Great Yan, the fifteenth year of Emperor Jianming’s reign, the second day of the eighth month.
Yunjing City.
Its walls stretched nearly a hundred miles, towering eight zhang high, imposing as mountains.
The city had eighteen gates, four corner towers, six water gates, three hundred and seventy-two enemy platforms, and countless arrow slits.
Within its registrations were one hundred and sixty thousand households, with a population exceeding one million.
This city, aligning with the Star River above and uniting all under heaven below, was the heart of the empire, the head of the Dragon Vein, the core of Great Yan...
Streams of people surged, carriages shimred, golden bricks paved the ground, and jade trees lined the paths.
At a glance, the grandeur of a great nation that hosted countless countries was evident; upon further scrutiny, its majesty was boundless, its opulence beyond asure.
If a Feng Shui master were to open his Dharma Eye and look, the surging golden-red Dragon Energy above the city almost seed to solidify, ready to transform into a golden rain or celestial blossoms and scatter down.
Especially above the Grand Canal to the south of the city, endless white sails linked together like clouds.
Boats loaded with fruits, vegetables, grains, cloth, and various treasures sailed down the river, continuously bringing the produce of the entire nation into the capital.
This Grand Canal, spanning more than four thousand miles, integrated the Dagu River, the Turbid River, the Guo River, the Heavenly Barrier River, and the Fuchun River into a single water system.
It also connected the most important Water Dragon Veins of the nation.
The endless stream of boats didn’t just transport mountains of wealth and materials, but also carried the surging Dragon Energy of the dynasty!
It was the work of a mastermind, who harmonized the Fire Dragon Vein with the Water Dragon Vein, sustaining the Great Yan Dynasty for nearly three hundred years.
This was still the scene during the dynasty’s decline, making it hard to imagine the astonishing breadth of prosperity at the peak of its power.
Roar—!
A resounding Dragon Roar from above, yet the people of Yunjing were already accustod to it.
At this ti, anyone who curiously looked up would be ridiculed as a country bumpkin, marked as an outsider.
Imdiately after.
A hornless Coiled Dragon, several zhang long with scales and claws intact, and a body of blue-black, rode the fierce winds through the clouds, descending toward an official residence adjacent to the Imperial Palace.
But just before landing, it slamd to the ground with a "thud," creating a large crater in the green stone pavent of the Imperial Observatory.
Between its scales, trickles of blood also flowed.
It was evident that despite Nie Hongying and several White Tiger Elite Soldiers drawing attention in the open.
This fourth realm Military Leader, even after taking a wide detour to return to the capital, could not entirely escape the Sect’s contingency plan.
However, the formidable power of the "Military Dao Dharma Image" led to a different outco.
After sacrificing half his life, he still managed to bring the intelligence back in full.
A mont later.
The Director of the Imperial Observatory, doubling as the Great Sacrificial Officer, hurriedly entered the palace, personally delivering a report seemingly soaked with the thick scent of blood to the Golden Que.
In the fifteen years of Jianming, the ministers never had to worry about finding soone when entering the palace.
Because their Emperor Zhou Wenrui was probably the most diligent ruler throughout Yan Han’s history.
He cared not for beauty, wine, or fine food; the concept of indulgence was foreign to him.
At the least, he slept for only two hours a day, rested only three days a year: the Winter Solstice, the first day of the Lunar New Year, and his own birthday.
The rest of his ti was spent exhausting his mind over various state affairs.
"Your Majesty, the national fortune deduced by the Winter Official has been delivered back. It’s obvious that there are loopholes in our ’strong trunk, weak branches’ strategy.
Even more so, there’s a possibility that we’ve been playing right into the hands of the No-Life Dao traitors from the very beginning."
As the Supervisor bowed his head, he inadvertently caught sight of a patch peeking out from the Emperor’s sleeve instead of looking further, he quickly averted his gaze.
Annoyed at himself for rushing and forgetting to change into his patched official robe.
He unexpectedly noticed that as the Emperor opened the report, his body jerked violently, even knocking over the pen container.
"Your Majesty..."
The Supervisor was puzzled by the Emperor’s sowhat excessive reaction.
Then he saw him wave his hand, signaling the Supervisor to temporarily withdraw.
Zhou Wenrui gazed intently at the divination on the report, which included an interpretation by both the Winter Official and the Imperial Observatory, far more detailed than the divination itself.
After a long while, the Dragon’s visage hidden behind the beads remained unclear, as he murmured to himself:
"After retracting its scales, the ’Dragon Qi Prohibition’ exposes its vitals?
The Red Dragon falls by Yunhe Bridge, Yunhe, Yunhe...
You all probably think that the third ’Dragon Gate’ at ’Yunhe County’ is just the vital point of the dynasty’s Dragon Qi.
But apart from , who else knows that there... is also my own vital point, Zhou Wenrui’s vital point?
For my ambition, I’ve wronged many and am aware that what is borrowed must eventually be returned!
But I haven’t yet revitalized Great Yan, I cannot be reduced to my original form..."
Zhou Wenrui’s gaze grew distant, seemingly looking through the floor at the Nine Dragons Wall beneath the imperial palace.
Nine is the extre of yang numbers, with five at the center.
The earth has Jiuzhou, the heavens have the Nine Wilderness, the "Nine-Five" system is the Emperor’s system.
