Building Interstellar Empire With Universal Synthesis

Chapter 215: Chapter 215: Choosing World Kings Again

The next few days after the conquest were spent in peace and quiet development.

​After adding the 90 worlds of the Noman Sector, Neo had over 130 worlds under his rule.

​The new World Kings were chosen just as rigorously as last time.

​The candidates formed a sea of subordinates who had served him over the past months.

"I cannot believe we are actually standing here. Ninety new worlds. Just a year ago, we were fighting for scraps on a single dying planet. Now, His Majesty holds over a hundred realms in his absolute grasp,"

Zenos, a young vanguard lieutenant, whispered to his companion as they waited in the grand imperial hall.

​Theron, a veteran beastkin warrior with heavy scars across his jaw, crossed his arms and nodded solemnly.

"Do not let the glory blind you, boy. The Noman Sector was a breeding ground for slavery and deep corruption under Azekin. If the Emperor grants you a crown today, you are not being given a simple reward. You are being given a monumental task to clean up a cosmic graveyard."

​"Thorne is exactly right," said Lizi, an elven mage from the first battalion."The Emperor erased a literal god to free those people. We cannot afford to rule them with incompetence or arrogance. The new World Kings must rebuild the ruined infrastructure, establish the Zenith laws, and integrate millions of terrified, freed slaves into our society."

​Zenos swallowed hard, looking toward the massive obsidian throne at the end of the hall.

"Theron, do you think he will actually choose someone like me? I only commanded a small fleet during the orbital siege."

Theron looked at him weirdly, saying:

​"His Majesty does not care about noble blood or your age, Zenos. He looks at your loyalty, your competence, and your sheer will to serve the Zenith Empire. If your heart is entirely devoted to the cause, you have an equal chance."

​Lizi smiled, her eyes shining with pure devotion.

"Just remember what we witnessed out there in the freezing void. A man who can devour a dying star and erase a Saint is not someone you ever want to disappoint. Whoever takes the crowns today must be prepared to give their absolute everything."

The massive holographic screen above the imperial courtyard flashed green, signaling the end of the advanced aptitude test.

Out of millions of eager hopefuls, exactly 10,000 names remained glowing on the dark board.

​Commander Zestia stepped up to the grand podium.

She then loudly announced:

​"Ten thousand of you passed the machine’s mental gauntlet. You have proven you possess the administrative intellect to manage a planetary economy and govern the masses. But ruling a world in the Zenith Empire requires vastly more than just a sharp mind. It requires an unbreakable will and absolute martial dominance."

​Behind her, a colossal dimensional portal tore open in the air, spiralling with rich golden energy.

​"Beyond this portal lies the Golden Pig Trial World. The final stage of your selection begins right now."

​Every gasped after that.

​"The Golden Pig world? Are the commanders actually insane? That is an absolute death trap!" Zenos whispered, his face instantly draining of color as he looked at his companions.

​"I heard That is the exact mage realm His Majesty completely conquered recently," Lizi replied with awe and terror. "The vanguard legends say he slaughtered every single illusion, broke every grand mage, and drove the elite monsters to near extinction."

​"Silence your murmurs!" Zestia barked thunderously. "Yes, Emperor Neo completely broke the core system of this trial world. However, the foundational layers have been artificially reset by the imperial mages for this specific combat competition. The lower tier monsters have respawned, and the deadly illusion arrays are fully active."

​Theron tightened his grip on his heavy battleaxe, showing a fierce grin.

"Ninety thrones available. Ten thousand elite candidates entering. The survival math is incredibly brutal."

​"Do not fool yourself into a false sense of security, Kael," Lizi warned. "Even if His Majesty beat the absolute highest difficulty, the mere remnants of a world worthy of testing him will easily crush a careless warrior."

BUZZZZZ!

​Suddenly, the absolute oppressive aura of Emperor Neo descended upon the courtyard. The terrifying heat of the Divine Sun made the air shimmer. The ten thousand candidates instantly dropped to one knee, bowing their heads in total submission.

​Neo floated gently down from the high balcony, stopping right before the golden portal. He looked over the kneeling warriors with his glowing coronal eyes.

​"Yes. I completed all the trials in this world. I shattered its illusions and buried its grand guardians. I expect the men and women who will sit on these 90 thrones to effortlessly dominate whatever pathetic obstacles are left inside. Step through the portal. Claim your crown, or become dust in the wind."

​"For the Zenith Empire!" Theron roared, rising to his feet and charging straight into the golden vortex.

​"For the Emperor!" Zenos and Lizi shouted too, drawing their weapons and following the veteran beastkin into the chaotic trial.

