In the Xu Manor.

Xu Qi An sat at his desk in the study, fingers tapping lightly on the surface as he watched the ancient engraving knife floating and weaving through the room.

“One prerequisite, two conditions…” he repeated these words to himself. Suddenly, a moment of clarity struck him. Long ago, he had been puzzled about how the Great Feng Dynasty’s declining national fortune had led to a series of catastrophes.

The Supervisor, as a First-Rank Artificer who had lived as long as the nation itself, should have been able to retrieve the fortune and restore the dynasty to its former glory. But he hadn’t done so.

Only now did Xu Qi An understand—from the very beginning, the Supervisor’s schemes weren’t merely about a single dynasty.

What he wanted was a Martial God. What he sought to support was a Guardian.

Now that he knew the answer, many of the Supervisor’s previously incomprehensible machinations became clear and reasonable.

*This game of chess truly spans the entire board…* Xu Qi An pulled back his wandering thoughts and refocused on the “one prerequisite and two conditions.”

“Senior, I possess half of Great Feng’s national fortune, the fortune left behind by Buddha’s previous incarnation, and the fortune of Mahayana Buddhism. Does this fulfill the prerequisite?” he asked humbly.

“I’m just an engraving knife!” The ancient knife, wrapped in clear light, brushed off the question. “That damnable Confucian Saint never told me these things.”

*You’re just being lazy. Even if the Confucian Saint didn’t tell you, surely a knife that’s lived for over twelve hundred years would have its insights…* Xu Qi An frowned.

After pondering for a moment, he said, “Senior, having accompanied the Confucian Saint in his writing endeavors, your knowledge must be incredibly profound.”

The knife, hearing this, immediately perked up and hovered before Xu Qi An. “Of course! My knowledge isn’t inferior to the Confucian saints in the slightest. Unfortunately, he changed and became jealous of my talents, even sealing me away. Why do you ask?”

Xu Qi An seized the opportunity: “To be honest, after the great calamity, I plan to write books and compile a collection of poems to pass down to future generations. However, writing books is a significant undertaking, and my knowledge is shallow…”

The ancient knife burst with dazzling clear light, eagerly responding, “I’ll teach you, I’ll teach you!”

The spirit tool’s excitement was palpable.

Xu Qi An quickly stood up and bowed with delight. “Then I’ll trouble Senior with this task.”

“However, with the great calamity approaching, I have no heart for writing at present. Let’s wait until after we’ve dealt with the crisis. So, Senior, I need your help now.”

The knife contemplated briefly. “Since you’re so sensible and have offered satisfactory compensation, I shall give you some guidance.”

Without waiting for Xu Qi An’s thanks, it went straight to the point: “First, regarding the prerequisite of condensing fortune, the Confucian Saint once said that after the age of gods and demons and the era of human-monster wars, the world’s fortune all belonged to humanity. Human prosperity became the inevitable trend.”

“And as the Central Plains is humanity’s cradle, its dynasties have accumulated the most human fortune. That’s why the Beyond-Rank beings seek to devour the Central Plains and plunder its fortune.”

*I already know all this, no need to repeat it…* Xu Qi An complained internally.

“Though you possess half a dynasty’s worth of fortune, how does it compare to Buddha and the Shamanic God?” the knife asked.

Xu Qi An pondered seriously for a moment. “Compared to Them, the fortune I’ve accumulated is probably insufficient.”

Buddha had condensed all of the Western Regions’ fortune, and while the Shamanic God might be slightly weaker, they weren’t to be underestimated, as all of the Northern Territories’ fortune belonged to Them.

Moreover, fortune was something that might be stored through special means. It was hard to say whether They had additional fortune in reserve.

The knife asked again: “Then how much fortune do you think a Martial God capable of killing Beyond-Rank beings needs?”

Xu Qi An didn’t answer, but he made an internal judgment that the fortune he had accumulated might not be enough.

The ancient knife’s clear light pulsed steadily as it conveyed its thoughts: “I’m not certain how much fortune a Martial God needs either. I can only make a rough estimate. You’d better continue extracting fortune from Great Feng—more is always better than less.”

