The sudden voice startled Qin Susu, who had been gazing out the window. She turned to look at her grinning younger brother and spat out, "What nonsense are you spouting? Who is your brother-in-law?"

Qin Liuxing plopped down into a chair nearby, a mischievous smile spreading across his face at his sister's words. "Sister, you can't fool me. I know everything."

Qin Susu's eyes flickered with panic, but she maintained a composed front, picking up her comb and running it through her lustrous black hair. "What do you know?"

Liuxing's grin widened. He snatched a small, thumb-sized pink fruit from the table, popped it into his mouth, and chewed until his face was slick with juice. "One night, half a year ago, I needed to find you. I saw a shadow sneaking into your room—creeping like a thief—and it didn't emerge until morning. I remember that was the night before Brother Yun left, right? Don't tell me you were just chatting in there..."

"Stop it!" Qin Susu's face was already flushed crimson. Hearing him say more outrageous things, she sprang up in a fit of shame and anger to chase and hit him.

"Ow! Alright, alright, I won't say another word!" Liuxing ducked the blows, covering his head and begging for mercy.

Once his sister stopped, Qin Liuxing pressed the matter again. "Sister, when did you and Brother Yun get together?" This question immediately earned him another round of rough handling.

"Sister, I'm your brother! Why are you hitting me so hard? I really don't understand how Brother Yun puts up with such violence from you." Liuxing just couldn't keep his mouth shut, and this comment nearly provoked another beating.

Qin Susu stiffened her face and threw him out.

After Qin Liuxing left, she returned to the window, looking out at the small tree. Ten or so slender branches hung downward, adorned with tiny, elongated, tender leaves.

That was planted by Zhong Yun. He had told her that tree was a willow.

"When you miss me, look at this tree as if you are looking at me."

On the very night the tree was planted, after the two had been intimately entangled in the secluded spot, Zhong Yun had pointed to the "willow" and whispered this to her.

Recalling that night in the secluded spot, a blush spread across Qin Susu's face, and her gaze grew hazy.

Moments from their acquaintance flashed unbidden through her mind. When they first met, she had paid no attention to this unremarkable young man standing behind Hong Yuting.

It was only because of the casualness in his eyes when he looked at her that her attention was slightly piqued.

Subsequently, due to her brother, they became enemies. He showed her no mercy, instead cruelly 'destroying flowers'—or so she had felt then. Even now, a thread of lingering resentment remained; how could he be so harsh? That whipping not only shattered her pride but also broke through the fortress of her heart, branding him deep within her soul, an impression that could never be erased.

Originally, she might have lived her life amidst hatred and fear of him, with no further connection. But when she was cornered, at her lowest point, he had saved her.

Sometime along the way, her feelings for this man—whom she had once feared, hated, and been grateful to—slowly began to shift. That day, due to a misunderstanding, she surrendered to him completely, agreeing to be his woman. Her defenses officially crumbled.

After arriving at the Galaxy Empire, she briefly thought he had forgotten his promise, until one night a year later, when, under the influence of alcohol, he forcibly possessed her...

Reflecting on the complex tangle of grievances and affections since they met, Qin Susu now felt a sweet contentment that was too thick to dissolve.

A breeze lifted a few willow leaves, swirling them through the window to land on the table before her. She extended a slender finger, plucked a leaf, nearly transparent in its tender greenness, and held it to her nose, inhaling a faint, fresh scent.

She wondered when he would return.

A thread of worry climbed unconsciously into her heart.

Although they had a video call just last night, she could not suppress her longing now. He had won a great victory, taking control of a nation even more advanced than the Andu Empire. Wasn't that enough?

She thought with a touch of bitterness.

Zhong Yun felt it was not enough. No matter how powerful the Ge'an Empire was, it was still another nation. True strength would only come when the Galaxy Empire itself became supreme.

With the Galaxy Empire's current might, conquering the Ge'an Empire seemed like a pipe dream. However, the Ge'an Empire could serve as a crucial source for technological and human capital output for the Galaxy Empire.

Therefore, he could not leave yet. With the Empress's support and his own standing, securing great power within the Ge'an Empire would not be difficult. But once he left, who knew what might happen?

