Loving Flattery Makes One an Emperor for the Ages, That Feeling of "I Was Born Before You"
Loving Flattery Makes One an Emperor for the Ages, That Feeling of “I Was Born Before You”
Hearing Gu Changge’s words, Xi Yao’s expression remained perfectly calm, and the same went for Lao Shi beside her, both appearing quite unconcerned.
The events of six thousand years ago had indeed spread far and wide, and even now, there were still plenty of unflattering rumors circulating in various places.
But aside from the true rulers of the Demon World, who actually knew what had really happened?
The many rumors from the outside world more or less smeared Xi Yao’s name, which was perfectly normal.
What Gu Changge had just said, they had naturally all heard before.
“Oh? Regarding these rumors, I wonder what Young Master Changge thinks of them?”
Empress Yao Xi’s eyes appeared crystalline, divine light swirling within them.
She looked at Gu Changge.
Though this was merely a Dharma Body, it still carried the bearing of one who occupied a lofty position, overlooking all beneath her.
An empress of a generation, commanding the Demon World, with none daring to disobey.
If it were an ordinary young prodigy being stared at by her like this, they would have long since panicked.
“This junior has already said that these rumors are all nonsense. That is my view.”
But Gu Changge still wore that breezy, carefree smile, staring right back at her, seemingly without any intention of explaining further.
“What does Young Master Changge mean by that?”
Xi Yao was slightly taken aback.
She was a bit puzzled, then carefully mulled over his words. All nonsense?
If an ordinary young prodigy had said such a thing, she would certainly have taken it as flattering, sycophantic words and paid it no mind.
But these words came from Gu Changge’s mouth, and that made it different, carrying a rather unfathomable air.
Had he seen through something? Or did he understand her painstaking intentions?
Honestly, Gu Changge had piqued her interest. If anyone else spoke like this, leaving things half-said and unfinished, she would have long lost patience and slapped them dead on the spot.
How could she possibly continue asking?
At this moment, even the Great Elder and Lao Shi, hearing these words, looked at Gu Changge with some surprise.
Xi Yao’s reputation in the Beyond was actually quite poor nowadays; this had practically become common knowledge.
Especially among the current younger generation, absolutely everyone had heard of the Demon World’s turmoil back then.
And what was said most often was that Empress Yao Xi was a tyrant of a generation, cruel in nature, slaughtering the innocent, such that the Demon Race’s common people lived in misery.
The great demons of various regions united as one, rising up in rebellion to resist.
This was how figures like the Quelling Chaos King of the current Demon World came to exist, regarded as Empress Yao Xi’s executioners, an unstoppable sharp blade that nothing could withstand.
The numerous rumors were simply too many to count.
At this moment, seeing all three gazes fall upon him.
“Actually, before this, this junior also always believed that Empress Yao Xi was a tyrant who committed every manner of evil, and that the living beings of the Demon World all suffered deeply from calamity.”
Gu Changge smiled faintly, once again speaking with perfect composure.
At the same time, his gaze looked directly at Xi Yao, and seeing her expression shift slightly.
He continued with a smile,
“But upon later careful reflection, no matter what orthodoxy, ancient nation, or great world it is, no matter how long it has existed or how ancient it is, there is one thing that never changes...”
“Never changes?” Xi Yao stared at him, her heart trembling slightly, carefully repeating those four words.
She found it somewhat hard to believe. Could it be that Gu Changge’s thinking coincided with hers back then?
Gu Changge nodded. “Yes, there is one thing that never changes.”
“That is, if they wish to change, they must pay a price. This is a cost that cannot be altered.”
“Six thousand years ago, the Six Demon Overlords of the Demon World stood like tripod legs, wars arose one after another, and that was when the people truly lived in misery. Exchanging children for food was a common occurrence. Within the territories governed by the different Demon Overlords, the Demon Race commoners, after all, unlike Humans, could hardly receive proper upbringing.”
“If this junior remembers correctly, back then within the Demon World, in the territories under each Overlord’s rule, the languages cultivated by the Demon Race were not the same either. To survive, members of the same race devouring each other was also normal... All things considered, for the Demon World to merely endure was actually not difficult, but to advance one step further was virtually impossible.”
