"We are willing to serve the Tianyuan Holy Land as oxen and horses! Please show mercy, Holy Lord, and spare our worthless lives!"
"Forgive us, Holy Lord! Forgive us!"
"May the Tianyuan Holy Land unite the Southern Region and reign for a thousand autumns, for ten thousand generations!"
Now, even those elders who wished to refuse to bow lacked the courage.
Their holy land's ancestor had been killed in an instant, and their Holy Lord had swallowed poison to take his own life.
How could those left dare oppose a Great Emperor—let alone two?
"..." Yet at that moment, Chen Tianlin's attention was not on them at all.
He had turned sideways, his eyes fixed on Qingyun Prefecture in utter astonishment.
He had considered that Chen Mu's fortune might be unrivaled, but never imagined it could be unrivaled to this extent.
In the very next second after he had successfully attained the Great Emperor Realm, Chen Mu had broken through on the same day, shattering the Heavenly Dao Order.
With fortune like that, calling him a child of destiny would be no exaggeration.
A born Great Emperor!
For a moment, Chen Tianlin wondered whether Chen Mu had already had the chance to attain the Great Emperor Realm long ago.
Perhaps he had simply been holding himself back because of his father.
The reason was simple: Chen Tianlin had no ability to break the Heavenly Dao Order.
The more he thought about it, the more moved he became.
What virtue or ability do I, Chen Tianlin, possess to have fathered such an extraordinary son?
"Holy Lord, how should we deal with these people from the Five Poisons Holy Land?" Seeing that Chen Tianlin remained silent, an elder stepped forward to ask.
"Oh... take over the Five Poisons Holy Land and incorporate it into Tianyuan." Chen Tianlin spoke casually, as though discussing some insignificant matter.
He had already decided to eliminate the threat posed by the Five Poisons Holy Land after attaining the Great Emperor Realm.
Their coming here of their own accord to court death had saved Chen Tianlin considerable trouble.
"I'll leave it to you." Chen Tianlin turned and raised a hand to pat the elder on the shoulder.
Then he became a streak of light and descended toward Qingyun Prefecture...
"Mu! Y-you've broken through to the Great Emperor Realm too?" Chen Tianlin asked excitedly, looking at Chen Mu, who lay on a bench with an utterly unruffled expression.
Beside him, Ye Qingcheng was still trapped in her shock, unable to recover, repeating, "The Young Master has reached the Great Emperor Realm... the Young Master has reached the Great Emperor Realm..."
"Yes, Father. I have successfully entered the Great Emperor Realm." Chen Mu stood and nodded.
His thinking was simple. Now that he had become a Great Emperor and reached the absolute pinnacle of martial might in the Great Cang World, there was no need for anyone to demand that he study or do anything else.
His status as a Great Emperor alone would let him protect the entire Tianyuan Holy Land even as a mere mascot, fulfilling his duties as Young Master without anyone noticing.
No mental strain, no effort.
With the means to justify slacking off and lying around, he left everyone with nothing to say.
"Mu, how did you manage to break the order governing Great Emperors and become one yourself?" Chen Tianlin's face was filled with an eager desire to learn.
"I just... did it." How was Chen Mu supposed to explain?
He could hardly tell Chen Tianlin that he had a system, could he?
He just... did it?
Chen Tianlin frowned, experiencing firsthand what a humblebrag was.
A top-tier humblebrag!
He did not press Chen Mu for an explanation.
Once he calmed down, Chen Tianlin understood that, for Chen Mu, this was something effortless and natural, something he could do from birth.
It was a gift. Heaven had granted him a meal—no, Heaven was spoon-feeding him!
Even if he shared his insights, others would neither be able nor qualified to replicate them.
"Two Great Emperors! Even at its most glorious, our Tianyuan Holy Land never had that. Son, the age belonging to you and me has arrived!"
Chen Tianlin walked over to Chen Mu, raised his arm, and slung it around his shoulders like a buddy, imagining their future together.
