Mist Rain Village.

Chen Tang and the others had been here for nearly ten days.

Every day, Chen Tang insisted on cultivation, never slacking off.

After several battles before, coupled with cultivation now, his cultivation advanced rapidly, breaking through to the Seventh Grade again!

Continuous actual combat, experiencing life and death, and bloody battles indeed provide a significant boost to cultivation.

Especially in the first four levels, each major battle drains mental and physical strength greatly. Then, through recovery and adjustment, it cycles, maximizing one's potential.

Besides Chen Tang, the most diligent and disciplined is Changsun Ming.

He gets up and goes to bed on time every day, never wasting a moment.

In the morning, he would hold a spear and practice postures until the sun was at its peak, completely drenched in sweat, heat rising from his body, before stopping to rest.

Initially, Lu Qing laughed at the two of them.

But a few days later, she was influenced by them and started joining them in training in the woods outside the village.

Seeing the changes in Lu Qing, Madam Lu felt deeply gratified.

Her daughter was rebellious by nature, not fond of cultivation.

Unexpectedly, after making these two friends, they had a positive influence on her.

Yuwen Heigou remained the same, still lazy and disinterested in anything, hardly cultivating.

After lunch, Changsun Ming would drag Chen Tang and the others to the village entrance to listen to an old man tell stories.

Yuwen Heigou had no interest in this, but was dragged along by Changsun Ming, and would nap on the side.

Chen Tang was quite curious about the old man's tales of the previous dynasty.

Moreover, there was something he wanted to find a chance to ask the old man.

When Changsun Ming called him, he agreed readily.

On this day, the old man spoke about the change in the Qin Dynasty Capital.

He mentioned again the First War God of the Qin Dynasty, Yan Daoming.

Changsun Ming could tell that the old man was referring to Murong Daoye, the First War God of the former Wu Dynasty!

The foremost figure in the Wu Dynasty was naturally Emperor Wu.

Beneath Emperor Wu, the one acclaimed as the First War God and foremost Grandmaster of the Wu Dynasty was the Patriarch of the Murong Family, Murong Daoye!

In recent days, the old man's stories had often mentioned Yan Daoming.

Today, he spoke about the change in the Capital, stating directly: "Yan Daoming was highly valued and trusted by Celestial King Qin, held the position of Prefect of the Capital, and was appointed Grand General. But during the Capital change, he abandoned Celestial King Qin and left."

"In fact, Yan Daoming had long harbored ambitions to become king himself. If he had remained by Celestial King Qin's side at that time, the Qin Dynasty might not have collapsed."

Upon hearing this, Changsun Ming couldn't bear it anymore and stood up to retort: "What nonsense!"

"The downfall of the Qin Dynasty was self-inflicted by Celestial King Qin. He was inherently cruel, lost the people's support, insisted on invading the south, and was eventually defeated, leading to the destruction of the nation. What does that have to do with the War God Yan Daoming...cough cough, and Master?"

"To know, after the defeat at the Battle of Fu Shui, if not for the War God Yan Daoming escorting him, Celestial King Qin couldn't have returned to the Capital alive!"

The old man nodded and said, "Yan Daoming indeed had merits in escorting him back then, so I didn't say he betrayed his former master, only that he later abandoned him. Moreover, it was also what he was supposed to do."

"Initially in the Imperial Court, one of Celestial King Qin's advisors foresaw that he harbored ambitions and would become a major threat, advising multiple times to eliminate him, but Celestial King Qin did not heed."

"Later, this advisor failed to convince the king, scheming to borrow Yan Daoming's Golden Saber to trick his son into rebellion..."

The old man narrated the whole Golden Saber plot in detail, leaving everyone present, including Changsun Ming, drenched in cold sweat.

Such a sinister plot truly seemed unsolvable.

If it hadn't happened, could this old man have devised such a flawless scheme on his own?

Changsun Ming began believing the old man by thirty percent and asked, "What happened next?"

The old man said, "This scheme eventually failed, as Celestial King Qin never doubted Yan Daoming, instead comforting him and treating him as before. Such trust, doesn't it warrant Yan Daoming to swear loyalty unto death?"

Changsun Ming was stunned.

If he were Celestial King Qin, even if not executing War God Yan Daoming, he would be wary and suspicious, how could he assign him important tasks?

Could someone with such broad-mindedness be inherently cruel and violent?

Changsun Ming remained somewhat unwilling to believe, as it vastly differed from his known perceptions.

"Where did you hear all this, it sounds so real, did Emperor Wu truly have such magnanimity?"

Even though he said so, Changsun Ming's tone had considerably softened.

Moreover, he hadn't even noticed that he unconsciously referred to him as Emperor Wu.

The old man wasn't angry, merely countered: "Where did you hear that Emperor Wu was inherently cruel and lost the people's support?"

The old man followed up on Emperor Wu.

"Naturally from..."

Changsun Ming hesitated for a moment and said, "Everyone says so."

The old man said faintly, "Naturally, he who controls the world controls the past."

Upon hearing this, Chen Tang and the others were shocked.

The old man continued: "At the time, the north was plagued with wars for years, invaded by Alien Races, with many powerful leaders and fierce generals. Everywhere a city was captured, a massacre ensued, soldiers were encouraged to plunder and indulge their desires."

Changsun Ming nodded.

He too had heard of this.

Not only massacres, but even cannibalism was occasionally heard of.

In those times, massacring towns did have some benefits for the military.

On one hand, it eliminated future threats, as killing grown male soldiers left only women and children, incapable of resistance.

On the other hand, it saved a lot of food and wealth, sustaining war through war.

The soldiers thrived from lucrative gains, naturally becoming more loyal.

However, being a city resident, it was an unimaginable disaster!

The old man stated, "I'll say just this, Emperor Wu unified the Northern Divine Continent, engaged in countless battles, his armies disciplined, never killed surrendering soldiers, never massacred a city, even treating Alien Race foes who surrendered with important responsibilities."

"Never killed surrendering soldiers, never massacred a city!"

These two sentences echoed in Changsun Ming's mind, deafening him.

He was dumbfounded, unable to imagine a ruler achieving that in such chaotic times, and eventually establishing such a great legacy!

Chen Tang felt a pang of lament.

In a world where humanity was gone, desire rampant, with massacres, famines, killings, and cannibalism so common, emerged an emperor like Emperor Wu, who was so magnanimous.

The old man said, "Whether it was Murong Daoye or Yuwen Mao, they were both Alien Race commanders yet trusted deeply by Emperor Wu. Sadly, in the end, Emperor Wu trusted the wrong people."

"Murong Daoye merely abandoned Emperor Wu, but Yuwen Mao, as the Commander Longxiang, after the Battle of Snow Ridge, at Emperor Wu's weakest moment, chose to betray, personally killing Emperor Wu!"

"Yuwen Mao's current wealth and glory are all from betraying his former master!"

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