Chapter 1701: Activated Flood Dragon Statue

"What are your orders, Commander?"

"I want you to gather three thousand elite troops," Zhong Shengguang stated, enunciating each word, "and dispatch them to the northwest front! You will coordinate with General Hong and attack the capital of Xianyou!"

He Lingchuan's breath hitched, and his heart pounded. He could finally go to the northwest front! He pushed himself up from the table, abruptly standing.

"Yes, sir!"

Zhong Shengguang, rarely seeing him lose composure, allowed a faint smile to appear in his eyes, then quickly grew serious again. "Although Xianyou's desperate resistance has slowed our progress, the battle has finally reached its capital. Didn't you just say that General Hong is reluctant to expend her troops? You and your three thousand elite troops will serve as reinforcements. Go and help her, see if you can break the current stalemate and conquer that tough objective."

He Lingchuan said firmly, "You will not be disappointed!"

"Don't celebrate too soon. Xianyou is fighting for its very survival. Beijia will most likely intervene directly, and even Baling might break its secret agreement with us and send more troops to Xianyou." Zhong Shengguang unfolded a sand table, which was a map of Xianyou. "You and General Hong will face three powerful adversaries. This is an unprecedented challenge for Panlong City."

If we win, there will be endless battles ahead; if we lose, the hard-won momentum Panlong City has gained might be halted.

However, we must fight Xianyou. Panlong City must cripple their henchmen before Beijia can fully focus on us.

He Lingchuan's fighting spirit was high. "The harder the challenge, the richer the reward! As long as we win, as long as we take the capital of Xianyou, more nations will immediately seek to negotiate with you, not just those from the south."

"These young people are truly optimistic," Zhong Shengguang smiled and patted his shoulder. "Good."

As for how the battle would unfold at the front, He Lingchuan would discuss it with General Hong when the time came. Zhong Shengguang only provided guidelines and requirements, without giving specific instructions. He Lingchuan had long been capable of handling matters independently.

However, the smile on Zhong Shengguang's face quickly faded. He pondered for a moment before speaking: "Since you've come back, there's something else I need to caution you about."

The use of the word "caution" indicated the seriousness of the matter, and He Lingchuan nodded, awaiting further explanation.

"Some time ago, Lingxu City thought I would surrender, so they frequently corresponded with me. One of the letters detailed the destruction of Yuan Kingdom and included relevant documents. Do you know about Yuan Kingdom?"

He Lingchuan nodded. "Yes, I do. I heard it was a vassal demon kingdom of Beijia that rebelled over a decade ago. It fought for three years and met a tragic end. Even a century later, the former lands of Yuan Kingdom remained barren, and its descendants were enslaved, never to rise again."

"When I was young, I traveled and studied in Beijia, spending a long time in Yuan Kingdom. I had many pleasant conversations with the later King Yuan. We not only became close friends but also shared grand ambitions. Brother Shao was a man of great talent, the first vassal king not crowned by a deity, and Beijia's first human king. His sacrifice deeply shocked and saddened me." Zhong Shengguang sighed deeply. "The Great Square Pot, the treasure protecting Panlong City, was sent to me by him before his kingdom's destruction."

He Lingchuan nodded silently.

"So many years have passed since Yuan Kingdom's fall, but I've always been puzzled. Brother Shao was a man who planned carefully before acting, so why did he rebel when he was isolated and without support?"

Yuan Kingdom was surrounded by enemies within Beijia, and to its north lay the immensely powerful Lingxu City. Once it rebelled, it would have no reinforcements whatsoever and could only fight until its resources were exhausted! It was a suicidal situation.

Later historical records proved that Yuan Kingdom was brave but reckless, bringing disaster upon its descendants. Beijia remained stable for six hundred years, indicating its immense internal strength; it was not easily fractured. King Yuan was not foolish, so why did he lead his people to national suicide?

Zhong Shengguang couldn't understand it, and neither could He Lingchuan. They could only surmise there was a hidden agenda.

"The documents sent by Lingxu City mentioned that Brother Shao had close ties with Mount Ling. Before the rebellion, Mount Ling promised him wholehearted and full support. But I was unwilling to believe it, thinking it was the Demon Emperor's scheme to sow discord between Mount Ling and me," Zhong Shengguang said slowly. "Besides, Yuan Kingdom had long fallen, so those documents couldn't be verified."

He Lingchuan frowned upon hearing this. "Have you obtained evidence now?"

"Mr. Zhang's cousin had worked in Mount Ling's archives for many years. I asked him through Mr. Zhang to collect information for me, specifically records of personnel and supplies that Mount Ling sent there during the Yuan Kingdom war."

Mr. Zhang? He Lingchuan paused, then remembered the large octopus in Panlong City's pond. Mr. Zhang's cousin... surely not another cephalopod? Working in an archive, with nine brains and eight tentacles... indeed, that sounds like a very competent librarian.

Zhong Shengguang continued, "From the records, Mount Ling indeed provided full support, sending many people and countless artifacts to Yuan Kingdom, at least in the early and middle stages. However, in the later stages, especially after two immortals fell, Mount Ling's support diminished. Half a year before Yuan Kingdom was annihilated, there were no more relevant records."

"Of the other two demon kings who had agreed to rebel with Brother Shao, one suddenly stepped down, and the other reneged, watching impassively." Zhong Shengguang sighed as he spoke.

