Deep within the Imperial Palace of the Cang Realm planet.
In the hall.
"Father!"
Mo Xuanyou arrived at the study room, his teeth clenched, clearly the pain from earlier still lingered, especially the two flicks on his forehead. That King Ye definitely did it on purpose.
"You're here."
Mo Junlin was currently handling the heavy affairs of the Star River Empire.
"Hmm!?"
Upon arriving at the study, Mo Junlin immediately sensed the aura on his third son. "Third son, you've reached Great Emperor Stage Three?"
"This..."
"Ahem, it was given by that King Ye. He said it was a gift for accepting me as a disciple."
Mo Xuanyou wasn't lying, he said it directly, though it felt strange. It seemed that King Ye wasn't as detestable as he initially thought.
"Is that so."
"Tell me in detail, every single step of the process."
Mo Xuanyou, "Uh..."
"Yes, Father!"
Although Mo Xuanyou was confident, he deeply respected and admired his father, as he always wished to become like his father, a guardian of the Star River Empire.
In fact, it wasn't just him; even his two elder brothers felt the same.
However, their methods differed. One handled politics, another expanded territories, while he was obsessed with martial arts!
Of course, this was also greatly related to their identities. After all, his eldest brother, Mo Xuanming, would be the future Emperor of the Star River Empire. His second brother, Mo Xuanba, expanded territories to make the Star River Empire even more powerful. As for him, his devotion to martial arts was twofold: it was his true calling, and he also wished to become a pillar of support for his father and the Star River Empire through this path.
"After you left in the afternoon..."
Mo Xuanyou then recounted the events of the day. As Mo Junlin listened, his expression grew increasingly radiant.
"A drop of vital blood, a medicinal pill!"
"And a single drop of vital blood allowed you to reach the peak of Great Emperor Stage Two, plus a pill?"
Thinking of this, a possibility flashed through Mo Junlin's mind. "Wait, you said a single pill allowed you to reach Great Emperor Stage Three."
Then, Mo Junlin flipped his right hand, and a pill appeared in his palm.
"Third son, was the pill King Ye gave you this one?"
Mo Xuanyou heard his father's words and looked. The appearance and aroma were exactly the same. "Father, you have... How do you have such a pill?"
"What is this pill?"
Mo Xuanyou was already immensely curious, and now that his father produced another one, it made him even more suspicious.
"Hiss~~"
Hearing his third son's words, Mo Junlin gasped, "Third son, do you know what this is!"
"This is a [Pill of Breaking Emperors], and I only have twenty of them in total. Ten were given to the ten honored guests, leaving only ten here."
Thinking of this, Mo Junlin continued, "I originally considered giving it to you, but... that would be at least when you reach the peak of Great Emperor Stage Eight and are about to break through to Great Emperor Stage Nine."
"The preciousness of this pill can only be described as divine."
"It's just that I didn't expect King Ye to have this pill... And he's currently only at Great Emperor Stage Eight. He'll likely reach the peak of Great Emperor Stage Eight soon. Giving you this pill at this juncture, this kindness..."
"It's too great!!"
Mo Xuanyou, "This... How could this be?"
"This pill is so precious, is that King Ye, no, Master, insane!!"
For some reason, Mo Xuanyou felt inexplicably moved. Such an opportunity was given to him right after he became a disciple. This trust and expectation filled his heart with mixed emotions. Perhaps he also felt somewhat unworthy of Ye Xuan, and thus directly addressed him as Master.
"Insane??"
Mo Junlin looked at his son. Although he had only advanced one stage, his son's aura was far more robust than when he was at Great Emperor Stage Two. He then placed his right hand on Mo Xuanyou's pulse. After a moment, his eyes filled with shock.
"Good heavens!"
"Third son, your physique is at least three times that of when you were a Great Emperor Stage Two, and your meridians are much wider and thicker than before..."
Taking a deep breath, Mo Junlin continued, "Third son, that drop of vital blood King Ye gave you is not simple, no, it's incredibly not simple!!"
"At this rate, by the time you reach the Venerable realm, I might not be able to withstand a hundred of your moves!"
"What!!!"
Hearing his father's words, Mo Xuanyou's pupils suddenly contracted. "Father, you, this... Is that true!?"
"It seems..."
Mo Junlin stood up and looked out the window towards the outer space of the Cang Realm planet, murmuring with emotion, "King Ye genuinely regards you as a disciple, not because you are the third prince of the Star River Empire."
"You may leave."
Clearly, Ye Xuan's actions had even shaken Mo Junlin. Given his third son's current progress, he would likely go much further than him in the future.
Will the Star River Empire be different because of his third son?
Mo Junlin murmured to himself, yet he knew clearly that what would truly make the Star River Empire different was not his third son, but Ye Xuan.
As Mo Xuanyou left the hall, his heart was filled with complexity.
His eyes were filled with astonishment and disbelief. "That King Ye!!"
"He actually treats me this way."
Honestly, he had never experienced such a sense of trust before. This feeling was truly wonderful.
At this moment, Mo Xuanyou himself hadn't realized that he no longer cared as much about being Ye Xuan's disciple as he did before.
Meanwhile, at King Ye's Mansion.
Ye Xuan, upon returning to his room, heard the system's voice.
"Ding, congratulations to the host for successfully subduing Ilif and his followers, and escorting the Ninth Prince Di Lin and his party back to the Cang Realm planet. You have received a tenfold rebate, capped at 1 million Star River Coins, with an additional 10,000 high-grade Emperor Crystals!"
As expected, Ye Xuan's resources increased again with 10,000 high-grade Emperor Crystals.
"A tenfold rebate, a million Star River Coins, tsk tsk~~"
Upon learning of the system's other reward, Ye Xuan couldn't help but marvel.
"I've already reached the peak of Great Emperor Stage Eight, and Blue Star is still a medium-tier planet. This seems a bit unacceptable."
"Since that's the case..."
With this thought, Ye Xuan began the process of upgrading Blue Star.
"Ding, congratulations to the host for upgrading Blue Star to a high-tier planet, consuming 100,000 Star River Coins!"
"Ding, congratulations to the host for spending 100,000 Star River Coins, receiving a tenfold rebate, and gaining 1,000,000 Star River Coins!"
It had to be said that the system's operations were very smooth and remarkably fast. The tenfold rebate was quickly processed, and a million Star River Coins were in hand.
Next, Ye Xuan brought up his attribute panel.
Host: Ye Xuan
Age: 24
Physique: 800 (Normal Human 10) Realm: Peak Great Emperor Stage Eight
Skills: Click to view skill list
Items: [Recovery Potion] x50 drops, [Great God Card] x2, [Ownership of Imperial Capital Song Family Assets], [Ownership of Imperial Capital Zhao Family Assets], [Aircraft Carrier] x10, [Advanced Gene Potion] x18, [Ancestor-level Golden Pyramid Spaceship] x1, Sky-Shattering Thunder Spear x1
Emperor Crystals: 780,000 High-grade Emperor Crystals, 1,000,000 Mid-grade Emperor Crystals
Wealth: 1,700,000 Star River Coins
........
Looking at the Emperor Crystals and wealth on the attribute panel, Ye Xuan licked his lips. He had to admit, this feeling was truly good.
"It seems it's time to break through to Great Emperor Stage Nine."
Ye Xuan curled his lips. Without further ado, he took out 100,000 high-grade Emperor Crystals. With such a large amount of high-grade Emperor Crystals, he refused to believe he wouldn't be able to break through to the mere Great Emperor Stage Nine.