Chapter 21: Without the Young Master, Does This World Still Have a Chance?

Luo Bingyao raced back to the human race's final gathering place, the Tianxuan Sacred Land.

Originally a premier cultivation sanctuary in Zhongzhou, it had been annihilated during the dark upheaval; now only ruins remain, which Luo Bingyao has taken as a temporary headquarters.

When her familiar figure appeared over the Tianxuan Sacred Land, the tens of thousands of human cultivators left behind erupted in thunderous cheers.

"It's the Empress! The Empress has returned!"

"Wonderful! The Empress is safe!"

An elderly man with white hair, whose cultivation had reached the 14th quasi‑Saint realm, shakily flew forward, his face full of gratitude for having survived the calamity.

He was the former Saint Lord of the Tianxuan Sacred Land, and now the senior‑most, most powerful elder by Luo Bingyao's side.

"Your Majesty! You have finally returned! Over at the Zang Tian Ancient Land…" the old Saint Lord's voice trembled with fear.

Not long ago, the terrifying aura emanating from the Zang Tian Ancient Land had nearly driven everyone into despair.

They all believed that their Empress would surely die on this journey.

Luo Bingyao looked at the caring subjects before her, feeling a swirl of emotions.

She inhaled deeply, mustered all her strength, and proclaimed loudly, "Everyone, listen to me!"

The Dark Ancient Emperor who awoke from the Zang Tian Ancient Land has already been suppressed by the celestial beings from beyond the heavens!

The dark upheaval that has ravaged our Xuan Tian Continent for centuries is… over!

Boom!

Her words rang like a thunderclap, exploding in everyone's minds!

The entire Tianxuan Sacred Land first fell into a dead silence.

Then an incomprehensibly massive cheer, millions of times louder than before, erupted!

"What?!"

"The dark upheaval… is over?"

"Oh my God! I'm not dreaming, am I!"

"We… are we saved?"

Countless people embraced and wept, overjoyed to the point of tears.

They had been oppressed by darkness for so long that they had almost forgotten what hope felt like.

And now hope, in a way they could never have imagined, descended from the heavens!

The old Saint Lord, moved to tears, seized Luo Bingyao's hand and, incoherently, asked, "Your Majesty… what… what is really going on? Who are those celestial beings from beyond the heavens?"

Luo Bingyao watched the crowd's excitement and felt a flood of emotions herself.

She recounted everything she had seen and heard in the Zang Tian Ancient Land, except for the fact that she had become Gu Yuan's follower, telling the crowd verbatim.

When they heard that the Dark Supreme, whose power could destroy the world and plunge countless beings into despair, was as fragile as an ant before the gold‑armored knights, cut down as easily as slicing a melon, everyone was left speechless in shock.

When they learned that even the legendary Dark Ancient Emperor had been punched apart by a red‑haired divine general and then taken as a mount, they felt their entire worldview shattered.

"This… this is beyond their comprehension."

"What kind of great beings are they, exactly?"

"Your Majesty, do you mean that our Xuan Tian Continent has been saved by those celestial beings from beyond the heavens?" The old Saint Lord pondered for a long time before barely grasping Luo Bingyao's meaning.

"You could say so." Luo Bingyao nodded, her expression becoming profoundly solemn.

"But they did not come to be saviors."

"They came to conquer."

"From now on, the Xuan Tian Continent has changed hands. Its new ruler is a young master named Gu Yuan."

"And I, Luo Bingyao, have sworn allegiance to the young master; from now on I will act as his proxy in this world, overseeing all affairs of the Xuan Tian Continent."

When those words were spoken, the crowd, still basking in joy, was stunned once more.

"The world… has changed rulers?"

"The Empress has pledged loyalty to another?"

This news shocked them even more than the end of the dark upheaval.

"Your Majesty! How… how can this be!" a hot‑tempered young commander could not help but step forward in protest, "Our human race has barely escaped the dark upheaval; how can we now submit again? You are the Empress of our Xuan Tian Continent—how can you pledge loyalty to outsiders?"

