Chapter 205: 205. Chapter 203: The Longling that went viral across the internet, the Dragon-transforming Heavenly Tribulation has arr

205. Chapter 203: The Longling that went viral across the internet, the Dragon-transforming Heavenly Tribulation has arrived.

The first part was still normal, but later it felt like listening to a story—talking about heavenly punishment, giant swords falling from the sky, divine palace descents, and such.

The originally quiet classroom gradually became noisy, with many students whispering and discussing, feeling it hard to believe.

"It feels too fake, heavenly punishment has come out—could it be the tomb owner's fantasy?"

"I also think there's something fishy here—how could the disappearance of Great Hao be related to the former dynasty's princess? If they really had that kind of power, how could this Dragon Kingdom have been destroyed?"

"This is just the tomb owner spouting nonsense—if such a major event really happened, why would later generations have no record of it?"

"I believe the Dragon Kingdom and Great Hao may have existed, but the claim about heavenly punishment needs investigation—could it be man-made?"

The students chattered away; the classroom was as lively as a market, only Hu Xiaocao remained calm, while Qi Xueqing kept scribbling in his notebook—these two stood out.

Fan Ming coughed lightly, "Regarding everything the tomb owner said, we cannot yet confirm its authenticity; this ancient tomb was just excavated, and we are still gathering evidence and investigating."

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, warlords divided the land, regimes were in great chaos, big and small, too many to count.

Many historical records were burned in warfare; fleeting rulers like the night-blooming cereus were many, but a short-lived, undocumented regime like Great Hao is truly unheard of, astonishing.

Fan Ming opened another document and said, "Classmates, there's another matter worth pondering; you can discuss it after class or do some research."

"The customs north of West Province are unique; folk belief often venerates flood dragons, for example holding the Encounter Dragon Festival each year. Such customs can be traced back to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and archaeological research suggests that the area north of West Province may very well be the former site of the Great Hao dynasty."

Upon hearing that, quite a few students nodded.

"Hearing the professor say that, I recall having traveled there before—many households post flood dragon images, and I wondered why at the time."

"Hey, my roommate is from West Province; I'll ask him properly when we get back to the dorm."

"Could it really be that a flood dragon descended with divine punishment, destroying this dynasty?"

After discussing for a while, everyone felt this was somewhat unbelievable.

Fan Ming continued:

"As for whether the flood dragon story is true, we'll set that aside for now, but we found a portrait in the tomb; after professional restoration, she is indeed the last princess of the Dragon Clan, named Longling."

As Fan Ming's words fell, the light grew somewhat dim, the big screen flickered, and an image appeared.

Across a thousand years of time, the ages lifted the dust-sealed history.

"This is a reconstructed portrait of the figure, synthesized using modern AI technology after restoring the painting."

As the computer screen flickered, a beautiful image appeared.

After seeing the person in the painting clearly, the huge classroom fell silent at once, for the person in the painting was so beautiful that no words in the world could adequately describe her.

"A beauty should have bones of jade and skin of ice and snow—this saying is truly not just empty talk."

The woman in the painting wore a white gauze dress, as if she were amidst smoke and mist, her whole body veiled in a light vapor, seeming real yet illusory, not a person of the mortal world.

Her flowing hair fell like a waterfall, her dark eyebrows long and delicate; she forwent pearl blossoms and tassels, her three thousand strands of black hair bound with a finely carved plum hairpin, lightly touched with makeup, without any extra adornment, yet extraordinarily gorgeous, graceful and elegant.

Even though they saw only an image, separated by a thousand years, they still marveled at her appearance.

Hu Xiaocao's expression was usually unflappable—not even if Mount Tai collapsed before him would his color change—but seeing this painting, he showed some loss of composure.

He felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if he had seen her somewhere; the key is that this woman was a figure from a thousand years ago—how could he have possibly seen her?

Hu Xiaocao's mind was filled with doubt.

"This is that former dynasty's princess."

Fan Ming's voice pulled everyone's thoughts back; his expression was also full of emotion—when the whole institute first saw the restored portrait, they too were stunned for a while before coming to their senses.

This shows how great a shock the beauty of Princess Longling brought them.

"Heavens, does such a person really exist in the world? Professor, tell me the truth—this isn't AI-generated, is it?"

"I actually saw a fairy—she's far prettier than any female celebrity or flower-dan actress in the entertainment industry."

