Chapter 2602 - Submission

In the sleeping quarters of Ziwei Imperial Palace, Ye Futian sat alone, seemingly deep in contemplation.

Hua Jieyu came to his side and sat down quietly behind him, not disturbing him. She could tell that Ye Futian had something on his mind, so she merely sat there silently and kept him company.

The news that Mei Ting brought made Ye Futian restless.

First of all, he had to determine the truth of the news that the latter had brought.

He speculated that the news should be true. There was no need for Mei Ting to lie to him. If this was a scheme by the Devil World against Ye Futian, it was unnecessary. If the Devil Emperor wanted to deal with him, it would be child's play for the former to do so.

Moreover, Ye Futian had witnessed Yu Sheng's position in the Devil World before. If no harm had come to Yu Sheng, it was even more unlikely for Mei Ting to use Yu Sheng as an excuse to trick Ye Futian.

He hoped that the news was fake, yet he had to fundamentally eliminate this possibility.

If so, the next question he needed to ponder was what he would do about it?

What Mei Ting said was true. With Yu Sheng's character, he couldn't compromise with the Devil Emperor. Ye Futian did not know what sort of person the latter was for now, but the master who ruled over the Devil World would certainly be extremely imposing. The demonic techniques that he cultivated would also be extremely domineering. One could imagine the character of such a person.

Would the Devil Emperor tolerate Yu Sheng not compromising?

"Fool!" chided Ye Futian in a low voice. He seemed to have come to a decision. He let out a long breath and then turned to look at Hua Jieyu. He saw her smiling sweetly at him. She extended her hand and pushed the white hair in front of his head away. Her eyes shone with gentleness.

Ye Futian sensed the tenderness in her actions and felt greatly comforted. He asked softly, "Jieyu, how long have we known each other?"

"It has been 137 years since we first met, and this is our 133rd year together," Hua Jieyu replied gently. It was now Year 10,133 of the Divine Prefecture Calendar. They decided to become a couple during the firework celebration, which marked the arrival of Year 10,000 of the Divine Prefecture Calendar.

"It has been more than 100 years." Ye Futian stared at the beauty in front of him, smiled, and said, "At that time, Yu Sheng and I were both still youths. You were the top beauty of Qingzhou Academy. When you fell in love with me, most likely everyone in the academy thought that you had gone blind."

"They were certainly the blind ones," Hua Jieyu responded with a sweet smile.

Ye Futian shook his head. He cupped her face in his hands, declaring, "The luckiest things I have encountered in life are meeting you and becoming brothers with Yu Sheng."

Hua Jieyu's eyes glistened with joy. However, she asked softly, "Did something happen to Yu Sheng?"

Ye Futian was momentarily stunned. Then, he smiled and said, "I can't hide anything from you."

"Aside from Yu Sheng, there's no one else who can make you so emotional," Hua Jieyu explained with a smile. "Are you planning to go to the Devil World?"

"Hmm." Ye Futian did not dare to look Hua Jieyu in the eyes as he replied.

"Go ahead," Hua Jieyu said directly.

Ye Futian was stupefied. He looked at Hua Jieyu with puzzlement.

They were talking about the Devil World now. Moreover, Yu Sheng was imprisoned by the Devil Emperor.

One could imagine how perilous his trip would be.

"We're talking about Yu Sheng. Why would I stop you?" said Hua Jieyu while staring into Ye Futian's eyes. Her gaze was cheerful as before. She assured him, saying, "Don't worry. I will not go with you. I will wait for your return in Ziwei Imperial Palace."

She knew very well what Ye Futian was thinking.

As she had said, they were talking about Yu Sheng. What could stop Ye Futian from rescuing him? How could she stop him?

If she were the one in danger, Ye Futian would do the same for her. Would Yu Sheng stop him? No. He would join Ye Futian in the rescue.

However, she knew that Ye Futian would not agree to let her tag along. Hence, she would wait patiently for his return here.

Ye Futian's heart felt warm as he stared at her beautiful face. Hua Jieyu was most likely the person who understood him best in the world.

...

In the Taishang Domain of the Divine Prefecture.

The Taishang Domain was a powerful region in the Divine Prefecture. In terms of ability, Taishang Domain Chief ranked in the top three among the 18 Domain Chiefs. Moreover, there were two giant forces in the domain. One of them was the Jiang Ancient God Clan.

The other giant force was the Shen clan.

The surname of the Shen clan members was "Shen." Their ancestors were deity-level figures and Great Emperors. Unfortunately, their ancestor's inheritances were not passed down. In spite of that, their abilities were formidable.

Currently, the Shen clan only minded their own business. Before this, they had been attacked once by Ye Futian. Even up until now, there were still many Shen clan cultivators who were trapped in the Ziwei Segmentum. As a result, the Shen clan did not even dare to participate in the series of wars against the Ziwei Segmentum.

Up until today, the Shen clan was still worried whether or not Ye Futian would choose to settle the score with them.

Shen clan lord had been training in seclusion with the intention of becoming stronger. He needed to advance half a step more before he could rest his worries of being defeated.

On this day, the Shen clan lord was training in the clan.

All of a sudden, terrifying ripples of the Great Path were stirred up around him. Shen clan lord opened his eyes, and his will scanned the surroundings. Then, a silhouette suddenly appeared in front of him. The visitor had white hair and was dressed in white robes. His temperament was extraordinary.

Shen clan lord's expression turned ugly when he saw the visitor. He had finally come here after all.

The visitor was none other than Ye Futian.

"From the looks of it, it's inevitable for us to fight," Shen clan lord said as he looked at Ye Futian. This figure before him had killed two giant-level figures from Celestial Worthy Mountain and Mo clan. His ability went without saying. However, Shen clan lord felt that his own ability would not be weaker than that of the two deceased cultivators.

