Chapter 36: Lan Yan Ascends the Throne (Patreon)

The moment Gusttave's words left his mouth, everyone in the hall froze.

Huandu Qingtian's cupped hands froze mid-air, his graying beard trembling. A flicker of bewilderment crossed his shrewd old eyes — one family? Since when were they one family?

Lan Yan was even more direct about it. Her small face flushed red to the ears, and she shot up from beside the dragon throne, stammering, "You—you—you, what are you talking about! Who's family with you! Don't think that just because you saved my father you can go around claiming kinship!"

Gusttave's expression didn't change. "I meant that Nanguo and the human race signed a non-aggression pact, and our relationship is as close as family. Where did your mind wander off to?"

Lan Yan opened her mouth, only to find she had no comeback. She huffed and turned her face away, her ponytail snapping with the motion.

[March 7th: Wait, you can spin it like that?]

[Hu Tao: Only someone who's actually run a country could make the phrase "one family" sound so refreshingly innocent.]

Huandu Qingtian cleared his throat and decided not to dwell on what "one family" actually meant.

"That brat Qiluo — what do you plan to do with him?" Huandu Qingtian asked.

"That kid's problem isn't as simple as just stirring up a rebellion," Gusttave said. "He's also been colluding with creatures from Outside the Circle. There's a black fox possessing his body."

"What did you say?" Gusttave's words left Huandu Qingtian utterly stunned.

A simple rebellion would have been manageable, but the moment creatures from Outside the Circle got involved, things stopped being simple.

It made Huandu Qingtian start wondering whether Huandu Qiluo had some other agenda — perhaps destroying Nanguo, turning it into a breach point for Outside the Circle.

Seeing Huandu Qingtian's mind start to race, Gusttave explained, "No need to overthink it. He only worked with the black fox to gain enough power to seize the throne — nothing more."

"That's a relief," Huandu Qingtian said, letting out a breath now that he knew Outside the Circle wasn't trying to use Nanguo as an invasion point.

Gusttave went on, "That kid is as good as dead. As for the black fox inside him, I have other uses for it, so I won't be handing it over to you."

"And you don't need to reclaim your poison technique — it's best if Lan Yan just absorbs it directly."

"After that, you'll come with me to Witch Emperor Mountain. There's someone there you've always wanted to see."

Huandu Qingtian had lived for thousands of years and believed nothing could stir him anymore — until Gusttave said that last sentence.

Witch Emperor Mountain was the most dangerous place in Nanguo, the very border where Nanguo met the Outside the Circle.

When the disturbance first broke out at Witch Emperor Mountain, Huandu Xingzhen had gone alone to deal with it.

After that incident, Witch Emperor Mountain was no longer as dangerous as before, and he had gained full mastery over the power of heaven and earth — but Huandu Xingzhen's presence never returned to the mountain.

It had led him to believe Huandu Xingzhen died long ago.

But from what Gusttave was implying, Huandu Xingzhen seemed to still be alive.

Gusttave briefly explained Huandu Xingzhen's situation to Huandu Qingtian and Lan Yan. "She used the power of a love Gu to lock Witch Emperor Mountain forever in the state it was in when the two of them first met — but that also trapped her within the mountain."

"Once Lan Yan absorbs your poison technique and becomes Yao Sovereign, I'll take you to Witch Emperor Mountain to rescue her — and I'll need your help for that too."

"Good, I agree!" Huandu Qingtian said.

Seven days later, Nanguo's greatest treasures — the four Ring Jade Discs — were delivered to the palace, and word spread that Huandu Qiluo had been executed for launching a rebellion.

Under Huandu Qingtian's guidance, Lan Yan used the four Ring Jade Discs to absorb the poison technique from Huandu Qingtian's confidant, then went into closed-door cultivation.

Gusttave stood guard over her while she cultivated, and Huandu Qingtian announced to the world that he was abdicating in favor of the worthy, passing the throne to Lan Yan.

Several more months passed. During that time, Lan Yan digested Huandu Qingtian's poison technique and inherited Huandu Xingzhen's poison energy, forging the strongest Myriad Poisons Body and ascending to become the new generation's Yao Sovereign.

And not just any Yao Sovereign — a Greater Yao Sovereign.

Having inherited the poison techniques of both Yao Sovereigns, Huandu Xingzhen and Huandu Qingtian, Lan Yan leaped straight from a Lesser Yao King into the realm of a Greater Yao Sovereign.

Outside, preparations for Lan Yan's coronation ceremony had long since been completed.

All the great powers of Nanguo came to attend Lan Yan's coronation.

Besides the Five Poisons Guards, there were also the patriarchs of Nanguo's three great clans, as well as the strongest expert in Nanguo aside from Huandu Qingtian — Huandu Xingzhen's close friend, the Poison Queen, Yukong.

Unlike the dignified, helm-steering Yukong outside the simulation, the Yukong inside the simulation looked more like her younger self, dressed like a delinquent teen.

[Qingni: Is this... Mom?]

Seeing her usually dignified mother dressed like a delinquent, Qingni looked utterly shocked.

[Jing Yuan: Well, that's exactly what Yukong looked like back then.]

[Qingni: Back then? Mom used to look like this?]

Qingni caught the implication in Jing Yuan's words instantly.

[Jing Yuan: Ahem, ahem — you'll have to ask your mother about that yourself.]

Realizing he'd let slip something about Yukong's past, Jing Yuan quickly started coughing.

The livestream continued.

Red silk stretched from the Meridian Gate of Nanguo's palace all the way to the white jade steps before Hall of Imperial Supremacy. Banners of the Seventy-Two Grotto Yao Kings lined both sides. The Yao Kings, normally so unruly and proud, had all reined in their yao energy for the occasion, standing obediently at the foot of the steps, not even daring to breathe heavily.

Above the vermilion terrace of Hall of Imperial Supremacy, the four Ring Jade Discs hovered in midair, swirling with shimmering violet light. Lan Yan wore a dark violet imperial robe embroidered with a hundred poison patterns, a nine-strand crown upon her head, and climbed the white jade steps one by one.

The girl who once loved bouncing around and puffing up in a huff, ponytail flying, now stood with her spine ramrod straight. The gilded soles of her boots struck the white stone with each step, steady and strong.

Only the hand hanging at her side betrayed her, secretly clenched around the hem of her robe, fingertips trembling faintly — and only Gusttave, standing to the side of the terrace, saw it, unable to stop the corner of his mouth from curling up.

[March 7th: Wow!! Little Sister Lan Yan is radiating pure presence!! Is this really the same little princess who freaked out over one kiss?!]

[Kiana Kaslana: So freaking cool! Is this what a new sovereign's coronation looks like?! I've got goosebumps!]

[Qingque: Real talk, that crown looks heavy, doesn't it? It's practically squashing the princess's head shorter.]

[Fu Xuan: Qingque, can you please focus on something serious for once?]

[Qingque: I am focused on something serious! If that crown's too heavy and wrecks the princess's neck, that'd be a major medical incident for all of Nanguo!]

After the coronation ceremony ended, Gusttave and Huandu Qingtian didn't linger in Nanguo. Early the next morning, they set out for Witch Emperor Mountain.

Lan Yan had wanted to go with them, but both Gusttave and Huandu Qingtian shot the idea down.

"You just took the throne. How much business is waiting for you across Nanguo? The Seventy-Two Grotto Yao Kings obey you on the surface, but they're all watching and waiting behind your back. If you leave the capital now, wouldn't that just be handing them an opening?" Huandu Qingtian scolded, his face stern.

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