CHAPTER 645: CHAPTER 645: THE RETURN OF THE TIME EMPRESS! (PLEASE FOLLOW)

*It seemed Mu Qingxue and my sister, Time Empress, shared some kind of connection.*

"Sigh!"

The Ancestral Empress let out a sigh.

*It had been ages since I last saw my sister. Who knew where she went these days?*

*After ascending to the Sovereign Realm, my divine sense could instantaneously sweep across the entire Beast Hunting Star Domain, and still, I couldn’t find any trace of my sister, Time Empress.*

*Chances were, she had already left the Beast Hunting Star Domain and headed for the deeper regions of the starry sky.*

*Back when I was at the peak of the Emperor Realm, I believed my sister was an invincible existence in the Star Domain Realm, unparalleled in the world. But after advancing to the Sovereign Realm, I only grew more in awe of the Universe, more convinced of its unfathomable depth. Even Sovereign Realm—still an ant!*

*What is this, anyway? When I was at Emperor Realm perfection, I was just a frog looking up at the moon from the bottom of a well. Now, having reached Sovereign Realm, staring at this Universe, I am but an ant gazing up at the vast blue sky!*

*The higher my Realm, the more profound my understanding of my own insignificance.*

The three of them, led by General Canglong, made their way toward the newly rebuilt, magnificent main city—the Milky Way Starry Sky Main City.

Along their route, plenty of fierce beasts and humans bowed respectfully, welcoming the arrival of the Human Emperor and the Empress.

They entered the main city.

Xiao Ye and the Ancestral Empress sat at the head of the grand hall.

In the hall, twenty Quasi-Emperor Realm-perfected Fierce Beast Generals and Human Generals knelt in salutation.

Xiao Ye held a booklet, his expression darkening as he read through the rules of the Milky Way Starry Sky Great Wall listed inside.

1, Anyone who shows neglect, talks back, slanders, or insults the Human Emperor or Empress, must immediately commit suicide by their own hand to atone for their crime.

2, The words of the Human Emperor and Empress are law, are faith. Any act of defiance will result in extermination of nine generations.

3, Every soldier may return to their home planet to visit once every hundred years, but must bring back at least ten elite recruits to serve as guards on the Starry Sky Great Wall, or else they must kill themselves; if not, their nine generations will be purged.

4, Every year, all troops must gather and kneel beneath the statue in each city to swear their most sincere loyalty. Disobedience means imprisonment and execution by hanging.

5, When an external threat invades and the alarm sounds, all our troops, regardless of injuries like broken legs, fractured bones, or concussions—so long as they are not fatally wounded—must become cannon fodder to delay the enemy’s advance, buying time for our main forces to regroup and counterattack. Failure means being stripped of eligibility to defend the Starry Sky Great Wall and having your soul set on the Heavenly Torch.

6, In the Milky Way Galaxy, anyone who defies service on the Starry Sky Great Wall will see their nine generations exterminated.

7, Out of all these rules, the first and second do not apply to Earth beings.

8, 9, 10 ...

...

There were over ten thousand rules; even a minor offense warranted hanging at the lightest, and the most serious meant execution of nine generations.

*And for good measure, there was always the threat of soul-torching!*

Of course, those who performed meritoriously would also receive generous rewards—titles upgraded, more opportunities to visit home, and cultivation resources.

Outstanding accomplishments even earned a death exemption token.

*Xiao Ye furrowed his brow. Weren’t these punishments way too harsh?*

*And the rewards felt much too trivial.*

He set down the booklet, swept his gaze over the hall; the twenty-some Fierce Beast Generals and Human Generals here were all just at Quasi-Emperor Realm perfection, not a single true Emperor among them.

*This Realm? This is way too low.*

He said,

"The reward and punishment system, you guys still need to improve it."

"Strict rules are good, but don’t take them to extremes. The rules should stay serious, but also have some humanity."

"Talk it over yourselves and keep refining these regulations in this booklet."

The twenty-some Fierce Beast and Human Generals immediately cupped their fists, saying, "We will follow the Human Emperor’s orders and improve the military rules right away."

