Chapter 14: One Hundred Thousand Years, Like a Dream

Under Mount Tai, a million heavenly soldiers gathered, warhorses whinnied, their scale armor was bone‑cold.

War chariots, spears, and banners stood amid the raging wind.

The voice of First Emperor Yingzheng resonated down from the summit of Mount Tai.

The multitude of soldiers roared in response.

"Battle!"

"Battle!"

"Battle!"

The sound swelled to a deafening roar, seizing hearts! This invincible legion of heavenly soldiers, extinct for tens of thousands of years, finally awakened from the river of time.

At the summit, the First Emperor's gaze was like a dragon; with a "clang" he drew the sword at his waist! "Immortal Qin soldiers, return to the celestial realm!"

"For this homeland, for all living humans, fight once more!"

Heaven and Earth hummed, the Great Dao trembled, and even the universe rang with bursts of celestial music!

Boom! A terrifying aura plummeted fiercely from the summit of Mount Tai, golden light dazzling, as if a dragon's roar, stirring the worldly air currents into towering waves!

Banners and war chariots turned to scattered dust, the bodies of a million soldiers dissipated like feathered ascension!

A million shafts of light, at this moment, shot straight up to the Ninth Heaven! In the vast, hazy expanse, the ancient Immortal Qin war song seemed to echo again!

"Brave Old Qin, let us face disaster together!"

"Brave Old Qin, restore our rivers and mountains!"

"Blood shall not run dry, death shall not cease the fight!"

"Who says we have no clothes? I share my robe with you!"

"Who says we have no clothes? I share my marsh with you!"

That ancient Qin voice was mournfully resolute, as if this departure meant never returning!

Countless people of Great Summer who witnessed the scene were shocked, unable to recover their senses for a long time.

Gazing at the million celestial lights, their hearts were filled with sorrow.

"Clearly a million heavenly soldiers are ascending to immortality, vast and grand, yet why do I feel such melancholy?"

"This Immortal Qin war song seems to be bidding us farewell, doesn't it?"

"Everyone, this is not ascension, it is soul‑return. Look, the bodies of those ancestors have become light. In this world there is no resurrection, only countless guardian spirits of humanity that refuse to disperse!"

Within Great Summer, someone instantly recognized that the million heavenly soldiers' ascension was a waking of deities; more accurately, the souls of those fallen heroic spirits, sensing trouble among mortals and a great calamity, gathered a final sliver of power to guard humanity! As those million celestial lights appeared at the Galaxy Border Pass, stretching across the endless celestial‑realm Great Wall, after ten thousand years the heavens were again filled with soldiers and flags.

At this moment, the Immortal Qin that swept the galaxy returned!

The Immortal Qin that had been driven back by demons from billions of light‑years away returned! Countless Immortal Qin troops boiled with blood, many soldiers' eyes welled with tears! First Emperor Yingzheng stood upon the ruins, his gaze blazing, as if he once again saw his Great Qin Immortal Dynasty!

At that time, the Celestial Star Array thundered, and Lu Chen's figure appeared above the heavenly soldiers.

He looked at the multitude of heavenly soldiers, his gaze complex.

After a long contemplation, he spoke.

"All right, long time no see."

As his words fell, countless members of the Immortal Qin army began to weep.

Tens of thousands of years ago, they had fought side by side with Lu Chen.

For each person here, Lu Chen could call out their name.

Their immortal techniques were taught by Lu Chen, their battle formations were authored by Lu Chen.

These million immortal soldiers were personally selected by Lu Chen among the mortal world.

One could say, without Lu Chen there is no Immortal Qin, without Lu Chen there is no endless Great Wall.

Whoosh—

A million troops knelt, beneath the countless stars, these ancestors of humanity from millennia past, their voices choked with emotion.

"Great Qin Heavenly Soldiers, return to the Galaxy Border Pass!"

A million voices roared mightily, yet Lu Chen, seeing this, showed not the slightest hint of joy.

Because the moment countless divine lights appeared at the Galaxy Border Pass, he finally understood the gods' deception.

