Da Qin: Conquer all heavens and all realms

The universe fell into an eerie silence.

That war, which was powerful enough to penetrate dimensions and recreate chaos, came with great fanfare but left silently.

There were no cheers from the victors, nor wails from the losers, only a sense of bewilderment as if one's soul had been drained away, spreading across every corner of the universe.

Hundreds of millions of soldiers of the Kingdom of Law still maintained their fighting posture, but the fanaticism and determination in their eyes had turned into deep confusion.

The "laws" for which they fought and sacrificed their lives seemed like a carefully choreographed drama in the face of the "observer's" theory.

They are actors, they are characters, and the real audience is sitting outside a dimension they cannot imagine, watching all this with indifference.

This is more terrifying than death.

Xianyang Palace, Jiuxiaoyun Palace.

Ying Zheng sat upright on the dragon throne, his face as gloomy as water.

Behind him, the figures of the fifteen Yuanshi Emperors had dissipated and merged into one with him again, but the majestic momentum that integrated the power of the heavens did not restrain in the slightest. Instead, it became more restrained and profound, like a peerless divine weapon that was about to be unsheathed, but was hidden in the sheath.

Inside the hall, all the civil and military officials were silent as a cicada, not even daring to breathe.

They felt the familiar yet unfamiliar aura of His Majesty, and their hearts were filled with awe and uneasiness.

They knew that His Majesty was thinking, thinking about an ultimate question about the origin of the universe that they could not even touch.

And in the center of the hall, the five foreign emperors who once dominated the heavens were now collapsed on the ground like five soulless bodies.

Their bodies still exuded the aura of higher-dimensional life, but their eyes were empty, and their mouths only repeated a few broken words: "Dimension... Observation... Script... Nothingness..."

They are alive, yet they seem dead.

Yuanshi Daozu still hovered in mid-air, his form seemingly blending into the background of the entire universe, neither sad nor happy, neither increasing nor decreasing. He was like a guide who had completed his mission, quietly waiting.

After a long while, Ying Zheng finally spoke. His voice was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly, as if it was echoing directly in their souls:

"Meng Tian."

"I'm here!" General Meng Tian immediately stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

"Imprison these five men to the 'Guixu', the deepest part of the Imperial Prison. Bind them with the 'Chaos Chains' and burn their souls with the 'Fire of Annihilation'. However, do not allow them to truly die. I want them alive."

"Guixu" is where the Kingdom of Law imprisons the most terrifying criminals. It is the garbage dump of the universe and a blind spot of the law. Any living being thrown into it will be slowly eroded and decomposed by endless chaotic energy, and their souls will be destroyed, and they will never be reborn.

The "Chaos Chains" and "Fire of Annihilation" are the ultimate punishments.

Ying Zheng's order was to make them endure torture a thousand times more painful than death.

But Meng Tian heard the deeper meaning. Your Majesty was not venting his anger, but was "studying".

He wanted to study these five samples from higher dimensions, and extract all the information about the "observer" and the "higher-dimensional universe" from their broken souls.

"Yes, sir!" Meng Tian's heart trembled, and he took the order and left.

As the five emperors were dragged away, the oppressive atmosphere in the hall eased slightly. But everyone knew that the real problem had just begun.

Ying Zheng's gaze finally fell on Yuanshi Daozu.

"Daozu," Ying Zheng slowly stood up, walked down the throne step by step, and came in front of Daozu. The distance between them was only a few feet.

"Every word you just said was heartbreaking and terrifying. You told me that the myriad worlds I rule over are but a dream of the ancestor of nothingness; the laws I established are but the rules of this dream; my people, my soldiers, even myself, are merely characters in this dream."

His voice was calm, yet it carried an invisible pressure, as if even the space was slightly distorted by his words.

"So, Daozu, what about you? What are you?"

A faint flicker of approval seemed to cross Yuanshi Daozu's calm eyes. He spoke slowly, his voice still like the breath of the universe: "I, too, am in a dream. But I am the first to wake up."

"Wake up?" Ying Zheng's eyes flashed, "What do you mean by wake up?"

"Wake up from your 'role' and become an 'observer,'" Daozu replied. "While you indulge in power, authority, love, hate, and vengeance, I ponder the source of it all. I trace the end of the law, exploring the root of divine power, and ultimately, I see the wall."

"The Barrier of the Heavens?" Ying Zheng immediately thought of the magnificent scene composed of countless light spots.

"No," Daozu shook his head. "That's not a barrier, that's a 'screen.' The universe we live in is the image projected onto this screen. And those five, and the countless higher-dimensional universes they live in, are the 'audience' sitting in front of the screen, watching this image."

“Why should they watch?”

"Because, 'nothingness' represents eternal loneliness and extinction." For the first time, Daozu's tone took on an indescribable sense of desolation. "In absolute nothingness, there is no time, no space, no matter, no energy, and even no concept of 'existence.'"

