An Understated Dominance

"Dustin, you're not joking, are you?" Margaret furrowed her brows slightly. The answer had come too suddenly, leaving her momentarily at a loss. "Would I joke about something like this?" Dustin gave a faint smile and said, "Your brothers are all mediocre and can't carry the weight of leadership. But you're different --- skilled in both civil and martial affairs, brave and wise, with the people and country in your heart. If you were to take the throne, Dragonmarsh would undoubtedly become even more prosperous." "Stop it. I'm just a woman --- how could I be fit to rule an entire nation?" Margaret shook her head. "So what if you're a woman? Why not?" Dustin wasn’t convinced and spoke steadily, "If we look back a thousand years, wasn’t there a female emperor? Even now, she’s still widely admired." "That was different," Margaret shook her head again. "Forget whether it's possib...

“So it’s Princess Anyang. I completely forgot about her,” Upon hearing this, Qian Jin couldn’t help but nod. Although Princess Anyang --- Margaret --- was a woman, she enjoyed deep trust from the emperor. Not only was she granted access to the Royal Observatory, but she also secretly controlled Dragonmarsh’s most powerful intelligence agency. This intelligence network traditionally served only the imperial throne, so even those who were aware of it treated the matter as taboo and dared not interfere. “There are very few neutral forces left. If I can bring Margaret into my camp, my chances of winning would increase by at least 20%,” Li Wenxing said, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Your Highness, Princess Margaret is no simple character. To win her over, we’ll likely have to pay a hefty price,” Qian Jin reminded him. “It’s not easy to recruit Margaret, but getting a bit of intel out of her shouldn’t be that hard,” Li Wenxing said with a calm smile. From what he knew, Margaret...

The storm came fast --- and left just as quickly. From the moment Dustin and Margaret returned to Stonia, only a single night had passed. And in that one night, the entire underground power structure of Stonia had undergone a massive reshuffle. All forces affiliated with the Temple of the Gods, including its vassals, had been uprooted completely. Even some hidden experts died without a sound, leaving no trace. In the presence of Dustin --- a Landed Celestial-level powerhouse --- any disguise or resistance was meaningless. All efforts were futile. The purge operation, orchestrated by Dustin and Margaret, sent shockwaves not only through foreign factions but also among domestic powers. Fear gripped everyone. No one had anticipated the outbreak to happen so fast. Many of the major forces didn’t even catch the slightest hint beforehand. It was like a bolt of lightning out of a clear sky --- far too sudden. Currently, with the fight for the Crown Prince position at a cri...

Zeus was dead. The once-mighty King of the Hall of Gods had rampaged across the Dragonmarsh for days, only to finally fall here --- his body obliterated without a trace. He had reached the peak of the Ultimate Grandmaster realm, only one step away from the legendary Earthly Immortal stage. But that single step was like an insurmountable chasm. No matter how powerful or deep his foundation, in the face of that final threshold, Zeus had no room to resist. In fact, it was that very final step that had trapped him for decades. So when he heard that Dustin had broken through, his mental state instantly collapsed. In the end, he died with bitter hatred. “Whew… It’s finally over.” Staring at the shattered remains of Zeus, Margaret let out a long sigh of relief. After days of dancing on a knife’s edge with two God Kings, she was mentally and physically exhausted. She couldn’t afford a single slip-up. She had to rely solely on her silver tongue to persuade both God Kings...

At this moment, Hera was completely terrified. When she saw Dustin effortlessly dissolve her attack, she had already started thinking about retreating. Her instincts told her that Dustin was not someone to be trifled with --- he was an extremely dangerous individual. Still, she clung to a sliver of hope, thinking that with Zeus by her side, the two of them together might still stand a chance. But now, after watching Zeus get severely injured and lose an arm with just one strike, she completely panicked. Her strength was already a bit weaker than Zeus’. If even Zeus couldn’t withstand a single strike from Dustin, there was no way she could either. So, the instant she saw Dustin raise his hand again, Hera didn’t hesitate for even a moment. She pushed off with her feet, launching herself into the air like a streak of light, fleeing rapidly into the sky. At this point, all she wanted was to save her own life. As for Zeus’s survival? That was no longer her concern. Rig...

At first, Zeus and Hera didn’t take Dustin seriously. After all, in their eyes, Dustin’s strength was on par with Poseidon’s --- and he was even seriously injured. Even in a one-on-one fight, they were confident in securing victory. And now there were two of them? But after their earlier probing attacks, they suddenly realized that things weren’t as simple as they’d assumed. Dustin’s imposing presence and vigorous energy didn’t look like someone who had been injured at all. Not only was he not injured --- his strength far exceeded their expectations. There were only two possible explanations for this. Either the intelligence they’d gathered was inaccurate, or Dustin had experienced some kind of miraculous breakthrough. As for what level he had reached, they couldn’t tell right away. Only now did they begin to understand Margaret’s real intention behind stalling for time. Initially, they’d thought Margaret was merely buying time for Dustin to heal without being distu...

A burst of golden light suddenly appeared, neutralizing Zeus’s attack and at the same time saving Margaret from having her cultivation abolished. As the golden light gradually faded, a handsome young man emerged before the crowd. His hair was completely white, his clothes were ragged, but his entire being exuded a transcendent and otherworldly aura. He stood there silently in front of Margaret, like an unshakable mountain. “Dustin?” Seeing the white-haired, handsome man, Margaret finally let out a long breath of relief. She knew she was saved --- and so was everyone in the ancient temple. Although Dustin now had white hair, his appearance hadn’t changed much. But the aura he carried was now touched with an undefinable trace of divinity --- something she had never sensed before. And that alone was enough to prove that Dustin had broken through to a new realm. “You’ve worked hard.” Dustin turned and gave Margaret a gentle nod. A strand of golden light suddenly pou...