What he awakened was no longer the Immortal Qin army, but countless heavenly soldiers whose souls had scattered, now re‑condensing after tens of thousands of years into myriad celestial essences! The gods returned, what returned were heroic souls, stubborn resolve, the divine power they had amassed for Lu Chen over ten thousand years! These soldiers, these heavenly generals, this time dying in battle, will completely dissipate, turning into endless nourishment that flows into Lu Chen's body.

This reunion after tens of thousands of years apart is both a meeting and a farewell!

It turns out there is no method in this world to revive the dead; the Great Dao is ruthless, even gods cannot reverse the night, yet countless immortals unconditionally trusted him.

Believing that this way he could walk a path no god had ever trod, to guard the human border for them! "So it seems, among the gods of this world, I am truly the only one left."

"Yingzheng, you have known this long ago, right?"

Lu Chen looked toward that emperor, one of his most prized disciples.

Yingzheng laughed heartily, shouting toward Lu Chen. "Immortal Master, the world may lack countless immortals, but it cannot lack Lu Chen!"

"From now on, even if there is no Immortal Qin, no Yingzheng, there will still be our homeland and future generations!"

"Moreover, today we can still meet, die together at the Galaxy Border Pass, and have no regrets left!"

"All soldiers, any regrets?"

Banners fluttered; countless heavenly soldiers already knew their fate, and for them, as the smoke cleared, meeting Lu Chen was a final blessing.

To reunite with many old friends on this battlefield that has guarded the realm for ten thousand years, and to die without lingering attachments!

Their eyes glowed crimson as they roared toward the heavens.

"Even in death, no regrets!"

Lu Chen gazed at the familiar faces upon the ruins, and said nothing further.

It turned out that all the celestial gods knew their end, yet they kept it from only him.

After the gods perished, this world would have only him as a god!

The gods have returned, to give him a final farewell, for him and for humanity, exhausting their last drop of heart‑blood!

This is the invincible path paved for him by many old friends, though it is lonely and austere, though he has lost kin and love, he can only press on, and must go to the end! Lu Chen took a deep breath, his gaze beginning to firm.

He said to the crowd.

"If so, I, Lu Chen, and you all, today we shall part."

"After ten thousand years, can I still muster troops and dispatch generals?"

Upon saying this, the myriad generals knelt, and a million voices spoke in unison.

"We are willing to obey the Immortal Master's commands!"

Lu Chen laughed three times and said.

"Good, good, good! The heavenly realm musters troops; aside from the demons, a hundred thousand years feels like a dream!"

"Today, I will follow you all, to die together!"

Upon saying this, the heroic spirit stirred, the million heavenly soldiers' hot blood surged, and they roared in unison.

"Battle!"

"Battle!"

"Battle!"

The clamor for battle filling heaven and earth was like a mountain's shout and sea's roar.

The heavenly realm's war drums were dense and deep!

Lu Chen stood upon the firmament, his voice spreading in all directions: "Is the Heavenly General Who Suppresses Demons, Bai Qi, present?"

"Immortal General Bai Qi, receive orders!"

"Is the Heavenly General Who Vanquishes Demons, Wang Jian, present?"

"Immortal General Wang Jian, receive orders!"

"Is the Heavenly General Who Annihilates Demons, Meng Tian, present?"

"Immortal General Meng Tian, receive orders!"

"Is the Heavenly General Who Subdues Demons, Li Xin, present?"

"Immortal General Li Xin, receive orders!"

One by one, familiar yet unfamiliar names were spoken from Lu Chen's mouth.

Until the final line appeared.

"Is the Qin King Ying Zheng... present?"

In the void firmament, the First Emperor Ying Zheng opened his mouth like an azure dragon.

"I, the Immortal Qin Emperor, Ying Zheng... receive orders!"

Boom!!! The Zhou Tian Star Dou Grand Formation suddenly opened at this moment!

Waves of immortal light burst forth.

Lu Chen's voice echoed throughout the galaxy, inside and out.

"After thirty thousand years, the Immortal Qin army has returned to its posts!"

"Today, we face the calamity, and will sweep away the demons!"

Upon saying this, the million heavenly soldiers poured out in full force!

(End of chapter)