Chapter 323: Qin Feng Cosmic City, the Country Lord is Shocked! Mechanical Race Divine Restriction

Chapter 323: Qin Feng’s Cosmic City, the Sovereign’s Terror! The Mechanical God-Forbidden Slave! The Fierce God Lives Up to His Name!

Deep within the Sacred Academy, an ancient and magnificent teleportation array floated silently in the void.

Merely standing beside this platform, one could feel the onslaught of spatial forces—twisted, folded, and stretched to their absolute limits—as if the entire universe might collapse and unify into a single point at any moment.

Qin Feng had arrived.

Clad in black, his posture was upright and his expression serene, his dark eyes as profound as two starless night skies.

Tempered by blood and fire, having stared into the will of evil gods, he had shed all traces of youthful naivety, replaced by a stillness and restraint born of traversing eons of vicissitudes.

He released no aura, yet as he stepped forward, his intangible presence caused the battle-hardened warriors operating the array to feel a tremor in their hearts.

It was not the pressure of raw power, but a quality of being.

It was the "Dao Rhyme" unique to those who have walked the path of gods, forged the ultimate, and attained an immortal heart.

"I trouble you all."

Qin Feng’s tone was gentle as he offered a slight nod to the academy personnel, whose depths of power were as vast as the sea.

These warriors were the guardians of the array, each possessing the strength of a Domain Lord.

Yet, the gaze they turned upon Qin Feng was filled with genuine, heartfelt reverence.

"You are too kind, Senior Fierce God; this is our duty."

The lead warrior returned the salute, his voice raspy yet tinged with excitement. "It is our honor to open the route to your fiefdom."

"Fierce God"...

Hearing this title, the corner of Qin Feng’s mouth curled into a helpless arc, though he said nothing more.

This brand, scorched in blood and fire, would likely shadow him for the long ages to come.

He fell silent and stepped onto the core of the array, which was woven from billions of Dao patterns.

The sensation beneath his feet was surreal; it felt less like solid ground and more like treading upon solidified space-time.

Threads of spatial laws, like gentle streams, crept up from his soles and circled his body affectionately, as if performing the most profound calibration of coordinates.

The operator’s expression turned solemn; he formed hand seals and chanted ancient, obscure incantations, triggering the resonance of the entire array.

"Hum—!"

A vibration, as if echoing from the dawn of time, resounded through the dimensional space.

Above the platform, every star core ignited simultaneously, erupting with a brilliance billions of times more dazzling than a supernova.

Endless light surged upward, instantly swallowing Qin Feng’s silhouette.

When the light faded, Qin Feng was gone, leaving only the gradually calming array, still radiating a daunting, lingering power.

...

It was a marvelous journey.

As he traversed the spatial tunnel, Qin Feng’s consciousness remained unprecedentedly clear.

His "Ultimate Body" had long transcended the limitations of ordinary beings; even in this environment where spatial laws raged violently, his core consciousness remained as steady as a rock, leaving him leisure to observe the bizarre and kaleidoscopic sights outside.

Beyond the tunnel lay chaotic nothingness.

Yet, occasionally, fragments of shattered, iridescent worlds flickered past.

He saw an ancient universe drifting toward heat death, all its stars extinguished, leaving only endless darkness and cold;

He saw a massive planet, burning fiercely and composed entirely of flame laws, where beings bathed in divine fire seemed to be roaring;

He even saw a river formed of pure mental energy, where countless thoughts drifted, rose, and fell...

The universe was vast, and nothing was too strange to exist.

However, these magnificent vistas were things Qin Feng could not have perceived before breaking into the Domain Lord realm.

Now, his mental power could easily "see" these scenes beyond the confines of space.

...

"I wonder what my fiefdom will be like."

"I can use intelligent lifeforms to help manage the territory so it won't hinder my cultivation."

Qin Feng murmured to himself.

In years past, he had been like a drawn sword, a lone warrior wandering, battling, and cultivating in the vast, boundless universe.

