Thirty-Five Years Later, Second Realm, Late Stage

Time flew. In the blink of an eye, another thirty-five years had passed.

No major events had shaken the Eastern Sea during those thirty-five years. The Dragon Palace and Wanxuan were hardly as close as family, but open friction between them had become rare. They had even helped East Tide Province encircle and absorb some of the Water Demon tribes that had been cut off.

The greatest change in the Redstone Region was its trade volume, which grew by the day.

Dark Abyss Island was unrecognizable. Once a barren zone under joint administration, it had become the largest trading hub in the Thunderclap Archipelago. Its berths were full day and night, with merchants from every nation, mercenaries, Rogue Cultivators, and underground factions mingling there. To maintain order, the Dragon Palace had stationed two Third Realm cultivators on the island year-round, and even they could barely keep the undercurrents in check.

The Redstone Governor-General's Office looked much the same. Gray-white stone buildings still climbed the slopes of the Inner District in tiers, but the Port District had doubled in size. A broad waiting area had been added to the outer harbor, stretching over the sea like a gray-white floating platform when viewed from above. Hundreds of merchant ships lay at anchor beyond it, queuing to enter port.

The military harbor had moved north to an excavated inner-ring harbor, completely separate from the civilian shipping lanes.

The Governor-General's Mansion had been unusually quiet these past few days. Yang Wenyuan, captain of the personal guards, stood watch at the rear courtyard entrance himself. He had entered the Entry Realm years ago, and Yang Wenqing had specifically transferred him over to serve as his captain.

At the front gate, Zhao Ze and Zhong Shuo, the two commanders of the personal guard battalion, took turns