Chapter 2031

The mirror took one look and he was greatly surprised, yet it somehow also seemed only natural.

This little flag fell onto the "Mou Kingdom" on the sand table.

"You want to borrow the power of Mou Kingdom?" Jingzi said oh oh, "Yes yes, Mou Kingdom and Ya Kingdom have always been at odds, and between them lies only Bailie and Qing Kingdom. Besides, you and Mou Kingdom still have the connection of Lingshan—who knows, they might really agree! Oh, if Mou Kingdom is willing to help, Ya Kingdom probably won't have a choice but to withdraw its troops?"

"This is the ideal situation." He Lingchuan pondered, "Earlier, I also told the Lingshan envoy that I would send someone on a mission to Mou Kingdom. Well, this task shall be given to Yu Hai—he happens to be near Mou Kingdom as well."

Yu Hai is a person of Pei Kingdom, and also the leader of the Original Hometown Association; now, in the Dragon God Army, his work is internal and external liaison, coordinating relations, and he does it exceptionally well.

This person's most outstanding trait is not being smooth and worldly-wise, but rather making people feel deeply sincere.

Sometimes, sincerity is truly the ultimate killer.

"For my first visit to Mou Kingdom, I must have him prepare a proper greeting gift."

After issuing the orders to Yu Hai, He Lingchuan leaned back in his chair and gazed blankly at the bright moon outside the window.

"The invasion of Ya Kingdom has also given me a warning—the earth-shaking Dragon God War is also nearing its end. For the future, we should take the initiative in diplomacy."

After saying this, he closed the doors and windows, took out a small figurine from his bosom, and placed it on the east-facing table.

……

Shen Kingdom Yun City, the palace.

At cockcrow, the ruler of Shen Kingdom rose from bed, and the palace attendants came to bind his hair and change his clothes. His husband had always been diligent, so the queen was used to it and found nothing strange; he turned over and went back to sleep.

He Chunhua went straight to the imperial study; along the way he passed two gardens. The sky was just beginning to lighten, bees and butterflies had not yet gone to work, but the gardens were filled with blooming flowers, and when the wind blew, there was a faint fragrance in the air.

The wind chimes rang clear and pure, driving away the stillness of the deep palace.

He Chunhua drew a deep breath of the clear, fresh air—the wind was fragrant, the flowers were beautiful, everything here was his.

He had succeeded, standing at a height his He ancestors had never dared to dream of!

Shen Kingdom established its capital at Yun City, abandoning the former capital of the Peng Kingdom. There was no ready-made palace city here; after He Chunhua ascended the throne, he did not want to exhaust the people and waste wealth, for the new state had just been founded and everywhere required money, so he requisitioned the most magnificent mountain-and-water manor in Yun City, temporarily designating it as the palace.

At the chen hour, several ministers were still to come for a small court meeting; he first reviewed documents and memorials, and breakfast was taken directly in the imperial study.

He rises this early every day, every day full of vigor.

Power is the best rejuvenating tonic for men—this saying is not wrong in the slightest.

Before breakfast arrived, He Chunhua already felt a faint stir.

So he dismissed the attendants, closed the doors and windows, and personally inserted several sticks of incense into the figurine on the offering table.

Then, he bowed before the figurine: "Humbly welcoming my god!"

The voice of Naraka Tian echoed in the imperial study: "You founded the new state—you've done it quite well."

He Chunhua responded solemnly: "Day and night I hesitate, daring not to be lax."

From the founding of the state to now, he has not had a single idle day—no, rather, not even a single idle afternoon; every day he revolves around state affairs nonstop, and the queen has complained more than once, saying that the former considerate husband has become a "king" whom one might not see even once every two or three days.

He Chunhua can only soothe her, and send more gold, silver, and jewels.

There's no helping it—Shen Kingdom has just been founded, and he has too much to do: not just policies and regulations, not just personnel appointments, not just domestic and foreign affairs, not just relations between humans and gods.

