“My Imperial Father broke through to the Spiritual Infant Tier!”
“Haha, I just knew Hai Chao’s talent exceeded all our previous generations; indeed, he has led the way to the greatest prosperity of our Qi Clan!”
Qi Chang Yue and the old rain emperor were both excited. Spiritual Infant Tier, that was the most powerful existence in the north region! Not merely unifying the whole Desolate North, but even in the whole of the north region, that kind of existence would be able to get his own acknowledged place.
But as they read on, their expressions immediately darkened.
The Rain Emperor actually wanted to pass on his imperial throne to Ling Han!
Furthermore, the Rain Emperor actually did not supply a clear explanation for such a huge matter, and merely said that they would naturally understand his decision in future.
F***, this was not something as simple as declaring him a king, but related to the imperial throne!
The old and young man were both hesitant. The imperial throne was the most important asset of the Qi Clan, and was also their root. The Qi Clan could allow a lapse in their generations of geniuses, for they would be able to produce a Spiritual Pedestal Tier cultivator just by depending on the power of the whole country, and added with the power of the nation, it was definitely not a problem for them to have someone that could somewhat possess the power of the Flower Blossom Tier.
This practically guaranteed the many years of the imperial authority in the hands of the Qi Clan.
But now, they were to actually hand over the imperial throne? Wouldn’t the Qi Clan be heading downhill, then?
If the Rain Emperor was personally here, then with his forcefulness as well as his current ability as a Spiritual Infant Tier cultivator, even if the old rain emperor and Qi Chang Yue had disagreements, they would not dare to say much. But if there was only a single letter, then the persuasiveness of it was greatly reduced.
Ling Han saw this, and said calmly, “The Rain Emperor is my sworn big brother. We brothers naturally have reasons for our actions, and you all need only to do as we say! I have not yet gone to the point of taking a mere Rain Country seriously; it is only that there is a ready-made army here, and power of the nation has to be plundered with the form of a nation. Otherwise, I would not care about such a tiny place.
“The first step is to unify the whole of the Desolate North, and the second is to conquer the north region. The third step is to unify all four regions under one ruler, and then ally with the Purple Moon Empire of the middle state to help them… cut the cake,” Ling Han recited smoothly.
Cut, cut the cake 1 ?
Both the old Rain Emperor and Qi Chang Yue felt like passing out; what a lofty and grand ambition it was to unify all four regions, but the purpose of doing so was actually to combine forces with another party in order to cut a cake? Did you have too much free time!?
Ling Han could not bother with more pointless talk, and said to Qi Chang Yue, “Just prepare to abdicate. This time, it is me, a senior, who is bullying you, so there will, of course, be compensation.” He waved out a hand casually, and alchemical pills and various secret techniques were spread out all over the table.
Before coming here, he had naturally made appropriate preparations.
“Heaven Grade cultivation technique!”
“Furthermore… it’s a complete one with all nine layers! One would be able to break through to the Heaven Tier by cultivating accordingly!”
“Heavens, there’s even a Heaven Grade martial arts technique!”
“This, this, this, this, this is an Earth Grade alchemical pill!”
The old rain emperor and Qi Chang Yue exclaimed in shock, their faces twitching madly.
Some treasures could be considered priceless, but there were some treasures… that were even more valuable than a country, such as Heaven Grade cultivation and martial arts techniques and Earth Grade alchemical pills. But now, these things were laid out in front of them like they were worth nothing.
This was more than enough to buy the whole Rain Country, and with these resources in the hands of the Qi Clan, as long as there appeared a genius after many years in their clan, then once he advanced to the Heaven Tier, he would be able to conquer a hundred or even ten thousand Rain Countries again.
After the old and young man got over their excitement, they realized that there was no longer any sign of Ling Han.
“Elder, what do we do?” Qi Chang Yue asked the old rain emperor. Since this concerned the imperial throne, the decision naturally had to be made by this strongest elite of their clan.
“Immediately abdicate!” the old rain emperor declared resolutely. Wasn’t being capable of handing out so many treasures without even a slight frown a clear indication of Ling Han’s wealth as well as his terrifying prowess?
… Without power, how could he possibly hand out so many things?
The old rain emperor was very ambitious and greedy, but he knew that there were some small advantages that could not be coveted, as it could lead to deadly ruin!
However, even if Qi Chang Yue took these things for himself, Ling Han would not kill them, either. After all, they were the senior relative and son of the Rain Emperor. At most, he would draw the two of them into the Black Tower to be imprisoned and handed over to the Rain Emperor in the future.
He returned to the Ling Clan Residence, drew everyone into the Black Tower, and returned once more to the Rain Country.
Zhu Xuan Er, the Li Siblings, Yuan Cheng He, and the others appeared one after another. The Rock Spirit and Helian Xun Xue, especially, were in the Deity Transformation and Heaven Tier, respectively, so everyone’s aura was incredibly terrifying.
The old rain emperor felt unbearably anxious, and was exceptionally glad that he had not had any inappropriate ideas. Otherwise, any person here would be able to easily crush him. He hurriedly urged Qi Chang Yue to abdicate to avoid any delays causing Ling Han to feel displeased and think that they were planning some tricks.
