Chapter 131: The True Foundation of Great Zhou?

"Boom—Boom—"

A whistling wind like thunder rang out across the sky above Tiandu.

The python's long, sleek body was exposed to everyone's eyes; its scales, gleaming with a metallic sheen, shone even brighter under the dazzling sunlight in the heavens, drawing exclamations of wonder from the crowd.

At this moment, everyone was stirred with excitement.

Among them, that little chubby Wu Ming was so excited his whole body trembled, his rolls of fat quivering.

Flushing red in the face, he turned back and hopped proudly over to his sworn enemy, his chubby hands grabbing the other's collar in a death grip.

If he weren't too short, he'd have grabbed Wang Gaowen by the eyelids to make him see more clearly: "Wang Gaowen, open your eyes wide and look carefully—what is this before you?!"

"A dragon! A real dragon has appeared!!"

At the peak of his excitement, Wu Ming's eyes reddened and a few scalding tears slid down; no one could be more stirred than he—a wish held for many years had finally been fulfilled.

Yet faced with such an excited Fatty, Wang Gaowen said nothing; even though his collar was grabbed by the Fatty he usually despised most, his face went pale and his eyes stared fixedly at the scene, his whole body seemingly trembling.

He recalled the disrespectful words he had just spoken about the true dragon—at such a great distance, the great true dragon surely couldn't have heard, right? Would it hold a grudge and incinerate him with a single breath?

Yet Baichuan had no mind whatsoever for the excited discussions of the crowd below.

Right under the stunned, exclamatory gazes of everyone, he ignored every arrow that flew at him.

Carrying rolling waves of heat, he passed over Tiandu's Outer City and Middle City, descending straight onto the towering walls of Tiandu Neicheng; a pair of sharp claws easily pierced what appeared to be solid stone, and from here the imperial palace was already visible.

"ROAR—!!!"

Then the python swelled its neck, and a resonant dragon's cry rang out across the heavens, echoing through all of Tiandu; at this moment, no one could possibly ignore it.

This dragon's cry—he did not use any amplification.

It was merely a declaration, declaring his arrival in Tiandu; yet the faint infrasound it carried was enough to shake the heart, making those ordinary people tremble in their legs, nearly fleeing.

The resonant, long-drawn dragon's cry traveled from afar.

In the highest place of all Tiandu, within a palace resplendent in gold and jade, a man clad in black with platinum-gold embroidery slowly raised his head from the dragon throne.

A head of white hair cascaded down like a waterfall; he opened a pair of eyes dark as ink, rose from the dragon throne, and with a smile playing at his lips gazed into the distance, murmuring to himself:

"So you've finally come?"

"How perfect."

"An auspicious day—is this the date of death you've chosen?"

At this moment, he seemed to be gazing across the void at the true dragon in the distance.

Whether he could take it down—he had not the slightest doubt.

So long as it was a Strange Beast, even one called the King of Strange Beasts—the dragon—it was still no match for him.

It had nothing to do with strength; this was the true foundation that allowed his Great Zhou to stand for a thousand years, unshaken no matter how extravagant or tyrannical its rule—the very reason his Gaozu was able to establish Great Zhou.

So long as that existed, everything else was mere illusion.

Of all things under heaven, only he could endure forever!

A true dragon?

Nothing but a passing cloud, soon to become the resource for his attainment of eternity.

With a light laugh, he stepped unhurriedly down from the dragon throne, descending the stairs one step at a time, until he stood at the great hall's entrance, looking down from above at the slender "true dragon" coiled upon the city wall.

In an instant, snake and man gazed at each other across the vast distance.

Whether the other could see him clearly, Baichuan did not know.

But he could see the other's appearance clearly: a young man who looked no more than twenty or thirty, clad in a robe of black with platinum-gold embroidery, a head of white hair that did not seem to belong to a man of that age.

Baichuan could only guess that the other had aged prematurely or had some problem with his hair.

The only thing that struck him as odd was the man's eyes—above those eyes brimming with mockery, there was another pair of strange eyes, and they were not open.

Is this the true master of all Great Zhou—Zhou Tianzi?

Baichuan murmured to himself; he couldn't shake the feeling that those still-unopened eyes carried a dangerous aura.

But the moment he thought of the ultimate move he had been stacking for nearly a full month, he was no longer worried.

Dragon head without horns, body covered in scales with four claws, back bearing a pair of wings.

Is this the dragon that killed my brother?

At this moment, Zhou Tianzi too felt some doubt within, no different from the other members of the imperial house.

As the true ruler of all Great Zhou today, Zhou Tianzi possessed the most comprehensive information, for the notes of Zhou Gaozu were in his hands.

The general appearance of the dragon before him did indeed match Gaozu's description, but only the belly area was a bit strange—the overall build seemed too slender and elongated, and there was no large belly.

Still, he didn't think much of it—perhaps it was simply the difference between one dragon and another.

Then, today shall be the day the dragon falls.

Once he slays the true dragon with his Pseudo-Dragon body, he shall attain a true dragon's body.

From then on, his achievements would far surpass those of every ancestor; even Gaozu could only rank beneath him.

With this thought, he began to move.

As he walked step by step, first the shoes on his feet quietly split open, revealing a pair of fearsome beast-like feet.

Then his robe tore apart with a "rip—", and a pair of enormous bat-like wings snapped open; the body left bare by the torn clothing was covered in a layer of fine, dense scale-plate armor, appearing entirely blackish-brown.

Finally, his face began to twist, becoming a head resembling that of a crocodile.

In the span of a single breath, the true ruler of Great Zhou had transformed into a monster standing upright—a monster shaped like a colossal dragon!

At this, none of the soldiers atop the Inner City were exempt; some experts from the great sects even revealed envious gazes, sighing in admiration:

"Is this the Ten Limits that has transcended the Nine Limits? Even the head has completely changed—I never imagined this old man would still have the chance to behold His Majesty's Holy Body."

"Today may well be recorded in the annals of history—the day His Majesty slaughters a true dragon!"

"Is this His Majesty's complete form? How magnificent!"

……

Countless people began to sigh in admiration, began to praise Zhou Tianzi, and they did not have the slightest doubt that His Majesty could take down the True Dragon.

As long as that one is present, the Great Zhou fears no Strange Beast, not even the King of Strange Beasts!

At this moment, Zhou Tianzi paid no heed to those flatterers' words; he raised one arm and gazed at his own sharp claws.

With a hint of intoxication, he made a few grasping motions in the air, feeling the sharp claws slicing through the air again and again, then looked toward the "True Dragon" and abruptly spoke:

"Evil Dragon, are you ready to die?"

As his words fell, the broad golden-veined bat wings behind him shuddered, and in an instant he transformed into a black shadow and rushed straight toward the "True Dragon."

In response, Baichuan's gaze hardened; his body likewise moved as he leapt up, and then his enormous claws swept out in kind.

Comparing strength with him—he truly had never feared anyone.

Yet at this moment, a trace of a smile flashed through Zhou Tianzi's eyes; no matter how much reason he had lost, he would not clash head-on with a colossal beast. His true aim was not this!

In an instant, his body swiftly tilted to one side, using his smaller frame to dodge the flood-drake serpent's claws, and then hovered right before Baichuan's eyes.

At this moment, man and serpent gazed at each other from extremely close range, and then Zhou Tianzi slowly spoke:

"Evil Dragon, savor carefully the agony of your power vanishing!"

(End of this chapter)