Chapter 985: Sparking the War We Need

Jiang Ding once again focused on the Soul Transformation cultivators of more than ten Minor Thousand Worlds near the Blazing Flame Stone Star Domain, whom the Horn Demon Imperial Clan called Kings.

Compared to the harsh scarcity of Void Refining among the slave races, there were considerably more Kings among the slave races; more than a dozen were in this vicinity, all servants of the Blazing Flame Stone Great Emperor, among whom the Demon Rock Clan had the most — four Demon Rock Kings — while the rest mostly had one King per race.

The most numerous, of course, were the Kings of the Horn Demon Imperial Clan, numbering several dozen.

One had to admit, the Horn Demon Imperial Clan's bloodline was exceptionally outstanding — a mere population of over a hundred million, yet producing so many Great Emperors and Kings, it was breathtaking.

"There's actually a Human King too…"

Jiang Ding's gaze sharpened as he looked carefully.

This Human King was named Dong Xue He Wang, a King of the Blood Dao; over five hundred years ago he had been a fairly renowned King among the nearby Minor Worlds. Back then, the Human Race was not as it was now — among the many slave races it counted as a strong race, valued highly by many Horn Demon Imperial Clan Kings.

But later, some changes occurred.

According to official notices issued by the Blazing Flame Stone Imperial City, Dong Xue He Wang had plotted to ascend above Soul Transformation and achieve Human Great Emperor, and then he died — slain by a Horn Demon Imperial Clan King of the same realm.

The Blood River Sect, from which Dong Xue He Wang had originated, was slaughtered to the last by Horn Demon Imperial Clan Kings leading a large number of slave-race Kings; surrounding Humans, whether involved or not, were likewise massacred to the last.

This was the reason Humans in the nearby star domains were so weak — their Immortal Dao civilization had been destroyed once again, and their race was on the verge of extinction.

Jiang Ding's thoughts churned, and he made up his mind.

"Let us — let us spark a War of Imperial Sons."

"From what I know, the Blazing Flame Stone Great Emperor's Imperial Son Crown has not yet coalesced; we can hasten its birth."

Jiang Ding looked at the surrounding Dao Sons and suggested.

The Horn Demon Imperial Clan's rule over the Horn Jiao Domain was terrifyingly stable; no other race could shake it at all — only internal chaos among themselves offered an opportunity.

Coincidentally, such internal chaos not only existed, but was fierce.

Jiang Ding hoped to gain the recognition and assistance of the surrounding Dao Sons.

Their own strength was negligible, but the eight Great Powers were very strong — especially their divination and concealment abilities, which were quite necessary under such circumstances.

"Oh?"

The Tianji Dao Son and the Shadow Demon Dao Son's hearts stirred as they fell into thought, seemingly having entertained similar conjectures themselves.

"What does that mean?"

Ji Liuyue looked a bit bewildered.

"The War of Imperial Sons is a kind of war internal to the Horn Demon Imperial Clan; within a certain region, everyone below Great Emperor is compelled to take part."

"They are a battle race, with many rules."

Jiang Ding patiently explained: "Within a region where a Great Emperor exists, as time passes, the convergence of clan fortune and Great Emperor fortune will cause an Imperial Son Crown — suspended between the real and the unreal — to coalesce. The Imperial Son Crown

can raise the probability of an Imperial Son achieving Great Emperor."

"Yes, they are weak; the odds of an ordinary Imperial Son advancing to Great Emperor are not high."

"Usually, the Crown coalesced within a region ruled by a Great Emperor is, of course, meant for his own offspring — this is reasonable. However, this reasonableness only exists among powerful Great Emperors."

"Weaker Great Emperors, on the other hand, cannot act on their own authority — such as the Blazing Flame Stone Great Emperor."

"Some ancient Emperors often dispatch their own offspring — those related by blood to the region's Great Emperor, who hold legitimate inheritance rights — to compete fairly for the Imperial Son Crown. This conforms to the Horn Demon Imperial Clan's rules."

"Therefore, I hope to push for such a war below the Void Refining level."

"Only war can create chaos, allowing us to access those fourth- and fifth-tier spirit veins; only by controlling these spirit veins, at least for a short time, can we set up formations and artifacts."

Jiang Ding explained his rough plan in thorough detail.

For now this was only an initial plan, a single idea.

