"The war is over?"
The young men and women looked at the red-bearded old man.
They had just arrived, and the war was already over? And how had it ended?
Who won?
"Ling Shen King is dead—killed by a powerhouse named 'Milky Way.'"
The red-bearded elder explained patiently.
Just now, King Chisong had already informed him of the latest updates from the battlefield.
Even without Chisong, he would soon have learned about it himself.
"Ling Shen King is dead?"
The young men all drew a sharp breath.
With Qingfen City safe and the red-bearded elder saying the war was over, they’d already guessed something unexpected happened to force Ling Shen King to retreat.
But now the elder was saying Ling Shen King was dead?
Death and retreat were two entirely different things.
According to the intelligence they'd received—
Ling Shen King was a core royal who’d grown to the extreme.
Who could kill such a powerhouse? A Heavenly Sovereign?
There were only a few Heavenly Sovereigns in the entire Liyang Ancient Kingdom, each one famous—and none called 'Milky Way.'
"Did Chisong say this 'Milky Way' is one of our Liyang Kingdom’s core royals?"
The red-bearded elder pondered. Since the war had ended, and ended in Liyang’s favor, he wasn’t in a hurry anymore.
"Which of our kin is it?"
He was curious—there were indeed some ancient core royals of the Liyang Kingdom who'd gone out traveling in search of a way to break their bloodline shackles.
"Come, let's go pay a visit."
The red-bearded elder glanced at the young men beside him and set out for the battlefield.
Since he was here, he wanted to meet this core royal Chisong had mentioned.
After all, anyone who could so effortlessly kill Ling Shen King had to be stronger than an ordinary extreme core royal.
On the battlefield.
Lin Yuan was chatting casually with King Chisong and Chijue King.
"If it hadn’t been for Senior Milky Way’s intervention, we would never have kept Qingfen Domain or the surrounding territories," Chisong said gratefully. "Your favor to me is immense, senior."
Although the defeat was partly because Ling Shen King’s strength exceeded expectations—
A loss was still a loss, and with dozens of territories gone, Chisong would have to answer for it at the capital.
"It’s not really a favor," Lin Yuan shook his head.
Even without Chisong, he wouldn’t have just watched Qingfen Domain be overrun.
"It might not be much to you, Senior Milky Way, but to me, it's a debt beyond words," Chisong said solemnly. "But I don’t even know how to thank you."
"Treasures? You wouldn't care for those, and I couldn't offer what you’d want anyway."
Chisong was an ordinary royal himself, a bit stronger than a peak Great Sovereign, but far below an extreme core royal.
With such a gap, anything Chisong valued as a treasure would be meaningless to Lin Yuan.
"So I’ve decided to give up all credit for this war and let you have it, Senior—you can choose anything you want from the capital’s treasury."
He continued, for this defensive war, as supreme commander, Chisong would have been rewarded if they’d won.
And unlike powerhouses like Qingfen Marquis or Great Sovereign Redleaf, whose rewards came from Chisong personally,
Chisong’s own reward came directly from the Liyang capital.
That capital was the heart of the Liyang Kingdom, gathering all the greatest treasures—even Heavenly Sovereigns coveted them.
"If I take the credit, what about you?"
Lin Yuan asked.
"If not for you, Senior Milky Way, I wouldn't just have lost the credit—I’d already be on my way to punishment."
Chisong replied, "I’m already very satisfied with this outcome. Besides, other than this, I really have nothing else to offer you in return."
"Please, Senior Milky Way, just accept it. Without you, I’d be punished and have lost everything anyway," Chisong insisted.
Chijue King joined in, "At least I’d have lost this battle body to Ling Shen King."
His personal weapons and treasures would be gone, and it would take immense effort to forge a new battle body.
Thinking about it, Chijue King was grateful.
If Lin Yuan hadn't stepped in, the consequences would have been disastrous.
Lin Yuan, seeing Chisong’s determined look, thought for a moment and nodded, "Very well. I’ll accept."
"I’m glad, Senior."
Chisong smiled.
"Oh, right," he added, "Senior, King Chibao would like to meet you."
"King Chibao?"
Lin Yuan glanced at Chisong.
"When Ling Shen King revealed his extreme core royal power, I immediately called for help from the capital," Chisong explained. "King Chibao is the powerhouse they sent—specifically to counter Ling Shen King."
"I see."
Lin Yuan nodded.
To counter Ling Shen King? It had to be either another extreme core royal, or a Heavenly Sovereign.
He ruled out the latter. For a mere local war, deploying a Heavenly Sovereign would risk escalating things beyond control. So, most likely another extreme core royal.
"King Chibao is here."
Chisong looked toward Qingfen City. Now, a red-bearded old man appeared and flew their way.
