125: The Empress's ambition! Her sword is aimed at the royal family of the Northern Region!

The Great Xia Divine Dynasty, located at the center of the Central Province, was a place where Dragon Qi converged.

In the Imperial Palace, at the Zichen Hall.

The entire hall was constructed from ten-thousand-year-old purple-gold divine wood. Lifelike five-clawed golden dragons were perched upon the beams and pillars, each dragon scale shimmering with a majestic spiritual light. The floor was paved with Warm Jade Immortal Bricks, capable of gathering Spiritual Qi and nourishing the Divine Soul.

At this moment, however, the atmosphere within this hall—the symbol of the Great Xia Divine Dynasty's supreme authority—was so oppressive it felt as if it had solidified.

Civil and military officials stood in two rows, each as silent as a cicada in winter. They even slowed their breathing deliberately, fearing they might disturb the peerless figure seated upon the Nine Dragon Supreme Throne.

Ji Hongxue wore a crimson-gold dragon robe embroidered with the Nine Heavens Divine Phoenix and a purple-gold imperial crown. Twelve tassels of jade beads hung lightly, obscuring her phoenix eyes that were as deep as the starry sky, yet they could not hide that supreme majesty that looked down upon the world and caused the sun and moon to lose their luster.

Her jade-like fingers tapped lightly on the armrest of the dragon throne, and she remained silent.

But every official in the hall, from the veteran ministers in the Saint King Realm who had lived for thousands of years to the burgeoning young geniuses, felt as if an immemorial divine mountain was pressing down upon their Divine Souls.

They were currently debating endlessly over a single matter—a shocking event sufficient to shake the entire Xuanyuan Continent.

The Wang Family of the Northern Region had paid the astronomical price of five hundred billion High-Grade Spirit Stones at the Tiandu Auction to acquire void immortal gold, which was suspected of containing the "Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art"!

When the news reached the court, it sent shockwaves through the government and the public!

“Your Majesty!”

A Grand Marshal of the military, clad in general's armor with an aura as fierce as a Vicious Beast and a cultivation level that had already reached the Great Saint Realm, stepped forward with a boom.

His voice was like a great bell, vibrating so loudly that the entire hall hummed in resonance.

“The Wang Family of the Northern Region harbors wolfish ambitions! The Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art is the number one demonic art of all eternity; once it surfaces, it will surely lead to the slaughter of all living beings! This subject requests to immediately mobilize a million troops and march north to seize this demonic art for our Divine Dynasty's use! This is a god-given opportunity to allow our Great Xia Divine Dynasty to prosper for ten thousand generations!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the generals of the pro-war faction stepped forward one after another in agreement.

“The Grand Marshal is absolutely right! The Wang Family is at the end of its tether; it is the perfect time for us to act on behalf of Heaven!”

“By seizing the demonic art, Your Majesty's Divine Might can suppress all of eternity!”

However, as soon as they finished speaking...

On the other side, an Old Prime Minister with hair and beard as white as snow, dressed in civil official robes and possessing an aura as stable as deep waters and high mountains, also stepped forward and bowed.

“Your Majesty, this must not be done!”

Though the Old Prime Minister's voice was not as loud as the general's, it carried a balanced and peaceful power that commanded belief.

“Although the Wang Family of the Northern Region suffered losses and lost face outside Tiandu, their Legacy has lasted for hundreds of thousands of years. Their foundation is so deep it cannot be underestimated. If we rashly send troops, we give them a reason to unite against a common enemy. If all the forces of the Northern Region tie themselves into a single rope, even if our Divine Dynasty wins, it will be a pyrrhic victory!”

“Furthermore, the ‘Heaven Swallowing Demonic Art’ is ultimately just a rumor! How can the words of the Myriad Dao Merchant Guild be fully trusted? If this matter is false, we would be acting without a just cause; would we not be laughed at by the world? Instead, it would give other Holy Lands and ancient families an excuse to attack our dynasty!”

The civil officials of the pro-peace faction also nodded in succession.

“The Prime Minister is wise and acts for the good of the state; please reconsider, Your Majesty!”

“To repel foreign threats, one must first stabilize the interior. Our dynasty's newly expanded territories still need pacification; it is not suitable to raise arms again.”

For a moment, the pro-war and pro-peace factions in the Zichen Hall argued until they were red in the face.

Upon the throne, Ji Hongxue listened quietly.

Behind those hanging jade beads, the corner of her mouth curled into a cold arc that no one noticed.

Seize the demonic art? Foolish greed.

Acting without a just cause? Laughable cowardice.

These ministers, in the end, still couldn't see through the true nature of this chessboard.

