In legend, the Four Symbols Continent was a world carried on the backs of four ancient godlike beasts.

These four ancient godlike beasts were the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise. Among them, the Azure Dragon ruled the East; the White Tiger the West; the Vermilion Bird the South; and the Black Tortoise the North.

Great Xia and Great Qi, as well as the Prairie royal court, along with dozens of large and small countries, were all situated in the eastern part of the Four Symbols Continent.

Thus, this place was also referred to by people as the "Azure Dragon Continent," the dragon, naturally, being the guardian beast of this mainland.

This was also why Zhao Hongzhi, the Seventh Elder of Longevity Heaven, was so afraid of his past theft of the Windwing Dragon's egg being revealed. Once this matter got out, everyone on the Azure Dragon Continent would never forgive him!

Longevity Heaven, although a top-tier sect on the Azure Dragon Continent, and considered as one of the best sects in the entire Four Symbols Continent, would not dare to incite public anger over such an issue. Therefore, they certainly would not risk offending everyone on the Azure Dragon Continent for someone like Zhao Hongzhi.

The sect was high and mighty. This was true not only in the Azure Dragon Continent but also in the entire Four Symbols Continent.

People in the sect also considered themselves cultivators, practitioners of immortality. Even though it had been many years since there was news of anyone achieving ascension, the sect's status has never faltered.

This led to many people who had entered the sect becoming contemptuous of worldly matters, disregarded royal authority, and looked down upon everything in mundane life once they left the sect.

Indeed, even the royal progeny, when seeing those who came out of the sect, would also extend considerable respect. Generally, when people from the sect caused trouble in the mundane world, even if they caused a great disaster, the matter was usually minimized.

After all, the influence of the sect in the mundane world was rather terrifying.

But in reality... are the sect and the mundane world really two completely separate worlds?

This obviously was a mistaken viewpoint!

Even the most powerful sects were not inhabited by real gods and immortals! They couldn't reach the level of living without grains; they also needed food, drink, and various resources!

Where would they obtain these things? By being self-sufficient?

That is actually impossible!

Self-sufficiency could at most allow these sects to survive, but it would never afford them a dignified life!

They were not real gods, they were also humans! Being human meant experiencing emotions and desires and the need to live with dignity.

So, what to do?

The royal families in the mundane world naturally became the best choice.

People in the sect needed to cultivate, and cultivation required a large amount of primordial stones. Where would the primordial stones come from? Would they rely only on the primordial stone mines occupied by the sect? Even the biggest primordial stone mine would eventually be depleted one day.

Even the most powerful sect couldn't occupy all the primordial stone mines in this world. Ultimately, there would still be some primordial stone mines owned by mundane forces.

These forces were essentially all under the control of the worldly royal families!

Apart from this, there were too many instances of crossover between the sect and the mundane world. Of course, ordinary people couldn't see or understand any of this.

But Jiang Qiuyang was different, he was a disciple of the sect, but he was also a prince in the mundane world! Highly respected...and might even become the crown prince!

However, deep down in his heart, Jiang Qiuyang, who had spent his early years, childhood, and adolescent years... all the way to his early twenties in the sect before descending the mountain, did indeed look down upon worldly royal power.

That is why he placed more emphasis on the legend of the celestial mansion even though the issue in the northern prairie was very critical. From his perspective, a small prairie was like an ant to him, a disciple of the sect. He could easily squash it!

Even towards his own Father, the king of Great Qi, before today, Jiang Qiuyang only showed the respect a son has for his father, not respect for the imperial authority!

Because he always forgot one thing: how he was admitted into the sect to cultivate!

What's more, he had forgotten that during his time in the sect, his master once casually mentioned: one of his junior masters used to be an executive in the sect. Because it was hard for him to make further progress in cultivation, and he was tired of the frugal life in the sect. So he asked the sect and entered the mundane world. It was likely that he stayed in Great Qi's royal court and became a palace attendant.

At the time, Jiang Qiuyang was somewhat disdainful. His master's junior master was his senior's senior. If he had difficulty progressing...he probably wasn't very strong.

As a result, he was severely reprimanded by his master at the time, who said, "What do you know? Your senior's senior is much stronger than me! That kind of height, you might not be able to reach in your lifetime. What right do you have to ridicule him?"

Jiang Qiuyang found it hard to comprehend at the time. If that senior was so powerful, why would he crave for the red dust? Aren't things of the mundane world something that cultivators should discard?

He still remembers that his master just shook his head and smiled, saying that if you become the emperor of Great Qi one day and can still say these words, I will see you in a new light.

This incident happened more than a decade ago when Jiang Qiuyang was still a child in his early teens. So he had long forgotten about it.

Today, after being severely reprimanded by his father for a long time, and then in the end, coldly saying those words to him, coupled with the calm voice in the golden hall that only resounded but didn't show its owner, Jiang Qiuyang was suddenly reminded of that incident from years ago.

"This…is this my senior's senior?" Jiang Qiuyang looked at his father, who stood there with an aura of royalty and for some reason, he suddenly felt that his father, whom he had never really regarded highly, seemed somewhat taller.

"Why, has someone mentioned this old man to you?" With this calm voice, a man who looked like he was in his fifties, dressed in a gray cloth robe, skinny and unattractive, appeared in front of Jiang Qiuyang, looking at him with curiosity.

