From the very moment he entered the room, the government officials around the Emperor felt the very fabric of reality shifting in his presence. When, before, it was as solid and unyielding as the laws of reality would expect to be, in his presence, it was like the dancing image of light reflected from the surface of gently shifting water.

As if it were fragile.

And, before the might of a Martial Transcendent, it was indeed fragile. It took time for the human beings in the room to get accustomed to this truly chilling effect. It was very different from the kind of resistance training that they had undergone to withstand the weight of the presence of a Martial Sage.

But, they gritted their teeth and bore it anyway, especially since they were a little upset with the Emperor.

"You have forgotten that you are the Emperor of the Kandrian Empire, not the world."

The firm voice of Minister Ru hung in the air as she stood up, facing her older brother with a glare that didn’t suit her. Her golden eyes bore deep into his as she continued with a cross tone.

"You had the laissez-faire model of interstellar expansion pass in the General Assembly without even informing me about it," she cajoled him without holding back. "And you have designs and plans for human civilization without even having any for the Kandrian Empire!"

Rui’s expression grew complicated. Unfortunately, her criticism was spot on. He wasn’t even thinking about the Kandrian Empire when he made these decisions; he was thinking about the entirety of human civilization and its future. He had increasingly begun acting like the steward of human civilization instead of the steward of the Kandrian Empire. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Someone who was dedicated solely to the prosperity and supremacy of the Kandrian Empire would have ensured that the Kandrian Empire would soak up all the benefits from interstellar expansion," she declared with a serious tone of voice. "Instead, you have leveled the playing field so that our rivals and opponents have as much of a chance as we do."

She glared at him.

"Do you even care about the Kandrian Empire anymore?"

The question was like a slap to the face. He would be lying if he said that the Kandrian Empire was primarily on his mind over the past four months or so. It had initially broadened to the Panama Continent more broadly, and then it had broadened to all of human civilization.

Indeed, he hadn’t given any thought to the Kandrian Empire in the past four months.

Of course, that didn’t mean he didn’t care at all.

"I care." He heaved a sigh. "However, the reality is that my responsibilities and burdens go far beyond the scope of my responsibilities as Emperor. And the reality is..."

He turned towards all of them with an appreciative gaze. "The Kandrian Empire doesn’t really need my active intervention anymore. After all, think about it."

He shrugged.

"We have largely achieved everything that we might want to within this nation. The people are thriving, the nation is thriving, the Martial Artists are thriving too, and everything is in harmony, as my father once envisioned."

That wasn’t a lie, either. Over the past six years under his rule, the Kandrian Empire had truly improved in the prosperity that it was able to provide for its people. It was still a very dominant power in the continent and in the entire world, for it controlled negatron matter and had a large chunk of all the Martial Sages in the entire world.

The truth was that it didn’t need his active intervention. He had a good administration, inherited from his father, that he was able to govern the entire nation in his stead.

"Be that as it may, it would behoove you to pay more attention to the Kandrian Empire now that you have completely altered the trajectory of human civilization forever," his little sister heaved a deep sigh of exasperation. "The reality is that this new era of expansion is a complete reset for all power dynamics. If the Kandrian Empire fails to secure a powerful place in the stars, then all of our power here on Gaia will increasingly mean nothing."

Rui nodded. "I am aware of that, but It’s not as though we’re behind the curve. The other nations have just begun announcing their programs and their ventures. We can still go ahead and dominate the race."

"And can we expect you, as Emperor, to do everything in your power to ensure that the Kandrian Empire remains dominant. Including going to fight for the Kandrian Empire against other conquerors that seek to get their hands on our territory in outer space?" She raised an eyebrow.

Rui’s expression grew complicated, but he shook his head firmly.

"No. Absolutely not."

"Then, we have a sitting Emperor telling us that he will not dedicate himself with all his power to the betterment of his nation," Minister Ru folded her arms.

"It’s not just me," Rui replied. "Ever Transcendent before me has abstained from doing this."

"That’s because they would disappear as a consequence," she pointed out. "You do not have the limitation, evidently."

"I don’t, but that’s not the only reason that they didn’t move," Rui remarked. "The reality is that the Transcendent Emperor did choose to intervene to protect the world from a singularity that we didn’t know how to deal with at the time. The simple reality is that my power is too overwhelming. If I intervene, it would warp the entire world, both literally and metaphorically, under the weight of my power. If I intervene, the new age of expansion that is to befall us would be severely damaged. Capital would stop flowing into the expansion into the stars, investors would withdraw in fear of a belligerent and unchecked Martial Transcendent actively intervening in a manner beneficial only to his state. The machine of human expansion that I have triggered will be severely curtailed, and this is bad for human civilization in the long run."