I Am the Emperor, Not a Lover

The morning wind blew through the palace walls, causing the golden bells outside the Coiling Dragon Hall to ring softly.

Wang Hao sat in the imperial study. A few faint bruises still lingered on his face. He held a cup of spiritual tea in his hand, but his gaze drifted somewhat.

He had maintained this posture for nearly an hour.

Memorials were piled up like small mountains on the desk. Secret reports from the Eastern Depot, Western Depot, Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Grand Secretariat, Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of War, and even the Great Zhou Times almost buried him entirely. Yet at this moment, this two-faced emperor who always prioritized making money and screwing people over was not thinking about how much gold he could loot from confiscating a sect's assets, nor which noble family could be harvested like leeks again. Instead, two strikingly different yet equally stunning faces surfaced in his mind.

One was as cold and clear as snow, as aloof and proud as a winter plum blossom on the absolute peak of the Heavenly Mountain.

The other was as enchanting as mist, capable of stirring a man's heart into a restless frenzy with just a shift of her gaze.

Tsk.

Wang Hao took a sip of tea and closed his eyes. His mind uncontrollably flashed back to yesterday, when those two holy maidens woke up—one wishing she could stab him to death with a single sword strike, and the other so furious she wanted to tear him apart alive.

His mouth twitched, and he subconsciously touched his own face.

They really hit hard.

To be honest, it really hurt.

But the aftertaste... was truly something to savor.

Wang Hao was no saint, much less a Liu Xiahui. In his past life, he was just a corporate slave living amidst worldly wisdom and petty calculations. In this life, having transmigrated to become the Emperor of the Great Zhou, and facing a bunch of scheming old bastards every day who either wanted to scam him or kill him, the innate male instinct and appreciation for beauty in his bones simply could not be suppressed.

Not to mention, those were Shen Xue and Yun Meng.

Looking across the entire Divine Province and Great Wilderness, one was the Holy Maiden of the Ice Snow Divine Palace, and the other was the Holy Maiden of the Illusionary Sea Immortal Sect. Their backgrounds, talents, appearances, and temperaments were top-tier among the top-tier. They were at the level where, just by standing anywhere casually, they could make countless heaven-chosen geniuses imagine an epic my fate is up to me, not the heavens wife-chasing saga.

Damn, I really lucked out.

Wang Hao admitted to himself very honestly.

But the next second, that bit of romantic charm in his eyes quickly dissipated, returning to that calculating, clear-headed state.

Because he was the Emperor.

An emperor could be lustful, but he could not let lust cloud his judgment.

Especially a Great Zhou tyrant like him, who had just used a heavenly lightning carpet bombing to blow up the patriarchs of over twenty hidden sects into the sky. He was even less qualified to only care about romance.

He knew very well that the Great Zhou currently seemed to be in the limelight, but in reality, it was standing on a volcano.

Yesterday's battle had indeed scared everyone silly.

Fifty almighty experts had besieged the Emperor, but Wang Hao flipped the table. He directly used the Lightning Abyss Demon Suppression Pagoda to draw upon the power of the Martial God Realm, forcefully blasting those old fogeys into flying ash. That scene, let alone those who witnessed it with their own eyes, would make even those who just heard it recounted tremble in their boots.

So the current Great Zhou was indeed majestic, and its reputation had completely spread out.

But the problem was—the enmity forged was also massive.

Not just a little bit, it was directly formed at wholesale prices.

The patriarchs of over twenty hidden sects, gone just like that. Wang Hao put down his teacup, lightly tapping his fingers on the desk, his gaze growing deeper. Add to that the old schemer Xie Wujiu from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion pulling the strings behind the scenes. If this group doesn't unite to deal with me, I would doubt if they collectively switched to becoming vegetarian monks.

Furthermore, although the Great Zhou imperial family had quite a few allies, there were not many who could truly step up in this level of struggle.

The Wang family had a strong foundation and many patriarchs; this was an advantage.

But precisely because they were strong, a tall tree catches the wind.

Yesterday, Wang Wudi and Old Man Ren leading over twenty supreme experts of the Skysoaring Realm to form the Great Wilderness House-Raiding Peacekeeping Heavenly Group was indeed a stroke of genius. Taking advantage of the fact that those sect patriarchs were all dead and their interiors were empty, they directly rushed over to raid their homes and wipe out their sects. This could weaken the enemy while enriching themselves, killing two birds with one stone. It could be said to have taken the phrase kick them while they are down to the absolute extreme.

