Chapter 1052 - 273: Half Mad, the Advantage Is Mine
But specifically, there's no record of anyone advancing like this.
Especially after crossing the first tribulation, it stands to reason that there should be a calamity.
Yet now, there seems to be no sign of any calamity descending.
This is not a good thing.
It's true that tribulation-crossing is dangerous, but throughout history, no Emperor Qian has fallen because of it; not even one has had their foundation harmed.
For him, it's just a good thing, an opportunity to solidify his foundation and undergo transformation.
But now, it's gone.
He took out the memorials he had put away before and placed them into a box.
There were already more than a dozen inside.
Disasters have begun to occur in the Daqian, and some places have abnormal climates.
The losses seem minimal; on any other day, such matters wouldn't appear on the Emperor Qian's desk.
Only because he has been extremely diligent since ascending the throne has he seen these memorials.
More than a dozen places, from Daqian's western border to the southern border, all uniformly close to the border regions.
The western border, close to the Wilderness, now has hardly any development and a small population.
The southern border is adjacent to the Southern Sea, and everyone knows what the Southern Sea used to be like; near the coastline, there used to be no one at all.
Even though the Southern Sea has calmed now, how many years has it been? Apart from more cultivators than before, there are only a few more new small towns in the Southern Border.
The long-deserted wilderness, coupled with dense miasma, and a hot and humid climate, means that there are hardly any mortals.
Without mortals, there is no foundation for prosperity to take root.
As for the eastern border, adjacent to the East Sea, because of the schemes contrived by the peeling overlord in the past, it has developed to become quite prosperous by now.
The northern border region has been quite prosperous due to trade.
Later, because of the war with Dali decades ago, the forces that went there to profit from the war are not few, making the Northern Border strangely more prosperous than it was decades ago.
Now the areas where disasters have appeared are all on the western and southern borders; nothing is happening on the eastern and northern sides.
This is highly abnormal.
Yet the fortunes of the Divine Dynasty show nothing unusual.
He knows this is the change he has been waiting for.
He closes his eyes, beginning his cultivation, the whispers by his ear growing more distinct.
The new emperor opens his eyes, bloodshot, his expression somewhat twisted, his eyes trembling slightly, filled with madness.
He swallows a pill, slowly regaining his composure, silently sitting there.
Neither cultivating nor resting.
On one side, the Divine King wanting to achieve some purpose, having him ascend the throne.
On the other, the Supreme Emperor also having him ascend, for some purpose.
Both sides are aware he is merely a White Water Egg with his own Painted Skin.
He knows he's just a pawn.
A pawn everyone believes they can control.
Why?!
The new emperor's face grows calmer, but the aggressiveness deep within starts to breed, the distorted and frenzied will since before his ascension becoming more twisted.
The Supreme Emperor thinks that after fighting for this position for so many years, he must surely see the throne as everything?
At first, in his youth, he merely wanted to try harder, becoming stronger so that his father, the Emperor, would smile and praise him.
Someone told him there's no affection in the royal family.
In his youth, he didn't believe it at all; he thought he was an exception, even if there wasn't one, he would become that exception.
But later, he was merely fighting for his life.
He merely knew that if he lost the position of Crown Prince, he probably wouldn't live much longer.
He once ruthlessly decided that if he ascended, he would first kill the Second Prince and abolish the other Princes who contended with him.
But now, having ascended, he doesn't want to kill the Princes who fought for the throne with him.
He simply doesn't want to follow the predetermined path set by others, even if his ascension was according to their plans.
Why must everyone think he will certainly strike mercilessly? Why must everyone think he won't govern diligently after ascending?
He doesn't want to kill the Second Prince, not even finding a reason to suppress him.
Because now he thinks they're all pitiable creatures, why make things difficult for each other?
Upon discovering changes and the Supreme Emperor's disappearance, he even knows that he might not hold this position for many years.
No matter the specifics, it's certainly impossible for him to last until the five thousand-year mark to personally attend the grand ancestral rites.
If he only cared about the throne, he would find reasons to kill all other Princes, leaving himself without rivals.
He won't take a wife, won't establish a Crown Prince.
He can only remain seated on this throne.
No, if he truly does this, even if he ceases to exist, there is still one person capable of ruling Daqian.
The Supreme Emperor.
He wants to keep the Second Prince alive, even granting him military power, authority, making everyone believe he will make the Second Prince the Imperial Younger Brother.
Then, in a few years, he intends to nominally make the Second Prince of those years into the true Imperial Younger Brother.
Nothing should follow any predetermined route.
The new emperor's eyes carried madness, his smile somewhat ferocious.
Two thousand years, over two thousand years, his character, his decisions when faced with matters, his feelings towards things, might have been seen through by many people.
But the one who understands him the most is still himself.
He knows his former self, no matter the struggles or hesitations, would still do the same.
The current him has changed. Whether it's the Divine King or the Supreme Emperor or others treating him as a pawn.
They all must know the price of using the reigning Emperor Qian as a pawn.
The new emperor's expression twisted, his gaze seemingly beginning to distort, his whole consciousness starting to distort, even beginning to split apart.