Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Rumble! A few moments later, the numerous Youzhou elites began to converge on the capital.
Whoosh!
Countless messenger birds flew about the eastern gate of the capital, and just a few moments later…
“Reporting!” A guard’s voice resounded above the wall.
“Your Highness, we’ve found Andong Protector-General An Yaluoshan. He is directly to the east, forty li from the capital!”
At the same time, the foreign emissaries also found out where An Yaluoshan was.
“He’s been located!”
“That Andong Protector-General has been found!”
Like a bolt of thunder had crashed down, the area near the gate exploded into an uproar. In nearby taverns, Wunu Shibi and Namri Songtian suddenly tensed.
In another place nearby was another man with an energy equaling these two Great Generals, his eyes sharply flashing.
If one looked carefully, one would discover that this was the Mengshe Zhao Great General who had been ‘missing’ for a very long time, Great General Duan Gequan.
When Geluofeng was heavily injured by Wang Chong’s trap, this Mengshe Zhao Great General had fled with Geluofeng’s body and disappeared for a long time. But for this feast of all countries, Duan Gequan had finally reappeared.
However, with Wang Chong standing on the city wall, Duan Gequan did not dare to get too close, and he did his utmost to restrain his energy so that he was as inconspicuous as possible.
As time went by, the air grew increasingly tense.
“Reporting! An Yaluoshan has been found thirty li from the eastern gate!”
“Reporting! An Yaluoshan has been found twenty li from the eastern gate!”
“Reporting! An Yaluoshan has been found fifteen li from the eastern gate!”
As the distance shrank, the tension continued to rise.
Wang Chong had a scout reporting on An Yaluoshan’s location at almost every minute.
Wang Chong himself was like a resting lion, his eyes half-closed, not at all impatient or nervous.
Meanwhile, on the official road, banners snapped and waved in clouds of dust as a force of black-armored cavalry approached the capital.
An Yaluoshan was riding a horse at the very front of this force, and behind him were Cui Qianyou, Tian Chengsi, Gao Shang, and Yan Zhuang. These four were also mounted, riding in a row directly behind An Yaluoshan.
“I’ve finally arrived!”
The majestic and towering outline of the capital, like a coiled dragon, left everyone stunned.
Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi had been with An Yaluoshan to the capital before, but now, they were coming as mighty generals of Youzhou, so what they felt was completely different.
On their first visit, they had been rather ignorant, only feeling this place to be a bustling city. But this time, they could smell the thick scent of power and authority that pervaded the capital, and this sensation left them astonished.
Gao Shang and Yan Zhuang also immersed themselves in the atmosphere of the capital.
“I’m finally back!”
Gao Shang looked at the capital, a conflicted look in his eyes.
Gao Shang had been to the capital before, but it was purely a visit. He hadn’t even been able to take part in the imperial examinations, much less make his name.
“It is not my fate to be some feckless nobody, nor to be an impoverished failure. Since I cannot achieve a high position in the empire through the normal path, I can only use my own methods to stir up a storm in the empire and make it recognize my existence!” Gao Shang muttered.
He had left as an obscure nobody, and though he had read countless books, he had nowhere to apply his knowledge. Since this empire did not value him, he would use his own method to go to those places where he was valued so he could exhibit his talents!
As these thoughts passed through his mind, Gao Shang’s eyes gleamed with ferocity, but he quickly regained his composure.
His eyes turned clear as all these miscellaneous thoughts were suppressed. His first priority was to support the future Son of Heaven, An Yaluoshan, in passing this trial and successfully stealing Dragon Qi!
Yan Zhuang was also agitated as he gazed at the distant capital, but nobody knew what he was thinking at this time.
At this time, the most excited of all was none other than An Yaluoshan.
“Dragon Qi! There really is Dragon Qi!”
An Yaluoshan was looking up, but rather than the capital, he was looking at the region of the sky directly above the Imperial Palace.
Although Gao Shang had emphasized to him again and again the existence of Dragon Qi and its relation to the Son of Heaven, An Yaluoshan had never seen or experienced it for himself, so he had maintained a dubious attitude.
The so-called ‘future True Dragon, Son of Heaven’ was simply an excuse An Yaluoshan used to recruit the Youzhou generals.
But now, An Yaluoshan was a believer.
Majesty!
Shock!
Above the capital, the air was saturated with golden Dragon Qi.
An Yaluoshan had been to the capital before, but he had never seen anything like this. But now, he was the Child of the World, and at every moment, the world was strengthening him, pouring spiritual energy into his body. This allowed An Yaluoshan to see this stunning sight that was forbidden to ordinary people.
