Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

Chapter 313: Chapter 170: The Great War Begins, Sweet-talking Lu Shang

Listening to their doubts,

Li Chang’an didn’t rush to answer.

Instead, he posed a question of his own. “Everyone, has it never struck you as odd? The Twelve Countries have been at war for so long. Countless people have died, yet the fighting never ceases for even a day.”

Hearing this, all the commoners and Martial Artists looked at one another in confusion.

They clearly hadn’t expected Li Chang’an’s first words to be something other than an explanation for his actions.

Instead, he was questioning them.

One Martial Artist said in a hostile tone, “It’s obviously because each country has the protection of an Immortal ancestor. That’s exactly why we’re here! Why would the Crown Prince attack our own ancestor?”

Li Chang’an smiled. “If you all know that the Immortal ancestors behind each country are the very reason our Jiuzhou Continent has bled for a millennium, then what’s wrong with me killing the very people who started these wars?”

His words left everyone stunned.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t considered this issue before, but no one had ever actually raised it. The Immortals were high and mighty, beings who existed above the clouds in their eyes.

After a long moment of stunned silence,

a murmur went through the crowd as people began to whisper amongst themselves.

The leader of the group wasn’t so easily fooled, however. He said coldly, “If you want to kill Immortals, you should be targeting the ancestors of the Great Yuan and the Qiangman. Why attack Great Zhou’s own ancestor?”

Hearing this, Li Chang’an roared with laughter. “All the ancestors are on the same side! What do you mean, ’Great Zhou’s ancestor’? They’ve banded together, treating the entire Jiuzhou Continent as their personal livestock farm! They use its hundreds of millions of people as sacrificial offerings to maintain their own prosperity in the Immortal Realm. Am I supposed to respect them for that?”

The crowd erupted at his words.

The expression on the leader’s face changed as well, his scalp tingling with shock. “Crown Prince, are you saying that the reason the various countries have this… unspoken agreement… is because their ancestors are all actually working together?”

Li Chang’an was all smiles, but his expression was noncommittal.

’After all, some things are better left partially unsaid. It makes them spread more effectively.’

’Explaining everything too clearly would be counterproductive. People might suspect him of having ulterior motives.’

Although he hadn’t spelled everything out, the people present were clearly no fools. With a moment’s thought, they could grasp the underlying problems and shenanigans.

Instantly, grim expressions appeared on all their faces.

The reason was simple. While Li Chang’an’s claims were just words, with no proof, everyone realized how strange the relationships between the countries were once they carefully considered the details.

The reason no one had ever discussed it before…

…was simply because no one dared to raise such a topic.

After all, every nation strictly controlled any talk that could “disrupt the morale of the troops.” If such treasonous rumors spread, the entire family of whoever started them would face annihilation.

Even if people did talk about it,

such topics could only circulate within extremely small circles.

But now, this topic was being spoken aloud by the Crown Prince, Li Chang’an, himself. The shock it sent through their hearts was immense!

After saying all this,

Li Chang’an didn’t linger. With a flick of his sleeve, he turned to leave.

But just then, many of the Martial Artists outside, their faces filled with alarm, called out to him. “Crown Prince, what will you do next? Is there anything we can do to help?”

Back when Li Chang’an held the Martial Dao tournament,

his reputation in the Jianghu was already excellent.

Therefore, although the crowd still found his words somewhat hard to accept, they were subconsciously beginning to believe him.

Seeing them all staring at him with expectant eyes,

Li Chang’an was surprised again. ’Any normal group of people, upon hearing that the nation and government they’d been loyal to their entire lives was the root cause of their suffering, would surely have an emotional breakdown.’

’But barely any time had passed, and this group had already accepted his words.’

’They were even starting to think about how to help him.’

’Are they really that resilient?’

He stopped, glanced back at the crowd, and after a moment of thought, he smiled. “Are you all afraid of death?”

The crowd looked at each other, until the leader stepped forward. “Of course we’re afraid to die, but we are no cowards! Crown Prince, whatever you have to say, just say it!”

“Excellent! At this point, the only answer is to kill!” Li Chang’an grinned. “In a few days, after this Prince ascends the throne, I will form a grand army to conquer the other nations. I will unify Jiuzhou and slaughter every last bastard who has their filthy hands on it!”

After all this was done,

Li Chang’an instructed White Jade City to spread the news.

Furthermore, when Lu Shang had been traveling through the nations of Jiuzhou, Elder Hun had him establish an organization called the Immortal Rebel Association in each country.

On the surface, Lu Shang had founded the Immortal Rebel Association, but it was actually a trump card that Elder Hun had been preparing for many years; he had simply waited for Lu Shang to appear before letting him take charge.

In terms of manpower, reach, and influence within the various nations, the White Jade Pavilion, which had only been founded a few years ago, wasn’t even in the same league as the Immortal Rebel Association.

Now, Elder Hun had assigned Lu Shang to Li Chang’an to serve as his aide.

Naturally, this meant the Immortal Rebel Association was now also under Li Chang’an’s control.

With both organizations now operating in tandem, they frantically spread all sorts of conspiracy theories, mixing in just enough real information. In no time at all, they had thoroughly exposed all the dirty secrets of the Twelve Countries.