Chapter 1226: 916: Mu Qinglan's Confusion

Chapter 1226: Chapter 916: Mu Qinglan’s Confusion

Lu Chen’s gaze swept across the council hall, analyzing the changes in everyone’s expressions.

He could tell that quite a few people were already entertaining the thought of defecting to the Canghai Sect, and he didn’t care at all.

He had already planted members of the Brocade Guard in all major forces. Should these forces make any unusual moves, he would immediately be able to detect them and deal with them accordingly.

It took a long time for the council hall to gradually settle down. Seeing that no one else spoke up, Lu Chen finally opened his mouth and said, “This time, the enemy is very strong, but I will never let them enter the Chaotic Star Sea.”

“The Chaotic Star Sea is our common home; I believe you also do not wish to see these enemies destroy our home.”

Upon hearing Lu Chen’s words, some people almost laughed. In their view, it hardly mattered who the ruler was.

They would stand on the side of whoever won.

They believed that if they connected with the forces invading the Chaotic Star Sea early enough, those forces would not trouble them later.

Even though some were already thinking of betrayal, they still presented themselves as if they would live and die together with the Daxia Dynasty.

“Please rest assured, Your Majesty, our Star Fire Sect will do our utmost to resist the invasion of external forces!”

“Our Heaven and Earth Sect is at Your Majesty’s disposal for any command!”

“Our Cold Moon Sect entirely follows Your Majesty’s orders!”

…

Soon, the entire council hall was filled with high-ranking figures from all major forces pledging their loyalty, regardless of what they truly thought. In such times, it was necessary to say nice things.

The forces invading the Chaotic Star Sea had not yet arrived; revealing any opposition against the Daxia Dynasty too early would mean being quelled without having made any impact.

Seeing some of the high-ranking figures clearly demonstrating grand righteousness while actually having zero Loyalty, Lu Chen felt like laughing.

After a while, Lu Chen said, “I trust in everyone’s Loyalty. To resist the invasion of external enemies effectively this time, I plan to further integrate the disciples from various forces into the War Dragon Army of the Daxia Dynasty for unified arrangement.”

Upon hearing this, the eyebrows of the high-ranking figures from various forces in the hall furrowed. To integrate their disciples into the War Dragon Army of the Daxia Dynasty?

What a joke. If their disciples joined the War Dragon Army of the Daxia Dynasty as soldiers, would they ever return?

Now, who doesn’t know that the army of the Daxia Dynasty has exceptionally good treatment, far surpassing that of Sect forces.

Although people were reluctant internally, with the Sum Emperor using the invasion as an excuse, it was difficult for the forces to object. They had just pledged their loyalty and agreed to the Heavenly Emperor’s arrangements. If they opposed so quickly, wouldn’t that prove their insincerity?

However, it didn’t take long for others to think that integrating their disciples into the War Dragon Army might allow them to access secret weapons from the Daxia Dynasty through their people.

Weapons like the Fire God Gun and Fire God Cannon’s existence were already known to all major forces, but the Daxia Dynasty kept tight control, and only the military could access them.

Various major forces had long been trying to obtain the manufacturing methods of the Fire God Gun and the Fire God Cannon, but eventually, they all failed.

Now, the Daxia Dynasty is taking the initiative to incorporate the disciples of these major forces into the War Dragon Army, essentially giving them an opportunity to obtain the Fire God Gun and Fire God Cannon.

These are weapons that can easily defeat higher-ranked enemies; who wouldn’t want such weapons?

In the eyes of the forces who wanted to betray the Daxia Dynasty, if they could acquire the Rune Weapons of the Daxia Dynasty, they would not only have the means to oppose the Daxia Dynasty, but they would also be able to present the Rune Weapons as a tribute to the force about to invade the Chaotic Star Sea.

They believe that once that force acquires the Rune Weapons of the Daxia Dynasty, even if they do not end up supporting them, they would not trouble them.

Seeing that the Loyalty of some people in the hall was rapidly declining, with some even plummeting to negative values, Lu Chen guessed what they were thinking.

Lu Chen merely smiled faintly; these people’s schemes rang loud and clear in their minds, but unfortunately, their planning was destined to fail.

Thereafter, Lu Chen made some other arrangements. The Cultivators’ Conference ended rather quickly, lasting only four hours without even a full day.

When the Cultivators’ Conference concluded, the Daxia Dynasty immediately issued a declaration that foreign enemies were about to invade.

Although Lu Chen had recovered his memories of Earth, some of his ideas still differed from the mainstream thoughts on Earth.

Perhaps to some Earthlings, if a country faced a crisis, it shouldn’t be widely known to avoid potentially causing panic or even causing internal collapse before the crisis itself arrives.

However, Lu Chen thought quite the opposite; he believed that no matter the crisis, the public should be informed. Only by letting people know that they are constantly in danger, can their sense of crisis and ownership be fostered.

Moreover, experiencing some minor crises early on could temper people’s resolve, so that when a major crisis occurs, both individuals and the entire Empire would have some resistance.

If everything were smooth sailing without the public knowing what was happening, should anything occur, people would feel it distant and unrelated to them.

After the Cultivators’ Conference, Lu Chen returned to the Imperial Study Room and began reviewing the development reports of various Sects submitted by the major forces.

Since all forces in the Chaotic Star Sea were now under the rule of the Daxia Dynasty, they needed to submit their respective Sects’ development reports of recent years whenever the Cultivators’ Conference was convened, allowing the Heavenly Emperor to understand their progress.

Of course, some forces might choose to conceal certain things, but with the Brocade Guard present, no matter how they tried to hide, the truth would eventually be uncovered.

As Lu Chen was examining the various Sects’ development reports, Mu Qinglan appeared beside him and curiously asked, “Your Majesty, you are directly informing them about the invasion by foreign enemies, are you not worried about causing panic? Perhaps some might even choose to contact Canghai Sect in advance.”

Mu Qinglan was somewhat puzzled by Lu Chen’s approach; if it were her, she would simply deal with the Canghai Sect quietly, since, with her abilities, handling this crisis was not difficult.

Most importantly, the Canghai Sect might likely send a Saint this time. With a Saint being present, the powers of the Daxia Dynasty wouldn’t be of much help, making it even less necessary to inform them about the Canghai Sect.

Informing those forces, apart from causing panic, seems to have no positive effect.

Hearing Mu Qinglan’s words, Lu Chen, while flipping through the development reports, smiled and said, “If any forces dare to do so, it would actually be a good thing for the Daxia Dynasty.”

This…

Mu Qinglan seemed to understand something; the Heavenly Emperor was planning to use this crisis to cleanse the Daxia Dynasty of its restless internal forces.