Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

The barbarian invasion is aimed at taking over the Great Qian Empire. They clearly want to seize the initiative and maximize their benefits before anyone can react.

"I'm going back to rest first." Su Mu greeted the two of them, then put away the silver puppet, and with the gold on his shoulder, flew towards the palace. Having just experienced a fierce battle, he needed to rest as soon as possible and recover to his peak condition to deal with any possible changes that might occur later.

Watching Su Mu's figure fall into the palace, Xiao Anxun turned around and said to Xiao Anran, "Ten thousand years ago, our Xiao family was not considered a top expert. If it weren't for the changes in the world back then, and the increasingly harsh cultivation environment, our Xiao family would not have had the opportunity to establish an empire and become a royal family."

"Even if we had all the treasures left behind by our ancient masters, and that golden egg, it probably wouldn't be enough to cope with the impending upheaval."

"Ten thousand years ago, those top sects were the masters of this world. Their overall strength far surpassed that of our Xiao family. The treasures they left to their descendants ten thousand years later must have been even more abundant."

Hearing this, Xiao Anran continued, "No matter how capable the ancients were, they couldn't predict what would happen ten thousand years from now, let alone be sure if their descendants still existed. After the passage of time, how can people today easily know whether their ancestors left behind any treasures? Unless…"

"Unless it's a family or sect with an unbroken lineage!" As soon as Xiao Anxun finished speaking, the image of the Heavenly Martial Sect instantly appeared in his mind. Xiao Anran also thought of this, and the two siblings exchanged a glance, their eyes becoming complicated.

The news of Lin Wen and Lin Zhengying's deaths in the palace will reach the ears of the Tianwu Sect sooner or later. The Tianwu Sect has existed for ten thousand years and was a top sect at that time. The current Tianwu Sect experts, especially the sect leader, must have already sensed the impending changes in the world and know that the sect's ancient experts left behind a wealth of treasures.

Once those treasures are revealed, the overall strength of the Heavenly Martial Sect will undoubtedly surge. What's even more worrying is that if the ancient powerhouses of the Heavenly Martial Sect also left behind something similar to gold or the young Grandmaster of the Barbarian Clan, the Heavenly Martial Sect's strength will instantly become terrifyingly powerful.

Previously, the Xiao royal family did not mind the Tianwu Sect becoming stronger, and even hoped that the Tianwu Sect could share more of the responsibility of protecting the empire. But things are different now. The stronger the Tianwu Sect becomes, the more dangerous the Xiao royal family's situation becomes. Although Lin Wen and Lin Zhengying were not killed by the royal family's strongmen, they died in the palace, and the royal family had a close relationship with the murderer (Su Mu) and relied heavily on him.

If the Tianwu Sect were to have the strength to seek revenge and come to the palace to settle accounts with Su Mu, they would certainly not let the Xiao royal family off easily.

"Sigh!" Xiao Anxun sighed heavily, his heart filled with melancholy. All of this was due to the Xiao royal family's own lack of strength, which made them passive and precarious in this chaotic situation.

Ordinary people, soldiers, and even most court officials and imperial relatives were unaware that chaos had ensued. All they knew was that the Great Qian Empire had won a great victory, and the three enemy armies besieging the capital had all suffered a crushing defeat.

The good news spread quickly throughout the capital, and the entire city rejoiced. Everyone knew that if the capital were breached, they would at best have their property looted, and at worst, their entire families executed—the brutality of the barbarians and Japanese was well-known, and they would show no mercy to the people of the city.

Along with the news of the victory, Su Mu's fame spread throughout the city. With the deliberate promotion by the Xiao royal family, Su Mu's achievements of slaying a barbarian grandmaster and driving away another barbarian grandmaster quickly became known to every household and would later spread throughout the entire Great Qian Empire.

Why would the Xiao imperial family deliberately publicize Su Mu's achievements? It was naturally due to an imperial decree issued by Xiao Anxun—only by letting the world know of Su Mu's great exploits could they legitimately break ancestral rules and bestow upon him rewards beyond the established norms. To win over Su Mu, the Xiao imperial family had to demonstrate sufficient sincerity.

With the gold in Su Mu's hands, even if all the cultivation resources in the Void Ring were fully utilized, it would still take a long time for the Xiao royal family to rise again. At least during this period, they would be inseparable from Su Mu's support; even if they rise again in the future, they will still need Su Mu as their powerful backer.

The day passed quietly amidst the city's jubilation.

