Chapter 470 - 426: Ask Not of the Road Ahead

Chapter 470: Chapter 426: Ask Not of the Road Ahead

The emperor and the commoner, truly equal.

’A madman. A complete and utter madman!’

Such a heaven-defying act naturally came at a great cost. By shattering the world’s fortune with his own body, Mr. Yuan’s soul had been annihilated. He vanished without a trace—not a single bone would ever be found.

Li Chengyuan had suffered the strongest backlash. Forget Divinity Communication—he was at risk of his cultivation level regressing even further.

What made it even harder to bear was that Mr. Yuan’s insane act hadn’t been aimed at him, or even at Xuan Yang.

Perhaps Mr. Yuan had simply felt like doing it, and he just happened to be the unlucky bastard.

The Chief Eunuch, Wang Fu, watched Li Chengyuan with concern.

He too had been deeply blessed by the world’s fortune, so he understood exactly what had transpired. But there was nothing he could do.

’To reunite the world’s fortune... that was something only the Grand Ancestor Emperor himself had been capable of.’

Just then, he suddenly felt a terrifying change in the way Li Chengyuan was looking at him.

"Your... Your Majesty."

Wang Fu didn’t dare to meet Li Chengyuan’s gaze.

Li Chengyuan forced a smile that looked utterly savage. "Wang Fu, I have treated you well, have I not?"

Wang Fu bowed even lower. "If not for Your Majesty, this servant would have perished long ago."

"Good. Then I need you to return something."

"Whatever it is, Your Majesty, you need only take it."

"Then I won’t be polite."

The next moment, Wang Fu’s eyes widened. He stared in disbelief at the hand that had just pierced his chest, his life force instantly siphoned away by its touch.

A look of sudden understanding flashed in Wang Fu’s eyes.

He was beginning to understand what His Majesty the Emperor was doing.

Stealing life!

He used the last of his strength to cry out, "Long live... my Emperor... long live... long, long live..."

...

「Xiangzhou.」

「Beneath the Great Wall.」

Despite losing a formidable enemy in the Demon Sect, the Northern Garrison Army had not relaxed one bit. They were doing what this army had done since its inception.

Resisting the southward advance of the Northern Barbarian Race and the Demon Race.

The Demon Sect may have retreated, but that didn’t mean the Northern Territory was free from the incursions of the Barbarian and Demon Races.

The Northern Plains were vast, and plenty of humans and demons there did not follow the Demon Sect.

Moreover, the old scholar in the Northern Plains—the only one who could restrain those defiant people and demons—was now dead.

The Grand General of the Realm, Xu Dingchun, gazed at the subsiding rain and spoke slowly. "I am not his equal."

Dong Wanjun, standing beside him, said nothing.

The commotion Mr. Yuan caused that day had been too immense for any Martial Artist of significant power not to notice. As more time passed since the shattering of fortune, everyone in the world would come to know.

’Xuan Yang is finished.’

This was Dong Wanjun’s conclusion.

Even if someone from the Li Royal Family eventually emerged to reunite the world’s fortune, Xuan Yang would never be the same. In other words, Emperor Li Chengyuan was finished.

Fortune was now flooding back into the world.

Powerful practitioners of the Martial Dao would only grow in number, and the world was destined to become a very different place.

The number of experts at the Divinity Communication Barrier would at least triple. This era might even see a Martial Saint walk the earth once more.

When fortune shifts, Saints emerge!

The great sects and clans were probably already stirring, eager to make a move.

Dong Wanjun looked at Xu Dingchun.

Xu Dingchun had already guessed what Dong Wanjun was thinking. "Train the soldiers, kill the enemy, and achieve your breakthrough as soon as possible."

Dong Wanjun nodded.

In this catastrophe, countless experts of the Court had suffered from the backlash. He, on the other hand, was among the least affected, feeling almost no impact. He had reached his current position without ever relying on fortune, but entirely through his own hard work.

...

「Ling Province, Huanglong Prefecture.」

The rain had stopped, and the number of pedestrians on the streets had grown. The freshly scrubbed roads were a cheerful sight.

「Bai Mansion.」

Bai Yuan, Yang Fangyu, and Yue Xiaobai sat under a pavilion, all three silent by a mutual, unspoken agreement.

Bai Yuan quietly watched the water droplets fall from the pavilion’s eaves.

’Shattering the world’s fortune... What an audacious move!’

He had never imagined Mr. Yuan’s true goal was so insane. Looking back, perhaps Mr. Yuan had planned for this outcome since the moment he left the Imperial Inspection Office as a young man.

To be a teacher to the world!

’Why are there so few Martial Dao geniuses in the world? In the end, it’s because some have stolen the opportunities meant for all.’

’These thieves were the great sects, and Xuan Yang itself.’

