Ian Song didn't even make it to second place; he was ranked third.
He didn't mind at all—first or third, it didn't matter. Either way, he'd made it through the Immortal Kingdom War.
The next moment, Ian turned to Lynn Ning and said, "Lynn, do you or Mona Meng have anything left to say? If you do, better hurry—looks like we'll be sent back to our own Immortal Worlds any second now!"
"Okay!"
Lynn Ning nodded, then walked off with Mona Meng. The two began whispering quietly to each other.
Meanwhile, Xavier Cheng and the others all came over to Ian Song to thank him. Without Ian, they probably wouldn't have survived the Host War, let alone earned one of the hundred slots.
Just then—
Countless beams of light appeared, sweeping up all the Hosts who hadn't made the top hundred and instantly whisking them off the platform.
Their cultivation and memories would be wiped, their Systems stripped away—they'd become ordinary people again.
Pretty tragic—hundreds of years of effort, gone in an instant.
Thankfully, the System is at least humane—it wipes their memories too. Otherwise, if they had to live as ordinary people while remembering everything, they'd probably go mad and kill themselves.
After that—
A hundred space-time passages appeared on the platform. By sensing the aura, each of the hundred Hosts could easily tell which one led back to their own world.
"Everyone, let's meet again if fate allows!"
Ian Song waved to Mona Meng and the others, then sent out a surge of true essence to wrap up Lynn Ning and his followers, tossing them straight into their space-time passage.
A moment later, Ian and his group were back in the Langya Immortal World—still inside the imperial palace.
The instant his feet touched the Immortal World, Ian frowned.
He could clearly sense rejection from the Heavenly Dao.
Even though he'd held back in the Host War and hadn't killed that many, just from absorbing the cultivation of over a dozen people, his immortal yuan force was now almost at nineteenth-layer Ancestral Immortal.
Other Immortal Worlds might tolerate a nineteenth-layer Ancestral Immortal, but Langya definitely wouldn't.
So now, he only had two choices: either trigger God Tribulation and try to ascend, or be erased by the Heavenly Dao.
Just then—
A crowd of wives and female companions entered, led by Hannah Murong.
"Your Majesty!"
"Husband!"
"Big Brother!"
"Young Master!"
Except for Hannah Murong, everyone else stuck to their usual way of addressing him.
With a casual wave, Ian Song released the restrictions on Marcus Five-Gates and said, "You're free now. Go on, get lost!"
"Your Majesty, I wish to keep serving you!"
But Marcus Five-Gates refused to leave.
Ian Song glanced at him in surprise, then said, "Fine, you can keep following me. From now on, you'll serve as Zane's personal guardian."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Marcus couldn't help but feel delighted. Zane Song was the Immortal Emperor of Great Qin, so being appointed his guardian was sure to bring plenty of benefits once Zane officially took the throne.
"We wish to follow Your Majesty forever! Please don't abandon us!"
At that moment, all the fifth-rank immortals who'd fought in the Immortal Kingdom War with him knelt before Ian Song.
"I won't be staying in the Langya Immortal World much longer!"
Ian said in a solemn voice, "From now on, you all should devote yourselves to Zane!"
"Your Majesty, we can also try to trigger God Tribulation and ascend!"
But the eleven Ancestral Immortals weren't willing to give up.
Since they were so loyal, Ian didn't have the heart to refuse. He nodded and said, "Alright, go get some rest for now. I'll arrange for your God Tribulation soon."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The eleven Ancestral Immortals were overjoyed.
Meanwhile, Rachel Xuan and the others couldn't help but look envious.
"Don't be discouraged. With your talent, you'll reach God Tribulation sooner or later. These are your rewards—take them!"
As he spoke, Ian Song waved his hand and sent hundreds of Storage Rings flying over, each packed with immortal stones and pills—enough for them to cultivate up to fifteenth-layer Ancestral Immortal.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Everyone thanked him again.
"Go on!"
Ian Song waved them away.
Soon, only Ian Song, Lynn Ning, and his wives remained here.
The next several days passed.
Ian Song spent all his time with Hannah Murong.
None of the other women minded, since Ian would take them with him when he ascended to the God Realm. Only Hannah Murong would stay behind in the Immortal World.
Zane Song was still too young and weak to truly control the Great Qin Immortal Kingdom, so Hannah Murong had to remain as his support.
Another ten days passed.
Ian Song gathered all his children together and gave them a final round of instructions.
Three days later.
Ian Song issued an imperial edict: he would abdicate and pass the throne to Crown Prince Zane Song.
The entire Immortal World was shaken—Heaven-Pacifying Immortal Emperor had only ruled for a few centuries, so why was he abdicating so soon?