I Only Stomp on Weaklings

Suddenly, a large hand gripped hers tightly holding the hem of her skirt, and the voice of her husband Xia Shaowen sounded in her ear, "Don’t be afraid, I’m here."

She glanced at her husband, her heart slightly settling. Then she turned her head to look at her daughter, seeing her hands clasping her chest, eyes entirely focused on that young man, face showing both worry and pride, with tears glistening in her eyes.

Sigh—

She sighed silently.

How did things come to this?

...

Inside the Merit Tower, Chen Ming knew that the Nine Nether Demon Venerable was determined to sponsor him, so he simply let loose, starting various daring maneuvers.

Since he became a prince amidst chaotic times, then capturing two kings in one battle, and upheavals like the Xuanwu Gate incident naturally couldn’t be missed.

In the end, he toppled the enemies, and also deposed his foolish father emperor and incompetent crown prince, successfully ascending the throne, sweeping across the lands, making Great Wei great again.

Yes, this piece of history is exactly what truly happened at the end of the previous dynasty.

Back then, Great Jin’s founding ancestor hadn’t risen yet; those who rebelled were leaders driving forward for kingship.

If there really was a prince who could sweep away all the rebels in the land, naturally there would be no mention of Great Jin.

In such a hellish dungeon, even a truly divine hero would find it difficult to reverse the tide. This is because within the Merit Tower, all developments are controlled by the old hand of Nine Nether Demon Venerable. Only then could such things happen.

Then, he successfully reached the ninth level.

His identity became the last emperor of Great Wei; outside the Capital City, it had already been surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Great Jin’s armies.

At this moment, there were only a hundred thousand soldiers capable of fighting within the Capital City.

This is an epic war in Great Jin’s history, a battle that wrote Great Wei completely into history, and Great Jin’s founder took over the crown, establishing a new dynasty.

"If they had any chance of turning the tide, would anyone believe it?"

Chen Ming shook his head despite himself.

Suddenly, Nine Nether Demon Venerable’s voice sounded in his ear, "Actually, Emperor Qingde wasn’t completely without chance. This Capital City is as fortified as an iron wall. If not for that true dragon’s betrayal, Ji Wanzhou might not have been able to breach this royal city."

True dragon?

He pondered and said, "So, I just need to persuade that true dragon?"

"Not just that, you need to win over a faction."

"What?"

"Emperor Qingde’s empress had just given birth to a son a few years back, but Great Wei already has a crown prince."

Chen Ming was quite curious about this historic Chapter and asked, "Which faction did this empress come from? Are they powerful?"

"Behind her is an Immortal Mansion, you tell me whether it’s powerful or not?"

"Immortal Mansion?"

He was shocked upon hearing this, "Senior’s meaning is, Emperor Qingde’s empress isn’t of this world?"

The so-called Immortal Mansion is a higher-level Secret Realm!

Could it be, beings from Secret Realm worlds can also enter the human realm?

This news was indeed quite explosive.

Nine Nether Demon Venerable chuckled, saying, "Without the support of an Immortal Mansion, how else could these emperors contend with the major clans and factions of the world? Through history, almost every emperor’s empress comes from an Immortal Mansion. Today’s Great Jin is no exception."

So it’s like this!

Chen Ming understood; no wonder the current Empress Dowager is so powerful, not even the emperor who isn’t her biological son can compete with her. Turns out she has an Immortal Mansion behind her.

In other words, in the power structure of this world’s royal dynasty, providing martial support is the Immortal Mansion represented by the empress.

Without the protection of an Immortal Mansion, serving as a martial deterrent, if any of the unparalleled masters in the world become displeased, they could storm into the Imperial Palace and take the emperor’s head.

After all, the royal family can’t guarantee a top-level powerhouse emerges every generation. Moreover, if an ambitious figure emerges who also wants to sit on that throne, the dynasty would soon plunge into chaos where strength dominates. The dynasty couldn’t last long.

However, there’s still one question within, Chen Ming asked, "If the power of an Immortal Mansion is so strong, why don’t they directly seize the throne and become emperor themselves?"