“The great Demon Overlords rested complacent in their ways, refusing to change, caring only for cultivation, sitting in high positions while disregarding those at the bottom. If this continued long-term, prosperity would give way to decline, and the Demon World’s Fortuity would inevitably wither away.”
“Yet after the turmoil of six thousand years, the Demon World’s Fortuity now rises steadily. Having achieved unification, the four corners are at peace, the world lives in tranquility, the various Demon Races share a unified script and cultivate Humanity, among many other changes... Are these not all the accomplishments of Empress Yao Xi back then?”
“The people of the world are all foolish, speaking only of faults and never of merits. In this junior’s view, this is actually unfair to the Empress.”
Speaking to this point, Gu Changge’s voice remained steady, without much fluctuation.
It gave one the feeling that he was simply laying out a principle, stating a fact in plain terms.
“The people of the world are all foolish? Master said those exact words back then...”
After hearing all this, Lao Shi was stunned, speechless for a long time.
In his mind, Gu Changge’s words still echoed.
Though his cultivation was profound and his lifespan long and enduring, back during the Demon World’s turmoil, he, as her master, had actually helped Xi Yao quite a bit from behind the scenes.
Regarding Xi Yao’s actions, he had never truly understood them either. Over all these years, though he had pondered why, he had never figured it out.
And though Xi Yao often came to visit him, she never once mentioned her reasons for doing what she did.
This left Lao Shi perplexed in his heart.
Today, Gu Changge’s words, to put it bluntly, gave him the feeling of when his cultivation had hit a bottleneck back then and he went to seek his master’s guidance.
That feeling of the clouds and mist parting to reveal the green mountains.
“So that was the reason all along...”
“Truly unexpected. This old man’s eyes really were blind.”
For a moment, Lao Shi’s expression was incomparably complex.
This kind of insight, apart from Gu Changge, probably no one else would ever think of it this way.
“This fellow’s views always differ greatly from ordinary people’s, but explained this way, it should already be very close to what Xi Yao thinks in her heart...” The Great Elder’s expression was equally complex as he sighed with emotion.
Seeing Xi Yao’s deeply resonating expression, frozen in a daze for a long time, he knew that Gu Changge’s words had actually voiced Xi Yao’s innermost thoughts.
“Speaking of faults and not merits, the people of the world are all foolish...”
Xi Yao, silent for a long while, suddenly broke into a smile at Gu Changge, and within her eyes appeared a different kind of radiance.
For a moment, even the light of the heavens seemed to brighten. Compared to her courteous goodwill at the start, this smile of hers now clearly came from the heart.
“Young Master Changge saying this, are you cursing those foolish people of the world on my behalf?”
She smiled faintly, carrying a few hints of closeness, and continued, “All these years, I never imagined that Young Master Changge would be the first person to understand me. Before this, I never thought there would be anyone whose thinking aligned with mine.”
At this moment, she actually felt a sense of having met a kindred spirit in Gu Changge, a mere junior.
In over six thousand years, this was the first person to understand her painstaking efforts. This stirred Xi Yao’s heart greatly, finding it almost unbelievable, as if in a dream.
Meeting Gu Changge today seemed almost like fate.
Even the female officials closest to her could hardly understand her actions and policies.
The people of the world all called her cruel and brutal, but had they ever considered all she had given for the Demon World?
The Demon World’s current peace and tranquility, prosperity across the four seas, its flourishing strength—how much of her heart and effort had she poured into it?
And Gu Changge had bluntly laid all of this bare, even cursing those foolish people of the world on her behalf.
This made it impossible for Xi Yao’s heart to settle down again.
On Gu Changge’s face, the smile remained unchanged as he continued, “Perhaps it is because the Empress occupies such a lofty position that no one dares speak carelessly. After all, the Empress’s merits are plain to see. Right and wrong, merit and fault, are not for the present age to judge, but for later generations to assess.”
“For later generations to assess?”
Hearing this, Xi Yao was stunned once again, staring intently at Gu Changge with some curiosity. “Oh? If Young Master Changge were to make the assessment, what would you say?”
As soon as these words left her mouth, Xi Yao somewhat regretted them. After all, assessments varied from person to person.
