Chapter 292: Heaven's Mandate Saint! Grand Assembly of All Races! The World Boils!

Da Xia Dynasty.

With the opening of the Grand Assembly of All Races.

The world watches this.

Eternal Night Palace.

This is the venue of the Grand Assembly of All Races, extravagantly luxurious; it was originally the site used after the Da Xia Dynasty unified the world to receive the Grand Conference of Nations, and now the Assembly of All Races must naturally surpass that.

There is still one day left until the Assembly of All Races.

Around the entire Eternal Night Palace, the most elite soldiers are stationed; these soldiers are all Fifth Realm masters, and if not for the world's changes, the Fifth Realm would at least be ranked above a deputy general.

But now it is different; those at the Martial King Realm can only be a thousand‑household commander, and advancing further is difficult.

This is the change of the world.

Inside the Eternal Night Palace.

Su Wenjing is stationed here; the main hall hosts many Great Scholars, and even a saint from the Central Continent has been invited by him.

Yongsheng Emperor and the Central Continent Emperor are both in the hall, preparing for tomorrow's Assembly of All Races.

"The purpose of this Assembly of All Races is to achieve peace among the races; speaking of peace inevitably requires dividing territories. I wonder, Your Majesties, have you made preparations?"

The Central Continent Saint spoke, looking at Yongsheng Emperor and the Central Continent Emperor with slight curiosity.

Hearing this, the Central Continent Emperor's voice rose.

"If the ancient great clans were to fully revive, they would naturally need to divide territories, but the Central Continent, Eastern Wilderness, and Southern Barbarians cannot be ceded to them."

"These three regions are rich in resources, blessed with talent and spirit, and contain many dragon veins; if they were given to them, for the world's people it would no longer be a question of fairness, but a matter where one side's gain means the other's loss, making competition impossible."

The Central Continent Emperor voiced his thoughts.

Ceding the Western Desert and the Far North, after all those two places could never match the Central Continent.

Yet as soon as he said that, the Central Continent Saint slightly frowned.

"If we do that, I'm afraid the Five Races won't agree."

The Central Continent Saint looked at the few of them; while the idea is good, the Five Races are not foolish, and they are the strongest; united, asking them to occupy the poorest lands—who could agree?

"The Five Races will naturally refuse, but this is a strategic retreat; if we let them proceed, given their appetite, they will likely not spare the Central Continent or Eastern Wilderness."

Yongsheng Emperor spoke; regarding this Assembly of All Races, he and the Central Continent Emperor have been negotiating for a long time.

The revival of the Five Races inevitably requires territories.

As for the Divine Continent, whether it is great or not, even after the world's metamorphosis and the earth's changes, countless spirit veins still make the Central Continent, Eastern Wilderness, and Southern Barbarians the greatest beneficiaries.

Therefore, under these circumstances, these regions are extremely important.

"Well, the Five Races may have huge appetites, but this world cannot tolerate their lawlessness; if Gu Jin Nian successfully attains enlightenment now, he can suppress them further—what else is there to say?"

The voice of the Central Continent Emperor rang out; as an emperor, he also has unique insights and will not lose his pride because of the world's circumstances.

Gu Jin Nian was mentioned, and everyone nodded.

Indeed, all current hope still rests on Gu Jin Nian; regardless of the Five Races' intentions, and whether the world can restrain the Five Races, the world's people's sole hope lies with Gu Jin Nian.

"I think we should wait until tomorrow to see."

"Whether we speak of a thousand or ten thousand, we still need to see what the Five Races truly require; if they truly roar like a lion, we must be ready for a great war."

"The only regret is the lack of time; if time permits, granting the world's people another sixty years might not make them fear the Five Races."

Su Wenjing spoke, feeling a bit emotional.

"Indeed, we lack sufficient time."

The Central Continent Saint also sighed with emotion.

"Regardless, let's discuss it tomorrow."

"Prepare for the worst."

Yongsheng Emperor spoke; he stood up, a cold glint in his eyes, clearly having just completed all preparations.

"Fine."

"Make the worst‑case plan."

Everyone nodded in unison.

Thus, they all rose and left.

Soon.

The great night covered the sky.

Within the Da Xia Dynasty, holy radiance scattered, displaying an indescribable brilliance.

It was unusually quiet here; everyone knew that once tomorrow arrives, the Assembly of All Races would commence here.

Once it begins, it will inevitably be an event that draws the attention of all.

Inside the Da Xia Wen Palace.

Gu Jin Nian is immersed in seeking the Dao.

However, this time of seeking the Dao, Gu Jin Nian did not gain much.

He contemplates life, but this life is hard to comprehend, for it does not belong to him; even seeing it with his own eyes or hearing it with his own ears, the meaning is minimal.

After all, it is not his own life.

Pure contemplation is meaningless.

"A Heaven's Mandate saint must possess a world‑scale vision; given my current state, even if Heaven's Mandate appears, I may not truly become a Heaven's Mandate saint."

"The only hope is the Time River; only the Time River, allowing me to personally experience countless lives, can enable me to achieve sainthood."

Gu Jin Nian felt a slight insight.

Thinking of this, he waved his hand, and in an instant a golden pool appeared before him.

This is a small fragment of the Time River; this single pool alone contains hundreds of thousands of years, within which countless silhouettes drift.

