Chapter 342: Chapter 228: Through the Vicissitudes of the Mortal World, Victory and Defeat Are Settled; I Am the Martial Saint of the Mortal World, Slaying Demons and Purging Devils

Lu Mingyuan found her answer to be surprisingly good.

Lu Mingyuan teased with a grin, "I knew I didn’t satisfy you last night, you little devil."

"Have mercy, my lord~"

In the days that followed, Lu Mingyuan remained at home, idle. Yet the all-out war between the Flame Country and Great Zhou raged on without a moment’s pause. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

King Yan began to personally lead his troops into battle against Great Zhou.

At first, the Flame Country was in constant retreat, almost completely dominated by Great Zhou.

No matter what they did, the new Emperor of Great Zhou always seemed to predict the Flame Country’s military deployments and strategic objectives.

The Flame Country was at an absolute disadvantage.

Listening to the daily war reports from his residence, Lu Mingyuan was not surprised.

’Lu Yunqing is hailed as a prodigy of the Confucian Dao. He knows the historical records by heart, so these battles are naturally child’s play for him. He knows exactly what the Grand Ancestor is thinking.’

’But Lu Yunqing has overlooked one thing.’

’Situations change.’

’The Grand Ancestor of Great Yan is, after all, the founding monarch of Great Yan—a great Human Emperor, the likes of whom hasn’t been seen in a thousand years, and the fearsome figure who destroyed ten major dynasties.’

’He was a master in all six fields: military might, political strategy, civil governance, martial skill, territorial control, and national policy.’

’He is only now beginning to show his full potential because his military genius has not yet fully blossomed, much like Zhuge Liang in the early days of Shu Han.’

’Given enough time, Great Zhou’s defeat is inevitable.’

「Another year passed.」

Just as Lu Mingyuan had predicted, the tide of the war turned.

King Yan abandoned his previously established strategies and changed his approach, no longer formulating tactics with his old mindset.

The turning point came at the riverbanks near Julu Pass, where the Flame Country successfully annihilated a Great Zhou army of 300,000.

King Yan had recruited a formidable Tributor to serve as his second-in-command.

Using a scheme to sow discord, he made the Emperor of Great Zhou suspicious and caused him to replace his commander at a critical moment, leading to a disastrous defeat.

This second-in-command slaughtered the 300,000-strong army, and the air filled with an overwhelming aura of slaughter and resentment!

The other nations gave him the title "Ren Tu."

In truth, Lu Yunqing was no match for the Grand Ancestor of Great Yan, inferior in both natural talent and political cunning.

Within a few years, Great Zhou faced a war of annihilation. The Flame Country conquered more than half of the Central Plains, shed its status as a kingdom, and declared itself an Empire, officially known as the Great Yan Dynasty.

The title of King Yan was no more; he ascended the throne as the monarch, henceforth known as the Great Yan Emperor.

During those years, in his spare time, Lu Mingyuan searched far and wide for Treasures and devoted himself to advancing his Martial Arts Realm, successfully breaking through to the Eleventh Realm.

In his free time, he also opened martial arts dojos in the Capital City to teach disciples. He purchased numerous mountains within the Great Yan Dynasty’s territory to establish his own Sects, and he was now the secret Sect Leader of six of them.

But his leisurely days soon came to an end.

In the founding year of the Great Yan Dynasty, after a long hiatus, the Grand Ancestor of Great Yan reinstated the prodigious young general of yesteryear: the present-day Marquis Qilin.

Over the years, Marquis Qilin’s name was often mentioned, always with a tone of regret from the common folk.

His return to the battlefield was met with great joy from the people and a massive surge in morale among the troops.

With his own power and prestige as the Emperor of a new dynasty greatly enhanced, the Grand Ancestor of Great Yan no longer feared that Lu Mingyuan’s accomplishments would threaten his throne.

He entrusted the role of vanguard to Lu Mingyuan.

And so, the first battle in the war of annihilation began.

Now in the Eleventh Realm and empowered by his army, his inherent Attribute of being invincible against those of the same Realm made his Cultivation nearly unstoppable. Not a single general from Zhou could stand against him.

He was like a sharp sword plunging into the throat of Great Zhou.

After three months, Lu Mingyuan leveraged his advantages in numbers and national power. With heavenly timing, geographical advantage, and popular support all on his side, he launched a fierce frontal assault. He shattered the impenetrable defenses established by the Emperor of Great Zhou and quickly breached the gates of the Great Zhou Capital.

After so many years, he once again saw Lu Yunqing, who was now a middle-aged man. With a full beard, he looked much more mature, yet he retained his scholarly elegance.

"Now, do you still dare claim your Dao is the correct one?"

"In this first life, the victor has been decided."

Lu Mingyuan stormed the Imperial Palace, cut down the Commander of the Imperial Guard, and suppressed countless top-tier Tributors of Great Zhou. He looked at the eighth brother, who sat slumped and powerless in the Golden Dragon Hall, and asked dispassionately.

Great Zhou’s National Fortune had been steadily eroded by Great Yan. The hearts of the people had already turned to Great Yan’s side. Lu Yunqing no longer had the protection of his nation’s fortune.

For Great Zhou was on the verge of collapse.

But the defiant unwillingness in Lu Yunqing’s eyes said it all. His eyes were bloodshot, his tone dripping with defiance as he gritted out his words:

"It’s not over! If it weren’t for the Grand Ancestor of Great Yan, I would have won long ago."

He believed he had lost to the man, the Grand Ancestor of Great Yan, not that his Dao itself was wrong.

"Sixth Brother, I will see you in the next life."

With those words, Lu Yunqing—having been an Emperor for many years—showed the ruthlessness he had cultivated. He drew his sword and took his own life, refusing the humiliation of capture by his enemies.

THUD.

As the body of the Emperor of Great Zhou collapsed, Lu Mingyuan glanced at the Dragon Throne and sighed.

He planted his Treasure Saber in the floor and sat down on the golden-tiled steps before the throne. He looked out at the thick smoke rolling beyond the Imperial Palace, the flames leaping to the heavens, and listened to the screams of Palace Maids and the CLANGING of steel, then closed his eyes.

The world around him was a cacophony.

Yet Lu Mingyuan felt his heart sink into a state of absolute peace.

It was an elevation of his mental state.

He felt as if his entire being had been cleansed by an invisible force, and that his heart would grow even stronger.

Lu Mingyuan opened his eyes to a narrow slit, observing his surroundings. Everything was still happening.

’Even with Lu Yunqing’s death, this world hasn’t ended.’

’It seems death isn’t the end of the trial.’

’Could it be that my trial isn’t over yet?’

’Lu Yunqing’s trial is over, but mine is not.’

Great Zhou had been utterly destroyed, and Great Yan had finally received the Celestial Mandate.