I alone have my own laws; I start by fabricating myths and legends of mountains and seas.

Chapter 134 The Winds of Change

Qinglian (Kong Shizhang): "There's no need for everyone to be overly anxious. The Zuo Zhuan states: 'The great affairs of the state lie in sacrifice and war.' In this new era, sacrifice can be understood as the cohesion of faith, and war can be understood as internal energy martial arts. Since the Emperor has agreed to this matter, he must have given it careful consideration. Moreover, the Zhenwu faith has been established, and internal energy martial arts have been passed down; these two are the foundation for our Chinese nation to cope with this great change."

Qinglian (Kong Shizhang): "Moreover, Xia Jie's visit was ostensibly for inspection, but perhaps his true intention was to seize the throne. Although his heart was wicked, his actions probably still followed some rules."

Bai Ze (Su Fan): "Oh! How so?"

Qinglian (Kong Shizhang): "This is just a humble opinion, offered for everyone's consideration. Xia Jie claimed to be an ancient king, and his words and actions would probably be consistent with his status and style. If he came purely to cause trouble, he wouldn't have needed to send any official letter; he could have simply sent his ghost army to invade. But he chose to visit, which put himself on a high level."

Qinglian (Kong Shizhang): "Since we are on the stage, we must follow the rules. His rules are the law of the jungle and the majesty of the monarch."

Our rule is based on the still-unknown attitude of the True Martial Emperor. As long as we stay within the rules and demonstrate enough to make him wary, he should be able to easily overturn the table. This visit will then become a genuine exchange and probing, not a disruption.

Bixi (Wang Jianguo): "That makes sense. By the way, could your Taoist sect invite Zhenwu to oversee things?"

Qinglian (Kong Shizhang): "After the incident at Laoshan, Taoist temples and monasteries on various mountains burned incense and prayed day and night, chanting scriptures incessantly, hoping to establish a deeper connection with the True Martial Emperor, or at least to clarify his decrees. However, there has been no clear response to date."

Ya Zi (Chen Yang): "Huh? Isn't the True Martial Emperor on our side? Didn't he help us last time? What's the situation on your Taoist side?!"

Qinglian (Kong Shizhang): "They did help, they really did. But according to the conjectures of those senior Taoist elders, it was a manifestation of divine power, not a response to a summons. The difference is like heaven and earth."

Qinglian (Kong Shizhang): "Manifestation of holiness is the spontaneous response of deities to the energy of heaven and earth, the thoughts of all living beings, or a response to some great cause and effect."

A projection descends during a great calamity, unleashing its power. Its motive, timing, and form depend entirely on the will of the deity. In the incident at Laoshan, Xia Jie's projection crossed boundaries to provoke the ceremony; perhaps its malevolent energy clashed with the sacrificial ritual, which may have offended the True Martial Emperor, thus provoking his thunderous strike.

Qinglian (Kong Shizhang): "And responding to a summons is what everyone understands as paying a sufficient price through specific rituals in order to request the gods to bestow power or incarnations."

Qinglian (Kong Shizhang): "The belief in Zhenwu the Great, though ancient in China, has long since declined. Zhenwu Mountain..."

The two miraculous appearances at Laoshan were due to the emperor's willingness. There is no stable, direct channel of faith between Taoism and this great emperor. What Taoism is doing now is attempting to establish such a connection, but this is by no means a task that can be accomplished overnight, and it's even unknown when it will succeed.

Bookworm (Jiang He): "So to put it bluntly, the last time the True Martial Emperor took action, it was probably just because he couldn't stand it, or because Xia Jie's behavior crossed some kind of bottom line he was protecting. But this time, Xia Jie is using the guise of a 'visit,' and although his intentions are not good, at least on the surface, he hasn't crossed that line yet. Whether the True Martial Emperor will be unable to stand it again, nobody can say for sure."

Ya Zi (Chen Yang): "Damn it! So our biggest backer is someone who only acts according to his mood? This won't do! Xiao Kong, your Taoist sect needs to think of a solution quickly! Put in more effort to burn incense! If all else fails, how about holding an even bigger Luo Tian Grand Ritual? How much money do you need? I'll pay—part of it!"

Qinglian (Kong Shizhang): "Brother Chen, it can't be said that the Daoist sect isn't putting in its best effort. We've used all the century-old agarwood, gold foil talismans, and ancient cinnabar treasured in our various mountains. The elders have been reciting the *Zhenwu Miaojing* day and night without fail. However, divine will is elusive and difficult to fathom. Perhaps the Zhenwu Emperor has deeper considerations that are beyond the comprehension of us mortals. Or perhaps he believes this visit is still within a controllable range, or perhaps it's a test for our Chinese civilization?"

Bai Ze (Su Fan): "Therefore, the existence of the True Martial Emperor is like a final fuse, a deterrent. His last move clearly set the bottom line: don't do anything world-destroying on Chinese soil. This itself puts an invisible shackle on Xia Jie. As long as Xia Jie still wants to play the game and discuss the Dao, he won't simply go crazy and destroy everything."

Bookworm (Jiang He): "What we need to do is make good use of this constraint, and within the scope of the constraint, demonstrate our strength, wisdom and resilience."

Ya Zi (Chen Yang): "Got it! It means that the True Martial Emperor is just a ballast stone; we still have to row the boat ourselves! Thinking like this makes me feel much better! Relying on mountains is unreliable, relying on people is unreliable, and I'm the most reliable one!"

Ya Zi (Chen Yang): "Instead of pinning our hopes on Zhenwu, everyone should focus on cultivating! Love you, Lao Ji!"

The Cabinet of the British Empire, the United Kingdom on which the sun never sets!

"In summary, the latest communications from the Siyi Pavilion indicate that Xia Jie verbally acknowledged the limited intelligence support we provided during the Kyushu Campaign and hinted at potential future cooperation in resource sharing. However, they also clearly stated that they do not wish to see any undue interference during His Majesty Xia Jie's visit to China, as this would be considered an offense to his authority."

"Verbal record-keeping? Resource sharing?" The Defense Minister scoffed, tapping his fingers on the table. "This is what we get in return for the defense map of Honshu Island and the initial test data of Shinto talismans that we provided? These Eastern monarchs always like to use ambiguous terms."

"But this at least shows that the connection we've established hasn't been severed," the Foreign Minister said slowly. "In Xia Jie's eyes, we may not be allies yet, but we are already an external force worth paying attention to and that can be utilized to a limited extent. This relationship is fragile, but very important."

The Prime Minister placed his hands clasped on the table, his gaze sweeping over the assembled crowd: "So, ladies and gentlemen, given the latest attitude of our ancient partner, and the storm brewing in the Far East, how should the Empire's stance and next steps be adjusted?"

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I believe we are facing a classic multi-player game model. There are four main players on the chessboard: Xia Jie of the Xia Dynasty and his ghostly army, Zhenwu the Great of China and his internal energy martial arts, Abe Gen of Japan and his Shinto talismans, and the Holy See's faith and divine arts."

As for our Great British Empire, as a player with global interests and a unique diplomatic tradition, the best strategy is not to take sides, but to maintain a delicate and dynamic balance among the four parties.

"Specifically?" the Prime Minister asked.