Chapter 1617: I Have a Dream, Yuchenzi Edition

Yu Chenzi quickly looked over. An exceptionally handsome middle-aged man was striding into the Imperial Study. The man's most striking feature was his beard.

His mustache was meticulously trimmed, neatly descending from both sides of his upper lip without a single stray hair. On his lower lip and chin, only a single strand of beard remained, forming a fork-like shape.

"Meng Yungui!" Yu Chenzi recognized him. Among the Heavenly Court's Four Celestial Masters, Meng Yungui was the most difficult to deal with.

Yu Chenzi was responsible for Yan Kang's diplomacy. He had researched the Heavenly Court's Four Celestial Masters, Four Heavenly Kings, and Four-Colored Emperors, and was also familiar with powerful ministers like the Seven Dukes, Three Grand Masters, Prime Minister, and Junior Guardian.

In Yan Kang, he had a dedicated team that studied the personalities, hobbies, weaknesses, psychology, families, and backgrounds of the Heavenly Court's powerful ministers, maintaining detailed dossiers on each.

He knew a great deal about Meng Yungui. Meng Yungui was a human from Yu Hua Heaven who became a god there before serving as an official in the Heavenly Court. He later entered the Dao Sect for studies, becoming a disciple of the Dao Sect Master to learn numerology.

His mastery of numerology was exceptionally high; he could be considered the Heavenly Court's foremost expert in the art.

In this regard, Meng Yungui was Yu Chenzi's senior martial uncle. Yu Chenzi himself came from a branch of the Dao Sect, the Qingyun Heavenly Dao Sect, and the Heavenly Court's Dao Master was the founder of the Qingyun Heavenly Dao Sect.

"Chaos numerology involves chaotic data. To find a high probability within this chaos requires fuzzy calculations. It's incredibly difficult to anticipate Senior Martial Uncle Meng Yungui's moves because his numerology skills are so profound."

Yu Chenzi quickly stepped forward, bowing deeply to Meng Yungui. "Yu Chenzi of Qingyun Heaven greets Senior Martial Uncle Meng!"

Meng Yungui looked at him and said coldly, "You are a disciple of the Qingyun Heavenly Dao Sect? How audacious! How dare you display your numerology before me, acting as a lobbyist for Celestial Venerable Mu, attempting to deceive His Majesty! Your Majesty, kill this wretch first to consecrate our banner!"

Celestial Venerable Hao laughed. "Celestial Master Meng, Yu Chenzi is your junior martial nephew. Why do you wish to kill him the moment you meet him?"

Meng Yungui immediately bowed and knelt. "Your subject followed the Dao Master to learn numerology, a Daoist art, excelling in calculations. I also studied painting for a hundred years under Wenchang Star Lord, once commissioning over a hundred divine beings and devils skilled in painting to observe Celestial Venerable Mu and depict his every gesture, expression, and detail. My understanding of Celestial Venerable Mu even surpasses his own! Celestial Venerable Mu is someone who won't shed tears until he sees the coffin; as long as there's a sliver of hope, he will fight to the bitter end! He is also utterly unscrupulous; all his mannerisms and expressions can be feigned!"

He coldly scanned the divine beings and devils skilled in painting present in the Imperial Study. "These painters are utterly useless, talking nonsense about discerning Celestial Venerable Mu's state of mind while writing the surrender letter from between the lines! Celestial Venerable Mu can already feign his emotions and inject false feelings into his calligraphy and paintings. Not a single word he writes can be trusted!"

His gaze then fell on Yu Chenzi, and he sneered, "Celestial Venerable Mu sent him here simply to put on a show! As for our current plan, let's first kill Yu Chenzi, place his head in a jade box, and send it to Celestial Venerable Mu!"

He raised his hand high and made a slicing motion. "Your Majesty should then have Celestial Venerable Xu eradicate half of Yan Kang's population to warn him that this is the consequence of trying to deceive Your Majesty!"

Celestial Venerable Hao frowned.

Yu Chenzi smiled slightly but remained silent.

Meng Yungui loudly declared, "Your Majesty, employing both leniency and severity is the only way to achieve peace under heaven! To deal with Celestial Venerable Mu, we must make an example of him!"

"I fear he might fight to the death," Celestial Venerable Hao shook his head. "Celestial Master Meng, Celestial Venerable Mu, unbound by any constraints, is the most terrifying Celestial Venerable Mu. You suggest I wipe out half of Yan Kang's population in an instant, but you haven't considered that he is still the Calamity Indestructible Master. If pushed too far, he could resurrect those people, rekindle his Dao heart, and fight me to the very end. What then?"

