Sovereign of the Three Realms

In a rare moment of agreement, Wei Wuying nodded, concurring with Dan Chi. “Palace Head Dan Chi’s words are exceedingly right. Everyone now knows that the Ninesuns Sky Sect is covetously eyeing our Myriad Domain, but even so, I don’t believe that they’ll dare openly invade us. After all, they’re not the only first rank sect in the Upper Eight Realms. But if they use the strategy of defeating us one by one, like how they infiltrated the Tristar Sect, then it would be exceedingly difficult to defend against them.”

Honored Master Tian Ming also nodded. “Those words make sense. Who would’ve thought that the Tristar Sect was secretly being controlled by the Sky Sect? To put it bluntly, it’s hard for any of the sects here to guarantee that there are no eyes and ears of opposing forces present in any of us. It will be difficult to hold fast to an alliance.”

Xiang Wentian didn’t grow angry when he saw that everyone was against his idea. It seemed to be well within his expectations. He smiled confidently, not speaking until everyone was done. “All of what you speak of makes great sense. I ask you another question, could these situations have occurred when the Myriad Empire was strong?”

When the Myriad Empire was at its strongest, the power of the empire ranked far above all the sects. Imperial power controlled the entire region, and none of the sects dared ignore any of the commands it issued. It could be said that to hear their edict was to obey. Any word from the Myriad Empire royal family was virgin gold and solid rock, and all powers beneath it had to answer the call without the slightest delay. That was because the Myriad Empire had been the weathervane of the Myriad Domain, and the ruler of it all.

With a liege and centralized power, everyone naturally knew where they should sink their efforts. Even if they had their own personal ambitions, no one dared openly do anything that would ruin the greater picture. The world of martial dao was one in which the strong were worshipped and the weak flocked to the strong, after all.

With a strong Myriad Domain, the various powers under the Myriad Empire’s banner had also benefitted as well. That was why the Myriad Empire had then created the most glorious era in Myriad Domain history. This was why later descendants honored them in remembrance and why everyone still held that time in memory with pride. At the heart of it all was one word—strength. They had grown so strong that the Great Scarlet Mid Region neighboring them had grown uneasy. This strength naturally had the ability to make all the sects in the Myriad Domain submit wholeheartedly to them. Thus, the developments that Dan Chi had spoken of wouldn’t have happened in the time of the Myriad Empire.

Xiang Wentian smiled faintly, “I trust everyone is familiar with the history of the Myriad Empire. Only a strong empire and a strong core power will be able to lead the Myriad Domain into ever stronger heights. Therefore, an alliance is only the first step. The future of the Myriad Domain still lies in rebuilding the Myriad Empire and reforging our days of glory!” Xiang Wentian finally voiced his true intentions—rebuilding the Myriad Empire!

This was the childhood dream of every cultivator in the Myriad Domain. This was also the goal that the various sects in the Myriad Domain had all been silently working towards. However, they all had an unspoken accord and no one had ever voiced these words before. Yet Xiang Wentian had finally broken that accord today, and said it openly at such a gathering. This also meant that the status quo had been broken, and the situation of the five fourth rank sects in the Myriad Domain would very possibly be upended after today. Was the Great Cathedral finally showing its fangs after biding its time for so many years?

The heavyweights of the other sects all had complicated expressions on their faces for a moment. Honored Master Tian Min, Wei Wuying, Dan Chi, and Wang Jianyu all stared solemnly at Xiang Wentian. The second and third rate sects didn’t even dare breathe loudly. It was apparent that they knew this was an arena solely reserved for the heavyweight sects. They could only go with the flow, and had no right to speak at all.

Wang Jianyu was the first to step out. “Ole brother Xiang, how difficult will it be to rebuild the Myriad Empire? Do you think the Great Scarlet will allow us to do so easily?”

“I ask you only this, is everyone content to forever see the Myriad Domain below others, dominated and underfoot? Do we have to live out our days in fear? Depending on the favor of others?”

“That’s true, but the problem isn’t that. Isn’t it too early to speak of rebuilding the empire? Who will be in charge of doing so? The Great Cathedral?” Wang Jianyu was just as hotly ambitious as any other sect head. He naturally wasn’t willing for the Great Cathedral to take the reins of power.

“Whoever shall obtain the Imperial Jade Seal and Guardian Dragon Seal will be put in charge.” Xiang Wentian flicked a faint glance at Wang Jianyu. “Younger brother Wang, do you have some personal ambitions in mind, what with all the objections you’re bringing to the table?”

Wang Jianyu spoke coldly, “And does elder brother Xiang not have any plans in mind?”

Xiang Wentian laughed. “Everyone has their own goals in mind, which is why I proposed that whoever obtains the national treasures shall be in charge of rebuilding the empire.”

“And so I wonder where they are.” Wang Jianyu snorted coldly.

“Since rumors about them have appeared, we must treat them seriously. Whoever has the greatest fortune will obtain them. Wang Jianyu, you’ve always believed yourself the favored son of heaven. Why are you so lacking in confidence?”

“Elder brother Xiang, it may be that all of us discovers the treasures at the same time when they appear. Who do they belong to then?” Honored Master Tian Ming smiled.

“It’s simple, we’ll settle it by force then. In the Myriad Grand Ceremony, the strong are revered. Whichever genius can obtain the top slot in the ranking shall win the two treasures for their sect. That sect head will be in charge of rebuilding the empire, and the other sects must support them wholeheartedly.”

