Liang Gan smiled at Yang Tie, who stood in front of him, “I didn’t manage to congratulate you when you formed your Immortal Soul.”

Yang Tie smiled and answered, “Your Majesty, you’re too kind. You’re only a step away from the Immortal Soul yourself.”

Liang Gan was still in the Advanced Nascent Soul Stage right now. Although the Great Zhou Empire managed to build up its power over these few years, it was still not close to how it was in its glory days. With Yang Tie’s current mastery and identity, the two of them were equals. Although it might be a little inappropriate, it wasn’t too overboard.

However, Yang Tie was very respectful towards Liang Gan. That’s because Liang Gan shared a close relationship with his master, Zhu Yi.

When Zhu Yi was still in the Aurous Core Stage and went to the Great Zhou for the examination, the two of them befriended each other. When Zhu Yi was in Tianjing, Liang Gan looked out a lot for him.

Before this, the ties between the Celestial Sect of Wonders and Great Zhou Empire were worsening. Liang Gan was also in a difficult spot as he faced his own father, Liang Pan.

Although Lin Feng wouldn’t put him in a spot on purpose, Liang Gan was isolated in the Great Zhou Empire then. He was monitored and restricted.

After surviving the ordeals for many years and after Liang Pan fled to the Ying Sea, Liang Gan managed to regain his freedom.

All these years, Liang Gan never stopped contacting Zhu Yi. He was a hardworking emperor and treated his people well. He was also an honest person and was a rather popular person in the Great Zhou Empire.

That’s why Yang Tie was very respectful towards Liang Gan. He would treat Liang Gan as an elder even though his mastery was higher.

“It’s indeed not easy to form the Immortal Soul.” Liang Gan laughed as he shook his head. He sounded pretty calm.

When he ascended the throne, he was already in the Advanced Nascent Soul Stage. He was of a higher mastery than Yang Tie at that point in time.

However, he stagnated over these few years while Yang Tie soared. This was a pitiful situation for Liang Gan.

While Yang Tie’s talent and the Celestial Sect of Wonders’ resources were important factors to Yang Tie’s progress, they weren’t everything. Liang Gan was clearly aware of this.

As the ruler of the Great Zhou Empire now, he had a lot of resources which he could tap on.

Liang Gan wasn’t restricted by the bunch of Immortal Soul Stage Elders in the Great Zhou Empire even though his mastery was quite low, due to the special circumstances of his ascension to the throne.

He was the most suitable to be the new ruler of the Great Zhou Empire because of the Celestial Sect of Wonders. Even the rest had to consider properly before they tried to assert their authority on him.

Liang Gan wasn’t completely useless either. He was very flexible with his methods and managed to balance the various powers within the empire quickly. He stabilized his throne. Although he wasn’t exactly one to fulfill all his promises, he always took the initiative.

Many accepted him as the rightful ruler of the Great Zhou Empire and supported him. They hoped that his mastery would increase. It was only beneficial to the Great Zhou Empire this way.

That’s why Liang Gan was never devoid of resources as the ruler of the Great Zhou Empire. The mantra that he cultivated, the Spellbook of Emperor Tai, was also extraordinary. He even had the collections of Buddhism and Heaven’s Gate.

Furthermore, he was the Great Zhou Emperor. He could cultivate the Emperor’s Way Ultimate Technique and had the Draconic Energy to nourish his body. All these should make it easier for him to cultivate.

His talent wasn’t comparable to Yang Tie, but he was no ordinary person either.

It’s just that the barrier to the Immortal Soul Stage was far more difficult to overcome than the barriers to the other cultivation levels.

In addition, cultivating the Emperor’s Way Ultimate Technique was a double-edged sword. There were pros and cons to it. Draconic energy was very useful for one’s cultivation. If Liang Gan could continue to expand the Great Zhou’s influence, this would be even more beneficial for his own cultivation.

However, if the empire met with trouble and experienced a loss of powers, his own cultivation would stagnate.

If he lost the empire, the Draconic Energy would become useless and his mastery might even regress.

Over the past decade, the Great Zhou Empire had been facing immense pressure by the Gu Empire. Although they proceeded with caution and didn’t rush, they still lost a portion of its territory. The influence of the empire was also dipping.

This was like a chain that restrained Liang Gan’s cultivation and progress into the Immortal Soul Stage.

Liang Gan looked at Yang Tie and sighed, “The descendant disciples of the Celestial Sect of Wonders are indeed extraordinary. The barriers to others are nothing to them.”

However, Liang Gan couldn’t help but smile as he looked at Yang Tie, “However, the Gu Empire may not be very happy that he’s currently losing to Tang Jun in the race to become the Celestial Sect of Wonders’ successor.

Although Tang Jun’s working style was more tough-headed, Liang Gan wasn’t worried. If the sky collapsed, the Great Zhou Empire wouldn’t be the first to be impacted.

Since the Great Zhou Empire had great ambitions and wanted to make a comeback, facing a tough-headed Celestial Sect leader would make it more difficult for them. But for the Great Zhou Empire currently, it was imperative for them to stabilize themselves first and increase their powers slowly.

