After entering the palace hall, Xu Ran walked straight toward the throne as though it was only natural for him. There were numerous guards standing watch inside this hall. One of them roared, “Who dares barge into the throne hall!”

Xu Ran didn’t even need to take action. One of his subordinates simply tapped at the air to stop that guard halfway through his charge. With a swing of his arms, the guard lost all signs of life and fell to the ground, never to rise again.

Xu Ran walked up to the stage and walked up slowly.

At this point, one of the ministers following the Radiant Emperor couldn’t resist calling out, “Immortal Emissary, please hold.”

Xu Ran halted his steps and glanced back with a smile. “What’s up?”

“That is the seat of the Emperor of Great Qin. Since you are not one of us, please wait while I arrange another seat for you!”

Xu Ran broke into laughter. He glanced at the Radiant Emperor and said, “What do you say?”

The Radiant Emperor’s brows twitched a bit. “Please take the seat, Immortal Emissary!”

“You’re indeed understanding.” Xu Ran moved up to the throne and sat down. He leaned stylishly upon the armrest and said, “For a remote and desolate place, it does look like a Dao Hall. The seat is quite stylish, but it’s not all that comfortable.”

The ministers gnashed their teeth in anger, but the Radiant Emperor simply stood there with his eyes lowered.

Xu Ran said, “Ah right, I almost forgot. I think there was a sinner who tried to give me instructions just now. The penalty for offending an emissary is death. Jian, do it.”

The chiseled young man beside him nodded. With a gentle flick of his finger, a formless sword energy circled the minister once. The man froze on the spot as his head fell off of his body.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. It was so fast that the dukes and marshals didn’t even realize what had happened. Perhaps the only one who could’ve stopped the attack was the Radiant Emperor. His fingers did move briefly, but he quickly regained his calm afterward.

Xu Ran said to the Radiant Emperor, “You’re called Ji Jian?”

The ministers were somewhat restless, but the Emperor gestured for them to remain silent. He bowed toward Xu Ran and said, “Indeed that is my name.”

“It looks like you’re not doing a great job of keeping your men in check. I hope you don’t mind me stepping in?”

“It is our race’s fortune that an Immortal Emissary would visit us. I wouldn’t dare.”

Xu Ran smiled. “It’s best that you can think of things this way. I didn’t make this arduous trip in vain it seems.”

His expression shifted all of a sudden as he turned toward the entrance.

Zhang Boqian had just appeared at the entrance. He was drenched in blood, but his figure was as sturdy as the mountains. It was as though nothing in this world could stop his advance.

After entering, the heavenly monarch said in a clear voice, “I came over to greet the Immortal Emissary. Forgive me for being unable to perform proper salutations for I am badly injured.”

Xu Ran glanced at Zhang Boqian in surprise. He turned toward the lady standing behind him and exchanged a few words. Afterward, he turned back to Zhang Boqian and said, “Who would’ve thought this remote land would produce such a warrior! Yes, someone of this vigor must be a descendant of General Zhang Zhixian. Men, prepare a seat!”

No one in the hall moved.

It was only when the Radiant Emperor cast a meaningful glance that someone carried a seat onto the platform. Zhang Boqian simply sat down without any excessive courtesies.

“Ye, give Boqian my medicine.”

The lady produced a bottle of clear liquid which she passed over through the air. “Drink.”

Zhang Boqian finished it in one gulp. The medicine was fairly miraculous, and even the container transformed into a wisp of clear energy which entered his body.

Monarch Zhang sat there with his eyes closed, his face flushed red before turning pale. This alternation of colors happened nine times before crackling sounds appeared all over his body. His aura began rising as well.

Zhang Boqian opened his eyes in surprise. “Thank you for the medicine, Immortal Emissary!”

Xu Ran waved it off, saying, “You were able to absorb all of the medicine in such a short time. Your talents are definitely above General Zhang’s. Not bad!”

He then glanced at the Radiant Emperor. “You keep standing.”

