nyslfriends Chapter 7 Rebellious Poem at the Meridian Gate
Chapter 7 Rebellious Poem at the Meridian Gate
The sky stretches for thousands of miles, and the gale-force winds are like knives.
After leaving Xuanyuan Tomb, Lin Yuan transformed into a streak of light and headed straight for Chaoge City.
Flying over the southern part of Chaoge City, Lin Yuan locked onto the old locust tree in the backyard of the Yuelai Inn.
Sure enough, on the windowsill, there were two steaming hot meat buns, and next to them was a small dish of chopped scraps of ferocious beast meat.
"That Fatty Wang is really a down-to-earth guy."
A warm feeling washed over Lin Yuan. He folded his wings and landed on the windowsill.
He is now a terrifying demon in the Nascent Soul Realm, capable of living on wind and dew and absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, and has long since abstained from grains.
But looking at the two juicy meat buns, he couldn't resist and gently pecked up a piece of meat filling with his beak and swallowed it.
"It smells so good!"
Amidst the scheming and bloodshed of gods and Buddhas, this earthly warmth from mortals brought Lin Yuan a moment of peace to his tense heart.
After finishing the meat bun, Lin Yuan once again spread his wings and soared into the sky.
Concealing his aura, he landed atop the tallest bell tower on the outskirts of the imperial city.
Looking down from above, the city of Chaoge was bustling with activity, merchants gathered, and the cries of vendors rose and fell, creating the illusion of a prosperous world.
Although the purple-gold dragon of fortune that hovered above Chaoge had nearly 30% of its original essence cut off by the goddess Nuwa, even a centipede with a hundred legs does not die easily, and the foundation of the Shang Dynasty, which lasted for six hundred years, is still vast and magnificent.
Just then, the global channel screen at the edge of the retina began to flicker.
[Chu Tianhe (Rank B/Yin Shang Lieutenant): "Brothers, I have been ordered to accompany the King to court today to personally witness important military and national affairs. This is a live broadcast of the core storyline, so watch closely!"]
[Passerby A (Rank E): "Young Master Chu is awesome! I need to cling to your coattails!"]
[Zhao Qiang (Rank D/Imperial Guard Soldier of Chaoge): "General Chu's status is incredible. We can't even get into the inner city of the imperial city, yet you can participate in the highest decision-making!"]
Seeing the smug comments in the group chat, Lin Yuan's lips curled into a mocking smile.
His gaze pierced through the layers of palaces and locked onto the main gate of the imperial city.
"Judging by the time, King Zhou's edict summoning Marquis Su Hu of Ji Province to bring his daughter to the capital should have arrived by now. That old lord should be going to Chaoge today."
Sure enough, less than half an incense stick's time later, the sound of horses' hooves came from the end of the long street in the distance.
A small cavalry unit of only a few dozen men escorted a simple carriage as it slowly entered the outskirts of the imperial city.
The leader was over fifty years old, with a bushy beard and hair, and a burly build.
This is Su Hu, the Marquis of Jizhou.
Lin Yuan remained hidden atop the bell tower, refraining from venturing deeper into the palace.
Inside King Zhou's nine-room palace, there were senior ministers like Prime Minister Shang Rong and Vice Prime Minister Bi Gan, who possessed righteous spirit and were protected by the fortune of the Shang Dynasty.
Although he possessed the cultivation of the Nascent Soul Realm, in front of these powerful and influential old ministers, even a crow that seemed slightly "out of place" was easily noticed.
The court assembly in the palace did not last long.
Through the gaps in the city wall, Lin Yuan could vaguely sense the chilling aura emanating from the nine main halls.
Su Hu was extremely fierce in character. When faced with King Zhou's absurd demand in the palace that his daughter Su Daji be brought into the palace, this loyal minister flew into a rage and sternly refused.
They were even willing to die to remonstrate with the emperor, confronting the tyrannical ruler in court.
If it weren't for the earnest persuasion of veteran ministers like Shang Rong and Bi Qian, who risked their lives to save him, King Zhou would probably have torn Su Hu apart by five horses right there in court.
On the surface, King Zhou suppressed his anger and allowed Su Hu to return to the post station to rest temporarily, but in reality, he had already begun to kill him, and undercurrents were surging.
Before long, Su Hu's imposing figure reappeared outside the palace gate.
"This tyrannical ruler is wicked and favors treacherous officials. My Su family has been loyal and virtuous for generations, yet today we suffer such a humiliating disgrace!"
Unbeknownst to them, Su Hu led his horse to the Meridian Gate, the outer gate of the imperial city.
The towering Meridian Gate, with its vermilion pillars that seem to support the sky, symbolizes the majesty of the Shang Dynasty's royal power.
At this moment, Lin Yuan had already landed on the eaves of the Meridian Gate, his golden eyes quietly watching below.
"Zheng—"
Su Hu suddenly turned around and drew a goose-feather saber from the waist of his personal guard. He walked to the vermilion city gate pillar, gripped the saber with both hands, and slashed down fiercely.
Wood chips flew everywhere, and the air crackled with the force of a knife.
Twenty large characters, their force penetrating the wood, each one dripping with blood.
"When a ruler corrupts the relationship between his subjects, the five constant virtues are broken."
"The Protector of Ji Province will never again submit to the Shang!"
"when!"
After Su Hu finished carving the last stroke, he suddenly threw the goose-feather knife to the ground, mounted his horse, and laughed wildly to the sky.
