"It's not time yet..."
Zhao Li watched Xiao Yan leave and murmured to himself. Although the Journey to the West was going smoothly, it had only been a short time. At this stage, it was still a time of investing money in business, not yet a time of flourishing harvest. Perhaps in another thirty years or so, they would see explosive growth...
Of course, he had his plans, but there was no reason to hold others back and prevent them from moving forward. On one hand, he had released Zhu Kun and dealt with him, and now he was very well-behaved. On the other hand, he had also shown Xiao Yan the path of gathering Heavenly Flames to converge the Origin, allowing him to Become Emperor even without the Ancient Emperor's Legacy. This was also one of the ways to strengthen the Continent's Origin...
From this point on, the upper echelons of power on the Continent became hidden, the middle layers seized resources and used them on the lower layers, and the lower layers, in this environment, also flourished, creating more resources and value, feeding back upwards, gradually forming a virtuous cycle...
In this model, the various large and small forces that had originally surrendered out of fear of Great Li's power were surprised to find that their initial charitable-like efforts were yielding unexpected returns, not just in resources, but also in fresh blood and the future.
If the Dou Qi Continent were compared to a person, it would be like an old man on his last legs who suddenly became young again, regaining his vitality. In short, the Dou Qi Continent had come back to life!
One day, the Heavenly Tomb, which had been opened less than twenty years prior, was opened again. This commotion attracted the attention of the Remnant Souls with remaining intelligence on the third level, who all cast their gazes over.
Blood Saber Saint narrowed his eyes when he saw the person who had arrived. That ominous star was here again, for the third time. The first time, although he was beaten, he could feel that Xiao Yan was stronger than him, but only slightly. The second time, he had the same aura as the one deep within the Heavenly Tomb, forcing him to prostrate. Now...
Then, his pupils suddenly contracted. There was actually another person beside that terrifying fellow, and Xiao Yan seemed to be slightly behind...
This was Zhao Li's first time entering the Heavenly Tomb. His gaze swept across, taking in all the hidden secrets. This graveyard was Refined by an Expert using special techniques. In terms of grade, it was already close to an Emperor Artifact. According to its creator's idea, this place was supposed to nurture the Heavenly Tomb with the Souls of strong individuals, gradually turning it into a true Emperor Artifact, and then using the Emperor Artifact's power to slowly nourish the Souls, perhaps giving them hope of Resurrection.
Although the idea was good, the difficulty was immense. And for some unknown reason, the grievances of many strong individuals had created a Soul that should not exist, changing the Heavenly Tomb's Rules. Under the Rules of surviving through Devour, the current Heavenly Tomb was no longer a place for the strong to rest in peace...
"What a coincidence, this Heavenly Tomb Soul can actually repair Remnant Souls. It's really not difficult for Xiao Xuan to Resurrect..."
Zhao Li had originally just come with Xiao Yan to check on Xiao Xuan's condition and try to bring him out of the Heavenly Tomb, not holding much hope for the trip. Now that he discovered the Heavenly Tomb Soul had such a use, he could resolve it all at once.
With a Plan in mind, he made no visible movement, but a figure left his body, while he himself continued towards the depths of the Heavenly Tomb.
Not long after, the many Remnant Souls in the Heavenly Tomb vaguely heard a terrified roar, and then felt as if their bodies had become much lighter and clearer. Even the Dou Venerate Soul Bodies that were Devouring each other stopped. Although they didn't know what had happened, they understood that they would no longer have to Devour each other to survive.
In Xiao Xuan's Tomb, Xiao Xuan looked at the person before him, who seemed like a Mortal, yet also like a True Immortal, contradictory, yet extremely harmonious.
Even though he had learned of Zhao Li's existence from Xiao Yan, when he actually appeared before him, Xiao Xuan still felt a strange sense of awe.
Zhao Li got straight to the point:
"Xiao Yan asked me to see if there was a way to bring you out. It's a coincidence that although the existence of the Heavenly Tomb Soul is distorted, the Origin accumulated over the long Years is extremely suitable for nurturing Remnant Souls. You should absorb it first."
With a flick of his finger, the crystal-clear halo in front of Zhao Li slowly drifted down, constantly radiating brilliant light, like a warm sun. Just being bathed in it gave Xiao Xuan a very comfortable feeling.
Seeing his expression change, Xiao Yan spoke:
"Ancestor, if you have any questions, ask them later. Grandmaster won't harm you..."
Perhaps it was that last sentence that made Xiao Xuan understand. With Zhao Li's power to easily destroy the Heavenly Tomb Soul, it would be just as easy to erase him. There was no need to play these games with him.
With a thought, the world expanded. Xiao Xuan nodded and voluntarily merged into that pure white Soul Origin...
...
Two years later, Xiao Yan took charge, using Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and the Heavenly Flame Origin to Refine a new body for Xiao Xuan. After a Thousand Years, Xiao Xuan truly reappeared on the Dou Qi Continent.
"You are a strange person. I don't understand you..."
It was still that mountain, still that small pavilion. Xiao Xuan looked at the leisurely Zhao Li, feeling a bit emotional.
After leaving the Heavenly Tomb, he had traveled to many places. Even though Xiao Yan had told him, seeing the Dou Qi Continent come back to life with his own eyes still felt like a shock to his understanding.
Zhao Li smiled and said:
"You are easy to understand. All you want is to protect the people you want to protect."
Saying this, he paused slightly before continuing:
"Actually, I am the same as you. All I want is to protect the people I want to protect."
The difference was that he saw something higher and further, knowing that his current self could not yet protect what he wanted to protect...
Xiao Xuan repeated the phrase softly, then burst into laughter:
"Protecting who you want to protect, well said! Brother Zhao Li, I salute you!"
This was both because Zhao Li understood him and because Zhao Li was worthy of respect. Even with the same goal, everything Zhao Li did indicated that who he wanted to protect was not just the people around him...
Zhao Li raised his cup and lightly clinked it, then downed it in one gulp and said to himself:
"It's nothing, I'm just a chuunibyou. I used to wonder what created the Scope of the Dou Qi Continent. In the end, it's resources. But the problem is, if everyone only wants to take and not create, eventually resources will become less and less, and the conflicts of the past will intensify, until finally, everything is completely depleted. At that time, I thought, how great it would be if resources could be used well to create more value."
Saying this, he seemed to recall his past naivety, smiled, and said:
"I could only think about it before, but since I have the power to redistribute resources, I have to give it a try. Fortunately, it seems to be going well now."
Xiao Xuan was thoughtful. Just as Zhao Li said, in the past, they seemed to be constantly fighting over resources. Even if they didn't need them, they would stockpile them, calling it the family Foundation. If they only stockpiled resources, how many forces could compete with them?
But in terms of population and created value, even all the large and small forces combined were less than one percent of the Dou Qi Continent!
Yet they controlled vast resources but didn't create, instead constantly seizing the value created by the ninety-nine percent...
What Zhao Li did, in a word, was broaden the Scope!
To make an analogy, it was like the fish in a lake were all fighting over resources. Of course, Zhao Li was also fighting, but he was fighting not just for the Small Fry's resources, but also for the Big Shark's. In the end, because he had enough resources, he became a Dragon. Other Dragons chose to leave the lake for the ocean, while he chose to use the Dragon's power to transform the lake
-----------
Machine Translation by: beta.randomtranslator.com
Read 1400+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: www.randomtranslator.com