285: Is there really a way?

"It's over, it's over, it's over... What should I do? If this information is true, then Great Ming will soon be finished. Everything I've done before is meaningless. It's too late, it's really too late..." Prince Zhao lamented.

"Thirteen, what's wrong with you?!" a voice rang out. It was Prince Dai coming to find him. He walked straight in and was greatly surprised to see Prince Zhao slumped on the floor.

Prince Zhao looked up, his eyes bloodshot. He shook his head with effort and said, "A great change has come to heaven and earth. Our Human Race is nearly finished!"

"What? How is that possible?!" Prince Dai said in shock.

"See for yourself..." Prince Zhao handed his phone to Prince Dai.

Before long, Prince Dai joined him on the floor. He was in an even worse state, his whole body slumped on the ground, lacking even the strength to crawl back up!

"It's over! It's all over!!! Thirteen, what do we do?! We need to run for our lives, now!!!" Prince Dai roared.

"Run?! Where could we run to?! Blue Star is only so big. It won't be long before Spirit Beasts are everywhere. Our Human Race has nowhere to hide!!!" Prince Zhao lamented.

"Ah?! Then won't we become food for those Spirit Beasts? Heavens, I'd rather die..." Prince Dai felt as if the sky was falling; he couldn't even finish his sentence.

"Die? Even if you die, those Spirit Beasts won't let you off. Many beasts specialize in eating corpses!" Prince Zhao snorted.

"No... Thirteen, there must be a way, right? Aren't you always the one with all the ideas? Think of something, quickly! Or, how about we find a hidden spot and dig a tunnel to hide in?" Prince Dai shouted, his imagination running wild.

"Stop shouting! I can't believe you'd think of that! The Spirit Beasts underground are even more terrifying! Didn't you read the message? The more remote and rich in Spiritual Qi a place is, the more likely it is to birth powerful Spirit Beasts. Even without Spirit Beasts, there will be Spiritual Trees, Spiritual Plants, Spiritual Flowers, and even Spiritual Fires. No one knows if they're harmful! Didn't the message say? Recently, Long Yuan discovered a forest of Wood Demon Vines between Shanyang County and Fengyang County in Nanming Base. Those Wood Demons can use their vines to capture prey. They even caught several Generals with ease!!!" Prince Zhao said.

"This... Is our Great Ming really going to end like this? Are so many people destined to end up in the bellies of Spirit Beasts?!" Prince Dai asked in despair.

He suddenly remembered something and said urgently, "You just said Long Yuan said it? Did he send this information?!"

"That's right! Wait... right, Long Yuan! He said..."

"What did he say?!" Prince Dai asked urgently.

"He... he wants me to help him stop yesterday's plan of action, because that plan will accelerate the invasion of the Spirit Beasts!!!" Thinking of this, strength seemed to return to Prince Zhao's body, and he flipped over to stand up.

"Is that so?! However, what he says seems reasonable. If they go messing around at sea, it will surely provoke retaliation from the Spirit Beasts in the ocean. When that happens, the Spirit Beasts will definitely attack our Great Ming first! Thirteen, you must do as he says, quickly! Hurry!!!" Prince Dai also realized the gravity of the situation and spoke hurriedly.

Prince Zhao took a deep breath and nodded. "Correct! This matter must be stopped as soon as possible! Although we might make some sacrifices, the time we gain will be even more precious. With this time, our Great Ming can make many preparations in advance, allowing us to hold out longer under the Spirit Beasts' attack. This will save many, many more people... However, stopping this on my own will be difficult. It's only possible if Imperial Father speaks personally!"

"Then get to the palace quickly! If you don't go and request an order now, it'll be too late!" Prince Dai urged.

Prince Zhao waved his hand. "Don't rush. Let's first see what the method Long Yuan mentioned actually is..."

"What method? What are you trying to say? Just go to the palace already!" Prince Dai asked, puzzled.

Prince Zhao shot him a glare and remained silent, dialing Long Yuan's number directly... The call connected, and Long Yuan's voice came through: "Uncle Zhao, have you finished reading the information?"

Prince Zhao took a deep breath and said, "Long Yuan, it's not that I don't believe you, but the content of this information is too shocking. Especially since it's the first time I've heard of Spiritual Qi and Spirit Beasts—is their strength really that terrifying? Furthermore, Blue Star has maintained a state of relative peace for hundreds of years. Are you truly certain those Spirit Beasts would launch an attack on the Human Race because of this?"

Long Yuan replied, "Uncle Zhao, you can choose to believe or not! However, once this actually happens, the price of disbelief will be countless times higher than that of belief. All you need to do is go to the palace and convince the Emperor Ming to step in and stop it—and you don't even have to stop it completely, just change the way power is demonstrated. For Great Ming, it makes no difference. In truth, I'm not certain the Spirit Beasts will actually do this either, but if they do, the time gained by Great Ming's change will save the lives of countless soldiers and civilians. So why not do it?"

"This... what you say makes sense! But you also know this was a decision from Great Ming's Supreme Council. Even if the Emperor Ming intervenes, he needs a sufficient reason to convince them. As you know, the Crown Prince also presided over this meeting. If the order is changed so soon after being issued, I'm afraid it will hurt his Face..." Prince Zhao sighed.

"The Crown Prince's Face? Uncle Zhao, I know this puts some pressure on you, but if I had a way to extend the Emperor Ming's life or grant him Rebirth, enabling him to maintain the grand vision and abundant energy of his youth, then the Crown Prince's Face wouldn't be so important, would it?" Long Yuan said calmly.

"What?!!! You... you, you, you... really have a way?!!!" Prince Zhao was instantly dumbfounded, his speech becoming clumsy.

"I have a way! But is this what you want?" Long Yuan asked in return.

"Me? Of course I hope for that! At its core, the current situation in Great Ming is so chaotic because of this reason. Orders come from multiple sources, leaving those below at a loss. Factions are becoming increasingly divided, which is extremely detrimental to my research into various military technologies! If the Emperor Ming can return to his youth and retake power, it will surely unite everyone, and the country will once again be filled with a spirit of progress... Wait, can you really do it? Heavens, how is that possible?!!!" Prince Zhao was so excited he became incoherent, even his logic getting a bit jumbled.

Beside him, Prince Dai was also dumbstruck, his mouth hanging wide enough to fit a large duck egg... In that moment, both of their brains seemed to crash, thrown into chaos by this sudden impact of information. Even though they had both lived for over a hundred years, they couldn't keep their composure at all. Their hearts beat wildly, as if they were about to burst out of their chests!

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