"Mm," Xiao Ye set the booklet aside, saying,

"Next, the Empress and I will refine the Starry Sky Great Wall into a high-level array that will encompass the entire Milky Way. While you are perfecting the regulations, everything else proceeds as usual."

"All twenty-some of you generals, your Realms are a bit low. The Rule Origin of the Milky Way is now available, so you must cultivate hard and strive to raise your Realms."

"..."

After issuing a few instructions, he glanced to the side.

"Empress, do you have anything to add?"

The Ancestral Empress smiled faintly, "No, just do as you said."

The three of them rose and made their way outside the Milky Way Galaxy.

Looking down, they saw tens of thousands of small star systems orbiting the giant black hole at the Milky Way’s center.

Starlight twinkled, the cosmos brilliant.

The Starry Sky Great Wall, meanwhile, was the defensive construction ringing the Milky Way’s edge.

Hundreds of subsidiary cities stood within the Great Wall, guarding both the Wall and the Milky Way.

"Let’s get started refining the Prohibition Barrier."

Xiao Ye spoke up, then got to work.

One after another, Sovereign Realm prohibitions shot forth, attaching themselves to the Starry Sky Great Wall.

The Ancestral Empress and Mu Qingxue refused to fall behind, each unleashing Sovereign Realm prohibitions that fused into the Great Wall, the main city, and the subsidiary cities.

After a few hours of effort, the Starry Sky Great Wall and the Milky Way became a single indivisible entity, forming an airtight Array Barrier.

The core of this barrier was the giant black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

The main eye of the array was the main city and its subsidiaries.

The barrier provided several effects.

1, Healing effects from the Life Attribute, spiritual power enhancement, and resurrection.

2, Soul absorption and reincarnation via the Reincarnation Attribute.

3, Spatial Attribute scanning for detection of alien intruders—like a radar—and spatial shredding.

4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... and so on.

Xiao Ye also installed a Sovereign Realm intelligent core within the giant black hole, giving the Array Barrier self-control capabilities.

For those with merit, the array would support them with its benefits.

If a soldier brazenly broke the rules and committed crimes, punishment would fall—banishment to the beast path, termination of life, drastic loss of fortune, and the like.

This intelligent core would also awaken the Rule Origins of each planet, opening those Origins up for galactic beings to cultivate freely, raising the overall level of the Milky Way Galaxy’s lifeforms.

When all was finished, the Ancestral Empress said with a relaxed expression,

"Now with the Array Barrier in place, we no longer have to stand guard at the Starry Sky Great Wall every moment like before."

"And the soldiers can finally catch a break."

Mu Qingxue nodded. Though she hadn’t witnessed the Starry Battlefield herself, just from the scent of blood lingering on the Great Wall, she could tell how brutal the fighting must have been.

Suddenly, at that moment, the three of them looked surprised.

They sensed a being from a Star Domain outside the galaxy, at the edge of the Array Barrier, trying to enter the Milky Way.

The Ancestral Empress focused for a moment, then said joyfully,

"It’s my sister, Time Empress!"

The three of them flashed away, appearing instantly at the Array Barrier.

There, at the barrier, a stunningly beautiful, slender woman—strikingly similar in appearance to Mu Qingxue—stood fuming, hands on her hips, shouting at the barrier,

"What the hell is this? When did the Milky Way get a barrier? Even I can’t get through, and I’m a Star Domain Realm cultivator!"

"No doubt one of those Starfield Great Races is behind this. The Empress and her lot are only at Emperor Realm; there’s no way they could’ve refined a barrier that even I can’t break!"

"Damn those Starfield Great Races—trying to invade a backwater galaxy like the Milky Way! Hmph!"

This was none other than Time Empress.

The Ancestral Empress, Xiao Ye, and Mu Qingxue appeared at Time Empress’s side.

The Ancestral Empress grinned slyly,

"Sister, the Milky Way has been invaded by Starfield Great Races. We need your help."

"Since you’re such a powerful Star Domain Realm cultivator, you should be able to chase those bad guys away, right?"