579 Deal

"The King of Qin unified the realm and watched it succumb under his tiger-like glare. He clears the skies with a wave of his sword and the feudal lords pay homage to him in the west."

Fang Yuan was outside of the sword array and recited these verses with a faint smile playing on his lips.

The heavenly mandate of Western Zhou ran counter to the Shang Dynasty's fate. Likewise, the heavenly mandate of Qin ran counter to Western Zhou's fate. The Chaos Sword Array was trying to adjust the conditions within the array such that fate energy from the future would gather and make the Zhou state lose its heavenly mandate!

"The Ancient One and the Western Zhou state are one. He is the heavenly mandate!"

Fang Yuan's gaze seemed to penetrate the sword array. He could see a dark energy coming together to form a majestic black figure who swung a sword.

The Chaos Sword Array let out a deafening sound. The array's power was concentrated on the sword.

"Chirp!"

The Ancient One, still in his form as the Five Elements Purple Phoenix, let out an aggrieved shriek before he was decapitated by the sword.

"Very clever!"

Nuwa had observed the entire proceedings among the clouds. She shook her head.

"Making use of the future heavenly mandate of Qin to curb Zhou's can indeed be quite effective. Still, what's the point in that since the Ancient One can always come back to life after he dies?"

"Kaboom!"

Another change had taken place within the sword array.

After the Five Elements Purple Phoenix had been destroyed, a pillar of energy rushed up into the skies. It was the heavenly mandate and fate energy of the Western Zhou state.

Prince Pan suddenly experienced a pain in his chest and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

"Chirp! Chirp!"

The newly revived Black Bird, the representative of Shang's heavenly mandate, flew in circles above Prince Pan and excreted a black substance from within its body. This substance gathered to form a heavenly pillar that was absorbed into the Chaos Sword Array.

At this moment, in the chaos within the sword array stood three heavenly pillars. They were standing side by side and represented the respective destinies of Shang, Zhou and Qin.

"What are you doing?"

The War God Chi looked at Fang Yuan solemnly. Even Nuwa had an imposing look on her face.

"The fates are supposed to be impartial towards all living creatures. If this should be the case, then why does the heavenly mandate favour the people of a chosen surname, a chosen family and a chosen state?"

Fang Yuan chuckled.

"I shall make a prayer for all living creatures. May the heavenly mandate be based on nothing else but accumulated virtue. Wouldn't it be great if every living creature gets to experience free will?"

"Kaboom!"

As Fang Yuan spoke, the three heavenly pillars were encircled by the chaotic energy and came together as one. The resultant pillar of energy rushed up into the skies and exploded into hundreds of thousands of shooting stars that fell to the earth.

"Every living creature will get to experience free will?!"

Nuwa shuddered. She could almost visualise the future.

"If the general population becomes enlightened, the regimes of the world would no longer be under hereditary rule nor would they continue to place their faith in deities. Is this what equality for mankind entails?"

A deep fear came over Nuwa's heart. She somehow knew that this was the trend of development for the future and that there was no way to alter its course.

She looked at Fang Yuan with mixed emotions.

This alien actually had a better understanding of how this world works than she did. His grasp of the past, present and future developments of the Ancient World even exceeded that of the Tai God!

"Kaboom!"

The sword array blew apart, leaving behind a company of dazed men which included the Marquis.

"Now, whether it is Western Zhou, Shang or the future Qin, they have all lost their heavenly mandates…"

Nuwa let out a sigh.

With the heavenly mandates gone, the Ancient One would no longer be able to engineer the return of his true aura. He was most definitely dead.

This was what Fang Yuan had planned to do!

He had used the future fate energy of the future Qin to deal severe damage to Zhou's heavenly mandate. Then, he had scattered the heavenly mandate all over the world. From now onwards, it would all be down to natural selection. Only the fittest would survive!

"Dragons rise up all the time. Perhaps Western Zhou, Shang and Qin could be content with surviving as feudal states for now. If future members of these families prove to be competent, they might unify the world one day. Anyway, none of this matters anymore."

Fang Yuan exhaled.

Now that the Ancient One was dead, Fang Yuan's mission in this world was nearly complete. He could leave with no regrets.

"Lady Nuwa…please help me!"

The Marquis bowed down before Nuwa.

"If the sword array has been destroyed…the Shang Dynasty will fall!"

"Yes! The Zhou can destroy the Shang and the Shang can destroy the Zhou as well. It is all up to evolution!"

Nuwa nodded slightly and ascended to the heavens without looking back at the Marquis.

Now that the heavenly mandate no longer existed, Nuwa was no longer compelled nor motivated to act. As the premier deity, why would she want to involve herself in mortal affairs?

"Ah?"

The Marquis was stunned.

"Could it be that the sword array hasn't been overcome yet…and that I've lost the bet?"

The Marquis tried to divine the situation but ended up more confused than ever. He spat out some blood.

"Crack!"

Cracks extended across the penta-coloured suit of armour and sword that he carried before they shattered.

"Father…"

Young Master Wu felt like he had been plunged into freezing water.

Even the Sage had abandoned them. At this point, if Western Zhou was to pit their military strength against the Shang Dynasty in a fair fight, they would most certainly lose!

...

"Mister!"

Prince Pan looked at Er. There was a sort of ambivalence on his face.

