Worldwide Awakening: My Soul Kinds Are Lost-Chapter 552: Five Thunders Bombarding the Top, Filling with Spiritual Energy_1
Pei Jiang perished, burned to a crisp after the first thunderbolt struck. The subsequent four thunderbolts never even had a chance to appear, their role abruptly concluded.
Wang Linchi felt some regret about this. It was supposed to be the "Five Thunderbolts Strike the Summit," yet Pei Jiang couldn’t even withstand the full sequence of attacks.
At the moment of Pei Jiang’s death, his Nine Revolutions Inner Pellet Technique began to nourish the world.
However, Wang Linchi immediately began to regulate and control it, guiding its effects according to his will.
Under normal circumstances, after nourishing the world, the concentration of Spiritual Energy would rise, increasing from the current level 11 to about level 19, before gradually declining again.
But Wang Linchi chose not to do this, deeming it too wasteful.
Instead, he invested a vast amount of Spiritual Energy to prolong and stabilize the current World Energy Level, retaining it at level 11 for a much longer period.
According to his estimates, if the energy level were to rise first and then decline, it would at most last for about fifty to a hundred years, after which it would return to the current state.
However, if it remained steady at level 11, preventing it from dropping to level 10, it could last for about five hundred years.
To summarize the two, the former method is like adding a Shield to help withstand some damage, while the latter is like increasing Defense to directly reduce damage.
If the Shield could share defensive attributes, then the Shield would undoubtedly be a better choice. But in reality, the Shield doesn’t share these attributes, so it must bear the full brunt of the damage. This means that before it can recover from one onslaught, it’s already been battered back to its original state.
But with increased Defense, the damage is greatly reduced. Coupled with the inherent recovery ability, one can last longer.
Originally, one would endure 100 points of damage and recover only 10 points, with a Shield Value of just 500 points. Once the shield was depleted, one would take normal damage. However, increased Defense could reduce the damage from 100 points to 20. From any perspective, the latter approach offered greater longevity.
As for whether it causes greater damage to the world itself? That’s not Wang Linchi’s concern. His cost-benefit analysis and the world’s are definitely not the same. The world itself might prefer the Shield, as avoiding injury altogether is always better. Even if the damage is small, it still exists.
After settling this, Wang Linchi turned his gaze to the surrounding guards.
The supernatural phenomenon had vanished by this point, yet no one dared to make a move.
Regardless of whether Wang Linchi had summoned the thunderbolts or not, it was enough to prove his extraordinary nature.
"Collect the body and send it back to the Capital for burial. This is the least I can do for our old friendship," Wang Linchi said.
Only then did someone dare to approach and collect Pei Jiang’s remains.
In the eyes of these people, Pei Jiang was primarily known for his brutality.
After he killed the Crown Prince, he proceeded to eliminate all officials connected to the former heir. He purged everyone from top to bottom, including the meritorious retainers who had helped him seize the country. He didn’t just kill individuals; the purges extended to entire clans, implicating nearly a hundred thousand people.
It was unequivocally a reign of terror that nearly wiped out the entire Court.
Consequently, during that period, everyone in the Capital lived in terror, as people were taken to the execution ground at the marketplace daily to be beheaded.
The death toll was staggering, enough to feed the wild dogs at the Random Burial Mound outside the city until they grew fat.
However, despite the extensive killing, Pei Jiang ensured the Court continued to function. He did this by simultaneously appointing new people to fill the vacant positions, thereby maintaining the operations of the Great Xuan dynasty.
As for King Yong, he was nothing but a puppet; the true power lay with Pei Jiang.
After all, the previous Crown Prince had just attempted a forced abdication. If another capable individual were appointed as Regent, Pei Jiang might return to find another chaotic mess.
Therefore, it was better to install a useless person as Regent, someone who would simply eat, drink, and be merry, doing nothing of consequence.
All they needed was a figurehead.
No one had expected Pei Jiang to die so suddenly in the Dai Temple after his departure.
And the manner of his death was so peculiar.
A eunuch stepped forward, speaking with some trepidation, "Please, Mr. Wang, do not reveal the truth about His Majesty’s demise. This matter involves the secret affairs of the Royal Family. If word gets out, I’m afraid you will not have peace for some time. Although your Divine Skills are profound, Mr. Wang, you would still be bothered if constantly harassed by flies. Please consider it for your own peace and quiet."
An emperor’s loss of virtue—such a matter absolutely cannot be spread externally. Even the manner of his death must not be disclosed.
"I usually live in seclusion in the mountains and never interact with outsiders. As long as you don’t leak it yourselves and then try to blame me, that will be sufficient," Wang Linchi replied; he had no intention of leaking it anyway.
