Chapter 167: Yuan Qi Emerges

  The wooden door closed behind him, and Yang Yu Xi scratched the back of his head, looking at Zhou Ming Yi with some confusion.

  Zhou Mingyi's smile gradually faded, and he surprisingly stood up from his chair, looking down at Yang Yuxi with a complex expression in his eyes, which had no previous smile, nor was it stern, but rather a mixture of nostalgia, apology, and sadness.

  "Your Majesty..." Yang Yu Xi unconsciously changed his tone slightly.

  Zhou Mingyi snapped back to reality, realizing he had lost his composure in front of Yang Yuxi. He smiled and waved his hand: "Nothing. Yuxi, I heard from Chenyin that you killed Mo Mei?"

  Yang Yu Xi felt a bit embarrassed, for some reason, in front of this emperor, he always felt a bit constrained. Previously with Zhou Yu Xiao Huo Qi Ma by his side, he was more at ease, now that he was the only one left, he felt very nervous.

  No matter how careless he was, he knew that the person standing in front of him was the Emperor of Zhou, the most powerful man in this world.

  "Ah, well, actually that wasn't me... no, it was me... but then again, it wasn't me..." Yang Yu Xi spoke incoherently.

  Zhou Mingyi smiled: "You're saying that power isn't yours, right?"

  Yang Yu Xi nodded quickly without hesitation.

  This was originally his own secret, but somehow, Yang Yu Xi felt that the Zhou Ming Yi in front of him gave him an inexplicable sense of closeness.

  This sense of familiarity wasn't the first time it appeared, Yang Yuxi had this familiar feeling when she first met Zhong San.

  Is Zhong San and Zhou Mingyi the same person?

  Yang Yu Xi immediately negated this idea in her mind, these two people couldn't possibly be the same person. If she had to say that they shared some similarities, it would be that both of them gave Yang Yu Xi a profound and unfathomable feeling.

  Zhou Mingyi didn't bother to care what Yang Yuxi was thinking in her heart, and continued: "Although this power is not your own, it can be used for you at critical moments, and it's also a good opportunity for you. And for our world, opportunities are part of one's strength, so, it's you, Yang Yuxi, who killed Mo Mei Zi, one of the four great warlords of the Evil Sect."

  Zhou Mingyi's tone became a bit harder, as if emphasizing this matter.

  Yang Yu Xi didn't understand Zhou Ming Yi's meaning, she just nodded woodenly, yes, it was indeed he who killed the person, no mistake about that, but why did he have to emphasize it again?

  Zhou Mingyi glanced at Yang Yuxi, and knew that he didn't understand what he meant. He let out a soft sigh and said, "Do you know what kind of consequences will arise from killing Mo Mei?"

  Yang Yu Xi held her breath, vaguely guessing something, her face still with a hint of childishness tightly pursed.

  Zhou Mingyi said, "You killed one of the cult leaders, and the cult will not let it go. They will use this incident to start a war, and you should know that the cult has already colluded with the four nations."

  Yang Yu Xi swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva and stuttered: "Your Majesty, your meaning is... I, I triggered the war?!"

  Yang Yu Xi's heart had a voice wailing: Oh heavens, it's unjust, I didn't think that much at the time! Mo Mei Zi, sorry, please come back to life... The Unparalleled Realm shouldn't be so fragile, right?

  Zhou Mingyi looked at him and nodded slightly.

  Yang Yu Xi's mind went "boom" as he stumbled backward a few steps. He wasn't really stupid, after all - war had always been a cruel thing, and the common people didn't want it to happen. In other words, in the eyes of the common people, those who started wars were scoundrels, and the worst kind at that.

  Yang Yu Xi's inner voice continued to wail: Hey... isn't this a mistake? I only killed one person, and it was a bad guy too! Not rewarding me is fine, but how did I end up becoming the sinner?

  Zhou Mingyi captured Yang Yuxi's expression in his heart, knowing that Yang Yuxi was more or less frightened. He then spoke up: "However, this can't be entirely blamed on you. The cult and the Four Nations had already conspired to start this war, it would have happened regardless of your actions. It's just... you brought the war forward."

  Yang Yu Xi was on the verge of tears, big brother, what virtue and ability do I have, let the world war start ahead of time!

  Zhou Mingyi ignored Yang Yuxi's reaction and continued, "According to reliable sources, the cult and the Four Nations have already made some moves. An army of no less than one million is gathering, and war will break out at any moment!" By the end of his words, Zhou Mingyi's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and the majesty of the Human Emperor burst forth without reserve.

  Yang Yu Xi finally understood why General Nangong Fu didn't go look for Nangong Zuan immediately, because a big battle was imminent and as the leader of the military, Nangong Fu would definitely be entrusted with important tasks and wouldn't have time to search for his son.

  She suddenly looked up and found Zhou Mingyi staring at her with an expectant gaze, which seemed to be full of eager anticipation.

  Shouldn't I take a step forward, kneel down on one knee, clench my fists and say magnanimously: "Your Majesty can rest assured, I'll clean up the mess I made, what heresy and four-country unity are all nonsense, I can take their lives in no time!"

