Chapter 2186: Ending War Through War

State Preceptor Shuangye nodded. "When Fu Shanyue first brought He Xiao to Lingxu City, I sensed he was no ordinary person. Now, it seems he's not only a rare polymath but also incredibly fortunate. The favored one of Bailie, chosen by the God of Destiny—remarkable!"

From his vantage point, it was clear that luck was an integral part of strength, sometimes even playing a decisive role.

As the saying goes, "Man proposes, God disposes." When luck is against them, even heroes suffer defeat.

For He Xiao's grand undertaking to succeed, it was three parts hard work and seven parts luck.

As an observer, Xi Yunhe also sighed with emotion. "Cangyan has truly won big this time. But can Mou swallow this humiliation?"

Mou's temperament was as difficult as Beijia's.

"This demonstrates the Nine Underworld Emperor's capability. Looking back, all of this must have been his meticulous planning," Shuangye said with a slight smile. "Times change, circumstances change. Mou certainly couldn't have accepted it before, but in the future, it's hard to say."

"Even if Mou eventually defeats Ya and captures Western Ya's territory, it will have lost so many elites and made Ya a mortal enemy. This means both Beijia to the west and Ya to the east will be at odds with it. If it then offends Cangyan, it will be surrounded by enemies. Even if Emperor Mou were more foolish, he likely wouldn't do something like that. Therefore, in the short term, not only can it not retaliate against Cangyan, but it must also foster good relations with the Nine Underworld Emperor, unless the external situation changes again."

"And then there's Ya," Shuangye said, pointing casually at the sand table, where Ya's territory had shrunk. "After its war with Mou, it will definitely seek to reconcile with Cangyan as quickly as possible."

Xi Yunhe interjected, "Why is that? The Nine Underworld Emperor previously occupied their sacred land and humiliated the royal family."

"While all wars involve fighting and killing, the reasons for war must be considered," Shuangye instructed. "The people of Ya are not foolish. The Nine Underworld's attack on Ya was retaliation for the western invasion before Cangyan's establishment. Since Ya initiated the conflict, they cannot blame others for retaliating—that's the first point. Secondly, the agreement between the Nine Underworld Emperor and the Ya royal court was lenient, and the withdrawal of troops was decisive, with no unnecessary actions, indicating that Cangyan has no ambition to conquer Ya."

"Mou, however, is different!" Shuangye said sternly. "It dispatched troops intending to completely crush Ya, and if the war went smoothly, it even wanted to annex Ya. It was precisely because Ya recognized the ruthlessness of its opponent that it resisted with all its might for the past few months. Mou's intentions have been exposed. From now on, Ya will be extremely wary of it, and due to its small size and population, it can only seek assistance elsewhere. Doesn't Cangyan, standing behind it, seem much friendlier?"

Ya was too far from Beijia, and too close to Cangyan and Mou. Choosing the lesser of two evils, it could only seek good relations with Cangyan.

"Furthermore, the relationship between Cangyan and Beijia was already quite good even before the military aid to Bailie. He ceded the Yangshan Archipelago to the Prince of Chiyan, and twenty percent of Cangyan's commercial goods are transported to Beijia. Maintaining this relationship will make Mou even more apprehensive."

"You see, after these few wars, Mou, Ya, and Beijia will all now greet him with smiles," Shuangye concluded. "If he had been hesitant to use his military upon founding his nation, if he had simply focused on production and sought peace externally, then Ya would have acted arrogantly, and Mou would have tried to control him. How could Cangyan have achieved such a favorable situation then?"

The beginning for a great nation is crucial.

A friendly and relaxed external environment allows for internal production and development.

Such excellent situations are created by one's own efforts.

"This is what is called 'ending war with war, and stopping conflict with force.'"

Xi Yunhe was completely convinced and bowed to him, saying, "Your wisdom, State Preceptor, has taught Yunhe much."

In fact, thousands of miles away, He Lingchuan, in answering He Yue's parting question, had made a similar, but even more profound, statement.

He had said:

Peace is preserved through struggle;Peace is lost through compromise.

Shuangye exhaled. "Actually, Lingxu City doesn't want to continue fighting Mou either. The Emperor has said not to constantly bother Mou, but to give it more time and energy to get along well with Cangyan."

The more Beijia fought Mou, the more the latter, under pressure, would seek affinity with Cangyan.

They wouldn't have cooperated willingly, but you forced them to join hands through conflict.

If peace prevailed between Beijia and Mou, would Mou then have more energy to contend with Cangyan and settle old scores?

After all, the relationship between Mou and Cangyan began when Cangyan stole Bailie.

With the resurgence of spiritual energy and all things flourishing, major nations do not want to waste this universally beneficial great opportunity entirely on warfare, lest Cangyan alone profit from the side and seize the chance to enhance its national power.

However, Shuangye also saw clearly: "But this matter is not entirely up to the Emperor."

The Emperor might not want to fight anymore, but the Heavenly Gods do not wish to stop.

The intensity of conflict in the human realm is far less than in the divine realm, and with Imperial Nectar constantly flowing here, the Heavenly Gods are not pleased.

"Moreover, with numerous dramatic changes in heaven and earth, the competition between Beijia and Mou, and the struggle between the Heavenly Gods and Mount Ling, will not be limited to warfare alone. I hear the 'Awakening of Insects' period is also approaching."

State Preceptor Shuangye took something from his robe and placed it on the table. "Do you know what this is?"

It was a copper tube with a short, transparent crystal embedded in the middle. Through the crystal, Xi Yunhe could see a few wisps of red gas floating erratically inside.

"Uh. Is this... a Dragon Punishment Pillar?" The item was famously known.

"More than 160 years ago, Dragon Punishment Pillars appeared out of nowhere, and the gods fought fiercely over them, causing frequent Imperial Nectar showers," Shuangye exhaled slowly. "Originally, the Lingxu Pantheon had collected the most Dragon Punishment Pillars, but Heavenly God Miaozhan personally descended to the Upside-Down Sea and brought down over nine hundred at once, with results you're already aware of..."

"Did those nine hundred Dragon Punishment Pillars fall into the hands of the Nine Underworld Emperor?"

"Subsequently, Cangyan presented them to Mou as a national gift. Over the past year or so, Dragon Punishment Pillars have appeared west and north of Shen, seemingly in significant numbers. Most of those areas are under Kshatriya Heaven's control."

The Lingxu Pantheon certainly could not just idly watch their opponent grow stronger. Moreover, Lingxu Saint Venerable himself had a secret plan, and would surely move to seize the Dragon Punishment Pillars. "That's why chaos erupted in the heavens again. The Imperial Nectar from the fallen gods of Miaozhan Heaven had long ceased to fall, but the reason the human realm still frequently receives spiritual rain now is due to the escalating conflict among the Heavenly Gods."

Shuangye did not mention one more thing: just ten days prior, two more major righteous gods had fallen! That meant that in a few months, the human realm would experience another terrifying surge of Imperial Nectar, a deluge comparable to or even greater than that from the fall of Miaozhan Heaven.

The heavens were also in disarray.

Xi Yunhe asked, "Is this Emperor Mou's overt scheme?"

Even knowing that someone was manipulating the Dragon Punishment Pillars to incite them to fight amongst themselves, the Heavenly Gods still had to follow the script, leading to a bloodbath.

Dragon Punishment Pillars, Nightmare Qi—if you don't seize them, others certainly will.