The Central Heaven Domain remained prosperous and flourishing. Powerful surges of blood qi emerged one after another, among them no shortage of auras from the Imperial Dao Realm. Quite a few newly risen Human Emperor clans had appeared.
After crossing two domain gates in succession, Shi Lan stood before the Imperial Palace. The central gate stood wide open, and two ranks of Imperial Blood Army soldiers stood ready with halberds and spears. The moment they saw her, they dropped to one knee and saluted.
"Greetings, Peerless King!"
As a vassal queen of a domain, meeting the Human Emperor for the first time called for proper etiquette.
She had weathered her share of storms by now, and this was only a minor scene. Shi Lan walked straight between the ranks without so much as glancing aside, and entered the Imperial Palace.
"Main Hall."
As soon as she stepped through the palace gates, Chu Hanzhou's voice reached her by telepathic transmission. Though this was her first time meeting the Human Emperor, it was not her first time in the Imperial Palace. After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, she entered the main hall.
Inside the hall, besides Chu Hanzhou, there were three others. Two stood below the jade steps. One was an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old young man, his gaze deep and restrained, his hair half black and half white, giving him an eerily strange air.
Beside him stood a man in a gray robe, carrying the scholarly air of a man of letters. Judging solely by the fluctuations of his aura, he was a supreme powerhouse no weaker than King Xuan.
After glancing over them, Shi Lan shifted her gaze upward.
Seated upon the imperial throne was a middle-aged man around forty, broad-shouldered and imposing. He wore black