Next, it still needed to be reported to the Immortal Gate's Strategic Research Office, to apply for more support, to formulate a more reasonable and more efficient strategic plan, and to obtain the support of the eight Great Powers in the areas of karma, divination, and concealment of heavenly secrets — otherwise, no matter how ingenious the scheme, it would be useless.

One whim of a Great Emperor, and all the ants would die.

"How vicious…"

Ji Liuyue was stunned.

After all, she was a Dao Son of the East Extreme Dongji Dongji Mo Men; it seemed the East Extreme Dongji Dongji Mo Men had itself gone through eras as a servant sect of the Brother Xuanwu Heavenly Palace, and had ample experience handling such situations.

"Mm?"

Jiang Ding gazed at her.

"How impressive."

Ji Liuyue gave a dry laugh.

"Right now, the Blazing Flame Stone Great Emperor's Imperial Son Crown doesn't seem to be in a period of coalescence?"

The Shadow Demon Dao Son asked.

He had also considered this kind of plan, but quickly abandoned it — because it was too much of a coincidence that a Horn Demon Imperial Clan War of Imperial Sons would break out the moment they arrived.

"First, historically speaking, the coalescence of the Imperial Son Crown usually occurs in a Great Emperor's twilight years, condensed from clan fortune and Great Emperor fortune."

"I compiled a statistic covering one thousand seven hundred and twenty-one Great Emperors recorded in the Horn Demon Imperial Clan's history, and found the probability to be above ninety-five percent."

Jiang Ding handed them a table.

"As it happens, the Blazing Flame Stone Great Emperor is indeed now in his twilight years."

"His Imperial Son Crown should coalesce within one to two thousand years, and might even coalesce naturally within several hundred."

"If we could lend our aid, would it be possible to bring it forward?"

Jiang Ding posed a question.

This involved Void Refining-grade Immortal Dao techniques, which he could not answer — it was a matter only for the Immortal Gate and the eight Great Powers of the Badaxian Sect to consider.

"It is possible."

The Tianji Dao Son nodded, giving a definitive answer.

The Tianji Immortal Palace was, within the Nine Spirit Domain, the deepest researcher of the Tianji and Fortune Daos.

"Currently, the Blazing Flame Stone Great Emperor has one son and one daughter, named Flame Flow Imperial Son and Flame Flower Imperial Son; they will certainly not give up the Imperial Son Crown, because it concerns their hope of becoming Great Emperors."

"On the opposite side, the true sovereign of this star domain, Ancient Emperor Cang Yan, has a large family of descendants. Many of them are even relatives of Flame Stone Great Emperor — uncle and nephew relations — and by legal right they fully possess the inheritance rights to the Flame Stone Crown Prince's Diadem, though their ranking in the line of succession is somewhat lower."

"In past history, Ancient Emperor Cang Yan has many times sent his family's imperial princes to contend for the Crown Prince's Diadem, even reaching into the domains of other ancient emperors."

"In the rules of the Horned Darkness Imperial Clan, the top ten ranked heirs all have the qualification to contend for the Crown Prince's Diadem. Flame Stone Great Emperor himself fought his way out in exactly this manner back in the day."

"This is the established practice — a sovereign will, within the bounds of the rules, greedily expand the power of his own clan."

"If the Flame Stone Crown Prince's Diadem coalesces, I think it may well trigger a war that we need. At that time, the weaker side's imperial prince should be willing to accept the allegiance of an unfamiliar king."

"That moment might be our chance."

"It is possible."

"But what if the war we need doesn't break out?"

An Tu Zi asked: "I've looked at history — if a Great Emperor has a sufficiently good relationship with the ancient emperors within his domain and gains their support, or if the ranked heirs happen to be only his own sons and daughters, then there simply won't be any Crown Prince succession war at all."

"Then all our investment would be for nothing."

"Just look for another chance — this is all inevitable."

Jiang Ding said without even thinking.

He answered the Dao-childs' questions one by one, then said at last: "Does anyone still have questions? Or perhaps a better plan? If not, then please sign this proposal and send it to the rear for review — let's see their opinion."

"Our cultivation is low, our vision narrow. Many things we actually haven't considered thoroughly enough. It must be supplemented and corrected by the rear — the rear is our true backbone."

"If the rear agrees, then it can be carried out."

"Very well."

The surrounding Dao-childs thought for a long while, left their own marks on this proposal, and then handed it to Shadow Demon Dao-child to send to the rear.

There's still one more chapter tonight.