"I approve! As the ministers wish, the national name remains unchanged, and the era name shall be changed to Shenwu." From this point forward, others could address him as the Shenwu Emperor.

"Shenwu?" Ren Bo murmured under his breath, tasting the words: "'The I Ching, Great Treatise on the Appendices, Part One': Those of ancient times who possessed profound wisdom and sagacity were divine and martial without resorting to killing." This implied subjugating all things through the influence of fortune and misfortune, governing the realm without recourse to corporal punishment or execution. However, within those very characters lay the intent of war and slaughter.

It seemed the Great Qian would inevitably face conflict in the days to come. At this very moment, among the assembled officials, all the members of the imperial clan gazed with tears brimming in their eyes towards the youth seated upon the throne.

Two decades prior, even the most ambitious among them, when following Zong Weiran, could never have imagined that Qian Tian Mountain, carved out from the wilderness, would one day hold sway over the world and become the overlord of the Cloud Realm! Even less could they have foreseen that the Crown Prince, scorned by his own clan for his dual-vein constitution, would become the living sage-ruler of the future!

"Shenwu?" A dozen li away, the middle-aged man known as 'Mr. Yangming' also fell into deep contemplation.

"To command all things through fortune and misfortune, thus the truly wise and sagacious rulers of antiquity all employed this path to awe the world, submitting it without the need for execution or torture." Merely from this era name, one could discern that the path this sovereign would tread must be one of internal sagehood and external dominance. Reducing corporal punishments and clarifying decrees—this was treating the populace with benevolence.

Yet, the words Shenwu also foreshadowed that this Great Qian would continue to emphasize military affairs, conquering in all directions! Kong Rui looked up at the sky, where the massive white dragon ascended heavenward.

Its radiant silver scales were gradually being tinged with shades of purplish-gold. It remained utterly pure, a sight too brilliant to behold directly.

Zong Shou, however, was staring intently at Ren Bo. Today's near-forced usurpation—such an event could never have succeeded without the tacit approval of this Chief Grand Secretary.

The latter remained utterly unconcerned, his expression placid; this was not the first time Zong Shou had worn such a look. His term of office was now concluding.

If he chose not to retire from politics, he would have to transition to the Hall of Deliberation, awaiting the next term for a Grand Secretary. The ruler's anger caused him no tangible pain or discomfort.

If the Sovereign were truly enraged, retirement was certainly an option. At this stage of life, he had no regrets.

Furthermore, although he was the principal schemer today, the gathered military and civil officials had all given their fervent assent. And the individuals who initially proposed the idea to the Grand Secretaries were Zong Shou’s own two fathers-in-law.

If the Sovereign held objections, he should not seek him out. Zong Shou felt a surge of helplessness and a slight headache.

His reluctance to accept the title of Emperor stemmed from a desire to avoid deepening the entanglement with the Qi of the Monarch's Way, thereby impeding his own path of seeking the Dao. The very instant he assented to the imperial title, torrents of immense cosmic power rushed in from all directions.

Even the Asura Throne struggled to maintain stability. Now, all he could do was wait and see how effective the sword embryo forged for him by Shen Yuexuan would prove to be.

Although the Hall of Chronos was jointly managed by the Cang Sheng Dao, the Sword Buddha, and the Three Religions, its location was near Qian Tian Mountain, specifically within the spiritual estate originally belonging to the Kong Qi Sect. It wasn't that the location was safer, nor that the spiritual energy was overwhelmingly potent.

Rather, it was the only place where the three major sects could all feel secure. Each of the Three Religions stationed a Saint-realm master there, who incidentally shared the duty of safeguarding Qian Tian Mountain City.

Of the five hundred annual slots granted entry, the Three Religions divided sixty percent, while the Great Qian held thirty percent alone. The required spirit stones and even the supervising guardians were all provided by the three great sects.

Yet, ultimately, the ownership of the Hall of Chronos belonged to Zong Shou. And in these brief few years, this facility had already provided the Great Qian with a considerable number of cultivators possessing robust strength.

As the Sovereign and the master of this divine artifact, Zong Shou naturally commanded sole access to the inner chambers when needing its use. Only a sparse dozen people were present now—Kong Yao, Ren Tianxing, and a few others.

Xuan Yuan Yiren and Shi Ruolan had also come. Since the intent was to utilize time acceleration on a large scale, Zong Shou had gathered all his trusted aides, relatives, and subordinates.

In any case, most of these individuals were still at the Spirit Realm, meaning the required spirit stones would not be exorbitant for him. The assembled group hadn't paid much attention initially.

They had been here before; they assumed it was just routine cultivation. It wasn't until Zong Shou produced the 'Chronos Apex World Decree' that their expressions grew grave.

They could clearly sense the temporal power contained within the book. "Is this...

the legendary Zhou Shu [Chronos Book]?" Ren Tianxing felt foolish even as he uttered the question. The cover of the book clearly bore the inscription, 'Chronos Apex World Decree'.

A realization dawned upon him: no wonder Zong Shou’s cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, like flying, yet his foundation remained incredibly deep and unshakable. Kong Yao, however, frowned: "My Lord, how can you expose such a weighty treasure so casually?" Her words trailed off unfinished.

Indeed, in Zong Shou's current position, he genuinely didn't fear attempts to seize it. With the backing of the Great Qian nation and the protection of the Three Religions, only someone completely deranged would conceive of stealing this peerless Daoist canon from him.

Not to mention that the Fen Kong Lu family now felt this comment was inappropriate; speaking thus was equivalent to offending nearly everyone present. Kong Yao's cheeks flushed slightly, and she cast an embarrassed glance around, intending to apologize but managing only a mumbled inability to speak.

"Imperial Consort need not feel such way!" Zhang Huaishan, perceptive of the mood, smiled and shook his head: "This is the Imperial Consort caring for His Majesty; how could we possibly take offense? Even I almost couldn't help but offer counsel just moments ago." How could they not be startled?

They recalled that not long ago, several worlds beyond the Cloud Realm had been thrown into turmoil over the struggle for the 'Yu Shu' (Cosmic Book). Rumor had it that dozens of Saint-realm experts had been involved, and countless cultivators had perished.

Xuan Yuan Yiren also gazed at the blue light: "In other words, with this book coordinating with the Hall of Chronos, the acceleration can be increased further?" She immediately followed this with an expression of regret: "It's a pity; how wonderful it would be if it could be used for alchemy." Many of the novel elixirs she had created required months or even years to yield results, and she often found the waiting unbearable. Zong Shou paid no mind to their comments, merely guiding the Zhou Shu to mend the deficient laws within the Hall of Chronos.

The Hall of Chronos and the Chronos Apex World Decree could not be stacked or used in tandem; otherwise, he wouldn't have discarded this incomplete divine artifact back into the Cloud Realm for the Three Religions to share originally. However, while overlapping was forbidden, the Chronos Apex World Decree could be used to perfect the temporal laws of the Hall of Chronos.

For the same amount of spirit stones, a greater acceleration effect could be achieved. A trace of bloodlust flashed in Zong Shou's eyes as he observed the flow of time, meticulously repairing the 'lines' of law that were missing or damaged.

Three quarters of an hour later, Zong Shou finally paused, a slight furrow in his brow. "Thirty-two times acceleration.

That should be the limit." The efficiency was far inferior to the Chronos Apex World Decree; if he were to fully drive the Zhou Shu with the same quantity of spirit stones now, he could achieve one hundred times acceleration. A look of shock flashed in the eyes of those surrounding him.

Eighteen times acceleration—this meant that one day here equated to nearly three years in the outside world.