Having children earns benefit, start competing for dominance in the world by marrying a wife

Seeing Ningjing Taoist's consent, Sima Haoyan felt a great joy in his heart; he could finally take his revenge.

The Ningjing Taoist possessed the strength of the First Layer of the Returning Ruin Realm. In his demonized state utilizing the Power of the Heavenly Demon, he could even easily slay a cultivator of the Fifth Layer of the Returning Ruin Realm.

Soon, Sima Haoyan took Ningjing Taoist to the Tianchen World.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen was unaware that a new enemy had come looking for him. Over the next two years, he once again solidified his control over the Ziyang and Lieyan Worlds.

As his grip over the three worlds became ever firmer, Lu Chen entertained a thought; it was time to establish an empire.

Their territory was no longer confined to a single world but spanned the entire Chaotic Star Sea. To govern territories generally measured by star domains, only an empire could suffice.

An empire stands a rank above a kingdom; beneath it, countless kingdoms can exist, not unlike the historical feudal systems.

However, due to the vastness of their lands, a feudal system was deemed the more appropriate choice at this stage.

Black Dragon City.

Today, Black Dragon City was bustling with extraordinary activity, with Immortal Boats flying all around in the sky and trains speeding across the land.

The Tianchen World now held the modern industrial civilization of Earth while retaining some of its own original culture. For instance, even though the structures were constructed of reinforced concrete, their roofs and decorations remained unchanged from the past.

Moreover, in the Tianchen World, buildings hundreds of meters tall did not exist. The tallest building was in the Imperial Palace, with only thirty floors. Outside the palace, buildings in the outside world were restricted to a maximum of six stories by law.

Today was the day of the Tri-Realm Cultivators Assembly. Initially scheduled by Lu Chen to take place every ten years, the meeting had been brought forward due to his plans to create an empire.

Seeing that Lu Chen had held a Tri-Realm Cultivators Assembly just last year, and now, barely a year later, another assembly was called, the major powers understood that something important must be happening.

In the hall of Black Dragon City, Lu Chen sat upon the Dragon Throne and glanced over the cultivators present.

Today, all the leaders of the top powers from the three worlds were here, numbering well over a thousand.

Fortunately, they had constructed a Political Affairs Hall, a vastly spacious building capable of accommodating tens of thousands for a meeting. The hall was specifically designed for the Cultivators Assembly, whereas usual court meetings were held in the Hall of Political Affairs.

After glancing over the cultivators, Lu Chen said, "Normally, the Tri-Realm Cultivators Assembly would be held once every ten years. By that account, we would not convene for another nine years. The reason for this early assembly is to announce a matter of great importance."

Hearing this, people thought to themselves that, indeed, there must be some significant issue afoot. They wondered whether they would need to take any action.

Lu Chen continued, "I intend to establish an empire."

Upon these words, the entire hall fell into an unprecedented silence; the attendees were stunned.

While an ordinary cultivator might not know the difference between an empire and a kingdom, many among the assembly were well-informed cultivators with knowledge of other Cultivation Worlds.

A single word distinguishes an empire from a kingdom, but the difference is vast. An empire typically rules over several star domains. The creation of an empire signified that the Daxia Dynasty intended to expand into adjacent star domains.

Furthermore, establishing an empire isn't as simple as just saying it; it requires cosmic recognition. It's not enough to declare yourself an empire.

Great Sum, although it now controls three worlds, Ziyang World and Tianchen World have already begun to merge. Perhaps in a hundred years, they will be completely unified. Counting this, Lu Chen would then be controlling only two worlds.

To establish an empire with just two worlds?

Could that even gain the cosmic recognition?

Although no one present had been involved in the founding of an empire, people knew from some historical records left by their predecessors that empires seemed to be competing for some kind of resource, and this cosmic resource is limited.

Therefore, once a new empire is established and the old established empires learn of it, they will surely find a way to annihilate the nascent empire.

Let's not even discuss whether their empire could gain cosmic recognition and be successfully established. Even if it were, the new empire would likely be attacked by empires near the Chaotic Star Sea.

Those are well-established empires that have existed for who knows how long. Compared to those old empires, the newly established Daxia Dynasty probably doesn't stand a chance.

With that thought, the cultivators in the Hall of Political Affairs all showed a look of concern on their faces.

Seeing that the cultivators present did not speak, Lu Chen continued, "Regarding the matter of the empire, I wonder if you have any thoughts?"

In their hearts, people thought, what thoughts could they dare to have? If Sum Emperor has already planned to establish the empire, he must have made up his mind. Whatever they say at this point is probably useless.

Seeing that none of the thousand or so people present spoke, Lu Chen said, "Since none of you have objections, then it is decided. I will find someone to select an auspicious day to officially establish the empire."

At this point, Lu Chen glanced at Shao Yuanjia in the hall, who instantly understood Lu Chen's intent.

However, establishing an empire is quite special, and it requires the calculation of an auspicious date – a task not suitable for just one person. So, he planned to wait until the meeting was over before getting the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to work together on predicting an auspicious date.

At that moment, Nangong Yuehua asked, "I wonder which world Your Majesty intends to select as the Imperial Capital for the empire?"

Now, Lu Chen has quite a few Imperial Palaces. Tianchen World has two, Ziyang World also has two, and even Lieyan World has built one for Lu Chen.

For Lu Chen, any of these places are accessible at any time, but an Imperial Capital of an empire is not just a place to sleep. It is a place to gather Qi Fortune, so the location is also very important.

Nangong Yuehua thought that although Tianchen World is where Lu Chen originally stayed, its Spiritual Energy is even scarcer than Ziyang World's, and furthermore, the Laws of Tianchen World are incomplete, making it very unsuitable to be the Imperial City of an empire.

If Lu Chen were to choose the Imperial Capital, he would most likely only choose between Lieyan World and Ziyang World, with Lieyan World being a medium-tier Cultivation World and obviously more appropriate than the Ziyang World.

However, from Nangong Yuehua's standpoint, she really hoped that Lu Chen would set the Imperial Capital in Ziyang World. Being the center of the empire, Ziyang World would inevitably receive more benefits and have better development prospects.

At this time, Lie Wende spoke up, "Your Majesty, I think it is better to set the Imperial Capital in Lieyan World. As a medium-tier Cultivation World, its Laws are complete, and compared to lower-tier worlds, it has more resources, making it more suitable to be the capital of an empire."

Putting aside whether the empire could be established, if it truly could be realized, whichever world becomes the center of the empire will surely soar to great heights. Regardless of how the empire fares, it would bring immense benefits to that world.