Chapter 50: Planning the Power of Heaven and Earth (Patreon)

In the original work, Tushan Meimei was only a Great Yao King, or even just a lesser Yao King, but because he held the power of Heaven and Earth over Dragon Bay, his strength rivaled that of a Great Yao Emperor outright.

This state is also called a Heaven-and-Earth Yao Emperor: a Yao Emperor borrowing the power of Heaven and Earth. Such a being can match an ordinary Great Yao Emperor in combat, but is not a true Great Yao Emperor.

Of course, some beings need no borrowed power at all. The Mutt at his peak, or Lan Yan and Feixiao now, all have Great Yao Emperor-level strength even without the power of Heaven and Earth.

And if Huohuo recovered her power and memories, she could break through too and become a Great Yao Emperor in every sense.

In raw strength, a Great Yao Emperor is undoubtedly stronger than a Heaven-and-Earth Yao Emperor. After all, a Great Yao Emperor can also draw on the power of Heaven and Earth, and in greater measure than an ordinary Yao Emperor.

A Yao Emperor can draw on three-tenths of the power of Heaven and Earth at most, while a Great Yao Emperor can draw four-tenths, even up to half.

A Great Yao Emperor is already stronger to begin with, and draws more power of Heaven and Earth on top of that, so naturally the gap only widens.

Three-tenths of the power of Heaven and Earth is enough to give a Yao Emperor the combat strength of a Great Yao Emperor, and that is only three-tenths from a single country.

If the power of Heaven and Earth across the entire Circle, or even the entire planet, fell under Gusttave's control, the boost it would bring was almost unimaginable.

That was why Gusttave was now planning to unify the Circle, wipe out the beings from Beyond the Circle on this planet, and finally take complete control of the planet's power of Heaven and Earth.

Unifying the Circle was no great difficulty for Gusttave.

Nanguo and Tushan were both under his control, and he had long since secured the human side.

Next were North Mountain and the Western Regions.

As for Dragon Bay, it was even more of a trifle for him.

Although it was home to many Dragon Kings whose strength rivaled that of Yao Emperors, Gusttave could dispose of them with a wave of his hand, and the power there could even be used to strengthen North Mountain's Yao Emperor, Shi Kuan.

Of the four Yao Emperors of the present day, only Shi Kuan had yet to become a Great Yao Emperor. Lan Yan and Feixiao were both Great Yao Emperors, and even the Mutt could return to that rank once he recovered.

Only Shi Kuan, the Yao Emperor of North Mountain, remained a mere Yao Emperor, without the slightest improvement.

As for the Aolai Kingdom, Gusttave had no interest in it. It was simply too small, and unless it threatened his power, he had no intention of clashing with Hou San over it.

Thanks to the development of Communist Interastral, the Western Regions now boasted wide stretches of oasis and entire cities.

In one house in one of those cities, Fan Yunfei crouched on the floor, his two fluffy fox ears drooping limply. His fiery red fur was caked with desert dust, and he had lost every shred of the dignity a Fox Emperor should have.

His claws pawed at the reincarnation Pledge renewal scrolls in front of him, his pointed chin resting on the stone table. His amber eyes were full of dejection, and even his tail hung listlessly, sweeping at the grains of sand on the floor.

Calling Fan Yunfei a mutt earlier hadn't been an insult. It was simply the truth.

With his power depleted, Fan Yunfei couldn't even hold his human form, and could only move about in his true body: a Tibetan fox.

And a Tibetan fox's goofy look gives the impression of nothing more than a mutt.

Beside him stood Xiao Li, the secretary the old Fox Emperor had arranged for him, and she had flatly refused Gusttave's proposal.

Xiao Li slapped her palm down on the stone table with a crack, and the surface instantly spiderwebbed with dense cracks under her yao power. She planted herself in front of Fan Yunfei, her almond eyes wide and round, every hair on her body nearly standing on end, like a mother hen guarding her chicks.

"Not a chance! No matter how far our Prince has fallen, he has no need to make any deals with you!" Her teeth were clenched, her voice thick with wariness. "He will never give up his territory and his people.

Asking the Fox Emperor of the Western Regions to lay down his authority and help you rule the Western Regions? Only you would dream up something like that!"

"I'm informing you, not negotiating," Gusttave said bluntly. "To deal with the threat from beyond the heavens, I have to consolidate every force available. If the Western Regions refuse, I don't mind resorting to some violent measures."

"You—!" Xiao Li ground her teeth, her voice trembling. "The mighty Daoist of Great Peace, seizing other people's land and subjects by force? Aren't you afraid the whole world will curse your name?"

"Curse me? If I hadn't fought to the death to protect you back then, you'd all have died long ago." Gusttave raised an eyebrow, his tone still calm. "Strictly speaking, every one of you owes me a life. All I'm asking now is that you repay that debt."

The instant the words fell, the air in the room tightened sharply.

Xiao Li's fur, already bristling, shot completely rigid, and her yao power surged out of control. But the moment it touched the invisible aura surrounding Gusttave, it was like slamming into a wall of bronze and iron, and not a trace of it could leak out.

[Author's Note: …Begging for flowers…]

Just as Xiao Li trembled in the face of Gusttave's strength, a pale hand settled on her shoulder.

Feeling the touch, Xiao Li turned and saw Fan Yunfei, now in human form.

Faced with the situation, Fan Yunfei had no choice but to call on his yao power, take human form, and negotiate with Gusttave.

He stood ramrod straight in a moon-white brocade robe still dusted with sand. The slump of his fox form had vanished from his handsome features, leaving only a stubbornness he had carried for years.

[March 7th: Holy crap! The Mutt's human form is so handsome! If only he'd stop stuttering every time he opens his mouth!]

[Hu Tao: What a contrast! His human form and fox form look like two completely different people!]

…………

The livestream continues.

Fan Yunfei raised a hand to hold Xiao Li back and stared straight at Gusttave with his amber eyes. When he spoke, the stutter carved into his very bones came with him, yet every word landed like a stone dropped on the floor. "I… I only… Xue… Xueyang… Whatever you want with the Western Regions, I'll… I'll give it all to you!"

"Your Highness! Have you lost your mind?!" Xiao Li's eyes instantly flushed red, and she grabbed Fan Yunfei's arm.

"In… in this situation… do we… have any… choice… to resist?" Fan Yunfei cut Xiao Li off, laying out the cruel reality.

His words froze Xiao Li in place, and then she could only accept the truth with bitter resignation.

Just as Gusttave had said, he had more than enough strength to unify the Circle.

"At least you know where you stand," Gusttave said. "As payment, I'll help Li Xueyang attain longevity, so none of you will have to suffer the pain of separation anymore, and you'll be able to keep your own strength from fading."

"R-really? You… you can do that?" Fan Yunfei trembled with sudden excitement.

Gusttave looked at Fan Yunfei, who was shaking all over with emotion, and nodded.

"I keep my word. Longevity is no real problem for me. After all, I'm only human, and I live long all the same, don't I?"

In truth, Gusttave had gained longevity because he was the Ultimate Life Form, but Fan Yunfei didn't know that, so it didn't stop Gusttave from using it to hoodwink him.