Some things, when she wanted them, she didn't get them. Later, when they wanted to give them, she no longer cared so much.
"I will treat the people of Sunspire City well—you don't need to tell me that. As for you, don't try to get close to me again. I won't keep you in the inner court. There's a palace on the western mountain. When the time comes—"
Before she could finish, Mingyi caught sight of Ming Li's head slowly drooping from the corner of her eye.
She froze for a moment, then frowned at him. "What trick are you playing now?"
Bright red blood seeped from the corner of his lips, drop by drop, falling onto Yan Shi's cheek. Yan Shi lay quietly, showing no reaction.
Her heart sank abruptly. Mingyi quickly stood and stepped forward, reaching for Ming Li's pulse—
It was gone.
His body was still warm, but his pulse had already stopped.
Her pupils contracted slightly. Disbelieving, she bent down to check Yan Shi's pulse, only to find that Yan Shi's body had already turned cold.
These two—one lying down, one standing—had just given their lives for the city.
"The Minister Superior's decree states that the throne shall pass to the strongest, and all military defenses shall be handed over to the first person to step through this gate." Tianguan stood at the entrance, holding the decree, and knelt before Mingyi.
Mingyi didn't hear a single word. She only felt as if she were dreaming.
Those two, who had loved wealth and glory so much—how could they have died for the city? She hadn't demanded their sacrifice, hadn't even spoken of revenge, hadn't let a single soldier from Star Yearn City enter. Why would they choose to die for the city?
To punish her? To make her feel guilty?
What a joke! What did their suicide have to do with her? Why should she grieve? Why should she feel guilty?
Staggering to her feet, Mingyi turned and walked out.
The mourning bell tolled, and everyone in the inner court knelt. She didn't kneel. She passed through the attendants and maids, through the corridors and courtyards, but just as she was about to leave the inner court, a group of elder ministers stopped her.
"There is no precedent for a woman to inherit the throne in the Six Cities, but Your Highness's name has never been removed from the imperial records. Your ascension is rightful and justified. It will prevent further bloodshed—this is the best outcome." She Tianlin knelt at the front, holding the Crown aloft. "This is a time of crisis and survival. We implore Your Highness to take up this heavy responsibility."
"We implore Your Highness to take up this heavy responsibility," the others echoed.
Mingyi, still dazed, stared blankly at him, unsure what to say.
She Tianlin leaned closer and whispered, "If you accept this Crown now, it will be far better than if Ji Bozhai takes it. Should he claim it, our Sunspire would become a vassal of Star Yearn. But if you ascend, Sunspire will remain Sunspire."
Since the city was bound to change hands, everyone naturally preferred a familiar ruler. Though Ji Bozhai had closer blood ties, he was too cruel and merciless—hardly a wise ruler.
Some were dissatisfied with Mingyi, of course. She was a woman, and if Sunspire's ruler were a woman, it would surely set a dangerous precedent of female dominance. But the shattered Nether Domain above them left no time for debate. For now, Mingyi would take the throne. The rest could be dealt with later.
Gradually, Mingyi calmed down. As she took the dragon crown from She Tianlin, a thought struck her: Had Ji Bozhai anticipated their calculations too? Was that why he had let her enter the city?
He seemed to be in a hurry, choosing the fastest methods at every turn. Next, did he truly intend to fight for Sunspire by seizing Newgrass City's Floating Island?
"Welcome back to the city, Minister Superior," She Tianlin said, leading the elder ministers in a deep bow.The hand holding the crown paused for a moment before Mingyi placed it upon her own head.
The other four cities had been waiting for the war between these two to conclude, intending to intervene under the pretense of maintaining peace in Azure Cloud. Yet, after a month, there was still no movement.
The gates of Sunspire City opened, and Ji Bozhai entered as a guest with soldiers from Star Yearn City. After some unknown dealings, they withdrew to camp in the distant outskirts.
Moonchase City sent a letter to Sunspire City, bluntly asking if assistance was needed, but the reply claimed all was well.
Could it really have ended just like that?
Newgrass City was unwilling to accept this. Being the closest to Sunspire City, they had hoped to seize a few small islands during the conflict. They immediately dispatched envoys to investigate.
Unexpectedly, their envoy had barely landed at Sunspire City’s docks when they "accidentally killed" Sunspire’s Da Si, Ming Li.
Sunspire promptly declared mourning and vowed to avenge Ming Li, directing their blades toward Newgrass’s Floating Island.
Newgrass rolled their eyes—this was clearly a ploy to take their island under false pretenses. With their Da Si dead, did they really think they could wage war? Pure delusion.
They accepted the Challenge Certificate without hesitation, and the two sides clashed.
But as the battle raged, Newgrass began to notice something amiss. Since when had Sunspire’s army grown so large? And their Divine Tools were being deployed as if they cost nothing—soft iron was expensive in their city; how could they afford so much for military use?
Before they could figure it out, their Nether Domain was on the brink of collapse.
Newgrass had no choice but to declare a ceasefire and cede their Floating Island to Sunspire.
Still resentful, they continued to harass the area around the island.
After two months of regrouping, Sunspire leveraged the Floating Island’s strategic position to launch a decisive assault, breaching Newgrass’s Nether Domain.
Only then did the other cities finally realize something was wrong.
Sunspire and Star Yearn had secretly allied to attack other cities. If even Newgrass couldn’t withstand them, what hope did Moonchase and Azure Snow have?
So when Ji Bozhai sent them invitations, the Tianguan of these cities didn’t hesitate to attend in person, sitting down with him to negotiate.
His demands were simple: unify the currencies of the Six Cities, implement uniform laws, and allow each city to retain its own Da Si—but all Six Cities would acknowledge his leadership and pay tribute.
“Doesn’t that make him the king of the Six Cities?” Moonchase’s representatives protested.
Flying Blossom’s delegates calculated, “The tribute would actually be less—only a third of what the Lower Three Cities used to pay.”
“But we had a chance to rise to the Upper Three Cities,” someone from Newgrass muttered.
“Upper or Lower Three Cities—doesn’t it all come down to Ji Bozhai’s word now?” another scoffed. “Do the people of Flying Blossom truly believe they could’ve secured second place on their own?”
Flying Blossom fell silent, while Azure Snow readily agreed. Having long been exploited and never reaching the Upper Three, this system was nothing but beneficial for them.
In truth, it was a mutually advantageous arrangement for most—unified currency would facilitate trade, and resources could be allocated more fairly. But the Da Si of each city objected. They were once sovereign rulers; who would willingly submit to an overlord?
Ji Bozhai didn’t expect to convince them in a single meeting. He was merely stating his intentions upfront—what followed would be settled by force.As soon as the meeting ended, while other cities were still hesitating, the armies of Facing Sun and Muxing had already arrived on a small island not far from Moonchase City.
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