Before reaching the pinnacle, it was better to not reveal too much prematurely.
Thus, even though Mo Yang had made a breakthrough, he remained as usual, without much change, and continued to lie low.
Lying low was the best choice for him until his strength was sufficient, then would be the truly shocking moment.
Huangtian was steadily developing, Mo Yang lying low, but the Forces of the Four Kings would not do the same.
Their power had already reached a peak, and now, just as Wang Sheng had guessed, they needed to advance further.
Simply being kings no longer satisfied their needs.
In the year 541 of the Great Zhou, the Four Kings met. Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire
The Four Kings were enemies, but thousands of years of history had given them a tacit understanding in some matters.
“It seems everyone has greatly improved in strength, quite a difference from heaven to earth compared to before!” Eastern King Sun Qing, with strong perception and everyone intentionally displaying their power, could easily judge the strength of the other three.
Zheng Xueyue directly said, “Sun Qing, aren’t you the same? There’s nothing much to say about strength; we are all the same.”
“Zheng Xueyue, you must be the happiest, right? Because Zhu Xiao didn’t partake in this competition, your strength is now clearly superior to hers, you must be thrilled inside!” Jiang Dao was still as “blunt” as ever, adept at stirring up trouble.
However, the other three were familiar with Jiang Dao. Zheng Xueyue simply rolled her eyes at him, completely unfazed.
Since Zhu Xiao wasn’t participating in the struggle, she had no need to involve herself, or else, if she really offended someone severely, it would only result in her facing one more powerful enemy than the other three forces.
“Let’s end the small talk and move on to the main topic; I believe everyone is quite busy.”
Wu Qingfeng timely redirected the conversation back.
The other three became serious.
Wu Qingfeng, as the host of this exchange, said, “There is no need to elaborate on the purpose of this time; primarily to confirm the division of territories, distribution of benefits… and most importantly, the matters of establishing a kingdom!”
“Of course!”
“Exactly!”
“Let’s start!”
Soon, the four of them were deep in discussion. Much had already been divided earlier, so there was no wrangling. They quickly divided the territories and benefits and moved to the final topic.
“Our strength has increased significantly recently, but as we all can feel, the rate of improvement has slowed down, and it can even be said to have plateaued!”
“According to the information passed down by our ancestors, we have reached a limit. Next, we either need more territory or to truly establish a dynasty!”
“And today, the most important thing is to discuss matters of the dynasty, such as the dynasty’s name, the king of the dynasty… all these need confirmation…”
Soon, everyone was discussing.
This had been a convention for thousands of years; no major family could overpower the others, so in many disputes, they generally made internal divisions, mainly to reduce unnecessary casualties.
They partitioned the entire land of Great Zhou in just a few words.
Considering others as nothing!
The land of Great Zhou, just like their own private land, and the common people were merely “resources” on their private lands.
They had never considered the common people as human beings.
Soon, they had finished their discussions!
“Since that’s the case, let’s conclude the negotiation here, and I hope it will be strictly implemented, otherwise ‘joint attack’ is not just an empty threat.”
“Naturally, it has been like this for thousands of years; the rules will not be broken by us!”
“Rest assured!”
However, Zheng Xueyue spoke, “We don’t have to mention the once-great Shen Family of Wen Palace and the last generation’s Zhou Family as they are out because of defeat, but Zhu Family’s Zhu Xiao is different. She withdrew voluntarily, and her strength is great. Isn’t there a potential for an unexpected situation? I’m not holding grudges; it’s a real possibility!”
Wu Qingfeng and Sun Qing were somewhat silent; this indeed was a problem.
Zhu Xiao had not withdrawn voluntarily.
But Jiang Dao said, “Don’t worry, the core heritage of the Zhu Family is not on Zhu Xiao’s side but in another branch; Zhu Xiao’s line is negligible!”
The other three were surprised.
