Chapter 1106: 元力与天神

Zhong Shengguang enunciated each word clearly: "At that time, Fushanlie and the Xiji puppet army were almost entirely pushed out of Longchuan, with barely any foothold left. Why did you gamble on a 'home raid' when you had a sure victory within your grasp?"

He Lingchuan was speechless.

"Now you understand why the people of Yuheng City resented you, don't you?"

He Lingchuan murmured, "I treated them as stakes."

"Indeed, you wanted to win spectacularly. But what stake would ever appreciate the gambler who places them on the table?" Zhong Shengguang said earnestly, "Never ignore public sentiment, and never underestimate public opinion. These are crucial sources of strong cohesion and combat power, and they are also intrinsically linked to Panlong City's mighty primal energy. Once dispersed, it's incredibly difficult to reassemble. You must cherish and protect it."

Primal energy.

He Lingchuan nodded in earnest agreement.

Only then did Zhong Shengguang soften his tone. He walked over and patted He Lingchuan's shoulder. "Young people are full of passion; it's inevitable to make mistakes sometimes. Learning from a setback isn't necessarily a bad thing."

He Lingchuan also let out a breath.

Why had he made such an oversight? He knew himself better than anyone; it had nothing to do with youth or passionate zeal. It was because he had overlooked the "people" of Yuheng City.

When he truly searched his heart, had he genuinely viewed the residents of Yuheng City as living people?

Yuheng City had indeed appeared and then vanished in real history, and its people and events had all turned to dust.

Yet, this was no justification for him to use the lives of an entire city as pawns in the Panlong world, merely to taunt and provoke his adversaries.

He had not respected "people"; he had not respected their feelings or understood their true emotions and difficulties.

If he accustomed himself to acting this way, what would happen in reality?

Would he also be able to view the commoners in his own territory, the subjects of his own country, as mere pawns in the future?

How could he genuinely address the people's urgent needs, anticipate their thoughts, and secure their loyalty, while simultaneously maintaining a lofty arrogance and nurturing a sense of grievance, believing "you don't understand, I'm doing this for your own good"?

The higher one stands, the better the view, but the smaller people appear.

From a mountaintop, people become tiny black dots.

From an even higher vantage point, people cease to be vibrant lives or individuals with joys and sorrows; they become mere statistics.

If he viewed people with such a mindset, what difference would there be between him and the Sky Gods, Immortals, or the Demon Emperor of Beijia?

He had made a mistake in the Panlong world, and Zhong Shengguang was there to back him up and help him navigate the situation smoothly.

But what about in reality?

In reality, some grave mistakes, once made, are irreversible, because he himself is the one who must bear full responsibility!

Even after half a year of careful deliberation, He Lingchuan still felt a chill run down his spine at that moment.

From now on, he vowed to learn from it.

After a moment of solitary reflection, he asked Zhong Shengguang, "Is the Great Wind Army far more formidable than other armies because of its primal energy?"

Given his current status in Panlong City, he was now qualified to ask such a question.

The Great Wind Army was disciplined, resolute, and exceptionally well-equipped; every soldier was a formidable warrior, one in a hundred. Any other army He Lingchuan had encountered paled in comparison.

He had even witnessed elite vanguards in Chiyan and Lingxu City, and fought against Wulu of the Ya Kingdom, yet he always felt they fell short when compared to the Great Wind Army.

Zhong Shengguang understood that He Lingchuan's question was not merely superficial. He was actually asking why the Great Wind Army's primal energy was so exceptionally potent and formidable.

"In your opinion, where does primal energy originate?"

He Lingchuan pondered for a moment. "National fortune, public opinion, and military morale?"

This was a topic he had contemplated for a long time.

Primal energy was the greatest variable in this world following the great cataclysm.

In ancient times, under the dominion of the Immortal Sects, there were no nations, only tribes and city-states.

After the celestial beings clashed, the Medieval period commenced, and primal energy emerged as a new force between heaven and earth. Nations subsequently arose, enabling them to gather the collective power of a country, city, or state to contend with immortals and demons.

Yet, the world had never provided a definitive answer—nor could it—as to why primal energy originated or why it thrived.

It required intelligent beings to discover for themselves.

For millennia, countless sages had attempted to decipher its principles. The three points He Lingchuan mentioned were precisely the currently recognized and accepted sources of primal energy, and he himself had no better additions to offer at the moment.

Zhong Shengguang smiled.

"If public opinion can be manipulated and people's hearts deceived, can primal energy also be gained through deception?"

He Lingchuan cleared his throat lightly. "Pre-war mobilization can indeed boost morale."

"But that's merely a temporary surge." Yet, the Great Wind Army's primal energy was long-lasting and remarkably stable.

"During the Medieval period, when primal energy first manifested its power, not only did immortals and demons seek to understand its origins, but even the Sky Demons from beyond the realm wished to investigate, though they couldn't cross over personally." Zhong Shengguang explained, "General Hong learned from Mitian that the Sky Demons once believed primal energy originated from human faith. Desiring to control this power, they intentionally built numerous temples and cultivated believers among humans."

He Lingchuan's eyes widened in understanding. "So that's it."

No wonder there were so many temples in the human world, especially for the pantheon of deities in Beijia; any god of note possessed their own grand and opulent temple.

