The imperial capital was reached as dusk approached, the sky gradually darkening. The lingering rays of the setting sun illuminated the eaves of the imperial palace, making them gleam.
Xu Mo returned to his sleeping quarters and found Gongsun Rou, clad in a purple luan bird official robe, standing at the entrance.
He asked, somewhat surprised, "Why are you here? Is something the matter?"
Gongsun Rou turned her head. Upon seeing His Majesty return, her slightly worried expression immediately turned to delight. She quickly bowed, "Your humble subject greets His Majesty."
She dipped slightly, her form-fitting silk official robe accentuating her curves, creating an alluring and captivating silhouette.
Xu Mo nodded slightly and entered the sleeping quarters first, motioning for Gongsun Rou to follow.
Seated on the main seat, Xu Mo finally inquired if she had any urgent matters to report for appearing at his sleeping quarters so late.
Gongsun Rou shook her head and replied, "Reporting to His Majesty, no. Your humble subject merely heard that you had left the imperial capital for the Northern Territory and was somewhat worried."
"What is there to be worried about? Do you fear something might happen to me?" Xu Mo realized and then chuckled.
"Not at all. Your humble subject was merely worried that you might be delayed. Tomorrow is the day for selecting consorts. If you were not to return in time, your first selection of consorts would have to be postponed, which would be inauspicious," Gongsun Rou replied.
Xu Mo felt somewhat speechless upon hearing this.
He had thought Gongsun Rou was concerned about his safety, only to realize it was about the selection of consorts.
He suddenly noticed that Gongsun Rou seemed more invested in the matter of selecting consorts than he, the principal figure, was. She had never shown such dedication when handling state affairs before.
"You've mentioned this many times. Rest assured, I will not be late."
Xu Mo spoke, reassuring Gongsun Rou.
Regarding the selection of consorts, he naturally paid attention. After all, these women would eventually be his. He couldn't possibly be indifferent.
Gongsun Rou's face lit up with a bright smile upon hearing this.
"Then your humble subject is relieved," she said.
Following this, Gongsun Rou considered reporting the matters concerning Lin Xue and Alice to His Majesty. However, she felt it would be better to give His Majesty a 'surprise' tomorrow.
Therefore, she didn't mention it and instead shifted to other topics, reporting on some situations within the imperial capital.
For instance, Lin Xue's younger brother, Lin Zihao, had reported to Da Gan Academy this afternoon to begin learning how to cultivate immortals.
Others, without permission, could not enter Da Gan Academy. However, they had all received a common cultivation technique, allowing them to attempt cultivation on their own.
If they encountered difficulties, they could also consult Chen Wu and Wang Hao. For the captives, this was considered very good treatment.
However, there were also those who could not cultivate. The Earthlings without talent were filled with immense jealousy. The saying "people do not worry about scarcity but about inequality" held true.
Initially, no one had cultivation techniques, so no one could cultivate. Now that they did, only a portion possessed the talent to do so.
This made those without cultivation talent feel jealous and displeased, thus dividing the hundreds of Earthlings into two factions.
One faction comprised the minority of Earthlings who possessed cultivation talent and could cultivate using the provided techniques. These individuals were incredibly excited, hoping to remain in the Da Gan imperial capital to cultivate. If they could enter Da Gan Academy, that would be even better.
When facing cultivators, these individuals adopted fawning and flattering attitudes, showing signs of becoming sycophants.
The other faction consisted of the majority who lacked cultivation talent. They had lost the qualification to become immortals. Therefore, seeing their former friends, with whom they had shared hardships, now cultivating immortals while they could only watch enviously, they felt a deep sense of envy.
After envy came jealousy and resentment.
Xu Mo listened to Gongsun Rou's report and found it rather amusing. He considered the situation quite normal, as jealousy was a universal emotion, differing only in degree.
"Have they caused any trouble?" Xu Mo asked.
Jealousy was acceptable, but if they dared to cause trouble, Xu Mo would not hesitate to punish them according to Da Gan law, regardless of their shared origin from Earth.
Gongsun Rou shook her head and replied, "No, they haven't. Within the Da Gan imperial capital, they are merely mortals. What grounds do they have to cause trouble?"
Let alone causing trouble, they didn't even dare to express dissatisfaction. Cultivators held an overwhelming advantage over mortals.
Next, Gongsun Rou conveyed an important piece of news: representatives from various countries on Earth had been dispatched to visit Da Gan in the imperial capital.
Currently, Fan Cheng, the commander of the Eastern Garrison, was escorting the representatives from Earth on a spaceship, en route to the imperial capital. They were expected to arrive by midnight.
Hearing this news, Xu Mo was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected the countries on Earth to act so quickly.
He had thought they would need several days to deliberate before making a decision. It seemed Earth placed great importance on Da Huang.
Xu Mo nodded slightly and said, "Good. It's also good for them to come to the Da Gan imperial capital to ransom their people. Keeping those captives is quite a drain on our food supplies."
Da Gan lacked nothing, except for the grain needed by mortals.
Gongsun Rou was aware of this and smiled slightly, "The grain His Majesty demanded from those Earthlings is enough to sustain hundreds of thousands of mortals for over a decade."
"Indeed. With Earth, Da Gan will never lack staple food for mortals again," Xu Mo chuckled.
Da Gan's grain production was very low, but Earth's was not. It could easily support millions of people, a simple task.
Gongsun Rou then asked, "Your Majesty, what conditions do you require from the Earth countries coming to ransom their people?"
The Earthlings currently in the imperial capital were all their captives. If they wished to take them back, they would certainly have to pay a price.
Xu Mo pondered for a moment and replied, "Partially grain, and we can also demand Earth's technological weapons from them."
Although firearms were not comparable to powerful cultivators, they could still be somewhat useful against relatively weaker cultivators.
Of course, Xu Mo was more interested in high-yield weapons like nuclear and hydrogen bombs.
Weapons of such magnitude would be difficult for even a Saint to withstand head-on.
A year later, the 'Crossing Tribulation' would descend, and the world would be plunged into a chaotic era of Saintly battles. Therefore, nuclear weapons, capable of enhancing combat power and posing a threat to Saints, piqued Xu Mo's interest.
He mused that perhaps he could perform a 'three-hydrogen transformation' then, secretly delivering a powerful blow to the Saints of other worlds, serving as a trump card.
However, whether he could control nuclear bombs effectively remained to be seen. This was merely a fleeting thought.
Furthermore, after the selection of consorts tomorrow, he would be able to extricate himself from Da Gan and head to Earth to assess the situation. Xu Mo wanted to test whether he, an Earthling native to Da Huang, would be affected by the ancient barrier.