The distance from the Galaxy Empire to the Ge'an Empire was too vast. To ensure exchange between the two nations, Zhong Yun was planning the construction of a massive spatial jump point.

With the Ge'an Empire's current technology, creating an interstellar spatial jump point presented difficulties, though they were not insurmountable.

After defeating the allied forces of the Moxi Empire and the Yitan Federation, Zhong Yun acted decisively, pulling three-quarters of the entire military strength to launch a counterattack. In just one month, the Moxi Empire and the Yitan Federation were completely erased from history. (Read novels online at D_ian_nao_zhan.)

The Ge'an Empire had finally unified the entire Omi Star System.

Riding the wave of this great victory, the prestige of the Empress and His Royal Highness soared to its peak domestically, praised by all citizens as the greatest sovereigns in history. Their accomplishments fully merited such acclaim.

Zhong Yun's influence also reached its zenith. Previously, some officials had paid only lip service to his policies; now, every decision he made was implemented without question.

Building a spatial jump point was a monumental undertaking, especially one capable of crossing interstellar distances.

Harnessing the full might of the Ge'an Empire, the space channel took an entire year to complete. Following this, countless rare ores and resources were continuously transported from the Galaxy Empire, providing robust material support for the Ge'an Empire's development.

Even more critically, technology, talent, and large-scale equipment flowed continuously in the opposite direction, forming a mutually beneficial exchange.

Zhong Yun never intended to drain the Ge'an Empire dry from the start. This exchange benefited both. The Ge'an Empire, despite being at the second stage of advanced civilization, controlled only half of the Omi Star System's territory and suffered from a severe scarcity of resources, particularly rare minerals. Access to high-quality ores transported from the Star Sea greatly benefited its growth.

The Galaxy Empire, relatively lagging in technology, could afford to sell these minerals. Furthermore, this spatial jump point solidified Zhong Yun's control over the Ge'an Empire.

After returning from Earth, Zhong Yun had loaded Xiao Ling full of Primordial Stones. Xiao Ling had now finished rebooting and was back to full capacity. Zhong Yun had also inherited the legacy of Xiao Ling's previous master.

Among this legacy were the remnants of the most powerful nation from several dimensions prior—a certain Super Empire... The entity Zhong Yun acquired was merely a subordinate unit of Xiao Ling, serving as the key to unlocking the main body.

In the cataclysmic disaster that nearly annihilated the entire universe in prehistoric times, Xiao Ling's main body survived by being sealed away in a different dimension.

Many eons later, an incredibly powerful human accidentally tore open that dimension, allowing Xiao Ling to return to this universe. This human was Xiao Ling's first master and the first in this cycle to elevate civilization to a Super Civilization level.

Later, during a period of warfare, that nation fell and was sealed once more, with only Xiao Ling's subordinate unit left adrift. This unit was essentially a mecha—the legendary Twenty-Star Mecha, unique in the entire universe. The one who obtained this mecha was Xiao Ling's second master, the one who perished alongside the Lansen Empire. Xiao Ling fragmented during that cosmic catastrophe, leaving only a small core fragment that washed up on Earth.

On Earth, it was found by a young man—Xiao Ling's third master. Due to a severe lack of energy and the absence of Primordial Stones, Xiao Ling could exert little influence, though it still helped the youth achieve great success. After the third master's death, before Xiao Ling could find a fourth, it was discovered by a national exploration team and taken away, inadvertently causing Zhong Yun's soul to be sucked in. However, Zhong Yun benefited from this misfortune, becoming Xiao Ling's fourth master and embarking on an extraordinary path.

Upon obtaining Xiao Ling's main body, Zhong Yun also acquired a device capable of detecting hidden jump points. With this artifact in hand, his confidence surged; he knew that from then on, no nation could obstruct the rise of the Galaxy Empire.

In the third year of controlling the Ge'an Empire, the Galaxy Empire launched an invasion against the Andu Empire, the sole advanced civilization in the A Star Sector, completely destroying Andu's rule eight months later.

To manage the emotions of the Andu people, Zhong Yun placed Qin Susu on the throne as the Queen of Andu, using her to win popular support. Simultaneously, he announced that the entire A Star Sector would be incorporated into the Galaxy Empire's territory.

