Deep within the Xuanyuan Imperial Palace.
A magnificent and resplendent palace stood here.
Divine light surrounded the palace.
Countless rays of light flowed ceaselessly around it like meteors.
It was as though a wielder of a Great Divine Ability had plucked the stars from beneath the heavens and hung them upon the palace.
Specks of starlight glittered with dazzling brilliance.
The moment one entered, one could hear the sounds of the Dao; washed by divine light,
one felt that both body and soul had been elevated.
It was as if one could shed the mortal form, ascend to immortality, and soar through the void.
This was none other than the Empress's bedchamber of the Heavenly Flame Empire.
Star Palace.
The Star Palace covered several thousand li, formed by over a thousand pavilions and palaces linked together.
The entire palace had been built atop a spiritual vein rich in Spiritual Energy.
Thus, the Spiritual Energy throughout the Star Palace was exceptionally dense.
It was the place with the densest Spiritual Energy in the Heavenly Flame Empire, second only to Emperor Xuanyuan's bedchamber.
At this moment.
Qin Anlan was chatting idly with the Empress in a lavish palace.
Numerous palace maids and eunuchs waited cautiously at their sides.
Their faces were full of awe and reverence.
After all, the two before them were among the most exalted figures in the entire Heavenly Flame Empire.
As the Empress of the Heavenly Flame Empire, her cultivation was unfathomably deep.
She was like the stars filling the sky—one glance was enough to reveal no end in sight.
The Empress was of noble birth, having once been the Saintess of the superpower known as the Star Sect.
Her strength had already reached the terrifying Saint Lord Peak.
There were even rumors that the Empress had already stepped half a foot into the Quasi-Emperor realm.
Before long, the Heavenly Flame Empire would likely gain another Quasi-Emperor powerhouse.
Although the Heavenly Flame Empire had essentially taken control of the Northern Underworld Continent, with countless factions choosing to submit beneath its banner,
there were still several forces that possessed power beyond the laws of the world.
Their status within the Heavenly Flame Empire was likewise transcendent.
These forces had been passed down for so long that some possessed histories spanning hundreds of millions of years, along with ancient and terrifying power.
Even the Xuanyuan Imperial Clan was wary of the foundations of these factions and did not dare rashly make enemies of them.
When the Xuanyuan Imperial Clan established the Heavenly Flame Empire, it had reached an unspoken agreement with these factions.
They permitted the Xuanyuan Imperial Clan to rule the Northern Underworld Continent.
In turn, the Xuanyuan Imperial Clan was not permitted to interfere in the internal affairs of those superpowers.
They were allowed to retain their own independent territories and systems.
As time passed, these superpowers had not been destroyed. Instead, they had continuously grown stronger and passed their legacies down through the ages.
Though they nominally submitted beneath the tyrannical might of the Heavenly Flame Empire,
they had, in truth, gradually gained the strength to stand on equal footing with it.
To put it bluntly, although the Heavenly Flame Empire was ruled by the Xuanyuan Imperial Clan,
it had long become a world jointly governed by the Xuanyuan Imperial Clan and the many Great Clans.
This was what was known as governing the realm together with the Great Clans.
The Star Sect, from which the Empress hailed, was an ancient superpower.
It had been passed down for at least several million years.
The current Emperor Xuanyuan understood the formidable nature of the Star Sect.
Although the Xuanyuan Imperial Clan possessed the strength to wipe out the Star Sect,
if it truly went to war with them, it would inevitably suffer grievous losses and allow the other factions to take advantage of the breach.
He neither wished to make enemies of the Star Sect nor wanted to miss the chance to win it over.
Thus.
He married the Saintess of the Star Sect.
She was the present Empress.
As the Star Sect's Saintess and the mother of the nation of the Heavenly Flame Empire,
she was not only peerlessly beautiful, dignified beyond compare, and profoundly powerful.
Her resolve and stratagems were also nothing short of extraordinary.
"You child, you haven't come to the palace for quite some time, and it isn't convenient for me to leave it."
"Seeing you even once has truly become difficult."
The Empress looked at Qin Anlan with a trace of maternal affection, as though she were looking at her own son.
In truth.
She had watched Qin Anlan grow up and often instructed him in martial arts.
At times, she had even treated Qin Anlan better than she treated her own biological son.
A faint smile also rested on Qin Anlan's lips as he spoke a great deal of meaningless pleasantries.
They were not mother and son, yet in their idle conversation, they seemed even more like mother and son.
Laughter rang throughout the great hall.
The atmosphere was immensely cheerful.
Had the matter with Chou Yin not occurred,
Qin Anlan might truly have believed that the Empress sincerely cared for him.
But on second thought, it made sense.
As the former Saintess of the Star Sect and the mother of the Heavenly Flame Empire, how could she possibly be some naive innocent without a scheming bone in her body?
The reason the Empress had received Qin Anlan so warmly
was, on one hand, because she had watched him grow up.
Perhaps she did harbor some small degree of affection for Qin Anlan.
But more than that, she wanted to make use of Qin Anlan's influence.
What she valued was the Divine Marquis of Zhenguo's Estate behind Qin Anlan.
Fortunately.
Qin Anlan had no feelings for the Empress either, so naturally, he felt no disappointment.
As for using one another.
It was still uncertain who would end up using whom.
"On my way here to see Your Majesty, I happened to run into the First Prince."
Qin Anlan suddenly recalled something and said with an indifferent smile.
The Empress remained utterly unruffled, with no expression appearing on her face.
She controlled numerous factions, and the forces in her hands surpassed even those controlled by the Grand Princess.
The entire Xuanyuan Imperial Palace was filled with the Empress's eyes and ears.
Everything that happened within the Xuanyuan Imperial Palace had long since come to the Empress's attention.
Naturally, she knew about Qin Anlan's meeting with the First Prince.
Yet Qin Anlan shook his head and spoke with a face full of admiration.
"The First Prince and I have only met a few times. We are not particularly acquainted."
"I had long heard that he had taken the Left Prime Minister as his master and even held an important post at Heavenly Firmament Academy."
"I never expected that under the Left Prime Minister's instruction, he would now be so refined and courteous, so respectful toward worthy men and humble toward scholars—truly a hero of his generation."
"If I were not so close to Your Majesty, and had not promised to come pay my respects, I might well have gone to the First Prince's residence midway and chatted freely with him for a while."
Qin Anlan's words were delivered with perfect timing.
They both made clear to the Empress that he stood on her side.
They also reassured the Empress.
More importantly, they pointed out that the First Prince had now gained the Left Prime Minister's full support.
Even the entirety of Heavenly Firmament Academy had been firmly grasped in his hands.
Among all the princes, the authority he wielded was the most outstanding.
As one of the four great academies of the Heavenly Flame Empire, Heavenly Firmament Academy had been founded single-handedly by the Left Prime Minister.
It had gathered a vast number of talents.
In particular, Heavenly Firmament Academy's admissions standards were unconventional: it did not look at one's origins, only one's talent and character.
As a result, it attracted large numbers of Poor Scholars, as well as ordinary people of low birth who possessed exceptional talent.
Through the Left Prime Minister's arrangements, the First Prince had already become the vice dean of Heavenly Firmament Academy.
The two had conspired together and long since brought the entire Heavenly Firmament Academy under their control.
Combined with the many other forces under the First Prince's command, his power had already grown too vast to restrain.
Since the Empress wished to use Qin Anlan and the Divine Marquis of Zhenguo's Estate to deal with the First Prince,
Qin Anlan did not mind sowing discord.
He would use the Empress's power to deal with the First Prince, that Child of Destiny.
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