The Radiant Emperor wasn’t angry. “As I should.”

Xu Ran glanced at everyone in the hall, saying, “Unrelated people may withdraw.”

The Radiant Emperor waved his hand, sending all his guards and attendants away. Some of the lower-ranking ministers also left the hall.

Xu Ran said, “Why I am here and why you are here is a long discussion. I don’t think you know the full story, either, so we’ll tell you. Ye, you tell them.”

The Lady named Ye said, “Back in the year, Lord Ji was indicted for his poor performance in battle. Generals Zhang, Zhao, and Li were also implicated in the matter. The four families and some lesser families, a hundred thousand in total, had their spiritual wisdom removed. They were exiled on a landship to a distant land. They reached the Evernight World after one thousand seven hundred years, where the landship merged with this place. Your ancestors multiplied here, and thus the human race came to be.”

This secret information wasn’t even known to the Radiant Emperor.

Ye continued, “According to Immortal Law, exiled people may return to the Immortal Heaven if they regain their spiritual wisdom. How could this be an easy process? The process was as hard as giving sentience to wild beasts. Duke Xu of that era was good friends with Marquis Ji, so he couldn’t quite let go of old sentiments. The latter had accumulated a fair bit of contributions throughout his life despite losing that fateful battle, so Duke Xu didn’t want the marquis’ offspring to become barbarians. He thus sent his eldest son, Xu Fu to investigate their exiles’ fate. It took him a hundred and ten years to locate the Evernight World.”

Xu Ran said, “Xu Fu is my granduncle.”

Ye said, “After arriving here, Xu Fu saw that the human race had fallen into grave danger and become livestock for the vampires. He couldn’t bear to see this, yet he couldn’t break the iron law of Immortal Heaven. Hence, he used his powers to cause great chaos among the threads of Evernight’s fate. He took the opportunity to unseal the human race’s spiritual wisdom and gave some pointers to some of the more talented people. He also taught the four clans their original cultivation methods. That was when the humans began their path to cultivation.”

Xu Ran laughed coldly. “Oh right, my granduncle not only risked severe punishment to teach the humans the art of divination, but he also strengthened their luck. Otherwise, how could criminal descendants like you be so favored by the heavens? You have to know that you stand opposed to this world.”

The Radiant Emperor and Zhang Boqian listened in silence.

The lady said, “Young Master, the human race has stood strong throughout the years and the powerhouses have been at the forefront of all danger, making countless sacrifices. The Ji family has given much for the Chronicle of Glory, so much so that their bloodline is now fairly thin.”

Xu Ran’s expression cleared up as he glanced at the Radiant Emperor. “If that is the case, you are also qualified to be seated.”

“Thank you, Immortal Emissary.” The Radiant Emperor accepted the gesture, but there was neither joy nor displeasure on his face as he took the newly arranged seat.

Xu Ran said, “My granduncle paid a steep price to pass on the divination arts and tamper with fate. He passed not long after returning to Immortal Heaven. Considering his earth-shattering cultivation, he should’ve lived five hundred years at least.”

He gestured for the lady to continue.

“The unsealing of spiritual wisdom is to be followed by a return to the Immortal Heaven. The way with which to return is the Chronicle of Glory. This was accomplished by Ji Xingjing when he severed the soaring serpent’s wings and volunteered to shoulder the burden.”

The Radiant Emperor was shaken. “May I ask how you knew of these details?”

“That is because our lineage has kept some people here since Duke Xu Fu’s return. It’s been my turn for the past five hundred years.”

The Radiant Emperor stood up and bowed deeply. “We thank you deeply!”

The lady said, “We cannot easily break the laws of Immortal Heaven. My only objective for remaining here is to ensure that the Ji family is not exterminated by Evernight, consequently throwing the Chronicle of Glory down the drain. Your Ji family still has a lot of capable descendants, so I never interfered. I did nothing, so there is no need to thank me.”