157: Chapter 157 A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

He kept his expression calm, but the force in his fingertips increased unconsciously, almost leaving deep marks on the rim of the cup—a strength he hadn't even noticed himself:

"Xuanyuan Zhanxian is a steady child with solid cultivation. In terms of both character and strength, he is worthy of Tang Huang. It's just that..."

"It's just that a marriage Alliance between our two Dynasties involves far too much, from court influence down to the livelihood of the common people. You and I both need to weigh this carefully, don't we?"

Emperor Wu Tianba took over the conversation precisely, the geniality in his eyes receding like the tide, replaced by a flash of sharpness belonging to an Imperial ruler—a sharpness that wasn't a bared blade, but a sword hidden in its sheath, ready to be drawn at any moment:

"But Brother Jian, you and I both know that troubled times are approaching—the barbarians of the Western Regions are eyeing us covetously, and the Sects of the Southern Regions are stirring. Relying on the strength of one side alone is like a lone boat sailing on a raging sea; it may not be able to protect our Juniors."

He leaned forward slightly, his voice lowered, yet every word carried the weight of a thousand jun, like a giant boulder thrown into a still lake:

"If your Shenwu and my Great Wu can form a marriage Alliance and watch over each other—"

"For the nation, for the family, and for the children, it is a grand plan for the next hundred years."

Jian Xiaotian fell silent.

He gazed at the swirling wine in his cup, as if he could see the intertwined fates of the two Dynasties after the marriage Alliance—it could be a smooth path, or it could be an abyss; a ladder to the heavens, or a rope leading to a fall.

A moment later, he tilted his head back and drained the spicy wine in one gulp.

The burning sensation traveled from his throat down to his stomach, scorching his internal organs, yet it left his mind exceptionally clear, as if only the calmest thoughts remained in the ashes after a raging fire.

"I understand what you mean, Brother Wu."

He set down his wine cup, his voice carrying an unmistakable solemnity, every word sounding as if it had been tempered a thousand times before being uttered:

"This matter... allow me to return and discuss it carefully with Tang Huang's mother, and I must also ask the children about their own wishes."

"Marriage is not child's play; it cannot be decided hastily."

"That would be best!"

Emperor Wu Tianba laughed loudly, the sound causing the window lattice of the private room to tremble slightly. He picked up the wine pot to pour wine for Jian Xiaotian, his movements as heroic as if he were drinking on the battlefield.

The clear wine spilled over the rim of the cup, sliding down the side and blooming into a dark mark on the table, like an ink flower slowly opening.

"One cannot force it, but we must give them an opportunity to go with the flow."

"We as the elders have lived more than half our lives, stumbling along until today, isn't it all to provide our Juniors with—"

"A smoother path?"

Jian Xiaotian did not respond. He simply set down his wine cup slowly.

The crisp sound of the cup's bottom colliding with the table was exceptionally jarring in the silent room, like a sigh, and also like a warning bell.

His gaze suddenly became distant, passing over Emperor Wu Tianba's broad shoulders, as if piercing through the walls of the private room and through layers of palaces, seeing the yellow sand filling the sky of the Western Regions, the deep forests of the Eastern Regions, and the blades and swords lurking in the shadows—the threats from all directions that he had spent his entire life guarding against.

"Paving a path..."

He repeated these two words in a low voice, a complex curve tugging at the corners of his lips.

There was helplessness in it, worry, and a weight that was hard to describe, like the mood of a father sitting alone in an empty hall on the eve of his daughter's wedding, staring blankly at the candlelight.

"Brother Wu, the paths you and I pave are sometimes broad and level thoroughfares that allow them to sail smoothly; but sometimes..."

He paused, his voice dropping even lower, carrying a hoarseness like sandpaper rubbing together, as if squeezed from the deepest part of his chest:

"Aren't they also a pair of shackles coated in honey?"

"Look at them; right now, they are full of youthful spirit, their feelings naive, with only each other in their eyes and hearts, as clean as the first snow, as pure as a clear mountain spring."

