Dominator Emperor

After countless failed attempts, Chi Xiaodie finally heard Li Qiye say, "Let me see your eyes."

Chi Xiaodie turned her face toward him. Li Qiye then cupped her face, held her eyelids open, and carefully examined her pupils.

The two were so close that their breaths brushed against each other’s faces. Li Qiye was perfectly composed, but Chi Xiaodie’s face couldn’t help but burn. It was the first time in her life she had been so close to a man, leaving her feeling awkward and flustered.

Chi Xiaodie’s pupils had a faint, golden hue, almost unnoticeable without careful inspection. Li Qiye examined them for a moment before finally letting go and shaking his head.

"What’s wrong?" Seeing Li Qiye shake his head, Chi Xiaodie was struck by an ominous feeling, as if she had missed some great opportunity.

Li Qiye didn’t answer her question. He simply instructed, "Stay here. I’m going out for a while." With that, he left without another word.

Chi Xiaodie was stunned for a moment. Before she even had a chance to ask, Li Qiye was already gone.

But Chi Xiaodie was not one to accept defeat easily. After Li Qiye left, she followed the method he had shown her, trying time and time again to gaze into the eyes of her ancestor’s statue. However, no matter how hard she tried or what she did, she failed every time. She was completely unable to see into the eyes of the statue.

In the end, Chi Xiaodie had no choice but to give up. She understood she was missing something, but as for what it was, she had no idea. Perhaps only Li Qiye knew.

However, days passed after Li Qiye’s departure, and there was still no news, no sign of him. At first, Chi Xiaodie thought he had simply been delayed and paid it no mind. But as more and more days went by with no sign of his return, a chill crept into her heart. ’Has he left for good? Or worse, has he given up on me?’

Chi Xiaodie froze. Her mind raced, assailed by a thousand different worries. But in the end, she resolved to wait, remaining alone in the Ancestral God Hall.

Li Qiye was gone for a full three months. Finally, one morning, Chi Xiaodie rose early to begin her Cultivation. As she entered the main hall, she was startled to find someone already there.

"You’re back!" The startled Chi Xiaodie saw that it was Li Qiye sitting in the hall. A wave of joy washed over her as she spoke.

But Li Qiye paid her no mind. He held the Ten Thousand Furnace God in one hand while manipulating the furnace fire with the other, performing Refinement on some sort of ointment. A soul-refreshing medicinal aroma was already drifting from the Medicine Cauldron.

"Rise!" With a deep cry from Li Qiye, the Jade Bowl in his hand flipped, and the ointment from the furnace instantly flew into it. The ointment was an emerald green. Though it had just come from the furnace, it wasn’t hot in the slightest. On the contrary, it emanated an icy chill that even Chi Xiaodie, standing to the side, could feel.

"Come here, quickly," Li Qiye commanded Chi Xiaodie without further explanation. When she approached, he had her sit down. "I’m going to apply this ointment to your eyes. It will be excruciatingly painful. You must endure it."

Hearing this, Chi Xiaodie hesitated. But Li Qiye waved his hand impatiently. "Don’t dawdle! I had to call in a favor from the War God Hall to refine this ointment. If you delay any longer, the medicine will heat up, and you’ll have wasted these exceptionally rare ingredients!"

When Chi Xiaodie heard this, her expression turned serious. Gritting her teeth, she tilted her face up and said nothing, allowing Li Qiye to proceed. He then carefully applied the emerald green ointment to her eyes.

At first, Chi Xiaodie only felt the ointment’s pleasant, icy coolness. It seemed like no big deal. But in the next instant, she shrieked, "AHHH!" A piercing pain shot through her eyes, an unbearable agony, as if they were being stabbed. It felt as though an extreme cold had shattered them, plunging her world into darkness.

"Don’t move! Endure it! You have to let the essence of the Treasure Medicine complete the Refinement of your eyes!" While Chi Xiaodie was in agony, Li Qiye grabbed her hands and held them tight. His voice rang out like a sharp crack, jolting her.

"AHHH—" Chi Xiaodie screamed again, unable to withstand the pain. Although Li Qiye’s shout kept her from moving, the agony was beyond endurance. In that moment, she felt as if her eyes had shattered, and terror seized her. ’Will I go blind?’

As darkness consumed her vision, Chi Xiaodie’s heart was consumed by fear. But the feeling of Li Qiye’s strong, firm hands tightly gripping hers gave her strength, allowing her terrified heart to slowly calm. In that moment, his unwavering grasp felt like an anchor she could rely on.

As Chi Xiaodie slowly calmed down, the pain began to fade. Li Qiye then instructed, "You’ll need to keep this ointment on your eyes for a month, until the Refinement is complete."

