Emperor's Domination

The old turtle’s nagging eventually bore fruit. Although her attitude was still very cold towards him, Tie Lan no longer tried to chase Li Qiye away. Her expression clearly stated that she did not welcome this guest at all.

Of course, Li Qiye didn’t mind the lack of hospitality as all of his thoughts were fixated on the stone tablet. On the other hand, Tie Lan found it quite strange with Li Qiye either standing in a daze or chanting to the tablet all day long.

Although there was a rumor that their clan had a hidden treasury, no one knew the truth. In fact, Tie Lan herself didn’t believe this either.

This was due to the fact that the rumor was spread by her prodigal father, but he had died a very long time ago! Even those who heard him first-hand were skeptical.

She bore some grievances with her father. The last fortune of the clan was wasted by him. Moreover, this rumor of his was harmful to the Tie Clan even after he passed away.

In the past, she didn’t mind this treasure business. Even the robbers who tried to steal treasures from their ruins were chased away by her. However, things hadn’t been calm for her clan recently. The second brother of the ravine, Sheng Fei, took note of the Tie Clan’s territory and asked to buy it.

Tie Lan knew that the only reason Sheng Fei didn’t forcefully seize it was out of consideration for the Ox King. She also understood that she wasn’t a match for the ravine. However, her unyielding character did not allow her to take a step back despite knowing that she didn’t stand a chance.

Li Qiye stayed here for more than ten days. On this day, auspicious clouds suddenly appeared in the sky. With the accompaniment of the roar from a bull, someone suddenly emerged from the horizon.

“His Majesty is here in person at our Heavenly Flame County...” Many people saw the person in the sky and quickly prostrated on the ground.

“His Majesty must be here to see General Tie.” Some immediately guessed the reason for his arrival.

Li Qiye also noticed this event. He lifted his head and saw an old man walking into the ruins.

The old man was tall with a big pair of ox-like eyes. He wore an imperial robe while emitting a mighty aura.

Even the cold Tie Lan who didn’t care for anyone came out to greet him. She bowed once and said: “Please excuse this general for the late welcome, Your Majesty.”

This old man was indeed the Royal Lord of the Ox-Herder Country, or Ox King Su Mingchen. He was a buffalo demon that ruled over the entire country. Moreover, he was a Heavenly Sovereign as well.

“Rise.” Su Mingchen gently waved his sleeve.

After Tie Lan stood up, Su Mingchen gently sighed: “Tie Lan, why the need to be so stubborn? Your Tie Clan has fallen and the Bird King is paying a high price for this place, so why won’t you sell it to him?”

Tie Lan stood there in silence. Su Mingchen was the person she respected the most. He used to be best friends with her grandfather. After her prodigal father spent all of their family’s wealth, the king was the one who took care of their Tie Clan.

Su Mingchen tried to persuade the stubborn Tie Lan: “Tie Lan, you certainly don’t think that your clan still has a hidden treasure, right? Your prodigal father was a drunkard and his nonsense is not trustworthy. Back then, after wasting all that money, he told other people that there was a hidden treasury in order to increase the clan’s value!”

The king gently sighed in lamentation after bringing this up. He was best friends with Tie Lan’s grandfather since their youth. They grew up and went on many arduous adventures together.

Although the Tie Clan was in decline during his best friend’s generation, it still had some wealth left.

Unfortunately, her father was useless, a complete young master that only knew how to spend. He often stole items from the clan to sell. Ultimately, he even angered his own father to death.

After his father’s death, this black sheep grew even more untethered. Eventually, he sold every last bit of the clan, causing the clan to fall apart.

It was a blessing that Tie Lan never gave up. Although she did not cultivate, she trained hard to become a martial arts master and contributed greatly to the country to become a general.

Although her strength was enough for her to enjoy the splendor of life, it was impossible to revive a lineage. Since the Tie Clan had nothing left, she couldn’t do anything by herself.

“Your Majesty, I know this, but this is the home of my clan.” Tie Lan firmly replied after a long period of silence.

The truth was that she felt very grateful towards the Ox King. Back when her prodigal father pawned off their clan, it was the king who reclaimed it.

