Great Ming-Tsardom of Russia United Empire

Catherine had appeared because of Petrovna’s message.

With her daughter’s life and safety at stake, she had rushed to Great Ming immediately. The distance between the Tsardom of Russia and Great Ming was clearly not far for a Hall of Fame Card Master.

The Tsardom of Russia’s empress landed before Ye Zhou’s body. Looking at Eternal Light, who would never wake again, she said without turning around, "Today is Lord Ye’s funeral. You’ve gone too far."

She did not mention victory or defeat again, sparing Motiān further provocation.

Upon hearing Catherine’s words, Motiān could not help but sneer. "Catherine, who are you to interfere with me?"

"Do you really think breaking through to Hall of Fame Grade makes you my match?"

As his words fell, the atmosphere gradually became tense and hostile.

The envoys from every nation had not expected even the Tsardom of Russia’s empress to be unable to make Motiān back down for the time being.

Catherine, dressed in magnificent robes, slowly turned around and said coldly, "In that case, shall we have a simple spar?"

As she spoke, the empress summoned her card: a one-eyed man holding a spear, with two ravens perched upon his shoulders and an eight-legged divine steed beneath him.

Such a distinctive appearance naturally allowed everyone present to recognize the card immediately.

Eternal King Odin, the Father of the Gods in Norse Mythology, host of Valhalla’s feasts, and god above gods in Asgard.

Though the god-king did not reveal the slightest aura, everyone present still felt a chill run through their hearts.

It was the threat of Gungnir, the spear that never missed.

Upon seeing Odin, Motiān’s face revealed a trace of wariness. He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Tsk."

"I didn’t expect you to move so quickly."

The Mughal Empire’s intelligence system naturally possessed information on Hall of Fame Card Masters from other nations. Catherine’s entry had been marked as "Pseudo Hall of Fame Grade."

As far as they knew, when Great Ming and the Tsardom of Russia had jointly annihilated the Demon Army not long ago, she had yet to create a Hall of Fame Grade Card.

That was why Motiān had spoken to Catherine in that tone earlier.

Unfortunately, what the Mughal Empire’s intelligence system did not know was that after the Demon Army’s destruction, Great Ming and the Tsardom of Russia had completed an exchange of Hall of Fame Grade materials.

This had been agreed upon by both sides before the war. Although Fang Wenlong’s response at the time had been that it would be left to Ye Zhou to decide, there had clearly only ever been one possible outcome.

It was precisely because of this that Catherine had successfully created her first Hall of Fame Grade Card.

The conversation between Lu Su and Petrovna earlier had been intended to further advance this cooperation.

After all, the benefits of cooperation were obvious.

The scene returned to Ye Zhou’s funeral.

After a long silence, Motiān could not help but curl his lips. He then looked at Lu Su. "You win."

"Kid."

With that, he vanished from the spot.

Seeing the eccentric powerhouse leave, everyone present let out a sigh of relief, Catherine included.

If possible, she still wanted to avoid fighting him.

"Thank you for your assistance, Your Majesty. Great Ming will remember this favor."

At that moment, Bai Yueming walked over to Catherine with a stooped posture and voiced his thanks.

Hearing this, the empress shook her head slightly and said calmly, "I merely did it for the Empire."

That was the truth.

Besides worrying about Petrovna’s safety, part of the reason she had rushed to Great Ming was to mediate the conflict between Great Ming and Motiān.

After all, if the two sides truly fought, the Tsardom of Russia, which was not far from Great Ming, would clearly be affected as well.

As for Lu Su—

Catherine did not care much whether he lived or died. Even if he had truly died, the empress would only sigh that the Empire’s investment had gone to waste.

That was all.

Thinking of this, she discreetly glanced at Lu Su beside Bai Yueming, her gaze flickering.

To be honest, before arriving in Great Ming, Catherine had not believed Lu Su could last even a minute against Motiān. Master Grade was Master Grade, while Hall of Fame Grade was Hall of Fame Grade.

Even though the Youth had previously achieved the brilliant feat of successfully driving away a Hall of Fame Grade Demon, that could not be considered a direct confrontation.

And taking a step back, even if Lu Su had truly lasted one minute, he should have been in terrible condition. He should not have looked completely unharmed as he did now.

