Jin Ye ruthlessly destroyed flowers, killing a princess, then transformed into a golden light and flew back to Zhou Yan's shoulder, asking, "Big brother, my strength has improved quite a bit, hasn't it?"
"You've only killed a brainless woman and a lion; you're getting ahead of yourself. You still have a long way to go," Zhou Yan replied.
Jin Ye knew that his current strength was still low and that he had a long way to go. He then asked, "Where are we going?" Da Feng Novel
"To the ancient dynasty's imperial palace. This ancient emperor's spatial ring has some good things, but the true treasury must be in the ancient dynasty's imperial palace. Let's go see what we can find."
Zhou Yan slowly walked towards the ancient dynasty's imperial city. He encountered a general who exuded powerful light and held a spiritual artifact. The general looked at Zhou Yan and said, "I am Shan Xing, a first-rank general of the ancient dynasty. If you want to enter the imperial palace, you must step over my corpse."
"Alright, I'll grant your wish," Zhou Yan said.
"I'll do it, I'll do it!" Jin Ye rushed out again and said, "He looks much stronger than the previous silly woman, so this should be more interesting."
Shan Xing gripped his spear, and a burst of light erupted from it, fiercely descending towards Jin Ye.
When it came to brute strength, Jin Ye was not afraid of his opponent. The dragon race possessed powerful physiques. Even though Jin Ye was not large, his strength should not be underestimated.
Jin Ye extended a claw and directly blocked Shan Xing's attack. He then used a look of disdain that Zhou Yan found strangely familiar, realizing it was a look he himself had used.
"Take this!" Shan Xing was also very surprised, not expecting such a small creature, no bigger than his arm, to be so strong.
Shan Xing wielded his spear, launching powerful spear techniques one after another. The sound of air being torn apart echoed through the void as the spear storm swirled in all directions, creating a tempest.
Jin Ye blocked each of Shan Xing's spear strikes with a claw. No matter how powerful the attacks were, they could not inflict any damage on him.
Shan Xing's storm-like spear techniques were indeed strong, but they seemed insufficient against a powerful dragon like Jin Ye.
Shan Xing summoned a blue light, forming a deep-sea crab. The giant crab stirred up nine heavens of waves, and its two massive pincers lunged towards Jin Ye.
"Crack!"
Jin Ye gathered his golden light, forming a giant golden dragon claw. The hundred-meter-long dragon claw descended from the sky, trapping the blue crab within its grasp before crushing it.
Jin Ye then unleashed golden light again, forming a massive dragon tail that he swung fiercely at Shan Xing.
The dragon's tail strike unleashed a terrifying sound of the sky being broken. By the time Shan Xing reacted, he could only raise his weapon to defend himself.
"Bang!"
The terrifying impact sent Shan Xing flying backward, crashing heavily against the ancient dynasty's imperial city wall. The protective formations on the wall were even triggered.
If not for those formations, the imperial city wall would have been shattered by the force.
"Pfft!"
Shan Xing, having suffered a massive blow, propped himself up with his spear and roared, "Shan Xing is here, kill!"
This was a worthy enemy.
Jin Ye transformed into a streak of light and charged towards Shan Xing.
The light pierced through Shan Xing's body. He held his spear and fell before the ancient dynasty's imperial palace wall.
Zhou Yan stepped forward and looked at Shan Xing's eyes, which seemed to hold a sense of helplessness.
Zhou Yan conjured a flame in his palm and said, "In your next life, don't be my enemy."
The blazing flames consumed Shan Xing's body, foreshadowing that the ancient dynasty would eventually become like his corpse: a thing of the past, a mere passerby of time.
Not many would remember a history that had vanished. Only those who existed could pursue their own glory.
"Archers!"
The guards of the ancient dynasty did not flee or retreat. They continued to hold their ground. Even though their commander, Shan Xing, had fallen, they still held on until the last moment.
Zhou Yan waved his hand, and the soldiers behind him charged towards the ancient dynasty. Facing the whistling arrows, they unleashed divine power, transforming into a shield of energy that met the incoming projectiles.
"Boom!"
The arrows were shattered into dust. These attacks were no match for the god-like, demonic soldiers. They soared into the air and onto the ancient dynasty's city walls, engaging in a fierce battle with the imperial guards.
The battle ended quickly. While the soldiers were formidable, they were still far inferior to Zhou Yan's personal guards.
Zhou Yan's soldiers swiftly entered the ancient dynasty's imperial palace, clearing out any who resisted.
Zhou Yan summoned the White Tiger and the Nine-Headed Golden Lion King and mounted the White Tiger, charging into the ancient dynasty's imperial palace like a king.
This was Zhou Yan's first conquered dynasty. The entire ancient dynasty was magnificent, with its buildings constructed from the finest materials.
Along the way, countless ancient dynasty soldiers were slain as Zhou Yan advanced through the imperial palace.
Those who resisted were killed. The remaining palace maids and eunuchs were spared if they surrendered.
Xiao He, Fang Xuanling, Zhang Zhao, and other civilian officials from the territory arrived at the palace with a large contingent. They said to Zhou Yan, "Lord, we will handle all the subsequent matters here."
Zhou Yan nodded. They had already devised a plan for dealing with these people. They would not be killed, but they would not be let go either. Zhou Yan had no principle of letting enemies walk free.
His territory had many single soldiers, and the palace maids could be married off to them. As for the men, it was simple; the territory was also in need of various laborers. They could be put to work in the mines.
Zhou Yan proceeded to the ancient dynasty's imperial palace treasury. Upon opening it, he surveyed the contents.
Zhou Yan looked calmly at the piles of gold and silver treasures. These items no longer held much appeal for him.
Zhou Yan's primary focus was on the ancient dynasty's precious artifacts.
Among them were numerous treasures, tens of thousands of spiritual artifacts, thousands of sacred artifacts, and several pseudo-divine artifacts.
Unfortunately, in the vast ancient dynasty, there wasn't a single divine artifact. It was truly impoverished.
However, there were many materials for refining divine artifacts, which somewhat pleased Zhou Yan.
These materials could be kept for Ouyang Zi. Once he could refine equipment of pseudo-divine artifact level or higher, he could use them directly.
In addition to these, there were countless precious spiritual treasures in large quantities, as well as many high-level buildings. All of these now belonged to Zhou Yan.
The ancient dynasty was also a lord's dynasty, and lords used quite a few things.
After surveying everything, Zhou Yan collected all the items. These things could no longer cause him significant change, as he had seen far too much of the world.