Above the Nine Heavens of Chang'an City, the Nine Cauldrons of Destiny retracted their golden divine radiance. As the last layer of golden waves reached the border of the Great Han territory, the golden phantom of the Nine Cauldrons of Destiny in the void vanished.
Heaven and earth returned to normal!
Boom!
Upon successfully claiming the reward, all the divine flames on Yang Hao's physical body ignited. The ten divine beasts opened their gaping maws, and with a roar, they devoured massive amounts of spiritual energy. As layer upon layer of minor realms were broken, Yang Hao's cultivation realm also ascended through successive stages.
In place of the vanished Nine Cauldrons of Destiny, a figure of an Emperor, ten thousand feet tall, adorned with a crown and clad in imperial robes, appeared!
The dragon robe billowed, and layers of golden light coursed back and forth across Yang Hao's chest!
Concurrently, from Chang'an City to the prefectural capitals of the Three Provinces, and along the endless borderlines, even to the border of the former Tai Xuan Palace, countless golden pillars of light shot up into the sky throughout the Great Han Divine Dynasty.
Within each golden pillar of light, numerous Great Han heroes bowed in salute towards Chang'an City. The golden pillars, carrying immense energy, continuously elevated the cultivation realms of these heroes to new heights!
"Congratulations to the Divine Emperor for reaching the Great Saint realm! Congratulations to the Great Han Divine Dynasty for its flourishing national destiny!"
"Congratulations to the Divine Emperor for reaching the Great Saint realm! Congratulations to the Great Han Divine Dynasty for its flourishing national destiny!"
"Congratulations to the Divine Emperor for reaching the Great Saint realm! Congratulations to the Great Han Divine Dynasty for its flourishing national destiny!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully entering the first layer of the Great Saint realm!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for breaking through a major realm, summoning forth worldly heroes, and consequently advancing by another four minor realms, for a total advancement of ten minor realms!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for summoning forth worldly heroes Tian Dan, Lan Yu, and Wei Xiaokuan, successfully advancing by ten minor realms, breaking through the Saint Lord realm barrier, and stepping into the Quasi-Supreme realm!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for summoning forth worldly heroes Zhang Zai, Feng Sheng, Nie Zheng, Cao Wei, Zhang Jiao, Li Bai, Fu Youde, Li Jilong, Xuanzang, Xu Chu... Xin Qiji, a total of twenty-four heroes, breaking through the Great Saint realm barrier and stepping into the Saint Lord realm!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for summoning forth worldly heroes Liao Hua, Mao Xiang, Zhou Yuji, Gao Shun, Zhangsun Wuji, Jing Ke, Du Ruhui, and Fang Xuanling, breaking through the Quasi-Saint realm barrier and stepping into the fourth layer of the Saint realm!"
...
"Ding! Reminder to the host, only one hundred million strands of Destiny Merit value remain!"
"System, upgrade the armory!"
"Ding! Reminder to the host, the system will deduct ninety million strands of Destiny Merit value to upgrade the armory. Proceed with deduction!"
"Deduct!"
Yang Hao commanded.
"Ding! Successfully deducted ninety million strands of Destiny Merit value. Reminder to the host, the Immortal Artifact Armory has begun accepting Destiny Merit value for upgrades!"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host, the Immortal Artifact Armory has been upgraded to Level Six!"
"Ding! All soldiers under the summoned worldly heroes can now enter the armory for cultivation. Any soldier entering the armory for cultivation will successfully advance to the peak True God realm!"
"Roar roar roar!!"
A corner of Chang'an City was illuminated by countless divine lights, piercing the void. This was a forbidden area of Chang'an, a place even Prime Minister Li Si, second only to the Divine Emperor, was not permitted to enter.
"Ding! The Immortal Artifact Armory has been successfully upgraded. Reminder to the host, the current armory level is six. The soldiers of the Ten Great Legions summoned forth will require three hundred and fifty million points of Slaughter Value to enter the True God realm!"
...
"Three hundred and fifty million points of Slaughter Value!!!"
Yang Hao chuckled wryly and shook his head.
"Divine Emperor!"
"Prime Minister Li Si requests an audience!"
Wei Zhongxian knocked on the hall door and whispered.
"Announce him."
