When the Emperor saw Pan Yun again, he was excited—for a moment, and only a moment.
After so many years as Emperor, composure was the bare minimum.
Two days earlier, he had already learned from the Daoist Registry Office about everything that had happened across the realm.
To be honest, the past few years had placed quite a burden on him.
After his teacher ascended, the court officials became much more obedient.
Yet there were no shortage of problems throughout the realm, and every day brought more tasks, never fewer.
More importantly, he no longer had anyone to lean on.
Before, he had felt that Pan Yun was a restraint upon him. Because of her, there had always been someone pressing down on his head.
After Pan Yun ascended, he had indeed become the supreme ruler of the Ming Dynasty—but with that came even greater responsibility and pressure.
In the world today, they had to preserve what they had, but they also had to press forward.
It was only because of seafaring that they learned just how vast the world truly was.
Oh, and not long ago, one of the fleets dispatched by the Imperial Court had discovered an enormous landmass east of the ocean.
There were few people living there, most existing in tribes. They were somewhat like the Mongol tribes, yet they had their own language, writing, and culture.
It was a brand-new land, almost entirely undeveloped. Both its climate and geography bore similarities to the Ming Dynasty.
Even its inhabitants resembled them—yellow skin and black hair, utterly unlike the people in the west.
Only then did the Emperor understand what Pan Yun had meant by, "Beyond people are other people; beyond heaven is another heaven."
It turned out that not only did the upper realm hold another