What was more, judging from Motiān’s earlier reaction, this Mughal Hall of Fame Card Master had clearly suffered a setback.

After all, based on the Tsardom of Russia’s intelligence on Motiān, Catherine believed she had a very accurate grasp of his personality.

By that logic, the Youth before her was somewhat stronger than the Empire’s intelligence had estimated.

Of course, since there was no footage of Lu Su and Motiān’s battle, no one knew what had truly happened. They could only speculate based on the two sides’ states afterward.

With the farce over, Ye Zhou’s funeral naturally continued.

"Since Your Majesty has come, please witness the end of Hall of Fame Master Ye with us."

Catherine had no objections to Great Ming’s arrangements. After nodding slightly in response, she walked toward Petrovna.

"Mother."

The girl had just started to call softly to her mother when she was interrupted.

Catherine shook her head slightly, signaling Petrovna to remain quiet.

The empress was not Motiān. She still possessed the most basic courtesy toward Ye Zhou, someone of the same rank as herself.

At that moment, the livestream broadcast to all of Great Ming resumed.

Great Ming’s ordinary citizens watched in confusion as Lu Su closed Ye Zhou’s coffin on their television screens.

Most people did not know what had happened just now. Some even believed there might have been a problem with the livestream connection, causing the screen to go black.

But a small number of people noticed something different in the footage.

Given Motiān’s strength and status, Great Ming naturally could not have arranged for him to stand in the back.

Not only was he not in the back, Motiān had stood directly at the very front of the envoys from every nation.

The only people ahead of him had been the four Great Ming Master Card Masters led by Lu Su.

But now, such a conspicuous person had vanished from the television broadcast.

In his place stood a dignified and luxurious foreign woman.

Upon seeing the woman, those who recognized her immediately gasped. "The Tsardom of Russia’s empress?!"

Normally, a powerhouse of Catherine’s status would undoubtedly have been extremely conspicuous if she had chosen to attend Ye Zhou’s funeral.

Yet those watching the livestream were certain that she had not been there before.

Without question, something unknown must have happened at the scene during those few minutes of black screen.

And it must have been something unfavorable to Great Ming.

Otherwise, the livestream would not have been cut off.

For a moment, those who had noticed something fishy felt as though a thousand claws were scratching at their hearts, leaving them unbearably curious.

They could not wait to learn what had happened at the scene.

But as the crimson coffin carrying Ye Zhou gradually descended into the earth, the livestream ended as well.

The funeral was over.

Ye Zhou, the Hall of Fame Card Master who had devoted everything to Great Ming, had finally reached the end of his life.

But death was not the end. Forgetting was.

From now on, Ye Zhou would forever live in Great Ming’s official records and in the memories of its people. Perhaps, in another sense, he had attained immortality.

Good night.

Have sweet dreams.

Some time had passed since Ye Zhou’s funeral ended.

During that period, Great Ming’s citizens had also learned the reason behind the black screen during the funeral livestream.

According to the Association’s announcement, the black screen had indeed been caused by a connection issue.

If anyone believed that.

Since most people did not believe such an extremely perfunctory announcement, rumors found fertile ground to spread.

Within certain small groups, the real "inside information" was circulating.

"My cousin was one of the staff members responsible for the livestream. He said the screen went black that day because those Indians from the Mughal Empire caused trouble, so they had no choice but to cut the broadcast."

"? I knew it wasn’t that simple. And after the livestream resumed, those Indians really were gone. I’ll believe you."

"Of course. Let me reveal another top-secret piece of information, but don’t go spreading it around."

"You bet. Don’t you know what we’re like? Hurry up and tell us."

"Master Lu fought Golden Embryo Motiān, that Hall of Fame Card Master from the Mughal Empire!"

Upon seeing that message, question marks filled the group chat, expressing everyone’s shock.

"?"

"? Seriously? But when the livestream resumed, wasn’t Master Lu’s clothing completely undisturbed?"

"Heh heh, then we have to mention Master Lu’s spar with Motiān. Apparently, thunder and lightning raged, and the two fought until even the Great Dao was obliterated. The result was obvious: Master Lu’s clothes were slightly dirty, while Motiān was defeated and retreated."

". Motiān is Hall of Fame Grade, right? Is your information reliable?"

