In the capital of the Liyang Kingdom, Lin Yuan's true body had gone to the newly formed treasure land, while his Yin Primordial Spirit and Yang Primordial Spirit were stationed at two other first-class treasure lands.
Thus, the one remaining in the royal palace was merely an incarnation—but even that incarnation, given Lin Yuan's strength, was equivalent to an Ultimate Heavenly Sovereign.
“Milky Way, you swept through Fuxu Heavenly Sovereign and the other top-tier Sovereigns in the treasure land? Is this true?” A message arrived—it was the Emperor of the Liyang Kingdom.
Even though the emperor had already received confirmed intel and even seen visual recordings, he still found it hard to believe, so he came to ask personally.
“My strength just happened to break through,” Lin Yuan replied frankly.
He was part of the royal core bloodline of the Liyang Kingdom, inherently aligned with the kingdom. The stronger he was, the greater the kingdom’s foundation.
As for jealousy? With Lin Yuan’s current strength, such things could be ignored entirely.
“Good, good, good.” The emperor was overjoyed. The Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign’s display of power, utterly crushing the strongest Heavenly Sovereigns, wasn't just about claiming a treasure land.
It would have long-lasting implications for the future balance of power among the six ancient kingdoms.
With someone like Lin Yuan, who stood far above the strongest Heavenly Sovereigns, who among the other five kingdoms—including the Grand Ancient Void Kingdom—would dare wage high-intensity war against the Liyang Kingdom?
If they dared not go to war, they would have to yield.
“Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign, you’ve given me quite the pleasant surprise.” The emperor looked at Lin Yuan with emotion.
He didn’t ask how Lin Yuan had become so powerful. Every powerhouse had their own secrets—the ancient kingdoms never pried into such things.
Lin Yuan smiled without responding.
“Do you know what the strongest Heavenly Sovereigns of the Grand Ancient Void Kingdom are calling you now?” the emperor couldn’t help asking.
“What?” Lin Yuan was quite curious.
He hadn’t held back at all in the treasure land against those Ultimate Heavenly Sovereigns from the Grand Ancient Void Kingdom—even Fuxu, the strongest among them, had been slain by him.
“Invincible Sovereign,” the emperor said with a click of the tongue.
Even the proudest among the strongest Sovereigns of the Grand Ancient Void Kingdom had yielded and used such a title—it meant they’d completely given up on resisting.
Invincible Sovereign—what did “invincible” mean?
It meant total domination, absolute overwhelming force.
“Invincible Sovereign?”
Lin Yuan understood immediately.
In the Chaos Void, there was the concept of an Invincible Supreme Saint—someone who could crush all others of the same tier and gain their full acknowledgment.
But in the six ancient kingdoms?
That so-called Invincible Supreme Saint was equivalent to a strongest Heavenly Sovereign here.
An Invincible Supreme Saint might be unmatched in the Chaos Void, but not within the six ancient kingdoms, where they would still have rivals—strongest Heavenly Sovereigns raised by Ancestors for their descendants.
But now Lin Yuan’s strength had made those top-tier Sovereigns from the six kingdoms despair. Calling him the Invincible Sovereign was truly fitting.
“Milky Way, you’ve redefined the limit of the Heavenly Sovereign realm,” said the emperor. It wasn’t just the Grand Ancient Void Kingdom—even the other four kingdoms were fiercely debating the matter.
“The limit of a Heavenly Sovereign?” Lin Yuan mused inwardly. “Actually, I’m still far from reaching it.”
In terms of cultivation, he had reached full mastery of the Chaos stage, but there was still much room for improvement in other areas.
For instance, the inheritance “Infinite Void”—Lin Yuan was still at the third layer. While the seventh layer might be out of reach, he was quite confident about reaching the sixth.
That meant he still had to break through the fourth and fifth layers.
Then there was the evolution of the Chaos Tai Chi Tao. Currently, he was only at the first level. Based on the six ancient kingdoms’ understanding, the upper limit was likely the third level.
Lastly, the treasury of the Liyang Kingdom held numerous thirteenth-rank inheritances—he could cultivate those to further increase his strength.
These required many merit points, but after the current treasure land contest, Lin Yuan anticipated he’d earn an immense amount of national merit.
“Whether it's cultivating thirteenth-rank inheritances or deepening my Chaos path, it's all preparation to reach the thirteenth rank,” Lin Yuan knew exactly what his goal was.
Secret techniques were branches and leaves.
Cultivation realm was the root.
Cultivating thirteenth-rank inheritances was a way to experience the power of that level...
So that he could better break through the cycle of time.
“Milky Way, what’s the current situation inside the treasure land?” the emperor asked.
“All under control,” Lin Yuan nodded.
Most of the Ultimate Heavenly Sovereigns from the four other kingdoms had either died or fled—they no longer dared remain in the treasure land.