The eunuch, however, nodded tremblingly. "Thank you, Mr. Wang, for your understanding. We will keep our lips sealed regarding this matter."
They naturally didn’t dare to speak, let alone spread the word; otherwise, they too would suffer a grim fate and be silenced.
"If that’s the case, you may all return. Ensure the body is preserved with ice during the journey, lest it rots into a heap of bones by the time you reach the Capital," Wang Linchi reminded them.
The eunuch assented, then swiftly led the hundred guards out of the main hall, and soon they withdrew entirely from the Dai Temple.
Next, naturally, was the departure of the entire contingent. Wang Linchi wasn’t particularly concerned with how they would return; instead, he turned his attention to further surveying the overall environment.
"The World Energy Level remains at level 11, but the Transcendent seems to be weakening?"
Wang Linchi noticed that the effectiveness of Charms had diminished again, and a large number of mid-level Charms had also become ineffective.
High-level Charms had already become completely ineffective some ten years prior. It was impossible to create them; even if one followed the proper procedures, any high-level Charm produced would merely be a piece of paper inscribed with patterns.
Robbing Peter to pay Paul? Wang Linchi soon guessed that this must be the world’s way of self-preservation.
After Wang Linchi increased the world’s Defense against the Calamity of the Last Law, the world naturally sought to prolong its own existence. Therefore, it dismantled the Transcendental System, using its components to increase its own ’health bar,’ aiming to achieve a state of high health and thick defenses.
There was no other choice. Wang Linchi had wanted to stop it, as Charms were part of what he harvested. However, he couldn’t.
The world had acted too quickly, completing its plan to rob Peter to pay Paul almost instantaneously, leaving even Wang Linchi unable to react.
In that case, hasn’t the Transcendent itself become an empty shell? A framework remains, but successful practitioners will be few and far between.
The number of those who could successfully begin was never large, and now the internal difficulty has increased. The decline of Charms should occur within these next few decades.
Although the Transcendent aspect of Charms was dismantled, this change wouldn’t take effect immediately. Such a shift was a matter for an entire era; it couldn’t be accomplished so quickly.
After the energy level dropped, the success rate of creating mid-level Charms was even lower than the original success rate for high-level Charms. The Charms currently in circulation were mostly elementary Charms, so there was no need to worry excessively about a severe impact.
The biggest consumer of mid-level Charms was Pei Jiang; few others would be extravagant enough to use them casually, not even high-ranking Court officials.
I wonder if Great Xuan will continue to search for other paths or stubbornly stick with the ruined Charm System.
Harvesting could still continue; the entire Transcendent power of Charms was just a minor snack in Wang Linchi’s eyes. Even if it diminished further, it didn’t really matter.
He valued Great Xuan’s civilization and national fortune more. These two were the main courses in his grand plan.
No matter how good a snack is, it can’t compare to a proper meal.
Wait, I still have to ensure a smooth transition of power for Great Xuan. Wang Linchi suddenly remembered this. If this wasn’t handled well this time, Great Xuan could very well collapse.
Firstly, Pei Jiang didn’t designate an heir apparent, so Princes like King Yong have the right of succession. Yet, the former Crown Prince wasn’t formally stripped of his position, meaning the Imperial Grandson (his son) can also inherit.
However, the Princes hold no actual power. The Imperial Grandson, though residing in the Eastern Palace and inheriting the former Crown Prince’s influence, possesses what’s essentially a ruined network; those remaining are merely the ones Pei Jiang hadn’t yet managed to kill.
So, everyone is on roughly equal footing. Crucially, no power vacuum has emerged, as all positions have been filled by individuals Pei Jiang promoted.
This means everyone is now at the same starting line. Whoever can triumph will become the new emperor.
Wouldn’t everyone have to fight tooth and nail then?
While Wang Linchi wasn’t overly concerned about the struggle among the Princes and imperial grandsons, he worried about the stability of the Great Xuan dynasty. A slight misstep could lead to its fragmentation into several kingdoms. The worst-case scenario was that conditions could deteriorate to the point where the people were destitute, leading to uprisings or foreign occupation, which would immediately ruin Wang Linchi’s ’cash cow.’
Food should be chosen for its color, aroma, and taste, not be a pot of burnt, unsightly, and terribly unpalatable mush.
Therefore, he needed to manage his ’cash cow’ well.
King Yong, then. This fellow, at any rate, has a legitimate claim. If the Imperial Grandson ascends the throne, it might trigger a war of civil strife. Wang Linchi quickly selected a candidate. He didn’t care who it was; stabilizing Great Xuan was his priority.
