Ye Wushuang and the others’ training situation seemed to have returned to how it was before, as they continued their previous cultivation.
The clan leader, Liu Ning, and Liu Ningxian, among others, were practicing the Character Secret Art. As for the Divine Dragon Empress, she was practicing the All-Character Secret Art together with Ye Wushuang.
As for Ye Wushuang himself, he was frantically absorbing energy and pushing himself to improve like crazy.
Until they had absolute power, not a single one of them dared to slack off.
The Divine Dragon Empire might seem powerful right now, but behind this strength, a crisis could pop up at any moment.
In fact, the empire itself could be thrown into turmoil and instability at any time.
So, only by constantly getting stronger could they get through one trial after another.
Only by constantly improving themselves could they truly protect the Divine Dragon Empire and save their own skins.
With this mindset, the top leaders of the Divine Dragon Empire all entered secluded training.
And while they were in seclusion, several major forces near the empire started to grow restless and uneasy.
These forces weren’t weak at all; most of them controlled forty or fifty major worlds.
Back in the day, they lived relatively peacefully in this region. Sure, there were constant small skirmishes, but nothing that threatened their stability.
But things are different now. Now that the Black Water Empire has been wiped out, a lot of people feel a deep sense of crisis.
Because of this, the leaders of these major forces did something rare—they gathered together to discuss serious matters.
“I’m sure everyone has heard about the destruction of the Black Water Empire, right?”
“Heard about it? The Divine Dragon Empress’s actions were so shocking that it’s impossible not to know!”
“Yeah! The Black Water Empire was on the same level as us. If we didn’t notice a force like that being wiped out, we’d be pretty clueless!”
“Who would have thought that such a powerful empire could be destroyed so easily? It’s completely unexpected!”
No one saw the fall of the Black Water Empire coming.
And even less so did anyone expect it to be destroyed by the Divine Dragon Empire.
Remember, just a few years ago, the Divine Dragon Empire only controlled a little over a dozen major worlds.
Sure, that wasn’t weak, but compared to forces like theirs, there was still a huge gap.
If they had wanted to, they probably could have wiped out the Divine Dragon Empire back then.
But because of the checks and balances from the surrounding powers, none of them actually went through with it, and the Divine Dragon Empire managed to survive in the cracks between them.
Later, the Divine Dragon Empire grew bit by bit, expanding to control fifty major worlds. Once their resources reached the same level as these other forces, everyone started taking them more seriously.
Of course, that seriousness was mostly about the empire’s resources and its empress.
As for the rest of the Divine Dragon Empire, they were hardly worth mentioning.
And its foundations? Even less so.
Other forces had dozens of Supreme Realm experts, while the Divine Dragon Empire had fewer than ten.
With such shallow foundations, they should have been the weakest among them.
A lot of people had their eyes on them, constantly thinking about taking a bite out of the Divine Dragon Empire to snatch some benefits.
But since no one knew the exact extent of the Divine Dragon Empress’s power, they all held a sliver of awe toward her. So, they didn’t immediately make a move.
Instead, they waited for the right moment to strike.
But what they didn’t expect was that before they could act, the Divine Dragon Empire struck first.
And when they did, it was a thunderous blow.
The Black Water Empire, which was just as strong as them, was swallowed whole by that seemingly weak Divine Dragon Empress in one go.
How could such an earth-shattering event not shake everyone in these major forces?
Every single one of them couldn’t help but start worrying.
If the Divine Dragon Empress could devour the Black Water Empire, did she have the power to devour their forces too?
As soon as that question popped into their heads, the answer came quickly.
It was very possible.
After all, their forces were on par with the Black Water Empire. If she could take down the Black Water Empire, why would she spare them?
Thinking about this made each of them restless and short of breath.
And that’s exactly why the leaders of these forces gathered together to figure out how to deal with the Divine Dragon Empire.
“If we fight one-on-one, it’ll be hard to beat the Divine Dragon Empire. So I think that if they come for us, we should join forces to fight back. That’s the only way we’ll survive.”
“I agree. The Black Water Empire is the perfect example. They weren’t weak, but the Divine Dragon Empress still swallowed them up. If we act arrogantly, we’ll end up just like them.”
“In my opinion, we should form an alliance and be ready at all times to counter any attack the Divine Dragon Empire might launch.”
As soon as the word “alliance” came up, a lot of people were interested.
If they could form an alliance, they wouldn’t have to fear the Divine Dragon Empire anymore.
If the empire attacked them, they could join forces from multiple sides.
And if they all banded together, even the Divine Dragon Empire wouldn’t stand a chance.
So, they exchanged glances and felt a willingness to join hands.
And once they thought about uniting, the Divine Dragon Empire suddenly didn’t seem so terrifying.
One-on-one, the empire was incredibly strong, and none of them had the confidence to withstand its assault on their own.
But with all of them united, the empire didn’t seem like such a big deal.
If they struck together, holding off the Divine Dragon Empire’s army wouldn’t be much of a challenge.
It might even be possible to destroy the empire entirely.
“So, what do you think would happen if we all joined forces and gobbled up the Divine Dragon Empire’s nearly one hundred major worlds?”
Thinking about the empire’s nearly one hundred major worlds, and how their main fighting force was just the Divine Dragon Empress, these leaders’ hearts began to race with temptation.
If they could take down the empire, they could carve up those nearly one hundred major worlds among themselves.
Once they got their hands on that many worlds, their power would increase dramatically. Leaping ahead and surpassing their former selves wouldn’t just be a dream.
But then, thinking about the Divine Dragon Empress herself, they couldn’t help but frown.
“Taking down the rest of the Divine Dragon Empire isn’t that hard, but dealing with the empress herself? That’s not so simple.”
“They say the Divine Dragon Empress has mastered the power of laws and can unleash the strength of an invincible supreme expert. A force that powerful is something we can’t afford to provoke.”
