After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

He chose the latter.

This means the Imperial Court has replied. The content of the reply compels him to intervene.

"Stand up and speak."

Naohara stood up, his back ramrod straight.

That otherwise unremarkable face finally gained some character.

It wasn't hostility, nor was it a test; rather, it was as if someone who had carried a burden for decades could finally let go and catch their breath.

"I have been stationed in the Sixth Heaven for forty-seven years."

Forty-seven years. Longer than the time Tun Gu held power.

"According to the rules of the Imperial Court, observers only watch and do nothing. This domain has changed hands three times, and I have not interfered in any of them."

It changed hands three times.

The chaos that followed Ye Futian, the rise of Tun Gu, and Zhou Ran's usurpation. I observed the entire process from the sidelines.

Zhou Ran asked.

"So why did you move today?"

Burial Plains fell silent for two breaths.

"The Imperial Court has replied."

He took the fragment of the Imperial Court out of his underwear.

A few lines of cold white text floated on the dark gold fragment.

Zhou Ran took the fragment, and the moment his fingertips touched the words, the content poured into his mind.

The imperial court's reply consisted of only three sentences.

The first sentence states: "The investigation into the Imperial Prince case has entered its second phase, requiring on-site evidence collection."

The second sentence reads: "The official in charge of the inspection at the Sixth Heaven was ordered to assist in collecting evidence, identify himself to the current ruler, and request his cooperation."

The third sentence—Zhou Ran's eyes suddenly narrowed.

"Anomalies from prohibited items on Blue Star have been detected. The carrier of the prohibited items has been listed as a key monitoring target."

Legal document carrier.

The Imperial Court has listed Lin Qingxue as a key person under surveillance.

Zhou Ran placed the fragments next to the military register without even shaking the dough.

He gripped the hilt of the Taihuang Black Blade so tightly that it creaked, and veins bulged from his finger bones all the way to his wrist.

"What does the Imperial Court want you to do?"

"To cooperate with the second round of evidence collection."

The burial site answered crisply.

"The Imperial Court requires the rulers of the Sixth Heaven to provide complete combat records, military casualty data, and on-site evidence of the scope of the erasure order during the Emperor's descent. This is to determine whether the Emperor's descent violated any regulations."

All of these things are in the Unified Army Register.

"When is it due?"

"The Imperial Court granted fifteen days."

Zhou Ran leaned back in his chair.

fifteen days.

The prince was confined for at least fifteen days. This was a proper respite.

But the third sentence carries far more weight than the first two.

The imperial court has set its sights on Lin Qingxue.

It wasn't the emperor's son who was watching; it was the imperial court itself that was watching.

The emperor's son is just one hand, while the imperial court is the whole arm.

Zhou Ran's tone became completely flat.

"You've been in the Sixth Heaven for forty-seven years. How long have the Imperial Court's forbidden artifacts been hidden on Blue Star?"

Burahara's expression finally changed.

A crack appeared on the old bronze artifact.

"My subordinates do not have the authority to access the full contents of the prohibited items file."

He paused for a moment.

"But there is one piece of information that I have pieced together from my observations over the past forty-seven years."

"explain."

"The forbidden item existed on Earth for longer than the Imperial Court itself."

No one spoke in the hall.

There was no sound even inside the black coffin.

It is longer than the Imperial Court.

The Imperial Court is the highest judicial body governing all realms.

There is no record of when it was established.

However, the existence of a forbidden item predates its ruler, which means that the forbidden item was not a contraband seized by the Imperial Court, but one of the reasons for the establishment of the Imperial Court.

The Imperial Court exists precisely because of this item.

Zhou Ran looked down at his left wrist.

The ancient symbols were quietly embedded in the skin, the two radicals not growing any further.

But he could feel the power from the blue planet seeping into the depths of the gray lines, bit by bit.

"Burial Plains."

"Your subordinate is here."

"The Imperial Court demands that you reveal your identity to me and cooperate."

Zhou Ran opened the Unified Army Register and turned to Zang Yuan's military record page.

"I will cooperate."

He picked up his pen.

Ink fell next to the military identification mark and wrote two words: "Special Operations".

Burial Plains' military rank was promoted from ordinary grain transport soldier to special service officer directly under the Emperor.

Zangyuan was stunned on the spot.

He lay prostrate in the Sixth Heaven for forty-seven years, never being formally incorporated into the core ranks by any ruler.

"Cooperate with the evidence collection, and I will not stop you."

Zhou Ran put down his pen.

"But the process of obtaining evidence, the route of obtaining evidence, and what can be seen are all arranged by this Emperor."

"The Imperial Court wants to see the Sixth Heaven? Fine, I, the Emperor, will lead the way."

He closed the military register and looked up.

He had the cultivation level of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, but his body was completely ethereal, and his left arm was still draped in hemp cloth.