"That's a state that can't even be called 'death.' The 'Ancestor of Nothingness' is the embodiment of this state. He isn't a being, but rather a... 'principle.'"

"To escape this annihilation, the 'Ancestor of Nothingness' attempted a 'creation'. He split from himself the binary opposition of 'existence' and 'non-existence'. This was the true singularity of the Big Bang."

"'Existence' evolved into everything we know today: stars, life, laws, emotions... while 'non-existence' became the background of the universe, the endless darkness and void."

"Our universe, and countless other higher-dimensional universes, are all 'dreams' created by the 'Ancestor of Nothingness' in order to 'experience' itself. Each universe has different rules, a different script, and a different story. 'Observers' are those who have realized they are 'dreamers' and possess the ability to 'watch' other dreams."

"They watch to search. What are they searching for? 'Meaning.' They want to see if there is some other 'existence' beyond nothingness. They want to see what kind of civilization life will evolve into, what kind of miracles will be born, and how it will end under different rules."

"And my Kingdom of Law," Ying Zheng took over the conversation, a glint of understanding flashing in his eyes, "is the most eye-catching 'drama' in this 'watching'."

"That's right." Daozu nodded. "Your appearance, your rise, your ruling over all realms with an unparalleled iron fist, transforming chaos into order, trampling countless civilizations and pantheons underfoot, establishing an unprecedentedly vast empire... This is unique in countless cosmic scripts. You, Ying Zheng, are the 'protagonist' of this drama. Your very existence has attracted the attention of countless 'observers.'"

"Those five emperors were drawn to you, the 'protagonist's' brilliance, and came here to 'interact' with you. What they call 'activation' means they want to see how you, the 'protagonist', will react and what kind of plot will unfold when they, the 'variables', intervene. They want to break the script and create a new 'storyline'."

Ying Zheng was silent.

He stood in the center of the hall, his back looking somewhat lonely.

He fought all his life, seeking nothing more than an eternal empire and the glory of eternal submission. He believed himself to be the master of the universe and the chess player of fate.

But now, he was told that he was just an "actor" being watched by a higher being. All his glory and suffering were just a play in the eyes of others.

This gap is enough to drive any god crazy.

But Ying Zheng didn't.

In his heart, anger, unwillingness, humiliation, and all kinds of emotions were surging, but in the end, they were all suppressed by a stronger will.

That is a kind of pride that comes from the deepest part of the soul and belongs to the "First Emperor"!

"So," Ying Zheng raised his head again, his eyes clearer and sharper than ever before, as if they could see through all illusions and gaze directly at the truth of the universe. "I am a role. But I don't want to be just a role."

"What should I do?" He looked at Yuanshi Daozu and asked word by word. Every word seemed to carry the sound of metal clashing.

Yuanshi Daozu looked at him deeply, his eyes seemed as if he was looking at an incredible miracle.

"You want to be an 'Observer'?"

"No!" Ying Zheng flatly denied. "Being an 'observer' is just changing your position and continuing to watch other people's drama. That goes against my will!"

"What I want to do is to step outside that 'screen' and get in front of those 'audiences'!"

"I want them to know that what they are watching is not a soulless 'character', but a living, breathing 'Emperor' with supreme will!"

"I will make them understand that 'watching' comes at a price! Those who spy on my universe and interfere with my empire must be prepared to be burned by my wrath!"

"Finally..." Ying Zheng's voice resounded throughout the Jiuxiao Cloud Palace and throughout the heavens and all realms, carrying with it a domineering aura that looked down upon the ages and made decisions arbitrarily.

"I want to find the so-called 'Ancestor of Nothingness'! I want to ask him why he treats my Ten Thousand Worlds as a dream!"

"I want to break this dream!"

"I will fight for true 'freedom' for my people, my empire, and everything I rule, free from the manipulation of any 'audience'!"

As soon as the words fell, the entire universe trembled again.

But this time, it was no longer fear, no longer confusion, but a trembling and excitement from the depths of the soul!

It was as if a giant beast that had been sleeping for billions of years finally opened its eyes at this moment!

Yuanshi Daozu, the ancient being who had witnessed the rise and fall of countless universes, at this moment, for the first time showed a genuine expression called "shock" on his face.

He looked at Ying Zheng, as if he saw a completely new possibility that had never appeared in any cosmic script.

"Break the dream...challenge the Ancestor of Nothingness..." he muttered to himself, "You...want to become the 'Creator'?"

Ying Zheng did not answer.

Under the gaze of everyone, his figure began to become illusory, as if it was about to merge into the laws of the entire Kingdom of Law.

His will is expanding and extending in an unprecedented way, penetrating the barriers of the heavens and touching the "edge" of countless high-dimensional universes.