Heaven's Will

To Xu Yuan, Tianye was like a black rose blooming in the dead of night—mysterious, beautiful, and perilous. She was a madwoman, yet one exceptionally adept at concealing her true motives beneath a veneer of playfulness. She had indeed never lied to Xu Yuan, but every truth she told was only half the picture. She disclosed only the facts she wanted him to know, all to achieve her ends and pursue her amusement. In the illusory realm, Xu Yuan had once believed she genuinely wanted to kill him. In the end, it was merely an elaborate game of cat and mouse she had woven for him—and she had pulled her punches to an ocean's breadth, all to use him and Tianyan to escape that false illusion. In reality, Xu Yuan had once thought Tianye had cast aside all shackles of duty, wishing only to be an onlooker reveling in chaos. The result was that she had thoroughly outmaneuvered him. Were it not for the countless sudden twists born of the competing factions during the Western Desert incident, Xu Yuan would likely have already been reduced to a plaything dancing in her palm for her amusement. Yet now, Xu Yuan, the plaything meant to entertain her, had slipped entirely beyond her control and had even begun manipulating her in turn. How could Tianye not lose her composure? From that perspective, Xu Yuan felt he and Tianye were remarkably alike in some sense. Pleasure never vanished into thin air; it merely transferred to someone else. Watching Tianye's mask crack, Xu Yuan felt an unprecedented, morbid thrill. He seemed to have finally discovered the reason she had always been so obsessed with tormenting him... This sensation was indeed a delight like nothing he had ever known. Perhaps out of vengeance, perhaps infected by Tianye, or perhaps driven by the darkness buried deep within his own heart, Xu Yuan wanted to see her composure shatter even further because of him. He wanted to see this alluring black rose squirm in agony within his grasp. *I must be losing my mind...* Suppressing the excitement in his chest, Xu Yuan thought to himself. * * * Regardless of love, hatred, or sorrow, mortal emotion seemed utterly fragile before the rolling wheels of monumental circumstance. Upon returning to the Xu Manor, military reports from every quarter of Di'an began pouring in without pause—the Empress declaring her succession without ascending the Meridian Gate was fermenting far faster than anticipated. Although the situation remained veiled in mist to the vast majority, there were still those who discerned that the Emperor and the Chancellor intended to cooperate once more. And someone wanted to sabotage that alliance. By acting first and reporting later, they sought to coerce the leadership from the bottom up. Some belonged to the Chancellor's Manor, but most hailed from the imperial clan. Along the dividing line cleaving Di'an into north and south, hundreds of armed skirmishes erupted within just a few short hours, attempting to rekindle the flames of war that had come to an abrupt halt that night. Marquis Wucheng and Zong Qingsheng tried to ferret out these instigators, but by dusk, the two had only captured a few furious low-ranking officers; beyond them, all trails ran cold. Festering over seven days, the hatred spawned by the flames of mutiny had already spread among the common soldiers. Countless comrades and brothers who had shared day and night had been slain by the other side on that fateful eve. In the tense, cordoned-off frontline streets, a mere spark of provocation could easily ignite a conflagration. At dawn, the order to pull the Black Scale Army back south of the Xu Manor played a pivotal role. The dozens of li of buffer space starved the falling embers of fuel before they could blaze. Yet Xu Yuan knew this was merely the beginning. Before Li Qingyan brought the Hongnong campaign to an absolute conclusion, countless people on the imperial side would try to shatter the alliance between them. It could hardly be called betrayal. Different stances naturally fostered different perspectives. From the viewpoint of continuing the Li imperial line, the threat posed by the Xu family far surpassed that of the Sect Alliance. Thus, the underlying logic of those who wished to make decisions on behalf of their "deluded" Empress was, in truth, beyond reproach. Yet all of this was only temporary. Once reports from Hongnong steadily arrived and the reigning Empress returned to her loyal court, the dissenting noise would naturally disperse. The first military dispatch from Hongnong reached Di'an around dusk. The Empress, who had foregone ascending the Meridian Gate, had marched straight to the Tianhe River, leading the campaign in person. After a day of bitter fighting, she had breached the