Please be my partner.

As long as Dayu remains peaceful, Prince Jing will always be the emperor's right-hand man and a dutiful younger brother.

But then, there was this illogical figure, Mellen.

King Jing did consider sacrificing himself to preserve the stability of Dayu, but of course, it was just a thought.

But that's obviously impossible. Once you embark on this path of vying for the dragon, you can only keep moving forward. Stopping or retreating will only lead to one outcome: death!

Even if Prince Jing were willing to give up everything now, the first thing that emperor would do would definitely be to kill him to prevent future troubles.

Moreover, regardless of the Emperor's reaction, the number one person in the world would never allow his arrangements to go astray. Even if Prince Jing were to die, it would be useless. Melun would naturally use his unparalleled martial prowess to bring everything back on track.

In the current situation, Mellen is the big picture, the benchmark, the framework, and everyone must follow the path he has drawn.

This is actually what most people find most puzzling. If Melen really wanted to conquer Da Yu, the simplest way would have been to kill all the royal family members and then use his unparalleled martial prowess to conquer the land.

This might cause turmoil in the Great Yu for several years or even a decade or more, but it will eventually stabilize. As long as the root of the problem is eradicated cleanly, there is no need to worry about other forces making a comeback.

However, Mellen chose this more troublesome method.

Prince Jing could see this, the Emperor sitting on the throne could see it, and all the members of the royal family, meritorious nobles, and civil and military officials—any intelligent person could see it.

But no one dared to cross that line.

The news of Mellen's departure from Shangjing quickly spread throughout the land. To everyone's surprise, the Great Yu royal family did not take action to suppress the rebellion, but instead fell into an even greater stalemate.

The break between Prince Jing and the Emperor nearly split the power in the capital in two.

The emperor's side controlled the imperial guards and a portion of the outer city's garrison, firmly occupying the inner city and parts of the outer city.

In addition to controlling a portion of the outer city's garrison, King Jing's side also received support from 500,000 garrison troops outside the city.

In terms of high-level power, the emperor's side held an absolute advantage, but everyone also understood that Prince Jing had the support of Melun, the most powerful person in the world.

Thus, the two sides were in a delicate balance, neither able to take action, which led to the situation in Dayu deteriorating further.

High above, Murren sat cross-legged in silence. His spiritual senses expanded infinitely, faintly touching every aspect of this world. This was not a tangible sense or spiritual perception, but a mysterious and profound inspiration.

He saw Dayong and Xuerong mobilizing troops, not giving up their idea of ​​taking advantage of the chaos in Dayu; he saw the three border kingdoms beginning to occupy large areas of Yunju Prefecture, recuperating while deepening their control; he saw the various powerful forces in Qingzhou Prefecture uniting under the coordination of Lou Wuwei and the Wudang Sect, beginning to plan more; he saw the Pure Land Sect also taking advantage of this opportunity to make more moves...

Furthermore, he also witnessed the birth and death of all things, the cycle of the world, and the principles of heaven and earth...

Gradually, Murren came to understand the true meaning of this experience.

Time slips away unnoticed, and several years have passed in the blink of an eye.

The situation in Dayu has also undergone tremendous changes.

To persuade, to occupy, to annex, to destroy.

Through continuous wars and consolidation, only four forces remained in the Great Yu Dynasty.

First, the royal family, which always controlled the core of Dayu, could be divided into two factions: the Emperor and Prince Jing.

Secondly, the Wudang faction completely occupied Qingzhou Prefecture and extended its reach to Lingyue Prefecture and Cuishan Prefecture.

Thirdly, an alliance of several sects, led by the Pure Land School, also occupied a prefecture.

Fourthly, there was the Three Kingdoms Alliance, which occupied the three prefectures.

Among them, the Great Yu royal family is undoubtedly the strongest, followed by the Three Kingdoms Alliance, then the Wudang Sect, and the Pure Land Sect is the weakest.

The four forces have basically stabilized the situation.

In addition, in recent years, Dayong and Xuerong have launched several military campaigns against Dayu, but all of them have been thwarted.

Mellen, who was in meditation, opened his eyes again, realizing it was time to make a comeback.

And so, a thousand-meter-tall mountain rose up from the ground beneath his feet.

When nearby villages and towns witnessed this scene, they thought it was a divine manifestation and began to kowtow in worship.

Half a month later, the forces from all four sides gathered here, and amidst their complex gazes, they climbed the mountain.

When the group finally met Murren at the mountaintop, he uttered a statement that shocked them: "I wish to unify this world! So, unite!"

Everyone present had anticipated that Mellen intended to unify the world, after all, this was something that his demonstrated power and ambition could accomplish.

Wan'er, who was on one side of the Three Kingdoms alliance, and Lou Wuwei of the Wudang Sect, understood their master's purpose from the very beginning. The leader of the Pure Land Sect also anticipated this when Mei Lun took action to blockade the capital.

What they really didn't understand was the 'unity' that Melen mentioned.

