Chapter 27: Era

Chapter 27: The Epoch

Zhao Changhe instantly understood what that meant. This old emperor was utterly despicable as a man.

But he didn’t even have the leisure to curse.

The inheritance of the number one on the Heavenly Ranking was clearly formidable, likely not far inferior to the Azure Dragon Seal… Yet faced with this fortune that might make anyone in the world envious, Zhao Changhe was anxious.

Though he craved fortune, he didn’t want this kind. He had just thought of escaping the “fate” tied to this position card, only for fate to cling to him.

But just as Luo Qi couldn’t shake off the Azure Dragon Seal, Zhao Changhe now couldn’t shake off the jade pendant. He stomped in frustration: “Is this the Azure Dragon or a slug? Why does it stick to people so!”

“The inheritance he left might not be related to the Azure Dragon; the true master of the Azure Dragon is with me.” Luo Qi’s emotions calmed quickly, and she watched the scene with interest: “Logically, this thing shouldn’t compare to the Azure Dragon Seal. At least it shouldn’t have the effect of cleansing the marrow and reforming the bones. If a mere thought or bit of power left in an object could achieve such an effect, that would be too heaven-defying—couldn’t you mass-produce good bone structure?”

Zhao Changhe paused. That was true. The Azure Dragon Seal was likely a lifelong condensed inheritance, while this jade pendant token clearly wasn’t. If Xia Longyuan casually transmitting a jade pendant could match the effect of an ancient treasure like the Azure Dragon Seal, that would be absurdly overpowered.

“It’s more likely just transmitting a cultivation method—both to give the ‘child’ a means of self-protection and to serve as future identification. After all, a jade pendant can be lost, destroyed, or forged, but a unique method is one of a kind.” Luo Qi looked at Zhao Changhe’s expression: “Don’t you want it? Don’t rush. Try to experience it… If it’s only that, you can still choose not to learn it if you truly don’t want it. It’s still controllable.”

Zhao Changhe took a deep breath and calmed himself to look inward.

Luo Qi’s judgment was correct.

There was no effect of cleansing the marrow or reforming the bones, no help for his disadvantage of starting martial arts too late, no direct infusion to open his meridians and make him a first-rate expert.

Instead, a strange, unusual force traveled back and forth through his meridians, circulating endlessly. The meaning was clear: it was guiding the path of energy flow, telling him to imitate it—it was merely teaching an internal cultivation method.

With this wisp of energy as a primer, Zhao Changhe could skip the step of starting from scratch to generate internal energy, directly entering the door and beginning internal cultivation.

Just this one feat—leaving true energy in an object for sixteen or seventeen years without it fading, making it compatible with another person’s body and operating according to a preset pattern, even distinguishing between male and female before activating—truly lived up to the number one on the Heavenly Ranking. It was indeed impressive.

Thus, not only was the method unique, but the energy signature was also unique. Anyone who cultivated using Xia Longyuan’s wisp of true energy as a primer would recognize him as his “child” upon meeting.

Zhao Changhe was a bit conflicted.

A superior internal cultivation method was actually quite important to him.

Not only would he obtain a technique more powerful than the Blood Divine Art, allowing him to cultivate both internally and externally, but more crucially, it might eliminate the flaws of the Blood Fiend Art—just as Luo Qi’s sharp, highly aggressive White Tiger Art had helped soothe his blood energy, what about this more gentle and grand method left by the emperor for his child to cultivate?

Even if it couldn’t completely eliminate the flaws, it could at least alleviate the pain without relying on medicine. That was almost certain.

Zhao Changhe hesitated for three seconds.

Why not learn it? To hell with fate.

He gave up again, sitting sloppily on the ground without any dignity, letting the energy drill through his body.

Seeing that he seemed to have gained something too, Luo Qi’s earlier guilt over “stealing his fortune” mostly dissipated. Watching Zhao Changhe quietly introspecting, her eyes softened: “Changhe…”

“Hmm?”

“What are you thinking? Is this method difficult? Do you need my advice?”

“Oh… It doesn’t seem hard.” Zhao Changhe snapped back to reality and asked, “I’m thinking, your father’s inheritance doesn’t seem to test bloodline. If someone else got the jade pendant, wouldn’t it be a pure giveaway?”

“Bloodline testing has always been difficult. People have found that blood identification sometimes fails—biological relatives don’t mix, while strangers might. I guess he still set some bloodline barrier, but yours just happened to match?”

Zhao Changhe didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Though this world was fantastical, it wasn’t absurdly so. It still relied on blood type testing, not DNA… So of course it was unreliable.

Luo Qi said uncertainly, “Also, I think he assumed my mother was strong. Without injury or illness, just pregnant, there was no reason she couldn’t keep a jade pendant. It shouldn’t have fallen into someone else’s hands? Though even I find it strange—he must have known when she died, so why wouldn’t the jade pendant be lost…”

Zhao Changhe added, “Yeah, when your mother was alive, he didn’t want to see her—that’s understandable. But after she died, why didn’t he come to take the child to the capital? Was it really because it was a royal scandal? Or because the empress’s family was troublesome? Is the world’s number one really like this?”

