Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 232 - 195: A New Dynasty

Chapter 232: Chapter 195: A New Dynasty

Moments later, Shenshang appeared in this slice of history.

"That’s the incarnation of a major demon."

The demon Shenshang referred to was obviously the one originally entrenched in this slice of history.

Meng Yuan was somewhat surprised, "The incarnation of a major demon? What kind of demon is considered a major demon?"

Shenshang explained, "Major demons are different from ordinary demons; they often existed in Ancient Times, and even became one with many characters from the Ancient Era.

"For instance, among all demons, Chi You should be considered the most powerful. If we really could break into the slice of history from the Ancient Era, we might end up fighting him."

Meng Yuan frowned slightly, "Chi You? But... there are also claims that regard him as one of the three progenitors of Huaxia, right?"

Shenshang nodded, "Of course, it only exists in the form of Chi You. It is not the same entity as the real Chi You from the Ancient Era.

"In Ancient Times, the struggles between ancestors of Huaxia were passed down through mythology, with Chi You later being regarded as the god of weaponry. However, he was ultimately known by later generations as a figure of failure and an outcast.

"Therefore, the demons dominating the Ancient Era naturally occupied these images and drew their demonic power from these distorted figures.

"The situation with other major demons is similar, essentially all existing in the form of various gods and demons from Ancient Times."

Meng Yuan nodded thoughtfully, "I see."

Although the history of this world differed significantly from the history Meng Yuan remembered, the similarity in ancient myths was quite high, so the names of these ancient gods and demons were indeed quite familiar to him.

According to Shenshang’s explanation, these demons were not the true incarnations of figures like Chi You, but rather powerful demons that borrowed the demonized, distorted images of Chi You and other ancient gods and demons, drawing strength from them.

"So you’re saying that the one previously entrenched in this slice of history was also a well-known demon?" Meng Yuan asked.

Shenshang nodded, "Yes, otherwise it wouldn’t possess such high intelligence.

"These major demons are so powerful themselves that they cannot directly traverse from the Ancient Times to the present slices of history, but they can control the most crucial slices of history at every stage by dividing a part of their power into incarnations.

"It’s like a series of barriers, blocking the path of the Order Restorers.

"It’s just that currently, it’s not clear which major demon this is, or whether we’ll encounter it in the future."

Meng Yuan said, "Understood, for now, let’s just absorb the power from this slice."

Shenshang floated mid-air, beginning to absorb power from this slice of history to continue forging a path to the Ancient Times.

Meng Yuan also finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Luckily, this solo instance had Emperor Taizu of Sheng as an anchor point, which directly brought players in.

If it had still been the old method, he would have had to take the stage himself and play Emperor Taizu of Sheng, which would not have been pleasing to see.

Of course, on second thought, the reason such a method could be used was because Emperor Taizu of Sheng’s character traits were of a special Heroic Spirit that could not be manipulated; demons could not directly alter him but could only twist related characters and events.

In any case, another challenge was safely navigated.

Countless righteous energies rose from this slice of history and continuously converged into Shenshang’s body, constantly strengthening the Order Restorer’s power.

This time, without Shenshang needing to touch Meng Yuan, he could also feel this ever-expanding and surging power.

But before he could understand the details of his newfound abilities, he first saw the chaotic and disorderly temporal torrent and the historical river tracing back to the Ancient Times.

After Emperor Taizu of Sheng’s slice of history was conquered, all the surrounding slices also underwent a chain reaction.

Firstly, the other slices of history belonging to the same era as the Great Sheng Dynasty and distributed around this slice were also activated one after another, turning into a conquerable state.

Of course, "activation" is a term specific to gaming; to put it more accurately, these slices of history were always conquerable, but because Emperor Taizu of Sheng’s slice was occupied by a demon, these other slices were also affected, and the difficulty of conquering them had increased accordingly.

Now that the major demon entrenched in Emperor Taizu of Sheng’s slice had been driven away, the power of demons in these other historical slices was also significantly weakened, naturally lowering the difficulty as well.

The slices of history belonging to hero characters from the early, middle, and later periods of the Great Sheng Dynasty all became conquerable.

And more importantly, Meng Yuan was able to trace the source from the historical river upward and move on to a new dynasty.

Meng Yuan’s perspective seemed to rise continuously; originally, the slices of history from the Great Sheng Dynasty were intertwined with each other, forming what seemed to be a galaxy. But soon, as his perspective widened, this galaxy gradually became an isolated island.

In the disordered torrent of time and space ascending from the Great Sheng Dynasty, there lay a space filled with darkness, chaos, and nothingness. Without the existence of the Great Sheng Dynasty, it would be a dark era lasting several hundred years.

Originally, Meng Yuan wouldn’t have been able to cross this chaotic and void space, but now, with the power drawn from the previous slices and the region of the Great Sheng Dynasty as a fulcrum, he could finally surge forward, cutting through the waves.

"So there are no historical slices in this region?" Meng Yuan asked.

Shenshang shook his head slightly, "Of course, there are.