"How dare you!" the old Saint Lord's complexion changed, and he thundered, "Your Majesty acts with a deeper purpose! You have no right to speak here!"

The young commander flinched at the rebuke, yet his face still bore defiance.

Not only him; many present shared the same thoughts.

They admired the Empress's character and were grateful for the celestial beings from beyond the heavens' lifesaving aid. Yet handing over the governance of their world to a complete stranger was, emotionally, something they could not readily accept.

Luo Bingyao watched the reactions, as if she had anticipated them.

She did not get angry; instead she calmly looked at the young commander and asked, "General Zhang, may I ask you, if it were not for the young master and his divine weapons descending from the heavens, could we have defeated the Dark Ancient Emperor?"

General Zhang opened his mouth but could not speak.

"Could we have quelled the dark upheaval?"

General Zhang lowered his head even further.

"Could we restore life to this world, scarred and with broken laws?"

General Zhang fell silent.

Luo Bingyao's gaze swept over everyone present, and her voice rose, powerful.

"We cannot!"

"We can do nothing! We can only watch helplessly as this world slides into the abyss of destruction, watching our loved ones, our compatriots, die one after another in the cyclical dark upheavals!"

"It is the young master who gave us hope! It is he who gave this world a chance for rebirth!"

"Do you think pledging loyalty to him is a humiliation?"

"I tell you, this is not humiliation! It is glory!"

"To be able to follow behind a great existence like the young master is a blessing that the entire Profound Heaven Continent could not cultivate even over eight lifetimes!"

"Her voice echoed throughout the Heavenly Mystery Holy Land, shaking the deaf and awakening the dumb!"

"Everyone was infected by the emotion in her words, each lowering their heads, their faces flushed with shame."

"Yeah, what right do they have to question the Empress's decision?"

"And what right do they have to nitpick the divine being who saved them?"

"Just being alive is already a tremendous blessing!"

"Luo Bingyao looked at the silent crowd, and her tone softened."

"She carefully took out from her bosom the jade bottle that Gu Yuan had given her."

"\"I know, you may still have doubts in your hearts. \""

"\"But when I let you see the 'little trinket' the young master casually bestowed, you will understand just how vast the gap between us and him is. \""

"She opened the stopper of the jade bottle."

"Boom!"

"An indescribably rich medicinal fragrance burst forth from the jade bottle in an instant, transforming into streams of auspicious clouds and radiant hues that enveloped the entire Heavenly Mystery Holy Land!"

"Everyone who smelled this medicinal fragrance, regardless of cultivation level or severity of injury, felt at this moment that their internal wounds were healing at an inconceivable speed!"

"Some cultivators who had been stuck at their bottleneck for years even felt a hint of loosening in their cultivation!"

"\"What... what kind of divine pill is this?! \" The Elder Holy Lord, who was closest and felt it most clearly, merely inhaled a whiff of the medicinal fragrance and felt his long-dried qi and blood suddenly become replenished!"

"He stared fixedly at the jade bottle in Luo Bingyao's hand, his eyes filled with shock."

"Luo Bingyao poured out a longan-sized pill, its whole body glowing with iridescent light and covered in mysterious medicinal patterns, resting in her palm."

"\"This pill is called the Saint-Breaking Pill. \""

"\"The young master said that, below the Saint realm, taking one pill allows one to ignore the bottleneck and directly break through a major realm. \""

"\"What?! \""

"This time, even the Elder Holy Lord could no longer remain composed, crying out in shock."

"Directly break through a major realm?"

"\"How... how is this possible?! \""

"This completely defies the common sense of cultivation!"

"\"Your Majesty, you... you're not joking, are you? \" an elder asked in a trembling voice."

"Luo Bingyao did not answer, but instead turned her gaze to the young general who had just stood up to oppose her."

"\"General Zhang, you are currently at the 13th level of the God King realm, just one step away from the Saint realm, yet you have long been unable to break through, correct? \""

"General Zhang nodded, his face somewhat ashamed."

"\"This pill is yours. \" Luo Bingyao handed over the Saint-Breaking Pill in her hand."

"\"You, dare to take it in front of everyone? \"\"