From the Morning Star to Canaan Martial University, from the trial galaxies of the genius tournament to the bloody corners of the myriad-race battlefield—the universe was vast, but there was only one place he could call "home."

But that home was within the Empire, on the battlefield; he had no territory of his own.

He had always been on the road, either fighting or on his way to a fight.

His steps had never faltered, and his spirit had always been taut.

But now, everything was different.

On the other side of the galaxy, isolated by time and space, lay a vast expanse of territory, quietly awaiting his arrival.

That domain comprised six or seven hundred cosmic nations, possessing trillions of stars and living beings; it was no longer a cold name on a map, but a territory truly belonging to him, bestowed with the name "Qin Feng" by the Sacred Academy and the entire human race.

He would no longer be a passerby, but the master of that starry sky.

Qin Feng would no longer fight merely for his own martial path or his own survival, but would be responsible for the peace and future of the trillions of lives within that territory.

This shift in identity could be a shackle or a burden to any powerhouse accustomed to solitude.

Qin Feng’s own nature also yearned for unbridled freedom, disliking the constraints of rules and responsibilities.

He enjoyed the freedom of a man with a spear, living life with gusto and traversing the galaxy.

Yet, having experienced so much, his state of mind was no longer what it once was.

On the Island of Dead Meteors, he had witnessed countless human heroes fighting fearlessly to protect their homes;

In his confrontation with the will of Khorne, he had deeply understood the immense power contained in the conviction: "I am the human prodigy, Qin Feng."

"To be worthy of one's heart."

"I love freedom, but I will also shoulder responsibility."

Qin Feng whispered to himself.

With great power comes great responsibility.

To the weak, these words might sound like an empty slogan, but to a powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of the universe, they were an immutable truth.

The reason humanity could hold its ground in a cruel universe teeming with myriad races was precisely because countless powerhouses had, generation after generation, shouldered this responsibility, passing the torch and following in each other's footsteps.

Now, this heavy baton had been passed to him.

Could he refuse? He could.

With his current achievements and potential, even if he chose to be a carefree rogue cultivator, the Sacred Academy would never treat him poorly.

But his heart would not allow it.

His "Ultimate Path" pursued excellence in all aspects—not just the perfection of the flesh or the will, but the perfection of the responsibility and commitment of a "human powerhouse."

To evade is, in itself, a sign of lacking the "ultimate" spirit.

Moreover, from a more pragmatic and utilitarian perspective, he truly requires a stable stronghold entirely under his own command.

He carries too many secrets upon his person.

The knowledge and talent regarding the core technology of the Mechanicus, bestowed by the Twin Masks, remain but the tip of the iceberg, requiring an absolutely secure environment to be slowly studied, parsed, and utilized.

He dreams that one day, based on this knowledge, he might forge an iron torrent composed of war puppets and interstellar fortresses, loyal solely to him.

The process must never be known to outsiders.

At the same time, a private sanctuary, guarded by layers of arrays, is indispensable.

Then there is that god-tier secret technique, the "Nine Calamities War Canon," forcibly "gifted" by Khorne, filled with unknowns and hidden dangers; he must explore it with the utmost caution on his own turf, lest there be traps he has yet to perceive.

Therefore, whether out of duty to humanity or for the sake of his own future, he must accept this fiefdom and manage it with all his heart.

Since it cannot be avoided, he will face it proactively.

This is the most authentic state of Qin Feng’s mind at this moment.

He calmly accepts this shift in status, transforming that heavy burden into a new whetstone for his path of martial arts.

Qin Feng’s gaze grows increasingly resolute, and the flame of "anticipation" within his heart burns ever brighter.

He longs to see what that expanse of starry sky, named after him, truly looks like.

He knows not how much time has passed—perhaps an instant, perhaps a thousand millennia.

As Qin Feng’s consciousness returns from his reverie of the future, the eternal, kaleidoscopic scene of the passage finally begins to change.

At the end of the tunnel, a brilliant point of light appears.

It begins no larger than a needle’s tip, but immediately expands at a speed that defies causality, as if a brand-new universe were being born before his eyes.

