Chapter 65: News of the Divine Dragon Shocks the Four Realms

As the golden rooster heralded the dawn, the morning sun rose into the sky.

In Jiayuguan and across a major portion of Shaanxi, those unable to find sleep felt their doubts and curiosity deepen even further.

After all, to anyone in the entire Great Ming, a divine dragon was a mythical beast that existed only in legends and tales. Yet now, it had suddenly appeared in Jiayuguan without any warning, only to vanish just as mysteriously. How could anyone not be curious?

Especially Zhu Houzhao, who was virtually kept under house arrest in a side hall of the Tiance Mansion.

He had tossed and turned all night, unable to find sleep.

"First, there were dragon roars that shook the heavens and the fury of thunder, yet not a single drop of rain or wind."

"And then, it was like a haunted house, with shrieks of agony wailing throughout the entire night."

"What on earth is the Prince of Su doing?"

Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Zhu Houzhao was utterly baffled.

Especially the continuous, blood-curdling screams in the latter half of the night—they were spine-chilling. The hairs on Zhu Houzhao's body had remained standing on end ever since last evening.

He had visited the East Depot's heavenly prison and witnessed the brutal tortures of the Jinyiwei and the Dali Temple prisons.

Yet even those places, considered by the outside world to be the eighteenth level of hell, did not equal even a tenth of the terror carried by those screams.

"Dawn has broken."

"Prince of Su, it is time for you to see me now, isn't it?"

Raising his bloodshot eyes, Zhu Houzhao looked out the window, which had remained unclosed all night, falling into a daze.

Inside Lian Chengbi's residence.

Lu Xiaofeng, Ximen Chuixue, Hua Manlou, and Sikong Zhaixing had been sitting opposite one another for the entire night.

"Sikong Zhaixing, tell me, was that Azure Dragon that burst forth from the depths of the Tiance Mansion and then mysteriously vanished the handiwork of His Highness the Prince of Su?"

"I truly don't know, stop asking me!" Sikong Zhaixing buried his head in the tabletop. From last night until now, Lu Xiaofeng had repeated this exact question to him at least a dozen times.

It was utterly vexing.

Yet Lu Xiaofeng, convinced that Sikong Zhaixing must know something in his capacity as a secret guard, refused to let him off.

With a rolling of his eyes and a mischievous smirk, Sikong Zhaixing suggested, "Little Chicken Lu, if you really want to know, why don't you go and request an audience with His Highness yourself later?"

"Let's forget that."

Lu Xiaofeng decisively abandoned his curiosity, lowering his head to drink his wine. With the immense commotion caused by Tiance and Cangyun last night, resulting in the successive deaths of so many Heavenly Phenomenon Grand Masters and Zhixuan Grand Masters, he had no desire to court disaster.

"Hmph, coward," Sikong Zhaixing rolled his eyes.

At that moment, the door was pushed open from the outside.

Upon returning, Lian Chengbi immediately offered an apologetic smile to Sikong Zhaixing, Lu Xiaofeng, and the others, cupping his fists as he said, "My apologies. His Highness summoned me urgently last night, and I had to leave you all unattended. How about I accept a penalty of three cups of wine?"

"Haha, that would be for the best."

The men all smiled and nodded.

Once Lian Chengbi took his seat, Lu Xiaofeng's curiosity flared up once again. Feigning innocence, he asked, "Brother Lian was summoned by the Prince of Su last night. Did you catch a glimpse of that awe-inspiring divine dragon?"

Lian Chengbi gave Lu Xiaofeng a deep, meaningful look, a faint smile still lingering on his face. "Brother Lu would be better off not being curious about this matter."

In truth, Lian Chengbi did not know either.

Although the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry had also been mobilized last night, their assignment had been restricted to outer perimeter defense.

The core operations were handled exclusively by the upper echelons of Tiance and Cangyun.

Before he returned, Commander Lu's killing intent had been so palpable it was almost physical—clearly convinced that a traitor had emerged within the ranks of the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry, thereby losing a portion of His Highness's trust.

