The Heavenly Dao returned the Ta Yuan Seal to the Ta Yuan Heavenly Emperor, allowing his power to recover almost immediately. The strength that the Eternal Divine Prison had swallowed was gradually returning as well.
The Ta Yuan Heavenly Emperor quickly found his rhythm again. He began revitalizing his forces, promoting those of loyalty and integrity — figures like God King Ling Han, God King Crimson Water, and God King Hao Ran were all given important posts.
The Ta Yuan Grand World likewise entered a period of healing. Edicts were issued, new rules established, and order restored. Before long, the Grand World was back on track and buzzing with renewed vitality.
As the Ta Yuan Grand World stabilized, the surrounding minor worlds and vassal territories gradually returned, submitting to its governance once more.
The strength of a great world was reflected precisely in its control over subordinate factions and its dominion over neighboring minor worlds and vassal lands.
Before, the Ta Yuan Grand World had been fragmented. Many remote minor worlds and vassal territories had broken away, rejecting the Grand World's rule, distrusting the interim Heavenly Emperor — refusing to pay tribute or attend court.
In every respect, the Ta Yuan Heavenly Emperor's return had transformed the Grand World's former appearance, making everything fresh and new.
……
Jiang Chen was in no hurry to leave. Having been separated from his father for hundreds of thousands of years, he had missed out on far too much familial warmth. He wanted to take this opportunity to make up for the lost affection and repay his father's kindness.
In a sense, father and son had returned to the days before the Collapse of the Heavens.
Only, the Jiang Chen of today was no longer the Jiang Chen of those early times.
"Father, it was in this very academy that your son wore out his hair poring over texts, devouring every book from every realm. Back then, I couldn't understand you at all. I was a cripple — so why did you insist I study so much? Only now do I see your true intentions." Jiang Chen sighed with emotion.
"Ha ha! My son is clever, blessed with a memory that never forgets. Heaven denied you a body for cultivation, but gave you a mind that retains everything it reads. That shows the Heavenly Dao is fair. When I set those plans in motion, I was only trying — I never expected guaranteed success. That the two of us, father and son, survived the catastrophe at all is something truly worth celebrating. It shows the Heavenly Dao never abandoned us." The Ta Yuan Heavenly Emperor spoke with deep feeling.
"It is mainly because Father never abandoned me. That is why the Heavenly Dao, in turn, never abandoned us." Jiang Chen said, moved.
"Come to think of it, all of this tribulation — the Mirror was merely a catalyst. At its root, you and I were simply fated to face this trial." The Ta Yuan Heavenly Emperor sighed.
"Mm. Even a Heavenly Emperor cannot escape the Heavenly Dao's tribulations. But that Mirror was truly venomous. At the very end, she did not hesitate to unleash the most vicious of arts, aiming to strike at my loved ones back on the Divine Abyss Continent. At first I couldn't figure out how she even knew about the Divine Abyss Continent. By all rights, even a Heavenly Emperor's divination shouldn't have been able to deduce that."
"Then you've realized it now?"
"Mm. Her Mirror Grand World must have reflected the memories and thoughts of the Gold-Munching King Mouse clan, and she gleaned the information from that. Otherwise, there is no way she could have known." Jiang Chen said gravely.
Deploying the Gold-Munching King Mouse clan had tipped the balance of the war and pushed it toward victory. But it had also nearly endangered the Divine Abyss Continent.
Looking back now, even Jiang Chen felt the danger had been razor-thin.
The Ta Yuan Heavenly Emperor smiled faintly. He knew that in this life, Jiang Chen too had family, attachments, and bonds of love. But as a supreme Heavenly Emperor, he had long since come to terms with such things. The moment he had arranged Jiang Chen's entry into reincarnation, he had already foreseen that this would happen.