Supreme Emptiness

Chapter 2258: Chapter 2302: Nanqian’s Grand Plan

Jiang Fan frowned. "But it is absolutely true."

The Prime Minister shook his head. "Impossible. I have never heard of any power of wishes that can surpass the Heavenly Dao.

"How could a mere little pendant contend with the Heavenly Dao by exacting such a trivial price?

"If it were that easy, why would those in the Three Calamities Realm across heaven and earth fear having their bodies and souls completely destroyed?

"And what would those slumbering in the Saint Realm have to worry about?"

Jiang Fan hesitated. Only now did he realize that the Time Tear Pendant was indeed somewhat bizarre.

Seeing that Jiang Fan’s expression did not seem faked, a sharp glint flashed in the Prime Minister’s eyes. "Unless, there is another possibility.

"An indescribable entity secretly intervened and opposed the Heavenly Dao on your behalf.

"But that would be even more terrifying.

"During the era of the Daqian Divine Kingdom—a time teeming with supreme experts and dominated by eternal conquerors—no one could contend with the Heavenly Dao.

"Not even the Monarch!"

Jiang Fan’s expression stiffened slightly. An entity even stronger than the Monarch had fulfilled a wish for him?

The Monarch of the Daqian Divine Kingdom must have been in the Saint Realm, and not just in the ordinary sense. He was the King of All Saints, capable of subjugating the myriad worlds. If this entity was even stronger than him, just what kind of existence was it?

A god? Was a god spying on him? Fulfilling a wish for him?

Jiang Fan suddenly felt a chilling cold wash over him, the hairs on his body standing on end. A gust of cold air rushed from the soles of his feet straight to his Heavenly Spirit Cover.

The Prime Minister gave Jiang Fan a deep, meaningful look. "If you aren’t lying, then you had better be careful.

"Everything in this world comes with a price tag. Since this person intervened for you once, you are destined to pay an unbearable price in the future."

Jiang Fan’s heart skipped a beat. However, when he remembered that he still faced a fatal tribulation of death, he felt relieved. If he wasn’t afraid of dying, why should he fear paying a price?

"Thank you for the information, Senior. It’s a pity that Nanqian doesn’t have the Imperial Jade Seal either; I’ve made this trip for nothing. I will take my leave now, but before I go, I have a favor to ask of you, Prime Minister," Jiang Fan said, cupping his hands in salute.

The Prime Minister looked at Jiang Fan, then at the Big Black Dog beside him. "Speak."

Jiang Fan said, "Two of my friends were captured while traveling in Nanqian. They are currently being held as prisoners in the Nanqian Military Camp. Could you be lenient and let them go?"

The Big Black Dog bared its teeth at the Prime Minister and chimed in, "Old man, this guy and I are on pretty good terms. If you won’t do it for him, at least give this dog some face. It’s no big deal to release two insignificant nobodies, right?"

The Prime Minister remained silent. He traced a finger over Jiang Fan’s chest, and a glowing character for "Retrieve" appeared.

"Go," the Prime Minister said, closing his eyes.

"Thank you, Prime Minister!" Jiang Fan said gratefully. He waved his hand. "Let’s go!"

With that, he led the Big Black Dog, Qing Jiu, and Liang Feiyan away.

The fact that things had gone so smoothly was somewhat beyond his expectations. Not daring to let his guard down, Jiang Fan hurriedly led the group out of the grand hall. Sensing that no one was pursuing them, he brought out the Heart of Ten Thousand Earths, enveloping everyone to make an Instantaneous Movement escape.

Unless the Prime Minister pursued them personally, no one would be able to catch up. After ten consecutive jumps, the cooldown of the Heart of Ten Thousand Earths grew longer. Seeing that there were still no pursuers behind them, Jiang Fan finally relaxed completely.

"Are the people of Nanqian always this easy to talk to?" Jiang Fan asked, slightly surprised.