Once the Dynasty Dragon Qi was no longer sufficient to illuminate the five divine dragons on the Nine Dragons Wall, even if the Emperor had "Ziwei Enters Life," it would be difficult to uphold the imperial stature of the Emperor.
By then, the Sacrificial Treasure of the Dynasty would be lost, and the world would compete for it.
At this ti, even using the strategy of "supporting the strong and neglecting the weak branches," four of the divine dragons on the Nine Dragons Wall had already dimd, and the fifth was barely keeping alive.
Bang!
A palm slamd on the desk, and he roared in a low voice:
"I will be the sovereign of rejuvenation, not a ruler of a fallen nation!"
However, his movent was too abrupt, tearing another rip in the old dragon robe and the white inner garnt underneath, which was already full of patches.
Zhou Wenrui’s armpits faintly revealed patches of green scales, resembling dragon scales, but also looked like... mottled tree bark.
...
By the Luoshui River.
Nie Hongying hadn’t realized even now that the mission she had completed by risking her life and breaking through life and death, had actually been perfectly accomplished the mont she died.
It was not as the hero who turned the tide, but rely as a... decoy to draw fire.
Even her na, along with the number of fallen Daoist Soldiers under her command, had not made it to the Emperor’s desk.
But after being reborn as a Golden Official, these things seed no longer so important.
After being refined by the Heavenly Departnt Dao Skill·Earth Que Golden Book, the disheveled state at her mont of death had completely vanished.
Her radiant face now glowed with treasure light, with slender eyebrows sharp like blades, and bright eyes twinkling with spirit, glittering like cold stars.
On her delicate and beautifully proportioned body, a shining silver scale armor dazzled brilliantly, with battle boots on her feet, and long, strong legs like jade pillars.
Her waist was slender yet seed to contain a flexibility comparable to thin steel, which then abruptly expanded into a sowhat exaggerated curve across her chest.
This was her true form after death as a Golden Official.
The appearance of a female ghost, the temperant of a military general, she was truly irresistible to both n and won, even overshadowing Wang Yuan’s presence.
It was only because her mory was severely damaged that she seed more like an icy, ruthless steel blade than a normal person.
"Retract!"
Wang Yuan pulled her and the Wood Official, Lady Peach Fairy, back into his body.
Imdiately, he felt different from before.
Originally with the Wood Official anchoring his liver, he had long been aware of his body’s enduring vitality. In addition to the "Peach Immortal Curving a Thousand Miles," it also strengthened his sight and made him immune to all poison.
At this mont, once the Golden Official took her place in the lungs, an invisible force suddenly gripped the vast power refined by the White Tiger Military Art throughout his body.
Inhale—Exhale—
Wang Yuan instinctively took two light breaths, and a white and hot energy surged in and out of his nose and mouth.
It was as if a "commander" unified all the scattered power within his body, naturally and repeatedly tempering his "essence and blood."
At this point, it was as though a real White Tiger was breathing in the lungs together with Wang Yuan, and his physical insights were completely different from before.
Even the elusive White Tiger Holding Position seed to be cheering jubilantly.
Wang Yuan was probably also the first Daoist Soldier in the world who had combined the White Tiger Military Art’s three great divine skills: Geng tal Divine Wind, Imperial Decree Tiger Talisman, and Soul Capturing and Spiritual Communication.
His cultivation in military skill began to advance by leaps and bounds.
"This gain from the Taoist Military Skill is truly an unexpected delight. Nie Hongying, this Golden Official, is like a buy one get one free deal."
The Wang Family’s ancestor, Wang Huchen, was only a third-level Dao General, and the inheritance of the "Thirty-Six Martial Arts Books·Volu Eight" goes up only to the fifth Chapter for Daoist Soldier.
At most, there was also so experience he personally had when he broke through to Dao General. Beyond that, there was nothing.
But Nie Hongying was different.
The Nie Family had been a general’s family in Great Yan for generations, and their White Tiger Military Art included not only the practices for the third-level Dao General but even for the fourth-level military leader.
Although she was only 24 years old, she steadfastly progressed step by step in her cultivation to the great success of Dao General, truly a genius.
She could definitely handhold Wang Yuan all the way to the peak of the third realm Dao General!
While others carry an old grandfather with them, he carries an elder sister.
Which clearly seems more advanced!
Beyond that...
Wang Yuan spread open his palm, in the center of which lay a finely crafted gilded silver bronze tiger talisman.
This was also the tiger talisman for the White Tiger Elite Soldiers under Nie Hongying’s command!
In Great Yan, the right to command the army was divided, with one part of the tiger talisman at the headquarters and the other in the hands of the general. It was only in tis of war that these two pieces of the tiger talisman would beco one.
The Commander’s Seal not only held the authority to command Daoist Soldiers but could also adjust the military aura, strengthen the military formations, and consolidate the power of subordinate Daoist Soldiers into a single force.
It was indeed a rare exotic treasure.
Whistling sounds...
At this mont, amidst the swirling ghostly winds, cries of lantation echoed around the tiger talisman, as if a group of ghosts had gathered, unwilling to disperse.
Seeing this.
The mont Nie Renxiong embedded the military souls of his forbidden curse battalion officers into the rit Golden Wheel after their death flashed again in Wang Yuan’s mind.
"Perhaps...there is a place for my own Daoist Soldiers from the Yin Mountain Tao."
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