Meng Yungui raised an eyebrow, about to speak, but Celestial Venerable Hao raised his hand and said indifferently, "What I want is a Celestial Venerable Mu who is a mere shell of himself, whose Dao heart has crumbled. Pushing him too hard might reignite his fighting spirit. If he abandons Yan Kang and leads Ling, Yue, You, Lang, and the others in a desperate struggle, hmph, who in the Heavenly Court would dare claim they could protect themselves?"

He stood up and paced. "You have never understood one principle. I don't just want to destroy the will of my enemies; I also want to gain the maximum benefit! What I desire is not merely Celestial Venerable Mu's Dao heart crumbling and him submitting at my feet; I also want a complete Yan Kang!"

Meng Yungui frowned.

Celestial Venerable Hao tossed the surrender letter to him, smiling. "Take a look at Celestial Venerable Mu's surrender letter. A shattered Yan Kang is worthless, but a surrendered Yan Kang can ensure peace for my dominion for ten thousand generations!"

Meng Yungui unfolded the surrender letter and read it carefully. When he reached "Your subject has slept," he couldn't help but frown.

"Celestial Master Meng, you have tracked the flow of Heavenly Coins and are deeply concerned about the Heavenly Court's economy, believing that the Heavenly Coins might collapse and not last another century."

With his hands clasped behind his back, Celestial Venerable Hao calmly stated, "If Heavenly Coins collapse, the myriad heavens and worlds will undoubtedly rebel and cause chaos. Not only will you have a headache, but I will too. But as long as Yan Kang falls into my hands, this pit of Heavenly Coins can be filled! Not only can it be filled, but I can also completely control the economy and resources of the myriad heavens and worlds! With control over the economy and resources, who could possibly resist me?"

Meng Yungui closed the surrender letter, visibly moved. "Your Majesty's intention is to seize this opportunity to annex Yan Kang and gain complete control over the myriad heavens and worlds? Your Majesty possesses grand vision and strategy, far beyond your subject's capabilities."

Celestial Venerable Hao smiled. "Your perspective is too narrow. You are not seated in my position, so you cannot see these things."

Meng Yungui mused, "If Your Majesty controls the economy and resources of the myriad heavens and worlds, how could the other Celestial Venerables agree? Southern Heaven's resources are in the hands of Celestial Venerable Huo, Eastern Heaven's in the Grand Emperor's, Northern Heaven's in the Empress Dowager's, Xuandu's in Ancestral God King's, and Western Heaven's in Your Majesty's. How could they possibly relinquish such great power?"

Celestial Venerable Hao scoffed. "Once Yan Kang is under my control, they will have no say! The Grand Emperor, when he rebelled against the Creator back then, only managed to overthrow the Creator and ascend to the position of Heavenly Emperor by borrowing the power of other ancient gods. He then enfeoffed feudal lords, distributing the universe to those ancient gods who had rendered services, which led to these ancient gods carving out their own territories and constant warfare. But I will not emulate him!"

He took a deep breath. "I aspire to be the eternal Heavenly Emperor. I must not follow his example of enfeoffing lords and causing future unrest! By controlling Yan Kang, stabilizing Heavenly Coins, and having Yan Kang manufacture everything for the Heavenly Court free of charge, while the myriad heavens and worlds supply Yan Kang with resources, the circulation of Heavenly Coins will face no obstacles. The other Celestial Venerables will merely possess territories and power in name, but the one who truly rules the myriad heavens and worlds will be me alone!"

Meng Yungui's body trembled slightly. "Controlling Yan Kang is a crucial step, but Your Majesty, the other Celestial Venerables will surely want a share..."

"Share with them?" Celestial Venerable Hao scoffed, speaking leisurely. "Who dares to touch the meat in my bowl? Whoever touches it dies! I am different from the Grand Emperor, from Ancestral God King, Celestial Venerable Xu, and Celestial Venerable Huo. The Grand Emperor treated humans as food for demigods and ancient gods and suppressed humanity. Ancestral God King, Celestial Venerable Xu, and Lang Xuan enslaved humans, also treating them as food. This led to humanity's continuous resistance, resulting in Carefree Village and Yan Kang. But I am different."