What Lin Yuan needed to do now was to refine all the core heavenly pillars one by one. Once the two-thousand-year contest period ended, ownership of the treasure land would be formally established.
“Red Flame Heavenly Sovereign told me about the situation inside. If it weren’t for you, Milky Way, our kingdom would’ve had little chance of winning it. Even if we did, we’d have been ruthlessly extorted by Xuanyin and Grand Ling.”
The emperor sighed. “You’ve made an enormous contribution, Milky Way. Without you, the outcome wouldn’t be what it is now.”
“I don’t think a mere merit reward is enough to express your importance.” The emperor looked at Lin Yuan and said, “So I’ve decided—once the treasure land’s ownership is confirmed, you will be the one to guard it. While you’re in charge, all rare treasures produced within the land are yours. You don’t have to hand any over to the kingdom.”
“As long as you’re here, this treasure land is yours. It doesn’t matter if I’m still on the throne or not—no future emperor can change that.”
Lin Yuan was momentarily stunned.
The treasure land would be entirely his?
Not only was this a top-tier first-class treasure land, but even the most ordinary ones usually required their guardians to hand over eighty or ninety percent of their rare treasures to the kingdom.
That was a fixed rule.
No one could break it.
Yet now? The emperor was practically giving it to him for free?
“This is too generous,” Lin Yuan shook his head. A first-class treasure land was a money tree. Was he really just giving it away?
Although Lin Yuan had nearly won the land single-handedly, he understood that all of it was only possible due to the might of the Liyang Kingdom.
Without it, the other kingdoms’ Sovereigns wouldn’t have treated him as an equal. If truly pressured, they’d simply beg their own Ancestors for help.
Because of the Liyang Kingdom’s presence, the struggle had remained below the Ancestor level. No one dared escalate it.
If the Grand Ancient Void Kingdom’s Sovereigns had really gone to beg an Ancestor, that would’ve been an embarrassment to the Ancestor’s face.
“Milky Way, you’re underestimating your impact,” the emperor said with a smile. “With you here, it’s more than just about one treasure land. Which of the other five kingdoms would dare challenge us now? Your presence alone will win us countless advantages—what’s one treasure land compared to that?”
Lin Yuan looked at the emperor thoughtfully. A gift like this couldn’t be refused. Besides, his deterrence truly was immense. So he nodded and said, “Very well, I’ll accept it.”
The rare treasures born from this land had connections to the laws of time. Studying them might prove very useful to him.
And even if they didn’t, as the sole controller of the treasure land, Lin Yuan effectively monopolized those rare items. He could sell however much he wanted.
“Hahahaha. As for distributing the merit rewards for claiming the treasure land, we’ll handle that after the contest ends,” said the emperor, beaming.
Final merit allocation would involve not just Lin Yuan, but the other Ultimate Heavenly Sovereigns from the Liyang Kingdom who participated.
Though none contributed as much as Lin Yuan, those who took part would still get something.
“Alright.”
Lin Yuan nodded.
Now there were less than two hundred years left until the end of the two-thousand-year contest period.
“But if, in the future, you ascend to the Ancestor realm, this treasure land can be guarded by your descendants—but they’ll have to follow normal rules and hand over eighty percent of its rare treasures to the kingdom,” the emperor added as a precaution.
“Of course,” Lin Yuan agreed.
Handing over treasures to the kingdom wasn’t just about sharing benefits—it was about gaining protection.
With his current invincible strength, even monopolizing all the treasure land’s produce wouldn’t be a problem.
But in the future? Once he attempted the thirteenth rank, his descendants wouldn’t have his power. Hoarding everything would only bring trouble.
Giving eighty percent to the kingdom would tie its interests to theirs—making it safer.
At the very least, with that share, the Liyang Kingdom would ensure no other kingdom dared touch the place.
Inside the treasure land.
After chatting briefly with Red Flame Heavenly Sovereign and the others, Lin Yuan resumed refining the core heavenly pillars.
From his initial sweep until now, he had refined just over a hundred. More than half still remained.
Buzz—buzz—buzz!
As more pillars were refined by Lin Yuan...
A deep, strange sense of control surged into his heart.
Refining the core heavenly pillars allowed him to exert a certain degree of control over the treasure land.
In theory, refining them all would mean refining the entire treasure land.
But since this newly born treasure land appeared, the core pillars had been scattered among Sovereigns of the six kingdoms. No one had ever unified them before.
Very soon.
The three colossal core pillars, along with over three hundred standard ones, were all refined by Lin Yuan.
In that instant, Lin Yuan’s consciousness rose infinitely, descending into the deepest part of the treasure land—a place never before reached by any Ultimate Heavenly Sovereign, accessible only through full refinement.
“This is...?”
Lin Yuan looked around, his pupils narrowing slightly.
...
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