After centuries, Victor Huang was still emperor. The ministers had changed countless times, so none of them recognized Ian Song, the founding emperor. But when they saw Victor kneel, they quickly realized—the young man before them was the legendary Grand Emperor.
At once, they all knelt in salute:
"Greetings to the Grand Emperor! Long live the Grand Emperor!"
"Everyone, rise."
Ian Song raised his hand slightly.
"Thank you, Father Emperor."
"Thank you, Grand Emperor."
Half a quarter-hour later, in the imperial study, Ian Song sat at the head seat while Emperor Victor Huang respectfully stood below.
"Sit down and talk. No need for formality between father and son!"
Ian Song smiled.
"Thank you, Father."
"Just call me Father."
"Father!"
Victor Huang called out quickly, his eyes a little misty.
After the father and son caught up for a while, Ian Song asked, "You're planning to attack the Upper World?"
"Yes, Father, I really do have this idea." With that, Victor Huang laid out his plan in full.
Ian Song said, "You're too naive, and your understanding of the Upper World is far too shallow. If I hadn't come back in time, this time you might've ended up battered and bloody—or even dead!"
Victor Huang never doubted Ian Song's words. Even after ruling as emperor for centuries, he still held deep respect for Ian in his heart.
"Father, is the Upper World really that terrifying?"
Ian Song chuckled, "A Martial God is already an unbeatable existence in the Lower World, but in the Upper World, Martial Gods barely count as mid-tier experts. The strongest Human Immortals there can wipe out a city with a wave, shatter mountains with a step. Those tech weapons that work against Martial Gods? To Human Immortals, they're just toys!"
Hearing this, Victor Huang couldn't help showing deep regret and disappointment in his eyes. He hadn't expected that centuries of preparation had all been for nothing.
Just then, Ian Song changed the subject: "Of course, if you really want to conquer the Upper World, I can help you. But honestly, the achievements here are always limited. Even if you become emperor of both worlds, it's just ruling in this small world."
"Please help me, Father! Ruling both worlds has been my lifelong wish for centuries!"
Suddenly, Victor Huang knelt down, his face pleading.
"You..."
Ian Song smiled helplessly, surprised at how power-hungry his son really was.
"Get up!"
Ian Song said.
"Father, you're agreeing?" Victor Huang asked in surprise.
"You're my son. This little request is nothing!" Ian Song smiled indifferently. Then he raised his hand and pointed a finger; a ray of light shot into Victor's brow, and his aura instantly soared.
In an instant, Victor's strength surpassed the world's peak and reached the Earth Immortal realm.
With this strength, even if he entered the Upper World, he could sweep through all those so-called Human Immortals.
Feeling the immense power within him, Victor Huang was filled with disbelief. He sensed that the barrier between Upper and Lower Worlds was now just a thin sheet of paper to him—he could pierce it with a single gesture.
"Thank you for making this possible, Father!"
Victor Huang bowed again.
Ian Song said, "Enough, I told you there's no need for so much formality between father and son. Now, go gather a thousand guards. I'll raise all their strength to the Human Immortal realm. With them, you can sweep through any power in the Upper World!"
A quarter-hour later.
On the palace training ground, a thousand armored guards stood silently at attention.
After a short while.
Two young men, escorted by a group of eunuchs, arrived at the training ground.
It was Ian Song and Victor Huang.
"How dare you! The Grand Emperor and His Majesty have arrived—why aren't you saluting?" came a sharp voice from a middle-aged eunuch behind them.
"Since when did His Majesty become so young?"
A look of shock flashed across the faces of the thousand guards, then they all dropped to one knee in salute.
Ian Song didn't bother with words. He sent a beam of light into each of them, instantly raising their cultivation to the peak of this world—the Human Immortal realm. At the same time, he planted soul seeds of eternal loyalty to the imperial family in their Divine Souls, ensuring they would never betray.
Soon enough,
News of the Grand Emperor's return spread throughout the world.
The next day.
Serena Fox, Seventh Princess of the Fox Clan, came from Demon territory to seek an audience with the Grand Emperor. Ian Song summoned her straight into the palace and spent the night with her.
In the days that followed,
Ian Song gathered all his descendants within three generations, enjoyed some rare family time, and then prepared to join Victor Huang in conquering the Upper World.
The grand army was already assembled.
This time, a total of one million troops were mobilized for the Upper World campaign.
Among them, just the Martial Saint–level generals numbered over a thousand.
It's worth noting—
Serena Fox also led ten thousand elite Demon troops to join forces with the Humans; among the Demon elites were three Martial Gods and over a thousand Martial Saints.
"Let's go!"
With a light shout from Ian Song, a passage split open in the sky, casting down a beam of light that enveloped both the Human and Demon armies. Together, they soared upward into the heavens.
After a short while,
The coalition army vanished into the passage, and the channel closed behind them.
Fantasy World, on a plain in the Upper World.
A flash of light, and over a million troops appeared here.
"So this is the Upper World. The spiritual energy is truly abundant!"
Victor Huang spoke in a deep voice.
