172: Fourth Generation: Overlord (Sixty-Eight)

Outside the quiet room, a cold glint flashed in Xu Yuan's eyes like lightning; his killing intent was set.

Scarcity of resources? Enemies watching from the shadows? Time was of the essence?

Then he would sustain war with war and stop killing with killing!

With maximum speed, he would crush all obstacles and use the bones of his enemies and the National Fortune to pave his supreme path toward the Golden Core!

"Pass down Our decree!" Xu Yuan's voice, cold and majestic, instantly spread throughout the inner palace. "Assemble the troops! We march!"

There was no extra rest, no tedious ceremonies.

The day after Xu Yuan emerged from seclusion, he personally led a hundred thousand elites, bringing dozens of new War Puppets urgently dispatched from Wang Xuanmo's Workshop. Like prehistoric beasts released from their cages, they charged straight at the Heichi Dynasty—the first to provoke him and the relatively weakest!

The flames of war were suddenly ignited!

This time, Xu Yuan no longer held anything back.

With the absolute strength of Foundation Establishment Perfection, he led the campaign personally!

Wherever the army passed, the purple-gold imperial banner led the way, advancing with irresistible force!

Under the crushing weight of the brilliant heavenly might and National Fortune summoned by Xu Yuan himself, the Heichi Dynasty's border defenses were as fragile as paper, collapsing in an instant!

Their monarch tried to hold out at a strategic pass, but Xu Yuan shattered the city-protecting array with a single strike before the gathered armies. Within three exchanges, he cleaved both the ruler and his mount in half!

With their monarch fallen, the army's morale instantly crumbled!

Xu Yuan gave them no room to breathe. The army drove deep into the territory with thunderous momentum, sweeping across the entire Heichi domain!

Everywhere they went, those who resisted were slaughtered. Mineral veins and resource points were quickly taken over and mined by Great Shang's Workshops.

In just one month, the Heichi Dynasty... was destroyed!

Its remaining National Fortune, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, was frantically devoured and refined by Xu Yuan using the Purple Zenith Imperial Fate Art!

The majestic power of Luck surged into his body, not only instantly replenishing the energy consumed in battle but also completely stabilizing his newly reached Foundation Establishment Perfection Realm, even faintly pushing it toward deeper levels!

Without a moment's pause, the army carried the momentum of their great victory and marched non-stop, their blades pointing directly at another provocateur, the Yelang Dynasty!

Upon hearing the news, the Yelang monarch was scared out of his wits. He frantically begged for help from the Imperial Dynasty suspected of supporting him while uniting several neighboring small dynasties to form a coalition for resistance.

However, in the face of absolute strength, all resistance was futile!

Xu Yuan personally led the iron cavalry and crushed the three-nation coalition at "Falling Eagle Ravine" on the Yelang border, slaying the Yelang monarch and two coalition commanders on the spot!

Subsequently, the army broke through the passes, advancing as if through uninhabited territory!

Two months later, the Yelang Dynasty... followed in the footsteps of Heichi and was annihilated!

Its National Fortune was once again devoured entirely by Xu Yuan!

In three months, two dynasties had been wiped out!

When the news spread, the Eastern Region was shaken!

All surrounding dynasties were pale with fright, sending envoys to sue for peace, not daring to make another move!

For some reason, the Imperial Dynasty power hidden behind the scenes fell into a strange silence, showing no reaction at all.

Within the Great Shang army, the victorious troops returned in a grand procession.

Beneath the dragon flag, Xu Yuan sat atop a Snow-Scaled Dragon Horse. His black armor was stained with blood, and his gaze was calm yet as deep as an abyss.

The aura around him became increasingly vast and majestic. Having devoured the massive National Fortune of two dynasties, his cultivation had taken another huge step forward within the Foundation Establishment Perfection Realm, reaching the Peak of this stage!

However, he felt no joy; instead, he frowned slightly.

Because after completely refining and absorbing the National Fortune of Heichi and Yelang, he clearly felt that his cultivation... had reached a limit.

An absolute limit of the Foundation Establishment Stage!

There was no further room for progress!