High above the bustling, neon lit streets of Zenith Prime, massive holographic screens projected the Golden Pig Trial World in stunning, high definition clarity. This exact scene was perfectly mirrored across all one hundred and thirty worlds under Emperor Neo’s absolute rule, including the newly liberated planets of the Noman Sector.

​Billions of citizens abandoned their daily tasks, flooding into grand plazas and packed cantinas to witness the bloody, glorious birth of ninety new World Kings. The deafening roar of the spectators echoed through the sprawling cosmic cities.

​"Look at the northern quadrant feed! That beastkin with the massive axe just cleaved a stone golem completely in half!"

​"That is captain Theron from the first battalion!" an off duty soldier roared, raising his mug of ale into the air. "I served with him during the Noman orbital siege! He is an absolute juggernaut! Put 1 thousand credits on him to take a crown!"

​In a newly rebuilt plaza on Noman Prime, a group of freshly freed slave workers watched the broadcast with wide, disbelieving eyes.

​"I cannot comprehend this. Under Viscount Azekin, titles were only given to corrupt aristocrats and cruel noble bloodlines. But Emperor Neo is literally letting foot soldiers and common mages fight for the right to rule an entire planet." an old mechanic whispered, clutching his grease stained rags. "

​"That is the absolute glory of the Zenith Empire! Our Emperor values raw strength, unbreakable loyalty, and true merit over pathetic bloodlines. Anyone with enough power and will can rise to the absolute top!"

​The crowd suddenly erupted into wild, frantic cheers as the camera feed shifted to a dense, illusionary forest within the trial world.

​"By the stars, look at that elven mage go! She just cast a triple layered wind blade array while completely blinded by the mist illusion!"

​"That is captaun Lizi!" Wow! She is tearing through that shadow beast pack like they are made of wet paper!"

​"And to think, the Emperor conquered this exact world entirely on his own. These elite candidates are struggling against the leftover remnants, yet His Majesty slaughtered the ancient bosses here without breaking a sweat. It really puts a Saint’s true power into terrifying perspective."

​"Shh, Let them fight, muggets! Blood for the crowns! Glory to the Zenith Vanguard! Long live Emperor Neo Godson!"

​

---

Inside the Golden Pig Trial World, the artificial sky bled a violent, shifting crimson. The air was thick with the heavy scent of ozone and evaporated monster blood, a testament to the absolute slaughter unfolding across the fragmented biomes.

​Zenos barely parried a devastating claw strike from a respawned Golden-Horned Minotaur. The sheer kinetic impact sent shockwaves up his forearms, dropping his internal stamina reserves by a perilous margin.

​[ System Warning: Vanguard Shield Integrity at 34% ]

​The blue holographic text flashed urgently across his retinal display. Zenos gritted his teeth, forcefully channeling his cosmic mana directly into his standard-issue broadsword. The dark metal hummed with sudden, violent energy.

​"I am not going out in the remnants of a broken world!" Zenos roared.

​He triggered his tactical movement skill, [ Phantom Step ].

His body blurred into a streak of afterimages, perfectly evading the minotaur’s sweeping counterattack.

With a precise, brutal thrust, he drove his crackling blade straight through the beast’s exposed spine.

​A few miles away, Lizi hovered gracefully above a bubbling, toxic swamp. Her sharp elven eyes tracked the subtle mana fluctuations hidden within the deadly illusion arrays. Spinning her staff, she rapidly wove a [ Hydro-Tornado ] to violently disperse the encroaching poisonous mist. Below her, dozens of amphibious swamp-crawlers shrieked in terror as the pressurized water vortex ripped them from the acidic muck.

​"Theron! Flank on your left!" she yelled, her voice cutting clearly through the roaring winds.

​Theron did not even turn his head. He simply planted his heavy boots and swung his massive battleaxe in a brutal, sweeping arc, activating [ Earth Shatter ].

The very ground erupted into jagged, ten-foot spikes of solid rock, perfectly impaling a massive shadow-panther mid-leap. The veteran beastkin threw his head back and let out a booming, blood-chilling laugh that shook the illusionary canopy.

​"Is that truly all this fractured realm has left to offer?!" Theron bellowed, wiping dark monster blood from his scarred jaw.

"His Majesty left us his scraps, and I intend to devour every single one of them!"

​High above the chaotic battlefields, safely seated in the hidden administrative layer of the trial world, Emperor Neo watched the survival numbers rapidly plummet. In mere hours, over four thousand candidates had already been forcibly ejected by the system’s emergency safety wards, their grand dreams of sitting on a throne entirely shattered.

​Neo leaned back on his throne of synthesized starlight, his burning coronal eyes calculating their combat efficiency, mana retention, and sheer, unbreakable willpower. The ninety strongest were finally beginning to show themselves.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!