Qin Lan’er didn’t understand what Big Sister Sovereign meant by “be selfish once.”

But by the time Qin Lan’er came to her senses, she realized she had already—without noticing—followed Big Sister Sovereign all the way to Mount Tai.

That soaring dynastic fortune had taken the shape of a dragon, circling ceaselessly beneath the vault of the heavens.

And under the influence of that dynastic fortune, the spiritual energy here was abnormally dense.

If the spiritual energy here continued to be this dense for another thousand years, this place would likely become a foremost blessed land and cave-heaven—enough to support a sect of the Ascension Realm.

Qin Siyao descended slowly from the sky and drifted toward the summit. Qin Lan’er stayed close behind her.

Sensing the dynastic fortune surrounding Qin Siyao and Qin Lan’er, Mount Tai’s mountain-protecting formation array did not activate. Instead, it accepted the two of them within it.

They reached the summit.

Qin Siyao walked up to the Sacrifice-to-Heaven Platform.

There was nothing extra on the Sacrifice-to-Heaven Platform—only a great cauldron.

The cauldron was called the Cauldron of the Four Directions Under Heaven. It was a treasure passed down from remote antiquity, used by every dynasty across the ages for sacrifices.

When the world of myriad arts was unified, the Cauldron of the Four Directions Under Heaven would appear.

If a dynasty fractured, the Cauldron of the Four Directions Under Heaven would vanish.

The last time the Cauldron of the Four Directions Under Heaven appeared, it had been inside a river.

That was the fourth year after unification. In Qinghai Commandery, an anomaly emerged: within half a day, a river dried up, and dynastic fortune surged straight into the sky.

When the local officials arrived, they saw the great cauldron—and immediately escorted it to the imperial capital in person.

Qin Siyao took the imperial seal from her robes and set it on the table.

This seal was not Qin’s old state seal. It had been forged by merging the seals of every state in the world of myriad arts.

After lighting three sticks of incense, Qin Siyao led Qin Lan’er in offering worship to Heaven and Earth. The instant she planted the incense into the cauldron, dynastic fortune transformed into a pillar of light that shot straight into the sky.

Golden ripples spread through the air.

Whether in the world of myriad arts or the demon-race world, every cultivator at the Nascent Soul Realm or above lifted their head and looked toward the same place.

“Where are the headmasters of the Hundred Schools!”

Qin Siyao’s voice was like the Dao of Heaven’s law itself, spreading out from Mount Tai in all directions.

The next moment, streak after streak of golden light flew in from every quarter.

The golden bodies of the headmasters of the Hundred Schools—Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist; Legalist, Mohist, Agricultural, Military; Yin-Yang; Diplomat; Merchant; and more than a hundred other schools—settled around Mount Tai, seated in a great ring.

Their realms were not the same. Some had already reached the Ascension Realm, while others were only at the Jade-Polished Realm.

“Your Majesty, may I ask why you have summoned us here?” The palace master of the Confucian academy stepped forward and bowed with deep respect.

“For nothing else. I simply have three imperial edicts—and one of them is for you, that’s all.”

Qin Siyao’s voice carried across the entire world.

“Let the world of myriad arts receive the edict!”

Qin Siyao took out the first imperial edict.

“The demon-race world has eyed my world of myriad arts for a long time. Today, I command the world of myriad arts: raise the Great Wall across the border. So long as the Ten-Thousand-Li Great Wall is not breached, the demon-race world shall not cross it in flight even for a single day.”

The instant her words fell, that imperial edict turned into a streak of light and flew toward the border.

“Qin Siyao! You dare to forcibly separate two worlds—how dare you!”

From the demon-race world came the voice of an Ascension Realm great demon.

“My world of myriad arts does as it will—what business is it of yours?”

Qin Siyao snorted coldly and pressed a slender hand downward.

The imperial edict slammed down with a thunderous crash, smashing into the borderlands.

The earth shook violently. A towering wall surged up from the ground, reaching into the clouds, stretching for tens of millions of li.

“Let the Hundred Schools receive the edict!”

Qin Siyao wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and took out the second imperial edict.

“From today onward, those below the mountain will do the affairs below the mountain; those above the mountain will govern the affairs above the mountain. Any cultivator who enters the imperial court must not remain for more than a hundred years.