“I know that you want to protect the Tie Clan.” Su Mingchen said: “But there is nothing for you to protect here! Why the need to provoke the Bird King over these ruins?”

The king turned serious at this point: “You must know that the Bird King is the Royal Lord of the Feather Country. He is also the second brother of the Heavenhoof Ravine, so his backing is quite frightening. If you provoke him, then even I would be powerless if I wanted to protect you.”

“Your Majesty, I do not dare to involve you.” Tie Lan said: “I know I am weak and can’t fight against cultivators, but I will never abandon my roots!”

“Oh, Tie Lan. You are courting death.” The Ox King shook his head: “If you are willing, I will bestow the Eastrest County to you! You have been guarding the borders in the recent years so you have earned it. The Eastrest County has great sceneries with gentle people, a good location for you to retire. Why not leave this place full of bad memories and start anew?”

The Ox King took care of the Tie Clan very well due to his friendship with Tie Lan’s grandfather. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so protective of her.

“No, Your Majesty, I will not stay anywhere but the Tie Clan.” Tie Lan remained headstrong and shook her head: “I was born into the Tie Clan so I shall die and become a ghost in the Tie Clan. I will never abandon it even if I am the only one left!”

The Ox King had no solution to Tie Lan’s stubbornness. He shook his head and knew that he couldn’t protect her when she had offended the ravine!

During this helpless moment, the king looked towards the mansions and his eyes fell upon Li Qiye and the old turtle. He didn’t really pay attention to Li Qiye since this young man seemed very ordinary.

However, the moment he saw the old turtle lying flat on the ground, his mind trembled. Since when did the Tie Clan have such a powerful expert?

Both the king and the turtle were Heavenly Sovereigns, so this couldn’t escape his eyes. The sudden appearance of a sovereign at the Tie Clan startled him.

“May I ask where you are from, sir?” The king came forward and cupped his hands together to greet the turtle.

The turtle quickly shook his head: “Ox King, you are mistaken. This turtle is only a minor character, this great immortal here is the real boss.” The timid turtle wanted less trouble. He was a vagabond cultivator after all, so he didn’t want to show himself and pushed everything to Li Qiye instead.

The king was shocked to hear this. A Heavenly Sovereign being so respectful to this inconspicuous junior was surprising to say the least. The king was an experienced person, so despite Li Qiye’s humble appearance, the king wondered if he came from an imperial lineage. This possibility meant that the king couldn’t afford to offend or despise him. He cupped his hands as well towards Li Qiye: “May I ask for Young Noble’s name? I am Su Mingchen from the Ox-Herder Country.”

His attitude was very polite. Of course, if the old turtle was respectful of this young man ahead, then he didn’t want to offend such a big character either.

“Li Qiye.” Li Qiye slightly nodded. Since Su Mingchen was so polite, he also treated him with propriety.

“Li, Li, Li Qiye...” The Ox King stuttered with fear and almost choked on his own saliva.

He felt his quivering legs losing strength as he almost fell down to the ground. The name Li Qiye truly frightened him.

“Young Noble, you, you are the Alchemy Realm’s Deity Li Qiye.” Aghast, he swallowed and felt his mouth drying up! [1. Same words as Jikong Wudi’s title, remember? It has been so long now. Not a title in this case.]

The Ox King was a smart man. People had been referring to Li Qiye as Fierce, but this title could be construed as too aggressive. He naturally wouldn’t call Li Qiye this to his face, so the king instantly began calling Li Qiye a Deity instead. [1. Both Deity and Fierce have the word “man” and an adjective before it. In this case, Brute would be a better title for Li Qiye to fit the context, but we’ve been going with Fierce.]

“Deity?” Li Qiye couldn’t help but chuckle. He slightly shook his head: “No need to embellish my title; just Fierce is fine. Of course, as far as I know, I am the only one named Li Qiye.”

The king quivered after finding out that this ordinary-looking young man was Li Qiye. He felt his scalp tingle as if his head was about to explode.

He secretly lamented about his lack of fortune at this moment. Why did this ominous star choose to visit his country?!