A familiar and intimate aura of the laws of the physical universe washes over him; Qin Feng knows he has arrived.

...

Sector 1300.

This is one of the trillion large combat sectors designated by humanity in the "Saint Academy Sea," the first half of the cosmic ocean. Its vast territory encompasses thousands of cosmic nations of varying sizes, a bustling land where civilizations flourish and powerhouses emerge in droves.

Yet today, in a stretch of void between the Red Feather and Qiantian cosmic nations—a region long considered desolate—a miracle unfolds.

The space here was once deathly silent.

Without stars or planets, possessing only a transmission beacon, it was a place even interstellar pirates would not bother to visit.

But at this moment, the eternal darkness is torn asunder by a pillar of light appearing from thin air.

"Boom!"

Space ripples violently, like a lake struck by a massive boulder, sending out visible rings of distortion.

A pillar of light, as solid as a god’s spear, erupts from the void, precisely anchoring itself at the center of this emptiness.

The pillar is so incandescent that its light and heat sweep away all interstellar dust within several astronomical units in mere seconds, forming an absolute "vacuum domain."

Then, the light slowly dissipates, and a slender figure gradually coalesces and emerges in the afterglow.

Black clothes, black hair, eyes calm and steady.

It is Qin Feng, having crossed the infinite distance of space to reach this place.

His form has barely stabilized, and before he can even sense the laws of this strange star field, his gaze is utterly captured by a sight so magnificent it defies description.

Before him, in that void which was once empty, there now looms a newborn city of unimaginable scale.

This colossal city is simply too vast.

Its length and width span several light-years! Its height is equally terrifying!

A star before it would appear as insignificant as a grain of sand.

A magnificent spiral galaxy, set against its backdrop, seems like nothing more than an unremarkable decorative ribbon.

It hangs silently in the dark canvas of the universe, like an iron behemoth dormant in the abyss—silent, cold, yet radiating a pressure capable of suffocating even the gods.

The city possesses a perfect geometric form, cast entirely from a special alloy of dark gold, shimmering with a cold light that Qin Feng has never seen before.

The surface of the alloy is as smooth as a mirror, clearly reflecting the brilliant light of distant galaxies, yet its interior holds a heavy, indestructible texture capable of withstanding the full-force strike of an Imperial-level powerhouse.

The walls are less like fortifications and more like a continuous, endless mountain range of steel.

Engraved upon these mountains are countless profound and intricate array patterns.

These lines are carved deep into the alloy, like the veins and nerves of a giant beast, intertwining to form a complete and independent energy circulation system.

They inhale and exhale the free energy of the universe at every moment, emitting powerful, subtle spiritual fluctuations that form an invisible energy shield capable of resisting the saturation attacks of conventional interstellar fleets.

Qin Feng’s pupils contract slightly; he sees it at once.

This city, appearing from nothingness, is not a natural formation, but was constructed in a short time by the supreme, unimaginable power of the Human Saint Academy.

The blueprints used for its construction are the standard for the Saint Academy’s highest-spec "Frontier Main City."

Such a city is, in itself, an ultimate war fortress.

Every inch of alloy, every array pattern, is the crystallization of humanity’s countless years of war wisdom; its cost is high enough to empty the entire treasury of a medium-sized cosmic nation.

And now, such a war-god city, representing the pinnacle of human architecture and array mastery, has been gifted to him as part of his "newcomer package."

The Saint Academy’s generosity is truly immense.

Qin Feng’s gaze drifts past the walls that tower into the nebulae and looks inside.

With his current vision, he can clearly see that the city’s layout is orderly, with all manner of functional buildings fully equipped.

In the center of the city, a pitch-black challenge tower rises into the clouds, its surface seemingly flickering with the birth and death of countless illusory worlds—the core facility for honing a warrior’s practical combat ability.

Beside the tower lies a plaza filled with lifelike bronze statues—the Bronze Alley; each statue contains a unique martial arts legacy, an excellent place to refine combat techniques.