"I treat Yan Kang as labor. As long as Yan Kang works for me and ceases to resist, I will give them food and a way to live. While they won't rise to become masters, they can at least survive."

Celestial Venerable Hao smiled. "Celestial Master Meng, do you understand my ambitions now?"

Meng Yungui bowed deeply. "Your Majesty's talent and strategy are far beyond your humble subject's."

Celestial Venerable Hao burst into laughter and waved his hand. "You may withdraw. The envoy may also retire and rest. At the ascension ceremony, you will present the surrender letter before the rulers of the myriad heavens and worlds. I want everyone under heaven to know that Celestial Venerable Mu has submitted!"

Yu Chenzi quickly prostrated himself and said, "Your Majesty is truly enlightened!"

Everyone exited the Imperial Study. Meng Yungui walked ahead, and Yu Chenzi quickly scurried to catch up, whispering, "Thank you, Senior Martial Uncle, for your leniency."

Meng Yungui remained noncommittal. "It wasn't my leniency, but His Majesty's. If His Majesty had not been willing to relent, no one could have made him."

Yu Chenzi smiled slightly. "Regardless, had Senior Martial Uncle not appeared, Celestial Venerable Hao might not have made up his mind."

Meng Yungui glanced at him. "I know your thoughts, and I know Celestial Venerable Mu's thoughts as well. It's nothing more than an attempt to buy time. Just now, you heard His Majesty dissect his own intentions. What do you think?"

Yu Chenzi solemnly replied, "As Heavenly Emperor, Celestial Venerable Hao is more enlightened than Emperor Tai and Grand Emperor Tai Chu! He deeply understands the principle that prevention is better than suppression!"

"So you still wish to rebel?" Meng Yungui lowered his voice, wanting to speak forcefully but restraining himself. "Since he is an enlightened ruler, why not simply surrender? His Majesty has already left a path for humanity to survive!"

Yu Chenzi looked at him with a smile. "Senior Martial Uncle, in the Primordial Era, Emperor Tai was also an enlightened ruler, and in the Ancient Era, Grand Emperor Tai Chu was also an enlightened ruler. Celestial Venerable Hao, placed in either the Primordial or Ancient Era, would have done better than them. However, once you've witnessed Yan Kang, you'll understand that they are all outdated."

Meng Yungui frowned deeply.

"We have seen better. Emperor Yanfeng and Emperor Yanxiu, both of them, governed better than Celestial Venerable Hao."

Yu Chenzi calmly continued, "Emperor Yanfeng shattered the concept of gods in the hearts of the populace, Emperor Yanxiu developed civilian livelihoods and usage, and Celestial Venerable Mu seeks to have gods serve humanity—that 'human' character actually refers to the common people. Gods serving the people, the people being all living beings. Celestial Venerable Hao has only slightly modified the ruling policies of Emperor Tai and Grand Emperor Tai Chu, whereas what Yan Kang has achieved is true revolution!"

"We have already risen, and we refuse to kneel again, refuse to be slaves again! We want to control our own destinies!"

"Senior Martial Uncle, I have a dream. When I met Celestial Venerable Mu, this dream was ignited, making me so excited I couldn't sleep all night, bringing tears to my eyes, and filling my chest with a fervent power that inspires me. No matter how difficult, no matter how dangerous, I must fulfill this dream. Even if it costs me my head, even if it costs me my life!"

A smile appeared on Yu Chenzi's face, his eyes bright. "Even if I bear infamy in the future, I will see this through!"

Meng Yungui stopped, looking at him with complex eyes, as if seeing his younger self.

Once upon a time, he too had a dream, but after coming to the Heavenly Court, that dream gradually shattered, forcing him to feign his true self.

This young man from the Dao Sect made him see the original aspiration he had long lost.

"You won't win." He dropped these words, quickened his pace, and left Yu Chenzi behind.

Yu Chenzi smiled, watching his retreating back, his voice slightly hoarse as he murmured, "Generation after generation, they have all fought for this dream—from Celestial Venerable Yu, from Celestial Venerable Yun, from the Crimson Emperor and Bright Emperor, from the Grand Emperor, from the Founding Emperor, to now, to Celestial Venerable Mu, to Yan Kang. We have never given up, Senior Martial Uncle, humanity has never given up, Senior Martial Uncle..."

Meng Yungui walked even faster, as if fleeing for his life, neither daring nor wishing to hear his words. Those words were dangerous heresy; they would shake his heart.