"It’s just that compared to other eras, the slices are fewer and less structured, scattered in the temporal chaos, and it’s difficult to form specific anchor points like the slice where Emperor Taizu of Sheng resided.

"Moreover, the demons from this great dark era are often more powerful.

"After that, you can indeed challenge these historical segments, but the returns won’t be very high, with an extremely low cost-performance ratio. So, the priority can be pushed back."

After a somewhat lengthy journey, a new historical segment finally appeared ahead.

"This segment should be what is known as the ’Zhongzhou Submergence,’ the great Dark Age, and moving further ahead, it should be the Qi Dynasty..."

After cramming the history of this world for some time, Meng Yuan now had a fairly comprehensive grasp of these basic historical knowledge.

Soon, Meng Yuan and Shenshang secured their footing near the historical segment where the Qi Dynasty was located.

Compared to the Great Sheng Dynasty, the entire region of the Qi Dynasty showed marked differences.

If the Great Sheng Dynasty displayed the grand presence expected of a dynasty, shining brightly even along the dark river that preceded and followed it, then the Qi Dynasty seemed much dimmer, as if its borders were being eroded by darkness, with a significantly smaller surrounding area.

The central historical segment that anchored the entire area, however, was engulfed by various forms of darkness and appeared incredibly weak.

It could even be said to be a paradise for demons.

On the contrary, another massive historical segment nearby was extremely bright, no less than the one where Emperor Taizu of Sheng resided.

Meng Yuan had anticipated this situation.

"If the historical knowledge I’ve learned isn’t wrong, the emperors of the Qi Dynasty, compared to Emperor Taizu of Sheng, can’t just be considered slightly inferior, they are worlds apart.

That’s why the historical segment tied to the Qi Dynasty is so dim.

But this closer historical segment seems quite akin to the one of Emperor Taizu of Sheng?"

Shenshang floated amidst the chaos of space-time, with most of the information about the Qi Dynasty’s historical segments before her eyes.

"That’s right, the historical segment locked to the Qi Dynasty appears frail and utterly chaotic precisely because several key emperors of the Qi Dynasty were quite disappointing.

This historical segment belongs to Emperor Gaozong of Qi.

The other segment, closer to that of Emperor Taizu of Sheng, its protagonist is not the emperor, but a famous general."

Meng Yuan thought for a moment: "General Han Fuyue?"

Shenshang glanced at him: "Hmm? Your recent historical studies aren’t bad at all, that’s right, it’s General Han."

This General Han Fuyue was a renowned general in this world’s history, also a key figure in the revival of the Qi Dynasty.

The so-called revival refers to the idea of a resurgence during mid-timeline, generally speaking, when a dynasty rebounds to prosperity after a period of decline or turmoil.

What’s unique is that revivals in other dynasties were mostly related to their emperors, while this revival of the Qi Dynasty could be said to be single-handedly achieved by General Han Fuyue.

Throughout the Qi Dynasty, there was virtually no military commander who could match him.

This was partly because the Qi Dynasty emphasizing civil governance over military, military officials were not given much attention, and most generals hardly had the chance to demonstrate their full potential. On the other hand, it was because General Han’s various abilities, character, and quality were enough to place him among the greatest generals of all time.

"Now you can plan your own strategy to conquer the entire Qi Dynasty.

In principle, we need to experience three to four historical segments to gain enough strength to continue marching forward."

As Shenshang spoke, she placed her hand on Meng Yuan’s forehead and transferred all the information about these historical segments to him.

A vast ocean of information instantly flooded into Meng Yuan’s mind.

Previously, when conquering the Great Sheng Dynasty, they had gone through three major instances: ’Even with the affair settled, one must wait until death,’ ’The title of marquis was not my desire,’ and ’The hero’s spirit embraces the wild with open arms.’

Many heroic figures took part in these three major instances from the late period of the Great Sheng Dynasty to its founding.

This route was basically suggested by Shenshang, with Meng Yuan making the final decision.

The first instance was chosen to be ’Even with the affair settled, one must wait until death’ mainly because Meng Yuan was still very weak at the time, and he could only start with such a minor, lesser-known historical segment.

Then, as his strength increased, he naturally could stride forward with large steps.

Now, Meng Yuan was able to decide for himself how to plan the conquest route.

After pondering for a while, he first clicked on a medium-sized historical segment in the center, then selected the one belonging to General Han Fuyue, and finally, the one that locked in the entire Qi Dynasty, which seemed dim and lightless.

"Let’s go with these three."

Shenshang nodded, "Hmm, from the current player level perspective, the difficulty curve seems reasonable, nothing problematic.

However... this last historical segment looks filled with chaos. On the bright side, a chaotic historical segment means we have greater freedom, but seen from another angle, the difficulty will also be higher."

Meng Yuan smiled faintly: "That’s fine, players are becoming more familiar with the rhythm of this game, and I think it’s about time to give them a bit more freedom to try some higher-level challenges.

I’ve already thought of a name for the first instance."

Shenshang’s curiosity was piqued: "What’s it called?"

Meng Yuan looked at the medium-sized historical segment and replied: "Speak Not... Hesitate Not."

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