After Murren's explanation, they understood that Murren wanted to abolish the previous imperial system and establish a cabinet-like organizational structure as the basis for his rule.

Each cabinet member represents a faction and can represent the interests of a group of people. The head of the cabinet is the person with the most power in the entire cabinet. Of course, even the head of the cabinet cannot be above the cabinet, and the term of office is only ten years. After ten years, a new election must be held.

To put it bluntly, Murren simply took the democratic and parliamentary systems from later generations, adapted them, and applied them to the present day.

Mellen initially considered spending more effort to conquer the world and become emperor himself, but upon closer examination, the effort and reward were not proportional at all. After all, the five factions' training only lasted for a little over ten years, so there was no need to waste too much energy.

Therefore, Mellen came up with this method: starting with Dayu, he would disrupt it and wait for some powerful forces to naturally emerge. Then, he would form a preliminary cabinet around these forces. Next, he would defeat Dayong and Xuerong, and then absorb the remnants around the cabinet. In this way, a relatively stable regime would be formed.

This rotating cabinet system is far more stable than the empire established by Merlin through conquering the world with unparalleled military force.

The former, as long as it binds various forces to its empire, can continue to function normally even if Melen leaves; while the latter, unless Melen is willing to spend decades in this world to consolidate his rule and leave descendants, will likely see his so-called empire collapse upon his departure.

Regarding Mellen's decision, some people understand it, some are confused, some agree, and some disagree...

But that's not important.

The cabinet was quickly formed, consisting of a head of state and ten ordinary members, for a total of eleven people.

The first head of the cabinet was naturally Mellen, while the other ten members were two from each of the four factions, with the final two being selected from the smaller factions.

Although everything is still very rough at the moment, and most people are still viewing this new power structure with old ways of thinking, Mellen believes that those who are good at politics will definitely improve this power structure gradually and eventually make it unbreakable.

The cabinet was formed, and the first thing it did was to change the country's name. So, with Mellen's suggestion and the unanimous approval of the other ten, the Great Yu became a thing of the past, and the new national government was officially renamed... Great Hua.

In the early days of the new nation, everything needed to be re-examined and adjusted. At the same time, the open and covert struggles did not stop, but they were buried deeper and the methods more secretive.

Mellen did not stop this limited competition, but before that, everything had to move toward his predetermined goal: to send troops to Dayong!

Three months later, under the command of the Dahua cabinet, Yanshan City gathered 1.2 million elite warriors and launched an attack on the Dayong border. By this time, the poisonous fog had long since dissipated on the roads of the border region.

Just as the Dayong border was preparing for this tough battle, Mellen made his move directly. The vast power of the heavens gathered, as if a god had cast a finger, and wiped out a section of the city wall of the Dayong border.

In this single blow, tens of thousands of soldiers in Dayong were killed or wounded, and the remaining soldiers lost all courage, either surrendering or fleeing.

The Great Hua army easily overcame this tough nut to crack.

Next, Mellen went even further, declaring that no martial arts master from any sect or family should help Dayong, or else he would not hesitate to be ruthless.

This statement became even more intimidating after Mellen destroyed a towering mountain with a single blow, causing a first-rate sect on it to disappear as well. Those sects and families all recalled their own martial saints.

Many factions even immediately defected and surrendered when the Great Hua army arrived, becoming collaborators.

Because the Taibai Sword Sect had made prior preparations, it directly brought an entire prefecture to join the Great Hua, which Mei Lun naturally welcomed. In addition, Huoyun Mountain and Tianpeng Sect also sent disciples to express their desire to join this 'feast'. Although Mei Lun did not have a good impression of these two sects, he did not refuse them, although their treatment was certainly far inferior to that of the Taibai Sword Sect.

Thus, the Great Hua army advanced with unstoppable momentum, occupying half of Dayong's territory in just six months, and the remaining resistance grew weaker and weaker.

Mellen paid little attention to these subsequent battles, continuing his unhurried cultivation and patiently waiting.

Waiting for the victory that is destined to come.

Or, the enemy's last stand.

Chapter 653 Unification and Return

Dayong, on an unnamed low mountain.

As the saying goes, a mountain is not famous for its height, but for the immortals who dwell there; water is not sacred for its depth, but for the dragons that inhabit it.

The nameless hill that had previously gone unnoticed briefly became the focus of attention in this world because of Mellen's presence.

After an unknown amount of time, Mellen opened his eyes and calmly said, "So, you haven't given up after all?"

As Mellen finished speaking, figures appeared and surrounded him. At a rough glance, there were nearly a hundred people, all of whom were Martial Saint level experts.

"You demon! You have attempted to disrupt the world with your own power; your crimes are heinous!"

Some people made righteous and stern accusations.

"Millions of ordinary people in the Great Yu died because of your selfish desires. Your crimes are unforgivable!"

Some people angrily cursed and swore.

"Merlen, do you think that just because you have unparalleled strength, you are invincible in the world?"

Some people scoffed and mocked.

"Merlen, today I will shatter your false myth!"