"She's so beautiful she doesn't seem mortal; I declare that from now on, Princess Longling will be my idol—I'll cheer wildly for her!"

"A fallen state, a ruined home, a former dynasty's princess—double buffs on her; Princess Longling is simply the embodiment of beautiful, tragic, and strong."

The portrait of Princess Longling once again pushed the classroom to its climax; until the bell rang for the end of class, everyone remained immersed in the history Fan Ming had recounted and in Princess Longling's beauty.

If it weren't for the class lasting only forty-five minutes, even a few more hours wouldn't be enough for everyone to discuss.

"Professor Fan!"

Qi Xueqing and Hu Xiaocao spoke in unison, calling out to stop Fan Ming, who was about to leave.

Fan Ming looked up at the two, smiled, and said, "Oh, it's you two."

"We want to learn more about the Dragon Kingdom and Great Hao regime you just mentioned."

"I want to know about that Princess Longling."

The two spoke in unison again; Fan Ming couldn't help laughing, "You two really are in sync—the materials are right here; have a look yourselves."

Qi Xueqing and Hu Xiaocao aren't outsiders, so showing them the material is fine; unfortunately, most of what Fan Ming had already said in class, and their search turned up nothing useful.

Seeing their disappointed faces, Fan Ming comforted them: "This tomb cluster has just been unearthed; who knows, there may be new discoveries later—I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything."

"Then thank you, Professor Fan."

Qi Xueqing wanted to uncover this history because he felt fascinated; he sensed the fog was thick—whether it was the Dragon Dynasty or Great Hao, behind them likely lay hidden secrets—perfect for updating a series on historical mysteries.

As for Hu Xiaocao, he looked over doubtfully and said, "Xiaocao, why are you interested in Princess Longling?"

Hu Xiaocao's gaze fell into the void, with a hint of elusive vagueness, he murmured blankly, "I don't know why, but I always feel that Princess Longling is somewhat familiar, as if I've seen her somewhere."

Qi Xueqing heard this and couldn't help but chuckle in disbelief, "How could that be? Princess Longling is a figure from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, a thousand years ago—how could you have possibly seen her?"

Hu Xiaocao thought about it and agreed, "Yeah, maybe it's just my illusion."

After they parted, Qi Xueqing went back and began researching related historical materials, especially the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, plus the partial data Fan Ming later sent over; he indeed found some clues—perhaps the Dragon Kingdom and Great Hao truly existed in history, and after Great Hao's fall, the Nanping regime was thereby established.

But as for why Great Hao fell, opinions vary widely.

Unofficial histories record that some say Princess Longling found the former dynasty's remnants and, under her leadership, successfully took revenge; others say Longling, as the last member of the imperial family, summoned a dragon god through some secret art; still others claim the Great Hao emperor was decadent and corrupt, thus bringing heavenly disaster.

After the new regime came to power, because this history was truly too mysterious, it was not let the scribes record it in detail; moreover, wartime fires raged, related texts and books were all destroyed, so it only circulated among the populace.

In the end, no one could clearly say what the truth really was; everything sank into the dust of history—perhaps only the parties involved knew the actual truth.

After several nights of staying up, Qi Xueqing organized the information he had gathered and finally posted it online.

The History Mist series was also updated again—

"The Doubtful Cloud over a Regime That Lasted Only Two Years: Divine Punishment or Human Deed?"

……

This title garnered enough attention to catch the eye, and since this special feature had already run for many episodes and had a reputation, it instantly attracted a lot of netizens' attention.

On Zhihu, Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Douban, Soul, Moments, and other social networks, all topics related to it were established.

Some people reposted Qi Xueqing's Weibo content, while others conducted in-depth exploration.

#Let's dig out which dynasties in ancient Daxia history had the shortest lifespans#

#Shock! A divine dragon descends from heaven, and a dynasty falls#

#Things You Didn't Know About the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms#

#The rise and fall of the Dahao Dynasty actually has something to do with a mysterious creature#

#On the last princess of my beautiful‑strong‑tragic persona setting#

Under each related topic, someone is paying attention and posting; whether commenting or liking, the numbers keep rising at rocket speed.

Warped thought: "Didn't I misread? There's actually such a dynasty in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms? I'm just ignorant."

Person flying in heaven: "Following the blogger to gain knowledge again, Dahao? Does such a regime even exist? I've never heard of it; maybe the blogger is just making things up."

