Chapter 1012: Strong Faith

Disasters seemed to spread across the world in an instant. Not only were more and more demons and monsters appearing frequently, but in some remote places, or human ruins already desolate due to war, plague, or natural calamities, evil spirits and vengeful ghosts were not only surging into the underworld but even emerging from the boundary between Yin and Yang.

Although the power of the daytime sun had been greatly weakened by the interference of another sun, this supreme yang sunlight still existed, preventing lesser ghosts and monsters from acting wantonly. However, once night fell, people in many places truly became aware of the terror of darkness.

As winter approached that year, in the Imperial Court of Da Zhen, Emperor Jianchang was greatly enraged after reading some memorials, to the point that he couldn't sleep all night. Before his usual wake-up time, he dressed early and arrived at the Golden Hall to await the morning court. It was also a Grand Imperial Assembly today, so all eligible capital officials would be present.

When Emperor Jianchang stepped out of his bedchamber, two rows of eunuchs were already lined up on either side, all holding lanterns and waiting. The sky was still completely dark.

"Please, Your Majesty, have your meal first!"

The eunuch had asked him earlier by his bed, but the Emperor's expression was grim, and he still didn't want to eat anything.

"I have no appetite. Go directly to the Golden Hall. Are these unruly wretches nothing but gluttons and drunkards without their teacher?"

The Son of Heaven was furious. The eunuchs and palace maids beside him dared not breathe. After uttering a chorus of "Yes," they followed the Emperor forward.

Unlike previous morning courts, when the time for the assembly arrived and the civil and military officials filed into the Golden Hall, they were surprised to find the Emperor already seated on the dragon throne, his face calm as he looked down. This slightly startled Yin Qing.

"Your humble servants greet Your Majesty! Long live our Emperor!"

The courtiers' reactions had become almost a conditioned reflex. When one person initiated the bow, almost all civil and military officials followed suit simultaneously, making their bows appear perfectly synchronized.

"You may rise. Do you know why I have come to court so early?"

The Emperor asked this question, and no one among the officials dared to answer except to say, "Thank you, Your Majesty." Yin Qing looked around, then stepped forward, holding his ceremonial tablet, and replied.

"Replying to Your Majesty, your humble servant believes Your Majesty is concerned about the demons and monsters appearing around Da Zhen and even within our dynasty's borders."

"Hmph, it's good that you know. Several months have passed, and not only have you failed to properly handle the so-called 'minor disturbances' from before, but now demons and monsters have even appeared within our dynasty's territory. What crime do you deserve?"

Many courtiers below dared not speak. Yin Qing glanced at the Emperor, knowing that the Emperor's words were merely an outlet for his volatile anger.

"Replying to Your Majesty, your humble servant believes that the chaos in the human world will intensify. Although our Da Zhen is strong, it is still not enough to fully cope. Your humble servant hopes to draft documents as soon as possible to widely conscript new soldiers throughout Da Zhen."

Conscripting soldiers?

Not just the other ministers, but even the Emperor on his dragon throne was stunned for a moment. He was indeed angry, but he also knew that some matters required time to react to. If there were inefficient officials, they could be punished, and then more personnel could be assigned to resolve the remaining issues. He hadn't expected an able minister like Yin Qing to suddenly propose conscription.

"My dear Yin, our Da Zhen has a strong military and powerful horses. Excluding civilian laborers and miscellaneous servants, we have hundreds of thousands of soldiers throughout the land. Furthermore, we have immortal masters in court, and various regions are protected by gods and spirits. Surely, we don't need conscription to deal with these demons and monsters?"

Emperor Jianchang knew well that the more soldiers were conscripted, the greater the financial burden of maintaining them, and the greater the tax pressure on the populace would ultimately be. This was a rather costly and exhausting measure for the people, not to mention whether it would be mandatory conscription.

Some courtiers beside him thought Yin Qing was trying to deflect the Emperor's anger, but to their surprise, Yin Qing took out a memorial from his sleeve.

"Your Majesty, your humble servant is not joking. I presume the Bureau of Astronomy and the Celestial Masters Bureau will soon come to request an audience."

No sooner had Yin Qing finished speaking, than a eunuch outside the Golden Hall announced loudly.

"The Grand Sage has arrived—"

All the courtiers instinctively turned to look towards the Golden Hall's entrance. Many whispered, a mix of surprise and excitement in their voices.

"The Grand Sage?" "Duke Yin!"

"Duke Yin is here!" "Grand Sage!"

Yin Zhaoxian's hair and beard were white, yet his face was still full of vigor. He walked step by step towards the Golden Hall. As he stepped inside, it was as if the nascent daylight from outside was brought into the hall with him, illuminating it slightly.