*That’s true in principle, but with the Supervisor gone, how can I absorb Great Feng’s fortune? Ah right, Zhao Shou has already reached Second Rank…* Xu Qi An asked, “Can the Confucian School help me obtain fortune?”

The Confucian School was one of the few systems capable of controlling fortune.

“Dream on!” The knife flatly rejected the idea. “The Confucian School needs fortune for cultivation, but their core techniques modify rules rather than manipulate fortune. Simple influences might be possible, but obtaining Great Feng’s fortune and infusing it into you is something only a Second-Rank Artificer can do.”

*In that case, I can only wait for Senior Brother Sun to advance to Second Rank, but advancing from Third to Second Rank is no easy feat. For the sake of all under heaven, I have no choice but to sleep with Huai Qing…* While “helplessly” sighing, Xu Qi An asked, “Then what does it mean to gain the world’s recognition?”

The knife’s clear light rippled as it conveyed thoughts tinged with amusement: “You’ve already gained the recognition of all under heaven.”

“Since you made your name, everything you’ve done has been watched by the Supervisor. This is why he chose you instead of withdrawing fortune to nurture someone else.”

The world knew of Xu Qi An’s great achievements and knew that Officer Xu’s word was worth its weight in gold.

They knew he stood up for the common people and dared to slay a king for the sake of the masses.

All along his journey, his various deeds had unknowingly earned him one of the qualifications to advance to Martial God.

Xu Qi An nodded, unsurprised, and asked his second question: “Then how does one gain Heaven and Earth’s recognition?”

The knife remained silent for a long while before saying, “I don’t know. The description of gaining Heaven and Earth’s recognition is too vague—even the Confucian Saint himself might not have been clear about it.”

“But I have a guess. Beyond-rank beings wish to replace the Heavenly Dao. Perhaps when you decide to oppose them and confront them directly, you’ll gain Heaven and Earth’s recognition.”

Xu Qi An made a sound of acknowledgment before saying, “I have an idea as well.”

He told the knife about the Great Peace Blade.

“The Supervisor said it was the Guardian’s weapon, my qualification to become the Guardian.”

The knife thought for a moment before replying, “Then we can only wait for it to awaken.”

With business concluded, the knife didn’t linger and flew out through the open window.

Xu Qi An took out the Earth Book fragment and after some consideration, informed the Heaven and Earth Society members about the two conditions for advancing to Martial God.

But he concealed the “prerequisite.”

[One: Gaining the world’s recognition—hmm, the knife’s words make sense, and your guess is reasonable too. When the Great Peace Blade awakens, we’ll see.]

[Four: It’s simpler than I imagined, but that makes sense. The Guardian guards the Heaven Gate, so naturally must first gain Heaven and Earth’s recognition.]

[Seven: The knife is wrong. The Heavenly Dao is emotionless and won’t recognize anyone. If opposing Beyond-Rank beings could gain the Heavenly Dao’s recognition, the Confucian Saint would have become the Guardian long ago. I think the key lies in the Great Peace Blade.]

The Holy Son actively participated in the discussion—when it came to the Heavenly Dao, he possessed sufficient authority.

[Nine: Regardless, we’ve finally solved the puzzle that’s been troubling us. Next comes facing the great calamity. The Insect God will likely break their seal before the Shamanic God. We should focus on the Western Regions and Southern Borderlands.]

Once the Insect God moved north to attack the Central Plains, Buddha would coordinate with them.

If they could divide the Central Plains before the Shamanic God broke free, Buddha would have the highest chance of victory among the Beyond-Rank beings.

[Three: I understand.]

After ending the group chat, Xu Qi An sent a private message to Huai Qing.

[Three: Your Majesty, there’s a prerequisite for advancing to Martial God.]

[One: What prerequisite?]

Huai Qing replied immediately.

[Three: Condensing fortune!]

After this message was sent, the other side fell completely silent.

There was no need for Xu Qi An to explain further—Huai Qing seemed to instantly understand the implications.

…

“Oh? The Insect God’s aura…”

As the knife passed over the courtyard, it suddenly stopped, having sensed the Insect God’s aura.

It immediately changed direction toward the inner hall, shooting forward with a whoosh.