Chen Mu forced a smile, the corner of his mouth twitching. All he wanted was a carefree, leisurely life...
The Great Wu Dynasty.
Bang!
"What?! The Tianyuan Holy Lord has reached the Great Emperor Realm!" Song Ao slapped both hands against the table and sprang to his feet in shock, his eyes wide as bronze bells.
He had expected Chen Tianlin to attain the Great Emperor Realm sooner or later, but never imagined the day would come so quickly.
"Besides that, the Tianyuan Young Master..."
"What happened to him?" Song Ao slumped back onto his dragon throne.
"The Tianyuan Young Master entered the Great Emperor Realm immediately after the Tianyuan Holy Lord. Moreover, the phenomena he brought forth in heaven and earth were far greater than the Holy Lord's!" the spy reported truthfully.
"What?!"
Bang!
Song Ao slammed both palms heavily against the tabletop again. This time, with a crash, he broke the long table clean in two.
The full extent of his shock was written across his face.
His shifting features revealed an extraordinarily complex, indescribable expression.
"Two Great Emperors..." He collapsed onto the dragon throne like a puddle of mud.
Helplessness swept through his entire body.
If even he knew about it, then Chen Juexin, who controlled the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, certainly did.
"Powerful! Simply too powerful! To think our Chen family could have two Great Emperors at the same time!"
"That little brat! I was worried he would abandon himself to despair after failing to awaken his talent. Who would have thought that in just a few short days, he would successfully attain the Dao and ascend to the Great Emperor Realm!"
"It's unimaginable. At his age, he can already break the Heavenly Dao Order and become a Great Emperor. How astonishing, how terrifying must his future prospects be?"
Chen Juexin looked forward to finding out.
At the same time, she stepped up the expansion of her business empire.
Seriously, with two Great Emperors backing her, who would dare ruin her business?
Meanwhile, over at the Eastern Pole Holy Land.
Its Holy Lord, Zhao Guizhen, sat in the courtyard, exposing his entire body to the blazing sun. Even so, his hands and feet remained uncontrollably cold and trembled slightly.
"Here, soak your feet for a while. Did you really have to get this frightened?" His wife, Li Zhu, brought a basin of water and crouched before him, removing his shoes and socks before placing his feet inside.
"I cannot imagine what fate would have befallen me now if I had agreed to join forces with the Five Poisons Holy Land."
"Or what end the entire Eastern Pole Holy Land would have met," Zhao Guizhen said, still shaken.
"But you didn't agree. Why be like this?" Li Zhu could not understand.
"Ah..." Zhao Guizhen did not expect Li Zhu to understand him, so he gave up explaining further.
After soaking his feet for a while, he felt considerably better.
"By the way, about the marriage alliance between our daughter and the Tianyuan Young Master..." Li Zhu suddenly brought it up.
As luck would have it, just then, Zhao Yueling had just stepped onto the stairs outside the gate.
"Yueling, have you really made up your mind to sacrifice yourself for the Eastern Pole Holy Land and marry into the Tianyuan Holy Land?" Zhao Yuhao asked, seeking confirmation yet again.
"What does sacrificing my own happiness matter, if it is for this greater family?"
"Besides, shouldn't marrying someone like the Tianyuan Young Master be a blessing?" Zhao Yueling had made up her mind and told Zhao Yuhao not to try persuading her anymore.
Of course, Zhao Yueling knew how Zhao Yuhao felt about her.
All she could say was that they had the chance to meet, but not the destiny to be together.
Zhao Yueling only regarded Zhao Yuhao as an older fellow disciple.
Nothing more.
"..." At her words, Zhao Yuhao fell silent.
Zhao Yueling turned, preparing to push open the courtyard gate.
Then Zhao Guizhen's voice came from within. "Forget the marriage alliance. Let's not invite humiliation upon ourselves."
Invite humiliation upon ourselves?
Huh??
"..." Zhao Yueling's face was covered in question marks.
Before you continue