"Look at figures like Holy Venerable Lingxu and True Monarch Tongming; they were clearly great demons, yet they adopted immortal titles. This was because ordinary mortals at the time were unaware of the true power of Sky Demons, so these beings merely claimed to be gods from beyond the realm." Zhong Shengguang chuckled. "Later, as the spiritual energy of heaven and earth further waned and even immortals grew less formidable, other Sky Demons used their own honorific titles to establish temples and be worshipped as gods, such as Mitian and Miaozhantian."

"Even with temples, they couldn't harness primal energy." As someone from a later era, He Lingchuan naturally knew this experiment by the Sky Demons had failed.

"Indeed, primal energy isn't merely the power of fervent belief; otherwise, the more fanatical and bigoted a cult, the greater its primal energy would be. This clearly wasn't the truth of this realm, and the Sky Demons soon understood that primal energy must be intrinsically linked to the state."

"They attempted countless times, hoping to control primal energy across realms. Eventually, they succeeded."

He Lingchuan realized, "Beijia?"

"Not just Beijia," Zhong Shengguang said meaningfully. "Beijia is merely the most potent and successful of their creations."

"General Hong once told me that, according to the observations of Mitian and the other gods, primal energy has continued to evolve over the past two millennia, and its rules are not immutable. This makes it even harder for us to formulate any definitive conclusions." The subject of their study was itself evolving, meaning principles discovered earlier might no longer apply in later eras. "And the reason primal energy evolves is likely because—"

He Lingchuan finished his thought, "—because the Grand Square Kettle itself is also evolving?"

The secrets he knew ran deeper than those known by ordinary beings.

"Precisely!" Zhong Shengguang gave him an approving look, as if to say, 'a teachable student indeed.' "As the Grand Square Kettle changes, primal energy may change along with it. So, if you ask me why primal energy originated, well, even the immortals have no definitive answer."

Primal energy is something tangible yet intangible. Even the imperial geomancers who manipulate it cannot fully grasp its characteristics.

Which nation wouldn't desire powerful primal energy?

Often, things turn out contrary to expectations.

Zhong Shengguang could only say, "As for why the Great Wind Army's primal energy is so potent, perhaps it's because our actions are in harmony with the Dao?"

"In harmony with the Dao?" He Lingchuan pondered, wondering what kind of Dao this implicitly referred to.

Zhong Shengguang shifted the topic. "I specifically summoned you back today because there's a confidential task I need you to undertake."

He Lingchuan collected his thoughts, his spirits rising. "Yes!"

Zhong Shengguang waved his hands, signaling to those nearby.

The others immediately withdrew, leaving the area to Zhong Shengguang and He Lingchuan.

To He Lingchuan's surprise, Zhong Shengguang even produced his "Dharma Eye" — that massive, constantly shifting eyeball — to scan their surroundings.

Only after confirming that no divine arts or magical powers for tracking or eavesdropping were present did he continue:

"This mission concerns General Hong."

He Lingchuan hadn't seen General Hong for at least six months. She was absent from the northwestern front of the Panlong Wasteland as well.

However, she often vanished from public sight, so her absence didn't strike anyone as particularly strange.

"Where has she gone?"

"In secluded cultivation," Zhong Shengguang said, picking up a clerk's records to glance at them. He added casually, "Her cultivation is about to advance again; she's reached another crucial stage recently."

He spoke nonchalantly, yet He Lingchuan couldn't shake the feeling that there was something peculiar about that statement.

What did "again" imply?

Why did he sense that Zhong Shengguang didn't seem particularly... pleased?

The more powerful General Hong became, the more advantageous it ought to be for Panlong City.

Zhong Shengguang sighed again, put down the documents, and abruptly asked, "How has your cultivation progressed recently?"

"Very quickly." The commander rarely inquired about his subordinates' cultivation, and He Lingchuan was momentarily taken aback by the question. "The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is increasing, and not just for me; all cultivators in the army are making significant progress."

Zhong Shengguang smiled. "In the past two years, Panlong City has seen a steady emergence of many promising new talents, individuals with the potential to become generals and commanders. You'll recognize quite a few of them."

"Yes," He Lingchuan affirmed. Both the Panlong Army and the Great Wind Army had recently seen rising stars, totaling seven or eight young generals, several of whom were He Lingchuan's former comrades.

It is often said that a thousand soldiers are easily acquired, but a single general is hard to find. Fortunately, the "spirit of the land" and "human brilliance" typically interact, and Panlong City's military system also readily promotes talent.

The rapidly surging spiritual energy infused vitality into this world, benefiting ordinary beings, while cultivators and demons naturally reaped the greatest rewards.

"This year, seven occurrences of 'Emperor's Dew' have fallen, big and small. According to some elder demons, the concentration of spiritual energy in heaven and earth has reached its peak in nearly two hundred years," Zhong Shengguang stated. "If this trend continues, the Panlong Wasteland will soon transform into a land of abundance, and Panlong City will have no further concerns. Mitian and we are even collecting and compiling new divine abilities to adapt to a world with increasingly rich spiritual energy."

He Lingchuan was overjoyed.

Ancient and Medieval divine abilities were immensely powerful but had long since vanished. This wasn't because various immortal sects and Daoist traditions hoarded their secrets, leading to the loss of spell scrolls, but because spiritual energy gradually diminished, making these divine abilities either unusable or too costly.

For example, the Minor Mountain-Moving Array, which in ancient times was merely a flick of an immortal's wrist, now requires modern cultivators to sacrifice their lifespan to use.

Today's divine abilities and spells, even those originating from ancient times, have undergone extensive modifications, resulting in reduced power and consumption.

Once the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is fully restored to Medieval levels, more powerful spells are certain to make a comeback.