"If we follow our words and tie the heavy burdens of the two Dynasties to this pure affection—"

"If the situation changes in the future, if our interests conflict, or if we even take up arms against each other... can this affection withstand it?"

"Could it be... that from the very beginning, it was our own hands that broke their wings?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wu Tianba's rugged brows furrowed deeply, forming a gully as if carved by a knife.

He raised his hand and rubbed the short beard on his chin vigorously, his fingertips repeatedly grazing the stiff stubble, making a faint rustling sound as he fell into a long, deep contemplation.

Only their suppressed breathing remained in the private room, one light and one heavy, like two invisible saws pulling back and forth in the air.

After a long time, he spoke slowly, his voice deep and deliberate, every word sounding as if it had been tempered a thousand times and quenched in raging fire:

"Brother Jian's concerns strike at the root."

"But precisely because the road ahead is unpredictable and fraught with danger, we need to bind the two Dynasties firmly together to weather the storms."

"Affection can be cultivated slowly, trust can be established gradually, but an Alliance... requires the strongest bond, a connection that cannot be severed."

His gaze suddenly became sharp, like two unsheathed longswords piercing directly at Jian Xiaotian:

"Xuanyuan Zhanxian is my son, and I know his Heart-Nature best—steadfast, sentimental, and a man who keeps his word."

"If I weren't certain that he is a good match for Tang Huang, I would never have brought this up."

Meanwhile, in the shadowed corner of the private room—

Emperor held his teacup, seemingly sipping tea leisurely, his posture as composed as an otherworldly expert detached from worldly affairs.

In reality, every sentence of the two Imperial rulers' conversation was like an ice pick, piercing into his ears without missing a word and stabbing fiercely into his heart—the pain was not physical, but a chill that seeped into his bones, concerning the fate of the nation.

His breath suddenly hitched. The veins on his hand holding the teacup bulged, and his knuckles lost their color from excessive force, turning a pale, bluish-white, as if he might crush the cup in the next moment.

"Great Wu and Shenwu... if they form a marriage union..."

This thought was like a waking viper, instantly tightening around his internal organs, bringing a bone-chilling cold that coiled tighter and tighter, making him almost unable to breathe.

The Zhenwu Dynasty stood in a tripartite balance with Great Wu and Shenwu. Although they maintained a superficial peace, the competition in the shadows had never ceased—border frictions, resource struggles, and surging undercurrents; there had never been a single day of true tranquility.

Once the other two Dynasties formed an ironclad Alliance through marriage, Zhenwu would be completely isolated, becoming the primary object of vigilance for their Alliance, and perhaps... a piece of fat meat waiting to be carved up!

By then, the three-nation balance maintained for a hundred years would completely collapse. Zhenwu would be in danger!

Emperor's brain was racing, countless thoughts colliding violently in his mind, sparks flying—

Emperor Wu Tianba's move, while seemingly for the sake of the Juniors' affection, actually hid an ambition for annexation and expansion. He wanted to use the marriage to plant the tentacles of Great Wu deep into the core of Shenwu, consuming and infiltrating it step by step until Shenwu became a vassal of Great Wu.

Although Jian Xiaotian seemed hesitant, he did not flatly refuse; that attitude was more like weighing the pros and cons—he was calculating whether this marriage Alliance was more beneficial or detrimental to Shenwu.

If Emperor Wu Tianba continued to advance step by step, letting those two young people fall deeply in love... this matter would become a foregone conclusion!

No. He absolutely could not sit idly by and watch this come to fruition.

A cold, fierce glint flashed in Emperor's eyes, like a blade of light flickering in the dark night, only to be quickly suppressed into his bottomless pupils, leaving behind only a bottomless darkness.

Just as the aftermath of the crowd's discussion had not yet subsided—

The light curtain in the center of the Martial Arts Arena suddenly solidified.

Xuanyuan Zhanxian threw a punch, and the long spear in the hands of the contestant from the small Dynasty shattered upon impact. The inch-by-inch broken metal fragments traced cold arcs in the air, falling like a meteor shower, bouncing and rolling on the bluestone ground, making crisp clanging sounds.

