Nine Astra Skies

Seeing Ye Chen's expression, Yin Mengtian sighed regretfully. Wanting Ye Chen to contribute to the country would not be very realistic.

Ye Chen had not even left Donglin County before and did not know what the world outside was like. At most, he heard some news from his clansmen. Since Yin Mengtian was a Marquis, he should know about the general situation of the land, so Ye Chen asked, "I heard that the outside world is very chaotic now and there are insurgents and rogue vassals everywhere rebelling against the Emperor."

Yin Mengtian's brows furrowed at the mention of the insurgents and rogue vassals. He seemed to be in pain as he sighed sadly. "The world isn't in a good state and even food and clothing have become problems. Understandably, commoners would want to revolt. As for the rogue vassals rebelling against the Emperor, every one of them should be killed!"

Hearing Yin Mengtian's remarks, Ye Chen felt slightly odd. Was Yin Mengtian not loyal to the Empire? Since the rogue vassals should be killed, why should the commoners' revolt be allowed?

Seeing Ye Chen's puzzled expression, Yin Mengtian smiled wryly and explained, "You might not know this but currently, the Xiwu Empire is in a mess both domestically and abroad. However, the most troubling thing isn't the internal issues but the outside ones. The Nanman Kingdom had invaded seven small countries around the boundary. They had been eyeing our rich and fertile Xiwu Empire for a long time."

"What do you mean? The Nanman Kingdom didn't attack the Xiwu Empire. The Xiwu Empire has a large population. As long as there's no internal disorder, how can they fight themselves in?" Ye Chen asked curiously. This was the first time someone had told him about state affairs. He was interested to know more.

"The Xiwu Empire is located in the Great Eastern Continent, which has a vast area with more than three hundred countries. Since top combatants among humans are too powerful, to prevent these combatants from massacring the commoners, from ancient times, these countries will fight in specific places when settling disputes. That place is an isolated island in the North Sea called the Exclusion Zone. The Nanman Kingdom and the Xiwu Empire will send twenty Tenth Level and above combatants to the Exclusion Zone to battle every two years. The ones who live can go back but the corpses of those who die will forever be left behind in the Exclusion Zone. If either country doesn't round up twenty Tenth Level or above combatants, the other country will go to war with that country. The confrontation between the Nanman Kingdom and the Xiwu Empire has continued for more than three hundred years," Yin Mengtian explained.

Listening to Yin Mengtian's words, many mysteries in Ye Chen's heart were solved. The dispute between countries was solved in this way. It was not surprising that there were so few Tenth Level combatants in the Xiwu Empire - they were mostly dead.

"The country's elite has been exhausted in the past three hundred years and the Empire's deterrent power to those below is getting weaker. Each rogue vassal proclaims himself King, perching high up and imposing heavy penalties and taxes. The commoners are cornered and would rebel. As for those rogue vassals, they know very well that the Empire is at war with the Nanman Kingdom, yet they still want to rebel. They know that they won't be left unchecked for long yet they still want to revolt. They have the ambition of wild wolves!" Yin Mengde said. This explained why there was no choice for the commoners to rebel but the rogue vassals should be killed. "If not for the Great Emperor Mingwu's swift reaction and successful triumph in every battle against the armies of three large rogue vassals, I'm afraid the Xiwu Empire would've been destroyed long ago."

Ye Chen exclaimed secretly. It would be difficult for any sovereign king to hold on in such a situation. It seemed that this Great Emperor Mingwu had some skills.

"The Nanman Kingdom is ferocious and they kill people like crushing ants. Every time they invade a country, they enslave the people of that country and kill wantonly. If the Xiwu Empire is destroyed, the lives of the people of the Xiwu Empire would get more difficult. With the skin gone, what can the hair attach itself to?" Yin Mengtian looked at Ye Chen. He had a reason for saying so much to Ye Chen. He felt that Ye Chen had a good character. "It's regrettable that my cultivation is so humble. The reason I came to this Sunken Jade Tower is to find a way to advance to the Tenth Level. At that time, I'll rush to the front lines. Even if my body is torn and my bones are crushed, what's the harm?" Yin Mengtian said impassionately.

