Chapter 78

Chapter 78

“The golden age… is also perilous beyond compare…” Huaxu Jingfeng muttered. The lofty passion he had felt earlier from the appearance of the Emperor Weapon had already silently dissipated.

“Hmph! Unfilial daughter, rebellious girl! If you had obediently married into the imperial family back then, the Huaxu Family would naturally have stood as steady as Mount Tai!”

“Still, it’s not all bad. That wretched child you bore, turns out to be shockingly gifted. Once grown, if she marries into the imperial family, it might still…”

He then fully calmed his thoughts, and began to search for that faint line of tribulation.

In a supreme holy land…

A middle-aged man in Daoist robes did not raise his head to glance at the roaring heavens.

Instead, he lowered his gaze to the chessboard before him.

Across from him sat a young monk, eyes brimming with compassion.

“Master Wuchen, the Emperor Weapon has manifested!”

“It has not appeared in ten thousand years. Now that all beings face tribulation, chaos unfolds, the great calamity approaches…” the little monk spoke with mournful compassion.

Wuchen, however, grinned and paid it no mind, lazily gathering his messy Daoist robe into a heap.

“Baldy, it’s nothing but ‘soldiers to block it, water to cover it’!”

“In this era, anyone who doesn’t bring joy to this Daoist… I’ll just wipe them out!”

“Be it taboos or strangeness, it’s all the same to me!”

Wuchen spoke with a roguish air.

“Amitabha. Master Wuchen, you are the Reader of the Heavens, gazing upon the grand fate—how can you act with such recklessness?”

The little monk shook his head helplessly.

Then, he reached out and pointed at the chessboard.

In an instant—

The once-ordinary board erupted with boundless phenomena.

Suddenly, three thousand colossal stars rose and hovered in the sky.

Beneath the stars, ten incomparably vast lands lay prostrate.

Above the stars, nine mysterious clouds loomed and gazed downward—

This was the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, the Three Thousand Great Domains!

And four vague, dreamlike visions enveloped the heavens and earth:

A crimson dragon baring its fangs, a golden crow spreading its wings, a white tiger crouching low, and a qilin stepping across the sky!

“The Four Divine Nations command their national fate, suppressing ancient taboos—this has continued for hundreds of thousands of years.” the little monk explained.

He then looked to one of the most remote stars.

That place was not covered by any of the other visions. Instead, a pure, absolute black rose high within it!

Upon closer look, an incomparably pitch-black ancestral dragon was roaring and bellowing there. Behind the black dragon was an even deeper aura—looming and ready to erupt.

“In the midst of heavenly taboos and the tribulations of all beings, beyond the Four Divine Nations… another beast of national fate has emerged!”

“Though still feeble, my heart feels unease. I fear it may provoke…”

“Baldy!” Wuchen interrupted him.

With a wave of his sleeve, he scattered the myriad phenomena.

“Ruined my good game!” Wuchen said lazily.

“Every time chaos arises, a monster is born. Perhaps this black dragon will bring us a pleasant surprise.”

“The Four Divine Nations are too ancient. They have decayed. The four national fates can only suppress them…”

As Wuchen spoke, the smile on his face faded, and in the depths of his eyes, yin and yang turned.

He stared into the little monk’s eyes and said:

“Master Duer… if the four national fates can only suppress—then what if a national fate beast capable of devouring the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths appeared? Could it obliterate them?”

“Obliterate!!”

Upon hearing this, even the usually serene Duer’s expression changed.

“You wish to…” Duer hesitated. Some words could not be spoken aloud.

“Soon, I will roam the great domains.”

“Buddhism’s disciples must also descend to endure tribulation. What do you say?”

Duer lowered his eyes. After a moment, he replied: “So be it.”

As Su Zhou drew out the Da Luo Sword Embryo, he immediately sheathed it once more.

He could feel that if he lingered even a second longer, those legendary beings spoken of in ancient tales would come seeking him.

This Da Luo Sword Embryo was far too terrifying—undoubtedly one of Su Zhou’s most formidable trump cards.

In battle, merely summoning a sliver of its sword intent would be enough to obliterate his foes.

Moreover, this sword embryo continuously nourished his sword Dao—every moment refined his understanding of the Dao.

It was not only the ultimate weapon of slaughter, but also a peerless artifact for comprehending Dao!

Su Zhou smiled in satisfaction. The sword was still in its embryonic form—but in the future, once he advanced further and tempered it…

Who could imagine what kind of shock this black sword would bring to the heavens?