Someone spoke arrogantly.

……

Mellen slowly scanned the crowd. Most of them were unfamiliar, with only a few being somewhat familiar—the martial saints he had encountered on his journey of discussing the Dao.

After a moment, Mellen fixed his gaze on one of them and said in a daze, "Brother Qin, are you here to stop me too?"

Qin Bujue's expression turned grave. After a long silence, he sighed and said, "Brother Mei, let's stop."

Mellen's thoughts drifted slightly back to a night with a full moon. He and Qin Bujue were drinking and chatting happily on Mirror Lake.

Mellen said calmly, "Although my actions were indeed somewhat selfish, the final outcome of this matter is beneficial to this world. You may leave now, Brother Qin. I will pretend you were never here."

Qin Bujue remained silent, while the others shouted, "Benefit? Do you know how many people have died because of the war you started?! They were all children of parents, husbands of wives, and fathers of children! Because of your selfish desires, how many happy and fulfilling families have been destroyed?!"

Mellen was aware of all this, but he also understood that even without his efforts, many people would die in various wars every year, so he would never force himself to bear all the responsibility.

However, seeing this scene before him, and seeing that at least some of the people were genuinely there for justice, wanting to rid the world of this 'demon' and restore order, Murron felt a sense of déjà vu that he was the ultimate villain.

pity……

Murren calmly stated, "Your 'justice' is not my justice!"

"Hmph! Still being stubborn even when things are at their worst!" A martial saint exuding nobility stepped forward from the crowd and said, "Mellen, do you think you still have a chance to act recklessly? Do you think that with so many of us here, we wouldn't be unprepared?!"

Another martial saint, draped in a snow-white cloak, chimed in: "We have already discovered your secret. You, an outsider, have used some means to deceive heaven and earth and gain their blessing. But it doesn't matter. Today we will strip you of everything!"

Before Mellen could even respond, three golden beams of light shot into the sky, forming a triangle that enveloped Mellen. Instantly, the power of heaven and earth was dispersed, stripped away, and suppressed layer by layer.

In other words, not only Mellen, but any Celestial Martial Saint in this area will be demoted by one realm, unable to unleash the earth-shattering power of Celestial Phenomena, and can only use Intent, Inner Scene, and Outer Scene.

Needless to say, the weakening of Mellen was also significant.

However, Mellen didn't seem to care, and instead began to examine the three golden pillars of light with great interest.

The three golden pillars of light undoubtedly represent the power of national destiny. The strongest one comes from Xue Rong, the middle one from Dayong, and the weakest one belongs to... Dayu.

This did not surprise Mellen. Although, strictly speaking, the Great Yu had now been replaced by the Great Hua he had established, even a broken ship still had some nails, let alone an empire that had ruled over a third of this world for thousands of years.

With the national fortunes of the three great empires of Dayu, Dayong, and Xuerong, it is almost equivalent to gathering more than 90% of the human will in this world, so it can naturally resist the Heavenly Dao in a short period of time.

If we can get rid of Mellen during this period, everything will get back on track.

At least, that was true for the original rulers of the three great empires.

"So..." Mellen chuckled, "you think you can defeat me like this?"

A martial saint roared angrily, "Demon, now that you've lost the blessing of the Heavenly Dao, you're just an ordinary outer realm martial saint, yet you still dare to be so arrogant?!"

Of course, despite saying that, the situation became tense for a while. After all, a person's reputation precedes them, and Mellen's status as the number one person in the world had spread and gradually become deeply ingrained in people's minds during this period. Even if Mellen's biggest trump card was now sealed, no one dared to be the first to make a move.

Suddenly, one of the people hidden among them spoke up: "The strength of the Great Yu Kingdom cannot last long. If you do not want all your efforts to be in vain and to be purged in the future, you should stop hiding your talents!"

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the martial saints present flickered slightly, and their expressions turned fierce.

Indeed, the fact that they are standing here at this moment means that they have already made their choice, and now there is no possibility of regret.

"Tsk!"

Mellen shook his head and chuckled, his figure slowly floating into the air, and said, "How boring."

Looking at the various expressions of the martial saints below, Mellen's tone gradually became indifferent: "You people will never be able to escape the shackles of your own vision. Even if you become a martial saint, or even have the foundation for transcendence, you will only toil and waste your lives for some meaningless things."

"If you do not cultivate, you will see me as a frog in a well looking at the moon in the sky. If you do cultivate, you will see me as a mayfly gazing at the heavens. So-called geniuses are nothing more than tickets to stand in front of me."

"You think you can defeat me with just these few secret techniques?!"

"This is utterly absurd!!"

"Boom!~"

The sky trembled, the world shook, as if endless power was surging from Mellen, painting the heavens and earth in the colors of ink wash.

Mellen's power bypassed all the Martial Saints and struck the three golden pillars of national destiny. It resisted, eroded, absorbed, and controlled them. In the stunned gazes of the Martial Saints, the three golden pillars of national destiny emitted mournful cries and were slowly assimilated by the ink.