It was as if an invisible yet indestructible barrier stood ahead, blocking all paths. Beyond that barrier lay a brand new, even more vast and powerful Realm!

That was... the Golden Core Path!

The Golden Core was also known as the "Fortune Condensing Golden Core"!

It was a supreme Dao Fruit condensed within the Dantian by seizing the creation of heaven and earth, invading the mysteries of the sun and moon, and gathering infinite Luck and Origin!

It was the ultimate leap in the level of life!

Depending on one's own Dao Foundation, Cultivation Technique, experiences, and even Karma, the Golden Core one could condense was divided into different types, representing different future paths and potentials.

In Xu Yuan's perception, based on his current accumulation and conditions, three paths lay clearly before him:

First, the Saber Dao Golden Core!

This was the old path of his previous life as the Dao Child of the Overlord Blade Sect.

It required using the blade in his hand to slay thousands of enemies, tempering the saber heart with endless slaughter and Battle Intent, reaching ultimate sublimation during life-and-death struggles, and invoking the mysterious Laws of the Saber Dao to condense a "Slaughter Golden Core" that was sharp and could cut through everything!

Second, the Karma Golden Core!

This path was similar to the method of his previous life's nemesis, Ye Feng.

It required finding a peerless Prodigy blessed with great Luck and establishing a significant Karma with them—be it as master and disciple, close friends, or mortal enemies. One would silently guide their growth until their Luck reached its Peak, like the sun at noon, and then strike with a thunderous blow to kill or devour them. By borrowing the power of their massive Luck and one's own Karmic entanglement, one would condense the core in one go!

This core was strange and unpredictable, containing the power of fate, but the risk was immense. It was easy to suffer a backlash, and there was the danger of doing all the work only for someone else to reap the benefits.

Third, the Imperial Dao Golden Core!

It required a supreme Dynasty as the Foundation, hundreds of millions of subjects as fuel, and the vast National Fortune as the fire! By opening up unprecedentedly vast territories, gathering the beliefs of countless citizens, and performing the Fengshan Ceremony at the Peak of the nation to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, one would invoke the magnificent torrent of humanity and the Luck of heaven and earth. Within the Dantian, one would condense a "Purple Extreme Imperial Core" that governed all directions and was supreme!

Once this core was formed, one's life would be tied to the nation, and their magic power would be infinite. Within the Imperial Dynasty, their word would be Law, governing all methods. However, the required territory, population, and Luck were astronomical, and there was no room for error. Once the Dynasty collapsed, the Golden Core would also be in danger of shattering!

Three paths, three choices, clearly presented themselves in Xu Yuan's heart.

With almost no hesitation, Xu Yuan ruled out the first two.

Although the Saber Dao Golden Core was good for slaughter, it was not what he sought in this life, and it was even more incompatible with the Dynasty he now ruled.

The Karma Golden Core was too wicked and strange, its risks unpredictable, and it was not the Righteous Path of an emperor.

Only this Imperial Dao Golden Core perfectly matched his Foundation in this life!

It was in the same vein as his grand ambition of founding Great Shang, implementing new policies, and swallowing up various nations!

Only by achieving the Golden Core with this core could he exert the power of the Purple Zenith Imperial Fate Art to its limit and truly realize that supreme Emperor Realm where "all land under heaven belongs to the King, and all people on the land are the King's subjects"!

"Imperial Dao Golden Core..."

"It requires a sufficiently vast territory, a massive population of subjects, and then... condensing the core through the Fengshan Ceremony!"

Xu Yuan murmured to himself.

Previous battles were for resources and self-preservation.

But now, the goal was clearer, and the path more distinct!

His Golden Core Path did not lie in bitter cultivation in a quiet room or enlightenment in deep mountains, but on the battlefields of iron horses and clashing weapons, in the continuously expanding map, and in the gathering beliefs of hundreds of millions of subjects!

"Pass down the order!" Xu Yuan's voice rang out again, carrying unquestionable decisiveness and even grander ambition. "Speed up the integration of the newly acquired territories, implement new policies, appease the displaced, and increase the population!"

"The Workshops must operate at full capacity to forge armaments and train new armies!"

"Once the Foundation is stable and provisions are ready..."

"We shall sweep across the nations!"