Chapter 74: The Calamity of War
Chapter 74: The Calamity of War
In the Central Plains, where thirty-six nations with thousands of years of history coexist, fifty years is not considered a long time. For most ordinary folk, life may not seem much different from the past. However, the royal families of these thirty-six nations have subtly noticed peculiar changes over the past five decades.
The main source of concern is the increasing boldness of the remnants of the Reverse God Association, an underground organization that has long been shunned and hunted by the thirty-six nations. Like rats crossing the street, they used to sneak around discreetly to recruit new members. But in recent years, these remnants have become brazen, even daring to recruit openly on the streets! What shocked the royal families the most was that whenever they launched a crackdown, the remnants of the Reverse God Association seemed to have prior knowledge and escaped just in time, as if by sheer coincidence. This led the thirty-six nations to realize that the Reverse God Association was well-prepared and had inside information. As a result, the thirty-six nations further intensified their efforts to suppress the association.
Sixteen and thirty-six years ago, the thirty-six nations even deployed their 'Soldier Envoys', seeking to inflict heavy damage on the Reverse God Association with the power of their nation-stabilizing divine soldiers. Unfortunately, the 'Soldier Envoys' of the Reverse God Association always showed up just in time to hold off the attacking forces, allowing most of their elite members to escape.
While the thirty-six nations possessed nation-stabilizing divine soldiers, the Reverse God Association had numerous fragments of these soldiers, known as 'evil soldiers'. Evil soldiers were essentially still divine soldiers, and if they reached a certain level of completion, they could also be used to cultivate 'Evil Soldier Envoys'. Of course, the thirty-six nations referred to these as 'Evil Envoys'.
In direct combat, the Evil Soldier Envoys were no match for the Soldier Envoys. However, they could cause some minor interference, making it difficult for the Soldier Envoys to capture them unless they fully awakened their divine soldiers. Typically, Soldier Envoys avoided doing so, as it would drastically shorten their lifespan.
The complete awakening of a divine soldier would lead to a terrifying absorption of the Soldier Envoy's soul origin, reducing their lifespan by ten years with each occurrence.
In a hidden underground plaza, a towering man sat cross-legged in the center, surrounded by dozens of fragmented weapons. If a 'Evil Soldier Envoy' from the Reverse God Association were present, they would be shocked to recognize these fragments as evil soldiers—remnants of divine soldiers. Though far inferior in power to their complete counterparts, they still surpassed mortal limits. Yet, at this moment, these supreme evil soldiers were strewn about like ordinary objects.
"Fifty years," the towering man, Lin Yuan, murmured as he slowly opened his eyes.
For most of these five decades, Lin Yuan had dedicated his time to cultivation and comprehending the rules within the divine soldier fragments. As for the many affairs of the Great Flame Dynasty, he had long since appointed a group of capable and loyal ministers to form a cabinet and handle the nation's matters on his behalf, only returning to check on things periodically.
As an emperor, it was imperative to avoid micromanagement; the affairs of a nation were far too numerous. To involve oneself in every decision would be exhausting. Of course, Lin Yuan's prolonged absence was also unusual and could be considered an imperial taboo, leaving him vulnerable to being sidelined. But with his formidable power, who would dare to sideline him?
"Fourth stage," Lin Yuan said, his eyes scanning the divine soldier fragments around him as he fell into a brief contemplation.
With Lin Yuan's cultivation speed, he had reached the pinnacle of the Heaven and Man Realm twenty years ago. In the main world, this would be equivalent to the quasi-fourth stage. However, taking the next step and officially entering the fourth stage was something Lin Yuan hesitated to do.
Even in the main world, the transition from the third stage to the fourth was a massive bottleneck and a significant obstacle. Those who achieved the pinnacle of the third stage were already one-in-a-million, or even one-in-a-billion, geniuses. And yet, to surpass this bottleneck and obstacle would still take at least a few hundred years, with most perishing at the pinnacle of the third stage.
This was assuming there was a complete evolutionary path to follow. Lin Yuan, on the other hand, was forging his own path, taking steps into the completely unknown. Breaking through to the fourth stage would be a thousand, or even ten thousand, times more difficult.
Of course, this 'thousand or ten thousand times' was based on Lin Yuan's current strength at the pinnacle of the third stage. For a higher-level cultivator, such as the fifth or sixth stage, the task of forging a new evolutionary path would be much easier, with their greater perspective and understanding.
"Even if it's a thousand or ten thousand times more difficult, with Lin Yuan's unreasonable heaven-defying comprehension, he should have broken through to the fourth stage by now."
However, Lin Yuan had been hesitating.
There were differences even among the fourth stages.
For example, a Celestial Master who had ascended using the power of Taiyin, as opposed to one who had ascended using the Tao of Taiji, were naturally two different concepts.
