Master Yun actually holding Zhanlu

With the massive influx of dragon qi, the Dragon of National Destiny of the Li Dynasty—which had previously appeared somewhat emaciated—began to swell continuously as it swam, and its once-vague scales gradually became clear and vivid.

As the Dragon of National Destiny grew increasingly robust, Zhou City began to shake as if struck by an earthquake.

Yet, during this tremor, Zhou City did not fall further into ruin; on the contrary, the long-dormant dragon veins deep beneath the earth of Zhou City reignited with a renewed trace of vitality.

Spanning sixteen imperial reigns and possessing two hundred and seventy-six years of national destiny, the Li-Zhou Dynasty had inevitably produced no small number of peerless and talented ministers. Awakened abruptly by today's sudden changes in Zhou City, these ministers emerged one after another from their family ancestral shrines throughout the city, transforming into streaks of radiant light that plunged straight toward the Grand Ancestral Temple.

When these capable officials and valiant generals arrived at the Grand Ancestral Temple with expressions of agitation, they found that the Grand Ancestor, Li Hongwu, was already standing before the temple doors.

Among the civil officials, a towering figure standing eight chi tall, draped in red official robes, stepped forward. Looking toward Li Hongwu, he asked, "With the national destiny shifting so violently, could it be that the Sword of Chunjun, which the Grand Ancestor managed to send to the Li clan of Xijing some time ago, has taken effect?"

When the Li clan’s national destiny had previously shifted, everyone across the entire Li Dynasty had been driven to a state bordering on madness.

Even the Grand Ancestor, disregarding his imperial status, had personally crossed the River of Qi Dynamics and plunged into the realm of ghosts and deities. Risking the heavy depletion of their national destiny, he had forcibly seized two deities and utilized their divine powers to transmit a message to the living descendants of the Li clan. He informed them that a bearer of the sovereign’s destiny had emerged in this generation, urging them to accelerate their search among the clan and, once found, to pledge their utmost efforts to assist him, thereby seizing the initiative in the imminent struggle for dominance over the realm.

There was no other choice. The sovereign’s destiny had manifested far too early in this Li descendant. Such an early manifestation was rarely a blessing; rather, it often portended the destiny of a vanguard paving the way for the true dragon.

Much like Dong Zhuo and the leaders of the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the chaotic dawn of the Han Dynasty, though they possessed the sovereign’s destiny, they were ultimately mere vanguards destined to clear the path. Later usurpers like Cao Cao and the Sun clan possessed not only the sovereign’s destiny but also a fraction of the true dragon’s destiny; yet they were still of the dragon-serpent tier, and once the Imperial Uncle Liu, the true dragon, emerged from Shu, those serpent destinies were reduced to trivial obstacles, no longer worthy of fear.

Yet, things had reached such a pass for the Li family that they had no options left.

They had no choice but to gamble.

Even if it was the destiny of a vanguard clearing the way for a true dragon, they had to walk this singular path to the bitter end. Since they were the precursors to the throne, they might as well deliberately awaken the destiny's full potential and sweep everything before them. Their wager was that the Li family's accumulated heritage of many years would allow them to re-establish the dynasty with lightning speed.

Once the sovereign's legitimacy was firmly established between monarch and subjects, even a true dragon's destiny would have to scatter!

Thus, the ancestors of the Li clan in the realm of the void had truly gambled everything. Not only had they continuously linked with the mortal ancestral shrines over several days to compel the Li clansmen to unearth the bearer of the sovereign’s destiny, but they had also expended a vast amount of national destiny to deliver the Grand Ancestor's personal sword, Chunjun, straight into the hands of the Xijing Li clan.

Chunjun was one of the Ten Legendary Swords, forged during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods by the renowned swordsmith Ou Yezi. Legend had it that during its forging, strange phenomena occurred: the God of Thunder hammered the iron, the Goddess of Rain poured water, a horned dragon cradled the furnace, and the Heavenly Emperor stoked the coals. When the blade was finally completed, Ou Yezi exhausted his life force and died. Such a sword could never be traded for any amount of wealth, and thus Chunjun was celebrated as the peerless sword of supreme nobility.

