Chapter 182: The Era of Tremendous Change

At the same time, on the ocean, Baichuan began to create Light Points and scatter them.

In the direction of Da Qin, at this moment Huang Zhongtian also left Tiandu Feixu with a face full of disappointment, accompanied by a single "Scram!"

Even up to this moment he still did not understand what had happened, why the True Dragon Lord had driven him away without even waiting for him to approach.

But unable to figure it out, he also did not dare risk incurring the True Dragon Lord's displeasure by offending the True Dragon, so in the end he could only leave helplessly, remount his fine horse, and return to Qingzhou to report to Zhang Rang.

However, upon hearing his report, Zhang Rang suddenly let out a breath of relief and revealed a strange smile.

For a moment, Huang Zhongtian inexplicably felt as if everyone he knew had changed, each one becoming somewhat unfamiliar to him.

At this point, Time began to flow at high speed, and in the blink of an eye fifteen years had passed.

And during this period, the ecology of the entire ocean also changed again and again.

Because the Light Points had finally begun to spread initially, large numbers of strange creatures began appearing with increasing frequency.

From time to time, enormous and terrifying fish would appear—these were all fish that had accidentally swallowed strange fragments during the earliest stages of the mutation.

The people most sensitive to this were those who lived by the sea and made their living from it, such as fishermen, because the fish they had always been familiar with were growing larger, and some were becoming more dangerous.

For a time, the entire surface of the sea was covered in danger; one careless moment and you would be buried at the bottom of the ocean.

It was also from this moment that, within the great sea, one after another behemoth appeared that belonged to the king-class even among all the mutated creature groups.

Among these kings were mysterious creatures with entirely transparent bodies and sharp claws, as well as terrifying great fish whose entire bodies were wrapped in currents, commanding thunder and lightning.

There were even eyewitness accounts of towering waterspouts appearing from time to time in the deep sea, and in that weather of pouring rain and rumbling thunder, countless terrifying tentacles broke through the water's surface, driving countless sea creatures toward a single vortex.

Legend had it that this was the master of the Abyss in the depths of the sea feeding.

Of course, because the Time had been too short, most of the changes were still occurring in the depths of the ocean that humanity could not reach, and the impact on humanity at present was not yet great.

In such an era of startling changes, another five years of Time passed.

That year, amid one exaggerated downpour after another, a tremendous upheaval finally occurred upon the land.

In the deep mountains, a giant tiger as massive as a small hill, its back bristling with fur, commanded thunder and lightning as it roared through the forest; in some deserted, silent, secluded valley, beneath a small hillock the ground suddenly began to twitch faintly, and a strange creature radiating heat wriggled out from underground, the ground along its path turning soft as mud; in some uninhabited place on the continent, a giant black creature nearly twenty-five in size slowly and ponderously rose from four legs to stand upright, its entire body covered in dark, wrinkled skin down which flowed a scorching liquid like molten lava, and on its back, bizarrely, light plants had grown…

These strange yet powerful creatures, one after another, began to rise completely with the help of the thin Light Points that were everywhere, stepping to the forefront of the era to reign as kings.

And while these creatures were mutating, near the peak of a certain great mountain, from a mound of earth piled up like a small hill, a ghastly white bone claw suddenly reached out.

The bone claw emerged, seeming as if it could hardly believe it, and clenched a few times, after which it began to dig wildly.

"Puff~~"

Amid flying sprays of dirt, an empty skull burning with a cluster of black-purple flames emerged.

As this skull struggled painfully and with great difficulty to crawl out, large amounts of earth also began to swell upward, and countless bizarre pale bones drilled out from beneath the ground one after another and began to gather toward it, until finally these bones assembled into a peculiar form—

On four long, narrow limbs bearing five claws each, an old spinal ridge formed a crude torso from countless bones, and upon that torso burned wisps of faint black-purple flame, extending toward the bones on its back that seemed to be wings.

As its strange and ugly body was fully assembled, it raised its head and let out a soundless roar, sending out ring after ring of invisible ripples.

If there were any being present who could sense emotion in sound, they would surely hear from its voice a thick resentment—the unwillingness and hatred of being abandoned and cast aside.

……

And in this same year, Zhang Rang had also thoroughly entered middle and old age—fifty years old!

At this point he was already aged and frail, and the entire martial force of Da Qin had also thoroughly died out and vanished.

And after all his years of diligent governance, he had finally managed to make the entire Da Qin prosperous.

Perhaps due to some special factor, over all these years the natural disasters across the entire Da Qin region had gradually receded, and from then on the common people lived and worked in peace and contentment, in an era of songs and dances.

This made him feel a deep sense of pride; his dream seemed to be on the verge of truly being realized!

However, until today…

A secret letter delivered by an intelligence unit he had specially established in his younger years tore all his pride to shreds—

Countless creatures, both enormous in size and unprecedented in power, had appeared at the borders and within the territory of Da Qin; these powerful creatures, merely by passing through, caused tremendous impact on the common people of those regions, and some ferocious behemoths even directly devoured countless common people as food.

