Ironically, after Blake White led his army back home, the six rebel city lords all surrendered one after another. The whole dramatic episode turned North Qin into a laughingstock among the neighboring kingdoms.
Since the six city lords hadn’t done any real damage to North Qin, the king couldn’t punish them too harshly. All he could do was reassign them, hoping to prevent another rebellion.
Little did he know, no matter how he shuffled them around, those city lords were all loyal to Ian Song.
East Prosperia, Ji Clan.
Disguised as Ji Feng, Ethan Ye heard that Mona Meng had also founded her own nation. He couldn’t help but sigh, feeling a bit deflated. He’d planned to compete with Ian Song and beat him to nation-building, but Ian managed it in just over ten years—and then immediately helped Mona Meng seize Heaven-Martial Kingdom.
But soon he pulled himself together, a determined look flashing across his face. "Looks like I’ll have to pick up the pace, or I’ll fall way behind Ian Song!"
The five Hosts who’d come to help Ethan Ye also felt a pang of regret. If only they’d supported Ian Song instead—maybe he’d have helped them build their own nations right after his own. Now, all they could do was envy him. Ethan hadn’t even fully taken control of the Ji Clan yet; trying to seize Prosperia was still a distant dream.
Three years slipped by in a flash.
The Grand Dream God Nation was officially recognized by the surrounding kingdoms and became one of their peers.
Three days later.
The Grand Dream God Nation sent an official letter, hoping to form an alliance with Sky-Song Kingdom.
Naturally, Ian Song didn’t refuse. He agreed to the alliance, and to show sincerity, the Grand Dream God Nation’s monarch herself would visit Sky-Song.
Ten days later.
Mona Meng led a group of Ancestral-realm experts to Sky-Song’s royal capital. As king, Ian Song led his ministers to the city gates to welcome them.
That night.
Ian Song hosted a grand banquet in the palace to welcome the delegation from Grand Dream.
The banquet ended.
Ian Song, Mona Meng, Xavier Cheng, and the others gathered once again.
Next up, it was Xavier Cheng’s turn to found his nation.
He didn’t pick North Qin—it was still too tough a nut to crack. Instead, he chose the Holy-Martial Kingdom.
The Holy-Martial Kingdom was far stronger than the old Heaven-Martial Kingdom, with fifteen major cities and no fewer than twenty-one Ancestral-realm experts.
But for Ian Song, it wasn’t much of a threat. Over those three years, he rarely stayed in the palace—instead, he traveled to other countries, Soul-Seizing many Ancestral-realm experts. Meanwhile, his own cultivation didn’t lag behind; he reached mid-Creator Realm.
After making their plans, Xavier Cheng and the others left, but Mona Meng stayed behind.
Ian Song understood her intentions and didn’t stand on ceremony. After sending everyone else away, he stepped forward, swept Mona Meng into his arms, and headed for the bedroom behind the study. Mona Meng gazed at him with affection, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
"How about we talk first?"
Just as they reached the bed, Mona Meng suddenly spoke, a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"Talking while we do it is even better!"
Ian Song said with a wicked grin.
Mona Meng blushed furiously and pounded Ian Song’s chest with her fist. "You...!"
Before she could finish, Ian Song leaned down and captured her lips, swallowing the rest of her words.
Soon after.
After a deep kiss, Mona Meng was left weak all over, her cheeks flushed. He gently laid her on the bed, removed her clothes, and paused, admiring her.
"What are you doing?"
Mona Meng grew even more embarrassed and asked with a hint of annoyance.
"I'm just thinking, how could someone so stunning end up with me!" Ian Song chuckled, then quickly stripped off his own clothes and joined her.
Early the next morning.
Ian Song woke up and looked at the beautiful woman lying in his arms, feeling a surge of tenderness. He noticed that even in sleep, Mona Meng’s lips curled in a peaceful, satisfied smile.
Since the ministers handled national affairs, Ian Song didn’t need to worry. So he simply pulled Mona Meng into his embrace and closed his eyes again. Sensing this, Mona Meng snuggled closer, like a little cat.
They slept until noon before Ian Song and Mona Meng finally got up.
Several days later.
Holy-Martial Kingdom underwent a dramatic upheaval—the king was replaced, and every city lord supported Xavier Cheng as the new monarch.
Then, Prosperia, Grand Dream, and Sky-Song all sent troops to attack. This time, North Qin didn’t get involved—the king was too cautious. If he sent the army out and another rebellion broke out at home, North Qin would become the biggest joke in the region.
Grand Dream and Sky-Song only made symbolic attacks before withdrawing, but Prosperia went all out. Even so, Holy-Martial unleashed over thirty Ancestral-realm experts and forced Prosperia to suffer the loss of two Ancestrals.
With no other choice, Prosperia had to pull back its troops.
A year later.
Westpeak Kingdom suddenly changed hands overnight—the king abdicated in favor of Gavin Jiang. After taking the throne, Gavin immediately renamed the country Grand Qi God Nation.
"Gavin Jiang really is impressive. It took him less than twenty years to seize Westpeak!"
Sky-Song Palace.
Ian Song spoke with a hint of admiration.
"Should we send troops to wipe him out?"