But this kind of thing, it feels good for a moment, but doing it for too long easily leads to problems.

Because you are raiding one, two, or three families, but you are angering a massive swath of people.

What I lack most right now is not money, not treasures, nor cultivation methods.

Wang Hao narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself, What I lack most is friends. Or rather... friends who are superficially willing to stand by my side and take a knife together with me.

Speaking of this, two of the most suitable candidates immediately surfaced in his mind.

Shen Xue.

Yun Meng.

To be precise, it was the Ice Snow Divine Palace and the Illusionary Sea Immortal Sect behind them.

These two factions already held extremely high status among the hidden sects and possessed profound foundations. Their style of doing things was also different from those who single-mindedly followed the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion to cause a ruckus. The most crucial point was that although there had been friction between these two factions and the Great Zhou before, it had not reached the point of fighting to the bitter end.

Especially now—

The corners of Wang Hao's lips curled up slightly, revealing a fox-like smile.

Our relationship is already out of the ordinary.

He was very realistic.

Feelings?

Having them was naturally better.

But in the imperial family, marriage was essentially resource reorganization, a binding of forces. It was forcefully stuffing people who could potentially become enemies into one's own camp.

If I like you, that is called adding flowers to brocade.

If you can bring me strategic value, that is called providing charcoal in the snow.

If Shen Xue and Yun Meng were just two peerless beauties, that would at most be pleasing to the eye. Wang Hao leaned back in his dragon throne, his eyes growing brighter and brighter. But if they respectively represent the Ice Snow Divine Palace and the Illusionary Sea Immortal Sect, then they are not just beauties, but two walking top-tier strategic contracts.

The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

On Shen Xue's side, the Ice Snow Divine Palace had always been aloof and did not like to meddle in secular disputes, but being aloof did not mean being stupid. Now that the Great Wilderness was jittery and the hidden sects were banding together for warmth, and the Great Zhou had just displayed the terrifying power to slap a group of almighty experts to death, it was impossible for the Ice Snow Divine Palace not to panic at all.

On Yun Meng's side, the Illusionary Sea Immortal Sect appeared neutral on the surface, but in reality, they were best at weighing the pros and cons. This kind of sect did not have any firm stance; whoever had the biggest fist, whoever offered the highest price, and whoever could let them live more comfortably, they would lean toward them.

Isn't this exactly my favorite kind of cooperative partner?

The more Wang Hao thought about it, the stronger the capitalist joy in his heart became, even diluting a lot of the complex emotions that had just arisen after the romantic intimacy.

Talking about feelings is too luxurious; talking about interests is the most stable.

He stood up and stretched, his mood completely adjusted.

In the end, he was not someone ruled by a love-struck brain.

He was a top-tier two-faced emperor who could turn a beauty ranking list into a paid subscription, send a hundred thousand fainted spectators into the royal hospital to squeeze out medical fees, and conveniently have people sign voluntary rescue consent forms.

Beauty would make his mood pleasant, but it would not make him forget to calculate the bottom line.

Men.

A eunuch outside the hall immediately bowed and entered.

Your Majesty.

Summon Sun Li, Wei Zhongxian, Yu Huatian, Hai Dafu, Cao Shaoqin, as well as Cao Zhengchun and the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Pei Jingzhe. Have them all come to the imperial study to discuss matters.

Understood!

The young eunuch received the order and sprinted away.

Wang Hao walked to the Great Wasteland map in the center of the imperial study. With his hands behind his back, he looked at the distribution of factions across the Eastern Wasteland, Western Regions, Northern Lands, and Southern Frontier, his eyes as deep as an abyss.

His finger lightly tapped the mark of the Ice Snow Divine Palace, then slowly slid to the Phantom Sea Immortal Sect.

Finally, his finger stopped at the location of the Great Zhou capital, and he smiled.

I do not care if you hate me right now.

As long as you still care about your sects, as long as you still want to live, and as long as you don't want to be dragged out as frontline cannon fodder by those old schemers, you will eventually have to come back and negotiate with me.

As for how we negotiate...

Wang Hao narrowed his eyes. His smile was as gentle as the spring breeze, but his thoughts were as dark as rats in a gutter.

Naturally, we will talk reason first, then benefits, and finally, fists.

If I can marry you and bring you back, I earn a profit.

Even if I cannot, I must still tie the Ice Snow Divine Palace and the Phantom Sea Immortal Sect to the Great Zhou war chariot.