Settle it by force?

The other sects all smiled ruefully. If it came down to martial strength, the Great Cathedral naturally had the advantage as the strongest sect. Whether it was Xiang Qin or Yue Baize, they were almost invincible amongst the younger generation in the Myriad Domain. They were double insurance for the Great Cathedral!

“Elder brother Xiang, what a nice plan, hmm!” Wang Jianyu snorted coldly.

Xiang Wentian responded lightly, “You don’t need to be sarcastic, Wang Jianyu. We still need strength to execute some matters, no matter how difficult they may be. If the Myriad Domain maintains its status quo as a pile of loose sand, then we’ll become someone’s vassals in less than thirty years. At that time, our family, our descendants, and generations thereof will be enslaved and be lower than any others. Do any of you want this to develop?”

These weren’t words of an alarmist. Even the slowest person could see now that the Myriad Domain was indeed in a perilous situation.

Xiang Wentian spread out his hands. “My Great Cathedral doesn’t want to make unilateral pronouncements either. We can vote to decide if we want to rebuild the empire. The fate of the Myriad Domain will affect everyone here, so all sects should have voting rights.”

Wang Jianyu wasn’t actually against rebuilding the Myriad Empire, he was just against the Great Cathedral holding all the power.

“Right, let’s take a vote!”

“The fate of the Myriad Domain should be decided as a group!” The various smaller sects also started speaking up.

Palace Head Dan Chi was highly in favor of rebuilding, but he felt that now wasn’t the proper time for such a thing. In addition, he’d always viewed rebuilding the empire as his duty to bear. Now that he saw the Great Cathedral steal a march on him, but the Regal Pill Palace not having enough power yet to contest it, he couldn’t help but be a bit dejected. Even so, he didn’t lose his sense of reason.

“Palace Head, we have no need to object. The Great Cathedral has come prepared, but has obviously chosen a bad timing. We just need to sit still and observe what happens.” Jiang Chen hadn’t spoken all along, but chose this time to pass along a silent message to Dan Chi at this time. Jiang Chen could understand the Great Cathedral’s ambitions. He was also rather admiring of the Great Cathedral’s courage. However, it was an obvious misstep to talk about rebuilding the empire at this time. Right now, the Great Cathedral couldn’t fend off external enemies such as the Ninesuns Sky Sect, nor could they unite the fourth rank sects within the Myriad Domain under their rule.

Just as Jiang Chen had anticipated, the Great Cathedral had done their homework this time. The majority of the fifth rank and sixth rank sects actually supported them rebuilding the Myriad Empire! Only the Sacred Sword Palace, the Walkabout Sect, and the small sects who were closer to them voted against. The Regal Pill Palace and the Dark North Sect both abstained from the vote. In this way, seventy to eighty percent of the sects were in support of rebuilding the empire. It appeared that the Great Cathedral was acting in accordance with public consensus.

“What say you, younger brother Wang and Wei?” Xiang Wentian looked at Wang Jianyu and Wei Wuying with narrowed eyes.

“Hmph, the Great Cathedral obviously came prepared. What else can I say? Since elder brother Xiang has the ability to rebuild the empire, my Sacred Sword Palace will be awaiting those developments then.” Wang Jianyu harrumphed coolly.

Wei Wuying smiled ruefully, “Since this is something that the people want, my Walkabout Sect has nothing to say either. If the Great Cathedral can indeed obtain the Imperial Jade Seal and Guardian Dragon Seal, then we will absolutely support you.”

……

Just as the Myriad Grand Ceremony had gotten underway in full force, the neighboring Great Scarlet royal family had summoned a few of its largest powers for a meeting. The Great Scarlet emperor was sitting loftily on a dragon seat, emanating an imposing and regal demeanor. He was an extreme expert of sixth level emperor realm, capable of summoning the wind and rains with a flip of his hand. He had great power in the Great Scarlet Mid Region.

The sects who had been summoned this time were all the largest sects in the region. There were three third rank sects, and almost twenty fourth rank sects in attendance.

“Everyone, we’ve received some news lately that the Imperial Jade Seal and Guardian Dragon Seal of the old Myriad Empire will reappear soon. Although that empire has been destroyed, the pathetic ants of the Myriad Domain still haven’t changed their nature and still cling onto the glory of their Myriad Empire. As long as their hopes of rising from the ashes remain, they still remain a threat to us.” The emperor spoke.

“Your Majesty, a mere Myriad Domain is just a dancing clown. We can send out our armies and arrive on the border with but a single command from Your Majesty. Within ten days, we can raze the Myriad Domain to the ground.” The one speaking was a third rank sect head. Although his strength wasn’t on par with the emperor, he was very close.

“Your Majesty, why worry about small things like these? It’s said that the strongest sect of the Myriad Domain has reached but ninth level sage realm. This kind of strength isn’t worthy worrying about at all!”

“Brother Meng, you speak incorrectly. The centipede can go on wriggling even when he’s already dead. Even though the Myriad Domain may not amount to much now, they still hold some ceremony every thirty years as a propaganda for hate against our Great Scarlet. In my opinion, they’ll likely forget what pain is once their wounds heal. We need to teach them a lesson again.”

“Hey, what are we all arguing about? His Majesty must have a plan; we have been summoned here for a reason. Let’s listen to his words.” It was apparent that the emperor had great authority in the Great Scarlet Mid Region. Everyone grew silent, looking up at the emperor and waiting for the imperial order.