"Fine, I admit I added some artistic embellishment, but the spar was real. As for the exact result… you can judge for yourselves. Just remember not to spread it around."

"Got it."

"1."

As profile pictures turned gray one after another, the small group fell silent.

Then, that very day, rumors about Lu Su and Motiān’s spar began spreading online.

Naturally, the Association was fanning the flames. Otherwise, how could such specific "inside information" possibly have leaked out?

To avoid certain problems, the Association was deliberately vague about the final result of the spar, leading to all sorts of claims online.

But the most basic consensus was that Lu Su had not lost that spar.

And that was one of the Association’s goals.

Thanks to this matter, the atmosphere of grief caused by Ye Zhou’s death was slightly diluted. In its place came discussions about the cards Lu Su possessed.

After all, his cards were absurdly powerful for Custom Cards.

However, Lu Su himself had no mood to care about what was happening online.

Since Ye Zhou’s funeral ended, he had been rushed off his feet.

The first matter was Goryeo’s incorporation into Great Ming.

Although Great Ming had accepted the incorporation of many tributary states over the years, this was still a major event.

Population, secret realms, resources.

These were all benefits gained through expanding territory.

Of course, it was unrealistic to enjoy only the benefits. After accepting Goryeo’s incorporation, Great Ming naturally had to handle the Demon problem within its territory.

Not their territory, but Great Ming’s territory.

And besides Goryeo, there was also the small country Lu Su had discovered while pursuing Fox Jiu.

That place was far more complicated than Goryeo. The latter had only fallen under Demon control recently, and its citizens generally still possessed the will to resist.

But the former—

After being raised like livestock by the Demons ruled by Fox Jiu for centuries, the people of that land had completely lost their awareness of their own human identity.

Correcting that problem would clearly take more than one generation.

Thinking of this, Lu Su could not help rubbing his brow with a headache. "Tsk."

"What a pain."

Just as he was considering how to handle that small country, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

Knock, knock, knock—

"Come in."

The antique wooden door was pushed open, and a Blonde Girl entered Lu Su’s view.

"Your Highness?" Lu Su was taken aback when he saw the visitor. "Why are you here?"

The girl was naturally Petrovna.

Facing Lu Su’s question, she giggled. "I’m here to say goodbye, of course."

"The Empire and Great Ming have finished their discussions. Naturally, I have to return to the Empire."

At that, Petrovna paused.

"Or could it be…"

"Lord Lu, you’re a little reluctant to part with me?"

As the Tsardom of Russia’s heir apparent, Petrovna obviously could not remain in Great Ming forever.

The only reason she had stayed this long was because of what had happened at Ye Zhou’s funeral.

Lu Su instinctively ignored the latter half of her words and asked, "The cooperation has already been finalized?"

Petrovna puffed out her cheeks like a hamster. "Lord Lu!"

After expressing a little dissatisfaction, she hummed and said, "With your status, Lord Lu, you’ll probably learn the details very soon."

As her words fell, Lu Su’s communication device vibrated.

The Youth glanced at it and found the detailed terms of cooperation between Great Ming and the Tsardom of Russia.

But now was not the time to read something like that.

After looking at Lu Su a few more times, Petrovna turned and headed for the door.

But when she reached the doorway, she suddenly stopped.

The girl tilted her head slightly and said softly, "I’m leaving, Lord Lu."

"Mm."

Seeing that Lu Su still had no reaction, Petrovna could not help turning around. Somewhat helplessly, she said, "Lord Lu, at least give me a reaction."

Not expecting a response from Lu Su, she revealed a radiant smile. "Don’t miss me too much, Lord Lu."

After saying that, the Blonde Girl lifted her skirt and ran away with quick little steps.

Seeing this, Lu Su could not help tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"You make it sound like we’ll never see each other again."

Honestly, given the distance between Great Ming and the Tsardom of Russia, if Lu Su truly wanted to see Petrovna, it would not take much time at all.

He shook his head slightly, suppressing the tangled emotions in his heart, then turned his attention to the communications device beside him.

After his battle with Motiān, Lu Su realized that he was still vastly far from the pinnacle of the world.

Now that Great Ming and the Tsardom of Russia had reached a cooperation agreement, it meant that their material databases had been shared.

This was undoubtedly good news for Lu Su. It meant that

he could create new Master Grade cards.