"Pince." Zhanhu and the others looked at Yin Mengtian, tears brimming.

Ye Chen looked at Yin Mengtian. His Astral Body could sense Yin Mengtian's emotional fluctuations. There was no acting in Yin Mengtian's words at all. Although his disdained blind loyalty, Yin Mengtian's love for the empire deeply moved Ye Chen. Yin Mengtian was most likely a faithful officer of the Xiwu Empire. Whether he was a fool or not, he should be respected.

"Public morals are degenerating with each passing day. Besides the rogue vassals, the Three Major Sects are also extremely hateful. They know that the Empire is in danger and numerous loyalists are doing their utmost best to help. However, although the Three Major Sects have many Tenth Level combatants, they constantly refuse to contribute and even oppress the court. They boldly recruit talented young disciples in each country, causing the court to be unable to make ends meet. Sometimes, they even influence the court and make profits for themselves. They're much worse than the rogue vassals!" Yin Mengtian said, outraged. He naturally did not want a talent like Ye Chen to join the Three Major Sects.

In Yin Mengtian's mouth, the Three Major Sects which the commoners yearned for became a vile and despicable place. After all, this involved the dispute between the court and the Three Major Sects and Yin Mengtian spoke from the perspective of a person from the court. Ye Chen could not simply believe what he wanted to hear. However, thinking about it again, the war between the Xiwu Empire and the Nanman Kingdom had continued for more than three hundred years, so it was natural that the number of talents would wither. There were very few combatants who were Tenth Level and above in the first place, and so many combatants died every two years. No matter how large an Empire was, it could not afford that!

After chatting with Yin Mengtian for a while, Ye Chen finally gained some understanding of the Xiwu Empire. The Xiwu Empire had a vast territory that spanned tens of millions of square kilometers of land with more than seventy counties. Donglin County was merely a small county among them. There were more than twenty rogue vassals in the entire empire and there were the Three Major Sects. In addition, only a small portion was occupied by human activities and the remaining seventy percent of the land was where mystical beasts activities were frequent.

Just one country alone possessed such a vast territory. It was said that the Nanman Kingdom's territory was even larger, more than three times that of the Xiwu Empire's. As for the entire Great Eastern Continent, there were more than three hundred countries, large and small. The Nanman Kingdom was certainly not the largest.

Learning about this, even Ye Chen was shocked.

"What's above the Tenth Level? What Level has the Great Emperor Mingwu reached?" Ye Chen asked. It was not common to meet a highly-ranked person. He would ask all the questions he did not understand one by one.

"Above the Tenth Level is the Venerable Rank, which is split into five - the Earthly Venerable One, Heavenly Venerable One, Mystique Venerable One, Godly Venerable One, and Peerless Power. The Great Emperor Mingwu is highly gifted and has reached the peak of Heaven Venerable One," Yin Mengtian said proudly.

"Resisting foreign aggression begins after stabilizing the country. Since the Great Emperor Mingwu is so powerful, why not unify the country first?" Ye Chen asked. Heavenly Venerable Rank should still be a distance from Daemon King. A Daemon King should be around the same level as a Godly Venerable One.

"Resisting foreign aggression begins after stabilizing the country?" Yin Mengtian looked at Ye Chen in surprise. Such insightful words had come from a young man's mouth. This young man must be familiar with military affairs. He said, "It's not that simple. The Three Major Sects have a Heavenly Venerable One combatant each and millions of disciples below them, just like a state within a state. Although the rogue vassals don't have any super combatants, they possess their armies. If war breaks out, the country might lose."

Under such a situation, the Great Emperor Mingwu could not simply go to war with the sects and rogue vassals.

"The Grandruler of Nanman, Tuoba Hongye, is already a Mystique Venerable One, and he has several Heavenly and Earthly Venerable Ones under him. As for the Xiwu Empire, none of the combatants who went to the Exclusion Zone has come back. We aren't able to find any more Tenth Level combatants. In another year, if we aren't able to gather twenty Tenth Level combatants, the Nanman Kingdom will declare war on the Xiwu Empire. With the Xiwu Empire's military power, it's impossible to go against the Nanman Kingdom," Yin Mengtian said in frustration.