"Why is that?" Chi Xiaodie couldn’t see anything at this moment, and only felt at ease when Li Qiye was by her side.

"Your pupils are deformed. I must help you correct them," Li Qiye said. "Fortunately, the deformation isn’t severe. Otherwise, even if that bunch of old geezers from the War God Hall were willing to part with this much Treasure Medicine, it still would have been impossible to fix your pupils."

"You went to the War God Hall?" Chi Xiaodie was stunned. ’He was gone for three months just to prepare these precious and rare ingredients for me.’

"No," Li Qiye replied nonchalantly. "I only met with one of their externally-stationed elders."

Chi Xiaodie was deeply moved. The War God Hall of the Middle Grand Realm was as renowned as the Celestial Dao Academy of the East Hundred Cities. Even an externally-stationed elder of the War God Hall was an unreachable, high-and-mighty figure. Forget about the younger generation; even a personage of her father the Emperor’s stature could not secure a meeting with one. And yet, not only had Li Qiye met one, but he had also obtained such precious Spiritual Medicine from them.

Under Li Qiye’s guidance, Chi Xiaodie kept the ointment on her eyes for a full month. Throughout that time, Li Qiye remained with her, and his presence brought Chi Xiaodie a great sense of peace.

Finally, Li Qiye helped her remove the ointment, then looked at her eyes carefully and nodded with satisfaction. "It’s done. Fortunately, your natural deformation was slight. Otherwise, you really would have been beyond saving."

Seeing light again, Chi Xiaodie breathed a sigh of relief and couldn’t resist asking, "How are my eyes?"

"See for yourself." Li Qiye handed her a mirror. When Chi Xiaodie looked, she discovered that her eyes had changed. Before, her pupils had a faint, golden hue that was barely noticeable without close inspection.

Now, however, her pupils were a brilliant Gold color—true Golden Pupils, so obvious that they could be seen at a glance. These Golden Pupils possessed an indescribable spiritual charm, as if the order of the Great Dao itself was being nurtured within them.

"Roll your eyes back," Li Qiye instructed.

Without a second thought, Chi Xiaodie did as he said. "AH!" She cried out, startled. CRASH! The mirror fell from her terrified grasp.

It was because when she rolled her eyes back, she saw an unbelievable sight in the mirror: a pair of eyes that were completely golden, as if forged from solid gold, and they even radiated a brilliant light. The eyes were cold and terrifying; Chi Xiaodie was frightened by her own reflection.

"Wh-what is happening?" It took a long moment for Chi Xiaodie to calm her nerves. She picked up the mirror again for a closer look. The moment she rolled her eyes back, they transformed. They became Golden Eyes—no pupils, no irises, nothing but orbs that looked as if they were cast from solid Gold. And yet, despite this, she could still see, and with perfect clarity. She found it utterly unbelievable.

"That is a Divine Pupil," Li Qiye said slowly. "Your ancestor, the Hundred Battles Divine Emperor, was an unrivaled figure in his time. Though he mastered numerous Ultimate Skills and his knowledge was vast, his two most powerful Cultivation Techniques were his two greatest Ultimate Skills. However, neither of these was passed down to your Chi Family."

"Why?" Chi Xiaodie couldn’t help but ask. She had never heard such a thing before.

Li Qiye explained, "Because they aren’t techniques just anyone can cultivate. Your ancestor was born with the Celestial Turtle Divine Pupil, an unparalleled gift. He created his two greatest Ultimate Skills specifically for his own unique talent."

At this, he glanced at Chi Xiaodie. "You inherited your ancestor’s bloodline, but unfortunately, it is very diluted. You were born with a Divine Pupil, but because your inherited bloodline was too weak, it was deformed from birth. So, even though you possessed a Divine Pupil, it was useless—a crippled eye without any of its Divine Techniques."

"I originally brought you here to see if you could inherit one of your ancestor’s two great Ultimate Skills, the Divine Eye Thousand Soldiers Path." Li Qiye shook his head. "Unfortunately, with your naturally crippled Divine Pupil, you couldn’t see into your ancestor’s eyes. The silver lining in all this is that the deformation wasn’t too severe. And even more fortunately for you, I happen to know of an ancient formula that can correct it."

Chi Xiaodie was stunned speechless by Li Qiye’s explanation. She recalled the day he said he needed a servant and pointed directly at her. She had agreed as if she were Enchanted. ’I’m the Princess of the Lion Roar Country, yet I agreed to be someone’s servant. It’s just too unbelievable.’

She had agreed as if she were Enchanted, not even understanding her own state of mind at the time. ’Was it to repay Li Qiye for changing my brother’s fate? Or to escape Sima Longyun’s marriage proposal? Or maybe it was both...’

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