Although Li Hongwu, the founder of the Li-Zhou Dynasty, was born to a minor aristocratic family in Xijing and possessed neither conspicuous destiny nor any supporters during the early days of his contention for the realm,

he later faced a devastating military crisis. From a peasant family, he unexpectedly acquired the Chunjun sword, which had been obscured by dust and obscurity. From that moment onward, his destiny and fortune were thoroughly ignited. Wielding Chunjun as his personal sword, he vanquished all contenders to the realm and ultimately ascended to the supreme throne.

Following his death, Chunjun was once again veiled in dust.

Consequently, the second emperor of the Li-Zhou Dynasty buried Chunjun within Li Hongwu's tomb, using it not only as a burial treasure but also to suppress the subterranean dragon veins and destiny of the Li clan.

This time, these old ancestors had practically dug up their own graves!

Just a few days after they dispatched the Chunjun sword, the national destiny of the Li-Zhou Dynasty had undergone such violent convulsions—which could only mean one thing: they had found him! True to their hopes, the Chunjun sword had been unsheathed once more, fully awakening the destiny of the Li descendant who bore the sovereign's fate.

Compared to the overwhelming excitement of the others, Li Hongwu, though similarly stirred, managed to keep his composure.

Good fortune, excellent fortune.

The turbulence of this national destiny was violent enough to demonstrate that the fortune of this Li descendant was exceptionally profound. He was likely far more than a mere vanguard; the impending era of chaos might well be ushered in by him alone.

Even so, this meant the Li descendant would absorb an overwhelming amount of baleful qi.

If he ultimately ascended the throne as emperor, all would be well. But the moment he failed to claim the seat, he would not only suffer the karmic backlash of the resentment from the fallen state of Liang, but also the shockwave of baleful and dead qi generated by the war-torn populace across fifteen provinces. It was doubtful he would meet a peaceful end.

Amidst this great fortune, hidden perils were intertwined.

Yet, since he walked the path of the vanguard's destiny, the excess of fortune was still a welcome thing; the more fiercely his destiny erupted, the faster he could sweep away all resistance, leaving the true dragon no time to react!

As Li Hongwu pondered, he suddenly spoke out, "Why is the River of Qi Dynamics churning as well? What has happened?"

Hardly had his words fallen when one of the armored generals immediately chimed in, "Grand Ancestor, wait a moment. I shall go and see what those ghosts and deities are howling about—so terribly noisy!"

The moment he transformed into a red streak of light and soared away, several figures were seen rapidly darting out from the Liang State's Zhu City as well.

Li Hongwu's gaze hardened. Those figures all carried traces of dragon qi, clearly indicating that the old emperors of Liang had made their move personally; they, too, were desperate.

You are desperate?!

A stern expression settled upon Li Hongwu's majestic face. Transforming directly into a soaring dragon of destiny, he charged straight toward the River of Qi Dynamics. The emperors around him exchanged glances and immediately transformed into dragons of their own, rushing in pursuit of their fathers or grandfathers.

Li Hongwu possessed a fiery temper; if a fight broke out shortly, it would truly be a case of father and sons marching into battle together!

Meanwhile, at the River of Qi Dynamics, young Master Yun was gazing at the five-clawed golden dragon as it continuously swam through the air. "You are so pretty," Yun could not help praising.

The five-clawed golden dragon seemed to hear Yun's compliment. Previously, it had only revealed its dragon head, but now it suddenly dipped its massive form and swooped down toward Yun.

For reasons unknown to him, Yun felt not a shred of fear.

It was as if this dragon were an inseparable part of his own body, no different from his hands or feet—and no one ever fears their own hands or feet.

The swooping golden dragon of national destiny practically encircled Yun entirely. Even though he was in a dream, Yun could clearly discern the scales, whiskers, and sharp claws of the golden dragon...

Eh?

He suddenly noticed that the five-clawed golden dragon was clutching something in its claws. Because the dragon was so colossal, only a tiny fraction of the object it held was visible, and its precise form remained obscured.

Subconsciously, Yun reached out and touched the dragon's claw. With a resounding roar, the golden dragon leaped back up into the air, yet as it ascended, it loosened its grip on the object it held.

With a soft plop, the item fell with pinpoint accuracy straight into Yun's embrace.

The moment he was filled to the brim with this object, Yun felt as though his entire body was soaring, drifting swiftly backward until, in the blink of an eye, everything vanished from his sight.

At that very moment, several figures transformed into radiant rainbows of destiny landed by the River of Qi Dynamics.