Further away, there are gravity training chambers capable of simulating extreme environments, and forests of enlightenment steles inscribed with the insights of countless powerhouses...

While these facilities may not match the original versions at the Saint Academy headquarters in grade, for warriors at the Black Hole level and below, they are already top-tier training sanctuaries beyond their wildest dreams.

Yet, the entire city, while perfect and fully functional, lacks the most critical element—life.

Looking out, the wide streets are empty, and the magnificent buildings are silent.

There is no clamor, no hearth fire, no trace of life whatsoever.

It is like a manufactured "model," powerful in function but hollow—the remains of a giant with perfect bones and meridians, but lacking flesh and soul.

It is waiting.

Waiting for its master to infuse it with the first spark of vitality, to fill it with its own flesh and blood and soul.

Qin Feng’s gaze finally settles on the most magnificent gate of the city, directly facing him.

The gate is so vast, like a star split in two, that a massive interstellar fleet could sail through it side-by-side with room to spare.

Directly above the gate hangs a plaque of equal magnitude.

The material of the plaque matches the city, presenting an archaic, dark-gold texture.

Upon it are five vigorous, powerful characters in the Universal Language, winding like dragons and snakes, containing supreme Daoist charm—[Qin Feng Cosmic City].

These five characters were by no means the brushwork of a mere mortal.

Qin Feng could distinctly feel the tremendously powerful imprint of a grand emperor-level expert’s will contained within them.

Each stroke seemed to expound the ultimate truths of the Great Dao, suffused with an overbearing aura that suppressed the eternal ages and proclaimed itself to the cosmos.

This was the attitude of the Sacred Academy.

They had used Qin Feng's name directly to christen this newly born gargantuan city, which was fully capable of serving as the foundation for a regional hegemon.

This was not only the supreme, unparalleled glory bestowed upon him, but more importantly, a declaration to the entire universe, and specifically to the surrounding cosmic empires, regarding the sovereignty of this place.

From this day forth, this stretch of the starry sky bore the surname Qin.

Qin Feng floated quietly in the void, facing the magnificent, titanic city that shared his name from a distance.

The cold cosmic wind brushed the hem of his clothes, yet within his heart, an indescribable wave of heroic pride was slowly rising.

Here would be his starting point.

…

Qin Feng Cosmic City, the City Lord’s Estate, the Grand Council Hall.

This was a palace whose magnificence defied verbal description.

Above the vaulted ceiling, there were no carved beams or painted rafters; instead, it was a piece of the actual cosmic starry sky captured by supreme power, where hundreds of millions of stars slowly rotated, exuding an ancient, desolate aura, and every wisp of starlight carried the divine rhythm of the Dao, cascading down to envelop the entire hall in a sacred, majestic halo.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Beneath this magnificent hall, which was grand enough for an emperor to lecture on the Dao, hundreds of figures stood silently at this moment.

They were arrayed on both sides, each possessing an aura as deep as an abyss and as lofty as a mountain, their divine might resembling a prison; out in the wider universe, every single one of them was the hegemon of a star sector, a ruler over hundreds of millions of living souls.

Yet at this very moment, they were like the most devout believers, standing with bowed heads, even deliberately suppressing their breathing to the absolute minimum, terrified that the slightest sound might disturb the sanctity and majesty of this empty, cavernous hall.

Their expressions were complex to the extreme.

Amidst their reverence was an unmitigable nervousness;

and woven through that nervousness was a sliver of curiosity and scrutiny that cut to the very marrow of their bones.

Their gazes, intentionally or otherwise, all converged upon the deepest part of the hall, toward the City Lord’s throne—a seat forged from the core of a star, resembling the throne of a god.

There, no one sat.

But everyone could feel that an invisible, intangible, yet terrifying will—one that seemed to reign supreme over this entire universe—was slowly awakening, about to descend upon this place.

Among these hundreds of figures, standing at the very forefront were three beings whose auras were particularly terrifying.

Their physical bodies seemed to harmonize with the cosmic laws, and the rhythm of the Dao flowed with their every movement; they were supreme experts who had long since stepped into the Marquis realm.

