Deep night.
There was not a trace of starlight in the sky.
The Dust Realm.
When Xu Qingxiao's voice rang out, everyone fell silent.
The next moment.
The entire Dust Realm knew no peace.
The first to be shaken was the Great Wei Dynasty.
Inside the imperial palace.
Ji Ling had grown much thinner. Though hers was still the most exquisite beauty in the world, the weariness in her eyes could not be concealed.
An emperor should not, in principle, have been like this.
Yet over these past days, she had endured far too much torment within her heart.
Her father had left when she was old enough to understand things. The court had been in turmoil, and she had walked as though on thin ice, with no one she could trust.
Until Xu Qingxiao appeared.
These past days, she could not forget their first meeting, nor could she forget how Xu Qingxiao had summoned sage intent before the court.
Scene after scene lingered in her mind, refusing to fade.
And now, Xu Qingxiao had left, silently and without a trace, leaving her only a few policy essays.
All these days, she had hoped and hoped that Xu Qingxiao would return, bringing light with him.
But she had never expected this.
She heard the voice she least wanted to hear.
"I am Xu Qingxiao. Today, I willingly scatter the power of a Second Sage and the Literary Palace's literary qi throughout Heaven and Earth, to open a path to sagehood for the scholars of this world."
"May two Sages descend upon this world five hundred years from now."
His voice brimmed with resolve, carrying both ruthlessness and determination.
The moment it rang out, Ji Ling knew that, in the end, Xu Qingxiao had been unable to turn back the raging