THUD!
A heavy drumbeat sent off the last, blood-red vestiges of the setting sun. The azure sky dimmed, as if covered by a massive Celestial Curtain.
Night had finally fallen.
In the middle of a vast plaza that could hold a hundred thousand people stood a magnificent structure with nine hundred and ninety-nine steps.
This was the Star Hall!
The Star Hall stood tall, piercing the heavens!
The plaza surrounding the Star Hall was densely packed with a kneeling crowd.
Everyone knelt according to their rank. The closer one was to the Star Hall, the higher their status.
Kneeling at the main entrance of the Star Hall, atop the nine hundred and ninety-nine steps, was a middle-aged man with a solemn and majestic air. He wore a royal crown and a yellow robe embroidered with coiling dragons.
This was none other than the Emperor of the Cangqiong Kingdom, Huangfu Haoran.
To the east of the Star Hall, a large, rust-mottled drum was set up.
A young man in plain clothes stood at the highest point of the Star Hall. Beneath his calm expression, his pure eyes betrayed a hint of nervousness.
He normally wouldn't have been chosen to be the Drummer for the Cangqiong Kingdom's grand, once-a-century Big Dipper sacrificial ceremony. This was an opportunity his father, the Grand General of National Guardian Xu Ji, had gone to great lengths to secure for him.
The Cangqiong Kingdom held a sacrificial ceremony for the Big Dipper once every hundred years. If all seven stars lit up, it was a sign that the heavens blessed the kingdom.
When the seven stars shine, the Cangqiong Kingdom's fortune is secured for a century!
It had been over 1,390 years since the founding of the Cangqiong Kingdom. This year, this very day, marked the fourteenth time the kingdom had performed the Big Dipper sacrificial ceremony since its inception!
When the seven stars—Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Tianquan, Jade Balance, Alcor, and Shaking Light—all lit up, the Star Hall would channel these seven stars of the Big Dipper to generate a massive amount of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi!
The position of the Drummer allowed one to directly receive the cleansing wash of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, reaping the greatest benefits!
Therefore, becoming the Drummer for the centennial Big Dipper ceremony was the dream of almost every youth in the Cangqiong Kingdom.
In the past, the person standing before this ancient, rust-covered drum—an antique with over a thousand years of history—had almost always been a member of the Royal Family!
It was either the Crown Prince or another Prince. In all of history, an outsider had struck this drum only once!
This young man was the second!
The young man's father knelt beside the Emperor. His tall frame remained ramrod straight even while kneeling, like a sturdy old pine tree.
Although everyone was kneeling with their heads bowed, the young man could still keenly feel the countless jealous gazes on him. Even more, he could feel his father's profound love and care.
The young man swore an oath in his heart. 'I must seize this opportunity, change my constitution, change my destiny, and not disappoint my parents.'
"The stars appear!" A Grand Ceremony Officer from the palace, his expression solemn, called out in a clear, powerful voice. "Bow!"
Standing before the enormous drum, the young man once again raised the drumstick in his hands and struck!
THUD!
The drumbeat rumbled, heavy and prolonged.
Led by Emperor Huangfu Haoran, all the civil and military officials of the Empire, along with the nobles gathered in the plaza, faced the Star Hall with pious expressions. At the sound of the drum, they all bowed in unison.
At this moment, hundreds of figures suddenly appeared in the sky, seated cross-legged in mid-air. They surrounded the Star Hall, and powerful fluctuations of True Essence pulsed from each of them.
With the sound of the drum, the hundreds of levitating figures simultaneously unleashed a beam of light, all directed toward the spire at the very peak of the Star Hall.
Looking closely, one could see a tiny silver star perched atop that spire.
As they all poured their power into the tiny star, it suddenly erupted with a vast and majestic force. It shot a beam of light that, with a BOOM, rocketed straight into the heavens.
This miraculous sight was visible across the entire Cangqiong Kingdom, and even in the neighboring countries.
Countless citizens of Cangqiong fell to their knees at this moment, prostrating themselves in pious awe as they watched the miracle unfold.
BOOM!
Following the blinding light from the small star on the Star Hall's spire, the twilight-shrouded night sky seemed to ignite. A great star suddenly blazed to life.
"The heavens bless Cangqiong! Dubhe is lit!" The Grand Ceremony Officer from the palace, a man who was always formal and extremely self-disciplined, could not help the excitement creeping into his voice.
In mid-air, the figures surrounding the Star Hall continuously poured their energy into the small star at its peak.
Resonating with Dubhe, the first star of the Big Dipper, the light from the small star grew even more brilliant and dazzling.
THUD!
The young man once again swung the drumstick with all his might, striking the great drum.
"Bow!"
The Grand Ceremony Officer shouted.
Led by the Emperor, everyone bowed down once more.
VMMMM!
In the twilight, a second star in the sky lit up!
"The heavens bless Cangqiong! Merak is lit!"
THUD!
"The heavens bless Cangqiong! Phecda is lit!"
THUD!
"The heavens bless Cangqiong! Tianquan is lit!"
THUD!
"The heavens bless Cangqiong! Jade Balance is lit!"
THUD!
"The heavens bless Cangqiong! Alcor is lit!"
