Chapter 620: The Nineteen-Clawed Fortune Golden Dragon
Li Si's expression darkened as he looked at Guishou, then glanced coldly at Bing Xuan. "If you disrupt my pleasure, you must die. When I, Li Si, decide to kill someone, they never live!"
"Hahaha, what arrogance! Today, I will see how you kill him!" Guishou responded coldly, signaling Bing Xuan to escape quickly.
With a cold snort, Li Si struck towards Bing Xuan. The surrounding space tightened, seemingly locking Bing Xuan in place.
Seeing Li Si's attack, Guishou also struck out with a powerful palm.
A massive ice-blue hand pressed towards Li Si, causing the space around it to ripple and fold.
Seeing the blue hand, Li Si's lips curled into a cold smile. Instead of dodging, he moved forward.
"Boom!"
Li Si crashed through the ice-blue hand, creating a hole.
Guishou's expression changed, but it was too late.
Li Si's palm slammed down on Bing Xuan's head.
Guishou's heart tightened. He hadn't expected Li Si to be so powerful, reaching him even with Guishou's guard up. Instinctively, he struck towards Li Si.
Li Si's palm crushed Bing Xuan's head while his other hand met Guishou's.
"Boom!"
A powerful shockwave created a black hole the size of a basin between their palms, causing the surrounding space to tremble violently. Light twisted around the center.
When the space stabilized and the black hole disappeared, only two figures remained.
Bing Xuan, a formidable emperor, had been obliterated by Li Si's palm, his remains scattering across the ground. Li Si and Guishou faced each other at a distance.
Guishou's eyes were filled with uncertainty. He hadn't expected Li Si to be so powerful, strong enough to rival him. How could someone this strong serve under a celestial dynasty?
Satisfied after killing his target, Li Si glanced at Guishou with a wicked smile. With a flick of his sleeve, he vanished from Guishou's sight.
Guishou's hand, hidden behind his back, was red and trembling. Even after Li Si left, Guishou didn't make a move. The clash with Li Si had shown that Li Si was every bit his equal.
Great Qin? How many more of such powerful figures did the Great Qin Celestial Dynasty have?
Looking at the remains of Bing Xuan, Guishou swallowed hard, his throat dry. Taking a deep breath, Guishou seemed to age even more. He disappeared from the scene in a flash.
In the Tianyuan Pavilion of the Celestial Pavilion,
Zhongshan sat at his desk, reading through reports from all directions. One urgent report from the Jinyiwei detailed the epic battle in the Qingshui River region.
The detailed account of the battle was laid out before Zhongshan.
"Li Si!" Zhongshan narrowed his eyes.
Li Si's strength was formidable.
Zhongshan was now certain that Ying was Qin Shi Huang. But Li Si? In Zhongshan's memory, Li Si was merely a scholar. How could a scholar be so powerful? And what about the military generals? Great Qin had built its nation on martial prowess!
Taking a deep breath, Zhongshan calmed his shock.
"Send a message to the commanders of the three legions on the front lines!" Zhongshan commanded.
Liu Wushuang stepped forward respectfully.
"Fan Yipin of Yongle has gone missing, the three emperors of the opposing dynasties have been slain, and their leaders are no more. Accelerate the siege process! Before the enemy's fortune dissipates, seize it with the strongest momentum!" Zhongshan ordered calmly.
"Yes!" Liu Wushuang responded promptly, exiting the hall quickly to relay Zhongshan's instructions.
Zhongshan began to pace back and forth in his study, muttering to himself, "We must stay calm and proceed steadily."
"Emperor Bingxuan is dead, why don't you surrender?"
"Emperor Dacang is dead, why don't you surrender?"
"Emperor Dayuan is dead, why don't you surrender?"
"Fan Yipin is dead, why don't you surrender?"
On the four battlefronts, the Great Zong army shouted this shocking news, disrupting the enemy's morale. Initially, the enemy soldiers didn't believe it, but the truth couldn't be hidden. As news of the princes' ascensions spread, the opposing armies collapsed like a landslide, unable to maintain their formations.
The Great Zong army seized city after city in a frenzy. Many city lords, after negotiating with Great Zong's envoys, even defected, worsening the situation for the four opposing dynasties.
In just one year, the Great Zong army reached the capitals of these imperial dynasties. During this year, the Great Zong legions advanced rapidly, capturing cities in quick succession as if they were reclaiming their own territory.
The speed of these conquests was astounding.
In the end, such battles typically culminate in a confrontation between kings. However, the new emperors of these dynasties were too young and inexperienced. The seasoned legion commanders of Great Zong were more than capable of handling them. Zhongshan merely sat in the Celestial Pavilion, accumulating vast fortunes.
A tremendous amount of fortune gathered from all directions. Unknown to everyone, this fortune was filtered through Zhongshan's Fang Tian Jade Seal and the Investiture of the Gods list, further enriching the sky above.
