The Empress's Final Writing

[ "Dead? Isn't she the Empress? Shouldn't she be very strong? How could she..." ]

[ Shen Jia spoke to you about the war over at the Azure Ridge. ]

[ Not just the Empress. ]

[ Within the borders of the Five Domains, about seventy percent of the martial arts factions were wiped out, or nearly wiped out, in this war between the two races. ]

[ Even among the eight strongest sects known as the Eight Pillars of the Five Domains, five had lost all their elites and their upper echelons had shed their blood, while the remaining three were not faring well either. ]

[ Even the Sword Master, renowned as the strongest expert in the Five Domains, exhausted his life force and died after slaying three ancestors with a single sword strike. ]

[ And then there was that useless Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty. ]

[ Everyone called him an incompetent ruler, but he was also a powerful martial artist. Not only did he personally lead the troops into battle, but he also fell in combat on the Azure Ridge. ]

[ Without his sacrifice, the Sword Master's world-shocking strike could not have been achieved. ]

[ This Emperor was originally disliked by the people, but when he fought for the human race and returned in a horsehide shroud, the commoners of the world petitioned to grant him the temple name of Emperor Qianwuzong. ]

[ The named bigwigs who died in battle on the Azure Ridge were too many to count. ]

[ Shen Jia also heard that the Divine Monkey General of the Divine Weapon Prefecture turned into a giant boulder overseas, eternally suppressing the Great Demon Monkey Vanguard at the bottom of the sea. ]

[ The war, to this day, has yet to end. ]

[ The top-tier combatants of both sides have perished, so they started throwing in their upper echelons. Once the upper echelons are gone, there are still the middle tiers, and finally the bottom tiers. Who knows when this fighting will ever end. ]

[ You sighed heavily. ]

[ "What is the point of this war... There are no winners..." ]

[ Your vision went dark, and you felt your five senses slipping away from you. ]

[ You knew your time was running out. ]

[ "Shen Jia, you should be in the Martial King Realm by now, right?" ]

[ With the support of the Empress and her high-tier bone structure, you felt she should have been able to step into the Martial King Realm. ]

[ Shen Jia shook her head. ]

[ "Uncle, I am in the Spirit Sea Realm. I am still far from the Martial King Realm, and I fear I cannot hope for it in this life." ]

[ "The path of martial arts is difficult... harder than ascending to the blue skies. Those who succeed all possess some karmic luck. You need to keep a level head." ]

[ "Uncle, I was only able to step onto the martial path in this life thanks to you, and I was able to cultivate to this stage thanks to my master. I have no regrets..." ]

[ Speaking up to this point, Shen Jia lowered her head. ]

[ "But Master does..." ]

[ You looked at the thick letter in your hand and spoke faintly. ]

[ "Shen Jia, go do your work. I will read the letter." ]

[ "Uncle..." ]

[ "Go." ]

[ Shen Jia was reluctant to lift the flap of the military tent. She knew that once she left and returned, she might be facing your cold corpse. ]

[ But birth, aging, sickness, and death are entirely out of mortal control. ]

[ You opened the final letter Li Lingyue had written to you. ]

[ She wrote a lot, because she had many things she wanted to say to you. ]

[ Her life was a lonely one, and only when facing you, even if it was just the you on the letter paper, was she willing to speak her mind freely. ]

[ "To Chen:

With you, I will not use the royal 'We'.

Tomorrow, the scheme the Sword Master and I set up will be put into action. Whether we succeed or fail rests on this one battle.

I have a bad premonition, so I am writing this letter in the hope that Shen Jia can deliver it into your hands.

Thanks to the Sword Master, I learned who you are now and where you are.

I searched for you for half my life and finally found you, yet I do not know if I will have the chance to see you.

I was originally a daughter of the imperial family. Within the royal household, lacking a martial bone structure meant I could not decide my own life.

The political marriage was not my wish. I fought back with my life, only to be unexpectedly saved by you.

Since I have already given myself to you, how could I submit to another?

