Douluo Jueshi: Who let him join Shrek!

Chapter 653 I Want World Peace

Xu Tianran's face was gloomy. After glancing again at the collar around Ju Zi's neck, he took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the murderous intent surging in his heart.

Ju Zi seemed to sense something and walked to the side, smiling at Xu Tianran, "Your Highness, Ju Zi is fine. You and Mr. Jiang Ming can talk. I'll take my leave now."

Before Xu Tianran could reply, Jiang Ming spoke first, saying, "Why is the Crown Princess being so formal? You are the Crown Princess. My conversation with His Highness the Crown Prince doesn't need to be kept away from you."

As soon as she finished speaking, the collar around Orange's neck suddenly flashed red.

In the indicator lights of a soul tool, red usually represents danger!

Orange's face suddenly turned pale; she could feel a deadly threat.

"Stop!"

Xu Tianran slapped the armrest of his wheelchair and said in a deep voice.

"Ju Zi, just stand behind me. I, Xu Tianran, am not so cowardly as to lack even this little bit of courage."

Clearly, Xu Tianran knew that Ju Zi wanted to leave because she didn't want the collar, which could explode at any moment, to threaten him, and also because she didn't want her and the collar to interfere with her conversation with Jiang Ming.

However, since Jiang Ming has already threatened Ju Zi, it is naturally impossible for him to let Ju Zi leave this place.

Moreover, although he invited Jiang Ming here, he really didn't plan to make a move today.

So, as long as we don't fall out today, there's no need to worry about Orange's safety.

Ju Zi glanced at Xu Tianran, then at Jiang Ming, and finally bowed, saying, "Ju Zi understands."

Then, she stood in front of the tea table, picked up the teapot, and poured tea into Xu Tianran and Jiang Ming's teacups.

Listening to the sound of tea falling from the teapot into the teacup, Xu Tianran closed his eyes slightly, calming down the turbulent emotions rising in his heart.

He looked at Jiang Ming and said slowly:

"Jiang Ming, there's really no need for things to escalate to this point. Frankly, we don't have any irreconcilable conflicts, don't you think?"

In truth, Jiang Ming and the Sun Moon Empire, as well as he, the Crown Prince of the Sun Moon Empire, did not have any real life-or-death conflicts.

Let alone the current situation, even in a real life-or-death conflict, one can temporarily set it aside at certain specific moments.

In Xu Tianran's eyes, relationships between people can often be altered by self-interest.

One second I slapped you, the next second I gave you hundreds of thousands or even millions of gold soul coins, would that slap still be an insult?
This is a testament to our friendship!

Of course, for those with higher status and greater strength, a few million gold soul coins are nothing.

But that's okay, there will always be benefits that can move people.

At the moment, Xu Tianran simply hasn't thought of any benefits that could sway Jiang Ming.

Hearing Xu Tianran's words, Jiang Ming smiled slightly and said, "Your Highness is right."

Ah, yes, yes!

Everything you said is right!
Are there no irreconcilable contradictions?
If I were to put an explosive soul tool around your Crown Princess's neck right now, that alone would be enough for you to kill me a thousand times over!
Isn't this an irreconcilable contradiction?
Do you believe this?

Jiang Ming, in any case, absolutely did not believe it.

Of course, despite his disbelief, Jiang Ming was happy to agree with Xu Tianran's words.

Go along with him first, and listen to what he wants to do before you say anything else.

Xu Tianran frowned. He could naturally detect a hint of perfunctoriness in Jiang Ming's tone, but since the other party had agreed, he continued.

“Since there are no irreconcilable conflicts, we can also try a different way of getting along. For example, if you join my Sun Moon Empire, I can give you more benefits than Shrek Academy!”

Xu Tianran's words were astonishing, at least surprising Jiang Ming.

Seriously, buddy?

You want to recruit me?!

The competition is almost over, and you have three Soul Master Legions outside Mingdu, attacking the participating teams and about to start a war. Now you're trying to recruit me?

To be honest, Jiang Ming had considered that Xu Tianran might have some ulterior motive in inviting him over, but he never expected it to be like this.

Not to mention Xu Tianran, even Ju Zi standing behind him must understand that she would not join the Sun Moon Empire.

