Year 4 of the Divine Realm Calendar.
Long Yue was twelve years old, a rank 45 Battle Soul Ancestor.
The Divine Realm Empire had developed the central region of the Green Scale Plain on the Spirit Ice Continent. It had also followed the Xiding River downstream, found the Southern Seaport, and established an ocean-going fleet.
"Brother Long, I don't understand why His Majesty wants to send a fleet to the Douluo Continent. The Douluo Continent of this era isn't the Sun Moon Federation. There's no point in going."
The Heavenly Spring Pool, Monster Academy.
Su Mu rested his palm on the white jade railing, and its coolness crept up through his fingertips.
Time had worn the stone lion atop the railing post smooth and rounded. His fingertips brushed its ear while Long Yue stood with his head lowered, gazing at the lake.
The Heavenly Spring Pool resembled a piece of shattered green jade, rippling with fragments of light whenever the wind blew. Several red-lacquered boats parted the ripples, their student passengers chatting and laughing merrily.
"How do you know no cities from the Sun Moon Federation traveled through time to the Douluo Continent? What if Shrek City came through?"
Long Yue raised his head as he spoke.
"Uh... is that possible?" Su Mu tilted his head.
"No idea. That's why we need to go look," Long Yue said.
If that bunch of filial sons and devoted grandsons from Shrek Academy traveled through time to the Douluo Continent, wouldn't they light incense and candles and enshrine Tang San?
Su Mu hesitated. As the only son of Marquis Nine-Tail, he would inherit the family estate, so his father sometimes took the initiative to teach him about politics.
In Marquis Nine-Tail's view, sailing to the Douluo Continent was an entirely thankless undertaking.
Although the entire Green Scale Plain was now under imperial rule, developing the continent, clearing out the natives, and rebuilding the soul guidance industry alone would take the empire a very long time.
To expend all kinds of resources previously stockpiled in Divine Realm City on an ocean-going exploration fleet at a time like this was simply...
Su Mu did not dare voice such disrespectful words.
In terms of population, the five million residents of the former Star Luo City formed their core base, while the natives could serve as expendables;
In terms of resources, much of the Spirit Ice Continent remained undeveloped. Mineral deposits, agriculture, forestry, and soul beast resources were all untouched, and none were lacking.
In terms of national defense, the vast ocean lay between them, making it impossible for armies on the Douluo Continent to cross over... only the Sun Moon Federation had that capability, and this was twenty thousand years earlier.
Swallowing up the Spirit Ice Continent and thoroughly developing it as their homeland would be enough to sustain the Divine Realm Empire's development for a thousand years.
Long Yue launched into a vigorous bout of political commentary. "So, from the perspective of national interests, going to the Douluo Continent would be worse than colonizing the Dou Ling Continent. It's closer, and it's full of natives too."
Su Mu nodded.
Slandering the emperor was naturally a grave offense, but the empire was not nearly so strict about political discussions concerning national strategy.
Especially since Long Yue and Su Mu were both students of Monster Academy, members of the empire's future ruling class.
Long Yue said, "But have you considered that many people in the empire have ancestors who sailed here from the Douluo Continent?"
"Attachment to their ancestral homeland?" Su Mu pondered.
Su Mu's Nine-Tailed Fox family had been indigenous to the former Star Luo Continent and had once wielded tremendous influence there. Later, the empire had incorporated his family into its ruling establishment.
But to Su Mu, the Douluo Continent was merely a geographical name he had learned in class.
With the empire constantly publicizing the Sun Moon Federation's aggression, Su Mu felt not only curiosity toward the Douluo Continent, but also a faint hostility.
Dai Yueyan could listen to songs about the "Migration Era" and shed melancholy tears, but Su Mu found them baffling.
The empire was driven out of the Douluo Continent, so that gave you the right to occupy our native lands?
But these subjects were sensitive territory within the empire, and Su Mu had never shown his dissatisfaction.
Still, any suggestion that Su Mu felt the nostalgia of an exile yearning for his old homeland was out of the question.
In fact, these currents of thought were reflected in the present imperial court as a factional struggle between the strategy of domestic development and that of overseas diplomacy.
Officials of the domestic faction were mostly descendants of the continent's indigenous inhabitants and advocated developing their homeland-the Spirit Ice Continent.
The overseas faction consisted primarily of descendants of the migrants and advocated exchanges with and expansion into other continents while consolidating their homeland.
"Have you read Land Power Empire?" Long Yue asked again.
Since Monster Academy's students were allowed to discuss politics, they naturally had to read books relevant to those discussions. In this respect, Monster Academy was better than Shrek Academy's love-addled fools, who knew nothing but cultivation.
Su Mu nodded. "Are you saying that our Divine Realm Empire has always been a land power empire? But that's all the more reason we shouldn't sail out to establish relations with the Douluo Continent."
"No. I mean that passage in the book.
"'The uneven development of the continents is not entirely due to certain nations possessing more geniuses and greater capabilities than others. To a large extent, it results from the unequal distribution of fertile land and strategic opportunities across the continents on our planet's surface.'
"The Douluo Continent's resources are simply too good. The gods favor them, so it has always been the center of civilization on this planet."
Su Mu had not expected Long Yue to say something like that, as though the empire had been reduced to a mere backdrop on the international stage.
"The Douluo Continent's civilization has always been more advanced than those of the other continents. It is undeniably the center of civilization.
"Tang San, Spirit Ice Douluo, Beast God Di Tian... there are too many examples. The powerful are all on the Douluo Continent.
"What we need to do now is, in fact, use soul guidance technology twenty thousand years ahead of its time to seize the center of civilization.
"From then on,
"The empire will define civilization's perspective."
The Divine Realm Empire extolled both individual heroism and grand narratives. Long Yue understood this well, and with just a few words, he stirred Su Mu's heart, sending him running off with excited cries.
"A child, after all." Long Yue chuckled softly. "Those few words were enough to fool him."
En Ci quietly appeared beside the white jade railing, enjoying the breeze from the Heavenly Spring Pool alongside Long Yue. "Wasn't what you said quite good? The empire will define the center of civilization in the future. Some scholars don't explore that argument as deeply as you do."
Holy Dragon Douluo had lately spent all his time at Monster Academy or, failing that, in the imperial palace. He had plenty of leisure.
"The emperor might not have thought of any of that." Long Yue smiled contemptuously. "It's just that the Douluo Continent really does have a resource the Spirit Ice Continent lacks. For example..."
En Ci looked at Long Yue, sensing that his disciple was once again determined to say something shocking.
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."
"Heh." Understanding dawned on En Ci.
Long Yue had correctly guessed the emperor's intentions.
What Dai Tianling wanted was precisely the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. As emperor, he was well aware that the Tang Sect possessed a treasure land that produced immortal herbs.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was still unclaimed at this point, so the emperor wanted to send people there to stake a claim and eventually supply the empire's upper ranks with immortal herbs.
"That sort of deduction is easy." Long Yue rested a hand on En Ci's shoulder and circled merrily around him. "Old man, oh, old man, spare me some immortal herbs. I want to go to the Douluo Continent too. Take me along!"
"You'll go with your senior brother." En Ci agreed without the slightest hesitation. "Choose an immortal herb for tempering your body. Otherwise, in the future, your body..."
"I know, I know~" Long Yue cheerfully vaulted over the white jade railing, jumped into the Heavenly Spring Pool, and swam toward the middle of the lake.
Before you continue