The greatest city within the Empire and also where the Royal Family presided.
Peace within the Capital was to be expected as often as the sun would rise each and every day. To the residents of the Capital, civil unrest was never a topic of concern, not even as Wu Hao was leading the rebels across the other provinces and cities. Life was still the same as always here.
At the heart of the Capital, within the magnificent Imperial Palace.
Behind one of the grand halls stood what was known widely as the Imperial Garden. Only a few people would stand guard here since beyond the Imperial Garden was a restricted area where even the workers of the palace were often forbidden from getting too close.
Very few knew about this place and how it âhousedâ a very special soulbeast, one known as the Guardian Beast of the Royal Family.
If one were to enter this area, then one would be met with a glorious spread of fauna and a unique âmountainâ.
The yellowish-mountain was about a hundred meters tall and had uneven edges running all over its surface in a vine-like pattern.
There were also six giant âholesâ in the âmountainâ that looked very strange in their placement.
Suddenly, the âmountainâ began to rumble at its base. Grass and stone dislodged from its surface as it began toâŠmove!!
A strange aura began to rise from the mountain and spread throughout the land!
Four âpillarsâ extruded from the two holes on both sides of the mountain. Then from the front hole, two bright spheres of light appeared before the head of a dragon came extending forth!
âThis wasnât a âmountainâ, it was a giant tortoise! And the six holes of the mountain were just the legs, head, and tail!
From appearance alone this tortoise was an extremely large one and strangely enough had the head of a dragon instead of a tortoise. It was a strange soulbeast that exuded a regal air as if demanding respect from all those who felt its presence.
A soulbeast from antiquity, a Dragonic Black Tortoise!!
A legendary soulbeast said to have protected the Royal Family since the founding of the Tianhun Empire. Bai Yunfei once recalled such a being was once brought up before when he was with Xiao Qi and the red magiboar. It was when the fifth princess said the name âDa Huangâ.
For two thousand years, the Dragonic Black Tortoise never left the Imperial Palace and mostly lived a life of isolation and meditation. Today, for some reason, the Dragonic Black Tortoise looked like it was completely awake now!
A low-pitched growl erupted from the Dragonic Black Tortoise mouth to spread throughout the entire Capital!
At this same exact moment in a small building somewhere else, an elderly man with white hair opened his eyes abruptly as if in shock.
Likewise, the ruler of the Tianhun Empire, Wu Hong, also reacted similarly in the palace. Standing upright, he turned to the direction of the sound.
In Zheng Manor, in a small isolated courtyard, sat an elderly figure with a terrifying scar on his throat. His eyes snapped open at once to stare toward the direction of the Imperial Palace.
All over the capital, multiple Soul Emperors were all having the same exact reactionâŠ
The âwarningâ the Dragonic Black Tortoise gave off was heard only to those where Soul Emperors or stronger, meaning only a very small portion of the Capital heard it.
But the rest of the Capital all felt something, a premonition of sorts. Whether they were soul cultivator or commoner, they all found themselves turning their heads to the skyâŠ
But the change they felt was something different, it wasnât the warning from the Dragonic Black Tortoise. Something in the skies was causing a changeâŠthe world was darkening around them more and more untilâŠthe skies cracked!!\nMultiple fractures were appearing all over the skies. Like shards of glass, they splintered off as if the sky was truly âcollapsingâ!
The sun couldnât even be seen anymore. The darkening of the skies and the giant âholeâ had plummeted the entire Capital in a shroud of darkness!
And several moments after thatâŠpandemonium broke out!
Screams, cries, howls, noises of all kinds exploded out from the Capital as its inhabitants began to panicâŠ
And while everyone was screaming and trying to understand what was going on, a loud explosion caused everyone to then turn their attention to the giant âsunâ that was ascending up from the heart of the Capital.
That was where the Imperial Palace was! The sun transformed into a golden dome of sorts to surround the palace!
All sorts of light rays sprinkled down from the skies the moment the dome went up. One after another like a torrent of rain, the rays slammed into the dome!
âBoom boom boom boom boomâŠâ
Each light ray that made contact with the dome exploded with a deafening rumble and brought a cascade of color all over the golden dome. The majority of these attacks were aimed at the dome itself, but there were a few that hit the areas surrounding the dome as well.
In a single moment, countless buildings were being demolished one after another as if undergoing a natural disaster!
âWhoosh whoosh whooshâŠâ
Multiple beams of light flared to life from differing areas in the Capital. A few of them took flight to intercept any stray beam from colliding with the Capital, but there were also multiple others that were traveling to any nearby afflicted building to rescue the people there.
The countless soul cultivators living in the Capital were all beginning to stage their rescue operation against this âdisasterâ.
While the chaos was spreading down in the capital, a giant vortex of darkness had fully formed up in the skies. Throngs of people were floating down from it to stare at the Imperial Palace.
They were directly above the center of the Capital and had an unobstructed view of the Imperial Palace and the tortoise-shell shaped dome that protected it.
âIt was but a mere tortoise before. And now it is a mid-stage class nine? How foolish it is to think it can protect the entire palace!!â
In one particular group, two individuals floated higher up in the skies than everyone else. One person was Wu Hao.The other was a man dressed entirely in black and a sinister sneer on his lips. It would appear that this person had dislike for the Dragonic Black Tortoise.
âDivine ancestor,â Wu Hao spoke respectfully, âthere is also an Early-stage Soul Saint left in the Imperial Palace along with the Dragonic Black Tortoise. There may also an ancestor that has been in deep meditation for two hundred years, but we are unsure if he is still alive or not. If he is, then he may already be a Mid-stage Soul SaintâŠWe donât believe there will be any other Saints other than that. Should your esteemed selfâŠâ
The one known as the âDivine Ancestorâ interrupted him at once, âWorry not. Whether it be that Mid-stage Soul Saint or anyone else, I will kill them allâŠAll of Wu Tianhunâs descendants shall die! My only concern is that I will be unable to see your restoration of our Liang DynastyâŠeverything will be on your shouldersâŠâ
Sorrow flickered across Wu Haoâs eyes. âPlease be at ease, Divine Ancestor! The restoration will be everything our founding fathers wanted! The world will be ours, glory to the Liang!!â
He turned his attention back to the palace beneath him. Venomous, his glare was almost enough to killâthe plan to restore the Liang had been a plan two millennia in the making. Everything was kept silent and in the shadows until his generation, but now that plan is being stopped in every way possible! They didnât even have the option of retreating anymore, everything had to be settled in this battle! But the priceâŠwas a heavy one. His Divine Ancestor would have to give up the rest of his life for this!!
Wu Hao didnât originally plan on having the Divine Ancestor lend a hand, but it couldnât be helped!
âKill them all!! Everyone in the Imperial Palace must die!!â
Wu Hao roared. All at once, multiple beams of light shot out from beneath him to rain down onto the Capital and the palace!