After breaking up with my girlfriend, I became a Great Sage of the Demon Clan.

Zhao Wenhe scanned the group and spoke in a lion's roar.

"The world is in great calamity, and I have emerged to rule the world. You are all extraordinary people. Why not join my ranks and become my loyal subjects? You will enjoy endless wealth and glory in the future."

Like Zhou Yan, these awakened individuals felt that Zhao Wenhe's words were like thunder in their ears, spreading in waves within their ear canals, giving them a deafening sensation.

However, these people did not have Zhou Yan's omniscience; they only felt that this woman's voice was like thunder, indicating that she was no ordinary person.

Simply put, they were intimidated.

Startled, Xu Hanyao looked at Wenquxing. He had just heard a voice from afar saying that they wanted to meet them. When he came down, he saw Wenquxing and this inhumanly beautiful woman walking down.

"Wait a moment."

A burly man stepped out. He was the leader of the awakened group. They had just heard Zhao Wenhe's telepathic message in the mountains, asking them to come out and talk. They did talk, but the content of their conversation seemed a bit off.

If it weren't for the fact that they were on the vanished Penglai Island, the burly man would have thought he was in a theater listening to an actor playing an emperor.

"My name is Wang Taotao."

The burly man, Wang Taotao, patted his chest.

"Let's stop with this nonsense. You called us out here, shouldn't you say something practical?"

Generally, summoning awakened individuals is either for cooperation or to exchange resources and intelligence.

Wang Taotao brought a few brothers out (with some team members hiding behind) because he wanted to see what intelligence or supplies Zhao Wenhe could provide.

Zhao Wenhe countered with a question.

"Is it not sincere enough for me to accept you all as my subjects?"

Wang Taotao turned around and looked at his four teammates. The other teammates looked confused and thought Zhao Wenhe was crazy. Otherwise, how could he talk so much nonsense in such a dangerous environment and such a forbidden zone for humans?

Time is money, you know?!

Zhao Wenhe chuckled, and the empress raised her hand, transforming it into a palm strike, and pushed it towards Wang Taotao.

Wenquxing took a step forward, but pulled his foot back halfway.

Zhao Wenhe's palm passed by Wang Taotao's side, the force of the blow causing Wang Taotao's facial muscles to twitch erratically, and his lips to roll back and forth.

When it was all over, Wang Taotao, whose facial muscles were aching from being blown around, angrily said.

"What did you do..."

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble!"

The sound of the mountain collapsing and the earth splitting drowned out Wang Taotao's voice. Apart from Wenquxing and Zhao Wenhe, the other awakened ones looked towards the source of the sound.

About three kilometers away, there is a 500-meter-high mountain. A palm print about 200 meters high has appeared on the mountain. The palm print has pierced through the mountain, leaving it open from front to back. Large chunks of rock outside the palm print have collapsed and fallen to the ground, rumbling and changing the surrounding terrain into a new shape.

Since birth, Zhao Wenhe has taken medicinal baths every day, consumed elixirs daily, learned the world's most supreme "Purple Vein Dragon Qi" and "Three Three Returning to Origin Scripture," and practiced the Taizu Long Fist style inherited from Zhao Kuangyin.

Because the dynasty's fortunes were reviving, and Zhao Wenhe was one of the Eight Righteous Gods, the Empress possessed unparalleled talent and comprehension. At the age of eighteen, she had already surpassed Zhao Kuangyin in martial arts, transforming the Taizu Long Fist into the Huangji Shocking Fist.

In terms of martial arts alone, Zhao Wenhe was already the best in the world back then.

However, being the best in the world is useless; the Taisho Dynasty was destined to perish. But the destruction of the country did not prevent Zhao Wen from possessing the immense power of a dragon and tiger in his fists and palms, capable of collapsing mountains and overturning seas with a mere flick of his wrist.

After Wang Taotao and the others finished looking at the collapsed mountain, they slowly turned back to look at Zhao Wenhe, who had withdrawn his hand.

Zhao Wenhe said proudly.

"Gentlemen, how was my strike?"

All the other awakened ones were sweating.

A madman isn't scary; what's scary is a madman who can fight.

Zhao Wenhe's palm strike completely shattered the morale of Wang Taotao and the others.

Wang Taotao clasped his hands in greeting.

"Impressive, impressive, Mr. Wang, I'm impressed."

Zhao Wenhe looked at the others, and the rest of them lowered their heads, showing obedience.