"Yin Zhaoxian respectfully greets Your Majesty!"

The Emperor quickly stood up and extended his hands in a gesture of support.

"Teacher, you may dispense with the formalities. Please rise quickly!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Teacher, what has brought you here?"

Yin Zhaoxian straightened up, looked at the assembled officials, and then at Emperor Jianchang.

"Replying to Your Majesty, no one has disturbed me. I merely felt it was time for me to come. I have heard everything Qing'er said, and perhaps there truly is a need..."

"Teacher..."

The Emperor's words were cut short by Yin Zhaoxian's raised hand. In the entire Da Zhen Dynasty, Yin Zhaoxian was the only person who could interrupt Emperor Jianchang in such a manner and have him willingly accept it.

"Your Majesty, the night before last, the City God of the Capital Prefecture and I enjoyed tea and played chess. During our time, I learned that the entire underworld, across all ten directions, is in great chaos. Even the Capital Prefecture is not at peace. Underworld officials and ghost soldiers are being dispatched everywhere, and in other places, demons and ghosts are becoming increasingly rampant. A friend of mine once said many years ago that this is a change in the heavenly design, not merely human chaos, but a great tribulation for all living beings."

The relationship between gods and spirits and some great dynasties was now very delicate. Although it was closer than before, most gods and spirits generally avoided meeting human kings, nobles, and officials. Yin Zhaoxian, however, was an exception.

The Emperor's heart skipped a beat. He looked among the courtiers but didn't see the Director of the Bureau of Astronomy. Then he remembered that he had instructed the director to monitor the celestial phenomena unless there was an urgent matter, without needing to attend every morning court. He immediately said to a eunuch nearby,

"Summon the Director of the Bureau of Astronomy and the Imperial Preceptor."

"Yes!"

However, shortly after the messenger left the Golden Hall, the two officials to be summoned were seen walking together. After a eunuch outside announced their arrival loudly, they entered the hall together.

"Your humble servants greet Your Majesty and pay respects to the Grand Sage!"

"You may dispense with the formalities. Do either of you have anything to say?"

Du Changsheng glanced at Yan Chang, then stepped forward to explain.

"Your Majesty, your humble servants have ascertained the reason for this year's abnormal weather. It is because a second sun hangs in the sky over the Black Dream Spirit Continent in the south. This is an evil star, scattering endless defilement upon the world. Heaven and Earth are about to face a great catastrophe!"

"Your Majesty, please examine this memorial!"

Yin Qing stepped forward again and presented the memorial. After a eunuch delivered it, the Emperor finally opened and read the memorial. It was densely filled with text, not a simple proposal, but more like a complete strategy.

After a long while, the Emperor had a eunuch pass the memorial to Yin Zhaoxian. After the latter finished reading and nodded to the Emperor, Emperor Jianchang finally made up his mind.

"Issue an imperial decree: effective immediately, throughout the land, conscript all able-bodied men for military service. Disclose information to the populace as deemed appropriate. My dear Yin and the Ministry of War shall be jointly responsible."

"Your humble servants obey your decree!"

The Da Zhen Imperial Court's reaction was merely the tip of the iceberg of how various courts across the world were responding. In reality, some regions were already facing extremely dangerous situations, allowing no time for slow deliberations; some even had their entire nations in complete chaos.

Under these circumstances, Da Zhen's policies quickly felt the pressure of reality. Even before the conscription order from the capital reached the local areas, various demonic disturbances had already begun to appear across the country. Although not comparable to other parts of the world, this genuinely frightened many citizens, and various unsettling rumors spread throughout the nation.

Da Zhen was a land where divine ways flourished, and a prosperous origin of civil and martial qi. If Da Zhen was like this, one could imagine the situation in other parts of the world.

Da Zhen's conscription order eventually reached all parts of the country. By then, rumors were rampant throughout the nation, with news flying in from all directions. Coupled with the earlier deployment of Da Zhen's navy and elite soldiers to fight demons in other countries, even though the conscription order didn't explicitly state it, the populace largely speculated that Da Zhen was going to war with demons.

The influence of the human realm's civil and martial qi had been present for many years now. A strong appreciation for both culture and martial arts was prevalent among the people. However, this time they were facing demons and monsters, not rival dynasties, so the majority of common people were still fearful.

After some ambitious individuals and martial artists in Da Zhen enlisted, the response from ordinary citizens in some areas was not very enthusiastic.

Yet, in other places, a sudden surge of enlistment swept through, astonishing local officials.

At the conscription point outside Huarong Prefecture City, men who came to enlist had formed a long queue. Some had even been waiting there since early morning, which slightly surprised the Military Commandant who had just arrived with some documents.