"Xianghe Palace... the seventy-third disciple Jiang Qiuyang, greeting Junior Master!" Jiang Qiuyang had been kneeling there all along, so there wasn't a need for additional kneeling, but he still respectfully bowed to the unimpressive-looking old man.

However, a great doubt arose in his heart: could this be the Junior Master that his Master had told him had grown tired of the sect's austerity and sought refuge in the red dust of mundane life? It didn't look like he had any fancy clothes, fast horses, or a gaggle of wives and concubines… how was this different from being within the sect?

The old man squinted at Jiang Qiuyang and chuckled sagely, "Young man, the path of cultivation isn't easy. If I were you, in such favourable conditions, I would choose to be a carefree prince, focusing on cultivation. Alternatively… think hard about being a wise ruler. Heh...you're fortunate, not only do you have a backing from your sect but also from the royal family. Cherish it!"

After speaking, the old man's figure blurred and he disappeared in front of Jiang Qiuyang. He didn't even get a clear look at how his newly met Junior Master vanished. Shock was all that remained in his eyes.

At that moment, the ruler of the Great Qi Kingdom, Jiang Hengyu, dismissed all the officials, leaving only Jiang Qiuyang kneeling there all alone.

Jiang Hengyu returned to his dragon throne and eyed Jiang Qiuyang for a long while before finally saying, "You may rise."

Jiang Qiuyang slowly got up, keeping his head down in silence.

Jiang Hengyu looked at his favourite son before him and said indifferently, "You're curious about how such a powerful man ended up as a servant in a mundane royal palace, right?"

"Yes, my master said that Junior Master got tired of the sect's austerity, saw no hope for a breakthrough, and wanted to return to the red dust…" Jiang Qiuyang answered dutifully.

"Ha, tired of the sect's austerity? You're really... naive!" Jiang Hengyu laughed coldly, "You should know, even though Mr. Sun lives in the royal palace, he neither craves wine nor women, and devotes every day to intense cultivation!"

"Ah!" Although Jiang Qiuyang had an inkling about this before, he was still surprised to hear it personally confirmed by his father, "? Why does he..."

Jiang Hengyu couldn't help but sigh, "It seems you really didn't understand what Mr. Sun just told you. It's understandable, your conditions are truly too good! From the time you were small, you lacked nothing for your cultivation, so it's natural you don't understand," he said, standing up.

Walking slowly towards his son who was taller than him, Jiang Hengyu patted his shoulder, "Young man, you have the backing of the royal family! You have always had the freedom to use the resources of the royal family. But Mr. Sun doesn't. Although Xianghe Palace is a big sect rivaling Longevity Heaven, its resources are finite! Mr. Sun is neither a cultivation genius nor does he have much power. How can he demand a large amount of resources from Xianghe Palace for cultivation?"

Jiang Qiuyang stared dumbstruck at his father. He was hearing these things for the first time. He had never even considered them before.

"Did you really think that the massive amount of resources you used in your cultivation at Xianghe Palace was all provided by the Palace? Are you the kind of genius that they would cater to? I wish you were, but... you're not!" Jiang Hengyu walked past Jiang Qiuyang and said, "The resources you've consumed over the years, are all bestowed upon Xianghe Palace by the entirety of the Great Qi Kingdom. And what you've used probably doesn't even amount to one percent of that. Now, do you understand what the power of being the ruler is?"

After saying that, Jiang Hengyu left him alone.

In the golden hall, only Jiang Qiuyang was left, standing there like a statue.

His father's final words echoed in his ears, "Now, do you understand what power means?"

"Do you understand what power means?"

"What is power?"

"Power!"

After quite some time, the confused look in Jiang Qiuyang's eyes gave way to a brilliant light, and he loudly declared, "Father... I understand now!"

At that moment, an old eunuch stepped out from the shadows of the golden hall, looking respectfully at Jiang Qiuyang and saying, "Your Highness, His Majesty has ordered that if you truly understand, then report to the Great Xia Frontier Army Camp tomorrow. Start from the rank of a common soldier... there may be a war in a few years, a year, or perhaps even sooner."

"His Majesty also said that if you have not thought this through, take the time to do so. If it doesn't work out, you can return to Xianghe Palace. Regardless of where you go, you won't lack resources for cultivation."

The old eunuch concluded, looking at Jiang Qiuyang.

Jiang Qiuyang shook his head, "I will report to the frontier army camp tomorrow. Tell my father that I have thought it through! I intend for the might of Great Qi to cover the entire Azure Dragon Continent!"

The old eunuch smiled contentedly, nodding his head and silently disappearing as if he had never been there to begin with.

In Jiang Qiuyang's eyes, there was an unyielding spirit. Clenching his fists tightly, he said, "I now understand what power is! I understand the benefits of power! Master, you were right. I lost... I was too self-righteous. But not anymore!"

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Stories need to progress in layers. Although this chapter seems unrelated to our young friend Chu, the observant reader can discern its relevance.

This chapter sets the stage for the testimony of secular values!

That is the so-called wheel is finally starting to turn!

HAHAHA, well then, the first volume of this book, the Four Symbols Continent, officially lifts its veil.

Without power, you can't have influence. Without influence, where can you get resources? Without resources, how can you cultivate? Simply absorb air?

Our little Chu is about to return from his foreign study trip. Even though he attended an unremarkable university, its professors were outstanding!

Therefore, exciting stories are in store!

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