Sect Alliance's defensive line and established an initial bridgehead encampment south of the river. "The so-called divine swiftness in war is likely nothing more than this! Hahahaha!" In the Xu Manor, Feng Yuanqin held the dispatch from the palace and strode into the inner courtyard study with hearty laughter, announcing the glad tidings to his grandson: "Changtian, that lass truly has real skill when it comes to leading troops." Xu Yuan stood with his hands behind his back before the window lattice, gazing outside without replying immediately. Feng Yuanqin walked slowly over, following his gaze, only to see the sky stained red by the setting sun. With a touch of confusion, he asked, "What has caught your attention so deeply?" "Nothing, Grandfather." Xu Yuan withdrew his gaze and shook his head with a smile. The golden specks drifting across the heavens were multiplying sharply, yet he did not know when the convergence of that "Heaven's Will" would reach its threshold. Turning around to take the letter, he chuckled, "Raising troops at dawn and breaching the line by dusk is indeed fast. With this news, the imperial faction should quiet down somewhat." Grandfather and grandson took their seats. As Xu Yuan browsed the secret missive, Feng Yuanqin brewed fragrant tea for his grandson on his own accord. Aside from his cultivation, all this old bag of bones had left was the craftsmanship that had once earned him the title of Tea Sage. Amid the rushing sound of mountain spring water, he offered a low reminder: "Changtian, swift though it was, you had best not celebrate too early." "Oh?" Xu Yuan arched a brow. Feng Yuanqin weighed his words carefully: "As you know, after Zhou Xianlin died, I temporarily assumed the post of dean of the Wenshu Academy to maintain stability. Today, I reviewed the documents regarding the Tianhe River defensive line and realized that crossing the river was actually an inevitability. "Because when your father and the late Emperor first built the Tianhe River defenses, they constructed numerous array patterns and siege engines specifically for counterattacking and crossing the river. The Sect Alliance held the south of the Tianhe River for barely over a month; they had no time to erect corresponding fortifications. Caught unprepared, there was simply no way they could hold." At this point, Feng Yuanqin paused slightly in his pouring: "In other words, only after Li Qingyan crossed the Tianhe River has the Hongnong campaign truly begun." Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow and looked up. "Grandfather understands the art of war as well?" Feng Yuanqin grinned with self-satisfaction. "In the past, which patriarch of a great clan in Great Yan hasn't been onto the battlefield?" Xu Yuan considered it and found it made sense. Great Yan had always been rich in martial fervor; ever since the founding war, the fighting had never ceased. Whether outward expansion or internal suppression, there was practically a minor skirmish every three years and a major campaign every five. Naturally, that was not entirely a good thing. Waging war was burning money. Because of this martial vigor, the court's finances had gradually spiraled into a vicious cycle. To cover the deficits, successive Emperors had been forced to make various promises in exchange for the backing of the Sect Alliance and immortal sects, allowing the other side to grow ever more formidable right up until the late Emperor took the throne. Collecting his thoughts, Xu Yuan asked, "So how much of a chance of victory does Grandfather believe this campaign has?" "Ten out of ten." Feng Yuanqin replied without hesitation, "Victory is certain, but how great the spoils will be depends on how the current Empress deploys her troops." After a few moments of mutual silence, Xu Yuan smiled faintly. "There are only the two of us here, Grandfather. You might as well speak plainly." Feng Yuanqin's expression turned slightly unnatural. Pushing the first cup of fragrant tea toward Xu Yuan, he murmured, "...Changtian, in my view, the spoils will not be significant. Every deployment of troops is a contest of wits between the opposing commanders. With the Imperial Guard suddenly mobilizing to cross the river at such a critical juncture, the Sect Alliance's commanders, unless utter fools, will deduce that the Emperor and the Chancellor intend to cooperate. And what sort of definitive price would the Chancellor's Manor have to offer to make Li Qingyan command the Imperial Guard to cross the river? "The Tianhe River is hailed as a natural chasm because once the pontoon bridges and ice trestles are destroyed, the crossing troops have nowhere to maneuver. This can be called a battle with one's back to the river, but it