Just a few hours ago, Wei Wuyin had declared the initiation of the new era and the end of the former, alongside his conquest of the entire eighteen known stellar regions of the world, formally renamed: Neo-Dawn Stellar Region. This was celebrated by the vast majority while the insignificant minor wailed in despair and horror.
The arrival of the Neo-Dawn Defiance Era was expected for the last few years, including the situation of the Ascendants and the Neo-Dawn Starfield engaging in battle with the Tian Clan of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region. The threat of such a catastrophic war loomed on many hearts as sinister and conniving individuals waited to see the chaos unfold.
How were they to expect that Wei Wuyin would one-sidedly defeat Tian Taizong after he displayed a level of startling strength against four foreign invaders at the legendary and unseen Worldly Saint Phase?! The depths of Tian Taizong were truly too deep, yet Wei Wuyin had curbed him with a single unparalleled move. Additionally, Wei Wuyin had directly told those invaders who brought unfathomable terror into their hearts to stay like dogs in an uninhabited territory and wait.
And they didn't disobey! The sight of those terrifying invaders snarling and roaring as they were forced to let go of their opportunities was unprecedented. Those cultivators who thought their future was soon to be filled with enslavement and mistreatment, perhaps an unjust death, were unable to acclimate to the rapid adjustment of their fates. Before they knew it, they were back home as Ascendants acted to right any incorrect orbits and sought to revert the deaths of countless mortals unfairly slaughtered. They were decisive and swift as if expecting this outcome, without caring about cost as Earthly Saints soared across the Dark Void like brilliant comets, sporting the Ascendant's insignia as spiritual projections as if to announce their identity.
The urge and willingness to stir the waters and fish for opportunities were violently snuffed within that single moment. Moreover, the Ascendants were far too swift in acting. Under the orders of the future Empress of the Neo-Dawn Stellar Region, Xue Yifei, the Ascendants mobilized in full force. Given the unstoppable momentum that Wei Wuyin had left behind and the magnanimity of his Ascendants when repairing homes, saving lives, and selflessly assisting, it was hard for anyone to question this transition.
Those familiar with the Neo-Dawn Starfield's policies were actually excited by this change, hoping that would be the future standard across the world, especially those particular safe zones they established. Throughout the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, those of the highest cultivation rarely involved themselves with lower beings, allowing them to mostly deal with their own safety or situation when it came to internal matters.
A mortal farmer at the Qi Condensation Realm might one day just have their entire family and livelihood blasted apart by a battle for a precious resource while plowing the fields in peace. They would be swept into the realm of the forgotten. This would often happen in almost every world that wasn't overly developed. The world of cultivation was chaotic with no guarantees.
However, the Neo-Dawn Starfield had dedicated regions where safety was guaranteed, overseen twenty-four-seven by a powerful cultivator, and protected by a grand array. It was no different than the treatment those highborn members of the cultivation world might enjoy in their capital cities or clan residences. It was formerly just a dream for the vast majority of beings.
But not in the Neo-Dawn Starfield! Most cultivators simply wanted to be safe, cultivate, and earn a good living. Not everyone sought greater heights through the brutal struggle for resources or contesting against others of similar talent or cultivation for fame and fortune, and not everyone could afford to have such a pleasant life in a world without order with beings that could, with a breath, eradicate your soul and body into dust, and Evil Cultivators that saw the weak as resources and tools to be freely abused.
While Trueborn was largely a mystery to the world, Evil Organizations were not an unknown existence to the vast majority of cultivators. This included Void Pirates. It could be discerned from the millions of captives within a single Shadow Egg that the number of families and lives affected by those organizations was not small or insignificant. The story of your loved ones 'vanishing' while traveling or cultivating was so frequent and common that most simply accepted this way of life with a saddened heart.
So quite a lot of mortals who had heard of the Neo-Dawn Starfield's 'utopia' were roaring with maniacal excitement in the hopes of venturing into this utopia. The new era was greatly welcomed!
Moreover, while there wasn't any halting of those seeking to compete and cultivate, the Ascendants did not impose stringent restrictions on activities for cultivators who sought to pursue a life of cultivation, fame, and fortune. The competitiveness of the cultivation world wasn't suppressed in the slightest.
At the head of these rules and regulations were two figures, but the figurehead was certainly Xue Yifei who stood at the helm of directing these changes in accordance with the Neo-Dawn Ascendant Emperor's will. To the people of the Neo-Dawn Starfield and those beyond, Xue Yifei was a grand contributor to these great changes.
The main reason why the Neo-Dawn Starfield was vastly different from others was the fact the Ascendants were a united force that acted to secure and protect, regulate and enforce, as well as stabilize and direct these rules. For example, the Tian Clan of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region was certainly the leader of the stellar region, but they didn't directly oversee the movement of Voidships, Skyships, and often delegated the city-wide rules to the discretion and will of the cultivator in charge, while only maintaining a large, general rule to follow.
Unlike them, the Neo-Dawn Starfield oversaw the safety of its non-combative citizens regardless of their cultivation, secured territory with experts far beyond the region's limits, actively regulated their rules, and ensured each was properly enforced and punished upon breaking, while never operating beyond their rules.
