Chapter 64: The Underwater Palaces
Nestled at the pinnacle of the heavens, far to the south of the Eastern Continent, the Main Residence of the Cloud Dynasty sprawled across an immense territory where mountains floated in the air, suspended by currents of pure Qi. Celestial seas surrounded its majestic cities, their waters shimmering beneath the golden light of the twin moons. Each province of the empire was a jewel shaped by the hands of cultivators, where ancient pagodas and grand palaces rose amidst millennia-old forests and crystalline rivers.
The heart of this dynasty lay within the Domain of the Jade Emperor, a place where the sky itself seemed to bow before the power of its master. The Imperial Palace. Its walls of pure jade gleamed under the moonlight, and its golden dome reflected the stars. Staircases of clouds led to the throne where a man reigned, his will shaping the future of the entire empire.
Sun Yuhan, the Jade Emperor, embodied absolute power. His imposing stature sat upon the imperial seat, a crushing presence. His long brown hair cascaded over his broad shoulders, framing a stern face where a pair of sharp, soul-piercing eyes gleamed. A thick beard gave him an air both noble and intimidating.
He wore dragon-scale war armor, each piece engraved with ancient runes that pulsed with a golden light.
Unlike the Celestial Dragon Region, where ancestral families controlled their own territories and the Emperor held only nominal power, the Cloud Dynasty was subject to his total authority. All who lived under his sky were his subjects, whether they liked it or not.
Among the few forces he did not fully command were the Krakens, a powerful and autonomous ancestral family. Sometimes, Sun Yuhan considered annexing them by force, but they were already submissive, and their territory was not part of his official lands. He abandoned the idea, though deep down, he regarded them as nothing more than disguised vassals.
The first family to suffer the Emperor’s thirst for conquest was the Ancestral Qilin Family. Once pacifists with a policy of no enemies, no allies, they had become the backbone of his Imperial Army, only to be betrayed and reduced to slavery. A seal was carved into their souls, preventing disobedience. Their pure lineage dwindled to fewer than a hundred individuals, the rest diluted into the populace.
As for the main lineage, the descendants of the Yellow Qilin, they were exterminated to the last to prevent any future rebellion.
Thus, the Jade Emperor ensured that the Qilins, once a noble and proud family, were now mere tools in his hands, slave warriors at his service.
The Empire was divided into nine provinces, each entrusted to one of the Emperor’s nine children. They ruled over the Hidden Families, lineages of ancient cultivators who, though powerful, could not rival the ancestral families.
But their strength was not to be underestimated. Each Hidden Family had produced at least one Immortal, and one of them was even the founder of the Immortal Tao Sect, one of the most respected in the martial world.