Very Simple: Let the Strongest Nation Annex the Other Three

The moment he finished speaking, the air seemed to freeze for an instant.

Mu En was completely stunned.

He had lived for over a century and seen countless geniuses and prodigies.

Yet at this moment, he found himself doubting his own ears.

Heavenly Profound and Earthly Yellow Exquisite Pagoda?

Rank 38?

He instinctively asked, "How old are you this year...?"

"Ten. Not yet eleven," Li Changqing answered candidly.

Mu En: "..."

He fell silent.

Ten years old?

Rank 38?

Wasn't this a little too outrageous?

Mu En silently did the math.

If he remembered correctly, his great-grandson Bei Bei had not even reached Rank 30 yet, had he?

Damn it, why were other people's children so exceptional?

Were all young people this fierce nowadays?

Or had he grown old and fallen behind the times?

Mu En took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart, and asked tentatively, "Child, could you perhaps be a disciple of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? Did your martial soul mutate from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda?"

It was no wonder he thought so.

After all, across the entire continent, the only famous pagoda-type martial soul seemed to be the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

Although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was a support-type martial soul and theoretically possessed no offensive ability, who could say for certain when it came to martial soul mutations?

Though the possibility was slim, it was not entirely impossible.

After all, ten thousand years ago, there had been the precedent of the Clear Sky Hammer mutating into the Noble Ring.

Put bluntly, mutations depended entirely on heaven's mood.

When it was in a good mood, it was like Mu En himself—mutating the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon into the Radiant Sacred Dragon and becoming one of the strongest beast martial souls in a single leap.

When it was in a bad mood, there were cases like Yu Xiaogang and Tang Yuehua.

One had mutated into something useless, while the other had become weaker.

Therefore, it was not entirely impossible for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to mutate into a pagoda-type martial soul with combat capabilities.

Hearing this, Li Changqing shook his head. "No. My martial soul has nothing to do with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. It was like this when I awakened it innately. And I'm not from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect either. I have no background at all—I'm just an ordinary commoner."

A trace of surprise flashed through Mu En's eyes, but he did not press further.

There would be plenty of time in the future.

If this child truly was a commoner with no background or connections, then he could be given special attention in training.

That way, his sense of belonging toward Shrek Academy would also be much stronger.

He merely gave Li Changqing a long, deep look before slowly reclining back into his wicker chair. Closing his eyes, he waved a hand. "Go on, child. Cultivate well. The road ahead is still long."

Li Changqing nodded slightly and turned to leave.

After taking a few steps, he suddenly heard an extremely soft murmur from behind him, like an old man talking to himself.

"Ten years old, Rank 38... Interesting. Truly interesting... It seems Shrek Academy is about to become lively again..."

Night fell, and Shrek City was brightly lit.

Unlike its solemn and dignified atmosphere during the day, Shrek City displayed an entirely different kind of vitality at night.

All kinds of lanterns hung outside the shops on both sides of the streets, illuminating the entire road as brightly as day.

Long lines formed before the snack stalls, and the scents of every kind of food mingled together, stirring the appetites of passersby.

Calls from vendors, laughter and chatter, and the clatter of spatulas against woks intertwined into a symphony brimming with the warmth of everyday life.

After settling their luggage, the two met at the academy entrance as agreed. Then, they left the academy together and headed toward the liveliest nearby snack street.

Ye Guyi had changed into a clean white dress. Her pale golden hair fell loosely over her shoulders, gleaming softly beneath the lantern light.

After half a month of recuperation, much of the exhaustion and sorrow had faded from her face.

Although she still occasionally drifted off into thought, her overall condition had improved greatly.

The two found a restaurant with a pleasant atmosphere and took seats by a window on the second floor.

From there, they could see the bustling sight of half the snack street outside, crowded with people and sparkling with lights.

After ordering, Li Changqing poured himself a cup of tea and casually asked, "How does it feel?"

Ye Guyi cradled her teacup in both hands. Looking through the window at the bustling crowds outside, she was silent for a moment before softly saying, "Very good."

She paused, as if savoring the feeling, then continued, "It's safe here. Lively. It has... the feeling of life. I don't have to constantly worry about evil soul masters springing out from some corner, and I don't have to sleep with one eye open at night. If possible, I hope things can always stay this way—no evil soul masters, no war, no messy troubles."

Li Changqing raised his teacup and took a sip. After setting it down, he shook his head. His tone was calm, yet carried a touch of merciless reality. "That's impossible. Especially in this era."

Ye Guyi withdrew her gaze and looked at him, her eyes filled with confusion and hope. "Why is it impossible? Can there not be a day of peace?"

"The evil soul masters led by the Holy Spirit Cult need no further mention. They can never be completely eradicated."

Leaning back in his chair, Li Changqing gazed at the night sky beyond the window and spoke softly. "Wherever there are people, there will be desires. Where there are desires, there will be darkness. Evil soul masters are like weeds: burn one batch, and before long, another will sprout. At most, we can suppress them and make them afraid to commit evil as openly as they do now. Just like when Spirit Hall still existed ten thousand years ago—evil soul masters could only cling to life in dark corners instead of running rampant across the continent as they do now."

Ye Guyi nodded thoughtfully, but then asked, "What about war? There must be some way to resolve wars between nations, right?"

"War..."

Li Changqing lightly tapped his fingers against the table. After pondering for a moment, he slowly said, "There is actually only one way to solve that problem."

"What way?" Ye Guyi immediately pressed.

Li Changqing looked at her, his eyes carrying a depth and composure that did not match his age. "Very simple. Launch a war to unify the continent. Let the strongest nation annex the other three and establish a unified government."

Ye Guyi froze at those words.

"Only when the continent is unified, with only one government, one set of laws, and one army remaining, can the frequency of war and the harm done to ordinary people be fundamentally reduced."

Li Changqing's tone was calm, as though he were stating the most ordinary fact. With a faint sigh, he said, "Put simply, regardless of the era or the kind of war, ordinary people are always the ones hurt most deeply in the end. Those rulers perched high above, for profit, for territory, for so-called glory and ambition, launch war after war. Yet the ones who truly bleed and die on the front lines, wait in agony at home, and are displaced by the flames of war are the most ordinary commoners."

He sighed, lifted his teacup, and took another sip. A rare trace of helplessness appeared in his eyes. "Those in power fight for profit, while those beneath them must pay the price with their lives. From ancient times to the present, that has never changed."

Ye Guyi fell silent.

She thought of the villages she had passed through over the years and the ordinary people she had seen whose families had been destroyed by war and evil soul masters.

Those despairing eyes, those agonized cries, those people who would never again see their loved ones return...

She suddenly felt that this boy, who was even younger than she was, viewed the world far more deeply than she had imagined.

Perhaps she truly could learn many things by staying at his side.

"Then do you think..."

Ye Guyi hesitated before asking, "Will this war of unification happen?"

Li Changqing did not answer immediately.

He looked out the window at the prosperous nightscape glittering with lights. Only after a long while did he softly utter two words.

"It will."

His voice was very quiet. "And it is not far off."