"Let's go back to Ji Province, strengthen our troops, and fight this tyrannical and incompetent ruler to the death!"
The sound of horses' hooves clattered as they galloped away.
The moment Su Hu left, the system's mechanical voice arrived in Lin Yuan's mind as scheduled.
【Ding! 】
[Core Key Node Detected – Investiture of the Gods Event 005: Su Hu's Rebellious Poem at the Meridian Gate!]
[The event is unfolding. The host is located at the core witnessing position (top of the Meridian Gate). Witnessing completion rate: Perfect!]
[Congratulations, host! You have received the first reward: one hundred years of cultivation!]
[Congratulations, host! You have received Witness Reward 2: The Supreme Secret Technique, "The Art of Observing Qi and Fortune." Practicing this technique allows you to see through illusions and clearly observe the form, color, and changing flow of Qi and fortune above the heads of all living beings!]
"Boom—"
The moment the notification sound ended, a full hundred years of cultivation were poured into Lin Yuan's body out of thin air.
"Click click click..."
His aura began to rise steadily, and the barrier of the early stage of the Nascent Soul Realm was easily broken through.
Early stage of the Nascent Soul Realm...Mid stage of the Nascent Soul Realm!
He then devoted some of his attention to the newly acquired "Qi Luck Observation Manual".
"Not only can they see the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but they can also directly perceive the ethereal 'luck'?"
In this great calamity of the Investiture of the Gods, where the sage uses destiny as a chessboard, being able to see through destiny is equivalent to possessing an absolute divine eye that can bring good fortune and avoid misfortune!
A golden light flashed in Lin Yuan's eyes, and the "Qi Luck Observation Technique" was instantly activated.
The world changed in his eyes.
He looked down into the Meridian Gate, his gaze piercing through the layers of palace walls, locking onto Chu Tianhe, the Yin Shang general who had been jumping around in the server-wide chat earlier.
Above Chu Tianhe's head, a mass of fortune was clearly suspended.
However, the form of that fortune was extremely ugly.
It was a black mist exuding an aura of death and decay.
On the outer edge of the black mist, a few strands of golden thread were barely wrapped around it.
"That golden thread is probably the meager blessing of national fortune that he obtained from King Zhou yesterday by currying favor with Nuwa at the Nuwa Palace."
Lin Yuan sneered, "As for that enormous gray-black death aura... that's his own doomed fate and death trap."
A fool who doesn't even realize he's in deep trouble dares to try and stir up trouble in this hellish place.
At this moment, the chat box in the server-wide channel started scrolling again, and the Blue Star military's think tank mobilized in full force.
[Passerby B (Level E): "My God! I work near the Meridian Gate, and I saw with my own eyes that Marquis Su Hu of Jizhou carved a rebellious poem on the city gate pillars. He's rebelled!"]
[Blue Star Military Think Tank (Official Agent Account): Urgent Announcement! Based on reliable intelligence from our explorers at the front lines, and combined with historical materialism and the patterns of dynastic change, we have released the "Third Edition of the Sealed Mystic Realm Strategic Briefing!"]
[Blue Star Military Think Tank: The conclusion has been definitively confirmed! "Su Hu's Rebellion Against the Shang" is the main storyline of this secret realm. A tyrannical ruler's incompetence leads to the uprising of feudal lords—this is the inevitable course of history. All explorers located on the outskirts are advised to immediately gather supplies and head towards Jizhou to join the rebel army!]
[Chu Tianhe (Rank B/Yin Shang Lieutenant): "The military think tank's analysis is absolutely correct. Although I hold a high position in Yin Shang, King Zhou is a tyrannical and incompetent ruler. Since Su Hu dared to inscribe a rebellious poem, Ji Province must have some trump cards up its sleeve."]
"I will closely monitor the battle situation. If the opportunity arises, I will not rule out abandoning the darkness and joining the light, leading my three thousand troops straight to Ji Province, and striving for a founding hero title!"
With a thought, Lin Yuan switched to the small group called "Mortals' Mutual Aid Association".
[Wang Pangzi (F-rank/Waitress at Chaoge South Inn): "Holy crap, have those people in the group chat gone mad? Are they really going to go to Jizhou to die?"]
[Chen Ping (Rank E/Changfeng Escort Agency Handler): "Brother Lin just gave us a heads-up last night. Jizhou is a meat grinder. That Chu Tianhe actually wants to lead his troops to 'abandon darkness and embrace light'? This isn't abandoning darkness and embracing light; it's like carrying a lantern into a latrine... He's courting death!"]
[Zhao Ye (Rank E/Son of a Down-on-His-Luck Merchant): "Hahaha, I'm suddenly looking forward to General Chu's expression when he arrives in Ji Province and finds himself surrounded by a million-strong army. Let's just stay peacefully in Chaoge City, not go anywhere, and wait for Brother Lin's intelligence!"]
Seeing the banter between the three ordinary brothers in the group, Lin Yuan couldn't help but smile knowingly.
In a grand, primordial game like the Investiture of the Gods, how pathetic it is to attempt to use the wisdom of mortals to fathom the schemes of sages.
Next, the Shang dynasty will ignite the flames of war.
Chong Houhu launched a military campaign against the enemy, but Ji Chang, the Marquis of Xibo, secretly wrote a letter urging him to surrender.
These two successive historical milestones will directly enable the nine-tailed fox to enter the palace in a legitimate manner!
"It seems I'll have to leave Chaoge for now. I need to be there in advance for these two witnesses."
Lin Yuan spread his wings and sped off towards Jizhou.