This person had spoken the truth. His power was enough to unify the whole north region, so there was no need for him to covet the Rain Country and moreover hand out so many treasures as compensation.
However, even if Qi Chang Yue was very cooperative, it was not that simple to abdicate. It had vast implications. After all, what Ling Han wanted was not merely a country by name, but a country in which every citizen was loyal so that there would be power of nation available for his use.
He deployed Yuan Cheng He and the others into the army. It was, firstly, to subdue the hearts of the military forces, and secondly, to retrain the troops following the methods of the Purple Moon Empire. He had already taught these methods to Yuan Cheng He, Li Feng Yu, and the others on their way here.
In truth, there were only a few key factors: discipline, cooperation, and courage.
Qi Chang Yue finally settled the various important ministers as well as the eight great clans of the Imperial City—Ling Han only had the Rock Spirit make a short round, and everyone naturally was terrified out of their wits, so who would dare to say another word in disagreement?
Half a month later, the abdication ceremony began. Qi Chang Yue abdicated, Ling Han inherited the throne, and changed the official name of the nation to “Ling”, with the name as the Great Ling Dynasty.
Ling Han did not want to waste even the slightest bit of time, and immediately bestowed the title of general to Yuan Cheng He and Li Feng Yue. Each of them led a troop and began an expedition to conquer the remaining eight countries of the Desolate North.
The key of this war was conquest, and not slaughter. As much as possible, they were to avoid damage.
With an elite at the peak of the Spiritual Infant Tier and an elite at the peak of the Flower Blossom Tier as commanding officer, how could they not be invincible? In merely a month’s time, the two great armies had utterly defeated the other eight nations; even assembling an allied army was useless, and they could only raise a white flag in surrender.
Ling Han could no longer suppress his cultivation level, and was forced to break through to the Deity Transformation Tier.
His initial plan was to continue suppressing his cultivation for a while longer. After all, the rate of his breaking through was too fast, but he was really incapable of suppressing it any longer, and could only choose to break through.
Deity Transformation Tier, that was to transform the Spiritual Infant inside his body into a Deity.
Naturally, that was transformation into a Deity inside his own body, and this was another leap.
To Ling Han, this step was incredibly easy to take. Firstly, he had really accumulated too much energy, and secondly, in his last life, he had already taken this step. As a result, it was natural that everything progressed smoothly.
“And now I’m already in the Deity Transformation Tier!” Ling Han was very rueful. He had originally thought that in this lifetime, he would only be able to return to the Heaven Tier in his thirties, but from the looks of things, he would probably be able to do so in another one or two years’ time.
Firstly, the environment for martial arts in this lifetime was really too good, and secondly, it was also because he had obtained the Black Tower that could endlessly provide cultivation resources for his use, and added together with the fact that he himself was the Alchemy Emperor, it was natural that his cultivation rate was even faster than before.
“Next, we should launch a military campaign in the north region.”
Chapter 749 - Arriving at the Winter Moon Sect
Translator: Henyee Editor: Henyee
Setting out to conquer the north region was not only for the purpose of expanding territory and strengthening the power of the nation. There was another significance to this course of action, and that was to settle the feud with the Winter Moon Sect once and for all.
Ling Dong Xing had already reached the peak of the Spiritual Pedestal Tier, but for making the last step to advance to the Flower Blossom Tier, theoretically, he would still need a dozen, or even twenty, years’ time. However, Ling Dong Xing could not wait that long, and neither could Ling Han.
If it was another person, they could only watch and wait helplessly, but Ling Han was the Alchemy Emperor; so what if his talent was a bit weak?
Consume alchemical pills!
There were as many as hundred stalks of Dragon Blood Tyrant Ginseng by now, and aside from setting a few aside for sowing, the rest could all be used as medicinal ingredients; how scary was that?
Ling Dong Xing forcefully raised his cultivation to the Flower Blossom Tier, and added with the fact that Ling Han had already established a nation and taken control of a massive territory, he, Ling Dong Xing, was revered as father of the reigning emperor, and was naturally capable of using the power of the nation. With the continuing expansion of the Ling Empire, the power of the nation would only become stronger and stronger.
Could such a Ling Dong Xing still be incapable of defeating Ao Feng?
Before setting out, Ling Han went once more to the old mine area in the Fire Country. Innumerable powerful elites were buried underground there, and could very possibly become the means to learn Underworld cultivation and open the way to the Underworld. To this realm, that similarly was an incomparably awful matter.
Ling Han was currently racing against time. Not only did he have to split open the skies before the five sects of the Immortal Realm made their move, but also had to do it before a bunch of living corpses did.
When he arrived, that giant silver spider actually appeared. It moved its giant legs that seemed akin to divine spears, and was breathing in the direction of the moon, seeming as if it was absorbing the essence of the moon.
The higher his cultivation level, the more terrifying he sensed this giant spider was.
An awesome creature on the level of a fifteen-eyed Great Corpse King!
This giant silver spider should have just happened to venture out to cultivate, and he had just so coincidentally come upon it. Otherwise, with how this giant spider disdained to cast a glance on him, how could it be possible that it would deliberately come out for him?
