The news shocked the people. The citizens of the five supercities were more shocked than anyone else. The Awakened, on the other hand, had seen it coming. They knew that traces of the old era would eventually disappear as they ventured deeper into the new era.

The Aurora Academy still controlled the vast majority of resources, but in this new era, they had been struggling to keep pace with the rapid changes to the world. That much had been obvious from recent events.

Meanwhile, the Celestial Court's influence had been growing as time went on. In fact, it had already replaced the government's role in more ways than one.

The reason ordinary citizens felt uneasy was simple enough. They were afraid of what would happen once the government retreated to the sidelines. Who would manage the supercities by then? How would their safety be guaranteed?

Huaxia had not descended into the kind of chaos seen elsewhere in the world because of the Aurora Academy and Huaxia's top officials. The fact that they had decided to transfer their power elsewhere had the people of Huaxia panicking.

However, another announcement soon followed—the Celestial Court would gradually step into the forefront, and the protection of the five supercities would fall under its jurisdiction. In other words, in the near future, the Aurora Academy, Huaxia's top officials, and the Celestial Court would be working together.

The announcement assuaged the fears of the citizens. After all, everyone knew who stood at the helm of the Celestial Court. It was none other than King Lu. The strongest Awakened and Invincible Beneath the Stars. More importantly, he had saved them time and again.

For most people, the Celestial Court and the officials were essentially the same thing. The beings from the Outer Cosmos learned of this development, and their reaction was completely different from that of the Awakened and the public.

After all, they could see the deeper implications behind the announcement. The transfer of power and authority meant the Celestial Court would govern the nation, and it would also become Earth's most powerful organization.

To make matters worse, it was built specifically to oppose them. The idea led them all to the same conclusion—it seemed the legendary Celestial Court of ancient times could truly be revived in this new era.

If the leader were anyone else, they wouldn't care at all.

Unfortunately, the leader was Lu Yuan. No one could deny it. Whether in terms of talent, strength, or anything else, Lu Yuan stood at the apex. As long as he continued to evolve, his future achievements would be extraordinary.

By all rights, someone like him ought to have been crushed in the cradle. But, there was nothing anyone could do. No one was his match. Six Sages had joined hands against him, but he had killed them all.

The Immortals had even made a move against him, but they had ultimately been forced to retreat. His power had every invader trembling with fear. Lu Yuan loomed over them like a towering mountain range, pressing down on their head, and they could only stay silent.

Somewhere in the Trials Academy, Lu Yuan sat facing Elder Ji, Elder Yun, and the rest. All seven members of Huaxia's top officials were present.

"King Lu, the Celestial Court's affairs are mostly in place, so it's time for the transfer of power and authority. Going forward, our role will be to assist the Celestial Court in assuming control over all aspects of governance, including the five supercities.

"The Awakened we assembled will be incorporated into the external ranks of the Celestial Court's four divisions. They are going to become subordinates of the four divisions. From this day on, the Celestial Court will govern Huaxia!" Elder Ji declared, and his words amounted to a complete handover of both civil and military authority.

It was his display of absolute trust in Lu Yuan.

Elder Yun and the others nodded in turn. They had been planning this for some time now and had simply been waiting for the right moment to do so.

Today, the right moment had finally come.

"I understand." Lu Yuan sighed. He had known this day would eventually arrive.

In his previous life, the government had gradually retreated from the forefront. Everything they had done was to let everyone adapt to the new era. The difference was that in his previous life, the Celestial Court was not around.

In times of upheaval, power had to be consolidated. This was particularly true in the new era, as even a single individual could destroy an entire nation.

With that in mind, he looked at the group and said, "I understand. But I won't be managing the day-to-day operations. I'll be relying on all of you going forward. I have the brute strength, but administration has never been my forte."

Everyone had their own strengths. If he poured all his energy into running the Celestial Court, his rate of evolution would inevitably slow down. Lu Yuan was also well aware that the current affairs were only made possible by one thing—his power.

"Of course. With us here, you need not worry about anything, King Lu."

Elder Ji smiled. This had been his intention all along. It was not that he was reluctant to relinquish power, but there were things he couldn't relinquish, such as the people and the younger generation.

They spoke a bit longer before Elder Ji and the others took their leave.

Lu Yuan sat alone in the courtyard, lost in thought. To him, this was not really a significant event. He could also easily leave the subsequent matters to other people.

What mattered most was the Golden-Winged Great Peng and the Peacock King. If even one more Nine Cauldron was found, the Providence within the Investiture Edict and the Celestial Emperor's Ancient Token would grow even stronger. This would allow him to invest more people and bestow more Providence upon them. Their evolution would also be faster.

However, there was one thing Lu Yuan had yet to figure out. After every investiture, every recipient had received different benefits. In addition, the longer the duration since the investiture was done, the better the benefits.

A great example of this was the Golden-Winged Great Peng, which was evolving at an increasingly rapid pace as time went on.

However, Lu Yuan was the first name inscribed on the Investiture Edict, and he was even its master, but he had received nothing beyond the two characters "Emperor Yuan." He seemed to have experienced no changes whatsoever.

Could it be that I have yet to unlock the Celestial Emperor's Ancient Token's true abilities? Lu Yuan pondered. This seemed likely. There had to be many Celestial Emperor's Ancient Tokens in existence. He had only obtained three. It made sense that he couldn't make full use of it just yet.

Let's take it one step at a time. Lu Yuan shook his head, cleared his thoughts, and returned to his training room to resume his seclusion.

Outside, the transfer of power and authority between the government and the Celestial Court proceeded smoothly. The nation was stable, and the beings from the Outer Cosmos dared not cause any trouble.

Those from the four divisions stationed themselves across the five supercities.

As for the training of the Thirty-Six Celestial Generals, the sect leaders from the Three Immortal Islands had it well in hand. These were the people Lu Yuan had chosen, so they received far more support than the average member of the Celestial Court.

As Celestial Generals, they were destined for greatness.

The world was calm and peaceful, but unfortunately, this respite was Earth's last one.

Everyone also knew that this peace only existed on the surface. Just above Earth, there were countless beings watching them with hungry gazes. No one knew what the future held for them, but they could see that the Celestial Court and the government had been working tirelessly to brace for what was to come.

Lu Yuan soon reached the absolute peak of the Void Sage Realm, and his accumulated power reached its limit. He had also revisited and refined his divine arts as well as tempered his weapons even further. He remained at the Void Sage Realm, but his actual combat prowess changed with each passing day.

One day, Lu Yuan had just emerged from seclusion when a message arrived from the Golden-Winged Great Peng. It had sensed the aura of one of the Nine Cauldrons.