Nine Nether Demon Venerable replied with a question, "Boy, let me ask you, if you had to choose between being emperor and immortality, which would you pick?"

Without even thinking, Chen Ming said, "Naturally immortality."

What’s good about being emperor?

"Those Immortal Mansion lords think the same."

"Does senior mean those Immortal Mansion lords already possess immortality? Would they have to give up immortality if they ran to be emperor?"

"That’s roughly what it means. Alright, you should take action now. Those outside are already impatient."

Nine Nether Demon Venerable stopped speaking after saying this.

"..."

Chen Ming thought, this trial is indeed visible to those outside.

Knowing what needed to be done, he began acting, first heading underground to see the true dragon, making promises to stabilize it.

Then, he deposed the crown prince, establishing the empress’s son as the new crown prince.

Afterward, he personally went to the city walls, sharing life and death with the soldiers, morale surged immediately.

With various measures, the situation finally stabilized.

Then followed the prolonged battle for and defense of the city.

After nearly a year, the Loyalist Army finally arrived. (Of course, all these events were fast-tracked.)

The siege of the Capital City was finally lifted.

Thus, the ninth level was cleared.

At that moment, Nine Nether Demon Venerable’s voice rang again, "Boy, you’ve become the first person to clear all nine levels of the Merit Tower. This is a gift I’m giving you, I’m sure you’ll like it."

"Thanks for senior’s kindness."

I thank your ancestors of eight generations.

Chen Ming smiled.

He initially aimed for a decent score, enough to give Gu Family some account, and sought opportunity to slip away after leaving.

But now, having broken the record, now he couldn’t help but become famous.

If it was just Duke Jingguo’s mansion, he had confidence to escape from Capital City, changing identities at that time would suffice.

Now, he’s suddenly thrust into the spotlight, with countless eyes staring at him; escaping the Capital City would be unlikely now.

...

When Chen Ming left the Merit Tower, Nine Nether Demon Venerable arrived at the deepest part of the tower, where there was a cell holding a person.

That person looked exactly like him, only his eyes glowed purple, "You actually came to see me? Let me guess, it’s because of the true self?"

Nine Nether Demon Venerable said no more than necessary, asking, "Do you want to get out?"

The person laughed heartily, "I knew, someday you’d let me out. After all, you can’t kill me, you can only keep me locked up while tapping into more than half the power of the Nine Nether Tower."

Nine Nether Demon Venerable said coolly, "Letting you out is possible, but under one condition, you must erase all memories about me."

Back then, when he was still weak, he was possessed by a strand of the Immortal Demon Venerable’s split soul, controlled by it.

Until he was able to consolidate a primordial fetus, he then finally extracted that strand of Immortal Demon Venerable’s split soul, freeing himself from control, and imprisoned it here. Over a thousand years had passed since.

This split soul is like his own avatar, knowing all his secrets and trump cards.

He naturally couldn’t let this split soul leave; otherwise he could never contend with Immortal Demon Venerable ever again.

"Do you think it possible? Anyway, one day, you’ll let me go. I have patience. Hahaha..." The person laughed unstoppably.

Nine Nether Demon Venerable sneered, "Though I can’t destroy you, I know someone who can. I can completely wait until he matures, let him utterly erase you. Now you have two choices: either erase memory, or completely disappear."

"I’ll be waiting."

"Ungrateful wretch!"

Nine Nether Demon Venerable flicked his sleeve and left, leaving the split soul of Immortal Demon Venerable, who looked exactly the same as him, imprisoned at the deepest part of the Nine Nether Tower.

...

Chen Ming suddenly found himself back in the Qianwu Hall, instantly feeling countless gazes coming from all directions, some of which made his skin crawl.

"Gu Aiqing!"

At this moment, the noble dragon-robed man descended the stairs from the exalted throne, walking towards him, with an excited expression like seeing a long-desired lover.

"Your Majesty!"

Chen Ming was about to salute when the emperor had already approached, holding his hand tightly, as if afraid he’d fly away as soon as he let go.

"Aiqing, no need for formalities, from now on, when you see me, you don’t need to kneel."

"Ah?"

PS: Four thousand words, can this be counted as two Chapters combined into one?