The leading elder wore an ancient, deep-black robe embroidered with dragon patterns, his hair and beard completely white, his visage archaic, and within his eyes as they opened and closed, thousands of stars seemed to ignite and extinguish in a perpetual cycle.

He was the Lord of the Heavenly Mystic Ancient Empire, a medium-grade Marquis of unfathomable strength who had been famous for millions of years.

Behind him, the Lord of the Vermilion Feather Empire and the Lord of the Ganyuan Empire were also formidable experts who had newly entered the Marquis realm, striking awe across their respective domains.

Yet even as powerful as the three of them were, they had currently restrained all their sharpness and arrogance, lowering their postures to the utmost, and the trace of awe deep in their eyes was thicker than anyone else's.

For they knew better than anyone just how taboo and terrifying an existence the incoming new City Lord truly was.

Not long ago, at the center of that Emperor War which had shocked the battlefields of the myriad races, this young man had by his own strength driven the emperors of the myriad races to eliminate him at any cost, while the human emperors protected him regardless of the consequences—a legend who was personally crowned by the cosmic will, air-dropped to the number one spot on the Heavenly Prodigy List, and bestowed with the title of "Fiendgod"…

Now, he had become their lord.

Slaying a Marquis from a lower realm!

These words were like a heavy, immovable primordial divine mountain, pressing down ruthlessly upon the heart of every empire lord, and the three Marquis experts, particularly the Lord of Heavenly Mystic, felt it most acutely, understanding its supreme weight better than anyone.

Marquis Blood Massacre!

That was a madman who had proven his Dao through slaughter on the battlefields of the myriad races, his hands stained red with the blood of human experts.

The Lord of Heavenly Mystic had once briefly clashed with him in a secret realm, and he knew in his heart that without using his ultimate trump cards, he could at best fight that madman to a draw; to determine a victor would likely require a million years of bitter combat, with life and death still split fifty-five.

Yet Qin Feng had slain him from a lower realm!

What kind of earth-shattering achievement was that?

The "Fiendgod's" strength had already firmly surpassed every single one of them!

In the vast, boundless sea of the universe, strength was the sole truth, the only foundation that brought absolute authority!

Buzz—

Just as everyone’s minds were racing and the atmosphere within the hall grew oppressive to the absolute extreme, a silent ripple spread out like water across the space before the supreme City Lord’s throne.

There was no earth-shattering pressure, no fluctuations of cosmic laws tearing through space; everything occurred so naturally, as if he belonged there all along.

A figure materialized from the void, quietly seated upon the throne.

He wore a simple black martial arts uniform, his black hair draping over his shoulders, his face calm, and his eyes so deep they seemed to contain the dark origin of the entire universe, devoid of the slightest emotional fluctuation.

He merely sat there quietly, and though he released no aura whatsoever, the hearts of the hundreds of cosmic empire rulers below suddenly constricted, as if gripped by a pair of invisible, massive hands, causing even their souls to tremble.

He had arrived!

Qin Feng!

With a single step, his figure had already appeared at the master seat of the City Lord's Estate.

Qin Feng's gaze swept calmly across the space below, taking in all hundreds of figures at a glance.

He could clearly perceive the sea-like vitality within their bodies, discern the pathways of their spiritual energy, and see right through the deeply hidden nervousness, wariness, and tentativeness beneath their reverent exteriors.

"Xuan Tianji, Lord of the Heavenly Mystic Ancient Empire, greets City Lord Qin Feng!"

The leading elder, the Lord of Heavenly Mystic, felt an indescribable chill rise from the depths of his soul the moment Qin Feng's gaze swept over his body.

That gaze did not feel like it was looking at a medium-grade Marquis, but rather like it was inspecting a lifeless object, easily piercing through all his secrets and hidden cards.

He dared not show the slightest negligence, immediately stepping forward to bow deeply toward Qin Feng upon the throne, his posture more reverent than it had ever been before.

