After Zhuge Ming finished speaking, Lin Qian was momentarily stunned, unable to grasp the meaning of his words.
Upgrade the Huaxia Empire?
What kind of joke is this? The Huaxia Empire connected to his Heavenly Mark within was already a top-tier, fully technologically advanced superpower in his previous life.
It had dominated cross-server wars, defeating enemies with ease, leaving others crying for mercy and begging him, known in-game as "Wei An," to spare them.
Of course, Lin Qian wasn't actually called Wei An in his previous life, but rather his in-game nickname was "Sheng Xia Wei An" (Faint Summer), a name that was renowned throughout the fantasy empire game—no one didn't know who he was!
"What do you mean by this? Explain it to me quickly!" Lin Qian's eyes gleamed with wolf-like intensity as he urged Zhuge Ming to explain in detail.
As an obsessive fan of empire-building, the idea that his Huaxia Empire could still be upgraded drove Lin Qian wild with excitement.
Prompted by Lin Qian's urging, Zhuge Ming swiftly explained the situation in detail.
It turned out that Zhuge Ming had discovered that once the people in the territories outside began to develop a sense of recognition toward the Huaxia Empire, becoming aligned with it and thinking well of their emperor, Lin Qian, this popular sentiment would begin to influence the Huaxia Empire!
As the head of the Tiangong Division, Zhuge Ming was responsible for monitoring the overall status of the Huaxia Empire. Thus, he keenly noticed that after Lin Qian's series of benevolent acts toward the people, the empire showed clear signs of improvement.
For instance, the national fortune of the Huaxia Empire had become stronger than before, and the speed of resource growth within the empire had also increased.
Although this improvement was extremely subtle and almost negligible, it was indeed present.
"So, if the Huaxia Empire's territory becomes large enough, and as the people's hearts become more united, the Huaxia Empire will continue to grow stronger?" Lin Qian's breathing quickened as he considered this possibility. All he wanted was for his Huaxia Empire to become even stronger.
Now, that dream was within reach. How could he not be ecstatic?
Zhuge Ming continued, "Not only that, but the people's loyalty will also influence the Huaxia Empire's external territories. The Huaxia Realm's formation array has clearly been enhanced, and the concentration of spiritual energy has also increased."
"Therefore, the Tiangong Division can conclude that the Huaxia Empire in the Fantasy Star World and the Huaxia Empire in the Soul Martial Continent are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. Both are affected by the people's loyalty."
After processing Zhuge Ming's report, Lin Qian's expression revealed his surprise. He hadn't expected that simply wanting his people to live better lives and winning their hearts would have such an effect.
Although this improvement was nearly imperceptible—without the Tiangong Division, he wouldn't even have known it existed—the possibility excited him.
If the Huaxia Empire could control a vast enough territory and gather even more loyalty from its people, wouldn't the benefits grow more apparent and effective?
As this realization dawned on him, Lin Qian's eyes glowed with fervor. "Qin Dynasty, Qin Dynasty... I should really thank you for provoking the Huaxia Empire. Your territory is mine!"
Laughing to himself, Lin Qian's inner thoughts caused the three elders beside him to look on in confusion, not understanding why Lin Qian had suddenly spaced out and then started laughing to himself.
Seeing the elders' bewildered expressions, Lin Qian chose not to explain further. Instead, he simply told them, "Just wait until the Qin Dynasty attacks. Then you'll see quite the show."
With that, Lin Qian, brimming with excitement, left the council chamber.
Once Lin Qian left, the elders no longer needed to maintain the soul force barrier that had shielded the council chamber. The three of them exchanged glances, then smiled and followed Lin Qian out. They were also eager to see what kind of surprises Lin Qian would bring.
Meanwhile, on the Qin Dynasty's side, the army continued to gather in increasing numbers, concentrating in the distant regions in front of the three cities of the border—Yushui City, Yunshui City, and Bishui City.
The Qin Dynasty's military was divided into three parts: the Central Qin Regular Army, consisting of Nirvana-level warriors; the Eight Directions Regular Army, made up of Life and Death Realm warriors; and the Qin Imperial Guard, directly commanded by the emperor.
At present, the forces gathering in the region were only the Central Qin Regular Army and the Eight Directions Regular Army; since the emperor had not yet arrived, the Imperial Guard would not be present either.
Qin Ling Tian, the Qin Emperor, was seething with rage because no matter what they tried, they couldn't stop the mysterious force that was eroding the capital's formation.
In the end, he was forced to shut down the capital's formation, allowing the city's formation masters to focus on rebuilding it as quickly as possible.
As for the formations in all 32 prefectures of the Qin Dynasty, there was nothing they could do. Reports from the formation masters stationed in the cities indicated that the formations had been completely altered and could no longer be deactivated.
And as for destroying them...
The only way to destroy the formations was to destroy the formation hubs within the cities.
But the formation masters soon discovered that if they took such drastic measures, the formation hubs would immediately explode, with enough force to devastate most of the city.
And what would be the point of that? The enemy hadn't even attacked yet, and they would be blowing up their own cities?
What kind of madness would that be?
"Attack! Turn Yushui City, Yunshui City, and Bishui City into rubble and march into Liujing Prefecture, penetrating deep into the Twin Extremes Hall's territory!"
At the Qin Emperor's command, the previously stationary Central Qin Regular Army and the Eight Directions Regular Army finally began to move, marching toward the three cities ahead, whose formations were faintly glowing.
Just as Qin Ling Tian had ordered, they were determined to flatten the three cities.
In the Qin Emperor's eyes, these three captured cities were nothing but a disgrace to the Qin Dynasty. They had no place within the dynasty's borders. Only by annihilating them could the Qin Dynasty's honor be restored.
This time, the Qin Dynasty had deployed a staggering three hundred million Nirvana-level troops from the Central Qin Regular Army and thirty million Life and Death Realm warriors from the Eight Directions Regular Army. These forces advanced in three separate columns toward the three cities.
Such a massive force would have terrified most ordinary powers.
However, hovering in the sky in front of the three cities was an enormous battleship. On the deck, neatly arranged square tables were set up.
The ship remained perfectly stable, with no sign of movement. Fang Shuiwen, Zhou Yian, and Yang Guixiang sat at one table with Lin Qian, while the other elders from the three factions sat at their own tables, staring in bewilderment at the steaming delicacies laid before them.
When Lin Qian had called them to the battleship, they had expected to be preparing for battle upon hearing the news of the Qin Dynasty's advance. They had thought it was finally time for them to showcase their strength.
But to their surprise, Lin Qian had instead thrown a grand banquet on the battleship, telling them to eat, drink, and prepare for a good show.
"Young Master, isn't this a bit too reckless?" Zhou Yian couldn't help but smile wryly as he looked around at the scene.