“And between immortality and an emperor’s throne, only one may be chosen!

“From the next ruler of Qin onward, anyone above Foundation Establishment must not claim the throne. Otherwise, karma will entangle them, and the Dao of Heaven will not permit it!”

When Qin Siyao finished, the second imperial edict floated into the air.

Even if the headmasters of the Hundred Schools did not wish to receive it, under the law of the Dao of Heaven, they still had to accept it.

In the end, that imperial edict became a streak of light, merged into the Great Dao, and became part of Heaven-and-Earth law.

“Crown Prince Qin Lan’er, receive the edict.”

After reciting the first two imperial edicts, Qin Siyao turned around and looked at the young woman standing before her.

“With Heaven and Earth as witness, and mountains and rivers as all-seeing eyes, I pass the throne to you here at Mount Tai.

“From today onward, you are the ruler of Qin.”

Hearing Big Sister Sovereign recite the imperial edict, Qin Lan’er stood there blankly.

“Lan’er, receive the edict.” Seeing her dazed, Qin Siyao smiled.

Qin Lan’er bit her lower lip lightly, stepped forward, and bowed. “Lan’er… receives the edict.”

Qin Siyao placed the imperial edict into Qin Lan’er’s hands and looked at her gently.

“From this day on, you are the master of Great Qin.

“With this Ten-Thousand-Li Great Wall, the demon race will not be able to invade the world of myriad arts so easily.

“But it is only ‘not so easily.’ The Ten-Thousand-Li Great Wall will require you to manage it well, and to stay vigilant against the demon race.

“And from now on, there will not be so many great cultivators who wish to become the ruler of a state. After I leave, those above the mountain will watch you far less closely.

“And you may still cultivate as usual. Your realm will not be restricted.

“But after you, through all future rulers of the world of myriad arts, their realm must not exceed Foundation Establishment.

“From then on, rulers will be replaced frequently. I don’t know whether that will be good or bad.

“After all, an emperor could originally cultivate. If a wise ruler appears, the world may enjoy peace for far longer.

“But if a foolish ruler appears, the world will suffer calamities for a hundred years, a thousand years—ten thousand years, even.

“But at least, with you here, I believe the world will have at least ten thousand years of peace.

“Ten thousand years is not short.

“As for the Xiao family—you may exempt the Xiao family from three death sentences. After three times, if the Xiao family’s descendants commit crimes, punish them as you see fit. But no matter what, do not wipe the Xiao family out to the last.”

“Big Sister Sovereign… are you leaving?”

Qin Lan’er’s eyes reddened, tears trembling at the rims.

“Mhm.”

Qin Siyao nodded, then wiped the tears from the corner of Qin Lan’er’s eye.

“The world is already at peace. What Father, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Mother, Brother, and my husband entrusted to me—I have done it all. Now… it’s time for me to do what I want to do.

“I’m sorry, Lan’er. Forgive my selfishness. I’m handing everything over to you now.”

“Where is Big Sister Sovereign going?” Qin Lan’er asked softly, unwilling to let her go.

“I’m going to search this whole world for him.”

“But Big Sister Sovereign… the Frost King, he… he already left this world. Even if the Frost King is reborn through reincarnation, in a sea of people this vast, how could Big Sister Sovereign possibly find him… Where could Big Sister Sovereign even—”

Before the words “where to find” could leave her mouth, Qin Lan’er stared blankly at the woman before her.

In Qin Lan’er’s eyes, the corners of Qin Siyao’s lips lifted slightly. That gentle smile seemed to hold every color in the world.

It was the first time Qin Lan’er had ever seen Big Sister Sovereign smile like that.

So Big Sister Sovereign really could smile.

And when Big Sister Sovereign truly smiled… she was this beautiful.

“Big Sister doesn’t know whether she can find him,” Qin Siyao said softly. “But… Big Sister hates being lied to more than anything.”

Qin Siyao’s eyes curved as she smiled. She reached out and lightly tapped Qin Lan’er’s nose, her radiant smile like a galaxy spilling across the night sky.

“So…

“Big Sister wants to find him.

“And when Big Sister finds that oath-breaking, big liar…

“I’ll make him pay.”