On this rainy night, beneath the lightning and thunder, the Holy Maiden looked lost.

Why was her Divine Soul incomplete?

"I have to think about this properly…"

The Holy Maiden began to think about her entire life so far in this world.

She had to make up for this flaw to advance fearlessly.

…

The Yuhua God Dynasty, Imperial Capital, Cold Palace.

Lin Jiufeng had broken through to the next stage by watching the rain. His Divine Soul finally had a human form as he officially entered the Immortal Treasury stage of the Human God Realm.

"The goal of the Immortal Treasury stage is to open the treasures of the human body and unlock its ultimate secrets layer by layer to further widen the difference in strength between the stages and the realms." Lin Jiufeng recalled the secret manual he had seen in the royal library.

He needed to slowly unlock the secrets contained within his body for its infinite treasures.

The Immortal Treasury stage was an unfamiliar realm to Lin Jiufeng.

Thus, the stage of trying to get used to his increase in power began.

He didn't pay much attention to the outside world.

On the other hand, Dachun's food delivery resumed.

The time period for food delivery changed from once every seven days to once a month.

Lin Jiufeng didn't need to consume food and drinks so frequently after all.

To be honest, food had already become some form of a stimulant in life for him. It allowed him to satisfy his appetite once a month.

Recently, the white cat realized that Lin Jiufeng had made yet another breakthrough.

It was extremely discouraged as Lin Jiufeng's breakthrough speed was just too fast.

It couldn't catch up to him no matter how hard it tried.

It became very dejected.

However, Lin Jiufeng could recently feel the strange eyes of the white cat as it looked at him from a distance. The weird and peculiar gaze made Lin Jiufeng feel uneasy towards it.

As a result, he didn't go and purposely provoke it into action.

…

Time passed by in the Yuhua God Dynasty.

Lin Tianyuan's management of the Empire has been remarkable. There was now an abundance of Martial Sages in the Yuhua God Dynasty. In short, there were powerful Martial Sages in both the army and in the Imperial Court.

These Martial Sages followed Lin Tianyuan's command.

As a result, he became even more arrogant.

His policy had to be implemented.

Even if the cabinet ministers said it was wrong, he insisted on it.

Lin Tianyuan believed that he wouldn't make any mistakes—that his policy was good for the citizens.

If the citizens objected or didn't like his policies, it must be because the officials below didn't carry out his orders thoroughly.

On top of that, after that time when he chose some concubines, countless beauties entered the palace.

Every day, he would be with one or several of them at once.

Lin Tianyuan had become incredibly busy.

During this time, his favorite concubine was a woman called Mei Niang.

He was now resting in Mei Niang's palace every night.

He wouldn't go to the Empress nor to the side of the other concubines.

The Yuhua God Dynasty was quietly going through a few changes.

Of course, Lin Jiufeng didn't know about the situation as he was cultivating quietly in the Cold Palace.

Silently breaking through.

Few if not, no people would choose to come to the Cold Palace. There was only him and the white cat behind its sturdy doors. Occasionally, they would bicker, while sometimes, they would cultivate separately and away from each other.

While the other was cultivating, none of them would disturb the other.

Time continued to pass like this until Dachun came to deliver food once again.

Once a month, Dachun would always arrive punctually, never slacking off.

Dachun's food delivery only happened once a month—he always arrived on time.

He also had never once slacked.

He was now a commander of the imperial guards.

He held a lofty position for he was in charge of guarding the Forbidden City, arresting traitors against the crown, and a personal lackey of the Emperor.

But he was still extremely respectful toward Lin Jiufeng.

As usual, he told Lin Jiufeng about what had recently happened in the Imperial Capital.

Three years ago, Lin Jiufeng didn't let him deliver food.

It was only until recently did he start to deliver food to him once again.

On this day, Dachun came as usual for his monthly food delivery service and also as a bringer of news.

"Your Royal Highness, how have you been these three years?" Dachun asked cordially.

Behind the doors of the Cold Palace, Lin Jiufeng smiled and said, "I'm fine, what about you?"

"I'm not bad either. My cultivation level has increased and my second child has also been born. My official position has also been raised to one of the commanders of the imperial guards. I can be considered to be a lofty general now. It's all thanks to Your Royal Highness," Dachun said gratefully.

"This is your own effort, you don't have to thank me." Lin Jiufeng shook his head.

He chatted with Dachun over casual things.