Gu Jin Nian did not test the danger with his body; he gathered a primordial spirit and entered the Time River.

In an instant, the primordial spirit entered, and quickly severed all contact with himself.

Terrifying. Directly merged into the Dao.

This primordial spirit, though its body is normal and its perception identical, directly merged into the Dao; this is something Gu Jin Nian did not anticipate.

"The Time River is truly terrifying."

He sighed a bit, but Gu Jin Nian felt no fear; the reason is simple: it is merely a fragment of his own primordial spirit, lacking true foundation, and that foundation is his own thoughts.

The instantaneous merging is reasonable; if he were to step into the Time River, such a thing would not happen.

At least it would not merge instantly.

However, entering the Time River is indeed far more frightening than he imagined; Mr Su Wenjing was right—given his current condition, entering the Time River is indeed an extremely risky undertaking.

"Alas."

"If truly there is no other way, I must test the danger with my body."

In the end, Gu Jin Nian could not think of any better solution, so he could only wait and see.

Yet Gu Jin Nian did not rise; he continued to comprehend the Dao.

Clearly perceiving the saint's path.

Confucian Dao.

Today's Great Assembly of Ten Thousand Tribes will surely be a battle; summoning the Four Saints is his ultimate trump card, so before the summons Gu Jin Nian wishes to thoroughly comprehend the Confucian Dao, the saint's path.

He settled his mind and thought earnestly.

The essence of the Confucian Dao is nothing more than two kinds: one is the unity of heaven and man, the natural way, seeking the heart's way for humanity and the true principle for heaven and earth; later, due to the reasons of clan dynasties, the Confucian Dao was imposed with various restrictions, becoming a tool for dynasties to bind officials and commoners.

Suppressing all schools, exclusively honoring Confucianism, this had the same effect in this era.

Only because the Confucian Dao is a system recognized by heaven and earth does it not become so exaggerated; otherwise, its purpose would be centralization of power.

What Gu Jin Nian contemplates is the way of unity of heaven and man, the original meaning of the Confucian Dao, its true principle—that is the core.

As Gu Jin Nian ponders this, the entire Da Xia Dynasty becomes dazzlingly radiant, holy light spilling throughout the dynasty.

It engulfs everything, appearing especially different and splendid.

"Gu Saint is about to breakthrough?"

"Is this the success of comprehension?"

Numerous voices rose; the great world‑strongmen all focused their gaze on the Da Xia Dynasty, curious about the situation.

They eagerly anticipate Gu Jin Nian becoming a saint.

Once he becomes a Heaven's Mandate saint, all difficulties will be resolved, no fear of the Five Tribes.

At this moment, even the Five Tribes cast their eyes; they do not know what happened, only seeing layers of holy light rippling within the Da Xia Wen Palace, giving an indescribable feeling.

Perhaps he will truly become a saint.

However, in the end, the voice of the Shang Ju Saint sounded, calming them.

"He did not become a saint."

"He only attained clear understanding of the saint's path; to become a Heaven's Mandate saint, one must endure the Time River."

"Otherwise, no matter what he does, he cannot become a Heaven's Mandate saint, unless he is given another five hundred years."

The Shang Ju Saint spoke; he is also a Confucian Dao saint, naturally knowing whether Gu Jin Nian has become a saint.

Hearing this, the Five Tribes calmed, the lingering anxiety gradually settled.

Indeed.

This wondrous light lasted less than half an hour, then slowly faded; the Da Xia Wen Palace remained tranquil.

And in the blink of an eye, it was the Tiger hour.

As the Great Sun slowly rose, strands of golden light tore the darkness, shining upon the Da Xia Dynasty.

The whole Da Xia Capital seemed unusually quiet.

All the common folk stayed at home; the court had issued a lockdown order, forbidding them to go out.

In the streets, golden‑armored soldiers blocked the roads.

Within the Eternal Night Palace, a series of bells rang.

Accompanied by silhouettes disappearing, the strongmen and nobles of various dynasties also entered beyond the Eternal Night Hall.

Yong Sheng Great Emperor, Zhong Zhou Great Emperor, Su Wenjing, Zhong Zhou Saint, as well as the current Buddhist monk of the Western Desert, and the strongmen of the Southern Barbarians, each entered the Eternal Night Hall.

Their status is extremely high; apart from the ancient Five Tribes, they are the rulers of this world.

The Great Assembly of Ten Thousand Tribes is set for the hour of the Rabbit.

As the eastern hosts, they indeed must be earlier.

However, some clans arrived early, such as the Thunder Tribe, who have a good relationship with Gu Jin Nian and came to Da Xia Capital yesterday, as a courtesy.

Including some other Minor Tribes, willing to befriend Gu Jin Nian, brought generous gifts, and arrived here.

Yet everyone is waiting.

Waiting for the arrival of the ancient Five Tribes.

All the world knows they are today's protagonists.

Of course, aside from Gu Jin Nian.

Bells rang repeatedly.

The hall is peaceful.

Dozens of people waited quietly, and in the hall's center lay a sand‑table map of the Divine Land, prepared for the upcoming division of territories.

Thus, it continued until the hour of the Rabbit.

In the East Sea.

A terrifying dragon's roar rang out.

The great world trembled.

Four ten-thousand-zhang true dragons surged up from within the East Sea, soaring into the sky.

(End of chapter)