With him taking the lead, the hundreds of cosmic empire rulers behind him seemed to react to an activated switch, bowing in unison, their grand and orderly voices converging into a wave of sound that boomed and echoed throughout the hall.

"The Lord of Vermilion Feather pays respects to the City Lord!"

"The Lord of Ganyuan pays respects to the City Lord!"

…

"We pay our respects to City Lord Qin Feng!"

The mountain-shaking, ocean-tsunami-like honorifics failed to stir any emotion in Qin Feng upon the throne.

His eyes remained tranquil, as if these hundreds of experts, who could make a star sector tremble with a stamp of their feet, were no different from the dust by the roadside.

Qin Feng did not bid them rise, nor did he have any intention of exchanging pleasantries; he merely watched them in silence, allowing that invisible pressure to wash over everyone's minds like wave after wave of a rising tide.

Time, at this moment, seemed to stretch out infinitely.

Every breath, to the lords below, felt as long as an entire epoch.

Cold sweat had already begun to seep from the foreheads of some Domain Lord-level experts, sliding down their cheeks, yet they did not dare make the slightest movement to wipe it away.

In their hearts, they were all frantically speculating: what exactly did this new City Lord want to do?

Was this a display of dominance? Or was he testing their patience?

Just as the Sovereign of Tianxuan felt he could no longer withstand the pressure, heavy and abyssal, Qin Feng finally spoke.

His voice was not loud, yet it pierced clearly into the depths of everyone’s soul, carrying an unquestionable majesty.

"From this day forth, I shall preside over this domain."

A simple opening statement, yet it felt like a decree of cosmic law, instantly setting the singular tone for this place.

"Starting today, within this territory, every cosmic nation must surrender thirty percent of its resources as tax every ten thousand years."

As his words fell, Qin Feng flicked his finger, and a stream of light flew from his fingertip, transforming in the air into an immense, intricate three-dimensional star map that encompassed the territories of the seven or eight hundred cosmic nations under his rule.

On the map, countless points of light flickered, clearly marking the resource output, population distribution, and future growth potential of every single nation.

Thirty percent tax!

Hearing this figure, the sovereigns below were stunned for a moment, then felt a heavy weight lift from their hearts, almost unable to believe their ears.

In the Cosmic Sea, within such enfeoffed territories, it was the norm for a city lord to levy fifty or even seventy percent in taxes.

After all, the safety and stability of the territory relied entirely on the city lord’s formidable martial power.

They had braced themselves to be skinned alive, yet they never imagined that the city lord, known throughout the cosmos as the "God of Slaughter," would set such a benevolent rule.

Indeed, a thirty percent tax was, to them, lenient to the point of absurdity.

Not only would this not hinder the development of their respective nations, but it would also leave them with more resources to cultivate their successors and strengthen themselves.

For a moment, the sovereigns were overwhelmed with a complex mix of emotions.

The looks they cast at Qin Feng now held not only the original awe but also a genuine sense of gratitude and recognition.

"The City Lord is benevolent; we shall strictly abide by your decree!"

The Sovereign of Tianxuan bowed again, his voice this time filled with sincerity.

"We shall strictly abide by the City Lord’s decree!"

The crowd echoed in unison, the atmosphere far warmer than before.

Qin Feng remained noncommittal to their reaction; his finger traced lightly across the star map, lighting up several nations with the poorest resources.

"For these nations, the tax is halved."

He added.

At this, even the sovereigns of those highlighted nations were stunned, followed by an eruption of ecstasy and tearful gratitude.

They had expected to be the ones suffering the most, yet they had received special care from the new City Lord.

Qin Feng’s rules were clear, fair, and far from harsh, even possessing a touch of human warmth.

This stood in stark contrast to his reputation as the "God of Slaughter," causing the sovereigns present to completely set aside their worries and defenses.

"Very well, the matter of taxation is settled."

Qin Feng retracted the star map and said indifferently.

A great stone fell from the hearts of the sovereigns, and just as they thought the audience had ended and they could withdraw, they saw Qin Feng on his throne slowly raise his right hand.

