Chapter 840: Winning Means What Now?

"In a sense, you're right, but the process is not that simple. You see, the Fire God's Scepter has been passed down through generations of our clan, always held by the clan leader. Each leader is chosen by the scepter itself, their destiny determined from birth. The chosen wielder is bathed in the divine radiance of the scepter and granted the best physique for cultivation, allowing them to grow rapidly until they have the strength to wield it. I am the current wielder, and the scepter has chosen Ling'er to be the next.

"You are correct: the Scorching King came to borrow the scepter in order to break through. But the Fire God's Scepter can only be used by someone whose aura it recognizes and acknowledges. For him to borrow its power to ascend, he had to earn that acknowledgement. So the proposal he was talking about was... well... marriage. Only by becoming Ling'er's husband and being blessed by the Fire God's Scepter could he use the scepter's power for cultivation and advancement. The Sunborne Nymph Emperor's Emperor Seed was the betrothal gift."

After hearing Huo Quan's explanation, Tang San was dumbfounded. Meanwhile, Huo Ling'er looked at him with a hint of resentment, clearly displeased that he had pulled away from her arm earlier.

Tang San couldn't help but feel amused and helpless. He had come to stop the Scorching King from becoming an Emperor, and that part had gone swimmingly, but he had never expected to get caught up in something like this. He had ruined a marriage proposal! No wonder the Scorching King had been so furious earlier: Tang San was essentially objecting not to a business deal, but to his marriage!

Huo Quan then continued, "Since you have won against the Scorching King, that means you have the right to take his place and marry Ling'er."

There was no need to explain further; the meaning was clear. They expected Tang San to take the Scorching King's place and marry Huo Ling'er!

The Firedawn clan leader didn't even suggest that Tang San offer up a betrothal gift. It was clear what he wanted.

"Clan Leader, please hold on a moment. We...

Uh...

This matter needs to be discussed a bit more thoroughly," Tang San said urgently.

***

Kali City.

Mei Gongzi was cultivating when she suddenly felt her divine consciousness tremble slightly, as if an invisible sense of danger tugged at her heartstrings.

At her current level of cultivation, and especially after mastering the Celestial Plume, her sense of danger was extremely sharp. She immediately snapped out of her cultivation state.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door, followed by the voice of Luo Qingzhu. "Little Mei, pause your cultivation for a moment. Another envoy from the Ancestral Court has arrived."

Mei Gongzi narrowed her eyes and floated up. "Understood."

In the main hall of Kali City's City Lord's Mansion, Luo Qingzhu sat in the seat of honor, with two envoys from the Ancestral Court seated in front of her.

"Your Highness, where is City Lord Mei?" asked one of the envoys, clearly a Great Demon King. He was an imposing figure, radiating a powerful aura, from the lineage of the Behemoths.

Luo Qingzhu responded solemnly, "I've just informed the City Lord, but she is currently in a critical stage of secluded cultivation and cannot meet with anyone. I must ask you two to wait a few days until the City Lord finishes her seclusion."

The two envoys exchanged a glance, then the same Behemoth said in a deep voice, "The Ancestral Court's orders are urgent, as they involve the very fate of the Empyrean Dominion. This is a matter concerning all demons, so we must ask that the City Lord end her seclusion as soon as possible."

Although they came from the Ancestral Court, Mei Gongzi was now the ruler of a major city, and they couldn't push too hard. But they couldn't just take "no" for an answer, either; they were here to deliver orders, not to do sightseeing.

Luo Qingzhu nodded. "Of course. As soon as the City Lord finishes her cultivation, she will meet with you both immediately."

The envoys were escorted out.

In the next moment, silver light flickered, and Mei Gongzi, who had been secretly listening, teleported in front of Luo Qingzhu.

Luo Qingzhu said solemnly, "It seems the Ancestral Court is really in a rush. With the fall of the Crystal Demon Emperor, the vacant Emperor position has stirred reactions from all sides. It's now become a struggle between the two major territories, and I'm afraid we can't delay much longer. If anything goes wrong, it could be a huge problem and affect your chances of becoming an Emperor."

Mei Gongzi's eyes were icy, and she said in a disgusted tone, "I can't believe they came up with something like this. Utterly despicable."

