Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales

“Then, do you feel any difference between my Qin City and the other famed factions?” Qin Wanchou's eyes were burning with pa.s.sion as he asked again.

 “Totally different.” Yang Dingtian said, “Even the Mystic Heaven Sect and the Yin Yang Sect are just factions in the martial world. But Qin City is more like a nation. The Mystic Heaven Sect's master, Zhu Qingzhu, is the current No.1 expert in the world, but he is still just a Sect Patriarch. But you, Qin Wanchou, you are the Lord of a nation. Of course, nation and Lord are words that you might not understand as they are the words created by me.”

 Qin Wanchou's eyes trembled as he asked, “Explain the meaning of nation and Lord.”

 “Nation? It will be too complicated to explain. But in short, it is a hierarchy and order that goes from top to bottom. A single individual manages a hundred individuals; a hundred individuals manage ten thousand individuals; ten thousand individuals manage one million individuals; one million individuals manage a hundred million individuals. As a Lord, you are that one individual who is mighty and supreme, and the one and only individual.” Yang Dingtian explained.

 Qin Wanchou's eyes were burning, “Con… Continue talking.”

 “The striving, the weak, the strong, all the factions shall all be exterminated at the end. Gather all the resources and martial power into the hands of the Lord for him to be redistributed while eliminating 90% of the martial artists in this world. Gather all the martial forces into a single military army that would become the Lord's strongest and only tool for violence in this world. Let the majority of this world to partic.i.p.ate in construction and production instead of cultivation. Gradually prohibiting martial arts and supporting the development of art, literature, production skills, and many other things. Do away with the current feudal system, territory control, and bring all the mountains, rivers, and land into the hands of the Lord. Using 100 miles as a county, 300 to 500 miles as a region, 1,000 to 2,000 miles as a province. The Lord shall dispatch officials to manage the various counties, regions, and provinces. In short, all these things are very complicated and complex; it is impossible to explain everything in detail.”

 At this moment, Qin Wanchou's entire body was trembling because he felt that Yang Dingtian's every word seemed to be drilling deep into his heart, and every statement would cause a strong resonation. In fact, there were many things in his mind where he only had a rough direction but was unable to see it clearly. After hearing Yang Dingtian's explanations, everything had gotten very clear and distinct.

 “What else, what else?” Qin Wanchou asked in a trembling voice.

 “The Heaven Dao Union has already become the biggest obstacle in this world. They might still be required currently, but they are an organization that needs to be completely suppressed.” Yang Dingtian's words were like a thunderbolt that struck Qin Wanchou's heart.

 Suppressing and eliminating the Heaven Dao Union.

 This was something that no one dared to say, but it was Qin Wanchou's greatest aspiration. As long as the Heaven Dao Union existed, even if his faction surpa.s.sed the Mystic Heaven Sect and the Yin Yang Sect, his faction would still be under those two factions, let alone the Hidden Sect.

 “Then what does Teacher Shen feel I should do to achieve what you mentioned? To eliminate the Heaven Dao Union, to establish my own nation, and to stand at the pinnacle of the world?” Qin Wanchou asked.

 “Please forgive me from speaking bluntly. If a battle of world extinction doesn't happen, all these goals will only be the moon inside the well, and the flower in the water reflection.” Yang Dingtian said, “If you wish to eliminate the majority of the martial factions in this world, a battle of world extinction needs to happen to exterminate all the martial artists in this world. If the Mystic Heaven Sect and the Yin Yang Sect continue to exist, you will never be able to surpa.s.s them either. In this world where martial power rules supreme, even if the Qin City's territory is ten times bigger than the Mystic Heaven Sect, the Qin City still isn't a match for them.”

 “Please forgive me for asking…” Qin Huaiyu asked, “If the battle of world extinction occurred, our Qin City would also suffer a calamity, and we would not have the strength to suppress the other factions. It would already be praiseworthy for us to survive and protect ourselves.”

 Yang Dingtian said, “Hence, the next segment is the most crucial part. If this strategy succeeds, once the battle of world extinction has ended, Qin City's strength will be able to suppress the entire Heaven Dao Union's combined forces.”

 Qin Wanchou's breathes started to get coa.r.s.e as he asked, “What strategy?”

 “To form a race alliance with the Half-Human Races, to support them, and even inter-race marriages.” Yang Dingtian continued, “As everyone knows, for the millennium, during the world extinction battles between the Heaven Dao Union and the Evil Dao, the Half-Human Race has remained neutral; hence, the flames of war have never affected them. But they have separated themselves into hundreds of races and had constant conflicts. They have never been united; hence, they have never been a threat to Humans. The most important point is that all factions have treated the Half-Human Race as a taboo and never had the idea to form an alliance. If Qin City is willing to take this step, there will surely be great rewards.”

 Immediately after, Yang Dingtian stated, “Lord Qin is mighty, talented, and has great intelligence, I am truly filled with admirations towards you. But to be truthful, your current strategy is a big mistake. You have used all your strength to conquer the Northwest Continent and the Southwest Continent. Apart from arousing the vigilance of the Heaven Dao Union, what else has that achieved? It is simply a show of power on the surface. I will only ask you one question, even after conquering the Northwest and Southwest Continents, can you defeat the Yin Yang Sect and the Mystic Heaven Sect?”

 Qin Wanchou thought for a moment and replied, “I cannot. Before my martial strength surpa.s.ses Zhu Qingzhu, it is absolutely impossible. Even in terms of reputation, it is still not possible.”

