Faced with Zhou Mu's words, Wang Xu was already somewhat angry, but at this moment, Zhou Mu was still like a child in his eyes, so he finally calmed down.
He carefully said, "King of the Domain..."
Now that Wentianlou has unified the Desolate Heaven Domain, their titles for each other have changed from Lord of the Prefecture to Domain King, and they occasionally use familiar titles such as Your Majesty.
However, if Wang Xu is pushed too far, he will use terms like "Zhou Mu" or "Xiao Mu" when addressing a junior, though these terms are not the mainstream.
“You are still too weak. Even if you were a Saint, I would feel at ease letting you go and try. But... the distance between the Divine Realm and the Saint Realm is as vast as an insurmountable chasm. The battlefield is extremely dangerous. Without thorough preparation, it is best not to go rashly.”
At this point, it seemed as if the most tender part of his heart had been touched, and Wang Xu's eyes softened for the first time. He gave a bitter smile and said, "Your Majesty... do you still remember how my child died?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Mu's expression changed slightly.
He had heard of Wang Xu's son, Wang Peng, but only vaguely. After all, he wasn't in the mansion at the time, and Wang Xu remained silent about the matter, so he had no idea of the details.
It seems that Wang Peng was eager to make a name for himself, but Wang Xu initially disagreed because Wang Peng's cultivation level was too low. Although he was only just coming of age, he had already reached the astonishing half-step Divine Realm. At his age, to achieve such a feat was to be one in ten thousand, a true prodigy.
Because he had been surrounded by praise and admiration from others since childhood, he gradually became somewhat arrogant.
However, Wang Xu eventually gave in to Wang Peng's persistent pleading and finally allowed Wang Peng to go to the battlefield. At first, there were continuous reports of victories.
Wang Peng, with the imposing presence of a half-step Divine Realm cultivator, actually led a small team to forcefully shake a Demon Emperor, capturing him alive on the battlefield, which greatly boosted morale.
At that time, Zhou Nai was the general in charge of the vanguard. He valued Wang Peng highly and, disregarding military etiquette, promoted him beyond his rank, directly appointing him as the vanguard commander. The vanguard commander was a position second only to Zhou Nai as the general in charge of the vanguard.
In other words, Wang Peng rose from a soldier to a junior general in just one exhilarating battle, which is truly enviable.
However, most of the soldiers were convinced, because they knew very well that if Wang Peng hadn't risked his life for them, their army would likely have been captured, resulting in the deaths of at least 30,000 soldiers.
Although his rapid promotion was largely due to his father Wang Xu's influence, it was also largely due to Wang Peng's hard work.
but……
What happened next, however, did not follow the script.
The demon general knew that Wang Peng was a menace. Although he had not yet fully matured, he was too young and had unlimited potential. If he were to grow up, he would inevitably become a major threat to the demon race.
Therefore, the demon general devised a plan to capture Wang Peng alive. In front of the army of the Nine Provinces Continent, he used Wang Peng to coerce them into retreating, after all, returning all the demon territory they had already occupied. The army of the Nine Provinces Continent retreated to the border between the demon realm and the Great Thousand World.
Such a momentous matter was one that Zhou Nai naturally dared not make the decision himself, so he sent someone to quickly inform Wang Xu.
Upon hearing this, Wang Xu stayed in his room all night without sleeping. The next morning, he issued an order: "My son... his death is not a pity..."
It's clear that Wang Xu has already made his decision.
The news quickly reached Zhou Nai's ears, and he decisively ordered the army to launch an attack.
Naturally, Wang Peng was brutally killed on the battlefield.
The loss of his son in middle age was undoubtedly a devastating blow to Wang Xu.
Zhou Mu only heard about these things after he went into seclusion. At that time, he only asked Wang Xu one question: "If a territory is occupied, it can be taken back, but if a child is lost, that is truly lost."
In response, Wang Xu simply shook his head and said, "That is the result of countless warriors fighting and dying on the Nine Provinces Continent. I don't know how many people sacrificed to achieve this situation. If I were to use my child's life to change this great situation, then I would be a sinner for all eternity."
In fact, Wang Xu couldn't say whether the decision was right or wrong.
However, later on, he was somewhat relieved that he hadn't let his emotions cloud his judgment; ultimately, reason prevailed.
It was only because the Great Zhou Empire gradually declined that the invincible army maintained its initial gains, which allowed the Great Zhou Empire to last for a longer period of time.
His gaze was drawn back to Zhou Mu, who looked at Wang Xu before him and was deeply moved.
It's no exaggeration to say that Wang Xu truly treated him like his own son, especially in the later stages, where he had a similar relationship to Zhuge Liang and Liu Chan. It wouldn't be an exaggeration for Zhou Mu to call him "Uncle Father".
Wang Xu sighed for a long time and said, "Now that you know everything, you should be able to understand my good intentions..."
However, Zhou Mu smiled faintly at this moment, his lips curving into a smile, and a rare hint of murderous intent flashed in his dark eyes.
Then, when her gaze fell on Wang Xu, it slowly softened. "Sir, I assure you, I will never let this tragedy repeat itself. Moreover, now is the best opportunity to unify the Nine Provinces."
At this point, his voice became even more somber, but it was full of confidence.
"Currently, the major powers are still in their prime, each of them a giant in their own right. If we can completely subdue them, then when our Great Zhou Dynasty is re-established in the future, its strength will reach an unprecedented level."
In fact, in his previous life, when Zhou Mu established the Great Zhou Dynasty, the strength of the entire Kyushu continent had entered the Dharma-ending Age and was not as great as before.
There are now more than a dozen martial artists as powerful as Jiang Fengzi, but back then there was only one, and he was already very old.
This was also the biggest factor that allowed foreign demons to dare to invade the Central Plains at that time.
The scales of victory have since tipped.
However, things are different now. Now that Zhou Mu has been reborn, he is at the peak of his power in the Nine Provinces. If he were to unify the Nine Provinces, the strength of his Great Zhou Dynasty would surely be unprecedented.
Zhou Mu's idea was good, but Wang Xu, being a seasoned strategist, seemed to have seen through Zhou Mu's thoughts. He said softly, "Have you ever considered the possibility of a situation where numerous feudal lords coexist?"
Zhou Mu was taken aback, and then a chill emanated from behind him.
Clearly, he had completely forgotten about it, so much so that now, thinking back on it, he felt a chill run down his spine.
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