The Nine Provinces were vast, with feudal lords standing everywhere.
The tribal chiefs in many places nominally accepted the Xia Dynasty's rule, but in reality, they obeyed orders but not summons.
Some minor feudal lords even ignored all commands outright.
The forces across the land were intricately entangled, with undercurrents stirring among them.
However, Qi was no incompetent ruler.
He was decisive by nature and ruled with a firm hand.
Not long after ascending the throne, he personally led the royal army on multiple campaigns.
The Xia Dynasty's armies marched south and fought north, suppressing rebellions.
Many disobedient feudal lords were defeated one after another.
Some were forced into submission, while others were directly stripped of their titles.
After this series of forceful actions, the Xia Dynasty's prestige gradually stabilized.
However, as his reign grew longer, Qi gradually discovered a thorny problem.
As the Human King, his normal cultivation was unaffected, and he could even receive the support of a portion of the Human Race's luck.
Yet he had lost the ability to live forever.
Although cultivation could increase his magic power and realm, it could not extend his lifespan.
As the Human King, he bore the authority of mortal kingship, yet could not truly bear the immense luck of the Human Race.
For this very reason, that luck instead became a form of restriction.
The Human King's lifespan remained within the limits of mortals. If he could not withstand the luck, he might even die young.
In that case, what level could he reach through cultivation in a mere hundred years?
Or was it all for just over a century of ruling the world?
Within the Human Race's ancestral land, palace halls rose one after another, while clouds and mist drifted slowly between the high platforms.
The Three Sovereigns