Beginning with this secret letter, countless memorials and reports were also presented one after another, their contents all describing how countless behemoths were ravaging the lands within Da Qin, and the common people were once again suffering greatly from them.

For a time, the entire Da Qin was flooded with reports of victims.

At this point, he finally discovered that a strange change seemed to have occurred between heaven and earth, and this change caused heaven and earth to give birth to countless terrifying behemoths—this was not a good change.

This new era that had descended so suddenly would ultimately destroy the work of his entire life, plunging the common people of his Da Qin once more into an unfortunate era of natural disasters, man-made calamities, and even beast disasters.

And it seemed that for all these changes, no matter how many books he consulted, he could not find a single record; in other words, this was the first time in all of heaven and earth, and it had all occurred after the appearance of the True Dragon.

At this moment, even though he did not wish to think so, everything seemed to be connected in countless threads to the True Dragon; as the first mysterious True Dragon between heaven and earth, no matter how mysterious Its methods might be, would it really be that strange?

In other words, perhaps it was that True Dragon that had brought all of this about!

For a moment, upon realizing this, sparks of anger also appeared in Zhang Rang's eyes.

No!

He could not be so rash; it seemed he needed to personally go to Tiandu Feixu to inquire of the True Dragon Lord.

If it truly was so, then…

Thinking of this, even Zhang Rang felt, for a moment, a certain suffocation.

He truly hoped it would not come to that step…

With this thought, knowing that delay was unwise, Zhang Rang began to order his servants to prepare for a discreet departure.

One day later, a convoy that appeared ordinary on the outside, under the control of a tall, powerfully built, immensely strong great man, set out toward Tiandu Feixu.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed, and after half a month of weary travel by boat and carriage, Zhang Rang had finally arrived at this long-deserted empty city ruin.

Here, he solemnly alighted from his carriage, and with a somewhat pale face approached Tiandu's Middle City; however, just as he was about to step into the Inner City, an invisible force of repulsion appeared, directly refusing him entry.

For a moment, his face darkened, and he began to bow with hands clasped, formally offering a great salute, before speaking: "Zhang Rang, Son of Heaven of Da Qin, has come to request an audience with the True Dragon Lord."

……

Yet what awaited him was only the ceaseless whisper of the breeze; beyond that, not a single sound answered him.

Because the tongue beast within the Inner City had no idea who the True Dragon he spoke of actually was; at this moment its mind held only one thought: the Heavenly Capital Flying Realm was the most important place, the great responsibility its Father God had entrusted to it!

Without the Father God's permission, it, the tongue beast, would absolutely not allow any creature to approach!

As for that so-called Son of Heaven or whatever, what business was it of his? That he hadn't blasted the man to death on the spot but instead used the power from his Father God to block his entry was already A Shi deliberately letting him off, knowing full well that his Father God disliked slaughter.

And so, a strange misunderstanding was born.

Zhang Rang's audience with the True Dragon had failed. Now occupying a position of great power, no matter how unchanged his original heart remained, he was long past being that pitiful, ragged rebel leader who had been crushed and forced to flee on all sides. Holding great authority and controlling the lives of tens of millions, he could not tolerate being refused by anyone — especially when he believed his etiquette had been impeccable.

His face dark, beneath a gaze laden with meaning, he returned once more to Great Qin.

At this point, the entirety of Great Qin began to operate in earnest.

Since seeking the dragon had failed, he would rely on himself. The common people of Great Qin were still suffering — he could not afford to delay.

From this moment on, Zhang Rang began to recklessly summon skilled craftsmen from every corner of the nation, putting them to important use and having them manufacture all manner of weapons with terrifying killing power.

At this point, Great Qin entered an era of slaughtering countless giant beasts.

……

And Zhang Rang, whose face was bitter and troubled every single day, naturally caused his empress, Zhou Qingqing, who resided in the rear palace, to feel heartache upon seeing him.

Husband and wife of one mind, the two had supported each other for so many years that Zhou Qingqing naturally understood exactly what her husband was thinking. In this situation, a sudden inspiration struck her, and she fished out a bundle she had long treasured, one she had thought she would never use again.

Within that wrapping of soft cloth lay a single blackish-brown shard.

It was a piece of the True Dragon's shed shell that she had once, in her younger days, chanced upon within the Duanlong Mountain Range.

Although the martial power belonging to Great Zhou had vanished, that did not mean all the knowledge of the past was useless — especially since the power of their lineage was somewhat special.

As the saying goes, knowledge is universal. Moreover, the giant beasts of today might well originate from the True Dragon — the two share the same root and the same source.

In that case, perhaps this shed-shell shard could serve some purpose…

Thinking of this, Zhou Qingqing began to take up her old pursuits once more, preparing to use her own strength to help her husband.

……

(End of Chapter)