, was the first to be denounced publicly for their crimes.

About half a year ago, there was a written imperial order in the Snow capital. The Wu family instantly fell from power and the Wu residence was thoroughly investigated. The original city Lord Wu Guanxiong, the official registrar Wu Boxiong and other officials that had committed crimes that involved the Snow empire’s military and government were exiled to the Northwest frontier.

Fan Deyuan was the new Lord of Wei City. 

In the face of the renowned Lord of the Light Palace, it was natural that the newly appointed officials in Wei City were trembling in fear and afraid to show any disrespect or carelessness.

After an exchange of conventional greetings, Ye Qingyu handed over some other important affairs for Fan Deyuan and Guan Shandu to deal with. Then, with Luo Yi, Gao Qi, and other people, he hid his identity, dressing like travellers, and entered into the city. 

The natural environment was excellent, rich in natural resources, and business exchanges were happening continuously in the city. It was bustling with noise and excitement, restaurants and shops were joined closely together like the scales of a fish, and pedestrians were constantly brushing shoulders. It seemed that under the management of the new City Lord, everything appeared to be more orderly, everyone were living in peace and working happily. 

Ye Qingyu was intentionally stalling for time, therefore he quickly found a simple teahouse and sat by the window and took a little rest. 

Suddenly there was a clamour coming from outside the teahouse. 

The several figures simultaneously looked through the window into the street outside the teahouse.

“Shopkeeper Liu, you... lend me some more money, please... lend some more...” A beggar in rags and with unkempt hair was grabbing a purple-robed middle-aged merchant with a six petal-like skullcap.  

The middle-aged businessman had his back facing Ye Qingyu and the others as he hurried forward, shouting in a sharp voice, “Hey hey... quickly let go, think about how much money you owe me. If it were not for the past relationship between you and I, I would have found someone to chase up the debt. Yet you're not happy and dare to ask me to lend you money again. If you do not let go, I'll make you pay me back all the money you owe me and more!

The unkempt beggar's hands immediately bounced off of the merchant's sleeves like it received an electric shock. He dispiritedly slumped on the street, as the passersby and vendors pointed at him.

“Is that not the Wu residence's second son Wu Xi!” 

“Haha... Karma!” 

“I heard that after the Wu family's mansion was searched and their possessions confiscated, that Wu Xi was going to be executed, but his father begged and begged, donated his family property, volunteered to the station at the border, and enter into the cannon fodder camp, only for him to live. The tyrant of Wei City is now living in a horse stable at Donkey Tail Alley.” 

“The fortune's wheel is always turning, he reaped what he sowed.”

“Humph, this kind of person is only dirtying the streets.” 

“Right! Hurry and leave! You’re preventing us from doing business!”

“Get out of here, get out! Don't make me get a broom to kick you away!” “

Upon hearing all of this, a fierce scowl formed across Wu Xi's face, but he was only strong in appearance and weak in reality. A few vendors lifted up their broom and circled around him.

In panic, he immediately lowered his head and bowed his body, and scurried toward the end of the street in the direction of Donkey Tail Alley, gradually disappearing from everyone's line of sight.

Ye Qingyu gently stroked the white porcelain teacup with his index finger, looking out of the window at the gradually scattering crowd in a trance.

He did not expect the evil Gongzi would eventually end up this way. 

Evil will eventually be requited with evil. 

When Luo Yi, Lang Yong and others saw that he was sitting there silently, also quietly drank tea and did not utter a word..

An hour later. 

Qin Chun Street.

A golden plaque of ‘[The Four Seas Merchant Company]’ hung high in front of a three-storey shop.

At the entrance to the shop were several kind-looking staff who were handing out rice and grains, and a long line of poor people were waiting to collect a bag of shining white flour and rice

When Ye Qingyu saw the scene in front of him, he again recalled what he had heard from the customers in the teashop: the [Four Seas Merchant Company] often did good and charitable deeds. A hint of a relieved smile crossed his face as he gently nodded.

The Liao family had maintained their simple and honest nature.

At the same time.

“Yes... could it be... is it... Lord Ye!” 

At the shop door, a middle-aged man clad in a wide square hat and brown silk robes suddenly lit up when he saw Ye Qingyu, showing a look of disbelief and excitement.

He immediately put down what he was doing and darted towards Ye Qingyu and the others.

The man was the older brother of Sentinel Liao Tian——Liao Ri. 

“Pays... pays respect to Lord Ye!” Liao Ri's voice trembled with excitement as he hurriedly bowed down before Ye Qingyu.

Behind the shop counter, because of a moment of excitement, Liao Xiongyi and his wife’s eyes brimmed with tears, and their footsteps staggered.  

But the bright and beautiful Liao Cui dashed over to support them, and the three trotted toward Ye Qingyu and knelt down behind Lio Ri, “Lord Ye... excuse me for not going out to meet you...”  

“No need to be polite.” Ye Qingyu gently lifted his right hand and the several figures opposite him were instantly pulled up by an invisible force.

It was noon. 

Liao Xiongyi's family of four held a banquet at the Four Seas restaurant affiliated to the [Four Seas Merchant Company] to welcome Ye Qingyu and the other people he was with, and also as a formal thanks to Ye Qingyu for saving them. 

As they were drinking, Ye Qingyu learned that Liao Xiongyi had handed over the [Four Seas Merchant Company] to Liao Ri. Liao Ri was an intelligent and outstanding man, not only had he expanded the [Four Seas Merchant Company] into the largest one within thousands of miles, he had also actively engaged in charity, giving material assistance to the poorer villages within and out of the border of Wei City, and opened up many free martial arts halls and studies. 

Liao Cui, on the otherh and, ever since that year, had been practicing diligently. Although her talent was not high, she was hardworking, and was now also a 10 Spirit spring martial artist. 

Coupled with the Liao family's strong family background and her beautiful appearance, the beloved daughter of the [Four Seas Merchant Company], had many outstanding admirers. 

After the lunch banquet.

Ye Qingyu and the others got up and took their leave. 

Passing Wei City and visiting old friends were not the fundamental purpose of his trip. After visiting the Liao family, they left the city and returned to the Light Palace. 

Just as they set foot through the door of the Divine Palace, the silly dog and Old Fish ran back panting. Their mouths were still stained with glistening grease, and a strong smell of alcohol was lingering on their breaths.

Luckily, they did not cause any trouble... 

Ye Qingyu looked at the two figures sprawled out on their backs, dozing off to sleep, and helplessly smiled. The Divine Palace suddenly lifted off and continued northward. 

The next stop was the place that Ye Qingyu most wanted to go.

Deer City.

That was Ye Qingyu's real hometown——