is far more likely to turn into a trap where they are caught like turtles in a jar." "..." Wisps of ethereal tea aroma gradually drifted into every corner of the study. Xu Yuan took a sip from his teacup. "Does Grandfather believe the Sect Alliance can foresee troops hidden within a secret realm?" "Not necessarily, but they will inevitably retreat at once." Xu Yuan blew on the greenish brew in the porcelain cup, the hot steam undulating. "Whew... I, on the other hand, think they will not retreat." "Why?" "Didn't Grandfather just say it? The Sect Alliance also has capable minds." "..." Feng Yuanqin was puzzled. Setting down the porcelain cup, Xu Yuan let out a soft chuckle. "Grandfather, you might not know, but Li Qingyan is a very peculiar woman, and a very peculiar commander. Rather than presiding over the main camp and directing everything, she prefers leading the charge into the enemy ranks." "Why mention this so suddenly?" Feng Yuanqin hesitated. Xu Yuan drained the fragrant tea in his cup in one gulp, the aroma lingering on his palate. "If I'm not mistaken... "Her imperial dragon banner was the first to cross the Tianhe River." "..." Feng Yuanqin froze for a moment, then his voice rose, laced with sheer shock: "Reckless! Utterly reckless!!" "Leading the campaign in person is absurd enough, but as the reigning sovereign, that girl is actually using herself as bait?! If she dies in Hongnong, slain amid the chaos of battle, everything you arranged, Changtian, the alliance between Emperor and Chancellor, and even the imperial clan itself, will be completely finished!!" Xu Yuan remained unhurried and said, "Grandfather, you are right. But she is Li Qingyan." Feng Yuanqin's brow twitched. Knowing that the boy had already made up his mind, he could only sigh softly and steer the conversation away with a smile: "Changtian, before entering this study, I saw two young women in the inner courtyard. One seems to be the girl you brought to see me before, and the other is quite striking as well. She is..." "Here to kill me." "..." Feng Yuanqin opened his mouth, suddenly feeling that he might simply be too old—so old he could no longer keep pace with the minds of the young. His aged voice stammered slightly: "Wait, she wants... wants to kill you, and you still brought her home?" With things as they were, Xu Yuan saw no point in hiding anything. "She is very strong, on the same level as my father, and she could break beyond the Saint Realm at any moment." Feng Yuanqin knew the boy said this deliberately to dispel his intent to kill. After a brief pause, he asked, "Is she the reason you were in such a hurry to kill Li Zhaoyuan?" "In part." "In part?" "Because behind her stands another powerhouse." "..." Feng Yuanqin fell silent. This former tyrant of the Feng family felt utterly exhausted, yet looking at his grandson's still-placid face, what he felt most was heartache. Carrying such heavy burdens barely a few years after coming of age made Feng Yuanqin feel faintly suffocated. "...It seems you are also using yourself as bait. Is there anything Grandfather can do to help you?" "Not for now." "Very well... I will take my leave first." Feng Yuanqin rose wearily. As if recalling something, he added softly, "Right, that adopted daughter named Xu Xinyao doesn't seem to have left the capital." "What?" For the first time, a ripple broke through Xu Yuan's calm expression. Feng Yuanqin paid it no mind; he cared only for direct blood relatives, regarding adopted daughters as little more than servants. He remarked casually, "She's hiding in the underground laboratory over by the Gewu Academy, tinkering with who knows what." *That idiot.* Xu Yuan rubbed his brow, feeling a touch of exhaustion. Evidently, his actions over the recent period had caught Fourth Sister's attention, driving her to frantically forge that epoch-making creation known as the "soul stone." When Xu Yuan brought Feng Yuanqin to the depths beneath the Gewu Academy and forcibly dragged the girl out of the lab, Xu Xinyao was still full of resentment, obsessively trying to pitch her half-finished product mixed with "Dragon Transformation Crystals." "Brother, even though there's only a ten percent chance of success right now, if it succeeds, it can definitely end this war directly!" "Besides, Third Brother, even though you won't tell me, Father was so strong and still died. How can you face powerhouses like that on your own?" "This soul stone will definitely come in handy!" "Don't drag me, just give me a little more time!" "Third Brother, if you force me to leave again, I'll... I'll detonate it right now! Don't come closer, I... I'm serious..." "Brother... Brother... Xinyao is begging you..." *Thump!