Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 1151 The Golden Edict, Zhaohua's Invitation

Zhang Yuan stayed in Shileibao for seven days.

Over the course of seven days, the demonic energy in the north grew stronger each day.

Dark purple clouds rose slowly from the horizon, like a growing wall, relentlessly advancing southward day and night.

The scouts would venture two hundred miles north every day, but each time they returned with the same message.

Warcraft are gathering.

It wasn't just a gathering of a few thousand or tens of thousands; it was an overwhelming gathering.

In the vast wasteland north of Canglang Plain, the number of magical beasts has become so large that scouts dare not venture any further.

The magical beasts seemed to emerge from the ground, appearing endlessly and inexhaustibly.

On the seventh night, a golden message talisman pierced the night sky and fell into Stone Fortress.

This message is different from the previous ones.

The light emanating from the talisman wasn't pale gold, but pure gold, shining as brightly as a small sun suddenly rising atop the city wall.

The message talisman did not immediately dissipate after it landed in Zhang Yuan's hand. Instead, it floated in his palm, slowly rotated three times, and then disintegrated into a fine array of gold stars.

The Venus stars coalesced in mid-air to form a line of text:

"Zhaohua City, where all rivers converge. Guardians from all sides await your arrival, sir."

The signature was not a name, but only a very faint silver mark.

The mark resembled a mountain peak shrouded in mist.

Qin Yue, standing to the side, suddenly contracted his pupils when he saw the silver mark.

"Zhaohua City. It is one of the oldest cities in Qingsong Realm after Tianyuan City was destroyed."

"It does not belong to any general's mansion, nor to any dynasty. Zhaohua City obeys only one place."

"Tianyuan City, the Remnant Society."

The old man's voice was very low.

"The Remnant Society. It was an organization established by the last surviving descendants of the defenders after the fall of Tianyuan City."

"They do not participate in any worldly disputes, do not interfere in any dynastic changes, and will only appear under one circumstance."

"When they think that the catastrophe of that year might be repeated."

Zhang Yuan watched the line of golden words slowly dissipate in the night wind without saying a word.

His fingers gently caressed the edge of the Zhenyue Token.

The token felt slightly warm in the night, as if it had sensed something.

Qin Yue hesitated for a moment, then spoke solemnly: "Mr. Zhang, the invitation from the Remnants Association..."

"go."

Zhang Yuan spoke in a flat tone.

……

Zhaohua City is not on a plain, nor in a valley, but built on a mountain peak that has been cut in half.

I don't know what the name of that mountain is.

Long, long ago, this mountain was said to be so tall that it could pierce the clouds and create a huge opening in the sky.

Now, its upper half is gone.

It wasn't flattened, but rather shattered directly from the middle by some indescribable force.

The shattered mountainside has piled up in the surrounding valleys, forming a rugged, rocky wasteland that remains barren to this day.

Zhaohua City was built on the remaining half of the mountain.

The city wall winds its way up the edge of the cliff, with the tallest tower built precisely at the highest point of the cliff.

From a distance, the entire city looks like a fortress suspended on the horizon.

When Zhang Yuan led a team of less than a hundred people from Shileibao, it was still dark.

No one asked him what he was going to do, and no one stopped him.

He simply walked to the camp gate, mounted his horse, and rode off.

He glanced back at the soldiers silently watching him from the city wall, then spurred his horse north.

Tuoba Shan, Amu, Yan Qing, and Yan Laoshuan followed behind. The group galloped across the wasteland for three days, and as they approached Zhaohua City, Tuoba Shan suddenly reined in the horses, his eyes fixed intently on the road ahead.

On a distant mountain ridge, another team appeared.

The group numbered about three or four hundred, their armor gleaming and their flags fluttering.

The patterns embroidered on the flags are all different.

Some are a golden eagle spreading its wings, some are a black city standing in flames, and some are a giant sword piercing the sky.

The training ground in front of the cliff in Zhaohua City was like a huge fan, and it was now crowded with people from all sides.

Looking around, the brightly armored teams each occupied a territory on the training ground.

Each team raised its own flag.

The wind blew up from below the cliff, making the flags flutter and look like a undulating, colorful wave from a distance.

Qin Yue caught up at some point.

He lowered his voice and quickly explained the origins of the flags to Zhang Yuan.

That golden giant eagle banner belongs to the people of the Golden Feather Mansion in the southern part of the Azure Song Realm.

Their leader is named Jin Yanshan. It is said that he has a trace of the bloodline of the ancient Golden-Winged Roc. He is arrogant and extremely difficult to get along with.

That banner of the Black Flame City belongs to the Burning Sky Fortress in the Western Territory.

The fortress lord is named Lieyang Hong. His cultivation level is said to have reached the half-step Venerable realm. He has a violent temper and will fight at the slightest provocation.

Zhang Yuan glanced at it indifferently, his gaze settling on the highest flag in the very center of the training ground.

It was an extremely old flag, its surface already grayish-white, the edges worn badly, and some parts even torn.

But that flag was still erected high in the center of the drill ground, towering above all the other flags around it.

The flag is not embroidered with a pattern, but with a single character.

day.

He glanced at the flag, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, revealing an enigmatic smile.

"The old guard. They've certainly put their heart into this."

People from all sides entered the training ground one after another.

More and more people gathered, and the groups under the flags sized each other up.

Some were old acquaintances, nodding to each other from a distance.

Some of them clearly had a grudge, and sparks flew when their eyes met.

All the forces gathered, but no one made a loud noise on the entire training ground.

All eyes were secretly searching for the same target: the person who had single-handedly returned alive from the Azure Wolf Plains, bringing back an army of 100,000 undead.

Some people in the crowd couldn't contain themselves and started whispering among themselves.

"I heard that during the battle of Canglang Plain, someone awakened the Yue Battalion from underground!"

"Yue Battalion? What's that?"

"The last garrison before the fall of Tianyuan City was wiped out long ago. But this time, someone used a token in the ruins to summon them all out."

"One hundred thousand suits of armor? And they can move on their own?"

"I was on the outskirts of the Canglang Plains at the time, and I saw it with my own eyes. When those 100,000 armored warriors pressed down on the mountain ridge, the sheer force of it was—"

"Who has that token now?"

No one could answer the question. But everyone's gaze was drawn in the direction of the entrance to the training ground.

Zhang Yuan did not rush to enter the training ground.

He reined in his horse some distance from the entrance to the training ground and dismounted.

He wasn't wearing armor.

As before, he wore a dark black martial robe, with the Autumn Cold Blade hanging at his waist. The scabbard was devoid of any extra decorations, and he held a dull, black token in his left hand.

And so, alone, he walked toward the training ground.

He walked steadily, neither too fast nor too slow, his footsteps muffled by the wind in the training ground.

But the moment he stepped in, the noise on the training ground suddenly ceased. (End of Chapter)