Those idiots in the Star Domain Alliance, thinking they were so powerful with twenty-odd Monarch stage experts gathered, wouldn't they just fall to their knees if they saw these one hundred and twenty thousand mid-to-late stage Monarchs and over a dozen Extreme stage powerhouses!
As one of the few Monarchs in this star domain, Han Yicheng understood the Star Domain Alliance all too well, especially their arrogance, which was simply sickening.
Under the escort of five hundred thousand robots, all the captives had their cultivation realms sealed before they even approached the warships. Furthermore, any individual above the Main God stage had a mark planted on them by Zhou Ningdong!
"As expected of the Eighth Great Universe. Of the over seventy star domains that have passed through my hands, there are now over three hundred Main God stage experts! Twelve Monarch stage, and one Extreme stage!"
As per Ye Yun's instructions, any expert above the Main God stage must be controlled by the Empire! Therefore, after conquering each star domain, they would plant seeds within these individuals, only lifting the seal after the universe was fully secured.
Of course, experts above the Main God stage would later be branded with Ye Yun's mark. Their lives and deaths would then be at Ye Yun's whim, and their closest kin would be relocated to the third heaven of the Nine Dragon Yang Void Palace to reside.
Currently, among the more than seven thousand star domains conquered by the Empire, there were over forty thousand Main God stage experts under imperial control, over seven thousand three hundred Monarchs, and three Extreme stage powerhouses.
Some of these individuals had become administrators in various star domains, while others became captains of the security forces.
"Master, there's a real-time video request from another star domain, shall I connect?"
As Zhou Ningdong was contemplating, Xiao Li on the side suddenly spoke.
A video? And from another star domain?
Zhou Ningdong was taken aback and issued a command to Xiao Li to connect.
"General Zhou?" a voice echoed from the screen in the command room. After a burst of static, Yue Xia's face appeared.
"Marshal Yue!" Upon seeing Yue Xia, Zhou Ningdong immediately stood at attention and saluted.
Yue Xia was one of the Three Dukes, while Zhou Ningdong was merely an Army Group Commander within the military. Even though he was now an independent corps commander reporting directly to Ye Yun, he was still one rank below Yue Xia.
"It seems General Zhou has adapted well to the Han Kong warship. This kind of technological civilization is quite something to get used to." Yue Xia, clad in armor, appeared to be acclimatizing to this inter-star domain video transmission.
"I'm contacting you this time just to familiarize ourselves with our communication channels. There's no major issue."
"Furthermore, one of the five warships has been allocated to the logistics department. Henceforth, captured Main God stage experts and their families will be sent to the Tanar Star Domain. The logistics department has temporarily set up a base there, and all salvaged materials, resources, and personnel will be transported back to the Empire by them."
Yue Xia gazed at the image on the screen, a smile evident on his face.
"Understood!"
"Also, the fifteenth of this month marks His Majesty's formal ascension and the Feng Shan ceremony. Qin Lao and I have discussed it. The Empire's armies cannot halt their advance, but all personnel of General rank and above must return to participate in the grand ceremony. Time is short, so please ensure your affairs there are in order."
Speaking of this, Yue Xia's demeanor became unusually solemn. Currently, Yue Xia was primarily in charge of the combat forces, while Qin Zhan oversaw security and patrols. Therefore, it was Yue Xia who conveyed such matters to Zhou Ningdong and Li Chen.
"Understood! Please rest assured, Marshal Yue."
"Alright, that's all. I still need to test the weapon systems of this Han Kong warship." Yue Xia chuckled and cut off the video, leaving Zhou Ningdong, who had wanted to remind him of something, to swallow his words.
Indeed, with the Han Kong warship possessing an intelligent steward, Marshal Yue wouldn't resort to using an entire planet as a target for weapon testing.
"Xiao Li, can Han Kong warships video call each other?" Zhou Ningdong asked the idle Xiao Li with curiosity.
"Naturally. The signal of the Han Kong warship is independent of other signals. Only those produced by the same system can communicate. Of course, we can hop frequencies to connect, but others cannot jump into our channel."
"That's quite similar to our phones back home," Zhou Ningdong muttered for a moment before turning his attention to the more than one million prisoners from this conquest.
Only a handful of these prisoners met the Empire's criteria. The rest would be released after this star domain was secured. However, he would still leave a mark on them for seven days to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Afterward, Zhou Ningdong's divine sense swept across the entire star domain, meticulously examining each planet to ensure his Stingers Corps would not encounter any insurmountable enemies.
...
Meanwhile, within Yun Tian City on the New Fan Continent, Ye Yun's eyes suddenly snapped open.
"Black Ant is too amazing. I feel a bit sorry for him considering the current progress."
Ye Yun stared blankly at the cooldown timer of his talent skill on his status panel, chuckling wryly.
That's right, the cooldown for his talent skill, 'Midas Touch,' had reset a full month earlier than he had anticipated. If he hadn't left a sliver of his consciousness here before going into seclusion, he would have likely only noticed it a few days later.
He used to feel the cooldown was too long and wished he could use it daily. But now that the cooldown had indeed ended, he suddenly found himself unsure of what to use it for.
The Heavenly Kettle and Earth Cup?
The Dharma Aspect?
Or perhaps further enhancing his profession?
Ye Yun was currently considering how to improve his strength; items like the Gui Yuan Pill Furnace were not even on his radar.
While the Heavenly Kettle and Earth Cup could increase his daily attribute point amplification, given the bottleneck Ye Yun was facing, the strength increase provided by the Heavenly Kettle and Earth Cup was extremely limited, almost negligible.
The Dharma Aspect was even less of a concern. While it might offer some slight increase in real combat power, even granting ten billion attribute points daily, its improvement was less significant than enhancing the Heavenly Kettle and Earth Cup.
His profession was an even greater issue. Forgetting that his profession was already at its peak, even if it could be improved, Ye Yun wouldn't dare. The last time he leveled up, his heavenly tribulation had annihilated an entire star domain. He had no idea what kind of disaster another upgrade would cause.
Ye Yun looked around, and finally his gaze fell upon his Sword of Kings and the consumable item 'Heavenly Dao Golden Body.'