Anyone who had witnessed the happenings of a moment before would definitely have much to mull over.

"Are you going to ask me about my plans?"

Fang Yuan smiled.

In truth, after he had dealt with the Ancient One, he could not care less whether the Shang Dynasty survived nor if the Qin Dynasty managed to rise in the future.

'However…I have faith in the radiation and influence from that civilisation of a higher dimension!'

It was obvious that Fang Yuan had achieved victory because of his superior grasp of the world's developmental trends. In other words, he could see the embodiment of fate and destiny!

'The heavenly will of this world was but a puppet under the radiation from the high-dimensional civilisation!'

This realisation gave Fang Yuan a jolt.

The radiation and influence from the high-dimensional civilisation might have been let out unintentionally, but there was no disputing the effects that they had on the Ancient World.

'This entity must be of the same level as the fellow from the Demonic Heart Realm who had stripped the path of the dream masters! Is it at the level of Original Energy?'

Fang Yuan was slightly troubled, yet he felt the elation that came with being able to see the path to a higher plane.

"Yes!"

Prince Pan had no idea of the thoughts that had gone through Fang Yuan's mind in that split second. He bowed deeply to Fang Yuan.

"Following the rise of several dragons, the Shang Dynasty will no longer be the legitimate regime."

Prince Pan's face turned as white as a sheet when he heard Fang Yuan's words.

"The heavenly mandate favours no one now and will only be guided along by accumulated merits! Your ancestors came from humble beginnings. Could it be that you are afraid of the challenges that lie ahead?"

"No, I wouldn't dare!"

Prince Pan laughed bitterly. He knew that the Shang aristocracy had almost been completely corrupted by centuries of living opulently.

"There is something else. You could work towards educating the people!"

Fang Yuan smiled playfully.

"When you win over the hearts of the people, you win the mandate to rule!"

In fact, the Shang and Zhou Dynasties were the last golden ages of the royal bloodlines.

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring State periods, the feudal lords hungered for talent and recruited officials from the peasantry. This led to a reduction in power of the blue-blooded nobles.

In the end, the Qin state implemented legal and military reforms that marked a shift towards meritocracy and destroyed the hereditary reward system for the nobility. This allowed the Qin state to become an efficient war machine and finally conquer the world.

Still, whether Prince Pan had the resolve to push through with this plan was another matter.

These would be Fang Yuan's parting words to him.

...

Having said his piece, Fang Yuan took his leave.

"I wonder what this place will look like a few centuries down the road…will the Spring and Autumn period still surface?"

Fang Yuan stood among the clouds and looked down at the world with a sigh.

He had gone against the heavenly will of the world and was lucky to have been able to kill the Ancient One. As for his harvesting of the world's energy? Hehe…Fang Yuan would have to see if the Tai God and Nuwa agreed.

"I should go!"

Fang Yuan considered looking for a world without Sages so that he could harvest the world's energy unhindered.

"Wait up, Mister Fang!"

A gentle voice flowed towards Fang Yuan. Colourful clouds materialised.

"Ah, it's Lady Nuwa!"

Fang Yuan bowed.

"What brings you here?"

"You are knowledgeable and well-learned. I would like to consult you regarding a matter. I hope that you will agree to meet me!"

The colourful lights gathered to form a passageway.

"Sure!"

Fang Yuan's eyes flashed brightly as he stepped into the passageway fearlessly.

"Buzz! Buzz!"

The world around him fell away.

Fang Yuan was surrounded by a chaotic void. The power of faith gathered and revolved around a divine palace like a golden river flow.

Fang Yuan walked along a path of gold which led into the palace.

"Do forgive me for not fetching you in personally, esteemed guest!"

Nuwa appeared with an unfathomable look in her eyes.

"It wasn't solely your idea to ask me here, was it?"

Fang Yuan became serious. He could feel another approaching presence.

This presence did not have a physical form and was more of an idea. However, it was a vast entity, an assembly of conscious thoughts.

"The Tai God?"

Fang Yuan said the name grimly.

The Tai God was the heavenly will of the Ancient World!

Of course, it was extremely difficult for the heavenly will be personified. In all of Nuwa's years of existence, the Tai God had remained a symbol, a faith.

Nevertheless, the Tai God was capable of making independent decisions.

"The Tai God has a question!"

Nuwa spoke with a firm voice. She had become the representative of heavenly will.

"Where did you come from?"

Fang Yuan's expression changed.

T here was no reason that Nuwa would not know, given that the Ancient One had sold himself to the Ancient World a long time ago.

They must have gotten suspicious.

"I know that you two deities must have been wondering about my perception of the future…"

Fang Yuan thought for a while and continued speaking.

"I have been to a world that was very similar to this world. That world experienced the Xia, Shang,

Zhou Dynasties as well as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods as well!"The most convincing lies had their roots in truth.

The heavenly will began to stir. Nuwa went on to ask her question patiently.

"Where is this world that you speak of?"

"I encountered it by coincidence. It will be hard for me to go back there again…"

Fang Yuan shook his head. Suddenly, he broke into a grin.

"Of course…I think we can make a deal, you and I!"

He was making this proposal to the Tai God! The Tai God who was tired of being a puppet to the influence of the high-dimensional world!