Ling Han estimated his own battle prowess.
The higher the cultivation level, the more difficult it was to battle an opponent on a higher cultivation level. That applied to Ling Han as well. After he had advanced into the Deity Transformation Tier, Ling Han’s current battle prowess was gauged as one Star of the Heaven Tier, but when he’d previously broken through to the Spiritual Infant Tier, his battle prowess could match nine Battle Stars of the Deity Transformation Tier.
However, he was still the emperor of the Great Ling Dynasty, and as long as he was still in his own territory, he could draw upon the power of the nation to strengthen his own battle prowess.
This could add on another Star of battle prowess to him, and this was still the power upgrade he had after he had united the whole Desolate North.
If he could unify the whole north region as well, then the power upgrade would at least be five Stars, and with the unifying of all four regions… that would be even more awesome. Reaching ten Stars would be more than enough—on the condition that Ling Han’s body could withstand such terrifying power of the nation.
With the instillation of power from the Black Tower, his battle prowess naturally spiked to the Shattering Void Tier, but the key was, how many Stars of Shattering Void Tier could he reach?
After all, the Desolate North was too small. Although it helped him to add on another Battle Star of battle prowess onto the foundations of Heaven Tier, in the case of the Shattering Void Tier, this increase could practically be ignored.
He was definitely still unable to defeat this giant spider.
Or so Ling Han thought. Shaking his head, he gave up the idea of wanting to investigate further. After all, it would be too wasteful to use the instillation of power from the Black Tower here.
He was just planning to turn around and leave when he stopped in his steps.
Although the old mine area was eternally enshrouded in black mist, and seemed eerie and frightful, this time, it looked even worse. That black mist was thicker than before as if it had turned solid. It was as black as ink, which made it appear even more terrifying.
Those people underground… were coming out?
Ling Han pricked up his ears to listen closely. There seemed to be someone whispering in the surroundings, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not clearly hear what was being said, just as if it was the talk of ghosts.
He left. This place was too bizarre, and extremely freaky. Without enough power, it would be best if he did not hang out around here.
The army moved and set out towards Fallen Moon Forge, starting a full invasion of the north region.
Ling Han revealed his status as a Heaven Grade alchemist, and everywhere he passed, the Alchemist Society would be the first to surrender. What a joke; he was a Heaven Grade alchemist, and to them, he was their God. Now that their God wanted them to follow him, how could they refuse?
And the Alchemist Society’s status was in a league of its own. They possessed vast influence, which led to many cities directly surrendering without a battle.
What Ling Han wanted to do, on the contrary, was not to conquer the whole world—it would be too easy for him to conquer the north region; any general under his command would be an invincible existence in any region.
What was most important to cultivators? Power, naturally!
With enough power, others naturally could only submit. Furthermore, it was not something unacceptable for them to accept a Heaven Grade alchemist as their liege.
After a mere seven days, they had advanced all the way to the front of the mountain gates of the Winter Moon Sect.
The last time he’d been here, only with the instillation of power from the Black Tower could he manage to match an elite of the Spiritual Infant Tier, but now… his normal battle prowess had already advanced to the Heaven Tier, and could practically match his prowe
ss in his last life. If the instillation of power from the Black Tower was included, he could even match a Shattering Void Tier elite and destroy this sect with a single finger.
“Your Majesty, do we attack immediately?” a young man asked. He was Jin Wuji, and had met Ling Han long ago in Da Yuan City. At the time, he had even fought Ling Han because of his younger brother.
At that time, he had not followed the others to the Winter Moon Sect. Instead, he had married a beautiful bride and began to enjoy life, but now with Ling Han’s return, he, too, enlisted into the army to assist Ling Han.
He had just broken through into the Spiritual Ocean Tier, so his power was naturally not something that Ling Han cared about. However, what Ling Han needed were people that he could trust enough, and thus Jin Wuji was naturally placed in an important position.
But there were even more of his old acquaintances that were in the Winter Moon Sect. The first target of attack was the Winter Moon Sect—firstly because it was indeed very near, and secondly because Ling Han wanted to gather these old friends of his under his banner.
Ling Han nodded, and said, “Small Rock, you take the lead!”
The Rock Spirit cried out, and began its charge towards the Winter Moon Sect.
It had now broken through to the Deity Transformation Tier, and added with the special traits it had as a spirit of one of the five elements, its battle prowess could match a cultivator at the peak of the Deity Transformation Tier. A single punch had shattered the Mountain Protection Great Array that the Winter Moon Sect had.
Ling Han invited Ling Dong Xing out. The feud between himself and Ao Feng naturally had to be settled by him personally. This was a hatred that Ling Dong Xing had nursed for twenty years.
With the havoc caused by the Rock Spirit, the Winter Moon Sect could practically be considered having completely surrendered.
The law of martial arts was power was might. Since the Rock Spirit was so awesome, the Winter Moon Sect had naturally lost their fighting spirit, and as the army of millions called out in unison that those who surrendered would not be killed, everyone naturally handed over their weapons and obediently surrendered.
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 384