【Three days later.】

【Ye Yu officially issued a decree to marry Huangfu Baizhi as the Empress.】

【This immediately met with opposition from the civil and military officials.】

【Although they wanted Ye Yu to marry soon and produce an heir to ensure the continuity of the Great Yong Dynasty, having Huangfu Baizhi as the Empress was absolutely unacceptable.】

【In terms of background, Huangfu Baizhi was the daughter of a rebel general from an enemy nation.】

【Moreover, just a few days ago, she had led a rebellion.】

【Although it had not caused too much impact, she had still rebelled.】

【For the Emperor to marry such a person was utterly inappropriate.】

【And to make her the Empress, the mother of the nation—】

【How could that be allowed?】

【Ye Yu did not speak, but cast a look at Sun Longhai below.】

【The Great Yong court’s enforcer once again began to unleash his wrath upon the officials.】

【When he got worked up, he struck decisively.】

【The beating was quite exhilarating!】

【However, after a century of changes, the officials in the court had long been Ye Yu’s trusted subordinates.】

【They were loyal to him, but the more loyal they were, the more they opposed the idea.】

【They were genuinely afraid that Huangfu Baizhi might pose a danger to Ye Yu.】

【After all, the battle prowess of this female general was well-known.】

【And His Majesty had no martial skills.】

【If Huangfu Baizhi truly harbored any ill intentions, they would regret it too late.】

【Therefore, even in the face of Sun Longhai’s iron fists, no one yielded.】

【They knelt on the ground, continuously advising against it.】

【Ye Yu slowly rose.】

【He released the pressure of his Ascension Realm cultivation, instantly enveloping the entire palace. He spoke indifferently:】

【There is no need for you all to worry about my safety.】

【As for making Huangfu Baizhi the Empress, I have made up my mind. No more discussion is needed.】

【Even after a long while, the court remained silent.】

【They could not understand why the Emperor, who had never practiced cultivation, possessed such terrifying strength.】

【Moreover, considering his age, he was only a little over a hundred years old.】

【An Ascension Realm cultivator at just over a hundred years old was truly a miracle in the cultivation world! Unbelievable!】

【Half a month later, on the auspicious day, Ye Yu’s wedding was celebrated nationwide.】

【When Huangfu Baizhi was officially made Empress, she was overjoyed to the point of tears.】

【She knew this was the result of Ye Yu overcoming all objections.】

【Her heart was filled with immense gratitude.】

【Her gaze towards Ye Yu was full of affection.】

【And Ye Yu did not forget, taking advantage of this joyous occasion to splurge wildly and waste money.】

【A hundred years later, Ye Yu’s cultivation level had not improved significantly.】

【Since reaching the Ascension Realm, spending money had become ineffective for providing any rewards.】

【Only by using spirit stones could he trigger his prodigal talent.】

【This troubled Ye Yu greatly.】

【Although the Great Yong Dynasty had nearly unified the entire Northern Desolate Continent, the amount of spirit stones available for extraction was still limited.】

【Moreover, most of them were controlled by the sects.】

【To break through this predicament, Ye Yu deliberated for a long time and made a major decision.】

【That was to conquer the sects!】

【Unifying the human kingdoms was not a big deal.】

【He needed all the sects of the Northern Desolate Continent to bow and offer spirit stones continuously.】

【Those unwilling to submit would face destruction!】

【This decision was indeed quite insane.】

【But Ye Yu felt it was the only way forward.】

【To ascend to the Heavenly Realm, he had no other choice.】

【Under Ye Yu’s mobilization, the Great Yong Dynasty’s cultivators began their campaign.】

【Initially, due to their large number of cultivators, they managed to subdue several smaller sects.】

【However, soon several sects allied together to resist the invasion of the Great Yong Dynasty.】

【This led to heavy losses for the Great Yong Dynasty’s cultivators.】

【After all, compared to the cultivation sects, the foundation of the Great Yong Dynasty was still somewhat lacking.】

【At this time, Huangfu Baizhi voluntarily requested to join the battle!】

【Even though she was honored as the Empress, she never stopped her cultivation.】

【With the techniques and spirit stones from her storage ring, she had successfully reached the Tribulation Crossing Realm in these hundred years.】

【This was enough to prove Huangfu Baizhi’s extraordinary talent.】

【However, her request to join the battle was not approved by Ye Yu.】

【Over these hundred years, their marital relationship had been extremely good.】

【It could be described as a perfect match.】

【Ye Yu was very satisfied with Huangfu Baizhi.】

【She never caused trouble and often encouraged Ye Yu to take more concubines.】

【She was completely unjealous, and even felt very guilty for not bearing him any children during this hundred years.】

【With such an understanding wife, how could Ye Yu not be fond of her?】

【It was precisely because he liked her so much that he didn’t want Huangfu Baizhi to take any risks.】

【But Huangfu Baizhi insisted that she was from a military background and was already accustomed to the bloodshed of the battlefield.】

【Moreover, her cultivation level was not weak, and she was only applying to command on the battlefield, which would not be dangerous.】

【Through persistent persuasion, Huangfu Baizhi finally got the opportunity to go.】

【For this, Ye Yu even assigned her eight top-tier cultivators to escort and protect her.】

【He aimed for safety.】

【And it must be said, Huangfu Baizhi was indeed a strategic talent.】

【Under her command, she consistently avoided strong opponents and attacked the weak, winning many impressive battles.】

【As time passed, except for a few major sacred lands on the Northern Desolate Continent still holding out, all other medium and small sects had submitted to the Great Yong Dynasty and continuously supplied spirit stones.】

【During this period, Ye Yu began to ease off.】

【He ordered the cessation of further attacks and allowed the cultivators to rest and recuperate.】

【Ye Yu understood well.】

【The sacred lands of the Northern Desolate Continent had a long history and a strong foundation.】

【Trying to conquer them would be extremely difficult.】

【Moreover, and most importantly, after so many years of war, the accumulation of spirit stones was already nearly sufficient!】

【For a long time thereafter, Ye Yu once again entered his prodigal mode.】

【The difference was that last time he squandered silver, but this time it was spirit stones.】

【Various extravagant and reckless spending operations were continuously carried out.】

【In a very short time, all the accumulated spirit stones were spent.】

【Such behavior left everyone feeling quite regretful.】

【The ministers, seeing that they could not persuade Ye Yu, decided to take an indirect approach and petition Huangfu Baizhi.】

【They hoped that the Empress could stop Ye Yu.】

【But Huangfu Baizhi’s response was very straightforward.】

【If His Majesty wants to play, let him play. Even if the spirit stones are gone, this Empress can still ride a horse and wield a spear to get more spirit stones for His Majesty. So what is there to fear?】

【You should not meddle in His Majesty’s affairs. Disrupting His Majesty’s enjoyment is a serious offense!】

【This answer made many ministers break into a cold sweat.】

【The Empress of the Great Yong Dynasty was known for her iron-blooded ruthlessness.】

【She had accomplished what Grand Marshal Meng Shifang could not, by conquering the sects!】

【Such achievements were destined to be remembered for generations.】

【Under this intimidation, the ministers had no choice but to leave.】

【Six months later, Ye Yu finally broke through to the peak of the Ascension Realm, on the verge of ascending.】