Chapter 435: Chapter 430: Destiny Golden Dragon, Extending Lifespan with National Destiny
Old Emperor Yang Yu watched the stooped figure of Grand Tutor Helian Guang as he departed, but felt not a ripple of emotion in his heart.
Many courtiers secretly called him harsh and ungrateful, but he paid them no mind, for that was simply who he was. As for those who dared to voice such opinions, they had all vanished from White Jade City.
To speak ill of him was to be prepared to disappear.
To be a courtier in the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty, one needed to be cautious in word and deed. Those who couldn’t hold their tongues did not live for long.
This held true regardless of one’s talent or scholarship.
This was also part of the reason why First Grade Grand Scholar Peng Kang supported Crown Prince Yang Qian.
"You really have the heart to do it, sending away even your most loyal courtier."
An ancient voice, tinged with weariness, echoed within Taihe Hall.
"Greetings, Ancestor!"
Old Emperor Yang Yu bowed deeply. There were few in the entire Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty who could command such a gesture from him. Before his ascension to the throne, there had been a fair number, but afterward, they became exceedingly rare.
"Is it not a courtier’s duty to serve the nation?"
"The Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty needs them now, so they must shoulder its burdens!"
"At this rate, the national fates of both empires will soon be in turmoil!"
Old Emperor Yang Yu spoke with utter nonchalance. In his mind, nearly anyone and anything was expendable.
Besides, this was all part of a grand scheme, and such schemes naturally required sacrifices. A single Grand Tutor was of no consequence; once the matter was settled, he could simply appoint another.
For him, the options were endless.
"The Martial Saint Ancestor of the Jin Meng Empire has encountered a problem with his cultivation. This is now their only recourse: to seek a sliver of hope for survival."
There was only one person in the entire Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty whom Yang Yu addressed as "Ancestor": the Martial Saint Ancestor. Only before this man did the Emperor’s unbending spine have to bow.
This was true of his status as both an Ancestor and a Martial Saint.
The combination of the two left him no choice but to bend his back.
"It is a pity that you failed to break through even after taking the Earth Element Supreme Pill. Now, you can only seize this opportunity, while the Imperial Dynasty’s fate is in turmoil, and use the Power of National Fate to break through to the National Guardian Martial Saint Realm."
"But if you break through using the Power of National Fate, you will be bound by it for the rest of your life!"
"The moment I contend with the Jin Meng Empire’s Martial Saint Ancestor over the national fate to extend my lifespan will be your opportunity. If you fail to break through this time, all hope for you to ever do so in this lifetime will be lost!"
The Martial Saint Ancestor of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty looked at Yang Yu’s cultivation at the Peak of Bone Marrow Cleansing. It had been tempered to its absolute limit, yet he struggled to break through. After several failed attempts, the bottleneck had only grown thicker and harder to shatter.
His own lifespan was short, forcing him to vie for national fate to extend it, though success was not guaranteed. This was why he had to have Yang Yu attempt this path, serving as a contingency plan.
Only with a National Guardian Martial Saint presiding over it could the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty’s national fate flow long and deep. Without such a guardian, the national fate would quickly dissipate, and a new dynasty would rise to take its place.
This was the trajectory of history. If an Imperial Dynasty wished to endure, it needed a ceaseless supply of National Guardian Martial Saints.
The Jin Meng Empire’s attack on the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty was driven by more than just the enmity between the two nations; the primary reason was that the Jin Meng Empire’s National Guardian Martial Saint had encountered a problem with his cultivation and was nearing the end of his life.
When Taiyin Heaven emerged before, the two empires had called a truce, hoping to find some fortuitous opportunity within it. Unfortunately, Taiyin Heaven closed too quickly, and they found no such chance to extend their lifespans.
They had set their sights on the tower’s legacy and even secretly moved against the people of the Holy Lands, but they found no trace of it and eventually abandoned the search.
And so, they chose to go to war once more.
The Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty appeared to be on the defensive, but in truth, they had made many preparations. Even if the Jin Meng Empire hadn’t launched the war, Great Zhou would have, for their own Martial Saint Ancestor’s lifespan was also running out.
If his cultivation could break through, he could extend his lifespan for a time. But unfortunately, once one’s Martial Arts Cultivation reached the Martial Saint Realm, advancing through each minor realm was harder than climbing to heaven.
Thus, they had chosen war.
The leaders of both sides had reached a tacit agreement: to exhaust their national fate. Once it was depleted to a certain point, it would rebound and give back. At that precise moment, they could seize a portion of that returning power, nourish themselves with it, and potentially break through to a higher realm, thus extending their lifespans.
When an Imperial Dynasty’s fate is at its peak, seizing this rebounding Power of National Fate is impossible. Devouring such power would, of course, impact the dynasty. But if the Great Zhou Imperial Family had no National Guardian Martial Saint, if no new Martial Saint was born, then the moment the current one passed away, this world would no longer belong to the Great Zhou Imperial Family. It would no longer bear the name Yang.
Naturally, neither Yang Yu nor the National Guardian Martial Saint Ancestor was willing to let that happen, so they chose to deplete the Power of National Fate.
The Jin Meng Empire’s situation was much the same; their goal was to extend a life while simultaneously healing an injury.
The current war was a clash between the two empires’ Destiny Golden Dragons. With every soldier that died, the aura of the Golden Dragons would shift. Once that shift reached a certain degree, their goal would be within reach.
"Rest assured, Ancestor. I will definitely seize this opportunity and not squander the chance you have given me!"
Old Emperor Yang Yu said with a solemn expression.
The rebounding Power of National Fate from the Destiny Golden Dragon was not something just anyone could seize. At his current Peak of Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster Realm, if he were to try, he would likely be swatted to death by the Golden Dragon!