Controlling the hidden jump points across the A Star Sector, the Galaxy Empire moved freely within it; no nation dared offer resistance. The only opposing force, the Free Star Federation, suffered devastating setbacks in the second month.

Upon unifying the A Star Sector, the Galaxy Empire promulgated a constitution, officially abolishing the titles of other nations. All mid-level civilization nations were demoted to provinces; low-level nations became commanderies. The only directly administered state was the Kingdom of Andu. From then on, this became the standard practice for the Galaxy Empire when expanding into conquered territories.

The forceful emergence of the Galaxy Empire sent shockwaves through other advanced civilizations. No one knew where this nation sprang from; it seemed to materialize out of thin air, stunning the universe upon its debut. Only three nations, having just ascended to the fifth stage of advanced civilization, possessed the capability to control an entire star sector.

However, the other nations were too preoccupied with their own affairs. Since the Duchy of Nortan launched its aggression against the Red Feather Federation, the advanced civilization sector felt as if a giant stone had been thrown into it, creating ripples that resulted in catastrophic consequences. It signaled the beginning of warfare between advanced civilizations.

Currently, nations surrounding the A Star Sector were unable to cope with this newborn behemoth, while those powerful enough to challenge the Galaxy Empire were too far away to intervene effectively.

Seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the Galaxy Empire began to consolidate its power. To ease the hostility from other nations and buy precious time for development, the Galaxy Empire started selling weapons and minerals, profiting immensely from the ongoing wars.

Weapons and minerals were commodities that warring nations could not refuse. Even knowing it was poison, they had to swallow it. If their opponents bought and they did not, they would die faster.

As a result, weaker nations were eliminated one by one by the wars, while the victors grew increasingly powerful. The Galaxy Empire, possessing access to the nearly infinite resources of the Star Sea and guided by an optical brain inherited from a Super Civilization, expanded its strength as rapidly as a cosmic Big Bang.

After a period termed the Dark Age, the cosmic situation began to clarify. Three nations that were the first to reach the fifth stage of advanced civilization, four nations that advanced during the conflicts, and the Galaxy Empire, which had been amassing wealth from the wars, formed an 'Eight Hegemons' standoff.

Then, a greater melee commenced. Aided by the Galaxy Empire, the Ge'an Empire allied with them, consecutively eliminating three enemies. Pressured, the remaining three nations united to oppose the vastly superior power of the Galaxy Empire and the Ge'an Empire.

In the final confrontation, known as the Glorious Campaign, the Galaxy Empire dispatched one hundred 'Super-Stellar Class' warships, effortlessly annihilating the main forces of the three allied nations. This not only heralded the birth of a Super Civilization nation but also marked the formal entry of the civilized universe into an era of Great Unification.

The Galaxy Empire, a nation less than a century old, achieved what no one before had managed: unifying the entire civilized universe and establishing a new epoch.

Galaxy Empire Capital.

Zhong Yun sat high upon the main seat, watching the throng of beauties filling the room, and suddenly smiled.

"Yun, what are you laughing at?"

Yun Qi, now one hundred and thirty years old, still possessed an appearance utterly unchanged, eternally breathtaking.

Zhong Yun's gaze pierced through the walls, seemingly reaching infinite distances. "How lonely it must be when there are no rivals left."

(End of Book)

P.S.: Uploaded on May 11th of the year, and now, nearly eight months later, I have finally reached a conclusion. Although this ending might not be perfect. When I wrote the final word, I felt a sense of relief. Eight months, a total of 1.09 million characters, nearly 140,000 per month, averaging over 4,600 characters daily. As a non-professional writer, I am quite satisfied with my first book. My first book certainly has shortcomings in writing technique, structure, and plot. To be honest, without your support, I might not have managed to persevere. Eight months, over two hundred days, spending several hours every day—for someone as habitually lazy as me, this was previously unimaginable. But I did it. Here, I sincerely thank you for your support: your clicks, collections, recommendations, subscriptions, monthly passes... Thank you.

Super Empire has reached a perfect conclusion, which simultaneously signifies a new journey for me. The new book I have been planning for two months will start being drafted tomorrow. This brand-new story absolutely will not disappoint you. Please continue to support me; I promise to write an even more brilliant story. Wait for me on January 20th, Year 10.