The envoys from the Ancestral Court had delivered the message perfectly clear. They demanded that Mei Gongzi go through the marriage arrangements within three months. It could be with any first-tier clan or within the Peacock Demon clan itself; it did not matter as long as the spouse was a demon with a first-tier bloodline. The goal was to solve the issue of her human bloodline and to produce offspring. Afterward, the Empyrean Dominion would fully support her ascension to Emperorhood.

Jin Anguo had made their intention clear, but at that point, it was a proposal coming from the representative of a single clan. Now, it was an

order

coming from the Ancestral Court, and the proposal was open to all first-tier bloodline clans of the Empyrean Dominion, making it much harder to reject.

Mei Gongzi was the absolute best among the younger generation and had the potential to become an Emperor, yet she was unmarried and without children. As the Lord of Kali City, the requirement for her to marry and have children was indeed part of the ancestral tenets that the Ancestral Court held in utmost regard. It was not something targeted at her in particular; every single city lord in history had been subject to the exact same requirements. Of course, a situation like this was rare, because those who inherited the position were experienced Great Demon Kings at the very least, and by that time, they were usually well past the age to have completed such milestones in life.

By contrast, Mei Gongzi was young and so talented, yet unmarried. With the Ancestral Court demanding she arrange a marriage, wouldn't all the qualified individuals in the major clans be vying for this opportunity? Whoever became her husband would stand by the side of a future Emperor—such a union would bring immense benefits.

Mei Gongzi was sure that after Jin Anguo returned, he must have told the Ancestral Court that she already had someone she loved. But the Ancestral Court completely ignored that. And they had no reason to care about her having a lover—as long as it wasn't a human, her partner didn't matter. Even someone from the Peacock Demon clan would be acceptable. Could Mei Gongzi handle that?

If not, then she had to give that up. She had to marry someone with a first-tier demon bloodline and she had to purge her body of every last trace of human blood. This was the Ancestral Court's ultimatum, and this was the Ancestral Court's fundamental condition for allowing her to become an Emperor.

Indeed, as Xiao He had predicted, a new obstacle had appeared.

If she refused? The Ancestral Court would respond with harsh punishment. But if she agreed, then how would the marriage proposal work? Should Tang San reveal himself? If Tang San appeared as a human, the Ancestral Court would directly reject him even in the best case scenario. And he couldn't disguise himself as a member of another race either—such a change wouldn't fool the eyes of so many Emperors.

Both Luo Qingzhu and Mei Gongzi fell into deep thought.

"Bring your father back and then we can discuss this further," Luo Qingzhu said solemnly.

Mei Gongzi nodded. There was no other choice; they really weren't sure what to do.

Xiao He had been very busy lately. The construction of the Skytree Realm had begun. Even though he had mentally prepared himself, the migration of the Sea Giants and Seasky Tree clans to Crescent Island still deeply shocked the former Peacock Great Demon King.

The scene was truly magnificent. In the sea, one giant pillar after another rose, and from a distance, it looked as if they could reach out from the sea and support the entire sky.

The pillars were arranged in an orderly fashion, and the Seasky Trees positioned themselves around and above the pillars to form bridges between the islands. They arranged themselves according to the layout thought up by Xiao He, in order to maximize the surface they could cover without sacrificing structural integrity.

Thanks to the Sea Giants' dominion over the sea, the sea surface was calm and still. From Crescent Island, three bridges extended far into the distance. These bridges, about thirty meters wide, stretched in a straight line across the sea, creating a breathtaking sight.

The surface of the bridges was made of intertwined tree branches and trunks, tied together with thick vines. The Seasky Tree clan lived in the Endless Blue Sea and had no fear of the sea's erosion.

With the strong support of the Seasky Tree clan, the bridge surfaces were made as smooth as possible. Although they were not perfectly even, they were stable enough for human carts to travel across.

Next, human labor would be required to pave the surface, using stone slabs carved from rock to make the bridges as level as possible.

Nearly a million human immigrants had settled already, and after completing their basic farming tasks, they had little to do on the islands. The Sea Clans provided enough seafood to keep them well-fed, and apart from education and improving their living conditions, they had little to do. Naturally, as soon as the task of finishing up the bridges was announced, there were plenty of volunteers who couldn't wait to start.