Ian Song spoke slowly: "The structure of this world is much like the Lower World before it was unified. Sects hold supreme power, and while there are nations, those are just subordinate states under the sects."
After a brief pause, Ian Song continued: "Among the sects, the strongest are One-Origin Sect, Grand Profound Palace, Imperial Sovereign Palace, and Primordial Origin Sect. As long as these four are dealt with, the other sects are no threat. Three hundred li ahead is the mountain gate of Grand Profound Palace."
"Then let's attack Grand Profound Palace first!" Victor Huang said.
"It's up to you. With your strength and a thousand Human Immortal guards, Grand Profound Palace is nothing to worry about!" Ian Song laughed.
With that, Victor Huang gave the order for the army to march toward Grand Profound Palace, three hundred li away.
However, after only a few li, several figures appeared in the sky—it was disciples from Grand Profound Palace.
The appearance of an army a million strong near the mountain gate naturally drew the attention of Grand Profound Palace.
So, disciples were sent out to investigate.
"Who are you people?"
One of the Grand Profound Palace disciples stood in midair, hands behind his back, his robe billowing in the wind. Even facing a million troops, he showed no fear—only a sense of superiority.
"Get down here!"
Victor Huang's expression turned cold. He reached out, and a giant hand appeared in the sky, grabbing the Grand Profound Palace disciples and dragging them down.
"Bang bang bang bang bang!"
All five Grand Profound Palace disciples fell to the ground. The most arrogant one, in particular, landed in a sorry state thanks to Victor Huang's special attention.
"How dare you! We are disciples of Grand Profound Palace, and you dare attack us?"
One of them shouted, trying to appear fierce but clearly lacking confidence.
"Courting death!"
Victor Huang's eyes turned cold. With a flick of his finger, a burst of energy shot out, and the head of that Grand Profound Palace disciple exploded.
The remaining four showed expressions of horror and fear.
"You... you killed Senior Brother Wu! Grand Profound Palace will never let you get away with this!" one of them stammered.
"Take them away and interrogate them separately. I want to know everything about Grand Profound Palace!"
Victor Huang barked coldly. He had only acted to test his power; as Human Emperor, he rarely needed to lift a finger himself.
Soon enough,
The results came quickly—a neatly organized report was delivered to Victor Huang.
Victor Huang brought the report to a beautifully decorated carriage, bowed, and asked, "Father, the intelligence on Grand Profound Palace has arrived. Would you like to see it?"
"I told you, just handle it yourself. Don't bother me unless it's important!"
Ian Song's voice came from inside the carriage.
"Yes, Father!"
Victor Huang bowed and withdrew.
Inside the carriage, the atmosphere was fragrant and seductive. Ian Song lay back, letting Serena Fox have her way with him.
After the army advanced another ten or so li, more Grand Profound Palace disciples appeared.
Victor Huang couldn't be bothered with them and simply ordered a Human Immortal guard to capture them.
Two hours later,
The army finally arrived at the city beneath Grand Profound Palace's mountain gate.
During this time, five waves of Grand Profound Palace scouts were captured.
At this moment—
The city was on full alert, surrounded by defensive formations. On the walls, aside from soldiers, stood dozens at the Divine Transformation stage, over a dozen at the Shattered Realm, and two at the Wuwang Realm.
The Divine Transformation stage is equivalent to the Nascent Soul split stage.
The Shattered Realm is equivalent to the Integration stage.
The Wuwang Realm is equivalent to the Tribulation Crossing stage.
There wasn't a single Human Immortal present.
Victor Huang didn't take the city seriously at all and sent three Human Immortal guards to break the formation by force.
"Rumble!"
The three Human Immortal guards soared into the air and attacked. In just three breaths, the grand formation was broken, and the experts on the walls were all terrified.
You should know, this city's formation was said to be unbreakable even for Human Immortals.
Victor Huang stepped into the air, his voice echoing across the city: "I am Victor Huang, the Human Emperor. You have ten breaths to lay down your arms and surrender. After ten breaths, anyone still standing will be killed without mercy!"
Faced with Victor Huang's domineering declaration, the experts on the city walls were enraged.
They all began to mock him.
Ten breaths later—
Victor Huang slowly uttered a single word: "Kill!"
Immediately, the three Human Immortal guards charged forward to slaughter.
In an instant, all those at the Wuwang, Shattered, and Divine Transformation realms were massacred. Seeing this, some began to kneel and surrender, and soon more followed.
The army entered the city and easily took control of the city beneath Grand Profound Palace's mountain gate.
Immediately after,
Victor Huang ordered five Human Immortal guards to carry the imperial edict to Grand Profound Palace and demand their surrender.
Grand Profound Palace, long accustomed to wielding power, would never submit so easily. The sect master tore Victor Huang's edict to shreds on the spot.
The five guards immediately began the slaughter.
They killed the sect master and all the elders of Grand Profound Palace, drawing out three Human Immortal experts from the sect.
But faced with five Human Immortal guards, the three experts only managed to resist ten moves before being slain on the spot.
For a moment, despair engulfed Grand Profound Palace.
After more experts were killed, the disciples of Grand Profound Palace were finally cowed into surrender.