That's ridiculous!
"Hehe. Your Highness, did you eat something wrong today?"

Jiang Ming couldn't help but laugh.

Coming from Xu Tianran's mouth, these words seemed rather naive.

Xu Tianran slightly raised his eyes, but he wasn't annoyed.

Compared to the Crown Princess having an explosive collar around her neck, Jiang Ming's few words did not stir any emotion in him.

"In this world, everything is related to interests. The reason you are at Shrek Academy is simply because Shrek Academy can bring you enough benefits."

"If my Sun Moon Empire can offer more benefits, I think it's not impossible for you, Jiang Ming, to join my Sun Moon Empire."

Xu Tianran took the teacup from Ju Zi and took a small sip.

As the crown prince of the Sun Moon Empire, he was all too familiar with the exchange of benefits.

Of course, he didn't really think Jiang Ming would be moved by the so-called benefits he mentioned; he just wanted to find a topic to keep the conversation going.

He invited Jiang Ming over, and getting so close to Jiang Ming was almost risking his life.

He didn't do this just to chat with Jiang Ming!
"You're right about that. The world is bustling with activity, all driven by self-interest; profit is what moves people's hearts."

Jiang Ming sighed, but made no further response.

It's normal for many people to be swayed by self-interest and blinded by greed.

But it's important to clearly distinguish between what benefits are acceptable and what benefits are not.

Xu Tianran's eyes flickered with surprise.

Jiang Ming is only twenty-five years old. With his current cultivation level, even a genius would have to dedicate all their time to cultivation to achieve such a level. This also means that Jiang Ming is unlikely to have much experience with interpersonal relationships. Yet these two sentences clearly state the importance of self-interest to people, which is truly strange.

"So, how much do you think I need to offer to get you to join the Sun Moon Empire?"

Xu Tianran put down his teacup, looked directly at Jiang Ming, and spoke in a deep tone.

Jiang Ming looked at Xu Tianran opposite him, thought for a moment, and said, "I don't know. To be honest, I really don't know what benefits I need right now that only you, the Crown Prince of the Sun Moon Empire, can provide."

For Jiang Ming, there was almost no desire left for worldly gains.

In this world, there are only a few things that men want.

Money, power, beauty, and of course, perhaps ideals beyond these three, such as promoting the civilian development of soul guide devices. Old Xuan is such a person.

Jiang Ming has already obtained almost all of these.

The money he left for Zhang Lexuan has, after various investments, multiplied into over a billion gold soul coins. And if he wins the Mingdu Soul Master Competition, he can earn several hundred million more gold soul coins.

In this situation, his net worth is almost at the very top.

As for power
Putting aside the fact that he's now the honorary head of the Sea God Pavilion at Shrek Academy and temporarily the young lord of Clear Water City, in the world of Douluo Continent alone, doesn't having power equate to having authority?
As for his strength, he is now at the pinnacle of the entire continent!

Needless to say, Zhang Lexuan's beauty is undeniable. If a list were to be compiled of all the beauties in Douluo Continent, Jiang Ming would believe that Zhang Lexuan would definitely be at the top!

Zhang Lexuan was already a stunning beauty, and with the nourishment of the immortal herb and now that she has received the inheritance mark of the Moon Goddess, she has gained even more ethereal beauty!

She was truly like the goddess of the moon, sacred and inviolable.

He possessed money, power, and beauty—and all of them were top-tier.

As for his own ideals
At only twenty-five years old, he honestly doesn't have any grand ambitions.

If he had to say what he wanted most right now, it would be to stop the Sun Moon Empire from launching a war.

After all, he has everything now. All he needs to do is complete the divine inheritance test so that he can ascend to the divine realm with Zhang Lexuan. Under these circumstances, he naturally wants a peaceful environment.

As long as war doesn't break out, he could almost be considered the happiest person in the world.

Xu Tianran's eyes flickered slightly upon hearing Jiang Ming's words.

"I can offer you many benefits, what do you want?"

He placed his palm on the tea table and leaned slightly towards Jiang Ming, adding to his imposing presence.

When Xu Tianran made this move, Ju Zi behind him tightened her grip slightly.