Zhao Wenhe looked displeased.

When meeting the emperor, one should kneel on both knees and touch the ground with one's forehead to show submission.

But since we're still in the startup phase, Zhao Wenhe suppressed her arrogance. She thought that these loyal followers could still call her brothers and be very close to her now, but if they still dared to put on airs and not show proper respect when she ascended the throne and became emperor, then she shouldn't blame her for being ruthless.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Opening the Pass

On the summit of Mount Dawu, inside a courtyard.

Zhou Yan took out a brazier and wrote an imperial edict.

"By the mandate of Heaven, Bai Ze hereby issues the following decree:"

"Reporting to the Supreme Emperor of the Gouchen Palace, Zhao Wenhe, a member of the former royal family, has long sought to escape punishment, yet he shows no gratitude for Heaven's mercy, seeking only to hide from the world and live a life of hardship, while a great plague has ensued, harming the common people. Such actions warrant execution; his violation of moral order warrants extermination; and if he continues to cause trouble, he should be eliminated."

Zhou Yan lit a fire in the brazier and threw the edict into it. However, the flames licked at the edict written by Zhou Yan, and the edict showed no signs of burning.

Zhou Yan: "..."

Can't God Gouchen do it himself?

That's true. He had already burned the imperial edict that Zhao Wenhe wanted, but none of the Heavenly Emperors had actually done anything about it.

Zhou Yan took the imperial edict out of the brazier and handed it to the nine-colored deer beside him. The nine-colored deer opened its mouth and swallowed the words.

Although it's somewhat unbelievable, the nine-colored deer really enjoys eating tree leaves and white paper.

"Waaaah, this paper smells awful..."

The nine-colored deer, biting into the white paper, found it rather unpalatable.

Zhou Yan sighed.

"It's ink, I added ink."

The nine-colored deer swallowed the paper, then rubbed its head against Zhou Yan.

“Brother, this is the Xiao An Palace where I used to live.”

Zhou Yan sighed again.

He had been cursed by Zhao Wenhe. As long as he was far enough away from Zhao Wenhe, he would suffer excruciating pain. After cursing Zhao Wenhe, she told Zhou Yan to give him some time to think carefully about whether he should pay homage to her, the new emperor.

Zhou Yan thought to himself, "What kind of offering is this?"

But they didn't have a good way to escape.

The methods for curing the plague provided by the omniscient ability are at least not all available to Zhou Yan in this environment.

The nine-tailed fox walked over to Zhou Yan from the other side, placed her two paws on Zhou Yan's thighs, and then spoke.

"Zhao Wenhe is oversimplifying things."

Zhou Yan looked at Su Xiaowan, who said smugly.

"This Zhao Wenhe is a plague god. She wants to spread plagues and cause chaos among the people, make the people dissatisfied with the federal government, and then appear as a savior to win the hearts and minds of the people, establish her own power, and eventually overthrow the government."

"But no matter how strong she is, she's just a plague."

"There are eight true gods among humans."

Aside from the ambiguous attitude of Zhongdou Xingjun, the Four Divine Beasts, Xiao Yanjun, Dongdou Xingjun, and Wenquxing are all on the side of the government. The Four Divine Beasts are indeed at odds with the government, but a plague like Zhao Wenhe is definitely more intolerable to them than the federal government.

Su Xiaowan comforted Zhou Yan.

"So as soon as this plague god arrives in the mortal world, he will definitely be besieged by other true gods. What new emperor Dazheng, what man will conquer heaven? Heaven doesn't even need to deal with this new emperor. The other true gods can beat Zhao Wenhe to a pulp."

Zhou Yan nodded to himself.

Indeed, Zhao Wenhe has underestimated the human world. She's only a True God with 88% awakening, yet she treats all True Gods as nothing. When the other True Gods unite against her, Zhao Wenhe will finally know just how powerful she truly is...

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble!"

A loud noise drew Zhou Yan's attention. He quickly turned his head and, in the endless darkness, saw a mountain that had been hollowed out, the hollow area resembling a palm.

The omniscient ability grants the Imperial Extreme World-Shaking Fist - Mountain Splitting (30% power).

Zhou Yan opened his mouth.

Zhao Wenhe is a martial arts grandmaster, Zhou Yan knew this when he looked at Zhao Wenhe's attribute panel, but isn't this martial arts grandmaster a bit too over-the-top?