The opponent stumbled back three steps, each step leaving deep footprints on the ground. Looking at his empty hands, his face turned as pale as paper, his lips trembling twice, and he finally admitted defeat in despair.

"Great Xia Dynasty, victory!"

As the referee's announcement rang through the Martial Arts Arena, this first round of the grand competition, which had lasted for three hours, finally came to an end amidst the lingering sounds of weapons.

On the Great Xia Dynasty's viewing stand, a few sparse cheers rang out, like sporadic bird calls in an empty valley, but they were quickly swallowed by the clamor from all sides, leaving not even an echo.

Although all six members of Great Xia passed the test, their base scores of ten points each added up to just enough to make sixty points—

But when this number appeared on the scoreboard in the high sky, it was like a speck of dust falling into a vast sea of stars, so small it was almost invisible, not even stirring a ripple.

Especially when the crowd's gaze swept over those large Dynasties with dozens or even hundreds of contestants, these sixty points seemed even more insignificant, like an ant at the feet of a giant.

The most suffocating thing was the golden number at the top of the scoreboard that seemed almost ready to break through the light curtain—

Great Wu Dynasty, three thousand six hundred and ninety-two points.

This number was like a golden Dragon coiled in the clouds, its scales and claws flared, leaving all opponents far behind with a cliff-like advantage, to the point where not even their shadows could be seen.

The second-place Penglai Dynasty followed closely behind with two thousand and thirty points, yet was still separated by a gap of over sixteen hundred points—a gap so large it was like a natural chasm, large enough to make one despair.

And the name of the Great Xia Dynasty was curled up in the last row of the leaderboard, like a fallen leaf blown into a corner by the wind.

The small "sixty," set against the surrounding numbers that were easily in the thousands, was like a glaring scar, stinging the heart of every person from Great Xia—the pain was not anger, but a deep sense of powerlessness, like a drowning person watching the lights on the shore, getting further and further away.

"Tsk."

Chu Changsheng leaned back in his seat, one leg casually resting on the front railing, his posture as relaxed as if he were sunbathing in his own backyard. His fingertips tapped carelessly on the armrest, making "tok, tok, tok" sounds, like some kind of countdown.

His voice was not loud, but it was like a poisoned dagger, precisely piercing the surface calm of the Martial Arts Arena and stabbing into the deepest part of the hearts of every representative from the small and medium-sized Dynasties:

"Isn't this just a real-life version of the 'Order of Pushing Kindness'?"

"As you keep competing, your family fortune gets competed away, and in the end, even the Dynasty itself gets competed out of existence."

The three words "Order of Pushing Kindness" were like a sudden thunderclap on flat ground, exploding in everyone's heart, shaking their minds and destabilizing their Dao Heart.

Those envoys or contestants from the small and medium-sized Dynasties first blinked in confusion—as if they couldn't believe what they had heard—

Then, looks of horror gradually appeared in their eyes, as if they had suddenly seen the abyss beneath their feet in the dark.

Someone subconsciously clenched their fists, their nails digging deep into their palms, drawing blood, but they didn't even notice.

They looked toward the direction where the Great Wu Dynasty team was located—

There, flags were waving and snapping in the wind, the Disciples were all holding their heads high with chests puffed out, their faces filled with a sense of pride that it was only natural, as if this first-place position on the leaderboard was merely something they deserved, the most ordinary of things.

But at this moment, in the eyes of these representatives from the small and medium-sized Dynasties, there was a little less awe, a little more scrutiny, and a trace of imperceptible fear.

It was like looking at a hungry wolf in sheep's clothing—the wolf still had a smile on its lips, but its fangs were already bared.

Yes.

This grand competition of ten thousand Dynasties, on the surface, was a grand event to demonstrate national strength and select talented individuals—

But thinking about it carefully, the rules themselves were tailor-made for a behemoth like the Great Wu Dynasty.

From the very beginning, the scales of this game had already tilted to an irredeemable point.