bigabreads Chapter 923 The Second in the World, A Battle with Huang Tian Dao Ren!
Chapter 923 The Second in the World, A Battle with Huang Tian Dao Ren!
Xisha County.
In the valley.
As Jiang Ning finished speaking, the valley suddenly fell silent.
Even under the afternoon sun, the light mist in the mountains lingered for a long time.
Huang Tian Dao Ren stood on the stone platform, his earthen yellow Daoist robe fluttering gently in the breeze.
He looked calmly at Jiang Ning, then his figure gently rose into the air, moving without wind, and slowly landed a foot away from Jiang Ning.
at the same time.
The others in the valley had also gotten up.
They then retreated several steps.
They understood the cult leader's attitude.
By voluntarily descending from the high platform, he was showing equal respect to the unexpected arrival of the King of Luoshui.
This already shows that in the eyes of their leader, the extremely young King Luoshui is already regarded as an equal.
It's not just about equal status, but also about equal strength and respect.
At this moment, Jiang Ning glanced at Huang Tian Daoist in front of him, then looked around.
He could sense that the valley was covered with the patterns of a large array.
All the surrounding ley lines converge towards this valley.
"Has Your Highness come in person to demand punishment?" Huang Tian Dao Ren asked.
Jiang Ning shook his head: "Asking for punishment? I am not Ji Minghao, so what right do I have to question you! I'm just a little curious."
"What is Your Highness curious about?" Huang Tian Daoist asked.
"I'm curious about the leader's thoughts," Jiang Ning said, then continued, "The leader has reached this point, and fame and fortune are within easy reach, but he is still lacking in the ability to overthrow the Great Xia Dynasty! The leader's life or death is now entirely in the hands of that person. Moreover, what the leader is doing now is causing millions of poor people to suffer from the calamity of war."
"Your Highness is right about something." The Yellow Heaven Cult Leader nodded slightly, then continued, "If that person chooses to attack me, I will indeed be unable to escape death. But in this valley, if that person wants to kill me, the price they will have to pay may be unbearable!"
As he continued, Huang Tian Dao Ren revealed a confident expression.
Then, he looked at Jiang Ning and said again.
"Since Your Highness has come from afar, I am not unwilling to answer your questions."
"Then I am all ears!" Jiang Ning said.
His gaze returned to his surroundings.
The moment he landed in the valley, he sensed the array patterns that covered the valley.
He also understood why Huang Tian Daoist was in the valley when his primordial spirit went on a tour last time.
This time, I met Huang Tian Dao Ren again in this valley.
Because he was in this valley, within the great formation, Huang Tian Dao Ren had this confidence.
Facing the confidence of a martial arts master in his later years.
In fact, this is enough to show Huang Tian Dao Ren's actual fear of the Martial Saint.
"Your Highness just now said that what I have done will cause countless people to suffer from the calamity of war. But does Your Highness see such a thing in Xisha County? Princes Zhenyue and Fuhai have also just seen it. Does Wuyue Prefecture have such a thing?"
"The righteous army of the Yellow Heaven Sect all have faith and obey my commands."
"For this reason, the righteous army did not commit any offenses in the Five Sacred Mountains Prefecture, and the surrounding cities surrendered without resistance."
Upon hearing this...
Jiang Ning shook his head.
He has lived two lives and witnessed much of history.
Dynasties rise and fall, history repeats itself.
In his previous life, only one army could truly fulfill the requirements Huang Tiandao had put forward.
They are soldiers who create a new world and save a country and a nation from peril and hardship.
He did not believe that Huangtian Daoren could create this miracle.
Because he couldn't see that kind of temperament in Huang Tian Dao Ren.
"Does the Master know that there is a tiger in everyone's heart, but the tiger is trapped in a cage? War, fighting, and weapons will break the cage in people's hearts and release the tiger."
Jiang Ning slowly opened his mouth and continued, "The reason why the leader is restraining his army now is because this army has not yet seen blood, and has not yet lost its bloodlust in the battle! Once it loses its bloodlust, how can the leader's empty words restrain an army that has broken free of its inner cage and released its evil thoughts?"
Upon hearing this...
Huang Tian Daoist pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"What Your Highness says makes some sense, but I would like to ask Your Highness a question: what is the state of the Great Xia Dynasty like now?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning did not answer immediately.
Looking at Huang Tian Dao Ren at this moment, he knew what this second strongest person in the world was asking, and he also understood what kind of response Huang Tian Dao Ren really wanted.
