Chapter 187: The Crisis of Becoming a Singularity
Dragon roars rolled out of the Qin Palace.
Not metaphorical.
Not something to be interpreted as poetry.
A genuine, crushing presence surged outward, spreading across the former Qin heartland, then pushing through the arteries of the empire until it pressed against the whole world that Great Qin had forced into unity.
In the East Flower Palace, divine radiance condensed. A coiling peach tree manifested, and the planet's own power formed a barrier that covered a hundred li.
On Mount Li, the golden haired goddess raised the spear of her temple and tore open the curtain of the Underworld.
In the Wei River, Wuzhiqi yawned, lazy as ever. She reached out and stirred the water. Wind and waves rose together, and thick mist churned across the surface.
Each of them guarded their domain.
Consort Yu remained in seclusion.
Ereshkigal continued binding the Underworld's paths, threading north and south together.
Wuzhiqi stayed sealed.
Every capable deity watched.
Without the Heavenly Emperor's decree, none of them could descend into the mortal realm.
Inside the palace, the officials kept their heads lowered. None dared look directly at the figure on the throne.
They feared those cold, dragon like eyes.
They feared even more the spreading black mist, and the vague, writhing dragon scales that pulsed within it like something alive beneath skin.
Li Si did not dare.
Zhao Gao stood even closer to the throne than before, posture rigid, expression restrained to the edge of terror. He trembled, but he did not move.
Because of what the First Emperor had become.
His majesty grew heavier.
His temperament grew more volatile, more unreadable, day by day.
So the ministers did not report the truth.
They did not dare say that the world was sliding into chaos.
Demons ran rampant. Evil spirits were everywhere.
The remnants of the Six States moved in the shadows, attempting to gather hearts and stage an assassination of the Qin King.
And all of it traced back to the change on the throne.
The dragon that the First Emperor was cultivating had become a foundation that allowed demons to exist in the present era.
One man still spoke.
He smiled.
He wore a black robe, and two strands of azure hair fell at his brow, gleaming with a crystalline sheen.
His face was youthful, but he stood at the foremost line of court, almost level with the Three Dukes. He was the new Imperial Advisor, taking the position left behind after Xu Fu ordered the puppet Siming back to the East Flower Palace.
He claimed to be a true immortal from Penglai.
He claimed he could grant the First Emperor authority over the Three Realms, rather than trapping him within the Divine Land.
He had presented methods of ancient sages, guiding the First Emperor to cultivate the Ancestral Dragon body he now possessed.
Whether this was good or bad, the officials did not know.
They only knew one thing.
The First Emperor trusted this man the way he trusted himself.
The Imperial Advisor said warmly, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. Your true dragon body is complete. The world is vast, but none can withstand Your Majesty's divine might."
"Hahahaha, well said." The First Emperor laughed. "A pity my twelve golden statues are not yet complete. Otherwise, even immortals and gods would kneel."
"It does not matter if the twelve golden statues are unfinished," the advisor said. "Since they cannot be made, then what harm is there in replacing the Heavens?"
The court went still.
Breaths stopped.
On the throne, golden eyes turned.
Cold.
So cold the mist itself seemed to tense.
"Are you inciting me to oppose the Heavens that I personally recognized and personally honored?" the First Emperor asked.
The advisor's smile did not fade.
"Why not? I do not recall Your Majesty being someone who reveres the Heavens and worships gods."
That much was true.
The First Emperor never believed he stood beneath Heaven, and he never accepted that any deity stood above him. He was the co ruler of the Nine Provinces, the one who had unified Yan and Huang, the one who believed his achievement surpassed the Three Sovereigns and his virtue eclipsed the Five Emperors.
He did not lack arrogance.
He lacked nothing.
Yet his answer came without hesitation.
"Although I do not revere the Heavens and do not believe in gods, I will not be unkind to my friends."
Their acquaintance had been brief, but for the First Emperor, Rowe was one of the rare beings who could stand as an equal. He never wore the inflated posture of immortals and gods. He never treated the throne as a seat meant for a lesser creature.
So the First Emperor regarded him as a friend.
An emperor's friendship did not require warmth.
It required equality.
The advisor paused, then laughed softly.
"Friends. That is a word I have truly never heard before."
