Ningguang has never been a short-sighted merchant.
Don't forget, she once held the position of Tianquan Qixing, controlling the economic lifeline of Liyue Harbor and balancing various forces. She's long been accustomed to examining problems and setting rules from a perspective of centuries or even millennia.
Just now, she was merely thrown off by the brutal sounds of battle outside the city walls and the immediate crisis before her. But with Herta's timely, subtle nudge, all the pieces instantly fell into place.
Beside her, Ganyu always maintained her serene and gentle demeanor. She merely nodded slightly at these words, her pale blue eyes tranquil and unperturbed.
Clearly, this half-immortal qilin, who has served as Liyue Qixing's secretary for thousands of years and amassed immense experience, had sensed the deep, almost ruthless logic behind Lu Jingming's entire plan even earlier than Ningguang.
At this moment, Herta's words merely confirmed her suspicions.
"Good, as long as you understand~"
Herta seemed very pleased with Ningguang's insight, a touch of cunning liveliness showing on her doll-like face.
"On the surface, Xiao Ming seems to be 'reaping what he sowed'—a Holy Grail War he instigated himself has instead created two uncontrollable 'big bosses' for him, putting him in a passive position. But actually, this may all be within his expectations, or at least a situation he's happy to see."
She paused, raising her slender arm to point into the distance, where cannon fire raged along the city walls. There, humans and soul beasts were still locked in the most primal and brutal struggle, lives vanishing every second.
"Human beings, these complex carbon-based creatures, have a fascinating phenomenon in their social nature."
Herta's tone took on an academic edge.
"In normal times, they'll fight to the death for profit, territory, or ideological legacy, feuding across generations. But once they face a powerful, shared external enemy that threatens everyone's very survival, they can suddenly display astonishing unity, instantly setting aside all internal conflicts and blood feuds to unite against the outside."
"The classic example is four thousand years ago on Douluo Continent. Back then, the three original Douluo kingdoms—Heavenly Soul, Star Lou, and Dou Ling—were constantly at war, with hatred carved into their bones after centuries of conflict."
"But when the Sun-Moon Empire crossed the sea with an army of soul tools, aiming to conquer the whole continent, these three nemesis nations didn't hesitate. They immediately put aside all grudges and formed an alliance against the invaders."
"This is the survival instinct etched deep into the genes of intelligent species—a 'common, deadly threat' is the fastest and most effective glue to heal internal rifts."
Herta's analysis was sharp and to the point. Her gaze returned to Ningguang, carrying a hint of guidance.
"Think about it: Xiao Ming's ultimate strategic goal is to 'completely unify Douluo Continent' and establish a new, efficient order."
"But after so many generations, the four empires are intertwined with stubborn nobles who have pledged loyalty to the royal families for centuries, and old ministers who cling to the traditional 'homeland and ruler' ideals and would rather die than serve a new master."
"Even if he crushes all imperial regimes by force and achieves surface-level unification, those hidden, loyalist resistance forces will inevitably sprout up like weeds, sparking endless unrest and making governance unimaginably costly."
"What's more, hundreds of millions of ordinary people across the empires have already internalized their identities as 'Heavenly Soul people,' 'Star Lou people,' or 'Sun-Moon people'—identities shaped by thousands of years of civilization."
"To have them wholeheartedly embrace the new, unified identity of 'citizen of Haiyuan City' in a short time would require massive, long-term investment in cultural output, education, and interests alignment."
"This process would likely take decades, even centuries, and a single misstep could trigger large-scale social turmoil."
At this point, Herta stopped, saying no more.
She knew that, with Ningguang's wisdom and political experience, the rest of the deduction needed no further prompting.
Just by offering this starting point, Ningguang could fully deduce the vast and far-reaching scope of Lu Jingming's plan.
"So, what Douluo Continent needs is a sufficiently powerful 'common enemy' that none of the empires can resist alone."
Ningguang smoothly picked up the thread, her pipe subconsciously tapping against the white jade railing with a crisp sound. Her eyes grew brighter, as if she could already see the chessboard that covered the entire continent.
"This enemy must be so powerful as to inspire despair, so strong it can truly threaten the very survival of all humanity—even all intelligent species on this land."
"To make all factions and races soberly realize—if infighting and division persist, the only thing waiting for everyone is total, equal annihilation."
"Only when forced into such absolute desperation will humanity let go of national barriers, class divides, the gap between soul masters and ordinary people; even soul beasts would have to set aside their generations-long hatred of humans and choose to join forces… Ultimately, all these powers would be driven by the instinct to survive, with no choice but to rally behind the only 'savior' who offers hope of victory."
