When Fang Yuan broke through, the resulting phenomenon naturally sparked intense debate throughout the Great Qin Empire.

After all, the entire sky turned blood red—such an immense phenomenon had only appeared once before, when the Thunder Tiger King broke through to Tier Nine Imperial Realm.

Online, Great Qin Empire netizens were all discussing who exactly had broken through to Tier Nine Imperial Realm; this was only the second Imperial Realm powerhouse in all of heaven and earth, so naturally everyone from Great Qin Empire was deeply curious.

At the same time, Demon Kings from all over were astonished by the event. They sent their underlings out to gather information, eager to learn the true identity of this Imperial figure.

If the new figure was human, they would have to head to Tiger King Ridge and seek the Thunder Tiger King's protection.

On the other hand, if the figure was demon clan, they would try to curry favor with them—in fact, it wouldn't be a bad idea to directly join them.

After all, Tiger King Ridge, as the number one demon clan power, had always remained aloof and uninterested in their affairs, seemingly looking down on them, never showing any sign of involvement. This left them feeling insecure.

Now, with an additional Demon Emperor in play, they would have more options. Even if the Thunder Tiger King continued to ignore them, they would have a fallback.

Imperial Capital.

"Zhang, what did you find out? Who broke through to Imperial Realm this time?"

Dean Lin looked toward the hurriedly entering Assistant Zhang, quickly asking.

You have to understand, a Tier Nine Imperial could be considered the ruler of the entire world; every single one could alter the balance of the realm.

Now that a second Tier Nine Imperial had appeared, it might very well disrupt the existing situation.

At present, the development of the Great Qin Empire was stable and improving, so Dean Lin truly didn't want to see any change in the balance.

"Dean, this is footage from an observation station near Tiger King Ridge—the Black Demon Tiger's Thunder Tribulation and the celestial phenomenon happened almost simultaneously.

Combining the Thunder Tribulation and the observers' own impressions, we can pretty much confirm it: the one who broke through to Tier Nine Imperial Realm this time was the Black Demon Tiger!"

Assistant Zhang's expression was grave as he handed the tablet to Dean Lin.

"What? How can that be!"

Upon hearing this, Dean Lin was utterly shocked and hurriedly snatched the tablet.

Previously, the Black Demon Tiger's exact cultivation level wasn't known to the Great Qin Empire, but during the Thunder Tribulation when it broke through Tier Eight, the event had been recorded.

That was only two or three years ago. How could it possibly break through from Tier Eight to Tier Nine in such a short time?

If breaking through to Tier Nine was really that easy, those countless Ancient Sects elders who survived for who knows how long would have all ascended to Tier Nine by now, instead of waiting to be slaughtered later by the Thunder Tiger King.

Still, after watching the footage, Dean Lin's expression grew serious. He had to concede that the one who broke through to Tier Nine Imperial Realm was most likely the Black Demon Tiger.

After all, only major realm advancements trigger Thunder Tribulations. Since the Black Demon Tiger, with its Tier Eight cultivation, crossed another Thunder Tribulation, the only possibility was rising to Tier Nine.

Dean Lin let out a long sigh, feeling a wave of emotion in his heart.

He had never imagined that the one breaking through to Tier Nine Imperial Realm would once again come from Tiger King Ridge.

Of course, it didn't seem to spell trouble. Judging by Tiger King Ridge's typical behavior, the Great Qin Empire's situation probably wouldn't experience any drastic changes.

"Dean, do we need to announce this to the public?" Assistant Zhang asked.

"No, not for now—let's avoid causing panic!"

At those words, Dean Lin shook his head.

Previously, the Black Demon Tiger had deep-seated animosity with the Great Qin Empire. Many in the empire hated it to the bone—if the news of the Black Demon Tiger ascending to Demon Emperor were released, people would certainly become frightened, leading to unnecessary chaos.

"Understood!"

"Also, inform the Willow God about this right away!" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Dean Lin instructed Assistant Zhang.

"Yes, I'll go immediately!"

Assistant Zhang nodded, eager to leave the office.

Watching Assistant Zhang's departing figure, Dean Lin's gaze shifted, lost in thought.

The Black Demon Tiger had already entered Imperial Realm; so, the Willow God probably wasn't far from Tier Nine Imperial Realm either, considering the Black Demon Tiger had been defeated by Willow God before.

After receiving the order, Assistant Zhang left the office and went straight toward the small courtyard in East District.

Unfortunately, both he and Dean Lin were unaware that at the exact moment Fang Yuan broke through to Tier Nine, the cultivating Willow God sensed something.

Willow God was already on the way to Tiger King Ridge.

...

Peach Grove Valley.

"Big brother! Did you... break through again?"

Jiang Che had just opened his eyes when he saw Fang Yuan's utterly shocked face looming over him.

"Correct. Before, my cultivation was only a step away from breaking through to late Tier Nine.

Today, thanks to you—while watching you endure the Thunder Tribulation, I gained some insight into the Law of Thunder, it fed back into my cultivation, and helped me break through successfully."

Jiang Che smiled slowly, explaining.

This time, Old Two's breakthrough to Tier Nine Imperial Realm brought Jiang Che tenfold feedback in cultivation power. It was immense, forcibly pushing him from mid Tier Nine to late Tier Nine.

Originally, he was still some distance away from late Tier Nine.

"..."

Fang Yuan stared at his big brother, feeling the terrifying aura radiating from him, momentarily speechless. He'd wanted to catch up in cultivation, but hadn't expected his brother to break through again.

Don't be fooled by their being in the same realm now—for Tier Nine Imperial Realm, the gap between early and late stages was even bigger than the previous gap spanning two whole realms between him and his big brother.

Even with a steady supply of Primordial Demon Liquid, taking a small step forward in Tier Nine Imperial Realm would take years at minimum.

"Heh, congratulations to both big brother and second brother on breaking through—a double blessing at the door!"

Nangong Luo strode out from Cyan Stone Pool, grinning widely.

"No, should be a triple blessing! Third sister, didn't you just break through to mid Tier Eight yesterday?"

Jiang Che shook his head, face full of smiles as he replied.

Indeed, in these past two years—perhaps motivated by Fang Yuan—Nangong Luo's cultivation had advanced rapidly.

Not only had she broken through Tier Eight, but yesterday, she even reached mid Tier Eight. Unlike Fang Yuan, Nangong Luo lacked opportunities like Primordial Demon Liquid, so her progress was truly remarkable.

"Fellow Thunder Tiger, congratulations on Tiger King Ridge gaining another Demon Emperor. I have come to celebrate!"

Just as Nangong Luo was about to speak, a gentle female voice echoed from above Tiger King Ridge.

The Willow God stepped out from space, smiling as she descended from the sky.

"Willow God?"

The three all looked over at once; Jiang Che quickly opened the grand array to let Willow God in.

"Heh, Willow God, you're too polite..."

Jiang Che led the pair to greet her, smiling amiably.

After some pleasant conversation, Willow God learned about the issue with the Ancestral Demon Realm from Jiang Che.

"Fellow Thunder Tiger, may I join the two of you to help you conquer the Ancestral Demon Realm?"

Willow God's eyes lit up.

Jiang Che didn't even hesitate; he instinctively shook his head.

Nangong Luo had already asked this question previously and he'd firmly refused.

To Jiang Che, the greatest help the two of them could give was to keep cultivating diligently.