"Hahaha." The First Emperor's laughter deepened into a dragon's rumble. "People like you could never understand me."
Pillars at the four corners of the Qin Palace stood like iron bones holding up a world.
The officials kept their heads down.
The First Emperor's voice rang out again.
"Is there anything to report today?"
Ministers exchanged glances. Silence stretched until it became painful.
Finally, someone stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."
"What is it?"
"I have an item to present to Your Majesty."
"What item?"
A slender official stood in the open. The First Emperor's gaze pierced through the rolling black mist and settled on him.
"A divine sword," the official said.
"A divine sword?"
"Yes. This sword gathers the hopes of the people, collects mountains and rivers, and concentrates the essence of heaven and earth."
"What is the sword's name?"
"Jun Wen. It asks the monarch for the world."
"Asking Your Majesty."
The official lifted his face.
Then his voice sharpened into steel.
"Do you dare to drink this sword?"
Clang.
A precious sword burst from his sleeve.
His crown fell.
Long black hair spilled loose.
A beautiful face was revealed.
A woman.
An assassin.
Her strike was fast, sharp, clean as lightning. The officials could not react. The palace guards could not even raise their spears. In an instant she was at the throne, and the blade pierced into the black mist that shrouded the Emperor.
Her lips pressed tight, expression solemn.
This sword had sworn to kill Qin for the people of the world.
Before the sword light could reach deeper, a dragon claw emerged from the mist and closed around the blade.
A buzzing voice rolled out.
"A fine sword. Unfortunately, it is still too slow."
Force slammed outward.
The young woman was thrown back and crashed to the ground.
The Imperial Advisor smiled.
"What a familiar scene. Late, perhaps, but it still arrived."
The First Emperor glanced at him.
"Was this within your expectations?"
"Eight hundred years forward or back," the advisor said mildly. "It is nothing unusual."
The First Emperor snorted, then looked down at the assassin.
She had already risen, sword in hand, breath steady despite the blood at her lips.
The Emperor spoke.
"Your sword is pure and generous. It carries the spirit of a Yan and Zhao knight errant."
"Are you from the former Yan?"
"Wei," she replied, wiping the blood from her mouth. "Jing Ke."
"Why do you assassinate me?"
"The world is unified. I did not want to come at first." Jing Ke lifted her sword again and stood straight. "But now I have no choice."
"Why?"
"For the people of the world."
Jing Ke had met Rowe once, back in Yan. She truly had not wanted to act. She was not opposed to unification. A unified realm, with the wars of Divine Land ended, might have become a better era.
So even when she helped Crown Prince Dan seek allies again and again, she never personally moved for him.
She watched.
She observed.
She fulfilled the duty of a friend.
And for a time, the world did grow better.
Then the good times rotted.
Demons appeared.
Qin remained blind.
Because the source of the demons was the figure sitting on the throne.
So Jing Ke had to act.
She had to assassinate Qin for the people of the world.
Yan and Zhao had always produced generous and tragic heroes. If this era demanded one more, she would not refuse.
"For this assassination, I have not drunk wine for many days," Jing Ke said, voice clear. "It is rare to be this sober in life."
"High and mighty Emperor, watch closely."
"This sharp sword."
"This brilliant shadow."
"Can it pierce your heavy body?"
"Hahahaha." The First Emperor laughed as if he had been waiting for the line.
Black mist exploded outward.
A colossal black dragon unfolded, scales grinding against each other with a wet metallic shimmer.
"Come," it roared. "Try it."
Sword light flashed again.
Jing Ke stepped forward, brows drawn tight.
Dragon roar and steel met within the palace.
In the land of Qi and Lu, pear blossoms bloomed, then withered in a single breath. The colossal tree that had appeared vanished like a blink.
The crowd came back to themselves. They stared at empty air where something impossible had just been.
Their hollow feeling returned, like a hook under the ribs.
But Sun Wukong, still on the stone bridge, knew it had been real.
She scratched her hair and looked at Rowe, who had returned to her side.
"Did Master slay that demon?"
"I only gave it the ending it deserved." Rowe's gaze moved across the street as if it had never been interrupted. "A demon tried to disturb the present era. If I let that stand, I would not be able to breathe comfortably."
Sun Wukong clapped, delighted.
"Hooray, Master! That is the spirit!"
