I just reached the maximum level, and you want me to be a puppet emperor?

Chapter 732 Meeting the Emperor of Tian Ce, Presenting the Sincerity of My Great Luo! (Please Subscribe, Please Vote for Monthly Tickets)
A beautiful young woman, dressed in a gorgeous palace gown, with bright eyes and white teeth, skipped and hopped in. She was none other than Princess Tian Ce, Li Chen's most beloved younger sister, Li Si Ning.

She unabashedly took Li Chen's arm and shook it affectionately, her little mouth slightly pouting, expressing her dissatisfaction with her brother's long "disappearance".

When Li Chen faced his younger sister, a genuinely gentle smile appeared on his usually cold face.

He gently patted Li Sining's hand and, without hiding anything, recounted the story of his journey north to the Great Luo Dynasty in a simplified version, only mentioning how he used his status as the Witch Ancestor to maneuver and ultimately persuade the new Great Luo Emperor, Ma Weite, to submit to Tian Ce.

Li Sining listened with admiration in her beautiful eyes. Although Li Chen spoke casually, she could imagine the thrilling events and her brother's strategic brilliance. She clapped enthusiastically, her face full of admiration.
"Your Majesty is amazing! The Great Luo Dynasty, with its thousands of years of history, is about to become a vassal state of our Tian Ce without shedding a drop of blood! Now, the territory and prestige of our Tian Ce are about to soar!"

As the princess of Tian Ce, the prosperity of the empire was naturally closely related to her, and she was genuinely happy about it.

Seeing her happy expression, Li Chen smiled and casually took out the three [Void Breaking Pills] and the bottle of [Ten Thousand Year Earth Core Milk] that the system had just rewarded him with, and handed them to Li Si Ning:

"Here, this little gadget I picked up on this trip to the Northern Territory is of little use to me. Take it and cultivate it diligently, and strive to break through the bottleneck as soon as possible."

Li Sining took the jade bottle and pills. After a moment of sensing, she knew that this was no ordinary "trinket." The surging energy fluctuations startled her.

She knew that her brother's cultivation had reached the Saint Realm, and ordinary resources were indeed useless to him, but he always saved the best for himself.

Touched, she smiled sweetly and didn't refuse, "Thank you, Your Majesty! Si Ning will definitely work hard and live up to Your Majesty's expectations!"

Just then, the chief eunuch, Eunuch Cui, appeared outside the palace gate, his expression somewhat solemn, as if he had something important to report.

He saw Li Sining pause slightly, hesitating whether he should come in at this moment.

Li Chen, with his keen eyes, noticed Eunuch Cui's hesitation and said directly, "It's alright, Si Ning is not an outsider. Just say what's on your mind."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Cui quickly entered the hall, bowed, and lowered his voice to report: "Your Majesty, I have just received some unverified rumors from the Western Eternal Day Empire..."

Reports indicate that His Holiness the Pope of the Eternal Day Papacy has been missing for several months, leading to increasingly fierce infighting within the Papacy and various factions stirring with ambition. Furthermore, Emperor Charles of the Eternal Day Empire appears to have recently been the victim of an unexplained attack, the details of which are unknown, and the Eternal Day royal family is maintaining a tight grip on this information.

Upon hearing this, Li Chen's eyes flashed with a sharp light, but his face remained expressionless. He simply nodded slightly and said, "I understand. Continue to keep an eye on things, and report back immediately if there is any new information."

"This old servant obeys the decree." Eunuch Cui respectfully withdrew.

After Eunuch Cui left, Li Sining immediately leaned closer curiously and asked, "Brother, has something serious happened in the Yongzhou Empire? The Pope has gone missing? The Emperor has been attacked? This sounds very serious."

Seeing his sister's curious gaze, Li Chen explained, "Yes, it is indeed unusual. Do you remember that I held two honorary titles in the Eternal Day Empire?"

Li Sining tilted her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! I remember now! One is the 'Pope's successor' of the Eternal Day Church? And the other is the 'Grand Preceptor' of the Eternal Day Royal Family?"

When Li Chen returned last time, Li Si Ning asked about him and also inquired about the beauties that Yong Zhou had acquired.

"Not bad." Li Chen nodded, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "These two titles were previously merely nominal honors, used to maintain a facade of friendship between the two countries. But now..."