Buy one, get two free. I never complain about earning too much.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from outside the hall.

Yu Huatian walked in briskly and knelt on one knee, his face frightfully grim.

Your Majesty, an urgent report!

Wang Hao's eyelids twitched. He took the secret report, and after just a glance, the smile faded from his face.

The secret report was very short, but its contents were utterly explosive.

Wang Wudi and Old Man Ren, leading the house-raiding group, had consecutively annihilated two hidden sects and reaped astonishing gains. With the ancestors' morale soaring, they had then charged straight at the Crimson Moon Demon Cult.

At first, they were unstoppable.

However, the Crimson Moon Demon Cult actually had the corpse of a Martial God hidden deep within their ancestral lands. Using bizarre artifacts as anchors and evil entities as sacrifices, they unleashed blood magic in an attempt to forcibly drive the Martial God's remains.

A massive battle erupted. Caught off guard, the house-raiding group suffered a crushing defeat and was forced to retreat.

Old Man Ren was heavily injured.

Several mighty figures suffered wounds.

Wang Wudi also suffered a considerable loss.

Good heavens.

After reading it, Wang Hao did not fly into a rage. Instead, he took a soft breath, his eyes slowly growing dangerous.

I really underestimated these bastards.

For the Crimson Moon Demon Cult to withstand the Great Zhou's raiding offensive at this critical juncture—once the news spread, it would absolutely detonate the entire Great Wasteland.

Because this meant—

Great Zhou was not invincible.

Wang Hao slowly put down the secret report, but the corners of his mouth gradually curled into a chilling arc.

Interesting, too interesting.

Now, not only will our enemies jump around even more gleefully, but even the fence-sitters will have to recalculate their stances.

Since that is the case...

He looked up. The lingering romantic reminiscence from earlier had completely vanished from his eyes, leaving only the coldness and excitement of an emperor facing a stormy sea.

Then I shall add another handful of fuel to your fire.

He knew very well that he could not afford to make a single mistake in his next steps.

And the first step was to immediately pull his new allies onto the boat.

Shen Xue and Yun Meng were no longer just women to reminisce about; they were bargaining chips, a breakthrough point, and the crucial link to turn Great Zhou from the hunted into the hunter.

Wang Hao raised his hand and lightly tapped the table, his voice calm.

Pass down my decree.

Prepare state letters extending courteous treatment to the Ice Snow Divine Palace and the Phantom Sea Immortal Sect.

Additionally, prepare another secret missive.

I will write it personally.

Yu Huatian's heart skipped a beat. Who is Your Majesty writing to?

Wang Hao smiled, his expression profound and meaningful.

Naturally, I am writing to my two... very temperamental future allies.

Tell them that I want to discuss a massive deal.

And while we are at it, discuss taking responsibility.

A moment of silence filled the imperial study.

The corner of Yu Huatian's eye twitched violently. He thought to himself that with a mouth like His Majesty's, he truly was not afraid of suffering a second beating.

Meanwhile, Wang Hao had already turned around to look at the clouds outside the window, a dark, sharp glint flashing in the depths of his eyes.

The Crimson Moon Demon Cult had blocked the house-raiding group.

Xie Wujiu of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion would definitely seize the opportunity to connect the various factions.

Those sects and noble families that had originally been frightened into submission would also breed thoughts they shouldn't have.

What Great Zhou would face next would no longer be scattered enemies, but very likely an entire alliance.

But Wang Hao was not afraid.

What did an alliance amount to?

It was nothing more than a group of people, each harboring their own ulterior motives, temporarily banding together for liquid courage.

I love dismantling these kinds of setups the most.

I especially love dismantling other people's allies and turning them into my own.

Xie Wujiu.

Wang Hao softly muttered the name, smiling very coldly.

You build your Heavenly Dao Alliance.

I will build my Women's Army... oh, no, my ally group.

Let us see who ends up playing the other to death first.

At the exact same time.

Far away in a secluded and elegant courtyard outside the palace, Shen Xue and Yun Meng also respectively received urgent summons from their own sects.

After the two women finished reading them, their expressions changed.

Because the content of the messages contained only a single sentence—

The situation has drastically changed; return to the sect immediately to discuss the matters of Great Zhou.

This world was going to be thrown into absolute chaos.

And both of them knew very well that the entanglement between themselves and that black-bellied little emperor could no longer be lightly dismissed with a simple phrase like personal grievances.