January 1, Kaiyuan Year Eight.
The Imperial Assembly convened on schedule.
From the nine satellite planets and the Imperial Star, every official and general ranked protector-general or above gathered in Shinra Capital.
The solemn, elegant grand auditorium was packed, its lofty dome filled with shifting light and shadow.
The fan emblem hung high at the front, like the never-closing eye of a god gazing down upon the heart of the Starsea Empire's power.
A figure whose presence commanded awe sat upon the dais, his bearing as steady as a mountain, as though even his breathing followed the pulse of heaven and earth.
The hall was filled with luminaries, yet not a sound could be heard.
Attending a meeting of this stature for the first time, Yamashiro Ren struggled to suppress the shock in her heart.
Everyone knew the Empire was powerful. Through the endless news reports of its victories and the stellar worlds it had conquered, they had glimpsed the tip of this colossal iceberg.
But only now, seeing more than a thousand formidable heroes assembled before her, did that knowledge become vivid and real.
Being a high-level cultivator was merely the price of admission here. Earth Tier experts were everywhere.
The few seated closest to the dais were the very pillars that held the Empire aloft.
They had barely acted a handful of times, yet the sea of stars was already filled with their legends.
One day, I'll be like them too!
Noticing that the emperor on the dais was about to speak, Yamashiro Ren's eyes burned with fervor. She quelled her surging emotions and listened intently.
"Eight years have passed since the Empire's founding. Its affairs have grown tangled and countless, while its departments have become bloated, their responsibilities unclear."
o
The Empire had begun as a makeshift