On the altar.
Even the Mistveil Martial God's projection was shattered; Elder Colin Qing, Nian Yi, and Elder Zachary Zhang no longer resisted and allowed themselves to be captured.
Although the Heaven-sacrifice ceremony was interrupted midway, Ian Song's prestige as Grand Martial Emperor was not diminished—in fact, it rose even higher.
After Nian Yi and the others were taken away, the ceremony continued.
With both the Heaven-sacrifice and enthronement ceremonies complete, it was time for the third stage: conferring titles on the empress, consorts, and officials.
Ian Song sat high on the dragon throne, radiating imperial authority, and declared in a clear voice: "By my decree, Harriet Gu is named Empress of the Grand Martial Empire; Lynn Ning is named Consort Ling; Snow Yue is named Consort Xue. Elder Bu, Elder Jason Jiang, Cole Chong Duan, Elder Shea Gu, Grace Gao, and Jason Chen are appointed Cabinet Ministers. Raymond Lei is named Grand General...!"
With the consorts and officials appointed, the conferral ceremony was complete.
Ian Song's gaze fell on Xander Xuanyuan and the other six founders of Sanctum Martial Academy standing on the altar: "By imperial decree, from this day forward, Sanctum Martial Academy shall be the Empire's First Academy!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
All six of Xander Xuanyuan's group knelt to the ground, overwhelmed with excitement.
An hour later.
Ian Song returned to the Imperial Palace, but instead of handling memorials, he went straight to a secret chamber.
With a thought, his consciousness sank into his sea of awareness.
When the golden pillar of qi-luck merged into him earlier, his strength had instantly soared to a terrifying level—he even suspected he was now as strong as a Martial God.
But since he had never met a Martial God, nor fought one, he couldn't be certain what his true level was.
After battling the Martial God's projection, though, he felt much more confident.
He had shattered the Mistveil Martial God's projection without even using a tenth of his power. If that projection truly had one-tenth of the real Martial God's strength, then Ian's cultivation was already a notch above the Mistveil Martial God.
But this overwhelming power made him uneasy. The golden pillar of qi-luck, while merged into his body, hadn't truly fused with him; more accurately, the qi-luck was merely residing inside him.
Besides, the Son of Heaven Dragon Fist could only be activated with qi-luck. Ian strongly suspected that if he ever stopped being emperor, the qi-luck would leave him—and this seemed very likely.
As for why the qi-luck descended upon him, he guessed it was because he had founded the empire.
With this thought, he began to analyze: if qi-luck is closely tied to the empire, then the stronger the empire, the greater the qi-luck within me. But if the empire weakens, my qi-luck will fade.
Of course, this was just a guess—whether qi-luck is truly linked to national strength still needs to be verified.
Within ten days, news that the emperor had shattered the Martial God’s projection spread like wildfire. Ordinary people felt proud to have such a powerful emperor; the major sects, however, grew even more wary of Ian Song.
Oblivion Peak, one of the Human Race’s forbidden lands.
It was also the secluded home of the Oblivion Martial God, one of the three Martial Gods.
"Brother Huang, you’ve got a remarkable son! Come, Great-Grand-Master wants to see you!" An old man beamed at Yellow Mountain, his eyes tinged with envy.
"Ah! Great-Grand-Master wants to see me?"
Yellow Mountain was stunned. "By the way, Senior Zhu, what do you mean by saying I have a remarkable son?"
Since returning to Oblivion Peak, Yellow Mountain had been immersed in cultivation, rarely concerning himself with other matters. In just over three years, he had advanced to the peak of Great Grandmaster, only a step away from Martial Saint.
His wife Lydia Liu was also diligent in her training and had reached the early Great Grandmaster stage.
"You only care about cultivation and never pay attention to your son!" Senior Brother Zhu said, half annoyed.
"What’s that kid done now? Don’t tell me he’s gotten into trouble again?" Yellow Mountain asked worriedly.
"He has, and it’s a big one!" Senior Brother Zhu replied with a serious face.
"Senior Zhu, what exactly did that kid do? Can you tell me?" Yellow Mountain asked anxiously.
"He shattered the Mistveil Martial God's projection and thoroughly offended the Mistveil Martial God!" Senior Brother Zhu sighed, his eyes full of shock.
A Martial God’s projection carries a tenth of the real Martial God’s power. To destroy it means his strength has already surpassed Martial Saint!
Hearing that his own son had shattered a Martial God’s projection, Yellow Mountain couldn't believe it. He exclaimed, "Impossible! Three years ago, that kid was just at the Grandmaster stage. Even with the best talent, he should only be Great Grandmaster now. How could he possibly defeat a Martial God’s projection? Senior Zhu, are you joking with me?"
"To be honest, Brother Huang, I didn’t believe it either when I first heard. But it’s true. Come on, let’s go—don’t keep Great-Grand-Master waiting!"
"Yes! Yes!"
Yellow Mountain nodded repeatedly, then followed Senior Brother Zhu, his mind heavy with worry, into a strange stone forest.
These stone forests came in all shapes and sizes—some looked like people, others like animals. At the center sat a slightly plump, white-haired elder in meditation.
He was the Oblivion Martial God, one of the three Martial Gods of the Human Race.
"Disciple Yellow Mountain greets Great-Grand-Master."
Yellow Mountain knelt to the ground and paid deep respect.
"Rise."
An ancient voice sounded directly in Yellow Mountain’s mind.
"Thank you, Great-Grand-Master!" Yellow Mountain said gratefully.
"I’ve called you here today to give you a task!" The Oblivion Martial God’s voice echoed in his mind again.
"Please instruct me, Great-Grand-Master."
"Your son, Leon Huang, has now unified the Human world and founded an empire. But this goes against Heaven’s Dao. I want you to persuade him to dissolve the empire!"
"Ah!"
Hearing this, Yellow Mountain was stunned. He also recalled his son’s old dream—to unify the Human Race and lead humanity to defeat the Demon and Monster races.
He never imagined that in just a few years, his son would actually unify humanity. Back then, he’d even scolded him for being unrealistic.
"If he’s willing to dissolve the empire, I’ll accept him as my disciple!" the Oblivion Martial God’s voice continued.
"Great-Grand-Master, I have a question I shouldn’t ask: Is there a specific reason you want my son to dissolve the empire?" Yellow Mountain wasn’t foolish—he didn’t believe simply founding an empire violated Heaven’s Dao.
"You don’t need to know the reason. Go now!" The Oblivion Martial God began to dismiss him.
Thud!
Yellow Mountain knelt again, his face full of terror. "Great-Grand-Master, please forgive my boldness, but I can't accept this order. My son once told me his wish: he unified humanity not for power, but to lead the Human Race to defeat the Demon and Monster races!"
The Oblivion Martial God sneered, "Arrogant! The Demon and Monster races aren’t so easily destroyed. Forget about wiping them out—our Human Race is lucky to even survive in this world. Do you know why the Demon and Monster races haven’t launched a full-scale attack? It’s because they know we’re scattered and divided. Now your son has founded an empire and united our strength. It may look like we’re stronger, but in truth, this is courting death—it’s pushing humanity toward extinction!"
Hearing this, Yellow Mountain turned deathly pale. After a long struggle, he kowtowed three times to the Oblivion Martial God and said, "I accept the order."
As soon as Yellow Mountain left, two figures appeared in the stone forest.
One was a blue-robed middle-aged man—if Ian Song were here, he’d recognize him as the Mistveil Martial God. The other was a beautiful girl who looked seventeen or eighteen, but her eyes held ancient sorrow; she was the Heavenreach Martial God, one of the three Martial Gods.