* Xu Xinyao was knocked unconscious. After packing up Fourth Sister along with all the apparatus and materials in the laboratory and entrusting Feng Yuanqin to escort her out of the city, Xu Yuan returned to the Xu Manor feeling mentally drained. Considering Xinyao's temperament, Xu Yuan had blocked news of the war's outbreak from reaching her. Yet no wall in this world was entirely windproof; whether it was their father's passing or other scattered clues, this clever girl had deduced what was happening outside. And then, Xu Xinyao had naturally fallen into an obsession. Unlike her direct betrayal in *Cangyuan*, this time she pinned all her hopes on weaponizing the soul stone to achieve the goal of halting conflict through arms. Alas, reality was no fairy tale; technology could not be accomplished overnight. Objective laws would not bend because of one's urgency, nor would research progress accelerate just because one grew anxious. The soul stone was ultimately not completed before the war arrived, nor before the descent of Heaven's Will. Whether it could even emerge before the war's end remained an unknown. When he finished handling all his official duties and walked out of the study, a sky full of stars already hung high in the night. The moment Xu Yuan pushed open the gate to his courtyard, he saw a young woman bathed in starlight. It was Tianye, staring intently at the heavens. Approaching her, Xu Yuan followed her gaze and saw the golden specks across the sky that were already on the verge of solidifying. Even so, he asked, "What are you looking at?" Ever since her composure had completely shattered that morning, Tianye had retreated into silence, playing dead whenever questioned. Xu Yuan had assumed she would not answer now, but to his surprise, Tianye had already returned to her usual self. Looking back with a charming smile, she replied, "Waiting for you." "I asked what you are looking at." "Hmm... Watching the progress of Its emergence, of course." Hearing her flippant tone, Xu Yuan suppressed the morbid urge in his chest and chuckled softly. "Oh? To what degree has it reached?" Tianye shrugged, her eyes curving in a smile. "There was supposed to be some time left, but since you rejected me so early, I moved forward the time of Its descent." "..." The night breeze swept past the waterside pavilion built in the past for affectation, stirring ripples across the pond's surface. Xu Yuan was momentarily speechless. Tianye was likely not joking, yet he was entirely unprepared. He did not know whether the descent of "Heaven's Will" would take the form of an attack like the one that had destroyed the Imperial Mausoleum, an incarnation through possession of a soul, or the direct condensation of a new body. Even now, Xu Yuan knew very little about Heaven's Will, let alone the precise level of power this predecessor could attain upon descending. "What, despairing?" Tianye asked with a light smile. The smirk at the corners of her lips caused the newly awakened, morbid impulse in his chest to surge violently. "Rather than advancing the descent because of my rejection, I'm more inclined to believe you simply couldn't afford to wait." "..." Tianye remained silent. Xu Yuan's expression was calm, his voice steady. "The impending cooperation between the Emperor and the Chancellor disrupted your expectations. Once Li Qingyan marches her army back to the court, no matter how strong Heaven's Will is, It will die before a million-man military formation." After a brief silence, Tianye broke into a smile. "I won't deny there's an element of that, but Li Qingyan still needs time to march back. Moving the date forward was mostly because you broke my heart~" Xu Yuan gave a noncommittal snort, walked into the pavilion, sat down, and looked up at the starry sky. "So what happens next?" Tianye sat down beside him, her eyes curving as she looked at him. "Do you... want to hear the original plan, or the current one?" "You can tell me both." "Oh... You really are greedy. But no matter." Tianye teased, leaning her head against his shoulder and speaking in a soft murmur: "Originally, I intended to have It descend upon Tianyan first. Her cultivation is too weak to bear Its power; the moment she clashed with you, everything would burn away, meaning she would die right before your eyes. Then, you and I would welcome the final curtain together." Xu Yuan's heart twinged for an instant. Glancing sideways, he asked, "And now?" "I plan to skip Tianyan." "Skip her?" "Uh-huh." Tianye hummed softly, smiling as she said, "The only reason I waited so long was to allow Tianyan to temporarily bear Its power. And the reason I didn't say a word all day today was that I was withdrawing that power." At this, the girl nuzzled his shoulder like a fox, leaning