This simple gesture caused the atmosphere, which had just eased, to tighten instantly once more.

Every gaze was fixed intently upon Qin Feng’s hand.

They saw his palm spread open, reaching out to grasp the void beside him.

Hum—!

The space rippled with visible waves, as if a star had been cast into a calm lake.

Immediately following, a deep, dark golden light seeped from the center of the ripples; within the light, countless profound runes, too complex to comprehend, flickered in and out of existence, as if containing the ultimate technology and laws of creation in the universe.

Under the horrified gaze of all present, those dark golden rays began to converge and condense, like living liquid metal, rapidly outlining a mechanical construct filled with power and a sense of the future.

Its entire body was cast from that unknown dark golden metal, shaped like a perfect human form, yet every line was charged with explosive power.

There were no superfluous decorations on its frame, only strange patterns—resembling both circuit boards and divine totems—flowing across its body, emitting a cold, lethal luster.

When it finally took shape and stood silently beside Qin Feng, a vast and terrifying aura swept through the entire council hall!

"A peak Domain Lord!"

"Such a powerful aura!!"

"It is a lifeform of the Machine Race!"

The sovereigns below stirred, their faces etched with shock.

A top-tier Domain Lord-level creation, while precious, was not incomprehensible to experts of their stature.

But the next moment, everyone’s expression changed!

Because from this mechanical construct, beyond the abyssal energy fluctuations, they keenly caught a trace of something else... a uniqueness that made their very souls tremble!

"Divine Prohibition... this is the aura of the 'Divine Prohibition' realm!"

The Sovereign of Tianxuan gasped, his eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through the birth and death of stars, now wide with incredulous horror as he stared at the dark golden machine!

Divine Prohibition!

These two words, like two chaos-forged hammers possessing world-ending might, struck the hearts of every sovereign present!

They knew all too well what these words represented! It was the forbidden realm, the symbol of the strongest beneath the gods, the ultimate prodigy that might not appear even among billions of geniuses!

Qin Feng himself was a being of the Divine Prohibition realm!

A Machine Race entity that had also stepped into the Divine Prohibition realm?!

Just as their minds were reeling in a state of blank shock, Qin Feng’s calm voice sounded once more, like an oracle pronouncing a final judgment.

"This is my servant, Pilihuo."

"From today on, you will report all daily affairs of the territory directly to it. It will handle all administrative matters on my behalf."

BOOM!!!!

A servant?!

If the words "Divine Prohibition" had merely shocked them, then Qin Feng’s casual remark was like detonating billions of stars, the shockwave instantly shattering all their reason and perception!

Within the hall, there was deathly silence.

The sound of a needle dropping would have been deafening.

Hundreds of rulers of cosmic nations, including three marquises, stood as if struck by a paralysis spell, frozen in place, their minds blank, having completely lost the ability to think.

Only Qin Feng’s words echoed, amplified and roaring in their minds!

"Servant... Pilihuo..."

"Servant..."

Their gazes shifted dully between the dark golden Divine Prohibition mechanical construct named "Pilihuo" and the indifferent Qin Feng upon the throne.

An idea, so absurd that their souls trembled, began to grow and spread uncontrollably from the deepest depths of their hearts!

The Machine Race!

This mechanical construct emitting the fluctuations of the Divine Prohibition realm, its aura, its structure, its pure logical will... was undoubtedly a lifeform of one of the universe’s peak races—the Machine Race!

Furthermore, for a Machine Race entity to step into the realm of Divine Prohibition, its status within their collective is beyond all imagination!

How could such a being... how could it ever become the thrall of another?!

Though the Human Race and the Machine Race are both pinnacle powers of the universe, their relationship is tangled, defined by endless, shadow-veiled strife.

Capturing a genius of their kind alive is a feat as difficult as ascending to the heavens, let alone seizing a Divine Prohibition-level machine and... reducing it to a slave!

What manner of heaven-defying power is this?

What manner of terrifying strength is this?

And what manner of lawless, unbridled audacity is this?!