And just as Su Zhou was sighing in awe—

Crack—

Deep within his dantian, something seemed to shatter.

His cultivation abruptly surged!

All around him, the Three Thousand Great Daos roared and shimmered, and among them, several Dao-rhythms even began to transform—toward Full Moon!

“Mm! I shall enter the Moon Grasping realm!” Su Zhou sensed it clearly. This was a breakthrough brought on by the family’s collective power.

The advancement was immense—he had directly stepped into the Moon Grasping Realm.

With a single thought, he returned to Lingxiao Peak.

This time, he hadn’t just entered Moon Grasping. He would… reshape the entire realm!

Seated in his secluded chamber, the stellar Daos roared around him. His gaze reached far into the heavens.

His lips pressed together:

“You did not disappoint me. One nation’s strength, to declare war on six—”

“Snow Dragon Cavalry… go.”

“A child of my blood must be watched over. Let me see if my Su Family… can produce an emperor for the ages!!”

With that, he closed his eyes tightly.

….

Crack!

In the void of the Moon, the Phoenix cried, the ancient shook.

Su Zhou had plunged deep into cultivation.

At the border of Great Qin.

Su Zheng, clad in black armor, led his troops into battle—personally commanding the expedition. Behind him, millions of soldiers stood silent.

They gazed at this sovereign with eyes filled with devotion and reverence.

Ever since the fall of Tianhan and the rise of Great Qin, Su Zheng had issued decree after decree, rapidly transforming the entire country.

Commoners who had once barely scraped by now lived well-fed and well-clothed under his rule.

Moreover, Su Zheng had established academies—for all citizens of Great Qin. As long as a family held military merit, their children could study freely.

Those with even greater merit could even learn martial cultivation!

Once this decree was issued, all of Great Qin went wild. Everyone became fearless in battle!

Food at home. A future for our children. All of this—bestowed by the Qin King!

This emperor, as solitary as a crane in the heavens, now held all of Great Qin in his grasp.

While ordinary emperors saw commoners as pigs and dogs, he cherished them as treasure. And so—the people were willing to die for him!

In these two years, Great Qin had waged war across the realm. With the support of the Divine Xia Empire, they had annexed numerous minor Nations.

Many of these were even Bestowed-Name States.

Conflicts between Bestowed-Name States required caution to preserve the dignity of the Divine Nations.

But Great Qin was not a bestowed state. It stood independently—owing allegiance to no one.

Ordinary independent nations were often bullied by bestowed ones.

But who could have expected that Great Qin would instead defy all under heaven?

It had devoured country after country.

By the time the powerful empires reacted, Great Qin had already become a colossus on par with them.

Its national fate surged wildly—and Su Zheng’s strength had become increasingly terrifying.

By now, his cultivation had reached the Peak of Heavenly Origin Realm, with several nascent stars already forming within him.

Once this battle ended—

He would step into the Star-Holding Realm!

“In just two years, you’ve swallowed twenty-one countries! If we let you continue, soon the entire Tiandu Domain will be yours alone!”

“Today, our Six-Nation Alliance shall destroy your Great Qin!”

From the enemy’s side, an old man with white hair and beard roared in fury.

Behind him stood countless soldiers, their shouts like thunder, shaking heaven and earth.

He looked smugly at Su Zheng, confident in the Six Nations’ army—tens of millions strong.

Ten times Great Qin’s numbers.

With such disparity, no matter how strong the Qin troops were—it was meaningless.

“On the battlefield, sheer numbers are everything. Su Zheng, you’re still too young!”

The old man thought.

But facing a force many times their size, Great Qin’s black cavalry remained eerily silent. Their eyes did not waver in the slightest.

Only the sovereign’s command mattered. His order was the path. Life or death… were but trifles.

“So noisy.” Su Zheng shook his head, not bothering to hurl insults like the old man.

He simply said coldly:

“This battle’s military merit— Tripled.”

In the next instant—the icy black cavalry of Qin surged with murderous intent.

Their eyes burned red.

“BATTLE!!”

With Su Zheng’s command—

He charged at the forefront, sovereign’s body of gold stepping onto the battlefield.

Only thus, could he win the hearts of the army.

“KILL!!” the Qin cavalry followed him into the fray.

But the disparity in numbers was too great.

The black cavalry of Qin, before an army tens of times their size, seemed pitifully outmatched.

This invincible empire that had risen just two years ago—might fall today.