Fortune, an immense amount of golden fortune, continually amassed, making the sky above the Celestial Pavilion shine with a dazzling golden light. From a distance, it looked like another sun, incredibly bright.
Four imperial dynasties' worth of fortune—what dynasty in history has ever had such abundance during an ascension?
In the past, when dynasties ascended to empires, their fortune was meager at best, the least among empires. But Great Zong, which other imperial dynasty could compare?
Countless experts attracted by the Celestial Pavilion were already wide-eyed with amazement.
This fortune was astonishingly abundant. Though not as much as a celestial dynasty, it was comparable to half of one. So thick, so much? The Great Zong Dynasty was extraordinarily powerful.
Ascension? Yes, the ascension was imminent.
With the fall of the opposing dynasties, Great Zong's fortune increased at an extreme rate.
The legion commanders had returned to the Celestial Pavilion; the capitals of the four dynasties had fallen. Capturing the remaining cities no longer required the strategic brilliance of these commanders.
At the Celestial Pavilion, before the Hall of Longevity, a grand stage was erected.
Zhongshan stood atop, with the Fang Tian Jade Seal and the Investiture of the Gods list placed before him.
Below the stage stood civil and military officials, key figures of Great Zong, numerous empresses, legion commanders, the crown prince, Emperor Xuanzha, and others.
This time, Zhongshan needed only to worship the heavens, no longer the earth.
Below, countless Great Zong officials stood respectfully, while the common people knelt in worship.
Zhongshan suddenly knelt and performed a three-bow and nine-kowtow ritual to the heavens.
After the ritual, Zhongshan stood up, held the Investiture of the Gods list high, and proclaimed loudly:
"The Great Zong Dynasty worships the heavens. I, Zhongshan, establish the Great Zong Dynasty under the mandate of heaven, to govern the people and bring peace to the land, acknowledging the merits of the gods.
The Great Zong receives the protection of heaven and earth, flourishing with prosperity, blessed with boundless fortune. The current dynasty cannot bear this fortune, hence we humbly request the heavens to bestow upon the Great Zong Dynasty the title of an empire, to establish the Imperial legacy, and to seal the title of Emperor of Heaven!"
As Zhongshan's words echoed, he threw the Investiture of the Gods list into the sky. Suddenly, the list emitted countless rays of golden light, connecting directly with the sea of fortune in the sky. The golden light merged with the sea of fortune, creating a connection.
The Investiture of the Gods list trembled slightly, causing the vast sea of fortune to churn violently. The fortune gathered and dispersed, gathered and dispersed, like boiling water, as if it were nurturing something.
Zhongshan watched intently. Below, civil and military officials, endless guards, all knelt in reverence, waiting for the heavens to bestow the 'Middle Position of the Imperial Dynasty'.
Zhongshan held the Fang Tian Jade Seal in his hands, gazing at the sea of fortune. Around the Celestial Pavilion, many super experts, including Li Si, the Prime Minister of Great Qin, watched the sea of fortune intently.
The churning sea of fortune captured everyone's attention.
This waiting lasted nearly four days, precisely eighty-one hours. The sea of fortune in the sky had condensed into a massive spherical form, an elliptical fortune ball. Suddenly, the Fang Tian Jade Seal in Zhongshan's hands emitted a dazzling golden light.
"Crack~~~~~~~~"
A crisp sound came from the fortune ball, which began to crack.
"Roar~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
A tremendous dragon roar, shaking heaven and earth, emanated from the fortune ball. The roar was so powerful that it spread across all the lands of the Great Zong Dynasty, including the newly conquered territories of the four imperial dynasties.
On the Celestial Pavilion, almost everyone felt their ears vibrating as if they were about to burst. However, despite the overwhelming roar, no one was injured, not even ordinary people.
With the dragon's roar, a pair of majestic golden dragon horns emerged from the fortune ball, followed by a colossal dragon head, then the body. The immense fortune golden dragon finally took shape as the Great Zong ascended.
The fortune golden dragon slowly flew out, its mighty presence causing an instinctive tremor in everyone's hearts. As the dragon's body swayed, it created terrifying spatial ripples.
The fortune golden dragon's entire form emerged, and with just a glance, it felt as if one's heart was being heavily suppressed. Countless bolts of lightning shot from the dragon's horns, reaching into the sky.
The dragon's aura was far stronger than that of a typical imperial dynasty's fortune dragon. Its size was much larger, and most importantly, a typical imperial dynasty's fortune dragon had no more than nine claws—ranging from five to nine claws, indicating the strength of the dynasty. However, the fortune golden dragon of the Great Zong had nineteen formidable claws, surpassing even the strongest imperial dynasties by ten claws.
From a distance, on the ground,
"Nineteen? A nineteen-clawed fortune golden dragon? How can this be? How does it have nineteen claws?" Li Si exclaimed in shock.