’What Mr. Yuan did was flip the old table, put out new bowls, and call everyone in the world to come and eat together.’

’Although those who took the largest shares before still had the power to grab more now, at least there were new variables in the equation.’

’Was there any point to it?’

’Perhaps not. But that old scholar just had to try.’

Bai Yuan raised his wine cup. "A pity. I never even got to have a drink with you."

He had always been wary of Mr. Yuan, and in a way, he still was. A man who would martyr himself for his beliefs was capable of anything. But now that he was dead, it didn’t stop Bai Yuan from fondly recalling him.

Yue Xiaobai glanced at Bai Yuan.

He knew, of course, who the "you" Bai Yuan mentioned was.

’But from what he knew of Bai Yuan, if Mr. Yuan were to walk over alive right now, that drink would definitely not be happening.’

Yang Fangyu, however, felt a surge of relief.

’Thank goodness I stayed in Ling Province.’

’Now that the world’s fortune was shattered, the major powers in Jiangnan and the Central Plains were undoubtedly stirring, ready to plunge everything into chaos. The Divinity Communication Barrier experts of the great sects were currently unstable due to the backlash, but once they recovered, they would surely make waves.’

’By comparison, Ling Province was far more stable.’

Under Bai Yuan’s management, the other three provinces of Shuofang, aside from Qingzhou where the Qingzhou Royal Mansion was located, were a solid, impenetrable bloc.

Not to mention that now, with fortune pouring back into the world, all the common people had received a sliver of its blessing.

Population was the most precious resource.

The more people there were, the greater the total amount of fortune.

The gap between Shuofang and places like Jiangnan and the Central Plains had been narrowed considerably, even if it wasn’t immediately apparent.

"Ah Yuan, what are your plans now?"

Yang Fangyu looked at Bai Yuan, a flash of ambition in his eyes.

The position of Jiedu Envoy was unique. In times of peace, it was a high-ranking regional post, not quite on par with the Six Ministers. But in an era of chaos, a Jiedu Envoy could become one of the Dukes vying for control of the realm!

And Bai Yuan was now one of those Dukes.

The Grand Ancestor Emperor himself had started as a Jiedu Envoy when he raised his army and conquered the realm.

Bai Yuan, of course, understood what Yang Fangyu was thinking. He shook his head. "Everything as usual."

A flicker of disappointment crossed Yang Fangyu’s eyes, but he also knew he was being too hasty. He could only say such things because of his close relationship with Bai Yuan. Any other Jiedu Envoy would have likely had his head chopped off by now.

’Even if we are to rebel, we can’t be the first.’

’Besides, Emperor Li Chengyuan is only injured, not dead. The Li Royal Race may have suffered the heaviest losses, but their foundation remains.’

’And the positions of Yan Shao’an, Liang Yuan Kang, and Xu Dingchun are still unknown.’

"Alright."

Yang Fangyu nodded.

...

Just as everyone was speculating on who would be the first to rebel, the Southern Border made a sudden move.

It was an outcome no one had anticipated.

After Jiangnan and the Central Plains, which were undoubtedly the strongest regions in Xuan Yang, the situations in the Southern Border, Lingnan, and the Northern Territory were all quite similar. None of them had many great sects with legacies stretching back ten thousand years.

The strongest power in the Southern Border was neither a great sect nor a major clan, but the Witches.

An existence nearly as ancient as the Demon Hunters.

In hindsight, however, it all seemed to make sense.

The Witches, much like the Barbarian People, were an exiled branch of the Human Race, cast out after an ancient civil war. It was only later, through the relentless expansion of Grand Ancestor Emperor Xuanyang, that the Southern Border was brought into the empire’s territory.

The primary enemy of the Southern Garrison Army was, in fact, the Witches.

Now, with the world’s fortune shattered, the Witches were naturally unwilling to be oppressed any longer. It was no surprise they were the first to rebel.

The Southern Border, it was said, had already descended into utter chaos.

Upon hearing the news, Bai Yuan immediately dispatched experts to the Southern Border.

Gathering intelligence was a secondary concern; his main objective was to bring his master, Zhou Siming, and Sister Qiao’s master, Liang E, to the safety of Ling Province.

The Demon Hunters were a considerable power in the Southern Border, but in a cataclysm of this magnitude, it would be difficult for Zhou Siming and Liang E to ensure their own safety with their current strength.

With the Southern Border in chaos, it was impossible for the Demon Hunters to stay out of the fray.

Neither the Southern Garrison Army nor the Witches would spare Zhou Siming and Liang E just because of Bai Yuan’s reputation.

Just as the Southern Garrison Army and the Witches were locked in a bitter, inseparable struggle, a piece of news arrived that shook the world.

Emperor Li Chengyuan was going to personally lead an imperial expedition!