This is the success he exchanged his first half of life's blood and sweat for; he must guard it, continue it, expand it.

He is now also the "Gao Zu" of the founding era, and he also hopes his royal line may endure for thousands of generations—so he must make a good start.

Indeed, the present Shen Kingdom shows a scene of flourishing prosperity.

The edicts issued by the Wang Ting are all light corvée and low taxes, benefiting the people, rewarding agriculture and commerce;

The officials appointed by He Chunhua are all new to office, clenching their fists and rubbing their palms, eager to undertake a great enterprise.

The Peng Kingdom's atmosphere of buck-passing, wrangling, smooth decadence, and ineffective governance has been burned away by the war.

He Chunhua's fortune has also been excellent—since the founding of the state, less than a year has passed, yet the Imperial Elixir has erupted in abundance many times over, its total volume easily exceeding that of the past 140 years combined. Spiritual qi is abundant, earth power fertile, crops grow better day by day, fields open wider day by day, the people have food to eat, and mercantile goods flourish.

For this emerging kingdom, everything has only just begun—the future is promising.

"This time I want to bring you news about a person." Since we're so familiar with each other, Naraka Tian gets straight to the point: "Your eldest son, He Lingchuan."

He Chunhua was startled, and only after a long while did he utter a sentence:

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"He is no longer my son."

After two entries into the Dragon God Illusion Realm, father and son turned against each other, He Lingchuan strode away in triumph. Afterward, He Chunhua reflected from all angles and finally concluded that "He Lingchuan" was no longer his son—at least, his core had been replaced.

Perhaps a cliff-fall accident could change a person's temperament greatly, but it would not alter their abilities by heaven and earth.

That "He Lingchuan" is completely a stranger—powerful and terrifying.

And since winning the final state war and ascending the throne as king, He Chunhua has rarely thought of this person again.

After all, it's all in the past; future chances to meet again are as elusive as smoke, and perhaps deep down he does not wish to dwell on it further.

At this very moment, the heavenly god suddenly brought up that name, and He Chunhua felt a surge of mixed emotions.

"You'd better not think that way." Naraka Tian clearly understands the grudges between this father and son: "In the future, you will have plenty of occasions to deal with him."

"How so?" He Chunhua finally could not help but ask, "Where is he, and what trouble has he caused?"

"Heh heh, a heaven-shaking calamity." Naraka Tian smiled with deep meaning, "Do you know of the earth-shaking change on the Jin Gold Plains?"

"I only know that plain is barren, with centuries of endless war." After all, the Jin Gold Plains are too far from Shen Kingdom, and any news that gets through is limited. Besides, He Chunhua himself has endless state affairs to worry about—why should he concern himself with what's happening ten thousand li away?

"The Ling Xu gods' great divine marvel, Miao Zhantian, has fallen. After that, a new force rose on the Jin Gold Plains, its leader calling himself the Reincarnated Dragon God, also known as the 'Nine Abysses Great Emperor'; his Black Armor Army and Dragon God Army swept across the entire Jin Gold Plains, and indeed they are gradually moving toward unification."

He Chunhua heard this and felt deeply shocked.

He had taken the Peng Kingdom's ancestral lands at the cost of nine oxen and two tigers' strength, fighting battle after battle, with the support of Sharili Tian behind him.

This Nine Abysses Great Emperor actually seeks to unify the entire Jin Gold Plains—the whole thing!

I've heard the Jin Gold Plains are vast in extent, not inferior to Bei Jia at all. What kind of person dares to harbor such ambition and delusion?

And Naraka Tian also said that the Nine Abysses Great Emperor has a "gradual trend toward unification" over the Jin Gold Plains—that is, there is a possibility of success!

"What does this have to do with He Lingchuan? Could it be that he crossed distant oceans and took service under the Nine Abysses Great Emperor?" If so, that would also be quite remarkable.