The hall fell silent as Ye Yun's words echoed, all stunned by his immense power. They had repeatedly estimated Ye Yun and the Ten Directions Empire's overall strength, which was why they dared to oppose them. Yet, Ye Yun's might far surpassed their wildest estimations, by tens of thousands of times. They couldn't even withstand the aura emanating from him.
"This humble subject, the Domain Lord of Sword Domain, greets Your Majesty..." The Sword Emperor, who had been seated on the throne, trembled as Ye Yun approached. He scrambled down from his seat and prostrated himself on the ground, quivering.
"My Ten Directions Universe ranks the lowest in this plane. Throughout countless ages, not only has no Great Emperor emerged, but no one has even dared to tread the Imperial Path. Now, Zheng intends to walk the Imperial Path, and it is disheartening that not only do you not support him from within the same universe, but you actively obstruct him. Tell me, how should Zheng deal with you!" Ye Yun's voice was as calm as water, yet his killing intent was palpable.
"This..." The thirty-six clan powerhouses were struck dumb. They couldn't possibly say that they were unwilling to submit to others, to become their pawns, nor did they wish for their status and interests in their respective star fields to be affected.
"This subordinate, the Commander of the Sword Domain Imperial Guard, leads his troops to pay respects to Your Majesty..."
"This subordinate, the Commander of the Sword Domain Imperial City Guard, leads his troops to pay respects to Your Majesty..."
At this very moment, two voices boomed from outside the hall, causing everyone within to turn pale. Regardless of the faction, the Imperial Guard and City Guard were forbidden from entering the court except under special circumstances. Yet, today, these two not only arrived but did so together.
Could they have known I was in danger and have come to rescue us? But their strength is only peak Divine Lord, not even Monarch realm. Their arrival is futile! From Ye Yun's aura, they could feel an oppressive, monstrous power that could not be compensated for by the sheer number of Monarch realm cultivators.
Ye Yun remained silent. The Sword Emperor and the over a hundred Monarchs from the thirty-six domains dared not speak. Outside the hall, the two commanders knelt, not daring to leak even a wisp of their divine sense.
An extremely oppressive atmosphere pervaded the hall for a full quarter of an hour. Both inside and outside the court seemed to fall into a profound silence, which was then shattered by a world-shaking aura.
"This subject, Sword Domain's Great General Jian Wushang, along with the Great Generals of the thirty-six domains and the Ten Directions Marshal Yue Xia, has come to pay respects to Your Majesty!"
The Sword Emperor and the others' faces changed slightly. All the commanding marshals of the thirty-six domains had returned? And they had brought back the Marshal of the Ten Directions Empire? Had they captured him?
The over one hundred Monarch realm powerhouses felt cold sweat streaming down their bodies, devoid of any joy. They were currently suppressed by the nation's lord, while their own armies had captured his generals. These people weren't here to claim merit, but to claim their lives.
However...
"This humble subject, Jian Chen, Pavilion Master of Sword Domain's Sword Pavilion, along with thirty high-ranking Divine Lords, pays respects to Your Majesty, wishing Your Majesty eternal health and peace."
"This humble subject, Jian Shi'er, Guild Master of Sword Domain's Mercenary Guild, along with thirty-eight high-ranking Divine Lords from the Mercenary Guild, has specially come to pay respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live!"
...
Following this, voices began to erupt from outside the hall, each one causing the faces of those within to grow more grim. They finally sensed that something was amiss and could no longer restrain themselves from deploying their divine senses.
Outside the hall, the square forged from black iron was densely packed with hundreds of kneeling figures. Every single one of them was a renowned figure in Sword Domain, with many being individuals that even their court desperately sought to win over. For instance, the Mercenary Guild and the Sword Pavilion alone almost monopolized all the sword cultivation geniuses in Sword Domain, and nearly thirty percent of their subordinates were nurtured by these two colossal powers.
Yet, these two forces had always been indifferent to power. Why would they suddenly enter the imperial court today? Could it be that the Sword Emperor's prestige had reached a level where he could completely command Sword Domain?
"Since everyone is here, come in!" Ye Yun, seated on the main throne, spoke indifferently as the Monarch realm powerhouses waited with bated breath.
As Ye Yun spoke, thirty-nine people filed in under the horrified gazes of the Monarch realm cultivators and knelt before Ye Yun on the throne. The "Your Majesty" they spoke of was Ye Yun?!
"Your Majesty!" The most shocked among them was Yue Xia. He had been leading the two great corps, confronting billions of enemy troops, when he was suddenly summoned by Ye Yun's divine sense to the Sword Domain Imperial Court.
"Mm, the thirty-six domains will henceforth be incorporated into my empire. All existing imperial courts will be dissolved and destroyed! Soldiers above Half-Saint realm will be integrated into the various corps. Those in the Sun and Moon realms will be handed over to Qin Zhan for the security legions. As for..." Ye Yun looked at Yue Xia, causing a tremor within him and a palpable pressure to wash over him.
"This subject accepts the decree!"
"Do any of you have any objections?" Ye Yun surveyed the surroundings.
"This subject dares not have any objections! We shall obey Your Majesty's command." Hearing Ye Yun's question, the hundreds present broke out in a cold sweat. They didn't even know if they would survive, how could they dare have objections?
"That's good!" Ye Yun's divine sense moved, and he vanished instantly.
"Yue Xia, everyone present has been implanted with my mark. Later, I will control all the Divine Lords of the thirty-six domains. Your sole objective now is to accelerate my progress! Anyone who resists, strike them down directly!" A voice echoed in Yue Xia's mind. Yue Xia clearly felt Ye Yun's urgency.
"This subordinate obeys!"
With Ye Yun's departure, the faces of the hundreds present turned extremely grim. They were all Divine Lords and above in Sword Domain, each being an ancestor of a dominant force. Now, they had become Ye Yun's slaves, their lives hanging by a thread at his whim! When Ye Yun planted the divine sense mark, they had secretly tried to unravel it with their own divine senses, but to no avail. Their divine senses were vastly inferior to Ye Yun's, by no less than tens of thousands of times. It was their first time hearing of a person's divine sense being so powerful.
"This humble subject, Jian Wuya of Sword Domain, greets the Commander!" The former Sword Emperor of Sword Domain, seeing that the situation was irreversible, could only bow down to Yue Xia. He hadn't expected that the strength of this Ten Directions Empire Marshal was unfathomable to him, a definite peak Great Position realm cultivator! His own perfected Monarch realm seemed only fit to be instantly killed before him.
Subsequently, the domain lords of the various star fields and the leaders of major factions were all reorganized by Yue Xia. Countless wealth and resources were transferred into numerous Sumeru rings, then brought back to the empire by logistics soldiers and deposited into the national treasury.
Over the next two days, five of the six great corps, excluding the Human Race's First Corps, descended upon Sword Domain and began the reassessment and reorganization of the original more than three billion soldiers. Each of the five great corps now comprised three hundred million soldiers, with the lowest-ranked soldier reaching the peak Sun realm. The remaining soldiers were absorbed by personnel arranged by Qin Zhan. This reorganization saw the incorporation of over thirteen thousand seven hundred Divine Lords and one hundred and twenty-seven Monarch realm cultivators. Upon being incorporated, these Monarchs and Divine Lords, along with their families, would be relocated to live on the third level of the Imperial Palace. They would have one month to rest, after which they would be directly integrated into Zhou Ningdong's "Thorns."