After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

"Make three handwritten copies of the total deficit statement and deliver them to the three regions. Reveal the truth, write down the figures clearly, and announce it to the entire army."

Mingcang's eyelids twitched.

"Your Majesty! If we reveal the full extent of the tragedy, those below may become hesitant to retreat!"

"retreat?"

Zhou Ran coldly cut off the conversation, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

"When I first arrived in the Sixth Heaven, bounties for my head were plastered all over the Nine Netherworlds! Now, those who issued those orders are long gone!"

"This proclamation is to be printed and distributed throughout the army. Anyone who dares to suggest retreat will be executed as a deserter!"

Mingcang fell silent, utterly stern.

Uncovering the truth behind the festering sore has always been Zhou Ran's open scheme.

By revealing our hand and fighting to the end, we can naturally solidify the morale of our troops.

Those who harbor filth and evil intentions should be dealt with decisively.

Two incense sticks later, reports of the war damage spread throughout the land.

The soldiers' reaction was beyond Ming Cang's expectations; not a single one took advantage of the chaos to cause trouble.

When the true form of the official Mo Ming descended, the Six Heavens were not slaughtered. Who among the survivors doesn't know who was carrying the knife in front of them?

The characters in the unified military register, which had originally turned gray, began to glow faintly again after reading the proclamation.

The last four large characters of the proclamation were particularly eye-catching: "The Emperor's Son Has Resigned."

Having detected that the fluctuations in the military register had stabilized, Zhou Ran turned to a blank new page.

Using true essence as ink, he picked up the brush and wrote five large characters: War Preparedness and Conscription Order.

Mingcang leaned forward to examine him closely.

"From this day forward, we will coordinate our efforts across the four regions to defend against the enemy."

"Any officer, regardless of rank, who voluntarily registers their private reserves will be credited with the greatest merit."

"Those who are unwilling to pay, I will never force them."

"When war breaks out, they'll be relegated to the back of the supply platoon, eating the leftovers of others!"

Mingcang gasped.

Instead of resorting to outright robbery, they use the guise of "voluntary" participation.

The phrase "to line up at the end of the queue" alone is more vicious than confiscating property and exterminating the entire clan.

Each of the soldiers in charge had a clear understanding of the situation.

A formidable enemy will inevitably launch a counterattack sooner or later, and war supplies are directly related to life and death.

Those who surrendered their registration lived a life of luxury, while those who kept their pockets tight could only use their meager savings to fill the gaps in the formation.

The laws and regulations were issued through military registers.

Before half an hour had passed, letters from various commanders rained down on the long table.

Mingcang checked each item by marking it with lines, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead only to have it reappear.

"Emperor."

He looked up, unable to hide his shock.

"Of the 117 commanders in total, 82 were willing to register their private treasuries!"

More than half.

Twenty or thirty of them abandoned their private accounts the moment the order was issued, acting extremely decisively.

Zhou Ran flipped through the written directory.

Many of these people are old foxes who survived the time when Tun Gu was in power.

In the past, he amassed wealth by plundering under his former master, keeping his private pockets tightly under his control.

Today, however, everything has been completely destroyed.

Aside from the intimidating power of his ruthless methods, what these warriors respected most was the Demon Emperor above them, who was truly willing to risk his life for them.

"What about the rest?"

Zhou Ran asked casually.

Mingcang reported the page numbers sequentially.

"Nineteen people used the excuse of checking accounts to ask for an extension. Sixteen people did not respond at all and pretended to be dead."

Those who feign death and refuse to report are more malicious than those who try to negotiate.

Openly discussing the price is at least a statement of intent, while remaining silent is simply hedging one's bets.

"Don't rush them."

Zhou Ran pressed his palms onto the book.

"Give me three days. If I still remain silent by the deadline, draw my name, remove me from the core formation, and keep me as a front-line suicide vanguard."

Ming Cang shuddered and immediately wrote it down.

Heavy footsteps echoed from outside the hall.

Qin San dragged his broken body across the threshold, relying entirely on the Taihuang Black Blade for support.

"My lord."

"He was still wandering around with broken ribs."

Qin San tore open his lips, revealing a mouthful of bloody teeth.