He hesitated for a moment before speaking:
"The Great Xia Dynasty has been established for over eight hundred years, suppressing the world with the might of the Martial Saint. Although it cannot be said that the whole country is at peace, it is generally orderly. Although the people suffer from minor illnesses, they can still survive. Although there is corruption in the officialdom, it is still relatively clean. I have seen many dark places along the way, but overall, the Great Xia Dynasty has not yet reached the point where the people are destitute and there are corpses everywhere."
"In recent years, the people have been living in misery, and there have even been cases of starvation, all because of certain instigators."
At this point, Jiang Ning looked at Huang Tian Dao Ren, his meaning quite clear.
Upon seeing this, Huang Tian Dao Ren remained calm and unmoved.
Jiang Ning continued, "The Great Xia Dynasty is only as it is now. It's not so bad that it needs to be overthrown and rebuilt. Even if it's terminally ill, there's still a cure. But if war breaks out, that will be true annihilation. People will suffer, starvation will be everywhere, families will be destroyed, and even nine out of ten houses will be empty."
As Jiang Ning spoke these words, memories of his past life surfaced in his mind.
Throughout five thousand years of history, this kind of thing is not an exaggeration, but rather something that has happened repeatedly.
Upon hearing this, Huang Tian Daoist shook his head calmly.
"Your current position as a prince is based on your status and position, all from the perspective of a prince."
"Has Your Highness ever witnessed true human suffering?"
Have you ever seen people sell their children because of land taxes?
Jiang Ning said, "Has the leader forgotten that I rose from humble beginnings? I was not born into a noble family. My elder brother is just a constable in the county town."
Then he continued, "I have seen and know more than the leader, and I am very clear that the people in this world still have a way to survive."
"War and war are what truly plunge ordinary people into hell."
"The leader doesn't know that the corruption of the Great Xia Dynasty is actually very, very slow. It has taken more than eight hundred years to reach this point, and it is not yet time to overthrow it and start over. Even if it were to overthrow it, due to war and turmoil, half of the population would be lost and families would be torn apart. In another hundred or two hundred years, a new dynasty would reach this point again, without any fundamental change!"
"The people do not want to pay such a price for a better future of one or two hundred years with uncertainty, nor is it worth it!"
"This inevitable law is also an irreversible inevitability!"
Jiang Ning had many thoughts on these matters.
Moreover, he had thought about these things a lot beforehand.
In his previous world, a dynasty could only last two or three hundred years at most; corruption often spread at an alarming rate. Land annexation, monopolistic power among the elite, bureaucratic corruption, and widespread peasant uprisings...
These phenomena resemble an irreversible cyclical law, from which almost no dynasty has been able to escape.
But the world is different.
The rules of this world are completely different from those of my previous life.
the reason is simple.
Here you'll find martial arts, immortality, and martial saints capable of suppressing an entire nation.
Those who stand at the pinnacle pursue power, longevity, and transcendence, not worldly land, gold, and empty fame.
For a martial arts master, acquiring thousands of acres of fertile land is not as valuable as increasing one's strength by one point. Why would a powerful Yang God who can fly and escape into the earth steal a few copper coins from the common people?
The disappearance of conflicts of interest has allowed the underlying order of this world to have a longer period of stability than in the previous life, greatly reduced the rate of corruption in the bureaucratic system, and made people's lives better than in the previous life.
This is why the Great Xia Dynasty has been relatively healthy for over eight hundred years.
Compared to the dynasties of his previous life, the current situation of having acquired the Great Xia is already considered very good.
It goes far beyond the point where it needs to be overthrown.
For ordinary people, as long as they have enough to eat, they won't have to risk their lives.
War is nothing more than a game for those in power.
For ordinary people, there is no point in striving.
Ordinary people cannot transcend class barriers through war.
Especially in this world, a martial arts master at the peak can single-handedly defeat an entire nation.
At his current level, he is not afraid of any army's human wave tactics.
In such an environment, a popular uprising would ultimately only result in becoming one of the countless bones scattered among the dead; there was absolutely no other possibility.
In this world, the situation is even more brutal.
For ordinary people, unless they were truly desperate to survive, why would they willingly become members of the rebel army and launch an uprising?
Ordinary people who have reached this point today are all due to the forces behind them.
Huang Tian Dao Ren was one of the people pulling the strings behind the scenes.
The previous severe drought, including the continuous snow disaster around Xisha County last year, were all caused by Huang Tian Dao Ren.