 Yang Dingtian asked, “Then I'll ask you another question. If a battle of world extinction happens, can the Southwest Continent and the Northwest Continent be preserved?”

 Qin Wanchou shook his head and said, “They can't be preserved. After experiencing a battle of world extinction, the entire Southwest Continent would fall, so the most of the Northwest Continent. On the contrary, the Eastern Cloud Prefecture would suffer next to nothing at all.”

 “Then, things are clear.” Yang Dingtian said, “If the battle of world extinction happens, is there any meaning to invest all your efforts onto territories that are destined to fall? It should be of utmost importance to invest everything in establis.h.i.+ng absolute power after the battle of world extinction has ended.”

 “Huff…” Qin Wanchou desperately let out a breath and spoke with a trembling voice, “Bosom friend, Teacher Shen is truly my bosom friend.”

 Yang Dingtian laughed and said, “Alright, I have finished saying everything. I should be on my way. In fact, I will end it myself.”

 Yang Dingtian suddenly drew his dagger and stabbed towards his chest.

 “NOO…” All of a sudden, Qin Wanchou rushed over in a flash and reached out to catch hold of Yang Dingtian's dagger.

 Immediately, the razor-sharp dagger sliced open Qin Wanchou's palm and was dripping with blood.

 Heavens! How was it possible for a mere dagger to hurt Qin Wanchou, who was a Grandmaster? He was simply trying to move Yang Dingtian emotionally and had created this dripping blood effect.

 “Will Teacher Shen please stay to help me?” Qin Wanchou bowed.

 “Ah…” Yang Dingtian was completely stunned.

 This was entirely outside of his plan. To be honest, the huge chunk of words that Yang Dingtian said earlier wasn't to escape as he already had a plan to escape. His words earlier were simply improvisation, and his objective was to make Qin Wanchou s.h.i.+ft his eyes off Cloud Heaven City. He wanted Qin Wanchou to focus on the Half-Human Race alliance instead of the Northwest and Southwest Continents.

 The best outcome would be for Qin Wanchou to send Yang Dingtian as a representative of the Northwest Qin City to visit the East Parting Gra.s.sland. Yang Dingtian could make use of the pretext of investigating the Half-Human Race and form an alliance, but in fact, he was searching for the Heaven and Earth Mystic Flame.

 He didn't expect that his improvised words would gain respect from Qin Wanchou.

 Yang Dingtian said, “But, I already know too much. It isn't appropriate for me to live, right?”

 Qin Wanchou grabbed Yang Dingtian's hand and said, “As compared to Teacher Shen's talents, what are all those things worth? To be honest, not even my son can understand my ambition. There isn't a single person like Teacher Shen, who has such a grand vision. This world is ruled with martial power, but there isn't someone as talented as Teacher Shen within the thousands of miles. I have been expecting someone like Teacher Shen, like a drought waiting for the rain.”

 Yang Dingtian continued to be stunned.

 Qin Wanchou continued to speak intimately, “Next, will Teacher Shen never leave me, please. I will appoint you as my teacher and a friend. It doesn't matter what, as long as you say it, I will do my best to achieve it.”

 Yang Dingtian was still stunned.

 Qin Wanchou carried on, “Huaiyu come over and pay your respects to your teacher.”

 Qin Huaiyu was also shocked.

 Qin Wanchou responded with anger, “What are you standing idly there for? Hurry up and come over to pay your respects to Teacher Shen.”

 Qin Huaiyu quickly went over and bowed deeply, “Qin Huaiyu pays his respects to Teacher Shen.”

 “Kneel down.” Qin Wanchou said.

 Qin Huaiyu was stunned and was about to kneel.

 “Absolutely not.” Yang Dingtian quickly supported Qin Huaiyu to stand and said to Qin Wanchou, “Lord Qin, to avoid Young Lord from hating me, you must not do so.”

 “Sigh…” Qin Wanchou immediately sighed and patted on Yang Dingtian's back, “Teacher Shen, even my son can't understand my ambition. Once he understands, he will surely kneel down to you. You are my one and only bosom friend.”

 Qin Wanchou then spoke sternly, “Qin Huaiyu, in the future, apart from practicing martial arts, you will have to spend time and effort to study under Teacher Shen. You have to learn strategy, politics, and tactics.”

 Yang Dingtian was truly and utterly stunned!

 He merely wanted to escape, why did it become like this?

 Yang Dingtian planned to make use of the holy water to feign death and escape when there was an opportunity a few days later. He didn't expect this outcome.

 Not only did he not need to feign death, but he also became the esteemed guest of Qin City.

 This outcome was really surprising!

 After returning to Qin Mengli's residence, Yang Dingtian had a pa.s.sionate kiss with Qin Mengli first.

 When Qin Mengli was sleeping soundly, due to the battle of wits and courage with Qin Wanchou and Qin Huaiyu, Yang Dingtian was exhausted, but he was still unable to sleep. His mind had never been this sober before.

 His mind was currently filled with a distinct and complete map that included the poem on it too:

 ‘The scorching sun is blazing; the great snow is swirling.

 Sweat is dripping; breath is turning into ice.

 Water is boiling like oil; a hundred miles are bound in ice.

 When I blossom, the world shall thaw.'

 All of the secrets of the Heaven and Earth Mystic Flame were in this poem.

 That's right. It was in this poem.

 It was up to Yang Dingtian to solve it!