Worldwide Awakening: My Soul Kinds Are Lost-Chapter 554: Another Morning, No One to Recognize_1

The demolition and reconstruction of the Dai Temple proceeded in a very orderly manner. Due to its wide scope and the involvement of capable, efficient personnel, progress was exceptionally smooth. The newly built Dai Temple did not compromise on aesthetics; in fact, its main structure was even more robust, designed to withstand hundreds of years of wind and rain. Overall, Wang Linchi was quite satisfied. The entire project took five years to complete. Indeed, slow work yields fine results.

A large number of people were involved in this construction project; a thousand individuals were assigned, the majority being laborers and craftsmen. After finishing their work, they tidied up and departed, even going so far as to replant saplings in areas where trees had been felled. Wang Linchi was stunned by this action; he had never anticipated such a thorough approach. Theoretically, a settlement of a thousand people living there for five years could have developed into a small village. However, the Court seemed to have no such intentions. This was understandable, as the location truly lacked development potential unless there was a significant leap in productivity.

Fortunately, Wang Linchi did not insist on this. Three years after the personnel withdrew, he moved into the Dai Temple. For the first two years, the Court sent officials to inspect the site, but eventually, no one came anymore. This was not due to any particular reason other than the death of King Yong, who had ascended the throne as the Xuan Emperor. After the new emperor's accession, the Dai Temple and its affairs gradually faded from memory, and it was seldom mentioned. The merits for its reconstruction had already been claimed, so there was no perceived need for further maintenance or attention.

King Yong's death was not the result of foul play but rather his own doing. His daily indulgence in wine and revelry had depleted his body to such an extent that even medicine proved ineffective. Consequently, one morning, he simply died on a concubine's belly in the harem. It was as straightforward as that. His demise was primarily his own fault; otherwise, it's unlikely he would have died in his forties. Although he neglected Court affairs during his reign, the political legacy left by Pei Jiang ensured he faced no significant managerial or political issues. He was free to eat, drink, and be merry every day.

The new emperor was King Yong's eldest son, the Crown Prince. Unlike the contentious relationship between Pei Jiang and Pei Kui, their rapport was quite harmonious. With King Yong neglecting state affairs, power naturally fell to the Crown Prince, who also served as regent. Compounded by Pei Kang's early death, no sharp contradictions arose, allowing for a smooth ascension to the throne. Furthermore, due to his experience during the regency, all the administrative staff were his own appointees, eliminating the need for an adjustment period. His diligence and competence fostered a sense that the Great Xuan was returning to the glorious era of Taizu.

Wang Linchi was quite satisfied with this development. The Great Xuan had suffered greatly, and it truly needed a ruler who did not yearn for immortality to oversee a period of recuperation and development.

The Nine Extremes Divine Palace has been dealt with, but it's still of no use… Over the years, Wang Linchi had been meticulously dismantling the Nine Extremes Divine Palace. The decomposition process was quite smooth and had greatly enriched his knowledge in metallurgy, materials science, and energy studies. Just because the Nine Extremes Divine Palace itself was useless didn't mean the technology used to build it shared the same fate. On the contrary, that technology was extremely valuable. However, after mastering this knowledge, Wang Linchi found himself somewhat troubled about what to do with the dismantled components of the Nine Extremes Divine Palace. Should he store them in a warehouse to collect dust, or should he attempt to recycle them? The former option meant they would likely gather dust indefinitely, while the latter would incur additional costs.

Forget it, I'll recycle it, Wang Linchi decided. He felt the materials should be utilized. Thus, he searched within the Thought Mirror for suitable projects. He found some potential candidates, but the return on investment was disappointingly low, making him reluctant to commit further resources. However, there is one project with pretty good returns.

Wang Linchi's gaze fell upon the Tai Mountain Seal, which was still in its embryonic gestation stage. If he integrated the components of the Nine Extremes Divine Palace into it, he was certain it would gain at least a spatial attribute. Wang Linchi hadn't seriously considered pursuing spatial abilities himself, as he could already master space. His original Power Big Flying Brick school of thought remained the most suitable approach for him: he could simply smash anything, be it space or time, that dared to stand in his way. Therefore, he didn't dwell on alternative possibilities for long.

However, unlike the Fanciful and Fickle, the Tai Mountain Seal was a piece of equipment. Adding a spatial attribute would allow him to strike opponents with even greater stealth.