In fact, not just Commander Lu, but Lian Chengbi and probably a vast majority of the soldiers in the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry harbored the very same suspicion.

Though they had not entirely lost the trust of their prince.

Yet, through the events of last night, both Commander Lu and Lian Chengbi understood that, at least in the short term, until it was ascertained whether the internal ranks of the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry were completely pristine, they were bound to fall out of favor.

His Highness would likely no longer entrust them with many top-secret missions.

The look of worry between Lian Chengbi's brows could not escape the sharp eyes of those present, making Lu Xiaofeng even more curious. What on earth had happened last night to cause such an expression on the face of this Grand Master who shook the Great Ming?

...

Lintao Prefecture.

Zhu Wushi was sitting inside a luxurious manor, reading the intelligence reports sent by the Dragon Protecting Manor.

"A divine dragon startled Jiayuguan last night?"

"And it vanished abruptly after lasting less than an hour?"

Zhu Wushi's pupils contracted sharply as a possibility crossed his mind.

"Could this be an omen foreboding the Emperor's demise?"

According to the intelligence from the Dragon Protecting Manor, a colossal divine dragon had manifested deep within the Tiance Mansion at Jiayuguan last night. It had remained for a very brief period, and apart from stirring up widespread panic, it had departed just as abruptly and inexplicably as it had appeared.

Yet, reading between the lines of the intelligence reports, Zhu Wushi sensed something extraordinary.

That divine dragon which had dissolved into golden light within Jiayuguan was likely no true dragon at all!

"If that truly is an omen of the Emperor's death, then..."

Zhu Wushi's breath caught in his throat. Shocked out of his composure by this hypothesis, he forced himself to calm down the moment he thought of the Prince of Su, of Zhu Jinzhen, and of the fact that the other party still held a Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom pill.

"Continue the investigation."

"I must find out precisely what transpired within the Tiance Mansion last night."

"Yes!"

Zhu Wushi walked over to the window, gazed at the rising sun, and murmured softly, "Prince of Su, do you truly dare to defy the world and commit regicide to usurp the throne?"

...

As the morning light broke and the eastern horizon turned pale, the entire Jiayuguan was ignited.

A boiling sea of people could hardly describe the uproar of today.

In the latter half of last night, the dragon roars that shook the heavens and the peals of thunder had alerted even the soundest-sleeping commoners, let alone the traveling merchants from other nations and the martial artists of the pugilistic world.

A divine dragon!

To ordinary people, it was the Dragon Lord of the Four Seas, the Dragon King himself, the divine beast presiding over favorable weather and bountiful harvests.

Before the reality of a divine dragon, a divine beast, and a myth brought to life, all other topics paled into insignificance.

By early morning, regardless of whether their information networks were well-connected or not—from border generals and officials down to martial artists and ordinary commoners—everyone was engulfed in this terrifying tempest.

"Hey, hey, Mother Li, have you heard?"

"The streets and alleys are buzzing with it, how could I not have heard? Besides, when I got up in the middle of the night, I saw it with my own eyes! That Dragon King was thousands of zhang tall!"

"Really?"

"Would I lie to you? Let me tell you..."

"What are you all talking about?"

"You didn't know?" Mother Li instantly locked onto her target, adopting a smug tone laced with a hint of disdain as she began to recount the news of the divine dragon's appearance to the freshly awakened neighbor who was still clueless about what had transpired.

The other commoners nearby who had yet to learn of the event stood frozen in place.

"A dragon appeared in Jiayuguan last night?"

"Pfft, what do you mean a dragon? That was the Dragon Lord, the Dragon King."

"Ah, right, right. Mother Li, please go on."

"Let me tell you, the body of that Dragon King was as large as a dozen or so mountains combined..."

"Wait, Mother Li, didn't you just say it was thousands of zhang tall?"

"Are you going to listen or not?"

"Listening, listening, please continue."