The human race's territory spans thousands of provinces, divided into the five regions of East, South, West, North, and Central. Among them, the Central Region is especially known for its dense spiritual energy, abundant resources, and the frequent emergence of talented individuals.
The Yuheng Jiang Kingdom dominates a hundred provinces and, being the closest to the Central Region, boasts immense strength. It is unquestionably one of the dominant powers in the Southern Region, and it has been closely monitoring the Huaxia Empire, a rising star.
In fact, if one looks at the history of Yuheng Jiang Kingdom's rise, it becomes clear that this kingdom's foundation was built through war and plunder.
Now, it is evident that Yuheng Jiang Kingdom has set its sights on the Huaxia Empire.
"Prime Minister, during the year or so that I've been away, what exactly has Yuheng Jiang Kingdom been up to?" As Lin Qian's soul power dissipated, the war declaration from Yuheng Jiang Kingdom, which had been floating in mid-air, slowly descended, landing quietly on the table.
At this moment, anger burned within Lin Qian's chest. The language in Yuheng Jiang Kingdom's war declaration was highly provocative, beginning with an order for the Huaxia Empire to surrender immediately and hand over the technology for the soul cannon.
Otherwise, Yuheng Jiang Kingdom threatened to wage war against the Huaxia Empire, with the consequences being their responsibility.
"Your Majesty, just a moment," Zhuge Ming's voice echoed in Lin Qian's mind. Shortly after, Lin Qian's Imperial Vision activated, and the system interface before him began displaying various events.
Given that Lin Qian had just returned, Zhuge Ming at the Ministry of Engineering headquarters had also resumed receiving information from the Ministry of Engineering in the surface world, along with various important political records.
The events recorded on Lin Qian's system interface were highly detailed.
There were numerous mentions of Yuheng Jiang Kingdom. In fact, just three months after Lin Qian's departure, Yuheng Jiang Kingdom began to stir, initiating small provocations against Qingshui Province, now part of the Huaxia Empire's northern territory.
Six months after Lin Qian left, Yuheng Jiang Kingdom offered to pay ten million top-grade soul crystals to purchase the soul cannon's blueprint, which Ye Xin firmly rejected.
What a joke—soul cannon technology was priceless. Offering ten million top-grade soul crystals was practically robbery.
Moreover, without Lin Qian's explicit command, the soul cannon's blueprint, a highly confidential secret, could never be leaked, not even to Ye Xin herself.
Ye Xin had never inquired about such matters because she knew very well that certain things should not be asked about or touched upon. Understanding this helped preserve the trust and relationship between them.
Afterward, there was the war declaration that Lin Qian had just seen.
Not only that, besides the pressure from Yuheng Jiang Kingdom, two other top powers in the Southern Region—Kuanglang Sect and Guiyuan Valley—had also made excessive demands of the Huaxia Empire, similarly seeking the soul cannon blueprint and the technology for aerial warships.
If these demands were not met, they too threatened to take unfriendly actions against the Huaxia Empire.
While Kuanglang Sect and Guiyuan Valley were simply taking advantage of the situation, Yuheng Jiang Kingdom was downright aggressive, as evidenced by their destruction of eighteen cities in Qingshui Province, part of the Huaxia Empire's northern territory!
Over 270,000 Imperial Army and War Beast Army soldiers were killed, and more than thirty million citizens of the Huaxia Empire were either dead or injured.
Reports from the Gale and Nightshadow scouts who had infiltrated Yuheng Jiang Kingdom revealed that discussions about threatening the Huaxia Empire were fervent within the kingdom.
Compared to the Qin Dynasty, the people of Yuheng Jiang Kingdom lived much better lives.
Whenever Yuheng Jiang Kingdom waged war against other forces, the spoils of war were shared with the citizens. If they wished, citizens could even follow the Soul Martial Artists into battle, looting and pillaging the defeated forces.
Currently, the citizens of Yuheng Jiang Kingdom were eagerly discussing when they would be able to go and make their fortunes if a war broke out against the Huaxia Empire.
Some Yuheng citizens even lamented that it was a shame so many people had died in Qingshui Province because the province was known for its beautiful women, and it was unfortunate that they didn't get to enjoy them before they died!
In truth, to the other top forces in the Southern Region, the destruction of an upper-level power like the Qin Dynasty merely indicated that the Huaxia Empire was a relatively strong upper-level force.
What truly concerned them was that Fang Shuiwen, Zhou Yian, and Yang Guixiang, three dominator-level Awakening Realm experts, were known to combine their powers in battle.
Unfortunately, the recent large-scale war must have caused significant losses for the Huaxia Empire. Moreover, with the three elders missing and their life tokens dimmed, rumors had spread like wildfire throughout the Southern Region.
When Lin Qian saw this particular piece of information, his expression darkened.
The dimmed life tokens indicated that they were on the verge of life and death. Lin Qian had lost contact with the three elders while in the Ancient Spirit Continent.
Now that he knew about this, he couldn't help but feel a tightness in his chest. After all, the three elders had gone missing because of him.
All these factors combined had emboldened Yuheng Jiang Kingdom to brazenly provoke the Huaxia Empire. Upon noticing the Huaxia Empire's passive stance, they pushed even further. Kuanglang Sect and Guiyuan Valley also saw this as an opportunity to exploit.
However, they had no idea that the Imperial Army and War Beast Army of the Huaxia Empire had already advanced.
After Lin Qian broke through to the Awakening Realm, although the Imperial Army and War Beast Army he summoned were still at the Life and Death Realm, they had evolved into intermediate-level elite troops. With the perfect coordination of 120,000 troops, they could easily eliminate an Awakening Realm expert.
This was the strength of the Imperial Army after its power had been enhanced without a change in their cultivation realm. The War Beast Army's strength had also increased accordingly.
As long as Lin Qian returned, there would be no talk of heavy losses in the Huaxia Empire. Moreover, he could now summon generals, eliminating the problem of having no capable commanders.
With generals at his command, he could finally activate the national war mode!
At that moment, Lin Qian felt movement in his arms and looked down to see Ye Xin slowly opening her eyes.
Exhausted from all the stress and responsibilities, Ye Xin had been in a deep sleep. As she regained consciousness, she was surprised to find herself being held by someone.
Just as she instinctively tried to struggle, she saw a familiar face smiling warmly at her.
The next moment, Ye Xin's eyes welled up with tears, and she could no longer hold back her emotions. She burst into tears, clinging tightly to Lin Qian. "Xiao Qian, you're finally back. I didn't know what to do without you."
"You… do you know that Yuheng Jiang Kingdom wants to go to war with us? And…"
Before she could continue, her words were silenced as Lin Qian kissed her, overwhelming her with his presence. Her cheeks flushed red.
When Lin Qian looked up, she buried her face in his chest, too embarrassed to show herself.
Then, Ye Xin heard Lin Qian's voice in her ear, "Xin'er, I suddenly realize that the Huaxia Empire seems to lack deterrence in the Southern Region."
"Huh?" Ye Xin looked up in confusion, only to see Lin Qian's golden eyes filled with a fierce aura.
"It's time to show them what true fear means."