One punch five: "You look like a new fan upstairs; I suggest you catch up on the blogger's earlier episodes. If there's no doubt, how could it be called History Mist?"

What scallion are you: "Could the fall of the Dahao regime be related to natural disasters, like earthquakes? That feels more plausible. The idea of a dragon god descending to punish emperors feels too fantastical."

Buy you an orange: "I also wanted to say, it's too absurd; those who don't know might think they're reading a fantasy novel. And saying this dragon god came because of Princess Longling—just because her surname is Long, don't stretch it that far."

As expected, this special feature stirred up another round of heated discussion online; after obtaining Fan Ming's consent, Qi Xueqing also posted Princess Longling's scroll online.

Without exception, after it was released, all netizens exploded, insisting it was AI‑generated and a real person couldn't possibly be that beautiful.

But even if it's AI‑generated, the beauty is somewhat distorted.

Even later, the archaeological authorities were stirred up and had to step forward to say that this is indeed a true‑to‑life restoration portrait of Princess Longling, restored by them from ancient tomb paintings using next‑generation technology.

The authorities themselves got involved, the news couldn't be false, and netizens boiled over again.

The young lady arrived: "Princess Longling is here! Everyone, get out of the way."

I am your father: "Wuu wuu wuu, this beauty strikes straight at my heart—poor lovely face, short life, dying so young, I wish"

Scallion with tofu: "Damn the Dahao lackeys! If it weren't for them, our Princess Longling wouldn't have lost her family and home—my heart really aches."

Iron pot stewed goose: "Does anyone know where the Dahao emperor's tomb is? I'd dig three feet deep just to drag out that dog emperor and whip his corpse."

Older brother smoking: "Your idea up there is really criminal, but it sounds not bad—count me in."

The more people love Princess Longling, the more they despise the Dahao Dynasty, for if it weren't for Dahao, the Long Dynasty wouldn't have fallen.

A novel fan‑chasing craze kicked off online, chasing a figure from a thousand years ago; some even set up a fan support group that was well‑organized and even briefly hit the hot search list.

People who didn't know the truth thought Longling was some new rising starlet, but after clicking in they realized she was actually a figure from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and upon seeing her appearance they were instantly awestruck.

In Daxia's ancient history, famous women are actually few, and those whose names are known are even fewer; perhaps the most famous is Wu Zetian.

But now there's also Princess Longling.

After all, this world still has many who judge by looks; Princess Longling, though an ancient figure, relied on her beauty to break out online, quickly attracting a huge wave of fans, and such a person would absolutely not suffer a downfall.

That fan count actually rivals a top‑tier female celebrity in the entertainment industry, with various tie‑bas, forums, and video accounts popping up one after another, each garnering astonishing likes and collections.

In just a few short days, the name Longling became known to broad young people, leaving a deep impression on contemporary netizens.

This siphon‑like fan‑pulling effect is so enviable it makes people green with envy, but since she's an ancient person, there's nothing to be done even if one is jealous.

……

Meanwhile, while the outside world was in an uproar over Longling, Ye Qin still didn't know that this departed person had already become famous throughout Daxia.

Distant mountains hazy, a sheer veil like mist covering them, the hills filled with lush, dripping‑green verdure; the mountain wind blows, bringing waves of pine sounds, as if a huge emerald were inlaid there.

Amid this peaceful scenery, the sky suddenly darkened without any sign; the forest animals all lifted their heads, gazing at the gathering dark clouds on the horizon, feeling their immense pressure.

The Northeast tiger stared fixedly at the sky, letting out a threatening low growl from its throat, its whole body's fur standing on end; within those clouds it sensed a familiar terror.

Even it wore the look of facing a great foe, let alone other animals; those with low cultivation levels had already curled up together, the pressure and shock from their bloodline making them feel fear deep in their hearts toward the clouds overhead.

Ye Qin inside the cave also felt the changes outside; he snapped his eyes open, a sharp green light flashed, he gathered Longling's remains, and swiftly flew to the mountain's highest point.

The dark clouds gathered and formed quickly; after more than half the time, they had already occupied part of the sky.

One half is a deep ink‑black, the other half a pale blue; the two are clearly distinct, forming a strong contrast, the ink already spreading into the remaining area—soon the whole sky will be its domain.

Ye Qin looked up at the scene above, his expression somewhat solemn.

"The Dragon‑transformation Heavenly Tribulation is coming." (End of chapter)