Bai Xiaowen thought, Chen Rong, you're overthinking this.
Intervening in worldly affairs would cloud one's Dao heart and make it difficult to advance in cultivation?
That was indeed true for native cultivators, but not necessarily for Evolvers like Bai Xiaowen.
The Song–Mongol War was likely the main storyline of dynastic contention in the Shaoding Plane. By involving himself in it, he might trigger a great many missions, and missions meant Insight Orbs.
With Insight Orbs, would he still have to worry about his cultivation failing to progress?
Setting aside the gains in cultivation, if Bai Xiaowen could control an empire, he could draw an endless stream of vast resources from it and truly marshal the power of an entire plane world to help White Phoenix Fief develop.
Those two benefits alone were enough to make Bai Xiaowen lead his Four Heavenly Kings into the turbulent currents of dynastic struggle.
Of course, as an upright young man with ideals and ambitions, Bai Xiaowen could not answer Chen Rong like that. Fortunately, even putting benefits aside, his reasons were still more than sufficient.
Bai Xiaowen changed tack. "I'm not worried about Great Song falling. I have no particular fondness for the Zhao imperial house. Whether this land is ruled by Zhao, Li, or Wang makes no difference to me."
Chen Rong frowned. "Then why...?"
Bai Xiaowen continued, "I'm not worried about Great Song losing its state. I'm worried about the Han people losing all under heaven!"
Meeting Chen Rong's puzzled gaze, Bai Xiaowen slowly said:
"The fall of the Two Han Dynasties or the Sui and Tang Dynasties merely meant that the court changed surnames; it was a change of dynasty. The systems of politics, law, the imperial examinations, and everything else were all inherited in one continuous line. It could be