Heaven knows that a while ago, some free-fighting fanatic said he would challenge all the martial arts schools in the country, and even beat several martial arts masters until their noses bled profusely. There was also an old man who claimed to be a Tai Chi master who was so clumsy that he was ambushed by a young man.

Compared to these people, isn't Zhao Wenhe's martial arts skill too exaggerated?

You look like a mage, but you're so bad at melee combat.

It made Zhou Yan himself want to learn it.

The mountain opposite began to collapse, and Zhou Yan said with envy.

"They are all true gods. I really don't know how much awakening I need to reach to achieve this level of destructive power."

Zhou Yan's Bai Ze bloodline is now 39% awakened, and his combat power is already comparable to the top generation of young people.

Zhou Yan estimated that he had at least a 70% chance of winning against Leng Qing, and over 50% against last year's top four school player, the Long-Armed Ape. But now Zhao Wenhe had casually smashed a mountain with a single punch...

"Minister Bai, come to the Great Wu Palace."

Zhou Yan received a secret telepathic message from Zhao Wenhe.

Zhou Yan patted the head of the nine-colored deer, then got up and left Xiao An Palace.

The Great Hall of Dawu is only three kilometers away from the Small Hall of An. Zhou Yan arrived at the gate of the Great Hall of Dawu after a short distance. The Great Hall of Dawu is one of the better-preserved buildings over the past 200 years. There are no signs of collapse, and there are no major cracks inside or outside. The interior is just covered with a layer of dust and looks dirty, but there are no spiders or anything else.

When Zhou Yan arrived, the Great Wu Hall was lit up, and there were twenty people sitting inside. All twenty people were sitting cross-legged on the ground, except for Zhao Wenhe, who was sitting on a wooden chair at the very front.

Zhou Yan entered the Great Wu Hall, where Zhao Wenhe, who was sitting on a wooden chair, smiled.

"Gentlemen, when I was born, I encountered Bai Ze presenting me with a book. This is Bai Ze, who presented the book and will be my future important minister."

Everyone turned to look at Zhou Yan. Zhou Yan scanned the group and when he saw Wenquxing among them, his pupils contracted, but he showed no expression and continued to turn his head away, not lingering on Wenquxing for even half a second.

The others gradually withdrew their gazes as well. Most of them thought Zhao Wenhe was an idiot, but an idiot with high combat power, so they all questioned what Zhao Wenhe had said.

Zhou Yan walked over and sat down next to these groups.

As soon as he sat down, the voice of the God of Literature rang in Zhou Yan's mind.

"Little guy, you've fallen into this woman's hands?"

Zhou Yan thought to himself.

"Stop talking nonsense. Is there any way to get me out of here? By the way, I have this woman's plague on me."

Zhou Yan recounted the details of the plague he had witnessed using his omniscient abilities.

After Wenquxing finished answering, he said...

"If it were half a day ago, it would have been fine, but now Penglai Island is closed, and I don't know how to get out."

With Penglai Island closed, even if Wenquxing rescues Zhou Yan, he'll just be wandering around the island aimlessly, and might even encounter danger. So it's better for him to stay close to Zhao Wenhe, let Zhao Wenhe take the risks, and wait for Penglai Island to reappear in the world so they can escape.

Zhou Yan asked in surprise.

"The island is closed? Isn't there still half a month until it closes?"

Wenquxing responded.

"I'm not entirely sure either, but Penglai Island is indeed closed. We can't get out, and outsiders can't get in."

Zhou Yan's expression remained unchanged as he slowly clenched his hands on his knees.

Something's not right.

Something was very wrong. Zhou Yan began to sort out his experiences over this period of time.

First, he came to Penglai Island in search of immortal plants for alchemy, and then, upon learning that Mount Dawu was not dangerous, he came to Mount Dawu, where he happened to meet the resurrected Zhao Wenhe.

Upon learning of Zhao Wenhe's identity as the former empress, Zhao Wenhe planned to use the plague to incite national turmoil, then seize the opportunity to rise again and establish the Taisho Dynasty.

After saying this, Wenquxing told himself that Penglai Island was closed, which was very unusual, because Penglai Island had never closed at this time in the past hundred years.

It's so unusual it doesn't seem like a coincidence; it seems more like something deliberate...

Zhou Yan's toes, which were inside his shoes, began to retract.

If all of this was man-made, then my arrival at Mount Dawu and my encounter with Zhao Wenhe were also preordained. However, if I met Zhao Wenhe, I could say that my Bai Ze identity could be used. So why was Penglai Island sealed off?