Chapter 856: I

"Your servant, a thousand thanks, Your Majesty!"

Liang Qu extended both hands horizontally and bowed deeply.

The Chief Eunuch swept his dust whisk, dried the ink on the painting, rolled it into a gilded scroll tube, and handed it to Liang Qu.

"Liang Qingjia..." the Emperor's voice rose again, "All scholars under heaven are those who act."

With that, the shoe soles vanished.

Liang Qu was slightly startled; before he could raise his head, his hands grew heavy—the scroll tube was in his grasp.

Crack!

Thunder cracked across the sky once more.

The Imperial Chronicler did not hesitate a moment, turned to a fresh page, and began writing.

"In the seventy-first year of Shun, the leap eighth month, first day, Bing Fire Day faded; heavy rain descended from heaven. The Marquis of Baron Xingyi ascended to the Entering Zhen Xiang Realm at age twenty-two, mighty... His Majesty praised him, and thus bestowed upon him this painting, saying, 'All scholars under heaven are those who act.'"

Whoosh~

Torrential rain poured down.

High upon the pavilion, the cloud board chimed softly.

The splendor and grandeur of the imperial capital were veiled in misty haze; the pooled waters mirrored like glass, pavilions and towers linked together in silent stillness, intersecting streets reduced to tiny black dots moving, hiding unheard clamor, over a hundred ornate pleasure boats hung colorful lanterns, trailing shimmering ripples across the water.

Plop.

Water droplets from the railing splashed onto the back of his hand; atop the Wanyue Tower, over two thousand meters high, only Liang Qu remained alone on the terrace, the eunuchs and maids silent, no one urging him to leave.

"Huh~"

He raised the metal scroll tube.

Liang Qu exhaled a long, slow breath.

Ascending to the Entering Zhen Xiang Realm—he hadn't even enjoyed a few days of triumph before weights of lead were tied to his legs, adding a heavier burden.

But people, after all.

To eat, one must first work.

"There's plenty of time ahead."

He gripped the scroll tube tightly.

The Fruit of the Minor Position, the Drought Demon, blood sacrifice, the false dragon—these were not projects of a few years, but of decades, even centuries.

The relationships among the Great Snow Mountains, the Northern Court, and the Southern Frontier were intricate, especially between the north and south—did they truly have a coordinated alliance plan?

Not necessarily.

Perhaps there wasn't even one grand plan at all.

Yet like quantum entanglement, when one stirred, the other could not possibly remain still.

If a strategic opportunity arose, how foolish not to seize it?

As long as there was wind, even a calm river would churn into waves; small waves would gradually merge into great ones, crashing endlessly onto the shore, smashing mountains, cracking rocks, eroding the land.

If he could truly use the Drought Demon's Fruit to first quell the turmoil of the Snow Mountains and Northern Court, then secure the Southern Frontier, and utterly shatter this great wave, Great Shun might at last enter a stable period of sixty years—or even a hundred.

"It's time to go!"

The view from Wanyue Tower was beautiful, but not a place to linger.

Wind brushed his temples.

Liang Qu gazed out the window, his blood surging; he did not take the usual path, but flipped over the railing and leapt like a fish into the air.

The eunuch gasped, stepped forward, leaned over the railing—and his square cap was torn off by the wind.

A mighty wind howled; mist coalesced beneath him into a great dragon.

The dragon flapped its wings, tore through gray clouds, and surged upward with all its might!

Rumble-rumble~

Wheels rolled; water foamed from cracks between cobblestones.

Along the crisscrossing streets, tall horses draped in straw capes crashed through the mist, wreathed in smoke, rain dripping steadily down the woven straw of their capes.

The driver gave no command, yet the horse suddenly skidded its iron hooves across blue bricks, halting dead in place, blocking the crossroads.

Carriages approached from left and right.

The wet road was slippery; others might not stop in time. The drivers of rushing carriages waved their whips anxiously—but before the whip could fall, their eyes caught something, and their grip loosened by a third.

Boom-boom-boom!

A thunderous roar filled his ears.

Lightning split the sky.

Amidst the clouds, between the bolts, an impossibly vast black shadow suddenly flashed into view—a momentary illusion, the driver thought, but when he rubbed his eyes, the shadow remained, twisting like a furious dragon, lashing its long tail, shooting straight into the heavens!

Ssshh!

The carriage lurched.

The steed neighed, snorted, and stomped its front hooves in instinctive fear.

"The Dragon King?"

"It's the Dragon King!"