He Lingchuan couldn't help but ask, "How was the support delivered? Yuan Kingdom is in the middle of Beijia, a difficult location."

"Through Baoshu Kingdom," Zhong Shengguang explained. "King Baoshu has placed many avatars throughout his kingdom, maintaining strong control over the nation. However, this old demon periodically goes into seclusion and deep slumber, from which he cannot be roused. During that time, although his tree demon avatars are on duty, many of their divine abilities cannot be used. Baoshu Kingdom's territory is vast, so there are always loopholes. Mount Ling has many methods, so transporting supplies across the border was not difficult."

"In short, Yuan Kingdom's last six months were the most tragic, yet Mount Ling was absent. I don't know why, and I doubt the full truth will ever be uncovered." He sighed softly. "I suspect Mount Ling, like Beijia, is not entirely unified internally."

He Lingchuan remained silent, but felt a sense of relief. He knew that Zhong Shengguang also harbored caution towards Mount Ling.

Zhong Shengguang then added, "Keep an eye on Xin Yi. I haven't told Old Xu yet; he gets along too well with Xin Yi. I'm afraid if his attitude changes, Xin Yi will notice."

He Lingchuan nodded in agreement.

Just then, a knock sounded outside the door, and a guard whispered, "My lord, the time is almost here."

Zhong Shengguang's expression immediately changed. "Let's go. To the South Gate. Something good is happening today."

Zhong Shengguang brought not only He Lingchuan but also Panlong City's key officials and generals.

The South City Plaza was teeming with people, common folk gathering to watch the spectacle.

Zhong Shengguang personally ascended the high platform, took out a cold jade treasure box from his storage ring, and placed it on the platform.

He Lingchuan noticed that the box looked like a large block of ice. Immediately after it was taken out, people within a three-zhang radius felt the temperature drop by six or seven degrees, exhaling visible breaths. Its intense coldness was evident. What kind of treasure needed such cold preservation?

Panlong City's way of doing things was direct, without suspense. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Zhong Shengguang simply stated: "From this day forward, the name 'Panlong' for Panlong City will truly live up to its meaning!"

Then, he opened the lid of the cold jade box and simultaneously took three steps back. What soared into the sky was not cold air, but fiery light!

The citizens watching all craned their necks, letting out exclamations of "Oh!" because something round, reddish-gold in color, floated out of the cold jade box, spinning gracefully. Initially, it was only the size of a kiwi, but with each rotation, it grew larger and its fiery light intensified.

Only when it reached the size of a Cuju ball did its mass stabilize, but the soaring fiery light forced Zhong Shengguang back another three steps.

It was hot; the area around the platform was now filled with hot air, hotter than the scorching sun of mid-July.

After burning intensely for more than ten breaths, the fiery light suddenly receded—Suspended in mid-air was a crimson treasure pearl. Its surface was adorned with intricate cloud patterns, subtly glinting with dark gold, as if dark flames burned within.

On the pearl's surface was a complete symbol. He Lingchuan, with his keen eyesight, recognized it as the "Li" trigram from the Bagua, which represents "Fire."

Just as the flames receded and the pearl stopped spinning, the ground suddenly trembled, accompanied by a rumbling sound. The small stones at He Lingchuan's feet bounced continuously.

The Red Plain Plateau hadn't experienced an earthquake in a long time, so everyone was startled.

But He Lingchuan had already realized that the tremor didn't actually come from underground; it was caused by the high wall in front of them!

Under the gaze of thousands of eyes in the South Gate Plaza, the black flood dragon statue on the city wall suddenly moved. It detached itself from the outer wall, its massive head lowering, and fixed its gaze on Zhong Shengguang and the fiery red pearl.

The entire plaza fell silent.

The black flood dragon statue was normally majestic, but now it had suddenly come alive, and the oppressive aura unique to dragons swept over them, making everyone afraid to raise their heads.

Zhong Shengguang cupped his hands and bowed respectfully to it.

The black flood dragon statue then turned its head and swallowed the fiery red pearl from the stone platform in one gulp!

Immediately after, it swam back to the city wall, but instead of returning to its original spot, it began to patrol along Panlong City's magnificent high walls!

The wide and vertical wall surface seemed like a calm sea to it. The black flood dragon roamed freely along the city wall, passing through it at will, completely unaffected by gravity. A guard on the city gate tower looked down just in time to see a massive dragon horn pass by his nose, giving him a huge fright.

It took over a quarter of an hour for the black flood dragon to patrol all the city walls, and it caused successive exclamations of awe throughout the city.

Then it returned to the South Gate, to its original position, and re-embedded itself into the wall, motionless. It was at the same height, in the same posture.

But unlike before, it now held the crimson treasure pearl in its mouth.

From He Lingchuan's vantage point, he could clearly see the reddish-gold patterns on the pearl still glowing faintly.

However, probably because it was held in the black flood dragon's mouth, the pearl's heat no longer radiated outwards, and the people below the city gate no longer felt the gust of hot wind.

Zhong Shengguang announced loudly, "This is the Shadow Dragon Pearl, also known as the Grand Divination Celestial Pearl, gifted to Panlong City by Wutu Kingdom. The black flood dragon statue, activated by it, will henceforth defend against external enemies and guard Panlong City!"

After witnessing the flood dragon's magnificent patrol, everyone cheered aloud.

This flood dragon appeared truly divine, and was certainly worthy of being Panlong City's guardian deity!