Dachun was extremely excited when he talked about his recent changes as he told Lin Jiufeng about his gains in the past three years.

Taking concubines and having children, getting promoted and gaining wealth, breaking through in cultivation…

He had encountered all these things.

They were all good things.

Over the years, these happened one after another.

Dachun didn't have a strong cultivation base and had yet to achieve the Martial Sage realm.

He was only able to become a commander of the imperial guards because of Lin Tianyuan's grooming. After all, he was the only person who had interacted with Lin Jiufeng.

This was a way of showing respect to Lin Jiufeng by proxy.

Hence, Dachun became the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards.

Although there were also other people in this position, Dachun was still very happy.

He didn't have much ambition. His cultivation base was that of a Great Grandmaster and on a daily basis—he was in charge of the logistics within the imperial guards.

Albeit, this was also his own choice despite his lofty position.

"Your Royal Highness, do you know? In the Capital, news of abolishing the current Empress has been spreading like wildfire," Da Chun said softly.

"Abolishing the current Empress?" Lin Jiufeng raised her brows and stopped drinking. He couldn't help but ask in surprise.

"Yes…"

"His Majesty is going to abolish the dignified and virtuous empress and turn a concubine into the Empress," Da Chun explained.

"Why?" Lin Jiufeng asked with a frown.

Lin Tianyuan met the current Empress when they were young, they eventually decided to marry and had been supporting each other for almost 20 years since then.

Their marriage bore fruit to a daughter and son. The two of them were the current Eldest Princess and the Crown Prince of the Yuhua God Dynasty.

"I heard that he despises the Empress for being immoral and being jealous of others," Da Chun said in a low voice.

He was also indignant about this issue.

Although he worshipped Lin Tianyuan for managing the Yuhua God Dynasty well all these years.

He was still very unhappy about his handling of this matter.

Was abolishing the Empress for the sake of a concubine something a wise ruler would do?

"Has he gone crazy?" Lin Jiufeng was confused.

How did the obedient Lin Tianyuan become like this?

"Your Royal Highness. The entire imperial court has been in a heated argument over this matter. His Majesty hasn't issued a decree for the time being. It's just that he no longer goes to the Empress's palace anymore and is focused on pampering a single concubine."

Da Chun sighed as he explained.

He was sighing for the Empress.

The Empress was a very virtuous woman. She had been in charge of the imperial harem for more than ten-plus years and she had managed it well.

But now, she was actually being despised by Emperor Ming.

"Who's the concubine that he's favoring?" Lin Jiufeng asked with a frown.

"It's Consort Ming, her name is Mei Niang. She's extremely beautiful and has bewitched His Majesty. Several concubines in the harem have been given the white silk because they were jealous of Consort Ming," Da Chun said in a low voice.

"What foolish actions!" Lin Jiufeng snorted coldly.

"Did Emperor Ming make any mistake in the national affairs?" Lin Jiufeng asked.

"No." Da Chun shook her head.

"That's still fine then. Let him argue with the civil and military officials about the imperial harem. I believe the civil and military officials won't let him abolish the Empress," said Lin Jiufeng.

"Your Highness is right. The cabinet ministers are unanimously opposed to this matter. Right now, the court is strongly against this. If there's any other progress, I'll report it to you again," Da Chun nodded and said.

Lin Jiufeng finished a pot of wine and let Dachun take it away.

He shook his head in the Cold Palace and said regretfully, "Perhaps Emperor Yuan was the aberrant."

Emperor Yuan worked nonstop for ten-plus years and he had never truly enjoyed the benefits of being in power. All he felt was the pressure of obtaining more power for the betterment of the world.

He worked diligently until death, unwilling to seek his own enjoyment.

However, Lin Tianyuan evidently couldn't do the same.

It has been almost two decades since he succeeded to the throne. He had done well in the first ten-plus years, implementing various reforms and even eliminating the buddhist sects.

But when these were done and completed, Lin Tianyuan felt that it was time for him to reap the fruits of his labor. Looking at the calm and peaceful world, he suddenly lost the motivation to move forward.

He stopped in his tracks and focused on enjoying himself.

Wine, beauties, and power slowly corroded his heart.

He held great power and became arrogant because of it.

He couldn't take in advice from those loyal to him anymore.

"In history, monarchs like Lin Tianyuan are the norm…"

"There has only been one Emperor Yuan in history." Lin Jiufeng sighed.

This was why he said that Emperor Yuan was an aberrant.