However, having that title was also a good thing. They could openly levy taxes, expand their territory, and even do business with other alien races in the name of the Emperor. So, later on, no one bothered to be fussy about it.
"A guy who has lost all hope wants to seek the Emperor's forgiveness?" The Patriarch Gu sneered. He had thought his opponent had some good plan. "Urge the judge to start the second review as soon as possible. I want to take this guy's body to that planet and exchange it for my son."
"Yes!"
The second review trial finally began.
Fang Zhiyi slowly walked onto the trial position in shackles. He noticed the bloodshot eyes of the Patriarch Gu. It seemed that he hadn't found his youngest son. Just thinking about that kid being lovey - dovey with the blue - skinned princess, Fang Zhiyi couldn't help but shiver.
It seemed that when a person had everything, they would become a bit perverted.
"Prisoner, do you plead guilty?" The judge stared intently at Fang Zhiyi, just wanting to end this trial quickly.
Fang Zhiyi raised his head and scanned the surroundings. He didn't look like a prisoner but rather like a king. "I plead guilty, but I didn't do anything wrong."
He saw Hu Lie and others in the spectator seats, as well as some unfamiliar faces. Without exception, they were all wearing the uniforms of the Star Region Army.
"When aliens invaded, the duty of the Star Region Army was to protect the civilians. But the commander of the Ninth Battle Group, for his own self - interest and to curry favor with the nobles, would rather let the soldiers abandon their positions, leave the civilians behind, and even wanted to withdraw the troops. As the governor of the star region, I can't understand such behavior."
The Patriarch Gu was already full of anger. Hearing this, he suddenly stood up. "You're just a governor, a governor in charge of the star region. You barged into the war zone without permission, framed officers, and murdered the commander. You're a criminal!"
Fang Zhiyi glanced at him indifferently. "A criminal? I'm afraid your family's Gu Yuan is the real criminal. No, he's not just a criminal; he's a traitor to humanity! You've seen the footage of him leading the blue - skinned aliens to attack the human outpost, right?"
Whispers arose in the courtroom. This hadn't been mentioned in the previous trial.
"You... don't talk nonsense. Originally, Gu Yuan had sent a message to me, and we could have avoided the war and resolved this dispute peacefully. But you, your rash actions ruined everything!"
Fang Zhiyi sneered. "Peaceful resolution? How? By having him marry the blue - skinned alien? You guys may not know, but this guy's son has married a blue - skinned alien."
Gasps sounded in the courtroom. All kinds of looks were cast at the Patriarch Gu, and he turned red with anger.
"Shut up! You violent maniac! Human civilization has lasted for thousands of years! We don't need war to prove human strength! We are an inclusive and civilized society! We're not cruel. We should solve problems through negotiation! Gu Yuan went into the enemy's territory alone in pursuit of this great peace concept, but you ruined everything!"
Fang Zhiyi shook his head. "Inclusive? When you and your family were enjoying yourselves in your manors with gardens, did you ever show any inclusion to the people outside? You can't even tolerate your own kind, and now you're talking to me about tolerating an alien race?"
The Patriarch Gu gasped for breath. He wished he could kill this guy right now. If it weren't for him, his son wouldn't have gone missing!
"You're right. War can't bring civilization, but it can ensure the continuation of civilization." Fang Zhiyi turned around and faced those who came to the trial.
"As far as I know, besides the 32nd Star Region, dozens of other star regions are facing the same problem. Those strange - looking alien species often harass civilians and the army. But the nobles in the distant empire turn a blind eye to such chaos and tragedies. The warships of the Star Region Army have become useless decorations, the mechs have become tools for the nobles to seek benefits, and the soldiers have become fuel that can be discarded at any time! Is this the so - called civilization and inclusion you're talking about?"
"How dare you! You're actually questioning the Empire!" The judge couldn't bear it anymore. "Drag him out! Execute the hanging! You can repent on the gallows!"
He slammed his gavel hard.
The door of the courtroom was kicked open.
The Templar Knight guarding the door tried to reach out and stop the intruder, but his mechanical arm was suddenly grasped and twisted into a twist. This scene surprised the people nearby. That was a Templar Knight, an enforcer of the Empire! But when they saw the logo on the intruder's mech chest, they were stunned.
"By the order of the Emperor, take the prisoner to see the Emperor."
The voice behind the faceplate was cold and full of an undeniable tone. The pupils glowed with a bright red light, as if ready to start killing at any time.
"The Imperial Guard?"
Everyone present was terrified. The Imperial Guard had actually appeared? Wait, what did he just say? The Emperor?
No, the Emperor had been in seclusion for nearly five hundred years and had hardly interfered in any actions of the Imperial Parliament. Did he still exist?
Looking at those Imperial Guards, no one dared to stop them. Even those who wanted to raise objections shut their mouths when they saw the Templar Knight whose mechanical arm had been easily crushed.
Hu Lie stood up in shock.
For them, the Emperor was a legend. He had never appeared in front of them, and they could only occasionally hear the Emperor's name from the Parliament. Many people even thought that the Empire didn't have an Emperor; it was just a belief.
But in order to save Fang Zhiyi's life, he still plucked up the courage and went to the palace protected by the Imperial Guard. Of course, he wasn't qualified to go in, but the note he sent was taken in by the Imperial Guard.
After that, there was no reply.
He thought the note Fang Zhiyi sent contained a self - defense, but there was only one name in the note. He found it very strange.
The leader of the Imperial Guard ignored everyone and walked up to Fang Zhiyi, looking down at him. "Let's go."
Until Fang Zhiyi was taken away by the Imperial Guard, Hu Lie was still in a state of shock.
Fang Zhiyi was escorted by the Imperial Guard into the palace where the Emperor was. Fang Zhiyi's attention was on the Imperial Guards the whole way. The power armors on these guys were obviously of a higher grade, which made him drool a little.
He found that piloting a starship wasn't as exciting as piloting a power armor.
It was a pity that he couldn't try out the Imperial Guard's power armor.
The leader of the Imperial Guard suddenly stopped and looked at him through the faceplate. "The Emperor is inside. Go in by yourself."
Fang Zhiyi came back to his senses, nodded, and was about to step in.
The leader of the Imperial Guard suddenly called him.
"Governor, you did a good job."
Fang Zhiyi smiled.
After saying that, the leader stepped aside and stared straight ahead.
Fang Zhiyi stepped through the door and looked around. The atmosphere here felt a bit strange.
"Are you the governor of the star region who shouted 'Long live humanity'?"
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