The City Lord couldn't simply change anything arbitrary because there was no City Lord, only Ascendants. The rules weren't too restrictive either, allowing greater freedom and a clear, unbreachable bottom line. The Ascendants only owned limited territory, with designated non-combative areas in only places that were suitable, while openly giving everyone the means and option to move to these areas.
Additionally, in areas of brutal contest, the Ascendants were no different than normal cultivators. If they involve themselves in life-and-death conflicts, the Ascendants will never directly intervene. Although allies and friends may take action, the Ascendants as a whole would never assist such vengeance. This had been tested and verified in the Neo-Dawn Starfield several times already, only validating their claim.
Of course, this was only in Neo-Dawn Starfield's territory. If it was beyond, the entire weight and might of the Ascendants would be unleashed.
This was wildly different from other forces. To give an example, a Noble Clan member decided to kidnap or slaughter someone on a whim for whatever reason. If they were retaliated against by hurting or killing that Noble Clan member, it was extremely common, regardless of their faults or reasoning, that the Noble Clan would obliterate those who took action as a show of force and preservation of reputation.
This made it so that the Noble Clan members became the main characters that were deemed unkillable and irresistible by all but the most daring. But unlike those heroic stories, the end result of those so daring would typically be the entire downfall or eradication of their clan, or family, and perhaps implicate those who assisted. Not everyone had the Heavenly Daos' favor.
Towards Ascendants' of all ages and positions, even if you were aware of their identity beforehand, and they were in an active area for conflict, acting against them would not produce such violent and vicious retaliation, not even killing them would do so. This allowed cultivators to fight for opportunities without fearing retaliation by the Neo-Dawn Starfield's Ascendants and disallowed Ascendants from dominating any situation without sufficient strength by relying on their backing.
It was hard to truly comprehend the far-reaching consequences or benefits of these rules and regulations of the Ascendants, but for the first few years so far, there were no complaints or major issues.
"Empress Xue! Empress Xue!"
A young woman with slightly chubby cheeks, a short stature, and an adorably cute face rushed into the throne room while shouting excitedly. It was Xiu Yi. She was garbed in a gorgeous light blue and white hanfu, her hair tied by a dark blue ribbon, and she emanated an innately gentle and proud temperament.
As the maidservant to the future Ascendant Empress, and prior to that, the Ascendant Emperor's concubine, how could she not be proud?
A gracefully extraordinary figure stood beside a large open window. Outside, the excitement of life; beyond, the beauty of order; within, the overseer of it all. A dreamlike radiance from the Baby Defiant shone on the figure's lovely complexion, granting her an ethereal, flawless beauty befitting her newfound status. Her hazel eyes with flecks of blue were fixed on the white clouds above.
Her flowing black hair flowed freely like immortal waves. She gently moved, placing a single strand of loose hair behind her ear, allowing more light to touch her flawless skin. She was worthy of someone who took Wei Wuyin's breath away at first sight!
The sight couldn't have been more beautiful. It was as moving as a painting. Xiu Yi was taken aback by the sight, her breathing stagnated as she slowly absorbed the scene.
"Empress..."
While Xue Yifei wasn't the Empress yet, Xiu Yi was the most stubborn of the twin sisters, even when Wei Wuyin had first declared Xue Yifei as his concubine on the Bloodforge Continent, she had openly stated that the situation simply wasn't right. She said it twice!
After being scolded by her sister, she still hadn't taken back her opinion. Since then, she refused to call Xue Yifei anything other than Empress Xue. Of course, she would hold her tongue if Su Mei, Wu Yu, or Wei Wuyin were around. She might be stubborn but she wasn't foolish.
After a short while, Xue Yifei ceased her execution of multiple long-range Spiritual Transmissions, briefly taking a break as she focused on her lovely and stubborn Xiu Yi. The urge to pinch her cheeks as she had once done when they were younger pounded against her heart. She decided that she'll do so at least twice today.
"What is it, Xiu Yi?"
Xiu Yi was shaken from her stupor at the mention of her name, "Oh! Right!" She fumbled slightly with her words, but continued after regaining her focus: "Empress!" The details she told involved a few arrivals. These were a few Noble Clans that were personally trying to seek her audience, clearly wishing to discuss matters of territory and such.
They had long since given up any thought of resistance after Tian Taizong's brilliant reveal of a Worldly Saint cultivation base and then Wei Wuyin's subsequent show of irresistible strength, slaying such a fearsome enemy with ease. They could only hope to show their sincerity by personally meeting the Ascendant Emperor, and if not, even the future Ascendant Empress would do!
Xue Yifei faintly smiled. Wei Wuyin had gone off to do all sorts of things, leaving the management of the entire stellar region in her hand. However, while others might find this frustrating, to her who understood his feelings, this only made her increasingly happy.
"Tell them to wait in the Main Hall. I'll be there shortly," she calmly instructed.
"Yes, Empress!" Xiu Yi excitedly left. Not only had her Mistress achieved her goal of becoming an official wife, but the control of this vast empire that would span across the eighteen stellar regions was in her hands. Those Earthly Saints that she had once feared were now rushing to grovel before her Mistress' feet!
The feeling was... ...EXHILARATING!
Xue Yifei's gaze reached beyond the window and into the outside world once again, a bright, beautiful smile on her face. For the next while, she was going to be quite busy.