It was the concentrated power of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty’s entire national fate, a force far stronger than any Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster.
Only a National Guardian Martial Saint could contend for it. Yang Yu’s role would be to snatch a portion of that power to find the catalyst for his own breakthrough. This was his last chance.
Breaking through to the National Guardian Martial Saint Realm was exceptionally difficult. Each failed attempt was like closing the gate to a breakthrough a little further. Eventually, it would shut completely, and all opportunity would be lost.
He had tried several times, and his hope had grown slimmer with each failure.
This was, in fact, quite normal. Several emperors of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty had been in the same predicament, attempting to break through to the National Guardian Martial Saint Realm only to fail.
His situation, however, was far more critical. With the Martial Saint Ancestor’s lifespan dwindling, their only option—both to extend the Ancestor’s life and to give birth to a new National Guardian Martial Saint for the dynasty—was to target the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty’s Destiny Golden Dragon and seize the rebounding Power of National Fate. This was what gave him an opportunity to break through to the National Guardian Martial Saint Realm.
It was his last chance, and he had no intention of giving up.
To coordinate this plan, he had been willing to sacrifice even a trusted confidant like Grand Tutor Helian Guang, all for the sake of wounding the Destiny Golden Dragon and accelerating their progress.
And it wasn’t just Grand Tutor Helian Guang. Many others in the court, including those from the Six Gates, were also being sacrificed to achieve this goal.
For people like Yang Yu, as long as a new National Guardian Martial Saint emerged, everything else was expendable. And as long as he was the one to make that breakthrough, all was well.
In truth, whether the National Guardian Martial Saint Ancestor could extend his life was less important to him than whether he himself could break through to the National Guardian Martial Saint Realm.
If he ascended to the National Guardian Martial Saint Realm, he could preside over the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty for hundreds of years, just like the old Ancestor. The possibilities would be endless.
Otherwise, in a few short years, he too would perish, be buried in the Imperial Mausoleum, and be slowly forgotten by future generations.
’No, to be precise,’ he thought, ’if I fail to break through to the National Guardian Martial Saint Realm, and the Ancestor fails to extend his life, the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty will likely be annihilated. I won’t even have the chance to be buried in the Imperial Mausoleum.’
"If you fail, it is not me you will be letting down, but the entire Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty!"
"Right now, you are the only one in the Imperial Family at the Peak of Bone Marrow Cleansing. You are the only one with this chance. If you fail to grasp it, you will be the great sinner of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty!"
"If I succeed in extending my life, we will have more years to groom another successor. But we must still consider the worst-case scenario."
"If we both fail, then those members of the Imperial Family who were sent away will become the Yang Family’s last hope. Living under new identities, they will still have a chance!"
The National Guardian Martial Saint Ancestor sighed.
This sort of undertaking required a direct confrontation with another National Guardian Martial Saint to vie for that single opportunity. And even if they won it, success was not guaranteed. It all still depended on fortune.
It was just like breaking through in Martial Arts Cultivation; no matter how perfect the preparations, failure was always a possibility.
And he would only have one chance. If he failed, there would be no second.
His age was too great, and his Qi and Blood were already beginning to decline. He wouldn’t live long enough for a second attempt; in fact, it was possible a failed breakthrough would kill him on the spot.
Therefore, he had made plans for the worst-case scenario, to be ready should it come to pass.
Without a National Guardian Martial Saint, it would be nearly impossible for the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty to hold onto its foundations.
And those disciples of the Yang Family, scattered to various lands and living in hiding, were their final hope.
"Heaven does not forsake a determined heart!"
"With all our painstaking arrangements, we are bound to have a good result!"
Yang Yu, however, was full of spirit, not nearly as pessimistic as the Martial Saint Ancestor. The main reason was that he had finally seen a ray of hope.
Before this, he had watched his chances of breaking through to the National Guardian Martial Saint Realm grow ever slimmer, leading to one disappointment after another.
The Earth Element Supreme Pill, Taiyin Heaven—these had all been sources of deep disappointment.
But now, he had found a new path. As for the Martial Saint Ancestor’s warning—’you will be bound by it for the rest of your life’—he couldn’t care less.
’First, I’ll break through to the National Guardian Martial Saint Realm,’ he thought. ’If I’m not even a National Guardian Martial Saint, what’s the use of discussing anything else? It’s all just empty talk.’
"Let’s hope so," the National Guardian Martial Saint Ancestor said slowly.
"Ancestor, should we have the various Major Sects send out more of their prodigies? It would accelerate the loss of national fate!"
The Old Emperor felt things were not moving fast enough and wanted to take further action.
After all, these prodigies from the Major Sects were a potential threat to the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty. Having more of them die would cause the Destiny Golden Dragon to lose more Power of National Fate, while simultaneously eliminating future threats to the dynasty—a double benefit.
"Not for now. We’ll stick to the current pace. Moving too quickly will only trigger a backlash."
"At this rate, we only need to continue for a few more months, and the opportune moment will arrive. At that time, we will send them all over at once and inflict a heavy blow upon the Destiny Golden Dragon. Then, the Power of National Fate will rebound!"
"If the Destiny Golden Dragon isn’t crippled by a sudden, heavy blow, it will likely retaliate. That scenario would be far more dangerous, and our chances of success would plummet."
The National Guardian Martial Saint Ancestor considered it for a moment before rejecting the idea, though his own arrangement was even more ruthless.
For now, they were merely cultivating these individuals, all to serve their ultimate purpose.
For the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty to have come to this, it could only be described as an act of utter madness.
"Very well. We shall do as you say, Ancestor."
The Old Emperor nodded in agreement, acknowledging that the Ancestor’s considerations were far more thorough than his own.
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