Core heritage, naturally the means to become a Great Grandmaster, surprisingly wasn’t controlled by the Controller of the Zhu Family.
Zheng Xueyue seemed to take pleasure in the disaster, saying, “There seems to be a problem with the Zhu Family. But without the core inheritance, Zhu Xiao’s lineage is destined to be a fleeting wonder. There’s indeed no need to worry!”
The other three nodded.
In their understanding, only those with core inheritance were considered true members of the seven great families.
Since Zhu Xiao didn’t have it, he was just a common Grandmaster, not a concern at all.
“Speaking of which, Wu Qingfeng and I encountered a very powerful person last time. He must have emerged in this era…”
Everyone mentioned some potentially variable people or things.
However, with a single statement from Wu Qingfeng, all worries were dispelled.
“We will soon establish a dynasty. By then, our strength will be greatly enhanced. These matters are trivial; there’s no need to worry.”
It was precisely this statement that officially ended the meeting of the Four Kings.
In the year 541 of the Great Zhou calendar, in May, the Four Kings announced that they would soon establish a state.
It was another earth-shattering event.
Although the Great Zhou had already perished, many things were still conducted according to the rules of the Great Zhou. But now, with the establishment of a dynasty, naturally, the rules of the new state must be implemented.
Beginning in mid-May, the Four Kings established their states one after another.
King Ming, Jiang Dao, established the Ming Dynasty, claiming the four western states. The people of the Western Four States were officially known as citizens of the Ming Dynasty.
King Wu, Wu Qingfeng, established the Wu Dynasty, controlling the Southern Five States from Spirit Sword Valley.
King Cang, Zhang Yueying, established the Cang Dynasty, claiming the Four Northern States.
Eastern King, Sun Qing, established the Eastern Dynasty, claiming the Eastern Six States.
In simple terms, after establishing their dynasties, the four great dynasties officially laid their territories clear, turning the imperial citizens of the old Great Zhou into citizens of the four great dynasties.
After the establishment of the dynasties, all the powers within them declared allegiance and supported the newly established dynasties.
Then came a series of actions—issuing new rules, determining new eras, and bestowing titles upon ministers.
After all these tasks, it was almost July.
The citizens across all provinces were somewhat perplexed. However, their high trust in the dynasties from the recent cataclysm meant that there were no significant issues.
The citizens trusted them and got through peacefully.
Of course, there was one place where the citizens were most confused.
This time, the establishment of the dynasties had left the Central Five States undivided, which was expected. This was certainly to be a focal point of contention among the dynasties later.
Besides the Central Five States, another area was left undivided by any dynasty—Shuzhou, where Wang Sheng resided.
No dynasty recognized Shuzhou as their territory, not even the Ming Dynasty or the Wu Dynasty, who had previously occupied Shuzhou.
Shuzhou seemed to have been forgotten!
Of course, that was the common people’s understanding, but Wang Sheng thought differently.
Wang Sheng had contacts with Zhu Xiao, who told him that since Shuzhou was the “capital location” this time, no matter which power won, their capital would only be in Shuzhou in the end.
The reason remained unknown; it was also a rule passed down by the ancestors of the seven powers, only aware that if a province experienced a change like Shuzhou, it should be seized as much as possible.
This was also a major reason why King Yong Nian, Spirit Sword Valley, and Heavenly Saber City got involved.
However, King Yong Nian was already dead, having revealed a huge vulnerability.
The seven powers had an understanding, but they wouldn’t hesitate to stab each other if the opportunity arose.
“Just wait; soon there will be a result with Shuzhou!” This was what Zhu Xiao said.
Indeed, that was the case. After the various dynasties wrapped up, each dynasty released a message.
The core content was that Shuzhou was “divided into four!”
And the area around Jiangyuan City, where Wang Sheng was, now had an owner—it belonged to the Eastern Dynasty!
And just as the order was proclaimed, Wang Sheng was cultivating Inner Core Skill, feeling an immense crisis looming!