Da Qin: Conquer all heavens and all realms

The death of Nine Netherworld Demon Lord Blood Prison Rāhu was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, causing huge waves in the heavens and all worlds.

The news spread rapidly to every corner through the "Tianji Pavilion" of the Qin Heavenly Court and the remaining ancient space channels between countless worlds at a speed tens of millions times faster than the spread of demonic energy.

At first, no one believed it.

The Nine Netherworlds Demonic Abyss is a forbidden place recognized by all the heavens and worlds. Its master, Blood Prison Rāhu, is an ancient demon god who has lived for countless epochs.

His strength was enough to make a Heavenly Emperor of a mid-level world sleepless. How could such a being be wiped out by a single "law" without even offering a decent resistance to a newly rising "mortal dynasty"?

"Absurd! This must be some deceptive lie from the Great Qin, used to scare us!"

"Hmph, using the power of a mortal to perform the work of a god? From what I've seen, Ying Zheng might have inherited the legacy of some ancient demon god, and is himself a demon!"

"No matter if he's a human or a demon, anyone who can kill the demon god is no pushover. We should wait and see what happens and not provoke him lightly."

However, when the creatures who escaped from the three worlds invaded by the demonic tide, such as the Cloud Realm and the Glazed Pure Land, described with tears and fear the spectacle of "the law descending from heaven to judge the demon god", all the doubts and speculations turned into deathly silence.

They described the golden code that covered the sky and the sun, the cold and majestic voice of judgment, and how the demon struggled and roared before the law, and finally turned into nothingness.

That is not a magical power or a spell, but a power of "rules" from a higher dimension.

A rule called "order" that transcends strength, lifespan, and realm.

For a moment, the wind direction of the heavens and all worlds quietly changed.

Those ancient gods and powerful demons who originally had ill intentions towards the Qin Heavenly Court and were ready to wait for an opportunity to act, all put away their minions and became cautious.

They began to re-examine this heavenly court built by mortals and the man who called himself "the First Emperor".

What he holds in his hands may not really be a simple power, but an "authority" that can subvert the rules of the game in all the heavens and worlds.

Among all the eyes focused on the Great Qin Heavenly Court, there are two that are the most special and the most complex.

One comes from the distant Western Pure Land of Bliss.

Inside the main hall, golden light shines everywhere and Buddhist chants are lingering.

A Buddha, dressed in a brocade robe, with a compassionate face and solemn appearance, is slowly opening his eyes.

His eyes seemed to contain the cycle of birth and death of the entire universe, so deep that there was no end in sight.

In front of him, a water mirror condensed by Buddha's light was clearly replaying everything that happened in the Yunxiao Realm.

"Law... Judgment..." The Buddha slowly uttered these two words, a solemn expression on his compassionate face for the first time. "Good is rewarded with good, evil with evil. This is the law of karma in our Buddha. However, this Qin Emperor's law is not about karma, nor about reincarnation. It is about proving the truth through force, replacing heaven with law, forcibly severing the connection between good and evil, and erasing the fruits of karma. This is... the way of tyranny, not the way of kings."

"World-honored One," a Vajra Dharma Protector stepped forward and boomed, "Ying Zheng used the law to slay the demon gods. It seemed like he was acting on behalf of Heaven, but in reality, he was severing the karma of all living beings' cultivation through tribulations. Without the demonic tribulations, how could the greatness of the Dharma be demonstrated? Without suffering, how could all living beings seek the protection of the Buddha? This Qin Emperor is severing our Western roots!"

The Buddha nodded slightly, a trace of compassion flashing in his eyes. "Demons arise from the mind, and calamities arise from karma. We Buddhas advocate compassion and salvation, not blindly killing. Although that Blood Hell Rāhu was a demon lord, he was once a beacon of light in the Western Pure Land. It was only because of a single thought that he fell into the demonic path. If he could be saved, he would be a Dharma protector. Now, he has been wiped out by the Qin Emperor's law, and his chance of repentance has been cut off. This is... the karma of killing."

"Then World Honored One, what should we do?" asked the Vajra Protector.

The Buddha was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke, "Propagate my command. Command my disciple, Manjushri Bodhisattva, the foremost debater, to carry my twelve golden lotus flowers and proceed to the Heavenly Palace of the Great Qin Dynasty to debate with the Emperor of Qin on the meaning of 'Tao', 'Dharma', and 'Cause and Effect'."

"I, the Buddha, do not compete with the world. However, if anyone wishes to disrupt the laws of nature and sever the wisdom of all living beings by his own rules, then I, the Buddha, will make him know what true compassion and wisdom are."

Another special gaze came from inside the Heavenly Palace.

The Department of Justice is a magnificent building made of dark iron and covered with various runes and magic arrays.

Shang Yang was looking at the detailed report on the Blood Prison Rāhu incident sent by the Tianji Pavilion in his hand with a frown on his face.

At the end of the report, the First Emperor's handwritten instructions were included: "Laws should be compassionate. I use the law to slay demons, to protect all living beings in the universe. However, if the law only knows how to kill, how is it different from the devil's way? The Department of Justice must prepare a first draft of the "Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Living Beings in All Heavens and All Realms" within three days to reassure the people and set the record straight."

"Laws should have warmth..." Shang Yang chewed on these words over and over again, with a storm in his heart.

He devoted his life to the study of Legalism, believing in the principles of "the law is impartial, the law is unyielding," and "punishing punishment with punishment, and stopping killing with killing." In his view, the law should be cold, objective, and emotionless. It is a ruler that measures the right and wrong of all things in the world; it is a sharp sword that cuts through all evil and chaos.

But Your Majesty, you brought up the concept of "temperature"?

This... doesn't this shake the foundations of Legalism? If the law has a "warmth," it means it has "human feelings" and "flexibility." How does that differ from the "rule of ritual" advocated by Confucianism? If this continues, where will the majesty of the law be? Where will the order of heaven be?

However, when he raised his head and saw the numbness and confusion on the faces of the refugees from various countries outside the window who had just been rescued from the demonic disaster and settled in the Qingtian World, Shang Yang's heart trembled slightly again.

They have lost their homes and loved ones. What they need is not only a hero who can slay the devil, but also an "order" that can allow them to settle down and believe that the future will be better.

A law that only knows how to punish sin may bring fear, but not necessarily peace.

A heavenly court that only knows how to kill may be able to bring unity, but it may not necessarily bring prosperity.

Your Majesty's vision is indeed farther-sighted than his.

"Someone come here!" Shang Yang took a deep breath, suppressed the confusion in his heart, and shouted in a deep voice.

"Here!" An official from the Department of Justice bowed immediately.

"Gather all officials and convene immediately!" Shang Yang slammed the report in his hand on the table, his eyes gleaming with an unprecedented light. "Your Majesty has ordered that the laws of our Great Qin be injected with 'warmth'! This is a change unprecedented in history, and it is also an opportunity for us disciples of the Legalist School to establish our own school and achieve supreme achievements! From today on, forget all the rules you have learned. Think with your heart, feel with your heart, and consider what is the 'rights of life' and what is the 'peace of all realms'!"

"promise!"

Within the Department of Justice, an unprecedented discussion on the "soul of the law" began in full swing.