For this fourth-stage ascension, Lin Yuan wanted to promote the essence of the rules within the divine soldier fragments.
Ascending to the fourth stage in this manner would undoubtedly unlock the greatest potential.
Over the past fifty years, Lin Yuan had collected dozens of divine soldier fragments, incorporating the essence of their rules into his martial arts cultivation system.
But these fragmented rule essences were still too few for Lin Yuan.
They were insufficient to support his ascension to the fourth stage.
"Evil Soldier Envoy."
Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Over the years, the Reverse God Association had helped him collect divine soldier fragments, but naturally, they were all relatively weak ones.
It couldn't be helped; divine soldier fragments possessed their own consciousness.
Even if Sikong Lun used all his tricks, he could only deceive and mislead ordinary divine soldier fragments.
As for the truly powerful divine soldier fragments, their whereabouts were something the Reverse God Association couldn't grasp. These fragments usually already had Soldier Envoys cultivating them, and they would remain dormant within their bodies most of the time.
The Reverse God Association and these Evil Soldier Envoys had a cooperative relationship, and the former couldn't command the latter.
Each time the Reverse God Association requested the Evil Soldier Envoys' assistance, they had to pay a hefty price.
Even so, facing the suppression of the thirty-six nations of the Central Plains, the Reverse God Association and these Evil Soldier Envoys were considered allies, standing on the same front.
The Evil Soldier Envoys took orders from the Evil Soldiers, which were the losers of that battle eight thousand years ago, where a hundred divine soldiers clashed.
Their bodies were shattered by the strongest thirty-six divine soldiers, their fragments scattered to the four corners of the world.
Thus, the Evil Soldiers held a natural grudge against the thirty-six divine soldiers.
The two sides were inherently opposed.
As for the Reverse God Association, it was a force composed of those who wanted to rebel against the rule of the divine soldiers.
They, too, stood in opposition to the thirty-six divine soldiers.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Therefore, the Reverse God Association and the Evil Soldiers were natural allies.
Previously, Sikong Lun's base in the Reverse God Association had been suppressed by a fragment of the Saint Heart Realm.
However, Lin Yuan had sent over twenty Martial Saints to crush that base, and they had done so with such speed that the Saint Heart Realm fragment hadn't even had time to react before the battle was over.
As Lin Yuan sank into thought, faint footsteps approached, growing louder.
"Greetings, Your Excellency."
The visitor was none other than Sikong Lun.
In the fifty years that had passed, Sikong Lun had aged considerably, his head now sprinkled with white hair.
"Hm?"
Lin Yuan glanced at Sikong Lun and nodded slightly.
Over the years, Sikong Lun had performed admirably, constantly traveling between the thirty-six nations of the Central Plains.
Now, many of the Reverse God Association's bases heeded Lin Yuan's commands, and Sikong Lun's contributions were undeniable.
After all, Lin Yuan had been immersed in his cultivation, and to avoid attracting the attention of the true divine soldiers, he rarely showed himself.
"Get to the point," Lin Yuan said directly.
After spending fifty years together, he had some understanding of Sikong Lun and knew that he wouldn't come looking for him unless it was something important.
"Your Excellency," Sikong Lun hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice, "those Evil Soldier Envoys wish to meet with you to discuss the matter of a decisive battle against the thirty-six nations of the Central Plains."
"Decisive battle?" Lin Yuan furrowed his brows slightly. "Aren't they afraid of triggering another 'Soldier Calamity'?"
The so-called 'Soldier Calamity' referred to the disasters brought about by the battles between divine soldiers.
Eight thousand years ago, the battle between a hundred divine soldiers had come to an end, and the situation had been settled.
The thirty-six divine soldiers each took control of a nation, feasting on the blood and essence of its people.
But why did the Great Flame Dynasty's history only span about three thousand six hundred years?
Not only the Great Flame Dynasty, but the histories of the other thirty-five nations of the Central Plains were also limited to three or four thousand years.
The reason for this was that three to four thousand years ago, the numerous Evil Soldiers and the Reverse God Association had jointly initiated a great decisive battle.
That battle had enraged the thirty-six nation-stabilizing divine soldiers.
The thirty-six divine soldiers awakened simultaneously and began to suppress the Evil Soldiers, who had recovered much of their strength by then.
The battle between the two sides affected the entire Central Plains, leading to the downfall of dynasties and the lamentations of the people.
As the thirty-six divine soldiers suppressed their opponents, they also harvested the qi, blood, and souls of the populace.
This caused severe damage to humankind, from which they only recovered after hundreds or even thousands of years.
However, the impact of the battle persisted, and as the old dynasties fell, the new thirty-six nations were established.
This was the origin of the Great Flame Dynasty and the other thirty-five nations.
Later generations would refer to this period as— The Soldier Calamity.
(End of Chapter)
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