Dragon Qi was not merely a kind of energy. It was akin to a living being, and An Yaluoshan could see massive dragon scales within it, as well as an immense dragon body that even An Yaluoshan’s vision found hard to completely take in.
The dragon slowly squirmed, its numerous scales shifting. It was as if it could wake at any moment.
This is the Dragon Qi of the Central Plains, its destiny made manifest? An Yaluoshan quietly remarked as he felt the immense pressure coming off it.
He had not seen it before, so he had never pondered the nature of Dragon Qi, but this did not mean that he was clueless about it.
Dragon Qi was not an actual dragon, but a congregation of destiny and fortune.
If an empire was powerful, Dragon Qi would congregate into a being of unimaginable vastness. But if the country was weak, Dragon Qi would weaken, and its color would not be golden. It might be yellowish-green, and the color might fade even more as the country decayed.
The Great Tang had been ruled by several generations of wise sovereigns and had been supported by numerous powerful generals and officials, with mighty figures like Su Zhengchen, Hou Junji, Fumeng Lingcha, and Zhangchou Jianqiong further increasing its power through their campaigns.
Wang Chong’s conquest of Arabia had caused the Great Tang to gather an immense amount of good fortune, making the empire as powerful as it ever could be. This was how such a gigantic dragon could manifest.
Gao Shang came forward and asked, “Your Excellency has seen the Great Tang’s Dragon Qi, yes?
“Your Excellency, if you look carefully, you might be able to see a long streak of black Qi in the Dragon Qi!”
“Black Qi?”
Flabbergasted, An Yaluoshan carefully inspected the Dragon Qi.
At first glance, he had only been able to see the dazzling golden brightness.
But on second glance, An Yaluoshan now noticed a thin black line running from north to south along the length of the dragon’s body. The exuberant Dragon Qi and the faintness of the black Qi had made him miss it at first.
“Then I’m right!”
Seeing An Yaluoshan’s reaction, Gao Shang nodded, knowing that his conjecture had been correct.
“Although I do not have the ability to observe Qi, I can observe the stars. The Ziwei is swaying, and its luster has dimmed. This is an omen that the dynasty is about to change and that the Emperor is incapable. According to the Book of Changes, whenever this phenomenon is seen in the stars, black Qi will emerge within the Dragon Qi. Alas, the Great Tang has too many resources and too many loyal subjects. The support of all these officials and generals has maintained the Great Tang’s fortune, and this majestic Dragon Qi has obscured the black Qi. This is why we have yet to see signs of decline.”
Gao Shang paused for a moment.
“Your Excellency, look carefully. Under the Dragon Qi, you should see the collective fortune of all the officials of the Great Tang!”
An Yaluoshan instinctively followed Gao Shang’s directions and immediately found something new.
He had been so drawn to the grandiosity of the Dragon Qi that he had failed to notice it. Under the Dragon Qi, countless clouds of fortune had gathered in a variety of colors: white, violet, red, green. And they also had many different shapes. An Yaluoshan recognized phoenixes, Qilins, Dracolions, Luan birds, rhinos, elephants, great Pengs, flood dragons, pythons…
Each of these energies was majestic on its own and stood apart from the others, but they resonated with each other and linked together into some gigantic system. And upon closer look, one could see that a beam of Qi shot out from each cloud of fortune into the golden Dragon Qi of the Central Plains.
“So this is the fortune of all of the officials…” An Yaluoshan muttered as he glimpsed the concentrated fortune of the Great Tang for the first time.
At this time, An Yaluoshan was like a cautious intruder who was afraid of being caught, feeling both excited and also in great danger.
He was probably the only person in the world who could use his eyes to observe the fortune of the Great Tang.
“What boundless fortune! If our plan succeeds and we can absorb enough Central Plains Dragon Qi, I really might be able to become the master of the realm!”
This vast fortune above the capital made An Yaluoshan envious and greedy.
He had never before seen such a vast collection of fortune!
An Yaluoshan was a thief who had wandered into an overflowing treasury, and his mind had become incredibly restless.
What a pity! There’s still not enough black Qi. Otherwise, there would be no need for me to go into the capital! An Yaluoshan remarked to himself.
The fortune of the Great Tang was too great and the black Qi too weak. Although the signs of decline were lurking in the shadows, all of these capable officials made it so that this decline would not become evident for now, and he would find it very hard to find an opportunity while this situation persisted.
The more the Great Tang weakened, the greater his chances of ascendancy!
The majestic golden Dragon Qi was the worst of news for him!
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