Chapter 341: Crystal Palace

“What did you say?”

Above, the martial artists crossed their arms, squinting down with malice at the few martialists who had climbed up from the lower realm.

“Just a second-transformation? What right do you have to speak of loyalty before us?”

A white-robed woman, sword in hand, coldly swept her sleeve aside and said:

“These past days, we’ve labored in space to build devices benefiting countless people—what merit do you, a mere newcomer second-transformation, have to compare with us?”

What right or standing do you have to question us? We were personally cultivated and brought to the heavens by His Majesty—what about you? Without the space elevator we built, you wouldn’t even have the qualification to ascend.

…

The heavenly martial artists spoke one after another, their words laced with barbs.

Some even blocked the space elevator outright, refusing them passage.

“Hah, so you truly are wolves with hearts of ambition,” sneered the leader of the lower-realm martialists. “You dare claim all the credit for yourselves.”

“Without the Immortal Master, you’re nothing but trash—a bunch of remnants who should’ve been surrounded and wiped out by the fallen Liyang dynasty’s leftovers.”

“You…” The heavenly martial artists fell silent at once.

When it came to Fang Can—and especially this issue of stance—they dared not oppose him, no matter how eloquent they were.

The lower-realm martialists stared coldly at the few blocking their way:

“So, if you can’t argue, you plan to monopolize power? Go ahead—kill me then.”

“Let me tell you, every person under heaven is the Immortal Master’s flock. The Immortal grants human rights—so long as my actions are just, not even the emperor or officials have the right to take my life.”

“Dare you lay a hand on us? Go ahead—push us down, right here before the billions on the Mind Network, right before the Immortal Master’s eyes.”

“Even if we bring this before the Immortal Master, we’re in the right—why are you barking like a dog?” another lower-realm martialist chimed in.

“We’ve come up to secure humanity’s future—there’s nothing to discuss with your closed-minded lot.”

“Exactly! If your minds are closed, then just submit!”

…

Faced with the lower-realm martialists’ endless chatter, the heavenly martialists turned ashen—but dared not move.

Because Fang Can’s Mind Network watched every citizen; any action would give them grounds for accusation.

“Hmph, too lazy to talk to you three-body fools—we just think closed minds are freer,” snorted a woman in emerald robes.

“Exactly! Does a closed mind mean you can’t serve His Majesty? His Majesty hasn’t objected—why are you barking? Do you think you can decide for His Majesty?”

“Answer me—do you know better than the Master what is right?”

…

Since they couldn’t resist the magic of this stance-based attack, the heavenly side now launched their own magic in return.

After a long, fruitless exchange, neither side dared act—both withdrew sullenly, splitting into two clear factions in the heavens.

The Transparent-Mind Faction and the Closed-Mind Faction!

They all knew this wasn’t the end of the conflict—not even the beginning of the end—but merely the closing of the prologue.

It was foreseeable that after Fang Can left.

The conflict between the Transparent and Closed factions among the martialists would only intensify, until it finally erupted beyond repair.

This was pure ideological strife.

At this moment, Fang Can hovered in space, surrounded by at least a hundred white, prismatic crystals.

Each crystal was a manifestation of his headless body.

Every fifteen minutes, after his body fully regenerated, he split off another computational avatar.

The entire Liyang realm had already been subdued by the fourth-transformation, yet Liyang occupied only one continent.

But the fourth-transformation’s advance never paused.

After helping him unify this continent, he turned toward nations on other continents—where martialists and commoners still lived.

His eyes slowly opened; through the Mind Network, he saw requests from citizens and martialists falling like snowflakes.

The martialists’ requests: that he not leave, and that he eliminate all closed-mind martialists.

The citizens’ requests: that he not leave, and that he eliminate all high-level martialists.

Their anxiety was simple: while Fang Can was here, the ascended martialists dared not act.

But if Fang Can departed after thirty days,

those ascended martialists in outer space, each wielding immense power, would be beyond the reach of a civilization barely scraping the edge of modern technology.

A new ruling class would emerge again.

So the citizens hoped Fang Can would resolve the martialists’ problem before leaving.

Fang Can merely smiled—he had no intention of intervening.

Since the martialists weren’t causing trouble now, he wouldn’t kill them—he treated them all equally.

As a civilization observer, their problems must be solved by themselves; how far they could go depended on their own efforts.

But… Fang Can’s gaze turned downward. After several days, the preliminary harem had been built.

In the heart of the Central Plains, a vast courtyard had risen from the ground, its gate plaque reading: Crystal Palace!

The sprawling complex, over a hundred mu in area, was built primarily of white marble, its walls pure white as congealed fat, eaves crowned with glazed tiles that shimmered gold and crimson under sunlight.

The halls were supported by vermilion pillars carved with coiling dragons and auspicious clouds; doors and windows inlaid with latticed patterns, adorned with gilded bronze nails.

Above the main gate hung a black sandalwood plaque, inlaid with cinnabar characters: 【Crystal Palace】.

Even those who built the palace didn’t understand—why call it Crystal Palace when the main material was white marble?

After each city fell, a fourth-transformation woman used her Mind Projection to scour the entire city, seizing every woman who met Fang Can’s aesthetic standards into his harem.

After several days, over ten thousand beauties now dwelled within the Crystal Palace.

Each one was a rare gem, one in a hundred thousand in this martial world.

He landed silently at the palace’s main gate, clapped his hands lightly, and stepped inside.

Without a word, his AT field enveloped the entire Crystal Palace, forcibly implanting itself into every woman’s consciousness.

“Ah! Immortal Master?” Several women chatting in the courtyard brightened as they saw Fang Can enter.

His gaze swept over the women before him, then pointed at one of ethereal beauty:

“You! You will be the future Empress of the Empire.”

“Me?” The woman stared, pointing at herself in shock—she never imagined being merely noticed by the youth would instantly elevate her to future Empress.

“After I leave, you will govern the entire nation. Now, as the model for all officials, serve me.”

Fang Can spread his arms, looking at the woman before him.

(End of Chapter)