On October 15th of the first year of the Shi Fang Imperial Calendar, countless Monarch realm powerhouses rapidly converged towards the Human Race Starfield from over seven thousand star domains. Among them were county lords, star lords, and even domain lords!
They gathered in twos and threes, each with two or three attendants, moving with a sense of urgency. Today was the day the Shi Fang Empire's Emperor would officially perform the Feng Shan ceremony, and thus, the overlords of the empire's various star domains had been entering the Bagua Dao Field since a few days prior. The ceremony for Ye Yun would be held here.
This was the first formal imperial ceremony since the founding of the Shi Fang Empire, so all departments within the empire treated it with the utmost solemnity. Although the foreign beings did not understand why this ceremony was called Feng Shan, as it was an imperial ritual, they had to be present.
On one hand, from the empire's conquest to the present, the Emperor of the Shi Fang Empire had never revealed himself to them. Therefore, they were filled with curiosity about Ye Yun, who could tread the Imperial Road and contend for supremacy.
Secondly, the grand scale of the imperial ceremony indicated that there would undoubtedly be many promotions and enfeoffments. One had to know that the empire's national fortune was currently like a dragon. Even a small enfeoffment could cause a cultivator's cultivation to multiply several times under the nourishment of the national fortune! Of course, if such enfeoffments were revoked, their cultivation would fall. However, the nourishment of national fortune was not limited to increasing cultivation alone.
Thirdly, for this Feng Shan ceremony, the overlords of the major star domains would personally attend. Therefore, this period was also a crucial time for them to socialize. Otherwise, separated by thousands of star domains, they were usually busy with the development of their own factions and had no time to foster relationships with other forces within the empire's territory.
Of course, the most important reason was that they dared not not come. Who knew if they would be noted down by the Grand Master responsible for this matter? If that were the case, they would truly have no one to turn to for help.
At this moment, countless beings had gathered early in the meticulously prepared giant plaza, some standing, some sitting, awaiting the commencement of the Emperor's Feng Shan ceremony. They had arrived a full three hours earlier than the Grand Master's designated time to wait.
It was still early, and the entire plaza was filled with various sounds.
"Ke'ergong? Damn, where did your family go? I thought His Majesty had exterminated your clan?" an alien covered in bumps and lumps seemed to spot an acquaintance and squeezed over, giving him a heartfelt hug.
"Brother Jiu? I've applied for and obtained a fiefdom in the Lei Yun Starfield. Although it can't compare to yours, it's enough to provide a stable place for our people to recuperate and thrive amidst this turbulent era," said the alien called Ke'ergong, who was also extremely excited to see his old friend.
"Oh? Not bad, kid. I'll come visit you someday. I can enter the game anywhere anyway." Brother Jiu couldn't help but be happy for Ke'ergong. After all, conflicts were constant between different alien races and species, and there were few periods in countless ages where they could truly recuperate and thrive.
As two friends met, they naturally had much to talk about. However, there were also many instances of enemies meeting within the scene.
However, the empire prohibited any internal unrest during the time of the Imperial Road Hegemony, let alone within the sacred grounds of the Emperor's celestial and terrestrial sacrifice. Only those who wished to die would dare to make a move here.
At a quarter past nine in the morning, the heavens and earth suddenly trembled, and a dragon's roar echoed throughout the entire Human Race Starfield. Countless Dao texts drifted out from the Nine Dragon Yangxu Palace, like petals, scattering starlight.
Squadrons of soldiers emerged from the Yangxu Palace. Then, as Tang Zhe and Jin Di announced, the generals under the command of Yue Xia and Qin Zhan slowly emerged, followed by a hundred civil officials led by Xia Xingchao and Song Ji.
Following them, a golden nine-clawed dragon, tens of thousands of feet long, soared out from the Nine Dragon Yangxu Palace, circling and dancing above it.
"Holy cow, as expected of an Emperor! He's opening the way with nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Monarch realm soldiers, and not only the civil and military officials but all of them are at the Extreme rank!"
"Hiss... In the past, one cultivator at the Extreme realm was enough to suppress an entire star domain. Now, the empire has two hundred Extreme rank powerhouses serving as officials. This strength is truly monstrous. No wonder they could annex three cosmic realms in such a short period!"
"Is that a divine beast, the Golden Dragon?! Its energy alone is comparable to a Quasi-Emperor! Could this Golden Dragon be the one in Cloud Sky City on the New Mortal Continent?"
As everyone discussed animatedly, ten thousand meters above where the Golden Dragon was circling, an altar appeared before everyone's eyes like a painting being meticulously rendered by an artist.
Screech...
A fiery red figure appeared at the exit of the imperial palace, pulling a bronze imperial chariot slowly behind it. An immense aura instantly pressed down on the entire gathering, compelling them to prostrate themselves involuntarily.
Feng Shan, Feng is the sacrifice to heaven, and Shan is the sacrifice to earth. It is an ancient grand ceremony of emperors on Blue Star to worship heaven and earth, and its grandeur is naturally immense.
However, for Ye Yun, any grand ceremony or sacrifice to heaven and earth was utter nonsense. He was holding this ceremony solely to officially declare himself Emperor and to formally lead the Human Race out of the Human Race Starfield and the Tenth Cosmic Realm! At the same time, it was to enfeoff various feudal lords and to achieve a deterrent effect!
The imperial chariot, pulled by the Golden Crow, slowly ascended into the sky and then landed on the altar above. Endless flames instantly ignited on the altar's ground, resembling a carpet of deep crimson.
Ye Yun, wearing a Ping Tian crown and an imperial robe, slowly emerged from the imperial chariot. Guided by Tang Zhe and Jin Di, he purified his hands with spiritual liquid, used the national fortune as incense, and under the异火 (Yi Huo - alien fire), above the myriad people, he gazed forward and bowed with solemnity.
In the ten directions of heaven and earth, cultivators inherently tread against the natural order. Therefore, almost all cultivators are in constant struggle with heaven and earth. Thus, cultivators have never felt fear towards heaven and earth, let alone offered true worship.
Rumble...
With Ye Yun's bow, heaven and earth resonated, the void trembled. All the observing cultivators below, whether they were at the peak of the Extreme realm or Monarchs, were all prostrated on the ground under the force of this momentum.
An Imperial Seal arrived from the imperial palace, hovering between heaven and earth. Countless terrestrial and celestial forces continuously gathered within it, dragon shadows soaring, and national fortune surging through the sky. This was the phenomenon of the Feng Shan ceremony receiving the approval of heaven and earth and being blessed by it.
After a series of intricate procedures, Ye Yun looked at the hundreds of thousands of lords from various factions below.
"Enfeoff! Izar, Lord of Liu Ji Planet in the Jiaye Starfield, as a Seventh Rank Lord of the Empire, with the title..."