"The Martial Emperor is back!"
Emperor Dachang was in the process of cleaning up the aftermath of battle when he saw a figure appear in the sky. He rapidly said, "Martial Emperor, how is the situation? Have you managed to track down the Ninth Camp? Since you've returned so quickly, I assume the people from the Ninth Camp must have gotten the message and fled."
"You're wrong. All the god-level fighters from the Ninth Camp have been killed by me. This camp has lost all its combat power."
Chu Yuan spoke indifferently, as if he were discussing an insignificant matter that wasn't worth mentioning.
Emperor Dachang was stunned and felt the surge of Chu Yuan's might. He exclaimed, "Martial Emperor, why do I feel that your power is even more terrifying than before?"
The sensation was spot on. Chu Yuan had indeed consumed the life essence of dozens of god-level fighters.
Although it was only a minor breakthrough in a lesser realm, the chilling aura he exuded was overwhelming and unfathomable.
"I did indeed break through.", Chu Yuan said calmly, "Currently, the five most powerful camps of the Demon Abyss Army are besieging the Hanging Sky Imperial Dynasty. This could be a good opportunity for a sweeping offensive."
"What is your next step?" Chu Yuan asked.
"Ah! My Dachang is completely destroyed. The invasion of Demon Abyss Army has left countless people homeless, we've lost more than half of our greatest fighters, our country's luck has dissipated, the people's spirit has scattered, and there's no national pulse left. It's as good as a lost kingdom. Now it's just an empty shell, hardly an Imperial Dynasty."
Emperor Dachang sighed.
Although they had survived by the skin of their teeth this time, they were merely clutching at straws.
The city was in ruins, nowhere resembling the four-star imperial dynasty it once was.
"I can no longer consider myself an Emperor. I can't protect my citizens and I no longer deserve to hold this position."
Emperor Dachang looked at Chu Yuan, his eyes casting a struggle and hesitation before finally settling on determination, "If the Martial Emperor doesn't mind, I can pledge allegiance to Dawu and unite all our citizens under Dawu to become their subjects!"
His statement was somewhat surprising to Chu Yuan, but it made sense.
The Dachang Dynasty was indeed destroyed, with more than half of the powerful fighters killed, and citizens fleeing for their lives. Continuing as emperor no longer made sense.
Moreover, he had seen it clearly. With the sudden arrival of the Demon Abyss Army, the entire Hanging Sky realm was having a reshuffle. Given his inadequate strength, he couldn't possibly make any significant waves.
The rise of the Martial Emperor.
The Hanging Sky Imperial Dynasty under the siege of the Demon Abyss Army.
He might as well pledge allegiance to Dawu as early as possible while he still has some value. Perhaps, he could receive greater benefits that way. Besides, Chu Yuan could easily slay god-level beings. How terrifying would he be in the future if he survived?
All these were unimaginably disturbing thoughts.
Whether it's the Hanging Sky Imperial Dynasty, the Demon Abyss Army, or Dawu, in the future, only one of them could exist.
"Oh? So you want to pledge allegiance to me?"
Chu Yuan asked casually.
"Yes, The Martial Emperor has saved my life twice, once in the Hanging Sky Imperial Dynasty, and once here. Now the Martial Emperor is fighting against the Demon Abyss Dynasty to save the Hanging Sky realm. I have to contribute my strength!"
Emperor Dachang confirmed, "From now on, I am not the Emperor of Dachang, but Lu Chang, a minister of Dawu!"
"Well, I accept your surrender. I will get Dawu's forces to swiftly annihilate the remaining Demon Abyss Army within the borders of Dachang and restore peace to all the citizens. From now on, this place will be known as Changzhou."
Chu Yuan was destined to rule the Hanging Sky realm, and Lu Chang's keen awareness had saved him a lot of trouble.
Now, this place was renamed to Changzhou, the Dawu forces would continue to move forward and legitimately establish their presence here. Then they would incorporate the remaining forces from the original Dachang Dynasty.
