The Undying Transmigrator

Book 2: Chapter 19: Signs of the End

Vol 2 Chapter 19: Signs of the End

Amidst the encirclement of the Undying Army, Mo Wen sat facing what appeared to be a composite of all the emperors of the Ancestral Spirit Dynasty—something that could perhaps be called "Undying Monarch Type 2."

As if moments earlier Mo Wen hadn't been brutally dominating them, the being spoke warmly: "Divine Martial Emperor, we ourselves aren't clear about our current state. Though we possess a million-strong army clad in armor and bearing sharp weapons, we don't even have simple tea or plain rice to offer you hospitality."

"But for a hero like you, such trivial matters probably aren't important. Let me be somewhat direct."

"I wonder how your generation views the collapse of the various dynasties?"

Mo Wen recounted the reasons recorded in the history books.

Even with his blurred features, one could see the Undying Monarch's expression change slightly upon hearing this, as if there were some issues with the historical records of later generations.

"Was it the Qilin Imperial Court or the Chenyao Dynasty that concealed things for their own reasons? Enough—let me directly share our understanding."

"It wasn't because the emperors lacked virtue that the dynasties reached their end, but rather because the dynasties had reached their end that change became necessary."

"Except during the Cangming Dynasty when humanity was still developing with inadequate technology and systems that produced incompetent rulers, both the Hundred Birds Dynasty and our Ancestral Spirit Dynasty could at minimum ensure the emperor made no mistakes and maintained extremely high control over the dynasty.""Although major interest groups would grow stronger over time, they absolutely couldn't compare to the royal family that could openly accumulate power using an entire dynasty's resources. The components maintaining the dynasty's operation had plenty of replaceable parts."

"The royal family's core interest was the dynasty itself—we were the true owners of the dynasty in every sense, not like in folk stories where we had to compromise with interest groups and separate state treasury, personal coffers, and dynasty revenues."

"We could kill, dared to kill, and knew how to kill. To prolong the dynasty, even unfilial descendants could be eliminated."

"As long as impurities and filth were regularly purged, the dynasty logically shouldn't have been possible to overthrow."

"The people had enough to eat, interest groups could develop normally if they didn't touch taboos, talented individuals could be properly utilized, and ordinary ambitious types lacked the ability to defeat the dynasty's Court Appointees."

"Yet the dynasties would still enter their final period."

"The Hundred Birds Dynasty didn't fall simply because the royal family's Phoenix bloodline became too concentrated, producing non-human heirs."

"The Human Path doesn't belong exclusively to humans. Those willing to serve humanity can all become Human Emperors."

Mo Wen nodded in agreement. Although humans and demons had historical blood feuds, the nebulous will of the Human Path held no hostility toward non-human entities. Besides, by stricter standards, he himself wasn't entirely human as emperor, not to mention the Demon Race had once planned dynasty overthrow.

Confirming Mo Wen understood this, the Undying Monarch continued: "The true reason for the Hundred Birds Dynasty's fall was beast transformation. During the dynasty's final period, besides the royal family producing completely non-human offspring, various regions reported problems like calves that died upon touching ground, wild people who couldn't speak human language, and hairy ape-like creatures."

"Even some powerful individuals transformed into strange beasts, whether demon or human."

"At that time, rumors spread everywhere that the royal family's lack of virtue in producing monstrous offspring caused the strange phenomena of the end times, so people led by us rebelled."

"The Hundred Birds royal family was also perplexed by this. Under that grand matriarch's influence, they emulated the Founding Emperor and placed extreme importance on virtue. They were willing to yield the throne to the most capable person. Yet everything still descended into chaotic warfare—we only succeeded in establishing the Ancestral Spirit Dynasty after fighting until heaven and earth went dark."

"And the Ancestral Spirit Dynasty fell to soul degradation."

"Soul degradation?" Although Mo Wen could roughly guess the meaning, this term didn't appear in the Chenyao Dynasty's historical records. "According to Chenyao Dynasty records, the Ancestral Spirit Dynasty fell because its final emperor devoured the ancestral spirits in a mad quest for immortality."

"As long as impurities and filth were regularly purged, the dynasty logically shouldn't have been possible to overthrow."

"Wait, if records about soul degradation disappeared, could it be that you didn't use our technology because of potential soul degradation issues? Or has our technology been lost?!"

Mo Wen sounded uncertain: "Maybe soul degradation goes by a different name now? First explain this 'soul degradation phenomenon.'"

The Undying Monarch explained: "With the technology we developed, physical bodies could carry ancestral souls. Souls with physical vessels wouldn't deteriorate and could exist long-term without needing Incense Energy repairs."

"Although problems occurred like blurred ancestral consciousness, multiple souls mixing within the same body, and descendants being devoured by ancestors, overall the cost was minimal."

"But during the dynasty's final period, numerous ancestral souls went mad, the Undying Army nearly collapsed, and even we emperors showed abnormalities."

"At that time, people everywhere thought the technology was flawed and the royal family had long concealed it. But for us who continuously improved the technology, we knew such abnormalities shouldn't occur, and our grandson was definitely no incompetent ruler."

Recalling recent abnormalities, Mo Wen asked: "Did you experience auditory hallucinations, or feel your thoughts undergoing subtle changes?"

The Undying Monarch thought for a moment. His appearance shifted to reveal the initial individual Mo Wen had destroyed in two moves, but as part of the Undying Monarch, he held no resentment toward the one who had defeated him and answered earnestly: "No."

"Perhaps the signs of your dynasty's final period differ from ours."

"After all, beast transformation and soul degradation are different phenomena."

"But one thing is certain—when a dynasty exists too long, it will inevitably encounter its final period. And during that final period, billions must die to establish a new dynasty. You cannot mitigate this by simply changing the dynasty's name, arranging a gentle transition with a new group of people, or altering the political system."

At first hearing, this sounded like the Human Path promoting renewal, seemingly providing justification for thoughts of mass slaughter. But Mo Wen knew deeply that while the Human Path consciousness immediately punished poor governance, it made no demands for "better" outcomes.

Was this "dynasty final period" a law established by primordial deities before leaving this world? The result of "heavenly demon" invasions? Or this world's unique self-preservation method?

Mo Wen didn't know the reason, but he felt that "it's always been this way" wasn't right.

He said calmly: "I will overcome this so-called 'dynasty final period.' If you're suggesting that because 'dynasty final period' is unavoidable, we should let you do something about it, then I will kill you all—thoroughly and completely."

The Undying Monarch fell silent for a moment, but he—they—dared not act, couldn't even conceive of how to escape.

"You are powerful... but I hope that slaughtering everyone, turning some into fuel and having the Undying Monarch carry others, remains one of the final options."

"The Hundred Birds royal family was also perplexed by this. Under that grand matriarch's influence, they emulated the Founding Emperor and placed extreme importance on virtue. They were willing to yield the throne to the most capable person. Yet everything still descended into chaotic warfare—we only succeeded in establishing the Ancestral Spirit Dynasty after fighting until heaven and earth went dark."

Banners fluttered in the wind as the proud Undying Army watched their chosen monarch bow. In silence, they too knelt together.

Then came earth-shaking shouts: "King of Kings, Divine Martial Emperor!"