The Big Black Dog rolled its eyes. "You make it sound like everyone in Nanqian is a bad guy! Aside from scum like Feng Lingxiao and the Bone Struggle Sage, how many bad apples have you actually met?"

Jiang Fan lightly punched it. "Good guys? Across the Hundred Realms of All Heavens, how many worlds have collapsed just because Nanqian is about to wage war?"

Not to mention the distant ones. For some of the nearby minor worlds that relied on Nanqian, their experts had abandoned the weak and helpless, taking the World Embryos and leaving the inhabitants to fend for themselves.

The Big Black Dog crossed its front paws over its chest. "Hmph! So short-sighted!

"Why don’t you consider that we might be saving the common people?

"The Dark Tide is about to strike. Across the myriad worlds, everyone will be reduced to ash, except for the Divine Capital and the Four Great Realms.

"When that time comes, how many lives will be lost?

"If Nanqian can unify all the heavens and rebuild the Daqian Divine Kingdom before the Dark Tide hits, we can gather the myriad realms into a single, cohesive entity.

"Wouldn’t the inhabitants of those doomed, weaker worlds then have a glimmer of hope to survive the Dark Tide?"

Oh? Jiang Fan looked surprised. Did Nanqian’s war to restore the Divine Kingdom actually encompass such a magnificent goal?

"What about the casualties of war?" Jiang Fan asked.

For once, the Big Black Dog looked serious. "Temporary bloodshed is for the sake of everlasting peace.

"If we can rebuild the Divine Kingdom so that the living beings of the myriad worlds have something to rely on, I wouldn’t have a single regret if I lost my dog life on the battlefield."

Jiang Fan still couldn’t bear the thought of it. He had experienced the wars between Central Earth, the Hell Realm, and the Heavenly Realm, and had witnessed the withering of countless lives with his own eyes. That was absolutely not something that could be palely covered up with a mere phrase like "temporary bloodshed."

If the wars between individual worlds were already so cruel, how much worse would it be for the entire Hundred Realms of All Heavens? The casualties and destruction caused would be unimaginable. Even if they managed to unify all the heavens in the end, the Hundred Realms of All Heavens would likely be battered and riddled with holes, reduced to near ruins.

"Have you never considered negotiating with the Divine Capital, the Martial Vault, the Sin Realm, and the Heavenly Court?" Jiang Fan asked. "Everyone is a remnant of the Daqian Divine Kingdom. Are they really all unwilling to return to the era of the Daqian Divine Kingdom?"

The Big Black Dog snorted through its nose. "Them?

"Those old monsters are living ten, a hundred times better than they did during the era of the Daqian Divine Kingdom.

"If you asked them to return to the Daqian Divine Kingdom, they would be absolutely unwilling."

Jiang Fan frowned. "What do you mean? Wasn’t the era of the Daqian Divine Kingdom a fair one?"

He had seen numerous records in various ancient texts. The Daqian Royal Family possessed supreme compassion for the weak among the masses. To that end, they had not hesitated to deplete their national strength to care for the common people of the world on every level. This should have been an era that everyone yearned for.

"Heh!" The Big Black Dog sneered. "For the weak, the Daqian Divine Kingdom was indeed a good era.

"But for those who had once reached the absolute pinnacle of the mortal world in the Saint Realm, it was suppression.

"They followed the Daqian Monarch, conquering the east and battling the west to lay the foundation of the Divine Kingdom.

"According to historical precedent, they should have all been granted fiefs and titles, ruling over their own domains where all living beings would be mere ants beneath them.

"However, the Monarch only gave them empty titles. He stripped their families of the means to remain eternally powerful, confined them to the Divine Capital, and forbade them from freely exploiting the common people.

"Every single Saint Realm expert fell far short of attaining a status that matched their strength and contributions.

"Aside from those who truly cared for the common people and shared the same convictions as the Monarch, who wouldn’t resent the Daqian Monarch?"

Hearing this, Jiang Fan finally understood. He couldn’t help but tilt his head back and let out a long sigh.

It turned out that not everyone missed the Daqian Divine Kingdom.