Alright, since I don't have any other projects at hand, I'll choose you, Tai Mountain Seal, Wang Linchi concluded without much further deliberation. As for whether there might be better options in the future? Well, that's a concern for the future. If it turns out to be a regret, then so be it. It wasn't something irreplaceable anyway. Having mastered the complete set of technologies, he was confident he could reproduce the corresponding materials if needed. Armed with knowledge and given the right conditions, replication wasn't a difficult task at all. Fortunately, he possessed those conditions.

He began to integrate the materials in his hand into the Tai Mountain Seal embryo, simultaneously strengthening its connection with Mount Tai and imbuing it with specific special abilities. The entire process took less than three minutes. It wasn't a complex procedure to begin with; if it had been, Wang Linchi's efforts over the preceding years would have been in vain.

One minute on stage requires ten years of practice offstage. While I haven't put in quite ten years for this, I'm not far off, Wang Linchi mused.

He then performed his routine daily check of the Spiritual Energy level. It remained stable at level 11, showing no signs of decreasing.

Not bad. Another peaceful day.

Seeing that the Calamity of the Last Law indeed seemed to be stalled, Wang Linchi felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Based on the data meticulously collected over the years, as long as the Great Xuan didn't unexpectedly face some catastrophic End of the Dynasty scenario, its people could look forward to at least another five hundred years of prosperous days. Even if unforeseen events were to occur, Wang Linchi was confident he could intervene and resolve them. The only scenario that might prove insurmountable would be one where land monopolization became so severe that the common people were left unable to afford food and with no recourse. In that specific case, he truly couldn't do much unless he personally intervened; otherwise, a complete societal reshuffle would be the only solution.

Fortunately, he had a contingency for such situations. Currently, the solution could be South Xuan; in the future, it might be North Xuan, or even East Xuan or West Xuan. As long as a period of chaos was followed by a capable member of the Pei family emerging to continue the imperial line, it would suffice. He wasn't particularly concerned about the specifics of the process. For Wang Linchi, the paramount concern was that the Xuan Dynasty did not fall and continued to exist to a degree that met his satisfaction.

Actually, there was another crucial precondition for this stability: the Nine Extremes must not appear. Each appearance of the Nine Extremes historically signaled the End of the Dynasty, heralding a time for dynastic change. He even harbored suspicions about a potential connection between the Nine Extremes and the Calamity of the Last Law. Otherwise, why would the Calamity of the Last Law invariably strike whenever the Nine Extremes manifested, consistently spurring the emergence of a Hidden Dragon? Wang Linchi could only acknowledge that their coordination, if it existed, was truly seamless.

Condemnation was out of the question, as he himself was a beneficiary of these cycles. His dissatisfaction with the Nine Extremes and the Calamity of the Last Law wasn't rooted in their devastation of worlds and civilizations, but rather in the fact that he hadn't managed to secure a share of their spoils. If Wang Linchi were in their position, he mused, he would be far more ruthless.

The new emperor was reading the secret missive left to him by his late father. "The death of Taizu?" he chuckled incredulously after finishing it. "Such absurdities. Truly the stuff of wild tales and superstitions."

With that, he casually tossed the missive into the nearby brazier, watching it catch fire. In his eyes, his father must have been thoroughly inebriated when he penned this. The Dai Temple? If it truly possessed such a potent cursing power, wouldn't the thousand men who participated in its demolition all be dead by now? As for the advice to proceed with caution, that's even more ridiculous. It has been three years since its reconstruction, and absolutely nothing untoward has happened. Besides, such trivial matters are hardly his concern. Keeping this document around might only invite trouble in the future. It was far better to burn it. The missive detailed Taizu's moral failings, which were, in his opinion, far more serious matters than anything related to the Dai Temple.

"Your Majesty," an Eunuch began quietly, "the Holy Emperor's birthday on March 28th is approaching. What are your instructions regarding the observances...?"

"What were the arrangements in previous years?" the new emperor asked, slightly taken aback. How did this topic resurface?

"Since the late emperor's reign, Your Majesty, it has been customary to offer three sacrificial animals to the heavens," the Eunuch replied respectfully.

"In that case, proceed with the sacrifices," the new emperor declared, unconcerned by the mention of a mere three sacrificial animals. This clearly isn't a major state ritual; otherwise, I would have been formally apprised. Currently, it's likely only being handled within the confines of the palace, with other members of the Royal Family assisting in the preparations.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the Eunuch assented and then hurriedly departed.

Once things stabilize in a couple of years, we should abolish this practice entirely, the new emperor mused, glancing at the expense report for the Holy Emperor's birthday celebration. The total cost was close to one thousand liang. It's a pointless waste of silver. While the core sacrifice itself only required three animals, various other aspects of the ceremony incurred significant costs. It certainly wouldn't be over with just placing the three animals on an altar.