Although the population of Dachang Dynasty was not as large as the Great Shaking Dynasty, it still numbered in the billions.
Furthermore, it was Lu Chang's voluntary submission, issuing the final decree.
Without any conflict, Dawu's forces annihilated the Demon Abyss Army, making the citizens accept their rule willingly. They quickly integrated into Dawu.
Once they became citizens of Dawu, they started benefiting as everyone got to eat delicious Spirit Yuan rice, received magic crystals and elixirs.
On the military front, some continued serving as state soldiers, while Dawu's forces were also expanded. They were equipped with God-annihilation crossbows, rocket crossbows.
Seeing these two types of equipment, suitable for individual soldiers, Lu Chang realized that the Hanging Sky Imperial Dynasty did not lose out without a good fight at the Watery Plains battlefield. This type of equipment, applicable to the entire army, was hard to resist.
The news of Chu Yuan eliminating all the god-level fighters from the ninth camp had spread.
The entire realm was shaken.
Since the Demon Abyss Army had invaded the Hanging Sky realm, they had not suffered such a big loss. Even the Hanging Sky Imperial Dynasty was continually pushed back by their unrelenting pressure and was now confined within the Imperial City, on the brink of being conquered at any moment.
This news undeniably spurred the people's morale tremendously.
The Demon Abyss Army was notoriously brutal. Some dynasties attempted to surrender to them, but they still ended up annihilating all the powerful fighters within those dynasties.
This made many other dynasties realize that surrender meant death and resistance was still death.
The appearance of Dawu, like a ray of hope, gave everyone hope.
Even the once four-star Dachang Dynasty had fully integrated into Dawu.
This led several weaker dynasties, such as those that were one-star or two-star dynasties, are only protected by a few god-level fighters to flock to Dawu. They were willing to give up their thrones and unite their entire kingdoms under Dawu just to seek its protection.
After all, these kinds of Emperors were seen as laughable in front of the great dynasties.
Without any doubt, Chu Yuan's Dawu Dynasty had now become the savior of the Hanging Sky realm.
Chu Yuan sent out a message: any who became a citizen of Dawu would enjoy his protection.
This protection undeniably made many people pledge their allegiance to him.
"Triple attribute seal: Gather the will of 50 billion living beings and offer a top-grade divine artifact to unseal the third seal."
"Current Progress: (50 billion/50 billion)."
"Current collective will has reached its limit, would you like to unseal the third?"
As the citizens pledging allegiance to Dawu reached the requirement of 50 billion, Chu Yuan finally heard the long-awaited voice announcing the release of the seal.
Continuously absorbing such a large number of citizens, Chu Yuan intended to unseal the third attribute of the Emperor's Sword and unlock its new ability.
"Unseal the third seal!"
Of course, Chu Yuan would choose to unseal the third seal.
The first attribute increased his combat power, benefiting him immensely.
The second attribute, the Source of Faith, although did not seem as beneficial as the first but enabled all citizens of Dawu to pool their faith, allowing him to coalesce a map representing Dawu and observe any minute changes.
"The third attribute seal is in the process of being unsealed..."
Chu Yuan saw what seemed to be 50 billion points of light swirling in from the map before his eyes.
With Chu Yuan casually sacrificing a top-grade divine artifact, an unbelievable change occurred instantly.
"The third seal of the Emperor's Sword has been unsealed."
The system notification sounded.
"So, this is the ability of the third attribute!"
Chu Yuan tightly gripped the Sword of the Emperor, feeling its power had increased manifold from before. The supreme majesty of the Human Race was gradually revealing itself.
The third attribute, the Furnace of Heaven and Earth!
Transmuting infinite amounts of nation's luck into the Furnace of Heaven and Earth!
Chu Yuan looked at the new ability that unravelled after the third seal of the Sword of the Emperor had been unlocked.