The Coming War
Everyone present fell silent as they listened to Xu Xingyu's explanation. The word "war" was so heavy, so full of helplessness.
Throughout history, wars have resulted in the sacrifice of countless lives, and have also fueled hatred between individuals and nations.
There are countless people on the mainland who yearn for peace and tranquility, but due to various interests and desires, this desire cannot last long, and there is nothing that can be done about it.
At this Xu Jiujiu, Xu Jiujiu looked at Xu Xingyu and said, "If it is really as you say, that war is about to begin, then may I ask which side the Spirit Contract Pagoda will stand on? I don't think the Spirit Contract Pagoda can remain neutral after the war breaks out."
"That's not entirely true," Xu Xingyu said calmly. "Our Spirit Contract Pagoda can completely ignore that so-called war. After all, everyone knows that with the Soul Beast Clan as our backing Spirit Contract Pagoda already possesses the strength to contend with the entire continent."
"Furthermore, our Spirit Contract Pagoda is more like a merchant guild, so no country dares to cause us trouble alone, especially the Sun Moon Empire. If they were to sell to us, their plan to unify the continent would be greatly delayed."
"Therefore, when war breaks out, they will more likely choose to ignore the Spirit Contract Pagoda we have built in various cities, unless we take the initiative to stop them."
"As for the final outcome of the war, whether the Sun Moon unite the continent or the stalemate between multiple countries continues, it will be harmless to our Spirit Contract Pagoda. In fact, it would be better if the continent were to agree to the agreement, because as long as we maintain good relations with the countries that agree, further expanding the Spirit Contract Pagoda's power will not be a problem."
Hearing Xu Xingyu, Xu Jiujiu's heart sank. She knew that everything Xu Xingyu said was correct, and that any qualified leader would have made the same choice in most cases, but she still couldn't accept it.
Even though her engagement to Xu Xingyu caused her to lose her real power as a princess of the Star Luo Empire, she was still a person born in the Star Luo Empire and deeply loved her homeland.
Therefore, he could not simply stand by and watch the impending war destroy his country, for he had come to realize the terrifying power of Soul Guidance Technology Xu Jiujiu arriving at the Spirit Contract Pagoda.
This also led Xu Jiujiu to realize that the Sun Moon Empire, as a major power in Soul Guidance Technology, possessed far more terrifying power than he had imagined. If war broke out between the Sun Moon Empire and the Star Luo Empire, the ultimate victor would most likely be the Sun Moon Empire.
But just as Xu Jiujiu reeling from the shock, Xu Xingyu's voice came again. "That's what they say, but personally, I think it's best not to unify the continent with the Sun Moon Empire as the leader if possible."
After listening to Xu Xingyu's unexpected words for Xu Jiujiu, Xu Xingyu exclaimed in surprise, "Xingyu, didn't you say that for the Spirit Contract Pagoda, the unification of the continent by the Sun Moon would be the best outcome?"
Xu Xingyu looked at Xu Jiujiu, whose eyes were beginning to show a glimmer of hope, and sighed helplessly, "Unifying the continent is indeed the best outcome, but I didn't say it had to be the Sun Moon Empire that unified the continent."
"Although the Sun Moon Continent possesses extremely advanced Soul Guidance Technology, making it easier for them to cooperate with our Spirit Contract Pagoda, the problem is that the Sun Moon Empire is too powerful. They cannot allow the Spirit Contract Pagoda to remain aloof indefinitely; instead, they will constantly try to control our Spirit Contract Pagoda."
"The most harmonious approach would be for them to invite our Spirit Contract Pagoda to become the state religion of their Sun Moon Empire after unification, which means we would have to submit to their work. That wouldn't be a problem, but the issue is that the Sun Moon Empire itself isn't very trustworthy."
"Not very trustworthy?" Jiang Nannan asked doubtfully, "Why can't the Sun Moon Empire be trusted?"
At this moment, Gu Yuena, who had remained silent until now, said calmly, "Is it because the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult have ties?"
The cooperation between the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult was no secret to the Spirit Contract Pagoda. Not to mention that the Holy Spirit Cult had come knocking on their door so many times that it was only a matter of time before they found out. Xu Xingyu, as a transmigrator from Blue Star, already knew this and had informed Gu Yuena long ago. So as long as they grasped this point, finding any clue would not be a problem.
Xu Xingyu nodded in agreement, saying, "That's one aspect. Another is that our Spirit Contract Pagoda has no ties with the Sun Moon Empire. Aside from the fact that the Soul Beast don't really care about the country of origin, very few of our Spirit Contract Pagoda staff are from the Sun Moon Empire. The vast majority are from one of the three original kingdoms. This also means that we aren't exactly trustworthy in the eyes of the Sun Moon Empire."
"This situation, where both sides are filled with distrust, is somewhat detrimental to the future development of the Spirit Contract Pagoda," Xu Xingyu explained calmly. "Therefore, rather than having such an untrustworthy country agree to unify the continent, it would be better to support a country we can trust to unify the continent."
"You mean..." She hesitated for Xu Jiujiu before continuing, but her excitement was palpable as she hoped the answer would be the same as what she was thinking.
After Xu Jiujiu, Xu Xingyu smiled and said, "Yes, we must support the Star Luo Empire in unifying the continent."
"Although you lost all the real power that a princess should have because you chose to be with me, you are still a princess recognized by the Star Luo Empire, and my family, the Star Saint Clan, is a branch of the current Star Luo Empire royal family, the Xu Family."
"With this relationship in place, establishing friendly relations with the Star Luo Empire isn't particularly difficult. Moreover, unlike the Sun Moon Empire, the Star Luo Empire is well aware that it needs a top-tier power like our Spirit Contract Pagoda as its backing; otherwise, they might suffer heavy losses if war breaks out. Therefore, they absolutely welcome our Spirit Contract Pagoda's choice to stand with the Star Luo Empire."
"It's more than just a welcome!" Xu Jiujiu thought to herself. Based on her understanding of her brother, the current emperor Xu Jiawei, once Spirit Contract Pagoda chose to become the Star Luo Empire's backer, he wouldn't refuse even if Xu Xingyu wanted to take the throne from Xu Jiawei.
After all, as Xu Xingyu said, he himself is a member of the royal family, and his fiancée, Xu Jiujiu, is the current Princess Star Luo Empire, so in the end, the throne will still be in the hands of the Xu Family.
His elder brother valued only two things most: the continuation of the Xu Family and the survival of the Star Luo Empire. If it came to handing over the throne to another Xu Family during this process, he would not hesitate for a moment.
Didn't he do something like this near the end of the original novel, handing over the throne to his father Dai Hao, in order to win over Huo Yuhao and thus ensure the peace of the Star Luo Empire?
If they didn't hesitate to hand over the throne to the White Tiger Family, then wouldn't they have even less reason to hesitate to hand it over to one's own family?