"At that point, 'unification' would no longer be a military conquest forced by Haiyuan City, but the inevitable choice for all survivors' continued existence—the only lifeline in despair. Everything would fall into place naturally, resistance would be at its lowest, and many factions might even willingly pledge loyalty."
She had finally seen through the far-reaching intent behind Lu Jingming's seemingly ruthless methods.
Allowing Phantylia to seize the Golden Tree, even tacitly permitting Celenova to stir up chaos in Mingdu, was never a strategic oversight or loss of control. Rather, it was a deliberate, active push to turn the two Lord Ravagers and their antimatter legions into a real, extinction-level threat hanging over all life on Douluo Star.
And Lu Jingming himself would play the role of the savior who stands up at the final moment to avert total disaster.
As long as the fear and destruction wrought by the antimatter legion and the monarchs seeped into the very marrow of every living being on Douluo Star…
As long as everyone—from imperial emperors to commoners—understood that without uniting under Lu Jingming, the only outcome would be the absolute end of civilization…
Then, whether it was the traditional nobles of the three empires, the soul engineer corps of the Sun-Moon Empire, or even the fierce beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest, all would have to suppress their internal grudges and be forced—willingly or not—to side with Lu Jingming and Haiyuan City, the only force capable of resisting the catastrophe.
At that point, the old identity labels of Heavenly Soul people, Star Lou people, Sun-Moon people, and soul beasts would become meaningless in the face of survival, replaced by the new, unified identity of Douluo Star people—or citizens of Lu Jingming's new empire.
—This is the classic principle: "Without destruction, there can be no creation."
Using overwhelming external pressure to smash all the stubborn, outdated elements, and then building a new, order aligned with his will upon the ruins.
"And what's more brilliant—"
A complex smile, mixing admiration and amusement, curled on Ningguang's lips as she deftly spun her pipe between her slender fingers.
"Judging by the flow of this game, all he might need to do is repel the antimatter legion's assault or keep their threat within certain bounds—not eliminate them completely."
Her gaze grew deeper, seeing even subtler finesse in the arrangement.
Only by keeping the antimatter legion as a sword of Damocles perpetually hanging overhead—keeping the threat of annihilation always present, even if only as a potential—could the sense of a 'community of survival' and its cohesion be continually maintained.
As long as the great powers lacked confidence in resisting the antimatter legion alone, they'd never dare grow disloyal and could only cling to Lu Jingming, submitting to the new order set by Haiyuan City—this strategy of "raising bandits to make oneself indispensable" was both ruthless and brilliant.
Throughout history, across countless realms and endless star systems, no era or civilization has ever lacked antagonists.
Just as light and shadow are born together, black and white always contrast, order and chaos are dynamically balanced, and good and evil are concepts that define one another—this is the most fundamental law of equilibrium in the universe.
There is no absolute, eternal light; illumination always creates shadow. Likewise, there is no infinite darkness; even in despair, glimmers of hope will arise.
Only by letting an appropriate threat coexist with clear hope—letting civilization always sense external pressure—can it maintain the necessary vigilance, stimulate its inner potential, and coalesce scattered strength to persist and develop more tenaciously amid a crisis-ridden universe.
Lu Jingming has never sought an empire forcibly fused by absolute strength, riddled with hidden dangers and rebellious sentiment.
What he wants is a civilization united by a shared sense of destiny and survival.
In this community, the identity of Douluo Star people or citizens of the new empire will transcend all old boundaries of nation, race, and class.
And the antimatter legion and the two Lord Ravagers are precisely the most critical and effective tools for achieving this grand goal.
The shadow of destruction they bring will be the best crucible for forging the new order.
"All right, enough idle chat, it's time to go."
Herta clapped her hands, silvery space ripples began to shimmer around her puppet body, as precise spatial coordinates rapidly locked in.
"If we delay any longer, once Phantylia finishes her battle and digests those two divine senses, she might notice our presence as observers."
"We're not afraid of her, but there's no need to complicate things and interfere with Xiao Ming's arrangement."
At these words, Ningguang nodded slightly.
She gave one last, deep look out the window at the ancient city, which was being destroyed in flames and screams. The faint regret in her golden eyes had completely vanished, replaced by calm scrutiny and anticipation for the new order.
She turned decisively, her high heels clacking crisply against the polished floor as she walked toward the stairs, her skirt tracing a graceful arc.