But those eyes were even more hardened than the Emperor's vertical pupils.

"From now on, every word of the reports from the Six Heavens that the Imperial Court receives will pass through my hands."

You are the Imperial Court's inspector, and from today onward, you are also my mouthpiece. Whatever I say, you relay it.

Zangyuan knelt on the ground, his lips moving slightly.

"The Imperial Court will not accept altered reports."

"Who said it was falsified?"

Zhou Ran patted the military register.

"The data I provided is all real, not a single word has been changed."

The destruction caused by the arrival of the Imperial Prince, the casualties in the four regions, and the loss of military records shall be sent forward intact.

He paused for a moment.

"However, which ones to send first, which ones to send later, and how to arrange them are all up to me."

The same data, but looking at the battle damage first and then the recovery speed, shows that the Sixth Heaven is just a ruin.

First look at the recovery speed, then look at the battle damage. The Sixth Heaven is a resilient troublemaker.

The facts don't need to be changed. The order in which they are presented is the weapon.

Burahara remained silent for a long time.

He stayed in the Sixth Heaven for forty-seven years.

I have witnessed Ye Futian's iron fist, Tun Gu's brutality, and the rise and fall of countless forces.

I've never seen this kind of play before.

A mere mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, whose primordial spirit was as thin as a piece of paper, dared to use the Imperial Court's communication system as his mouthpiece.

Zangyuan's Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

"If I comply, and the Imperial Court investigates, I will lose my life here."

Zhou Ran stared at him.

"You've been lying low in the Sixth Heaven for forty-seven years, through three different rulers. How many times has the Imperial Court ever awarded you?"

Zangyuan's lips stiffened slightly.

"no."

"Forty-seven years, I was stuck in a lowly position, with no chance of promotion, and even my replies were in the form of commands."

Zhou Ran tapped the military register with his fingers.

"You are a tool of the Imperial Court, not a person of the Imperial Court."

Burahara's back swayed slightly.

"I am different."

Zhou Ran flipped the military register to the mark with the words "Special Operations".

"Your merits and demerits will be recorded in the military register, in black and white. What the Imperial Court cannot give you, I will."

Zangyuan knelt on the ground and remained silent for more than ten breaths.

He looked up at Zhou Ran.

Those eyes, honed over forty-seven years, finally developed cracks. Within those cracks, the hesitation and warmth unique to the living were revealed.

"Your subordinate obeys."

He reached out and took the fragment. The dark golden shard emitted a faint, cold white light in his palm, slowly synchronizing with his breath.

Zhou Ran flipped to the bottom page of the military register and found the complete waveform record of the Imperial Court signal.

"The Imperial Emblem intercepted not only the signal content, but also the signal encoding format and transmission protocol. I had Ming Cang decipher it for most of the day, and the interface rules of the transmission channel have been figured out."

Zangyuan's eyes widened.

"Your Imperial Court fragments are responsible for sending signals, while my Imperial Mark is responsible for formatting them. With both sides working together, the Imperial Court will receive my formatted evidence presented in court."

Zhou Ran pushed the fragments back in front of Zang Yuan.

"Take your communication devices. From now on, before sending any report, first review it in my military register."

In the long corridor outside the hall, Qin San leaned half his body in, his mouth stretched to his ears.

He loves watching this. It's ten times more satisfying for the Lord to use someone else's sword to kill someone else than to do it himself.

Burial site stood up, and the military salute reverted to the standard four-region salute.

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing I need to report."

"explain."

"The third point in the Imperial Court's reply is that the forbidden items on Blue Star are abnormal, and the carriers of the Dharma Eye have been listed as key monitoring targets."

Zangyuan's voice lowered slightly.

"During my forty-seven years of observation, I have discovered a pattern. Every time the Imperial Court mentions something unusual about the forbidden items, they will send out a cleanup team as the next step."

Cleaning team.

Zhou Ran's fingers under his sleeves were white.

"The cleanup team has only one mission—to destroy the host or carrier of the forbidden object."

The sky outside the palace was completely dark. The night in the Sixth Heaven was as thick as ink.

Zhou Ran looked down at his left wrist.

The two strokes of the ancient symbol remained quiet and still. A gray line twitched beneath the skin.

Xiao Rou has arrived on Blue Star.

The inner wall of the Golden Gu shell was engraved with his cryptic text: Find Lin Qingxue and record the scan data.

But the Imperial Court's cleaning team is also on its way.

"Mingcang".

"Your subordinate is here!"

"The Moon Road will reopen within three days."

Zhou Ran stood up.

The Taihuang Black Blade leaned against the ground, its last remaining pattern shining brighter than ever before.

He gripped his left wrist. The gray lines throbbed desperately beneath the skin.

"Some people won't make it to the fourth day."