  Yang Yu Xi shuddered all over.

  "Xiao Yu, what's your take on this war?"

  "Uh......this......" Yang Yu Xi's forehead was sweating, he didn't understand anything about fighting!

  After holding back for a long time, he finally lowered his head and said in an embarrassed tone: "I don't understand war, but if they're the enemy, then just knock them down."

  Zhou Mingyi's eyes suddenly burst out with a sharp light, and he slapped the table: "Good! Indeed worthy of..." He stopped himself before finishing his sentence.

  Yang Yu Xi was startled by Zhou Ming Yi's sudden slap on the table, and seeing that he had only said half of what he wanted to say, she shrunk her head and asked: "Eh, Your Majesty, what did you just say?"

  Zhou Mingyi coughed and said, "Nothing, nothing. Yu Xi, it's rare for someone as young as you to have such a domineering presence and charisma, your future is boundless!"

  Yang Yu Xi's face turned red, and if Huo Qi Ma were here, she would be shocked. She pointed at Yang Yu Xi's nose and shouted loudly: "Wow, you're actually blushing! What big thing happened?"

  Before Yang Yuxi could say anything, Zhou Mingyi said: "However, Yuxi, your current strength is indeed at the Tianren boundary, but facing such a war, it's still far from enough. So, my intention is that you should not participate in this war and protect Yu Xuan well?"

  Yang Yu Xi was taken aback, and for a moment he didn't react. When he came to his senses, he hastily said: "Your Majesty, Yu Xiao is my friend, I will naturally protect her, but as a citizen of the Great Zhou, how can we just sit back and watch the Great Zhou fall into crisis?"

  Zhou Mingyi furrowed his brow, clearly displeased, his tone somewhat chilly: "Hmph, do you think that with your little bit of strength, you can help the Great Zhou get through this crisis? Don't waste your life in vain. Your generation's talents far surpass those of the past, and given time, will surely become pillars of the state. If you die in this war, even if the Great Zhou wins, there will be no one to carry on!"

  Yang Yu Xi's whole body stiffened, and he couldn't speak for a long time. To be fair, Zhou Ming Yi's words were right, Yang Yu Xi had thought too shallowly. However, even if his heart knew that Zhou Ming Yi was right, it was hard for him to just stand still and stay away from the war.

  "But, however..." Yang Yu Xi gritted her teeth, clearly hesitating greatly in her heart.

  Zhou Ming Yi's dignified aura dispersed, and a voice interrupted him: "Don't say 'but' anymore, this is my imperial decree. Are you going to defy it?"

  Yang Yu Xi shuddered again, and Zhou Ming Yi's voice was as cold as when Zhong San drove him out of the Dusk Organization.

  He bit his lower lip and stiffly spat out a word from inside: "Yes."

  The oppressive atmosphere dissipated in an instant, and Zhou Mingyi's tone became gentle: "Yu Xi, I know you're not willing, but you have to understand that I'm doing this for your own good, as well as for the sake of our great Zhou dynasty. Only when there are successors can we elder generations fight on the front lines without worries, because even if we die in battle, this country will still have hope, and that hope is all of you. Do you understand?"

  After hearing this, Yang Yu Xi's dissatisfaction with Zhou Ming Yi vanished into thin air. He suddenly felt a lump in his throat and nodded heavily again. The same word came out of his mouth, but this time it felt completely different: "Yes."

  Fourteen-year-old Yang Yu Xi thought he understood Zhou Ming Yi's meaning, but in fact, he only understood half of it.

  Imagine an emperor would casually find a young man and say "you are the hope" and entrust his own daughter to him for protection?

  And what kind of situation and determination would an emperor be in to say such things?

  These were things Yang Yu Xi did not understand at the time.

  Zhou Mingyi nodded and changed the subject, seemingly asking casually: "Yu Xi, where are you from in Da Zhou?"

  Yang Yu Xi hastily lifted her head and blurted out: "Replying to Your Majesty, I am a person from Xiyang City."

  "Yuancheng?" Zhou Mingyi was stunned, did Big Zhou still have this city?

  "Uh-huh!" Yang Yu Xi nodded, his face filled with nostalgia. "Your Majesty may not know this, but Xiyang City is located in the far west of Great Zhou, a remote small town that's also quite far from the Western Desert. My father was the city lord."

  "Oh." Zhou Mingyi nodded casually, then suddenly raised his head, somewhat incredulous. "You're saying... your dad is the city lord?"

  "Really!" Yang Yu Xi said with a smile, "I'm still young master!"

  "Alright..." Zhou Mingyi waved his hand, wanting to ask more questions.

  At this moment, the earth shook again, similar to the previous one, only with a greater degree.

  A stronger light than before shot in from outside the window.

  Zhou Mingyi turned around and looked through the window at the brighter and larger beam of light in the distance, his face solemn.

  "Your Majesty... what's going on here?" Yang Yu Xi asked, steadying himself.

  "Yu Xi... The world is really going to be in chaos." Zhou Mingyi's voice suddenly became low and melancholic, with a hint of irrepressible excitement. "That beam of light is the sign of one of the nine great primordial artifacts being born!"