"Stop with the hoorays." Rowe tapped her forehead.
She yelped. He adjusted his cuffs and continued in an even tone.
"Changes are happening in the Divine Land. We cannot keep traveling at a leisurely pace."
"Heh, who cares?" Wukong rolled her shoulders and rubbed her fists, eager. "Perfect. Let these demons witness the might of me, Sun Wukong."
"You are confident."
"Of course."
"But you are still too weak." Rowe did not soften the words. "If you want to show off, at least reach the Great Sage realm first."
"Hmph. Master, just wait. A mere Great Sage is something I can grab with my fingertips."
"Less talk. More action."
"If it were not because you are my Master…"
"What?"
"I definitely would not follow you."
"Then leave."
"No, no." Wukong shook her head quickly, then lifted her chin like a brat. "You tell me to leave, so I deliberately will not."
Their argument continued as they walked.
They set off again, but the pace was different now.
Sun Wukong sought tempering.
Rowe sought extermination.
He did not believe in demons. Not as a concept to be studied, not as a necessary shadow to be preserved.
As the Heavenly Emperor, as the Azure Heaven worshipped by the people of Qin, he would not allow something that fed on humanity to make the world its pasture.
If he saw them, he cut them down.
Because he was a god.
Because he was a man.
And because what he pursued had always been ease, freedom, and the right to breathe without someone else's hands around the throat of the era.
So he slew without hesitation.
A white bone demon took the form of a beautiful woman and drained passersby of vitality. An immortal sword fell from the sky and split her in half. The skeleton beneath shattered into dust.
A mountain demon king oppressed the people for a hundred miles. One sword stroke fell, and ten thousand demons were erased in a single cut.
In scattered places, fierce singing echoed through the wild.
Riding sword light on the wind.
Slaying demons between heaven and earth.
The blade was merciless. Demons retreated from all directions.
None dared test its edge.
Of course, Sun Wukong grew increasingly dissatisfied.
"Solved again?"
"Yes."
"Master never lets me show off."
"You had better not." Rowe did not even look back. "You just entered the immortal realm. You cannot withstand the disturbances of the mortal world yet."
"Tch."
Wukong bared her teeth, face framed by messy red hair, irritation written plainly across her features.
"I will find an opportunity where you must acknowledge me."
"I look forward to that day." Rowe paused and glanced down at the small red haired girl who barely reached his chest. A laugh escaped him. "But in my judgment, you are still tens of millions of years away."
Rowe pointed upward, then pressed his palm down onto her hair, ruffling it until she glared.
"You will understand once you compare yourself."
"It is only the sky. Sooner or later, I will be equal to it!"
"Hahaha. I will wait for that day."
"Then wait, Master!"
They kept moving.
Wukong's chatter never stopped.
Outwardly carefree.
Yet the closer they drew to Hangu Pass, to the direction of Xianyang, the worse Rowe's mood became.
Because the closer he got, the clearer the pressure became.
The First Emperor.
Even without facing him directly, Rowe could already feel it.
The aura radiating from the co lord of the Nine Provinces was turbid, heavy, and wrong. Its influence had covered the entire Divine Land. The return of demons was only the beginning.
If left unchecked, this era would become a Singularity.
A point marked for correction.
A mistake to be repaired.
And if that repair happened, everything Rowe had built here would be erased. All traces of him in this time and place would vanish as if he had never existed.
What he had gained would not be stolen, but it would become rootless.
A floating weed with no river.
Ash.
Rowe did not have the authority to resist the planet's corrective mechanism yet. Not on this scale.
Because this was not merely a planet.
This was Earth.
A system supported by countless parallel worlds across past and future, spanning timelines. A correction here was not comparable to a simple planetary event.
Rowe did not want that.
He still cared about the people he had met in the Divine Land. The ties he had formed were not disposable to him.
He did not want to lose them now.
So he had to stop it.
He had to save this timeline, this point in time.
They pressed forward.
Their destination became unavoidable.
Xianyang.
They had crossed the lands of the Six States, cutting down demons along the way. Ahead, Hangu Pass stood like a throat in the mountains.
Beyond it lay the former Qin heartland, the core of the dynasty.
A strip of sunrise appeared.
Scorching light poured over mountains and rivers for thousands of miles.
.....
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