Given Jiang Ming's strength, the closer Xu Tianran gets to Jiang Ming, the closer he is to death!

Jiang Ming placed his hand on the tea table, his fingers tracing the rim of the teacup, and said calmly, "I want world peace, without war."

It sounds a bit pretentious and empty, but this is Jiang Ming's true thought.

With world peace, he can roam the world freely and successfully ascend to the divine realm after completing the divine inheritance test.

But if war breaks out on the Sun Moon Empire's side, Clear Water City and Shrek Academy will definitely be drawn in, and he can't just ignore it then.

This is arguably the thing that annoys Jiang Ming the most.

"World peace, without war?"

Xu Tianran's usually serious face suddenly broke into a smile.

"Jiang Ming, if this is what you want, then you are just like my Crown Princess. She also wants world peace and no war."

If that's all there is to it, then you should join the Sun Moon Empire. In the Douluo Continent today, perhaps only our Sun Moon Empire can achieve true world peace!

Orange felt a slight tremor in her heart, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes as she looked at Jiang Ming.

She never imagined that this boy, who was only twenty-five years old and even younger than her, would want world peace and an end to war after possessing the world's most powerful strength.

"Oh? How do you achieve that? War? Destroy the other three great empires and transform Douluo Continent into Sun Moon Continent?"

Jiang Ming raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"Your Highness, the world is a place where division inevitably leads to unity, and unity inevitably leads to division. I believe that in the near future, someone will be able to unify the continent. But it won't be now."

Jiang Ming's tone was very firm.

To some extent, Xu Tianran's idea of ​​unifying the continent was not wrong, and even Jiang Ming himself agreed with this idea.

The unification of the world is indeed a good thing.

But the question is, who will do this?

During the Three Kingdoms period, did Prime Minister Zhuge Liang not know that unification could end the chaos and reduce wars?
If we consider military strength and overall national power at the time, Shu was not the strongest. Under such circumstances, those insightful people would have been better off joining the most powerful country and letting it destroy all the weaker countries to achieve unification.

But is this possible?
impossible!

Even before Jiang Ming transmigrated, the country he lived in was not the most powerful country in the world. But when it came to unification, Jiang Ming himself, and even the vast majority of people in the country, thought about unifying their own country, rather than being unified by another country!

And at this moment, it's pretty much the same.

To achieve unification, the Sun and Moon Empire will inevitably wage war against other empires!
Once war breaks out, the Sun and Moon Empire sees it as a war of unification, but other empires see it as a war of aggression!
This is a matter of stance.

Perhaps after the Sun and Moon Empire completes unification, other positions will disappear with the passage of time, but at least for now, this issue of positions still exists!

Jiang Ming himself is a citizen of the Heavenly Soul Empire. The Qingshui City where he grew up was a border city of the Heavenly Soul Empire facing the Sun Moon Empire. Even his biological parents sacrificed their lives in a war.

Under these circumstances, how could his buttocks possibly be crooked!
"Not now?"

Xu Tianran snorted coldly: "I think now is the best time to complete the unification! My Sun Moon Empire has enough strength! Jiang Ming, since you know that the world will eventually unite after a long period of division and then divide again after a long period of unity, then you should be able to see clearly that the one who can unify the world now is my Sun Moon Empire!"

Jiang Ming remained noncommittal. Every ambitious ruler of an empire, who wouldn't have the desire for unification? Who wouldn't want to be the one who completely achieves unification, stands at the true pinnacle, and is a unique existence throughout history?
Given the current national strength of the Sun Moon Empire, its absolute leading position in soul tools, and its deliberate war preparations over the years, the Sun Moon Empire has an absolute advantage if a war really breaks out!
However, it just so happens that Xu Tianran happened to meet someone from the same era as him.

If he hadn't appeared, then if the Sun Moon Empire had launched a war, as long as they acted quickly enough and their offensive was fierce enough, it would have been entirely possible for them to achieve unification.

But now, that might be questionable.

Perhaps the three great empires are still far behind in terms of advanced soul tools, but with the continuous iteration and upgrading of the soul tool production line, the soul tool equipment possessed by the soldiers of the three great empires may not be inferior to that of the Sun Moon Empire!
(End of this chapter)