close to whisper in his ear: "Xu Yuan, with my cultivation... It can actually descend at any moment..." Xu Yuan's pupils shrank violently. And Tianye's following words confirmed his suspicion. She said, "...For example, right now." "..." "..." "..." "..." "..." All sound vanished in that instant. Sudden changes always struck without warning. The specks of starlight swirling across the heavens abruptly erupted with brilliance rivaling the rising sun, cascading toward the pavilion where the two sat like a rushing river of stars! In that split second, The Life-Death Dao domain and the Aeon Art Dao domain unfolded simultaneously. Xu Yuan's military battle array cultivation technique began to circulate, Yet time also fell into an eerie stillness at that very moment. In the first instant, Tianye stood up with a radiant smile, her back to the descending river of golden stars, the shadow of her smile obscuring her face. In the second instant, The military technique resonated, and Xu Yuan's Qi spiked to a terrifying degree. He managed to move forcibly within this Aeon Art Dao domain, and a longsword materialized in his hand. In the third instant, Xu Yuan thrust his sword, cloaked in the Dao charm of death, toward Tianye's glabella. If it struck, she would surely die. Yet the descending river of golden stars had already reached the girl's back... Too late... *This crazy woman!!!!!!!* Her words that morning had not deceived him. If he had killed her then, there would have been no consequences. Though Tianyan and Tianye would have died, Heaven's Will would have been dealt with. Yet now, all of it was too late. What to do? Could the mere one hundred thousand Black Scale troops in the city withstand Heaven's Will? The battlefield of Mount Tianmen had already proven that this would most likely fail. Then the only option was to seek reinforcements. But the problem was, would the current imperial faction help? Marquis Wucheng probably would, but most of the troops in the city were now the Imperial Guard, not Marquis Wucheng's direct Beifeng Army. The Imperial Guard commander, Wang Shili, was an uncompromising royalist. Before Li Qingyan pacified Hongnong, he would almost certainly not lend a hand to the Xu family, who threatened the continuity of the imperial line. He would most likely watch from the sidelines, waiting until Xu Yuan was killed before mobilizing the battle formations to strike down Heaven's Will. Then should he retreat? Just as originally planned. Retreat directly, leaving Heaven's Will for the imperial clan to deal with. The imperial clan could never allow a menace like Heaven's Will to exist in the world. Absolutely not. If they retreated, any hope of an alliance between Emperor and Chancellor would be utterly extinguished. Myriad thoughts flashed through his mind in a single instant. Xu Yuan's throat bobbed. As the sword blade drew nearer and the river of golden stars plummeted, he saw an unprecedented, morbid delight in those magnificent radiant gold eyes of hers. Yet right at that moment, As that river of golden stars drew closer and closer, Xu Yuan detected an abnormality deep within his sea of consciousness. This was... the Heavenly Yan divine soul? The descent of Heaven's Will seemed to use the Heavenly Yan divine soul as a medium. And coincidentally, He, as the Calamity of Eternal Night, seemed to possess this thing as well. A great wave surged in his heart. Without time for deliberation, Xu Yuan released his military battle array technique, and his figure vanished instantly from the spot. Void-Stepping Slash. When he reappeared, he was already behind Tianye. Illuminated by the vast river of golden stars, He looked down at her as she turned her head back, and whispered in a calm voice: "Tianye, your life belongs to me, Xu Yuan. What happens in the future is not for you to decide." With those words, The river of golden stars bypassed him entirely. "..." Xu Yuan. Tianye rolled her beautiful eyes, sighing helplessly. "You fool, must you tease me even before you die? How could I not have considered your Heavenly Yan divine so—" Yet before her words could finish, A familiar fluctuation of Dao charm abruptly erupted from within that river of golden stars. It was the dying handiwork of the Great Yan Chancellor. A black vortex. It forcibly warped the descent trajectory of Heaven's Will, diverting it toward his own child, while hurling out a certain ink-robed captive who had been buried in cultivation. *BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ—* The instant the river of golden stars surged into Xu Yuan's body, boundless might obliterated the entire Chancellor's Manor, and violent gusts of pressure surged outward, sweeping across the entire colossal city of Di'an!