Eight months went by in the blink of an eye.


    Several things happened in this period of time.


    Mark and Song Yue officially became husband and wife; a couple of monthster, he was engaged to Princess Shen Ling shortly after Song Yue became pregnant. However, their marriage was kept on hold for the moment because of no auspicious dates avable for the moment, due to lowpatibility between their fortunes.


    Due to the attack from more than half a year ago, both of the ceremonies were conducted in a bit of a low-key manner, only inviting rtives and friends to the event.


    In the meantime, the rebuilding of the Imperial City of Phoenix, which was renamed as Dawn City, representing its rebirth, has been underway. It''s arge project Shang Wei, the new ruler of the Northern Phoenix Empire, promised the people to finish it within five years during his official ceremony.


    Presently, there''s not much to see in this ghost city except for a hundred-footrge monument constructed in the middle of the city in remembrance of the citizens who lost their lives in Shang Jun''s imperial massacre incident. Yup, that was the official name etched into the history books.


    To rebuild the city and also manage the empire, the Northern Phoenix Empire needed hefty funds.


    Hence, Shang Wei had to join the United Celestial Dominion, an allianceprised of three independent kingdoms, i.e. the Western Yan Kingdom, the Western Moon Kingdom, and the Eastern Sun Kingdom, two empires, namely, the Northern Phoenix Empire and the Southern Phoenix Empire.


    Unlike the usual alliance between empires, this alliance was slightly different. Here, there will be a higher body called the Genesis Cab that oversees the affairs of the alliance.


    Each member had to pay 40% of their overall tax to Genesis Cab, which then used this money for the states that weren''t doing financially great or in need of loans. The taxes were also used to maintain Fu Sheng''s military army headed by Eol, who had his soul transferred to the body of the demigod after thetter''s demise.


    Of course, its functions were limited to only these things.


    There are other things the cab is also responsible for, such as overseeing financial regtions and economic policies of the states, enforcing militaryw in case of the sudden demise of the ruler, acting as a mediator between two states in case of negotiations, representing their alliance on the world stage, creating embassies and constes for seamless traveling between the states so that the civilians wouldn''t have to worry about being questioned by the authorities, etc…


    While the Genesis Cab was headed by Mark, he alone doesn''t possess the power to make the decisions. There are two permanent representatives appointed by every member to act as the mediator between the ruling state and the cab.


    Of course, that doesn''t stop Mark from implementing a policy. He possesses the power of veto he could use against the wishes of the representatives.


    Now, where is the Headquarters of this cab located?


    Originally, the Bloodhill forest was proposed.


    Arge area in sector 9, the outermost region of the forest, was stated to be cleared to create a neutral region for the cab, its army, and other buildings.


    However, after Leon Empire lodged a protest against this move as the forest could not be touched ording to the agreement made between Leon Empire and Phoenix Empire, Mark withdrew the idea.


    After marrying Song Yue, he put away his hatred for his biological family and also forgave others for their past deeds against him or his friends.


    While he still intended to uphold his promises, such as returning to the Ancient Lan n with Lan Jing and reviving the Lan Sect on Mt. Lan once again with the Zheng, for now, Mark decided to stay peaceful with his family for a few years. As a result, for now, the cab''s building is located in the heart of Lunaris City.


    While the cab seemed all-powerful, it also had its own counterpart. Mark created it so that these ruling dynasties wouldn''t feel like they were being controlled by him.


    Just like its name, the Council of Kings is a round table conference where all the ruling kings/emperors of respective states in alliance meet in person and discuss other affairs.


    The Council of Kings has the power to overrule the decision taken by the cab. They have the power to add new members to the alliance too and are even given the power to rece Mark with someone else as the new Chancellor.


    But, to challenge Mark''s veto, they need atleast four out of five votes against the resolution while challenging the cab''s resolution would need four of five votes not in favor of the resolution. The abstain from voting ys a major role here. This is usually discussed in either monthly meetings or emergency meetings.


    One such emergency council meeting was currently going on in the city of Imperial city of Southern Phoenix located in southern Yuan Province, with Mark overseeing it as the Chancellor of the cab.


    Shang Zexi put forth the scroll on the table as he looked at Mark in a bit of anger, "Look, Chancellor Lu, this resolution passed by the Cab is not eptable at all. Just a while ago, we paid our quarterly tax and on top of that, you are asking us to contribute 2 million gold coins for the sake of rebuilding Emperor Shang Wei''s capital city."


    Due to Mark''s identity as his half-brother and his chosen path of nonviolence andpromising attitude in negotiations for the past few months, Shang Zexi took him more easetely and didn''t hesitate to voice his thoughts, unlike in the past.


    Mark wanted to beat the hell out of him right away but he swallowed up his emotions and let out his business smile as he replied, "You see, Emperor Shang Zexi, try to understand. The 2 million gold coins you contributed were not going to be a gift or something. It is a loan.


    Haven''t we promised that we will first reduce the annual interest on it from your quarterly tax payment in the future? Not to mention, it is not like spending that money will bring huge economic problems to your Empire. Why not help out your brother, instead of wasting it by storing it in the treasury?"


    As Shang Zexi went red-faced for a second and was about to say something bad, Mark hurriedly continued, "See, if you don''t want to contribute, it is fine. I will put those 2 million from my pocket and give it to him as a loan. But, you won''t benefit from this.


    A significant contribution from you might give you high returns when the Northern Phoenix City''s construction is finished." He nced at the other three and added, "Leon Empire is interested in the project and it won''t definitely be in our interests to let them in. Think about it once."


    At once, Shang Zexi rested his elbows on the table as he leaned forward and started thinking deeply.


    After the partition of the Phoenix Empire, Shang Zexi put forth his allies to rapidly dig out natural resources like ether ores; precious metals like gold, silver, copper, tungsten, iron, etc…; gems like diamonds; cutting down forests for timber; increasing tea ntations in some hilly regions; extracting natural dyes from the nts, minerals, and insects; capturing marine beasts from the ocean to extract meat from them; all of these are then exported to foreign Empires as raw materials.