Chapter 1780 - First Dragon Imperial
"I'll give you fifteen more minutes! Everyone must come out!"
The people were feeling rather hopeless at this juncture. The enemy was slowly turning up the heat to boil the frog, chipping away at their willpower bit by bit with them unable to resist in the slightest. The Saintdragon Emperor's agitated demeanor seemed to stand out even more. Fifteen minutes later, some two billion people had gathered in the sky above the Myriaddragon Mountains, making for quite the powerful scene. As the weak, the only thing they could do was band together. Even the youthgrand disciples under the age of a hundred had to show up.
"Saintdragon Emperor, we're all assembled."
"Very well!" He held the paper strip in his hand and amplified his voice. "I got great news from Azurecloud! Listen up!" He started reading it, his voice getting more pumped as he did so. It was quite a long message that detailed the results of the battle for Azurecloud. Much of it praised Tianming's efforts, as it had been written by Long Wanying. The message contained a lot of thoughts about him. When the Saintdragon Emperor finally finished reading the letter aloud, the entire place erupted with cheers.
Everyone seemed to go insane, whether they were Xuanyuans who had fought with and understood Tianming, or refugees from other sects with grudges against the celestial orderians. All of them had desired a figure that could change their fates, much like a sovereign, and such a figure had finally shown up. His spark had ignited the flame in the hearts of these two billion people. While the Myriaddragon Mountains spanned a large area, there were far too many people there; they didn't dare to let their lifebound beasts out or it would be far too crowded. Even so, with Tianming's return, this place would become the center of administration for the various weaker factions. Perhaps around ten billion elites would eventually gather. Even though it would be quite packed, at least they would still be alive.
"Now, let us wait for their return together." All of them turned and looked to the north. While their world was still shrouded in darkness, the sun in their hearts was rising. When the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb appeared above the horizon, their feelings erupted. All that could be heard was Tianming's name, and he hadn't done anything yet; but the Omnisentient Threads came flooding in regardless. They weren’t increasing at a crazy rate, but the gain was steady and quick. He knew that the Myriaddragon Mountains would be the true battlefield. There were many who walked the same path as him there as well, resonating with him.
"I'm finally back." The Ninedragon Imperial Tomb entered the Aeonic Infinidragon Formation and landed between some mountains. Then its main entrance opened up, letting out a divine light. The familiar white-haired youth, Long Wanying, and the rest left the ship to another wave of cheers. Tianming felt pure emotion wash over him, filled with hope and confidence in him. In this symbiotic ruler and ruled relationship, those who contributed would also be rewarded in return.
"Li Tianming!" Their cheers continued to shake his eardrums. Eventually, he had thirty million Omnisentient Threads in total.
"Decabane genius! We should give him some kind of title!"
"That's right!"
As the crowd cheered, Tianming arrived before the Saintdragon Emperor, who was tearing up and unable to find any words to say.
"I'm back," he said, smiling.
"Welcome back... welcome back...." The Saintdragon Emperor noticed that he had changed, yet his core remained the same. "Why don't you greet everyone?"
"Will do." Tianming nodded and turned to the crowd, taking a deep breath. "Seniors, brothers, and sisters, I know that all of you have suffered much in these past years. However, I’ll change things together with all of you. Like what happened at the Azurecloud Continent, we’ll pay the invaders back a hundred times what they did to us!"
The times required a hero to stand out to unite the hearts of everyone. The Saintdragon Emperor could tell that Tianming's influence and reputation, as well as his status as a symbol of hope and security, far surpassed his own. Thus, he announced, "I’ve decided to give my position as First Dragon Imperial to Li Tianming. He needs a new title as well! Based on the history of our sect, he will henceforth be known as the Imperialdragon Princeps! There’s only been one in our history, and that was the Ninedragon Emperor!"
The Saintdragon Emperor wasn't always the First Dragon Imperial. In fact, the title of Imperialdragon Princeps referred to the central Imperialdragon Palace of the Ninedragon Emperor. As the ruler of dragons, that was a historically important title that nobody had dared to adopt after the Ninedragon Emperor’s death.
When the Saintdragon Emperor granted that sacred title to Tianming, nobody stood out against the decision. Given his achievements and what he meant to them, he needed a title that would put him above the dreamless celestial emperor, and even the Sky Palace. The hearts of the people of the Myriad Solar Sects should be focused on Tianming alone. While the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect wasn't comparable to the Violetcloud Imperium, the title of Imperialdragon Princeps was far more significant for Tianming than that of an astralking. Tianming had only become an astralking to obtain cultivation resources, whereas the point of this was to unite the people around him and change their fates.
"Imperialdragon Princeps Li Tianming!"
All two billion plus people recognized him as such that instant, putting him on a pedestal. They saw him as their unquestionable leader, despite being a youth in his twenties. To cultivators that were above a thousand years old, he was but an infant, yet the fact that he had been able to achieve so much at his age showed that he was far more impressive than the Ninedragon Emperor.
"Saintdragon Emperor...." Tianming hadn't expected to be treated like this right after his return.
"Child, you can do it. All of us will ensure that things go smoothly for you. We’ll put our lives on the line to support your journey," the Saintdragon Emperor said.
"That's right. You asked us to trust you, right? Now it isn't just us, but everyone," Long Wanying said.
Tianming didn't turn it down out of misplaced humility. He indeed needed some kind of status to form more Omnisentient Threads. He just didn't expect that the Saintdragon Emperor would give him the most important title the sect had ever had. Now he stood above even the dreamless celestial emperor in status, far superior to the Sky Palace members who had gone into hiding! He was the number one of the Myriad Solar Sects!
In an earnest tone, he said, "I’ll give it my all to ensure that I validate the trust you’ve all placed in me. I’ll live up to your hopes."
The position didn't just bring him status and authority, but also a mountainous burden. The fate of all the Myriad Solar Sects now rested on his shoulders. It would be the toughest challenge ever to be faced by a junior in the history of Orderia. Yet he didn't let his breath get knocked out of him. His seniors were reliable and supportive, being among the best. With their support, there was nothing for him to fear. Even if the sky fell, they would be there to hold it up for him. What touched him the most was how the regular people trusted him. Their burning gazes told him that as long as he saved them from this predicament, they wouldn't be stingy with their faith! They would believe in him like he was their god!
"Everyone...." He took a deep breath and yelled with all he had, "I accept your trust and care! I accept the position of First Dragon Imperial and the burdens that come along with it. From now on, the Myriad Solar Sects are my very life! If the sects are gone, so will I be! I’ll be fighting with you all in the near future, going through thick and thin together as we strive to survive and establish eternal peace! If I go back on my words, may I never have a restful death!"
The heavy words only intensified their faith in him. His every word proved that he wasn’t joking around. That was what all the pessimists had needed to hear. By now, the cultivators from the third- and fourth-rate sects looked at him with confidence.
Most people in the Myriad Solar Sects didn't belong to the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect, but Tianming needed them all the same. The Xuanyuan Dragon Sect had already completely accepted him long ago. Now he wanted to make sure that the people who were still on the run from the celestial orderians would know to come to the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect, without whose aid they wouldn't be able to form a proper faction to resist the celestial orderians.
He was already planting the seeds of his dynasty on the sun, but not out of his own ambitions. He knew from his experimental attempt on Flameyellow that true peace could only be forged upon a firm foundation once he had unified everything.