"Broken ribs won't hurt my legs. I've walked around outside, and all the sentries, both visible and hidden, are back in position. The people of Nine Nether City are currently turning over the ground to collect the black gold fragments that fell in the wasteland."

He took two steps closer, his voice very low.

"My lord, there is another strange matter."

"explain."

"That shadowless burial ground ahead is a former subordinate of the Bone-Swallowing Army. When the Nameless Official arrived, he was hiding on the eastern grain transport route."

"His three thousand soldiers were all crushed to the ground by the oppressive force, but in the video transmitted by the Dark Gu, this person's feet were firmly planted on the earth's veins, his back was straight, and he refused to kneel!"

Zhou Ran pressed his knuckles firmly onto the paper.

How could someone in the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm stand intact under the immense pressure of the Emperor's Law?

Its true strength is far more complex than what is depicted on paper; there must be something far more terrifying supporting and manipulating it behind the scenes.

"Send spies to keep a close watch."

Zhou Ran gave the instructions.

"Don't alert the enemy."

Qin San accepted the order and withdrew.

On one corner of the long table, the broken jade tablet used for sound transmission suddenly flashed with a faint light.

The remaining array was dappled with light and shadow, yet a voice transmission managed to squeeze out along the thin, thread-like line of cause and effect.

It's Chen Ya.

"Zhou Ran".

His pronunciation was extremely abrupt, rapid, and sharp, with a slight panting from exhaustion of magical power, completely lacking the composure he usually possessed as the White Tower's manager.

"The past you severed has rendered all the historical records and secret documents in the White Tower, along with the array images, completely blank!"

Zhou Ran dug his five fingers deep into the flesh of his palm.

White bones and broken brush, thoughts drawn into ink.

He erased his memory of his first encounter with Lin Qingxue and used ink to paint the banner of the Imperial Prince.

The traces left by Blue Star were completely eradicated, and the confidential dossier that Chen Ya was holding also lost its writing.

"But Qingxue declared that she hasn't lost a single thing from her mind!"

Chen Ya's voice, though separated by the barrier between the two worlds, was so powerful it made people's eardrums ache.

"She's going to reopen her path! She asked me to tell you a message: she's going to piece together every single word of the old grudges you committed against her and tell you them to your face!"

The remaining light spots flickered, like candles dying in the wind.

Zhou Ran remained silent.

He lowered his eyes and stared at the very faint gray line on his left forearm, the throbbing under the skin coming and going intermittently.

Lin Qingxue never acts on emotion.

She was determined to open a way back, regardless of romance, because that memory held the cause and effect of breaking the deadlock.

The subtle details of their interactions must hold the secrets of the scribe, the broken pen made of white bones, and even the Moon Emperor!

But now, the path back has long become the target of the Emperor's Law's investigation.

Once the passage is illuminated, the traces of one's actions are revealed.

The official's banner has already been written seven times; only three more strokes are needed to finalize the coordinates.

Reopening the channel at this moment is tantamount to opening the door to welcome the evil god, sending the lifeline of the entire blue planet to the enemy's blade!

Mingcang held his breath, his eyes fixed on the wood grain of the table, cold sweat streaming down his chin.

Zhou Ran finally spoke.

"Block the way back."

Cold, hard, and leaving no room for compromise.

"Zhou Ran!"

Chen Ya shouted fiercely from outside the formation, as if she wanted to explain the advantages and disadvantages.

"Send the message back!"

Zhou Ran abruptly cut off the conversation, his voice hoarse yet as powerful as thunder.

"I'll let her speak after I've crushed this insurmountable barrier! Until then, crush her underfoot!"

The sound transmission array abruptly stopped, leaving only a deathly silence.

A few breaths later, Chen Ya continued speaking weakly.

"……clear.

"The formation will now be sealed."

The light spots on the jade plate completely dimmed.

Mingcang glanced at the wooden table out of the corner of his eye.

Zhou Ran's five fingers pierced through the thick skin of the dossier, his finger bones pressing so hard that the veins on the back of his hand bulged out, carving five extremely deep blood grooves into the sandalwood table.

Zhou Ran carefully pulled his hand out of the wood chips inch by inch, then abruptly stood up.

"Settle your accounts."

He left those sarcastic remarks behind and turned to walk into the side hall.