The bronze brazier flickered, wine fragrance curled through the air, and a pin dropping in the hall would have been audible.
Before the dais, the First Emperor rubbed the wine cup between his fingers. His brow was tightly furrowed. After pondering for a long while, he looked up at those opposite him and slowly spoke.
"Earth of Steel, Dirge of the Stars. So this is what you came for?"
"That's right."
Samael took a sip of wine to moisten his throat, then nodded candidly.
"This is the destiny we witnessed..."
As a gesture of sincerity, he had broadly informed the First Emperor of the warning he had received from Alaya and Gaia, as well as his intention to borrow the Seal of Emperor Shun and reopen the connection between Heaven and Man.
After all, it was not some shameful secret.
"Destiny? If there truly were some predetermined fate, then mankind ought to have remained stagnant, dwelling in caves and forests, eating raw meat and drinking blood, living no differently from beasts. How could they have achieved prosperity equal to the gods?"
The First Emperor drained his cup, mockery gleaming in his eyes as he swept his sleeve.
"Therefore, I have never believed in any so-called destiny! The countless people of Huaxia, the Nine Provinces and Four Seas, are the same!"
His declaration thundered with unquestionable pride.
It was confidence rooted in the bones, and pride flowing through the bloodline.
Since the creation of heaven and earth, the people of Huaxia had endured millennia of war, driving away evil gods and battling fiendish ghosts, expanding their lands, before finally gaining a foothold in the Nine Provinces.
Throughout those long years, their ancestors had continually shattered every kind of shackle binding them.
Suirenshi drilled wood to make fire, breaking the darkness and