In the imperial palace of the Great Qian Dynasty.
Xu Mo, clad in dragon robes, his expression grave, was summoning a messenger who had rushed back from the northern front.
The messenger was a burly man, still in his armor, travel-worn and visibly anxious.
"Your Majesty, the Great Jin Dynasty has gone mad! They've actually launched an attack on our Great Qian! If our northern defenses hadn't been on constant alert, they might have succeeded!"
He then detailed the entire situation, recounting everything meticulously.
The incident had occurred that very morning. The border guards of the Great Jin Dynasty suddenly sounded the charge, and then a large contingent of cultivator soldiers descended from the sky, attacking the northern front.
The northern defenders, ever vigilant, were ready the moment the charge horn sounded and flew up to meet the enemy.
The Great Jin's assault was a probing attack, quickly annihilated by the northern defenders.
However, upon looking back at the Great Jin border, they discovered it had been pushed back over ten kilometers, with thousands of cultivator soldiers advancing!
Judging by their momentum, they were likely to launch a second wave of attacks that very night, aiming to breach the northern border of Great Qian!
Upon hearing the messenger's report, Xu Mo's brows furrowed, his face tinged with anger!
"What is that woman in the Great Jin Dynasty up to? Her own throne is unstable, yet she dares to wage war against our Great Qian."
"Doesn't she understand the principle of securing the outside by pacifying the inside?"
He was genuinely annoyed. A few days prior, he had sent a letter to the Great Jin Empress, informing her of news from the Endless Sea and inquiring about the situation in Great Jin.
Yet, the Great Jin Empress had not replied, and now she was directly violating Great Qian's borders. This was truly pushing her luck!
The messenger, sensing the Emperor's fury, flinched and quickly explained, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the situation in Great Jin seems very wrong. The Great Jin Empress hasn't appeared for over a month."
"Currently, the one in charge of the court is the remnant prince of the Great Hao Dynasty, Hao Jiao!"
After the Great Jin launched their attack, the commander of the northern defenses felt something was amiss and dispatched professional scouts into Great Jin to gather intelligence.
The scouts returned with the shocking news that the Great Jin Empress had been missing for a month!
"The woman from Great Jin hasn't shown herself for over a month?"
Xu Mo was surprised, then his brows furrowed even deeper, unable to fathom what this woman was plotting.
He hadn't interacted much with the Great Jin Empress, only knowing her to be a formidable and peerless woman.
She hailed from humble beginnings, was cold and proud, possessed unparalleled talent, and had immense fortune. This was Xu Mo's assessment of the Great Jin Empress.
Like him, she had overthrown the old dynasty and established her own new one.
Her personality was aloof, keeping others at arm's length, and incredibly proud.
Of course, she had the capital for her pride. Her peerless talent allowed her to cultivate at an astonishing speed, reaching the Divine Rope Realm in just a few decades. Now, she had reached the Heaven-Treading Realm!
What Xu Mo envied most was her incredible fortune, as she had actually obtained a sacred artifact!
This was something even he didn't possess, and it made him green with envy.
A sacred artifact was a supreme treasure used by Saints, possessing immense power and capable of wielding saintly might!
Therefore, Xu Mo held the Great Jin Empress in high regard.
"Could this woman be in seclusion, preparing to break through to the Quasi-Saint Realm!?" Xu Mo suddenly speculated.
The messenger, hearing the Emperor's musings, was startled and his face turned pale.
The Quasi-Saint Realm was a realm close to that of a Saint, a realm that no one in the Great Wilderness had reached for countless millennia.
His Majesty was now suggesting that the Great Jin Empress was attempting to break through to the Quasi-Saint Realm!?
Rumors outside claimed the Great Jin Empress was only in the Divine Rope Realm. How could she have skipped the Heaven-Treading Realm and directly reached the Quasi-Saint Realm?
The messenger couldn't comprehend it, only feeling fear. He knew that if the Great Jin Empress truly reached the Quasi-Saint Realm, Great Qian would be utterly defenseless.
"Your... Your Majesty, is the Great Jin Empress really breaking through to the Quasi-Saint Realm? Should we do something?" the messenger managed to ask.
Xu Mo saw the messenger's fear and smiled.
"There's no need to do anything. Just hold the northern front. It's soldier against soldier, general against general, emperor against emperor."
"Even if the Great Jin Empress breaks through to the Quasi-Saint Realm, so what?"
Xu Mo's words were incredibly domineering, exuding a natural confidence that deeply shook the messenger!
His Majesty saying this, wouldn't that mean he had already reached the Quasi-Saint Realm himself!?
It was only then that the messenger felt the unfathomable, abyss-like aura emanating from His Majesty, a single glance of which made his breath catch.
He was utterly shocked. Had His Majesty truly broken through to the Quasi-Saint Realm!?
How monstrously talented was he!?
It had only been about a hundred years since His Majesty broke through to the Divine Rope Realm.
A hundred years, while a lifetime for mortals, was neither long nor short for cultivators.
The outside world speculated that His Majesty's cultivation should have reached the Heaven-Treading Realm, but it turned out their perspectives were too narrow.
His Majesty had not only broken through to the Heaven-Treading Realm but had directly entered the Quasi-Saint Realm, a realm no one in the Great Wilderness had tread for tens of thousands of years!
The messenger was deeply stunned by Xu Mo's cultivation speed!
At this moment, Gongsun Rou entered gracefully from the doorway, her expression one of haste.
Seeing her, Xu Mo knew Gongsun Rou had urgent news to report.
He turned to the messenger and said, "I am aware of the situation on the northern border. Your northern defenders should hold the front line. If you cannot sustain it, you may request reinforcements from the western defenders."
"As for the Great Jin Empress, you need not worry. As an Emperor, she will not attack you. If she dares to, I will sense it immediately."
The messenger solemnly acknowledged the order, "Your subordinate guarantees to defend the northern front and will not disappoint Your Majesty!"
After he withdrew, Gongsun Rou stepped forward gracefully.
Today, she was wearing a white phoenix-patterned robe. It was loose, but cinched at the waist, perfectly accentuating her slender figure.
Even Xu Mo couldn't help but steal a second glance.
"Is there something urgent? You look rather serious," Xu Mo said with a smile, gesturing for a servant to bring a chair and indicating for Gongsun Rou to sit.
Gongsun Rou did not sit but remained standing. "Your Majesty, Fan Cheng has apprehended all those individuals who came from the Endless Sea. They are currently being escorted to the imperial capital and should arrive in about a day."
Xu Mo, who was just picking up a pastry to eat, nearly spat it out upon hearing Gongsun Rou's words.
After a few coughs, he looked at Gongsun Rou with disbelief.
"You're saying Fan Cheng captured all those people and intends to bring them before me for interrogation!?"
His mouth twitched slightly. He couldn't understand why Fan Cheng would arrest all those people who were suspected to be his compatriots. Hadn't he instructed them not to act rashly?
However, this was for the best. Bringing them to the imperial capital would save him the trouble of going to the Endless Sea to investigate the situation himself.