Chapter 2186

Frostleaf National Mentor nodded: "When Fushan Yue first brought He Xiaoyao to Lingxu City, I sensed this child was no ordinary talent. Now I see he is not only a rare all-rounder, but his fortune is astonishing too. The Son of Fortune of Bailie, the mortal form chosen by the God of Fate—tsk!"

At his level, it's clear that luck is part of strength, sometimes even decisive.

As they say, man proposes, heaven disposes. When fortune turns against, even heroes must swallow their grudges.

He Xiaoyao's world-shaking endeavor succeeds three parts by struggle, seven parts by luck.

As an observer, Xi Yunhe also felt moved: "Qingyan State really won big this time. But can Mu State swallow this humiliation?"

Mu State's temper is as bad as Between Between Between Beijia's.

"This is the ability of the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor. Looking back now, this must have been his careful planning." Frostleaf smiled faintly: "Timing, circumstance—Mu State certainly couldn't swallow this before, but now it's hard to say."

"Even if Mu State finally defeats Ya State and takes Yasix's land, losing so many elites and earning Ya State as a mortal enemy means Between Between Between Beijia to the west and Ya State to the east are both at odds with it. If it then offends Qingyan, it would face enemies on all sides. Even if the Mu Emperor is dim, he probably wouldn't do such a thing. So in the short term, it cannot retaliate against Qingyan and must instead mend relations with the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor—unless the broader situation changes again."

"Now about Ya State." Frostleaf pointed at the sand table; Ya State's territory had already shrunk: "After fighting Mu State, it will surely seek reconciliation with Qingyan as soon as possible."

Xi Yunhe volunteered: "Why? The Nine Abyssal Great Emperor previously occupied their holy land, pressing the royal family's faces into the dirt and grinding them."

"Although both are war and killing, war must be judged by cause." Frostleaf instructed: "The Ya people are not foolish; the Nine Abyss attacked Ya State to avenge the pre-founding western invasion. Ya State started it, so it cannot blame others for retaliation—that's one point. The agreement the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor reached with Ya State's court was lenient, troop withdrawal swift, with no excess moves, showing Qingyan had no ambition to annihilate Ya State—that's two."

"But Mu State is different!" Frostleaf said sternly: "It sent troops to utterly crush Ya State, and if victorious, even sought to annihilate it. Because Ya State saw through the enemy's cruelty, it has resisted to the death these past months. Mu State's intentions are exposed; from now on, Ya State will fear it greatly, and being small and few, it can only seek outside aid. Looking at Qingyan behind it—doesn't it seem more friendly now?"

Ya State is too far from Between Between Between Beijia, too close to Qingyan and Mu State. When choosing the lesser of two harms, it can only seek reconciliation with Qingyan.

"As for Qingyan and Between Between Between Beijia's relations, they were already decent before aiding Bailie. He let the Yangshan Islands go to the Chi Yan Crown Prince, and twenty percent of Qingyan's goods are shipped via Between Between Between Beijia. Maintaining this makes Mu State more wary."

"Look—after these battles, Mu State, Ya State, and Between Between Between Beijia now all have to greet him with smiles." Frostleaf concluded: "If he had just founded his state and clung to conserving troops, obsessed with production and seeking peace abroad, Ya State would take advantage, Mu State would manipulate him, and Qingyan could never open such a favorable situation."

A great state's opening is crucial.

With a favorable external environment, internal development can proceed.

And such a fine situation is self-created.

"This is called 'using war to end war, using martial force to halt violence'."

Xi Yunhe felt convinced, bowed: "National Mentor's lofty insight, Yunhe receives instruction."

In fact, far away, He Lingchuan, when answering He Yue's parting question, had expressed something similar, but more thoroughly.

He said:

To seek peace through struggle, then peace endures;

To seek peace through compromise, then peace perishes.

Frostleaf sighed: "Actually, Lingxu City also doesn't want to keep fighting Mu State. The Emperor has said, stop bothering Mu State, give it more time and energy to get along well with Qingyan."

The more Between Between Between Beijia beats Mu State, the more pressured Mu State becomes, the more it seeks harmony with Qingyan.

They originally didn't want to cooperate, but you forced them to join hands by beating them.

If Between Between Between Beijia and Mu State were at peace, wouldn't Mu State have more energy to contend with Qingyan, to properly settle old scores?

After all, Mu State and Qingyan's enmity began when Qingyan stole Bailie.

Spiritual energy revives, all things contend—this kind of universal blessing, a great state would not waste it all on war, lest Qingyan profit from the sidelines and seize the chance to grow stronger.

But Frostleaf also saw clearly: "However, this isn't entirely up to the Emperor."

The Emperor doesn't want to fight, but the heavens won't stop.

Mortal strife is far less intense than in the divine realm; Emperor Liustang keeps coming here, so the gods aren't pleased.

"Besides, many heavenly and earthly upheavals—Between Between Between Beijia and Mu State's rivalry, the gods and Ling Mountain's conflict—won't take only the form of war. I've heard the 'Jingzhe Period' is also coming soon."

Frostleaf National Mentor took something from his bosom, placed it on the table: "You know what this is?"

It is a copper tube, with a small transparent crystal set in the middle. Through the crystal, Xi Yunhe can see several wisps of red gas drifting within.

"Eh. This is... the Punishing Dragon Pillar?" This object is famous.

"Over a hundred and sixty years ago, the Punishing Dragon Pillar appeared out of nowhere; the gods fought over it, causing frequent Emperor Liustang." Frostleaf sighed long: "Originally, the Lingxu gods had collected the most Punishing Dragon Pillars, but Miao Zhantian God personally descended, overturned the sea, and in one breath brought down over nine hundred—result, as you know..."

"These nine hundred Punishing Dragon Pillars fell into the hands of the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor?"

"Afterward, Qingyan used it as a state gift, giving it to Mu State. Over the past year or more, west and north of Shen State have seen Punishing Dragon Pillars appear, numbers not small; those areas are mostly the domain of the Sharili Heaven."

The Lingxu gods cannot idly watch rivals grow stronger; plus, the Lingxu Holy Sovereign himself has secret plans, so they will surely act to seize the Punishing Dragon Pillars. "Thus the heavens are again in utter chaos. The Emperor Liustang from the fallen gods of Miao Zhantian has long since ceased, but humans still often receive spirit rain because the gods' mutual fighting grows ever fiercer."

Frostleaf still has one point unmentioned: ten days ago, two more major gods fell in succession! That means, in a few months, humans will again face a terrible outbreak of Emperor Liustang, its scale no less than Miao Zhantian's fall.

The heavens are also in chaos.

Xi Yunhe asked: "Is this Mu Emperor's yang scheme?"

Even knowing someone wields the Punishing Dragon Pillar to stir trouble, making them slaughter each other, the heavenly gods still must follow the script, killing until blood flows like rivers.

Punishing Dragon Pillar, demonic qi—if you don't seize it, plenty will.