Yang Hao closed the system.
"Divine Emperor, this is a detailed plan for the division of the Demon Sea Marsh, Thunder Cloud Hall, Crouching Dragon Abyss, Tian Yuan Divine Dynasty, and Tai Xuan Palace, totaling one hundred and eighty-four Dao States!"
"Your humble servant suggests that the thirty-six Dao States of the Demon Sea Marsh be incorporated into Yu Province, the thirty Dao States of the Thunder Cloud Hall, along with the fifteen Dao States of Crouching Dragon Abyss, be incorporated into Dao Province, and all other Dao States be incorporated into Ling Province!"
"The garrisons of the Ten Great Legions will remain unchanged for now!"
Li Si bowed respectfully, appearing somewhat weary. In the past few days, the Great Han's offensives against the four major powers had all concluded in victory. The planning and establishment of local governments across vast territories, population and racial migration... and so on, all required his personal attention.
"Approved!"
"How is the Crown Prince's tour of the regions?"
Yang Hao picked up the Imperial Seal and pressed it onto the memorial, suddenly recalling the Crown Prince Yang Chen, who was inspecting the realm on his behalf.
"Reporting to the Divine Emperor, the Crown Prince, having experienced the incident with the Yaoguang Divine Dynasty, has become exceptionally diligent. During his recent inspections, he has personally overseen every matter."
Li Si stroked his beard.
"I am naturally aware of the Crown Prince's character. You need not speak in his favor. Where have Kuai Tong and Lan Yu reached?"
Yang Hao smiled slightly.
"They have arrived at the Qing Xuan Immortal Dynasty. Kuai Tong, with a minor stratagem in Saint Emperor City, gained the admiration of Prince Qing Han, the Holy Xiao King, and became a strategist in Prince Qing Han's mansion. Upon Kuai Tong's recommendation, Lan Yu was appointed as a brigadier general under Qing Han!"
"Prince Qing Han, the Holy Xiao King?"
Yang Hao's expression darkened. Prince Qing Han, the Holy Xiao King, was of the same mother as the current Qing Xuan Immortal Emperor. It could be said that he held immense prestige within the Qing Xuan Immortal Dynasty, especially in the military. Currently, the majority of the generals and deputy generals in command of the Qing Xuan Immortal Dynasty's forces were individuals he had personally trained.
It could be said that if the competition for the succession among the three princes did not conclude before the Immortal Emperor's demise, then the influence wielded by Prince Qing Han, the Holy Xiao King, would be sufficient to overthrow the entire Qing Xuan Immortal Dynasty.
Li Si's expression immediately turned solemn. "The specific situation of the competition among the three princes needs further investigation by Kuai Tong. It is estimated that it will take some time."
Regarding the competition for succession among the three princes, although the information on the three princes was largely gathered, all issues could not be judged solely on the surface, especially those from a royal family.
By aligning themselves with Prince Qing Han, the Holy Xiao King, they could inquire about, and even gain close proximity to, the three princes, which was the most convenient and effective method.
"Divine Emperor, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has detected traces of the Hong family in the Heng Tian Immortal Dynasty, though it has not yet been confirmed."
"Back then, Hong Xiu lurked in the Heng Tian Immortal Dynasty for a hundred thousand years before moving to the Tai Xuan Palace, and only in the last hundred thousand years, with the opening of the Blood Sea Coffin, did he make contact with the Yaoguang Divine Dynasty!"
"Heng Tian Immortal Dynasty!!"
"This matter ends here. There is no need to investigate further!"
Yang Hao waved his hand. "Now that the four major powers have been eliminated and our territory has more than doubled, it will take a considerable amount of time to digest."
"How many races and beings have voluntarily relocated to the Crouching Dragon Abyss?"
"Reporting to the Divine Emperor, the Crouching Dragon Abyss has long since escaped its barren state, nurtured by the power of destiny. Since the Ministry of Revenue announced the news, twelve billion beings have voluntarily registered so far. The Ministry of Revenue has compiled and recorded them all."
"The twelve billion beings, along with some resource requirements, will be escorted by a large army dispatched by the Ministry of War in three days."
Li Si bowed respectfully.
The construction, recovery, and consolidation of over a hundred Dao States would likely take a significant amount of time.