Li Chen stopped there and didn't continue.

Li Sining was incredibly clever; she immediately picked up on the key point from Li Chen's words and expression. Her eyes lit up, and she lowered her voice, saying with a hint of excitement:
"What you mean, Your Majesty, is that if the Pope really disappears for a long time, and even Emperor Charles has problems, then wouldn't your two 'nominal' positions possibly become 'real' positions?!"

Li Chen gave his sister an approving look and said in a deep voice, "That's right. This is indeed an excellent opportunity to extend our influence into the Eternal Day Empire and even indirectly control its Papacy and royal family."

Unifying the continent is incredibly difficult. The Great Luo Dynasty ranks among the top five on the continent. If Li Chen hadn't pulled off this incredible feat, how could he have made the Great Luo Dynasty submit within just a few years?

Not to mention Yongzhou, one of the top super-empires on the continent, which is practically evenly matched with Tian Ce in terms of military strength and prosperity. If they were to actually fight, who knows how long it would last.

However, Li Chen's eyes immediately sharpened again.

Because he knew that this matter was very likely a trap.

That's just Li Chen's personality—cautious and cautious.

The Pope's disappearance was suspicious, and Charles's attack was also quite sudden.

The veracity of the news is hard to discern, and there may be a deeper conspiracy hidden behind it, just waiting for someone with ulterior motives, such as himself, the "heir to the papacy" and "national advisor," to jump in.

Opportunities and risks coexist.

Should he wait and see, or take the initiative to intervene? Li Chen needed more intelligence and a more thorough plan.

Before the events at the Dragon Palace in the East Sea have even begun, turmoil has already arisen in the eternal daylight of the West. The game of chess in this world is becoming more and more interesting.

Li Chen felt that the matter in the East China Sea could be put on hold for the time being.

After all, the Dragon Palace is there and can't be run away, and dealing with the sea creatures requires more thorough preparation.

In contrast, the sudden situation in the Western Everlasting Empire is more urgent, and the information is shrouded in mystery, so it is indeed necessary to go there in person to investigate and sort things out.

However, before setting off for Yongzhou, there was one crucial, even somewhat dramatic, matter to attend to: the upcoming tribute mission of the new emperor of the Great Luo Dynasty, Ma Vit.

"Judging by the time, that kid Mavit should be setting off soon."

A playful smile played on Li Chen's lips.

He could almost foresee the moment when Mavit, filled with trepidation, awe, and perhaps a touch of humiliation, traveled thousands of miles to the capital of Tian Ce and prostrated himself at the feet of him, the "Emperor of Tian Ce."

Whether or not one can discover it is because of one's most revered and grateful mentor, "Witch Ancestor".

Li Chen didn't need to worry too much about this, since Mavit's cultivation level was very low, making it difficult for him to detect anything unusual.

Meanwhile, in the court of the Great Luo Dynasty, Mavit was making final preparations for his upcoming trip to Tian Ce.

Despite opposition and pressure from some hardline nobles who still harbored illusions, he resolutely implemented the national policy of submitting to the Tian Ce Empire.

"My beloved ministers!" Mavit stood before the dragon throne. Although his voice still carried a hint of youthful clarity, his tone was exceptionally firm.

"I know that submitting to the emperor and paying tribute is detrimental to the national dignity and reputation! But please open your eyes and see! The Tian Ce army is so powerful that it has already captured dozens of my cities! Grand Duke Sergei of the South is holding onto his military power and his attitude is ambiguous!"

"The country is newly pacified, and everything needs to be rebuilt! If we were to fight a desperate battle with Tian Ce now, what chance would our Great Luo have? If our land were shattered, our people ravaged, and we were all enslaved by a conquered nation, that would be the true shame and disgrace!"

He looked around at the assembled officials, his gaze sweeping over the faces that showed resentment, and continued: "On the contrary, if we take the initiative to submit and treat them with the respect due to a subject, we can not only immediately stop the fighting and preserve the state and ancestral temples, but also use the power of the Heavenly Strategy to deter internal villains and consolidate national strength!"
This is a wise move to endure temporary humiliation in order to secure a lasting foundation for future generations! My mind is made up. I have already ordered a letter of state to be drafted, and I will soon personally travel to the capital of Tiance to meet with the Emperor and present the sincerity of my Great Luo!

(End of this chapter)