I fled again, but was chased to a cliff by pursuing troops..." ]

[ From Li Lingyue's letter, you learned of her experiences. ]

[ Forced to jump off a cliff, mistakenly eating a strange flower, the awakening of her Holy Body, being rescued by a mysterious old woman, taking a master, helping those in distress, gradually building prestige, seizing power... ]

[ All the way until she proclaimed herself Empress. ]

[ The Southern Borders are different from the Central Plains. Over there, the nations, regimes, kings, and whatnot change every few days. ]

[ So even if a female ruler appeared, there wouldn't be fundamental rejection, nor would a bunch of pedantic scholars jump out to clamor about the collapse of etiquette and propriety, or how unseemly it was. ]

[ Afterwards, Li Lingyue used the Great Food Kingdom as a starting point to rapidly integrate the hundred nations of the Southern Borders, forming a Southern Borders Hundred Nations Alliance centered around the Empress. ]

[ Immediately following that, without stopping to rest, she issued a manifesto for a Northern Expedition, declaring that she was the true orthodox ruler of the Central Plains, and that she would recover the lost territories and return to the old capital! ]

[ As for the macro-narratives that followed, you basically already knew them. ]

[ Li Lingyue's experiences could be described as brilliant; they could even be written into a novel. ]

[ Of course, you weren't narcissistic enough to think that the Empress attacked the Central Plains for your sake. ]

[ Because in the previous two simulations, when the two of you had no interactions, she still attacked. ]

[ She was a career-driven female protagonist, just that this time she had feelings for you. ]

Outside the simulation, Chen Yi felt rather emotional.

"I never expected that the princess whose beauty crowned the Five Domains would eventually grow into such a strong female protagonist..."

Just a one-night romance in a cave was enough to make an Empress yearn for him her entire life.

Chen Yi couldn't help but wonder: Is my personal charm just that great, or is the 'Wandering Dragon Teasing the Phoenix' trait really that strong?

It was so hard to guess.

He had to admit, 'Wandering Dragon Teasing the Phoenix', a mere white-tier trait, possessed a terrifying strength that a trait of its color shouldn't have.

"If I had known the Empress was looking for me, why would I have run around everywhere? It would have been so much easier to just seek refuge with the Empress! The relationships with these big shots, like the Sword Master and the Empress, must be maintained..."

[ After finishing the letter, in a daze, you saw that peerless face once again. ]

[ Wearing a phoenix coronet and bridal robes, she reunited with you amidst a myriad rays of holy light. ]

[ "I have come to this life, I have fought, and though I did not achieve complete success, I have a clear conscience..." ]

[ You swallowed your last breath, hearing the final sound of this life. ]

[ It was the soldiers of the Demon Extermination Army outside the military tent; they fell to their knees in swathes, their weeping filling the wilderness. ]

[ "Marshal—" ]

[ You sacrificed yourself. ]

[ Simulation Evaluation: Crossing the Central Plains from the Eastern Barrens and Western Liang, slaying demons and eradicating devils with the Myriad Souls Banner. For what reason does an octogenarian take up the seal of command? To pacify the Five Domains, as an old minister's words declared. ]

[ Congratulations, you have obtained the following inheritances: ]

[ 1. Sixty-seven years of travel memories; ]

[ 2. Cultivation of the First Layer of the Golden Body Realm; ]

[ 3. A total of sixty-seven traits including 'Proficiency' (Prismatic), 'The Strictest Father of the Alien Races' (Gold), 'Mortal Bone' (Gold), 'The Only True Prophet on the Field' (Purple), 'Senior Tomato User' (Purple), 'Brainwave' (Purple), 'Foreign Languages Must Be Learned' (Green), 'Silent Footsteps' (Green)... ]

[ 4. External Skill "Heart Flame Mystic Art" (Transcendent), Internal Skill "Pure Yang Spirit Drawing Mystic Art" (Consummate), Mental Cultivation Method "Azure Flame Heart Mantra" (Consummate), Martial Art "Star Shattering Wave Finger" (Minor Accomplishment), Martial Art "Dragon Flame Mystic Art" (Consummate), Martial Art "Rocket Step" (Transcendent)... ]

"What a heartily satisfying simulation..."

Though the simulation had ended, Chen Yi still couldn't help but reminisce about the rich and colorful life his simulated self had experienced.

But now, please bring your thoughts back to reality.

This includes the handsome guy looking at the screen right now. Yes, I am talking about you.

In reality, Chen Yi is still just an unremarkable small-town youth at the Golden Body Realm who recently broke away from a gang and came to the county town to seek refuge with his third sister.

Simulations only represent one possibility, not an established fact.

Any slight disturbance in reality is enough to rewrite the course of history.

In Chen Yi's current reality, the future remains full of boundless possibilities.

The simulations merely reveal a potential destiny, but true destiny is something you must seize with your own two hands!