"So many people?"

A soldier nearby lowered his head and spoke to the Military Commandant.

"Commander, I heard most of them traveled from Liebang City..."

"Liebang City? Isn't that dozens of *li* away?"

The Military Commandant was even more surprised. Liebang City was a city almost entirely populated by Da Zhen's new citizens. Although Da Zhen had fully accepted tens of millions of new citizens, who had settled down, thrived, and raised families over the years, there was still a slight difference in perception.

For example, with this conscription, the Da Zhen authorities feared that the new citizens hadn't been integrated long enough, and a sudden large-scale conscription would lead to complaints. Therefore, they temporarily chose not to conscript heavily in new citizen settlements.

The Military Commandant hadn't expected people from Liebang City to travel dozens of *li* to Huarong Prefecture.

"Are all of you here to enlist?"

"Yes, sir!" "Sir, I'm very strong!"

"Sir, I've practiced martial arts for two years!" "Sir, I can endure hardship!"

"Sir, I want to join the army too!"

The Military Commandant could see that these people were very excited, even eager. The authorities simply wanted to avoid resentment from the new citizens, but they hadn't forbidden them from volunteering. Still, he hesitated.

"Why have you traveled so far to come here?"

"Sir! We want to join the army!"

"Yes, sir, we want to join the army, to kill demons, and to contribute to Da Zhen!"

The people in line became agitated. Some feared that Da Zhen's conscription requirements were too high and they would be rejected, as in their view, Da Zhen's soldiers were exceptionally powerful, the best troops in the world, and thus surely had very strict requirements.

"Sir! Please allow us to enlist! For generations, we were mere fodder for demons. We lived lives worse than pigs and dogs, day in and day out, without spirit, without hope, not even like beasts. But then, the Martial Saint stepped forward in the Demonic Grotto-Heaven, fighting demons with his mortal body, slaying so many demonic corpses that they piled up, and ignited a raging fire in our hearts. Living in Da Zhen for so many years has made us understand even more that we are human! Not livestock for demons!"

"Now demons sweep across the world! We refuse to be beasts again; we are human! We want to join the army, we want to fight, we want to slay demons!"

"Slay the demons!" "Slay the demons!"

"We want to join the army!"

Everyone in the queue raised their fists to the sky. Amidst such fervent emotion, even the residents of Huarong Prefecture who had come to enlist were inspired and mimicked their fervor.

What intense passion!

The Military Commandant could not refuse such sincere hearts.

"Good! One by one, record their information and register them for enlistment!"

"Hahaha... we can join the army!" "Sir, many more of our fellow villagers are coming!"

"Please, take as many people as possible!"

Not just in Huarong Prefecture, but at countless conscription points across Da Zhen, new citizens of Da Zhen traveled long distances in groups to enlist. Some even encountered demons on their journey, and surprisingly fought them with their knives. They arrived at the conscription points with bloodstains on their clothes, yet their enthusiasm remained undimmed.

This situation was unexpected by officials across Da Zhen. When the news reached the capital, even Yin Qing was surprised for a long time. In the imperial palace, Emperor Jianchang repeatedly burst into laughter over this, truly showing his great pleasure.

One could say this was an upgraded version of "convert's fervor."

Da Zhen's new citizens knew they had long received favor from Da Zhen. They also knew they were, after all, outsiders. They had integrated well and experienced no discrimination. This fueled a strong desire in their hearts to serve the nation. Their loyalty to Da Zhen even surpassed that of ordinary citizens.

On the other hand, their ancestors had been devoured by demonic slaves for generations, and they had always lost their dignity as humans. No one among the new citizens had forgotten this history. Their dignity had just been regained, but the current situation reminded them once again of that extreme fear.

After realizing this, all the emotions of Da Zhen's new citizens transformed into extreme anger—an anger infused with a desire for vengeance, combined with fervent patriotism. Countless young people yearned to join the army and die for their country. This enthusiasm also inspired other citizens of Da Zhen.

This enthusiasm didn't stop with the enlistment craze. During training, they displayed extreme endurance and diligence. They trained in martial arts with desperate intensity, all eager to become the most intensely trained Da Zhen elite soldiers.

New recruits generally felt more fear towards demons. However, in this Da Zhen conscription, most new recruits felt more hatred towards demons. Their hearts were filled with eagerness only to wield weapons and advance. They all believed that by becoming soldiers of Da Zhen, and then further becoming Da Zhen's elite troops, they would be able to personally slaughter demons.

This was an extremely powerful, even terrifying, belief, to the extent that the celestial constellations changed their qi-flow because of it, prompting experts from all corners of the world to calculate its origins.