Heaven Dou Empire.
The new emperor, "Xue Qinghe," officially ascended the throne and took control of the empire's authority.
Her first major decree after taking office was to publicly announce that the Heaven Dou Empire had reached a comprehensive strategic alliance with Spirit Hall.
She formally acknowledged Spirit Hall's transcendent status and legitimate rights within the empire, allowing it to spread its faith, establish academies, and participate in the management of local affairs.
This move was undoubtedly a declaration to the entire continent that the Heaven Dou Empire had become Spirit Hall's most steadfast ally and backer.
To further consolidate this alliance—and also to control the empire's future noble class—
Qian Renxue used "broadening their horizons and improving their cultivation" as an excuse to force the direct descendants of a number of important noble families
to be "selected" and sent to Spirit Hall's Advanced Spirit Master Academy in Spirit City for "further study."
Anyone with keen eyes understood that this was essentially a mild hostage policy.
By binding the core members of these future nobles to Spirit Hall's war chariot, she made the empire's potential opposing forces hesitate to act.
With Spirit Hall's full support, Qian Renxue was brimming with confidence. Following the ideas Jiang Zhen had once pointed out to her, along with her own understanding of the empire's deep-rooted problems, she began implementing a series of sweeping reforms.
She first adopted a strategy of dividing and winning over her opponents. She offered sufficient benefits and guarantees of status to some of the old nobles who understood the times and were willing to cooperate, successfully bringing them into her faction.
At the same time, she transferred a large number of loyal, reliable, and capable lower- and mid-level Spirit Masters and administrators from Spirit Hall, injecting them into the empire's