Once he was close, he stopped transmigrating through the void and came the rest of the way directly.
"An extreme core royal?"
Lin Yuan looked at the red-bearded elder from afar, sensing the vast aura he radiated.
It was a pressure no weaker than Ling Shen King's.
Soon enough, the red-bearded old man arrived.
"This must be Brother Milky Way," he said, smiling warmly at Lin Yuan.
"Come, let’s talk further back at my place," Chisong said. "I've already had a fine meal prepared—we can eat and talk at the same time."
He had arranged everything and quickly brought Lin Yuan and the others to his temporary city mansion.
The Yu Clan.
Several old ancestors and Yu Chaolong had also received detailed reports of the war between Qingfen and Zimeng Domains.
The outcome of this war would decide their clan’s fate, so they were extremely invested.
"What?"
Yu Chaolong stared at the report, not sure how to react.
In the midst of the war, the Milky Way Great Sovereign had suddenly intervened, crushing the battlefield with overwhelming force—even the core royal Ling Shen King died at his hands.
Such "shocking" news would spread through Qingfen Domain at lightning speed.
It was a huge morale boost—the mighty core royal of the Grand Ling Ancient Kingdom, dead in battle.
But—
Yu Chaolong and the old ancestors were left with their minds in a haze.
"Milky Way Great Sovereign?"
"This Milky Way Great Sovereign… why does that sound so familiar?"
"Milky Way Great Sovereign? Wasn’t Ah Yan’s title also ‘Milky Way’?"
In truth, the moment they saw "Milky Way Great Sovereign," they’d already thought of Lin Yuan.
Especially the old ancestors—being Stage 12 Path-Clearing experts, how could their minds not make the connection? It wasn’t "familiarity"—they just couldn’t believe it.
Because, what that Milky Way Great Sovereign had done was too unbelievable.
Ling Shen King was an extreme core royal.
Supposedly invincible among Great Sovereigns.
And now he was dead, killed by the Milky Way Great Sovereign? Could that Milky Way Great Sovereign really be their Yu Yan?
"Could there be some mistake?"
Yu Chaolong couldn’t help but say—the intelligence was just too unbelievable.
"It’s no mistake."
"A Great Sovereign personally contacted me."
An old ancestor's voice trembled—even with Yu Yan’s recent rise, Great Sovereigns never bothered contacting the Yu Clan unless something major had happened.
How many Great Sovereigns were there per domain?
"This, this..."
Yu Chaolong was stunned.
"We still need to check for ourselves."
Another old ancestor turned to Yu Chaolong, "Chaolong, you’d better go to Qingfen City yourself and see what’s really going on."
"Yes."
Yu Chaolong steadied himself. He, too, wanted to know whether the divine Milky Way Great Sovereign from the report was really his son.
Inside King Chisong’s temporary city mansion.
A lavish pavilion.
Lin Yuan and King Chibao sat facing each other.
As for King Chisong and Chijue King, after chatting for a while, when they saw King Chibao and Lin Yuan had things to discuss, the two wisely withdrew.
"Brother Milky Way, you’re not actually a traveling core royal, are you?" King Chibao looked at Lin Yuan, probing.
Chisong and Chijue King weren’t at a high enough level—Chijue King was a core royal, but hadn’t reached the extreme, so he didn't know much.
That’s why they’d assumed Lin Yuan was just some traveling extreme core royal who happened to pass through.
But King Chibao? As an extreme core royal himself, he was familiar with all the others in the kingdom—and none resembled Lin Yuan.
"That’s right."
Lin Yuan admitted frankly. "I’ve just been cultivating, condensing Seeds one after another—eventually I reached this level."
Qingfen Marquis had guessed Lin Yuan’s bloodline had regressed to that of a core royal ancestor.
Now, Lin Yuan just followed that logic and disguised himself as a rare prodigy whose bloodline had returned to its roots.
The Liyang Ancient Kingdom had existed for countless ages, and this had happened before—some being’s bloodline regressed all the way to core royal level, and they eventually rose to prominence.
It was the best cover Lin Yuan could use—impeccable, since only core royals could condense so many Seeds.
"So that's how it is..."
King Chibao immediately accepted Lin Yuan’s explanation. He could sense the pure Sunborn aura radiating from this Milky Way Great Sovereign.
"Even for a bloodline regressor to reach the core royal level, and then to train to this stage with no external help..."
King Chibao looked at Lin Yuan with deep admiration.
Even core royals born to ancient royal bloodlines, with every kind of support, still struggled to reach the extreme. Chijue King was the perfect example.
But Lin Yuan—a bloodline regressor, with no outside help since birth—had made it this far...
King Chibao stared at Lin Yuan in wonder.
...
20 chapters ahead on patreon: patreon.com/David_Lord
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