The Wang Family was no longer a fierce tiger, but a fat pig that was heavily injured and dying, yet still mistakenly perceived as a peerless Vicious Beast.

Everyone was wary, and everyone was watching.

And this was precisely the once-in-ten-thousand-years opportunity for her Great Xia Divine Dynasty to unify the Northern Region!

“Enough.”

A voice as cold as an icy spring dripping onto a jade plate rang out softly.

Though the voice wasn't loud, it instantly suppressed all the arguing in the hall.

Ji Hongxue slowly raised her eyes. Her majestic phoenix eyes swept across the room, and all the ministers who met her gaze instinctively lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at her.

“The Grand Marshal is greedy for merit and acts rashly, while the Prime Minister is timid and overcautious. All of you have disappointed me greatly.”

Her words caused the faces of the two high-ranking ministers to instantly turn pale.

Ji Hongxue ignored them. She stood up, her dragon robe trailing on the ground as she walked down the steps one by one.

Her voice was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

“I have decided to send troops.”

The Grand Marshal was overjoyed upon hearing this and was about to speak.

“But, it is not to seize some ethereal demonic art.” Ji Hongxue's gaze was cold, possessing a sharpness that pierced through the human heart. “It is for... the common people of the world!”

“The Wang Family has lost its virtue. For their own selfish desires, they did not hesitate to touch a forbidden demonic art, becoming a great threat to the safety of the Xuanyuan Continent! Such a demonic menace should be punished by everyone!”

“As the orthodox lineage of the Central Province and the exemplar of the Human Race, how can our Great Xia Divine Dynasty sit idly by?”

“Pass down my imperial decree!”

Ji Hongxue's voice suddenly rose, filled with the unquestionable overbearing aura of an emperor!

“Starting today, our Great Xia Divine Dynasty will form the ‘Demon-Quelling Allied Army’ and announce it to the world to jointly crusade against the Wang Family of the Northern Region! Anyone who responds to our dynasty's call and sends troops together will be rewarded according to their merits and granted land and titles once the Wang Family is leveled!”

“Anyone who remains obstinate and sides with the Wang Family will be regarded as an accomplice of the Demonic Path and will be executed along with them, and their Legacy will be extinguished!”

Boom!

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire court was shocked!

This was no mere crusade; this was clearly an attempt to reshuffle the entire Northern Region and incorporate it into Great Xia's territory!

What a grand move! What immense boldness!

“Your Majesty is wise!”

The pro-war generals, having come to their senses, were trembling with excitement. They knelt on the ground in unison, shouting "Long live the Empress!"

Meanwhile, those pro-peace civil ministers looked as pale as death.

They seemed to have already seen what kind of terrifying storm of blood and gore was about to be unleashed upon the entire Xuanyuan Continent!

Just then, an old and majestic sigh rang out from the void deep within the hall.

“Empress, do you know that this move will place our Great Xia at the heart of the storm?”

An illusory figure slowly condensed. It was an old man wearing an ancient imperial robe. His aura was ethereal, as if he might dissipate at any moment, yet that faint imperial pressure made all the Great Saints present feel their Divine Souls tremble.

The sleeping Quasi-Emperor Ancestor of the Great Xia Divine Dynasty!

Ji Hongxue gave a slight nod toward the phantom, neither humble nor arrogant.

“Ancestor, I know.”

“But I know even better that the path of an emperor is one of stepping over countless bones and moving against the current!”

“Right now, the Wang Family is a paper tiger that is strong on the outside but hollow within, and the world's powerhouses are jackals with their own hidden agendas. This is the only golden opportunity for our Great Xia Divine Dynasty to use thunderous force to establish a hegemony for ten thousand generations in one fell swoop!”

“Opportunity knocks but once; the time will not come again!”

Her voice was resolute, and within those phoenix eyes burned the raging fire of "ambition"!

The Quasi-Emperor Ancestor fell silent.

He looked deeply at this Empress who was excessively young, yet possessed a Heart-Nature and boldness that far surpassed the previous emperors. After a long time, he finally spoke.

“Have you... thought this through?”

“My mind is made up.”

“Good.” The figure of the Quasi-Emperor Ancestor slowly dissipated, leaving behind only one sentence echoing in the empty hall.

“Go ahead and do it.”

“The foundation of our Great Xia is far deeper than you imagine.”

Having received the Ancestor's final approval, the imperial majesty emanating from Ji Hongxue climbed to its peak!

She turned to face the vast world outside the hall, and her voice spread throughout the entire Imperial City and the entire Great Xia Divine Dynasty!

“Pass the order!”

“Three armies, assemble!”