Why did she not ask her master, or anyone else, but insist on asking Gu Changge?
After all, this was only their first meeting. It made her seem rather too discourteous. As an empress of a generation, caring so much about gossip and rumors inevitably diminished her majesty.
Xi Yao herself did not know why she suddenly cared so much about Gu Changge’s opinion of her...
Actually, at this moment, it was not just Xi Yao. Even Lao Shi and the Great Elder were somewhat curious, wanting to know how Gu Changge would assess Xi Yao.
Judging from his earlier words, Gu Changge should be able to understand Xi Yao’s intentions very well.
“Oh? Having this junior make the assessment?”
Gu Changge also seemed somewhat surprised, but he did not refuse, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.
Then, his gaze fell upon her.
And then, practically word by word, he said, “In this junior’s view, what the Empress has done could perhaps be called the achievement of an Emperor for the Ages. For the Demon World, that is exactly what it is.”
“An Emperor for the Ages?”
At this moment, not only was Xi Yao stunned, even Lao Shi and the Great Elder were stunned.
Utterly shocked.
An Emperor for the Ages—what a high evaluation that was!
Because they knew that the “ages” Gu Changge spoke of was not literal, but figurative.
This talk of ages was not much different from “eternity”; both were the highest praise for Xi Yao.
“An Emperor for the Ages?”
Empress Yao Xi murmured these four words as if in a trance.
These four words resounded in her mind like a great bronze bell, exploding with a roar.
It even made her head buzz for a moment just now.
However, Empress Yao Xi was no simple figure. Over six thousand years of cultivation had long since tempered her state of mind to an extremely powerful level.
So very quickly, the expression on her face returned to calm.
“Young Master Changge’s four-word evaluation is truly too high.”
Though she said this, she actually still carried a smile, her mood quite pleasant.
Before this, she had encountered people trying to curry favor with her, all manner of extravagant praise, which she had long since grown tired of hearing.
Moreover, Empress Yao Xi knew that what those people said actually stemmed from their fear of her, unlike Gu Changge, who simply and effortlessly laid out his entire view.
After all, Gu Changge had no need to revere her.
“After all, it was the Empress who asked this junior to say it...”
Gu Changge smiled, not bothering to explain anything further.
Though he called himself “this junior” over and over in front of Xi Yao, he did not have the slightest appearance of a junior.
Nor did he show any fear or reverence, seeming more like he was conversing with a newly acquainted friend.
Empress Yao Xi did not mind Gu Changge’s tone either. She had long grown accustomed to all manner of reverent words, and now, in Gu Changge, she once again found that casual, natural feeling.
Just like moments ago... as if she had met a kindred spirit.
“An Emperor for the Ages? To think that in Young Master Changge’s heart, I hold such heights. Truly unexpected.”
Empress Yao Xi smiled.
Gu Changge said with perfect composure, “Actually, before this, this junior had always wanted to meet a remarkable woman like the Empress. But meeting you today is not too late.”
After all, it was just a matter of a few words to farm some favorability.
Gu Changge naturally would not refuse.
No matter what kind of person it was, everyone actually liked hearing pretty words.
With an incomparably noble status and refined, elegant speech, casually offering a few compliments and then striking a chord of resonance in their heart.
Even if she was an empress of a generation, it was impossible for her not to be deeply moved.
Moreover, judging from the Fortuity on Empress Yao Xi, she herself was also a person of great Fortuity.
Her actions six thousand years ago had reminded Gu Changge of a few things.
Possessing such immense Fortuity, who knew whether she might become a Daughter of Fortuity because of him.
This drama of poisoning one’s fiancé—he had better keep his guard up about it first.
“Not too late?”
Empress Yao Xi was suddenly taken aback, an indescribable emotion in her expression as she looked at Gu Changge.
No matter what, Gu Changge was just a junior, and she was a full six thousand years older than him.
Though the cultivation world did not place much importance on matters of age.
Xi Yao still felt a sigh in her heart.
After all these years, she had finally met someone who could understand her, yet he was a junior.
This gave her the feeling of “I was born before you were born; by the time you were born, I had already grown old.”
However, this feeling quickly faded away as well.