Imperial Capital, Divination Pavilion.

At this moment, the Divination Pavilion was surrounded by elite guards. The four giant ballistae at each corner of the pavilion were emitting a terrifying aura. The bolts loaded in them were actually made of colossus bones!

The cannons were actually made to defend the palace, but they had been moved to the Divination Pavilion.

The place was now a key area for the human race. In two more hours, the great array under the pavilion would be used as the foundation to deploy a peerless secret art. This would guide the radiant sun into its new orbit and complete the thousand-year plan that was the Chronicle of Glory.

Xu Ran was walking through the hall, inspecting every pattern of the array in detail. He performed the checks personally and didn’t once complain about the labor. Jian and Ye followed him closely all this time.

The Radiant Emperor was standing quietly in a corner of the hall, a wisp of darkness appearing on his forehead from time to time.

Xu Ran stood up as he finished checking the last rune and glanced at the Radiant Emperor. “You’ll recover as soon as the Chronicle of Glory is complete. Today is the last day, so bear with it for a while.”

The Emperor replied, “Thank you for the concern, Immortal Emissary.”

Xu Ran asked casually, “How are Prince Greensun’s injuries?”

The Radiant Emperor replied, “He appears to have relapsed today, he still cannot use origin power.”

Xu Ran said with a smile, “That’s correct. Our treasured medicine possesses miraculous healing properties, but the patient will lose his origin power for three days. I forgot to tell you.”

The Radiant Emperor raised his brows. “It turns out you had everything planned out.”

Xu Ran laughed. “This is to stop certain people from acting rashly. We cannot take any risks with something as important as the Chronicle of Glory. This way, there will be no accidents.”

“You are wise, Emissary.” The Emperor bowed.

Xu Ran said, “No need for formalities. Once the Chronicle of Glory is completed, you people may return to the ancestral land with me. This desolate place cannot compare at all to Immortal Heaven. When the time comes, I’ll help you obtain the necessary resources to further your cultivation path. Once you have achieved a certain level of strength, you can rebuild Marquis Ji’s glorious legacy.”

“Thank you, Immortal Emissary.” The Emperor seemed delighted.

Xu Ran glanced outside the window, his eyes turning an eerie gold. “Everything is normal right now. The Chronicle of Glory will enter its orbit in one more hour. How are the air defense and the great array?”

Jian said, “The great array has been inspected, everything is normal.”

Ye said, “The humans barely have any airships left, so there’s no air defense to speak of. Only a dozen or so serviceable airships remain. Not to mention a great dark monarch, even a duke can wipe them out.”

Xu Ran nodded. “The barbarians are also out of cards to play.”

Ye said, “It’s fine even if they barge in. They’ll lose thirty percent of their cultivation once the array covers them. We’ll then go up and kill them all!”

Xu Ran laughed. “Good, finish them all! That’s how it should be!”

Jian wanted to say something, but seeing Xu Ran laugh, he decided to stay quiet.

The latter hadn’t finished laughing when a divination expert behind him fell limp to the ground.

His laughter came to a sudden stop. He turned around to find the diviners dropping like flies, blood flowing out of their mouths and noses. It was clear that they would never survive.

“T-This…” Xu Ran’s limbs went cold.

He stared at the Radiant Emperor with a razor-sharp gaze. “What’s going on?”

The Radiant Emperor seemed a bit panicked as well. “Did they suffer a backlash because they were overloaded?”

Xu Ran revealed a cold smile, the killing intent in his eyes growing stronger and stronger.

The Radiant Emperor sensed the change as well. The surprise on his face slowly faded away as he said calmly, “Why ask if you already know?”

Xu Ran gritted his teeth. “Did you do this?”

The Radiant Emperor smiled. “Most of them are brave men who chose to take their own lives. Some of the reluctant ones took a bit of fixing.”

Xu Ran reached out and grabbed the Radiant Emperor by the neck. The latter was a heavenly monarch, but he simply couldn’t put up any resistance at the moment.

Xu Ran sneered, “Criminals! Do you think I have no way to deal with you? So what if you are a heavenly monarch. The Chronicle of Glory is in my hands. As long as your name is in the list, you can forget about using a speck of origin power against me!”

The Radiant Emperor was a bit shocked at first, but he grew calm after learning the truth. “And here I thought I had embarrassed my ancestors.”

“I granted you life, power, riches, and allowed you to protect your people! Are you not satisfied? Why would you do this?” The man’s voice was fairly sharp and harsh.

“Put me down and I’ll tell you.”

Xu Ran loosened his grip, dropping the Emperor to the ground. The latter first tidied up his crown and robes before saying, “Our Ji clan ancestor founded the Empire. In the light, he fought valiantly on the battlefield; in secret, he made continuous sacrifices for the Chronicle of Glory. Today, the Founding Ancestor’s bloodline is almost gone! What was all of this sacrifice for? Was it for lifespan? For riches? For power? What’s the point of all that when we no longer have a bloodline?”

Xu Ran took a step back subconsciously.

“It is the Founding Ancestor’s teaching that the Ji clan must be at the forefront of every matter. We’ve held the throne for one thousand and two hundred years for all daybreak citizens! If I were to return to the ancestral land with a thousand people, how will I face my ancestors in death? How will I face the citizens who recognize me as their ruler? Ji Jian cannot and will not abandon the masses to follow a single person!”

“Y-You…” Xu Ran was livid. He was so angry that he didn’t know what to say. It took him a moment before saying angrily, “All living beings are dogs to an immortal! What masses? You’re just criminals and ants! Do you think ants could cultivate the path to greatness and build up the dao hall? What’s the point of having millions of ants? Once the radiant sun arrives, all of them will die!”

The Radiant Emperor said, “Ten thousand years ago, our Ji family was also an ant. I might be a heavenly monarch today, but I have not forgotten my roots. I still remember that I am also an ant, just like the people of daybreak.”

Xu Ran’s brows knitted together in anger. “How stubborn!”

“To live and die for the masses is a justifiable fate.”

“Then die!” Xu Ran slammed the Radiant Emperor’s head with his palm.

All color faded away from the Emperor’s body, turning him completely grey. He did his utmost to move his eyes, hoping to glance at Empress Li one last time, but he stopped moving midway.

His body first turned into flowing sand, which then transformed into smoke that slowly faded away.

“Who else is dissatisfied!” Xu Ran roared.

It was then that he realized that there was no one left from the Empire except Empress Li. The only ones standing were Jian, Li, himself, and his guards.

Xu Ran’s eyes twitched. He had a feeling that his subordinates were all looking at him with weird expressions.

He collected himself and said to Empress Li, “Do you have a way to salvage the situation?”

Empress Li replied calmly, as though nothing had happened. “Allow me to think.”

“Very well, hurry up!”

Ye walked over to Xu Ran’s side. “What if she can’t figure out a way?”

Xu Ran’s expression turned harsh. “If she can’t think of a way, we will let the sun run through the Evernight World. If I cannot obtain the River of Blood, I will destroy this world!”

“I understand!” Ye’s expression was cold.

It was then that a clap of thunder rumbled through the sky and a majestic mountain appeared in the air above the capital! Its appearance shook the great array to its core, so much so that it might shatter any moment.

Xu Ran was shocked upon seeing the grandeur of this mountain. “What is this?!”

“The Sacred Mountain of Evernight.” Empress Li sighed. That sigh almost sounded like a mournful sob.