The day after the great victory, Su Mu had already recovered to his peak condition. At this time, before the various troops that had pursued the enemy had returned, Xiao Anxun had already issued an edict appointing Su Mu as the Imperial Preceptor.

Since the establishment of the Great Qian Empire, Su Mu was the fifth Imperial Preceptor. According to the ancestral system of the Xiao family, the Imperial Preceptor had no official rank or grade, yet possessed a transcendent status; even the emperor had to pay his respects upon meeting him. Su Mu was not the first Imperial Preceptor of the Great Qian Empire, but he was the first person in history to be appointed Imperial Preceptor while holding the title of eunuch.

Because Su Mu's extraordinary achievements had already spread throughout the capital, from royalty to commoners, no one dared to utter a single word of criticism; on the contrary, they regarded it as a timeless tale. As a result, Su Mu's reputation grew ever more renowned, resounding throughout the entire capital of the Great Qian Dynasty.

……

Longbei Commandery was the northernmost major commandery of the Great Qian Empire; and Daliang City was a key border town at the northernmost tip of Longbei Commandery. North of Daliang City lay the barbarian wasteland inhabited by barbarian tribes for generations.

The barbarians lived in scattered tribes across this vast wilderness. They did not build cities or have a fixed capital. When important matters needed to be discussed, the leaders of each tribe would gather at the Ancestral God Mountain.

The name itself reveals the status of Ancestral God Mountain in the hearts of the barbarian tribes—it is their sacred land, a place to worship their ancestors. Ancestral God Mountain is over three thousand feet high, towering majestically like an ancient god standing tall and overlooking the entire barbarian wasteland.

At this time, the barbarian army had not yet fled back to the barbarian lands, but Tuoba Hongzhen had already returned ahead of time and climbed the Ancestral God Mountain.

The summit of Zushen Mountain is covered in ice and snow year-round, with biting winds that cut to the bone. Tuoba Hongzhen braved the piercing cold, flying with all his might to the summit and entering an ice palace covered in thick snow.

Inside the ice palace, mysterious runes were carved everywhere on the walls, and the chill was even greater than that of the mountaintop, as if it could freeze one's soul. With a pale face and weak breath, Tuoba Hongzhen walked step by step into the depths of the ice palace, and finally stepped into a pool of water, submerging his entire body in the water.

The pool was small, only about ten feet in diameter. In this frigid ice palace, ordinary water would have long since frozen solid, indicating that the pool's water was no ordinary substance. The ice surface surrounding the pool was also covered with mysterious runes, echoing those on the ice palace walls.

As Tuoba Hongzhen's body was fully immersed in the pool, all the mysterious runes in the entire ice palace instantly began to glow with an eerie light. A gentle yet powerful energy slowly emanated from the pool and seeped into Tuoba Hongzhen's body.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Tuoba Hongzhen emerged from the pool. He stepped out of the water, trembling uncontrollably, as if he had lost all feeling from the cold. However, it was not hard to see that his face was no longer as pale as paper, and the weakness in his body had dissipated considerably.

He knew in his heart that he had not fully recovered and needed to soak in this pool a few more times before he could truly return to his peak condition. The cold here was simply too biting; even as a Grandmaster-level expert, he would find it difficult to endure for long.

Tuoba Hongzhen dared not linger. He quickly left the ice palace, leaped into the air, and landed at the foot of Ancestral God Mountain.

Ancestral God Mountain is an extremely special place—the ice palace at the summit was built by a powerful barbarian tribe ten thousand years ago specifically for Tuoba Hongzhen. The ice palace and the pool within it have frozen him for a full ten thousand years.

For ten thousand years, he will not lose any lifespan, remaining in a sealed state with his consciousness in absolute stillness. Only when the ten thousand years are up will the Ice Palace open on its own, and his seal will be broken. Now the Ice Palace is intact, and the special energy in the pool has not yet been exhausted. It is thanks to this pool that he has been able to quickly recover from his injuries.

As he landed at the foot of Ancestral God Mountain, the bone-chilling cold gradually dissipated, and Tuoba Hongzhen's body slowly warmed up. Soon, two barbarian elders responsible for guarding Ancestral God Mountain hurriedly came before him, bowed respectfully, and addressed him as "Ancestor."

By seniority, Tuoba Hongzhen deserves to be called the "ancestor" of all the current barbarian tribes; by cultivation level, he is also the strongest among the current barbarians. But in reality, he is only in his early twenties.