Nevertheless, he still did not have much confidence. Being able to put up a fight and kill the opponent were two very different concepts. The difference between the two was huge.

"It depends on you whether or not we will fight," Ye Futian said calmly with his hands behind his back.

Shen clan lord frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

Ye Futian said, "The incident in the past resulted in my vendetta against Shen clan of the Lower Worlds. Even though you joined in later on, I do not have a strong reason to annihilate you. I can give you a choice."

"Please speak your mind." Shen clan lord could naturally feel Ye Futian's arrogant attitude. Even though the former was annoyed, he did not dare to speak up against the latter because he was weaker.

Many things went without saying for Ye Futian to be able to show up in front of him without a sound or trace. If Ye Futian attacked them, the territory of the Shen clan would be reduced to flat ground immediately.

"From today onwards, Shen clan will obey my commands," Ye Futian proposed with a domineering tone. He wanted a giant-level force to submit to him and work under his command.

Otherwise, why would he spare them?

The Shen clan lord's expression was ugly. The Shen clan was the descendent of Gods. They had a rich heritage and were one of the overlords. They were one of the forces which stood at the peak among all forces of the Divine Prefecture.

Now, Ye Futian demanded them to submit to him.

"This is your way of humiliating Shen clan," Shen clan lord said coldly.

"If you can't swallow this humiliation, then do you accept being annihilated?" Ye Futian said as he stared into the eyes of the other party. "It is a simple choice."

Would the Shen clan choose submission or destruction?

"You have killed two top figures, but you might not necessarily be able to defeat me," said Shen clan lord.

"Prior to our fight, Celestial Worthy Mountain Master also thought the same thing. In the end, he died," Ye Futian stated. Shen clan lord's expression turned exceptionally ugly.

"Moreover, even if you want to push your luck and take a chance, how about the other members of Shen clan?" Ye Futian continued to pressure the Shen clan lord.

The gaze of Shen clan lord was deadly fixed on Ye Futian. The former was struggling fiercely internally.

This was indeed a very simple choice to make. However, such a simple choice would decide the fate of all the Shen clan members.

Would the Shen clan choose to live at the mercy of Ye Futian? Or would they choose to die with dignity?

Or perhaps, could they pretend to agree to Ye Futian's request? They would endure the humiliation and kill him when the chance arose in the future.

Ye Futian silently stared at Shen clan lord. His deep and dark gaze caused the latter to feel that all his thoughts were exposed in front of Ye Futian. Even though Ye Futian was still young, both his abilities and his schemes were terrifying.

"Have you decided? I don't have much time to waste here," Ye Futian urged.

The muscles on the Shen clan lord's face twitched as he held his fists tightly. He clenched his teeth and said, "I agree. From this moment forth, the Shen clan will submit to your rule. However, if you order Shen clan to go die, I will not do it."

"Since you agree, you are my subordinates. It's impossible for me to command you to go to your deaths," Ye Futian assured him. "From today onwards, Shen clan is under Ziwei Imperial Palace. However, do not reveal this news to others for now. Just carry out your day-to-day business as usual."

"Yes, sir," Shen clan lord responded while lowering his head. It was as though he had accepted his new position.

Ye Futian continued to order, "Give me all the teachings of Shen clan. Besides that, I will lead a group of Shen clan core members to cultivate in Ziwei Imperial Palace." Shen clan lord's expression turned stiff upon hearing his order.

This b*stard.

Right after he yielded to Ye Futian, the latter immediately asked for the teachings of the Shen clan from him. Shen clan's teachings were the foundation of their clan. Furthermore, Ye Futian wanted to hold the core members of the Shen clan hostage in the Ziwei Segmentum.

"Palace Lord, you ordered someone to come and take away a group of cultivators last time. Those Shen clan members are still in the Ziwei Segmentum now," Shen clan lord said.

"I know. But it was quite rushed last time. This time, I will examine whether or not there are still talented core members among you. I will bring them to the Ziwei Segmentum for better training," Ye Futian replied. Shen clan lord was fuming inside, but he still nodded his head and said, "Alright."

"Clan Lord, go and prepare what I said," Ye Futian concluded nonchalantly.

Before he left for the Devil World, he needed to set up a hidden chess piece in the Divine Prefecture in case of emergencies. Of course, it would be best if he didn't need to use them.

However, if any changes were to arise, this hidden chess piece would at least be somewhat useful.

Shen clan lord was very cooperative in making sure that Ye Futian's request was met. After that, Ye Futian left with the group of selected Shen clan members. However, he didn't go back to the Ziwei Segmentum with them. Instead, he entrusted Blind Tie to lead them back. He had come to the Shen clan with Blind Tie.

Ye Futian himself went to the North Cliff Region, the border of the 18 domains of the Divine Prefecture.

The North Cliff Region was far removed from the other places. It was situated at the far north of the Divine Prefecture. However, currently, the troops of the Divine Prefecture were gathered there. Countless cultivators headed to the region too.

The troops of the Devil World invaded the Divine Prefecture through the North Cliff Region.

Currently, the entire North Cliff Region was already thrown into war.

Ye Futian made his way north. Along his journey, he saw the troops making their way towards the battlefield. Many cultivators were enlisted too. However, he ignored them and pressed on with Celerity. He moved across the battlefield and moved further up north.

Ye Futian arrived at a sky river. The water was black in color and was accompanied by terrifying storms. It looked like the river was hanging from the sky.

This was the Black River, the border which separated the Divine Prefecture and the Devil World. After one crossed the Black River, they would arrive at the gates, which would lead them to the Devil World.

In the past, Ye Futian had no idea about this.

After he had a better understanding of the worlds, only then did he know that the Devil World and the Divine Prefecture were neighboring lands. The lands of the two major worlds were connected!