In the blink of an eye, six of the seven stars of the Big Dipper had all lit up in the twilight sky, shining with a brilliance that far surpassed their usual glimmer.
The six great stars each emitted an incomparably dazzling light that resonated with the beam from the Cangqiong Kingdom's Star Hall. An unimaginable torrent of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi instantly flooded the entire building.
Everyone kneeling in the plaza gazed at the miraculous scene, their faces filled with ecstatic joy.
Once in a century. And they were part of it!
It was a pride that only they could understand.
Standing in the optimal position, the young man felt the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi cleansing his body even more clearly than anyone else. A happy smile finally broke through on his face.
This young man, frail since childhood, had always projected a cheerful, sunny disposition so his parents wouldn't worry. But the smile on his face now was one of genuine happiness.
The six brilliant stars in the sky were dazzling. Filled with joy, the young man raised his drumstick, ready to strike the final beat.
When the seven stars shine, Cangqiong thrives!
Every citizen of the Cangqiong Kingdom knew this, and the young man, who had felt a special kinship with the stars since he was a child, knew it better than anyone.
Every starless night was when Xu Luo was at his weakest. Therefore, in his heart, he yearned for all seven stars of the Big Dipper to light up even more than the kneeling Emperor.
The drumstick was just about to touch the drum's surface.
'Just this one strike,' he thought, 'and maybe my destiny really can change.'
'Once in a hundred years!'
'Father, I won't let you down!'
A faint smile graced the young man's face.
In that very instant, disaster struck!
The six great stars, once so brilliant, suddenly dimmed.
The smiles on the faces of the kneeling crowd froze. They were all stunned.
The hundreds of powerful experts levitating around the Star Hall, who had been pouring their energy into it, lost all their strength in that moment. They began to plummet from the sky toward the crowded plaza below.
The young man's drumstick finally made contact with the drum.
THU...D...
The drum sounded at that moment.
Kneeling there, Emperor Huangfu Haoran's expression changed drastically.
The words about to burst from the joyous Grand Ceremony Officer's mouth were caught in his throat. The smile froze on his face, and he stood there, dumbfounded.
Just then, the final star, Shaking Light Star, suddenly flashed with an intense light, as bright as the midday sun. It illuminated the entire night sky, turning the moment to day!
Then, just as quickly, the light faded, as if that blinding flash had been nothing but a collective illusion.
At the same time, an even stranger scene unfolded. The seven dimmed stars... all began to fall from the sky.
'Gods!'
Countless citizens of Cangqiong, who had been prostrating on the ground, were now dumbstruck, their eyes wide with terror.
"The stars are falling!" Someone shouted, their voice trembling. In an instant, the entire Cangqiong Kingdom descended into panic.
Before the Star Hall, Emperor Huangfu Haoran stood rigid. He tilted his head back, staring blankly at the seven great stars plummeting from the sky. An irrepressible wave of fear washed over him.
And in that same instant, when the flash from the Shaking Light Star turned night into day, the young man standing before the drum, Xu Luo, suddenly and mysteriously collapsed.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
A series of heavy impacts, accompanied by gasps and screams from the crowd, echoed across the plaza.
The hundreds of the Cangqiong Kingdom's top experts fell, crushing and injuring countless people who couldn't dodge in time. Some had their skulls split open on impact, dying gruesome deaths on the spot.
The slightly luckier ones landed on others, killing them but only suffering severe injuries themselves.
Groans, shrieks, and cries of alarm mingled together. In an instant, the entire massive sacrificial plaza fell into chaos.
The Emperor's lips trembled. This Monarch, a man who wouldn't flinch if a mountain crumbled before him, felt as if all strength had been drained from his body. He could barely find the power to stand.
The stars that governed the kingdom's fate were falling. No one understood the gravity of this situation better than he did.
'Are the heavens... trying to destroy my Great Cangqiong Kingdom?'
At this moment, Huangfu Haoran's face was ashen, and a bone-deep chill ran through him.
Everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events. Even the elite, well-trained Imperial Forest Army stood frozen, unsure of what to do.
Beside the Emperor, the Grand General of National Guardian Xu Ji was also dumbfounded, but he reacted faster than anyone else. He first helped Emperor Huangfu Haoran to his feet.
Then, his gaze shot toward the young man who had collapsed in front of the drum, his eyes filled with anxiety.
He was the Grand General of National Guardian, but he was also a father!
He wouldn't care if the sky itself fell, but if anything, even the slightest thing, happened to his son, Xu Luo, he would be consumed by worry.
"Luo'Er, you have to be alright!"
With a grave expression, Xu Ji supported the Emperor. Then he turned and roared at the chaotic plaza.
"SILENCE!"
The roar was like that of the king of beasts. A vast and immense pressure emanated from Xu Ji with that single word.
The panicked crowd instinctively froze in place.
"Imperial Forest Army, control the scene! Take all the injured for immediate treatment!"
"Gather and cover the bodies of the dead. They are meritorious subjects. Preserve their dignity."
"City Guard Army, disperse the crowd! No one is to speak recklessly of today's events! Anyone who dares to spread rumors will be executed on the spot!"