Mona Meng asked. Ever since she and Ian Song became more than just friends, she’d stayed in Sky-Song. Since all the city lords in her home country were loyal to Ian, and all the ministers and generals were under his control, nothing could go wrong even if she was away.
No one present liked Gavin Jiang, who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.
So, when Mona Meng suggested it, the other four Hosts all wanted to stop Gavin from founding his own nation.
Ian Song wasn’t exactly generous either.
From the very first PK round, he’d been at odds with Gavin Jiang. In the second PK, and again this time, Gavin had tried again and again to kill him.
A gentleman always pays back his grudges, so Ian decided to make trouble for Gavin and block his nation-founding attempt.
So—
He immediately ordered the army to march on Grand Qi God Nation.
To wipe out Gavin in one blow, he secretly assigned fifty Ancestral-realm experts to the expedition.
Seven days later.
Sky-Song’s army arrived at the borders of Grand Qi God Nation.
In just one day, they captured a major city.
(Irrelevant system message skipped.)
When North Qin saw this, they couldn’t sit still—they sent troops to join the attack. At the same time, the king kept close watch on every city lord, worried about another rebellion.
Luckily, this time, none of the city lords showed any signs of rebelling. Everything stayed calm.
Not long after North Qin sent its army, Prosperia joined in too.
Because they were closest to Grand Qi, Prosperia and Westpeak used to support each other—before Westpeak was destroyed. Now that Westpeak had become Grand Qi, there was no reason to keep up the alliance.
Three days later.
Sky-Song captured another city.
Seeing this, North Qin stepped up their assault and, five days later, took a city of their own.
For a while—
Prosperia was green with envy. They pulled together three more Ancestral-realm experts and half a million troops, and after ten days of fierce fighting, finally captured a city. Meanwhile, Sky-Song took two more, and North Qin seized another. In all, Grand Qi lost seven major cities—more than half its urban base. Everyone realized Grand Qi wouldn’t survive this crisis easily.
Grand Qi’s royal capital, inside the palace.
Gavin Jiang’s face was grim. At this critical moment, he activated his backup plan and discovered that Ian Song commanded at least seventy or eighty Ancestral-realm experts.
"How did that bastard manage to subdue so many Ancestral-realm experts?"
Gavin was furious, but even more jealous.
"What should I do?"
Gavin fell deep into thought.
With more than half the major cities lost, the kingdom’s foundations were shaken. If he couldn’t resolve the crisis, his nation-building attempt would fail.
In the end—
He decided to give up and head for the outer realms, planning to found his nation far away from Ian Song.
With Gavin Jiang gone, Grand Qi collapsed. In less than a month, the three kingdoms carved it up.
"I never expected Gavin Jiang to be so decisive—able to pick up and let go just like that!"
Ian Song was disappointed. He’d planned to wait until Gavin was cornered and then deliver the killing blow, but Gavin simply ran away.
"He’s no longer a threat to us!"
Mona Meng chuckled softly.
"True enough!"
Ian Song nodded. Gavin had schemed against him many times but always failed. This time, Gavin’s decade-long plotting had come to nothing. He might hate Ian, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
Two years later, Xavier Cheng succeeded in founding his nation.
Over the next decade or so, the other four Hosts under Ian Song also established their nations. Then, Ye Tian sent a messenger to request Ian’s help.
Ian immediately sent twenty Ancestral-realm experts to assist him.
That year, Ye Tian launched a rebellion. With swift, decisive moves, he seized all of Prosperia within half a year and renamed it Grand Ye God Nation.
After Ye Tian succeeded in founding his nation—
The other five Hosts all came to visit Ian Song, hoping for his help as well.
Since they were all Hosts, Ian had every reason to help. Over the next twenty years, those five Hosts also succeeded in founding their nations.
Except for Gavin Jiang, all thirteen remaining Hosts completed their nation-founding tasks.
Next—
Ian Song and Mona Meng entered the Temple of Time to cultivate in seclusion.
Before they knew it, only three days remained until the mission deadline.
Ian Song and Mona Meng walked out of the Temple of Time together.
After years of secluded cultivation in the Temple of Time and Space, Ian Song’s cultivation had reached the peak of the Creation realm—just one step away from the Ancestral realm. Mona Meng had reached the mid-stage of the Artifact realm, not far from breaking through to the late stage.
At the same time, Ian anticipated—
Once he broke through to the Ancestral realm, his divine soul would undergo nineteen transformations. If he completed all nineteen, he might be able to resist the Chaos realm, and he had already fused ninety-nine percent of the Pangu bloodline.
He thus gained insight into Pangu’s true power.
Pangu was born in the Chaos universe. When he awoke, his power was at the ninth level of the Ancestral realm. After he succeeded in opening the heavens, he comprehended Chaos. Unfortunately, opening the heavens exhausted him. Though he entered Chaos, he was transformed into Chaos itself.
But he didn’t truly die—he merely slept. Perhaps one day, he’ll awaken again.
"Are you nervous?"
Mona Meng looked at Ian Song and asked.
"A little. After all, I’m really curious—just who created the system?" Ian sighed. Scenes from before he got the system flashed through his mind. The system had changed his whole life, setting him on an extraordinary path. Now, at last, he would meet its creator.