Arriving at the inner hall as a streak of light, it locked onto a young girl crouching by the hall entrance, intently watching an orange tree.

Her face was round and plump, her demeanor innocent and somewhat slow-witted in appearance.

Xu Ling Yin was immersed in her world, unaware of the knife’s sudden appearance, but Aunt Mu Nan Chi and the other women were startled by the “uninvited guest.”

“That’s the Confucian Saint’s engraving knife!”

Li Na said.

She had seen this knife many times before.

Hearing it was the Confucian Saint’s knife, Aunt felt relieved while her beautiful eyes lit up.

“Why does she have the Insect God’s aura?” The knife’s thoughts reached everyone’s ears.

“The Insect God wanted to take her as a disciple, but Xu Ning Yuan refused. The foundation of the Seven Fatal Insects is in her body,” Li Na explained.

“This is a hidden danger. Once the Insect God approaches the Central Plains, she will inevitably transform into an insect, and no one can save her,” the knife said gravely.

“The Insect God might even manifest their will through her body.”

Hearing this, Aunt’s face drained of color. “Is there any way to resolve this?”

“It’s difficult!” The knife shook its blade. “However, with a half-step Martial God in the family, there’s no need to worry too much.”

Aunt thought for a moment, harboring a glimmer of hope: “You are the Confucian Saint’s knife?”

Because of the Great Peace Blade, Aunt could not only accept talking weapons but could communicate with them without any barriers.

Though Aunt was an ordinary housewife, she regularly interacted with high-level figures.

Gradually, she had developed good judgment.

“No need to add ‘Confucian Saint,'” the knife said disapprovingly.

“Mm-hmm!” Aunt readily complied, raising her beautiful face to gaze at the knife. “Could you teach my daughter to read?”

“That’s nothing!” The knife conveyed disdainful thoughts, feeling Aunt’s suggestion was beneath it. How could the mighty Confucian Saint’s knife lower itself to teaching a child to read:

“I need only touch her lightly to help her enlightenment.”

Amidst Aunt’s delighted thanks, the knife’s tip gently touched Xu Ling Yin’s forehead.

The little one blinked, wearing a foolish expression, not understanding what had happened.

After a few seconds, the knife left her forehead and hung motionless in the air.

Aunt asked happily, “Has my daughter been enlightened?”

The knife remained silent for quite a while before slowly saying, “Let’s discuss how to handle the Seven Fatal Insects instead.”

Aunt: “???”

…

Southern Borderlands!

In the Extreme Abyss, the statue of the Confucian Saint, covered in cracks, emitted fine cracking sounds before suddenly collapsing with a crash.

The Insect God’s power transformed into a fog that blotted out the sky, spreading across the plains, valleys, and rivers of the Southern Borderlands for tens of thousands of li, bringing terrible mutations.

Trees grew eyes, flowers grew fangs, animals transformed into insect beasts, and fish and shrimp in the rivers grew lungs and limbs, crawling onto land to battle with terrestrial creatures.

Different levels of contamination produced different mutations.

Within the same species, some became Dark Insects, others became Power Insects, but they all shared a lack of reason.

Different types of insects like to devour and slaughter each other.

The Southern Borderlands had completely transformed into a world of insects.

At the border between the Southern Borderlands and Yu Province, Long Tu and the other chiefs were clearing insect beasts from the border.

Though the insect beasts lacked reason and wouldn’t actively attack cities and towns, preferring to stay in areas rich with the Insect God’s power, some would occasionally wander to the border aimlessly.

These insect beasts were terrifying disasters for ordinary people.

Several small villages along Yu Province’s border had already suffered from insect beast attacks, so the insect tribe chiefs would come to the border every few days to eliminate the beasts.

Suddenly, Long Tu and the others felt their hearts tremble, experiencing a soul-deep shudder as tremendous fear exploded in their hearts.

They turned their heads or looked back toward the south.

At this moment, all the insect beasts across the Southern Borderlands prostrated themselves, displaying submission while trembling in fear.

Long Tu’s Adam’s apple bobbed as his lips quivered: “The Insect God… has emerged…”

His expression then changed drastically: “Quick, notify Officer Xu!”