Rain-soaked carriages all halted; pedestrians lifted their straw hats and raised their umbrellas.

Between the silent buildings, the street veins themselves seemed frozen.

"Damn, how's he doing this?"

On the pleasure boats, noble youths and wealthy merchants frantically pulled up their pants, threw open windows to the rain, their pure white robes soaked transparent—immediately guessing who dared such audacity.

Who in the imperial capital would dare play like this?

It was outright disrespect!

Only one person.

Only today.

Only now!

Make noise.

The louder, the better!

Boom-boom-boom!

His jet-black hair flared like writhing serpents; jade pendants at his waist clinked and chimed.

Countless bolts of lightning danced around him; the thunderclouds stretched from a few hundred to four or five thousand meters high—the Wanyue Tower stood at over two thousand meters, right in the middle—when the dragon rose further, it seemed to crash straight into the vast thunderpool!

Branching lightning flashed overhead.

Yet Liang Qu felt no fear; he extended his arm, and the lightning was drawn to the metal scroll tube, spiraling upward with crackling sparks, racing like a stream of electricity to the dragon's tail.

The dragon whipped its tail; the branching lightning struck the water's surface, like a colossal blue-white tree sprouting from a black wasteland into the clouds.

Boom!

White smoke exploded outward.

On the pleasure boats, shouts and curses erupted.

After shouting and cursing, deep envy followed.

Damn.

How I wish I could do that!

By the pond behind Liang Zhai, the beavers and river otters stood upright on rocks, crouched beneath the parasol trees, baring their incisors and fangs.

Xu Xu Shila held Yang Yang Dongxiong; the Dragon Girl and Dragon People all looked upward.

Inside the palace.

The Chief Eunuch smiled faintly.

The Emperor stood with his hands behind his back, shaking his head gently.

"Hahaha!"

Liang Qu laughed loudly.

The dragon flapped its wings again.

Higher!

Higher!

Higher!

Everything was left behind!

Whoosh!

Light pierced the black clouds, reappearing before his eyes!

The thick clouds boiled like an ocean; the hidden sea of clouds blazed as if on fire.

The dragon's wings cut through the mist, burst through the thunderpool, and sunlight flooded into Liang Qu's slightly dilated pupils.

Sunlight stretched across ten thousand li.

The sun blazed with golden radiance.

Behind him: black, churning storm clouds, heavy as mercury and lead, lightning flashing, thunder roaring.

Before him: radiant, bright sunlight; the clouds gilded with brilliant gold, the sky clear and boundless!

He had ascended above five thousand meters, piercing through the rain clouds!

Before and behind were truly two different worlds!

The people of the imperial capital had limited vision and could not see the great dragon, yet they still strained their eyes, desperately trying to catch sight of it.

Clothes flapped in the wind.

Liang Qu ignited his golden eyes, mirroring the golden sun above the clouds.

He forcefully exhaled the turbid qi, then shifted his center forward and stamped his foot hard.

The azure dragon, risen to over five thousand meters, turned sharply downward, its wings swelling like balloons, rapidly expanding to over a hundred meters before plunging back into the thunderstorm.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared.

A thunderous roar emerged from the clouds—something inconceivable occurred in the sky.

The clouds split open!

The vanished azure dragon reappeared.

It flapped its wings like a sharp razor, slicing through the gray clouds, extinguishing lightning, and tearing apart the rain curtain layer by layer!

The golden fissure between the two dark clouds widened further, sunlight pouring straight down as if a great transcendent being had parted the black, churning sea.

The steed panicked and stamped its hooves.

The cart wheels scraped against the stone slabs.

The azure dragon descended diagonally from Wangyue Tower, driving away clouds and rain, cloaked in wind and bathed in sunlight, crossing the entire flooded pond to charge straight toward the riverside residence!

The world sharpened rapidly, dark gray transforming into vibrant colors.

The thunder in the heavens grew fainter; the noise of the mortal world grew louder.

Only a few breaths had passed.

The azure dragon descended from the heavens, splitting the dark, heavy cloud sea and extinguishing wind, rain, and lightning.

It landed upon the mortal realm!

Boom!

The azure dragon dissolved; a gentle breeze brushed against the face.

The hem of his robe settled; the jade pendants fell silent.

Sunlight spread across the earth!

Pitter-patter.

Grass blades trembled and bounced.

Strong winds stirred the wutong leaves, showering down a flurry of rain; Long Li and Long Yao shielded their hair and leapt aside.

"Master! Mistress! I'm back!"

(End of Chapter)