Luo Qi shook her head absently: “What the real reason is, none of us are him, so who can guess? The fact is already what it is. Guessing his original thoughts is meaningless…”

Luo Qi thought it meaningless, but Zhao Changhe felt it still mattered. Now, every suspicious thing he could link to the position card’s representation of the transmigration mystery and fate.

Of course, Luo Qi was right—they weren’t Xia Longyuan, so how could they know what he thought? Any guess would be no better than the rumors spread by bandits, all speculation… This matter might require a chance to meet the emperor to be resolved.

As he pondered, the soft glow of the Azure Dragon Seal on Luo Qi’s side finally faded. A glint of light seemed to flash in her eyes.

Fifth level of the Mystic Barrier.

This wasn’t a direct power transfer from the Azure Dragon Seal, but an improvement of her physical condition, expanding her meridians and acupoints. Not only did it break through the bottleneck she had been stuck at, but it also paved a smooth path for the future—likely meaning she would never face any bottlenecks again.

At the same time, it probably passed on some Azure Dragon techniques…

A miraculous object of the world, cleansing the marrow and reforming the bones, inheriting divine skills—it would have been perfect for Zhao Changhe’s situation. But now, with the White Tiger’s power and the Azure Dragon’s energy intertwining, Luo Qi’s future achievements were truly limitless.

She sighed softly and said quietly, “I still feel like I got the better deal.”

“You…” Zhao Changhe chuckled. “Still on about that… Hey, we’ve been talking about you and the emperor’s story. Can you say something about the Azure Dragon Seal’s story? You said you’ve wanted it since you were little—does it relate to your mother?”

Luo Qi nodded. “Mang, the mound of the buried dead. In the last epoch, this place was the burial ground of a certain emperor. The Azure Dragon Seal is actually an imperial jade seal.”

Zhao Changhe was stunned again.

This seemed to match the usual understanding of “Mang Mountain.”

By the way, in a sense, could Luo Qi be loosely described as “Emperor not emperor, king not king, a thousand chariots and ten thousand horsemen march to North Mang”?

This world’s strange connection to the present world…

“What do you mean by the last epoch?”

“I’m not sure. I was young then, and my mother didn’t tell me much. She said the world wasn’t like this before; it went through a great cataclysm to become what it is. Many of our understandings are records left from the last epoch, things we’ve never actually seen—like Yao and Jie that you once asked me about.”

Zhao Changhe was dumbfounded.

Damn it, don’t tell me this is Earth Online restarting? No, in the Earth epoch, there weren’t any strong beings buried in North Mang leaving an Azure Dragon Seal. There were plenty of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, though.

“This imperial tomb should hold the Azure Dragon inheritance of the last epoch. Dragons and emperors have always been closely linked. Originally, the tomb had many restrictions, but not here—it’s the underground altar we saw. Many years ago, the Four Symbols Sect cracked it and emptied it. From the burial records, they learned there was also an Azure Dragon Seal, an inheritance left by that emperor for the fated one. The inheritance wasn’t hard to find and had no risk, but it required opportunity.”

“I see… Since it was cracked so long ago, why did they only start looking now?”

“Because the person in charge back then was my mother. You could say her fixation on the current emperor was misled by this matter. After the person in charge disappeared unexpectedly, the Four Symbols Sect lost the trail. It was probably rediscovered many years later, and they started searching again… Actually, I didn’t know the exact location, nor that it required blood fiend energy to reveal.” Luo Qi said softly, “So, the true fated one should be you.”

Thus, she still felt a bit guilty for taking his fortune. Zhao Changhe, on the other hand, increasingly felt that this thing was meant for Luo Qi. If he had taken it, he would have truly blocked her path.

What determined one’s mindset? It was simply who you cared for.

I see the green mountains so charming; they must see me the same way.

Seeing Luo Qi’s guilty little expression, Zhao Changhe’s throat moved. He said softly, “This is clearly a good thing—both of us gained fortunes. It’s not in vain that we endured hunger and cold on North Mang for over a month. Why are you still making that sour face…”

“You… your future is uncertain. Xia Longyuan’s method is clearly far inferior to the Azure Dragon Seal’s fortune.” Luo Qi was troubled. “And you’ve been dragged into the imperial family’s disputes, which doesn’t seem like your wish. I…”

Zhao Changhe suddenly stood up and stepped closer.

Luo Qi instinctively stepped back.

In the small space, she soon had her back against the wall, nowhere to retreat.

Zhao Changhe looked down at her flustered eyes and said softly, “If the senior apprentice brother feels sorry… how about dressing in women’s clothes to let your brother have some fun?”