In an instant, the way every sovereign looked at Qin Feng changed entirely.

If their previous awe stemmed from his monstrous record of "slaying a Marquis while beneath the rank," coupled with his status as a Saint Academy protégé,

Then this awe was now infused with a fear so thick and suffocating that it could never be dissolved!

Under the weight of extreme shock, their minds began to race, conjuring wild, feverish fantasies.

They envisioned a scene: in some uncharted star sector, Qin Feng and this Machine Race prodigy had clashed in a cataclysmic war.

In the end, this "God of Slaughter" had crushed his foe with an unimaginable, overwhelming force, employing some forbidden, unheard-of art to erase the entity's will and refine it into a slave that knew only obedience!

Hiss—!

At this thought, many sovereigns drew a sharp, cold breath, a chill rising from the soles of their feet to their very crowns, threatening to freeze their souls solid.

"God of Slaughter"!

Only now did they truly and profoundly understand why the Will of the Universe had bestowed such a title upon Qin Feng!

It was not merely for his decisive lethality or his heaven-defying combat prowess.

It was because his style of conduct had completely transcended reason, reaching a terrifying state where nothing was forbidden and neither gods nor demons could stand in his way!

To turn a Machine Race genius of the same Divine Prohibition rank into a slave... the title "God of Slaughter" was surely earned!

Many Domain-level sovereigns bowed their heads, their brows slick with cold sweat.

They rejoiced in their hearts, grateful that they had maintained a respectful posture from the start, never revealing a shred of insolence.

Facing such an unfathomable, peerless God of Slaughter, any flicker of hubris could invite total annihilation!

Qin Feng was naturally unaware of the turbulent storms raging in the minds of those below, nor did he know they had concocted such a grand origin story for Pilihuo.

His actions were, in truth, a way to kill two birds with one stone.

This mechanical shell was a trophy seized after he slew that Divine Prohibition genius; its material and structure were nothing short of perfect.

The essence injected within was not a soul stripped of its will, but a brand-new "intelligent life" he had personally cultivated.

This newborn intelligence was like a blank slate, yet possessed the terrifying computational power of a super-quantum brain.

Tasking it with the massive, complex administrative affairs of the billions of souls in his territory would not only ensure impeccable order and efficiency, liberating Qin Feng from mundane trifles so he could focus on his cultivation.

More importantly, managing such a vast population and flow of information meant that every decision and every data process served as unparalleled training and nourishment for this newborn "intelligent soul," allowing its quality and depth to grow at an unprecedented rate.

When this "intelligent soul" eventually reached full maturity, Qin Feng could use the "Intelligent Devouring Secret Art" to perfectly consume and absorb it.

At that moment, his soul strength would surely experience a staggering, explosive surge!

This was a truly far-sighted investment, a venture with infinite returns.

"Do you all understand?"

Qin Feng’s voice shattered the deathly silence of the hall, pulling the sovereigns back from their boundless shock and wild imaginings.

"We understand! We shall strictly obey the City Lord's decree!"

Awakened as if from a dream, they shouted in unison.

"Good."

Qin Feng nodded faintly, then waved his hand. "You may all depart."

Granted the amnesty, the sovereigns felt a weight lift, like drowning men finally drawing their first breath of fresh air.

Daring not to linger, they bowed deeply to Qin Feng once more before exiting the council hall, which had become a place of suffocating pressure, in an orderly fashion.

They felt fortunate to have a City Lord who disliked mundane affairs and imposed light taxes; in a sense, this was the best possible outcome.

At the same time, Qin Feng’s unfathomable and lawless methods had completely extinguished any lingering thoughts of treachery.

They believed that under the rule of such a "God of Slaughter," no one would dare provoke this territory for a long time to come.

Soon, the magnificent hall returned to silence.

Qin Feng sat upon his high throne, his gaze resting calmly on the silent, dark-gold mechanical construct beside him.

The management framework he had built was now complete.

From this day forth, his territory would officially begin to function.

Though the city held few souls now, as time passed, more and more would come to settle here.