Various thoughts flashed through Jiang Ning's mind.
At this moment, after hearing these words, Huang Tian Dao Ren smiled faintly.
"Your Highness is right, but does Your Highness know that the million followers are willing to join me in this rebellion not only because of my instigation, but also because many of them were already on the verge of not surviving. It is because of me that they have been able to live."
"The chaos in this world will not change even without me."
"The root of the chaos lies not in me, but in those immortal grottoes. It lies in those old monsters hiding in the shadows, those who regard all living beings as ants."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning's gaze sharpened.
"Does the cult leader mean you weren't involved?"
"I've participated!" Huang Tian Dao Ren said, his voice only reaching Jiang Ning's ears.
He then continued, "I'm merely going with the flow, hastening the end of this Great Xia! In Your Highness's eyes, the common people still have a way to survive, but in my eyes, they have no way to survive. From now on, life will only get harder and harder!"
"Since that's the case, I'll send Great Xia on its way. Great Xia, please go to your death!"
"To create a new world, a new era, a new dynasty!"
"From the corpse of the Great Xia, there will be a more perfect legal system, more honest officials, and a path and means for all people to climb upwards!"
"I want a new era, a new dynasty, where everyone is like a dragon, and everyone has the potential to stand atop the mountain!"
"I know the prince will think I'm indulging in wishful thinking!"
"How will you know if you don't try?"
"In the end, someone has to try, someone has to stand up."
"A short, sharp pain is worse than a long, drawn-out one!"
"If I don't step forward, no one else in the world has the right to do so!!"
Hearing these almost fanatical words...
Jiang Ning shook his head.
He knew that there was no need to continue talking to Huang Tian Dao Ren.
Those who have reached this stage are all individuals with a firm belief and unwavering commitment to the Dao.
Once someone like Huang Tian Daoren has taken action, it is unlikely that he can be persuaded by others.
Even if there were a possibility of persuasion, he knew he lacked the eloquence.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ning didn't bother to say anything more.
"Since the leader wants to do this and overthrow the Great Xia, then I want to test whether the leader has the ability."
As soon as he finished speaking, black and white energies rose from his body, and nine layers of Yin-Yang profound light spread out like ripples, dyeing all the rocks, grass and trees within a radius of several feet into a chaotic color.
"Your Highness's guidance is something I could never ask for!" Huang Tian Dao Ren's voice resounded through the air.
He didn't retreat a step, but simply flicked his sleeves, and an infinite wave erupted from his body, with layers of earthy yellow light surrounding him.
Their gazes met in mid-air, and without a word, an invisible yet vast pressure of primordial spirits suddenly exploded.
The void was almost distorted, and time seemed to stand still.
The five Heavenly Kings in the valley had already sensed the danger. The moment Jiang Ning's body lit up with mysterious light, they all retreated in unison, their movements as swift as lightning, instantly retreating more than a hundred feet away.
Even so, when the aftershocks of the collision of primordial spirits swept across the void, they still struck their minds like an invisible giant hammer. The three of them groaned and their faces suddenly turned deathly pale.
The young man's pupils constricted sharply, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
They stopped when they reached the top of the valley.
Looking at the valley again, it was clear that the entire valley had completely changed.
Centered on Jiang Ning and Huang Tiandao, the void within a radius of several tens of feet twisted violently, with black and white mysterious light colliding and clashing with earthy yellow light.
The void roared continuously, the air was rippled with visible waves, a strong wind blew, the ground beneath our feet trembled and shook, and the entire valley seemed about to be overturned.
The group stood atop the valley, but as far as they could see, they could no longer make out any outline of the two figures.
They could only sense two completely different yet equally vast and unparalleled primordial spirit fluctuations clashing wildly in the valley, like two blazing suns colliding. Each tremor caused the surrounding mountain walls to shudder, as if the entire mountain range was trembling for this epic battle.
Everyone squinted as they watched the scene unfold in the valley.
The strong wind blew in their faces, feeling like knives cutting into them.
The surrounding vegetation had long since vanished.
"Is this the power of an immortal?" one of the heavenly kings murmured, his face filled with horror and disbelief.
"This is merely a fraction of the power of an immortal!" another Heavenly King spoke up, then continued, "A true immortal has long since shed their mortal body, possessing an immortal form. Their immortal tree manifests within them, connecting heaven and earth. The power they wield is countless times greater than that of the sect leader, or even the King of Luoshui. That is a realm beyond the reach of humankind!" (End of Chapter)