Liang Gan was confident that he wasn’t the only one who was glad by such an outcome. Shi Zongtang, the Royal House Lord as well as the leaders of the Heavenly Master Sword Sect, Vast Sea Sword Sect, Lightning Sword Sect, Samsara Sect and many other sects would be equally pleased.

Getting close to the Celestial Sect of Wonders and relying on them didn’t signify that a sect could give up on its own development.

If Tang Jun became the next leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonder, the parties that should be the most concerned were the Great Void Sect, Mount Shu Sword, Gu Empire and even the demons in the Barren Expanses.

However, Liang Gan sighed in his heart as he looked at Yang Tie, “He has unlimited potential for the future. Although his mastery is inferior to Zhou Yuncong and Han Yang, his talent and popularity are superior to the both of them. It’s a pity that he has Tang Jun as a competitor. I wonder if this is an intentional arrangement by Lin Feng, the Flaming Emperor, and Zhu Yi?”

He looked at Yang Tie and only saw a gentle gaze in Yang Tie’s eyes. Yang Tie also nodded his head at him. “His state of mind is very calm. It’s very difficult to find someone like him.

After all, Yang Tie stood to lose a more important position than Liang Gan’s throne before everything had come to settle!

From the current situation and how things were moving, it was likely to be the most authoritative position in the Divine Lands in the future.

Right now, there were others looking at Yang Tie from afar.

They were two ladies. One of them was in green while the other was in white.

The lady in white looked at Yang Tie with a complicated look. There was a look of love, confusion, unease, and sorrow.

The lady in green tugged at her sleeves, “Elder sister, listen to daddy. He’s losing to Tang Jun.”

The lady in white pursed her lips, “It may…may have something to do with me. I dragged him down.”

The lady in green wore a dismal look on her face as she heard her words. She didn’t know what to say as she looked at her sister.

The lady in white was called Gu Qing. She was Xiao Zhener’s niece and was the next uprising talent after Xiao Zhener.

She acquainted herself with Yang Tie then and developed feelings for him. The both of them got closer to each other as they interacted with each other more. However, they always seemed to be separated by something.

Although Yang Tie never mentioned anything, Gu Qing was aware that it was because he still pined for his old lover, Fang Shaolan. Although the two of them had broken up for quite some time, Yang Tie never forgot Fang Shaolan.

The Gu Empire would be pleased to see Gu Qing and Yang Tie become a Daoist couple.

A Daoist couple didn’t have to be married. But they had to be by each other’s side and support each other. They had to walk the long path of cultivation together.

Yang Tie was losing to Tang Jun. This matter was interpreted differently in the eyes of the Gu Empire. Some of them had heavy hearts as they believed that it was a demonstration of the Celestial Sect of Wonders’ displeasure with them.

The lady in green hesitated as she said, “However, the Celestial Sect of Wonders has always left you and Yang Tie alone. They’ve never interfered. Don’t tell me it’s because Miss Zhener and the Flaming Emperor are going to be engaged and they don’t want the Gu Empire to have too much involvement with the Celestial Sect of Wonders, thus they’re breaking the both of you up?”

“I don’t know. I only know that I have no opinion on this matter. Whether Senior Yang is the successor of the Celestial Sect of Wonders or an ordinary disciple, it doesn’t matter to me.”

Gu Qing turned to look at Yang Tie with a confused look. Her sister’s expression changed as she looked at Gu Qing, “Elder sister, do you think Yang Tie will cut off all ties with you because he wants to challenge for the position as the Celestial Sect of Wonders’ successor?”

Gu Qing seemed to be hurt, “He won’t. Even if he wants to, he won’t do so because of this. Rather, it’ll be because…”

She sighed and turned to the distance. There was a tall lady in purple standing there. The lady was also looking at Yang Tie.

Gu Qing recognized that she was Fang Shaolan.

Fang Shaolan retracted her gaze after looking at Yang Tie for a moment. After that, she turned to leave.

Yang Tie only ended his conversation with Liang Gan after she left. He watched as Liang Gan left too.

Whether it was Fang Shaolan or Gu Qing, their masteries were beneath Yang Tie. Even when Yang Tie spoke to Liang Gan, he could sense where they were and what they were doing.

He turned to where Fang Shaolan disappeared to. He sighed silently before turning around and walked towards Gu Qing.

“Your mastery seems to have improved.” Yang Tie said gently.

Gu Qing smiled brightly, “Fortunately, I didn’t waste my time.” She turned to her own younger sister, “Don’t delay the guests. Go on first. I’ll catch up.”

The lady in green was a little worried as she looked at Gu Qing. However, she still left after she greeted Yang Tie.

Yang Tie looked at Gu Qing and asked curiously, “Do you have something to ask me?”

Gu Qing said softly after staring at him for a while, “Senior Yang, what do you think about our future?”

Yang Tie was stunned for a moment before his expression turned serious. He stared at Gu Qing for a moment before he understood what she meant. He said slowly, “Junior Gu if you’re referring to my sect, you don’t have to be too worried. My sect is not into related marriages, but our elders won’t interfere in such matters. As long as both parties are willing, they’re fine.”

“This is what my master told me and what I told my disciples when they accepted disciples. It’s the same as eldest senior uncle and the Qing Ye Holy Woman.”