Li Hongwu saw at a glance that Zhu Yuan, the founding emperor of the Liang State, had arrived a step ahead of him. Both groups of figures were clad in imperial dragon robes, yet they stood sharply demarcated into distinct factions.

"What on earth are those ghosts and deities howling about!" Zhu Yuan frowned, casting his gaze toward the opposite side of the River of Qi Dynamics.

Faintly, the sounds of chilling cries—demanding blood sacrifices and vowing to slay the true dragon—drifted across unceasingly.

The expressions of the emperors present suddenly darkened. Li Hongwu and Zhu Yuan simultaneously reached out with a grasping motion, causing the wisps of exceptionally faint, lingering national destiny beside the great river to converge toward them.

Though wispy, this national destiny displayed five-colored hues, occasionally rolling into brilliant gold.

This was the destiny of the true dragon!

The expressions of the several emperors shifted simultaneously.

Zhu Yuan's expression turned even fouler. Previously, the Liang State's Dragon of National Destiny had been flooded with massive amounts of decadent qi, signaling that the day of Liang's demise was close at hand. But now, even the true dragon had surfaced, proving that the fall of the Liang State was an absolute certainty!

Not long ago, they had utilized ghosts and deities to continuously link with the mortal ancestral temples, urging the emperors of the current age to swiftly dispatch men capable of discerning destiny and mapping veins to roam the world—to hunt down and eliminate any bearer of the sovereign's destiny one by one, and to immediately demolish any newly rising dragon veins.

They had specifically highlighted the Li clan!

Given how much the Li clan's national destiny had surged previously, a bearer of the sovereign's destiny must have been born. Though bearers of the sovereign's destiny at the dawn of a chaotic era were rarely true dragon vessels, eliminating them one by one was imperative.

Yet they had not even found many bearers of the sovereign's destiny when the bearer of the true dragon's destiny had directly manifested!

This was utterly impossible; how could the true dragon appear so early?!

As Zhu Yuan's expression flickered incessantly, Li Hongwu grew increasingly solemn as a grim hypothesis took root in his mind. It was likely that the Li clan's plan to swiftly sweep through the realm and strangle the true dragon emperor in his cradle had inadvertently threatened the very destiny of the true dragon, prompting the entity to awaken its destiny prematurely in self-preservation.

Son of a bitch!

With a flick of his sleeve, Li Hongwu ignored Zhu Yuan and bolted straight back toward Zhou City, simultaneously transmitting his voice to all the emperors and ministers within the city: "Get out there and capture ghosts and deities! I want every single one of you entering their dreams every day! Tell our mortal descendants to be swift, make it quick! Furthermore, protect that young junior bearing the sovereign's destiny; if anything happens to him, I'll beat whichever one of you dies down here to death!"

It had to be fast—they had to strangle the true dragon in its cradle, otherwise the Li clan would be finished!

Meanwhile, down in Lingdi Township.

Yun felt as though he had experienced a wondrously pleasant dream, and in his drowsy state, he murmured softly.

"What did young Master Yun say?"

They were not in the Li residence here; there were no maidservants or Mother Xin to tend to him through the night. Yet Li Fuye could not bear to let such a tiny child sleep entirely alone, so Gouzi had been assigned to keep him company.

Gouzi had laid out a simple pallet on the floor beside Yun's bed, sleeping fully clothed just so he could readily care for Yun should he wake up at night or roll out of bed.

Gouzi's loyalty to Yun was absolute, which was why he had barely slept all night, keeping a vigilant watch over Yun's movements. Whenever Yun slipped a hand out from under the quilt, Gouzi would immediately tuck it back in by the moonlight, showing meticulous care.

Hearing Yun murmur in his sleep, Gouzi assumed he was having a nightmare and gently patted the quilt to comfort him.

To his surprise, Yun blinked his sleepy eyes open and said, "Gouzi, I had a good dream. A dragon gave me a sword."

Listening earnestly, Gouzi replied, "Ah, as long as it wasn't a nightmare. Sleep a bit longer, young master; the sky is only just beginning to brighten."

Yet, no sooner had Gouzi's words fallen than Old Man Li and Li Fu abruptly jerked awake from their respective chambers.

Acting on a sudden, shared premonition, the two men dressed without a second thought and bolted straight from their doors toward Yun's room. The dawn was barely breaking; though there was a hint of rosy morning light, it was still laden with a trace of dim gloom.