195: Chapter 195 The Arrival of a New Era

“I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!!!”

The Blood Wolf King let out a roar filled with endless unwillingness and madness. He once again burned his already dwindling Totem Power, transforming himself into a streak of blood-colored light even more violent than before, launching a final, most frenzied suicide attack against that young monarch who was as invincible as a god!

“Since that is the case, this King shall make you die fully convinced of your defeat.”

A hint of cold Killing Intent flashed in Gao Feng’s eyes.

He no longer held anything back. At this moment, he pushed his terrifying power as an Eighth-Rank Martial Saint and that golden divine fire capable of burning the heavens to their absolute limit!

He himself transformed into a streak of golden light, meeting that streak of blood-colored light head-on!

“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!!!!”

The two fought from the ground to the sky, and from the south of the Imperial City to the north!

The golden blade light and the blood-colored wolf shadow crazily intertwined and collided above the entire God Capital.

Every collision inevitably stirred up waves of terrifying energy storms that were enough to make the heavens and earth pale!

The entire sky was completely dyed into two halves by these two colors, both filled with an aura of destruction—gold and blood-red.

Inside the God Capital, all the soldiers still fighting subconsciously stopped their actions. They looked up, gazing with eyes filled with endless awe and fear at that battle of gods and demons occurring above the Nine Heavens, a conflict that had long since exceeded the scope of their understanding!

They knew that the outcome of this battle would directly determine the fate of them all!

This earth-shattering Peak showdown lasted for nearly an hour!

An hour later, the battle, which had initially been evenly matched, began to show subtle changes.

The blood-colored light representing the Blood Wolf King began to grow dimmer and more unstable.

Meanwhile, the golden light representing Gao Feng remained as brilliant and dazzling as ever, as if possessing endless power!

The Blood Wolf King, in the end, lacked the stamina to continue.

The power he gained by burning his life, though violent, could not last.

As for Gao Feng, not only did he possess the ceaseless and terrifying cultivation of an Eighth-Rank Martial Saint, but he also wielded the Myriad Tribulations Indestructible Body, a Body Refining technique that was extreme to the point of being monstrous!

His endurance and his recovery ability had long reached an inconceivable Realm!

With one side waning and the other waxing, the outcome was already decided!

“Pfft—!!!”

After yet another earth-shattering collision, the Blood Wolf King could no longer withstand that terrifying power capable of tearing everything apart. He violently spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with visceral fragments. Like a kite with a broken string, he fell heavily from the Nine Heavens, smashing into the already ruined Imperial City plaza and creating another massive crater!

He struggled, wanting to crawl out of the deep pit, but his body, which was already at the end of its rope, could no longer support him in making any movements.

The power he had gained from burning his Totem Power had completely dissipated.

He had lost.

He had lost completely and utterly.

A golden figure slowly descended from the sky and landed before him.

Gao Feng looked down from above at this prairie lord who had once been overbearing but now lay collapsed on the ground like a dead dog. In his deep eyes, there was not a trace of pity, only a coldness like ten-thousand-year-old ice.

“It is over.”

Gao Feng slowly raised the sky-splitting star river blade in his hand.

“No... I... I haven’t lost yet...”

The Blood Wolf King watched the blade flashing with a deathly cold light as it constantly magnified in his pupils. He let out a roar filled with endless unwillingness and resentment.

He was a lord rarely seen on the prairie in a hundred years!

He was the most favored descendant of the Sky Wolf God!!!

He was supposed to be the master of this world!!!!

How could he die here, so cowardly?????

He exhausted his last bit of strength, wanting to launch a final counterattack!

However, Gao Feng did not give him any chance at all!

“Shhh—!!!”

A streak of golden blade light flashed and vanished.

A massive head, filled with endless unwillingness and resentment, soared into the sky!

The scalding blood gushed out frantically like a fountain, staining the already dilapidated land with an even more eerie shade of blood-red.

The prairie lord, Blood Wolf King, had thus... fallen!

And at the very moment Gao Feng severed the Blood Wolf King’s head.

On the other side of the battlefield, the outcome was finally decided.

After experiencing an hour of brutal slaughter, the three top fierce generals of the current age—Zhao Yu, Ma Qianli, and Xiang Hao—finally relied on their battle wisdom, which far exceeded that of ordinary people, and their fearless, desperate fighting style to find the fatal weakness of those three war Puppets—the energy core located in their chests!

“Break... for me!”

Zhao Yu let out a heaven-shaking roar. At this moment, the Dragon-Gall Bright Silver Spear in his hand seemed to transform into a true Nine Heavens Dragon, piercing fiercely into the chest of the “Lin” Puppet with a terrifying, indomitable, and mutually destructive posture!

“Rumble—!!!!!!”

A loud boom!

The indestructible energy core was forcibly pierced on the spot by this supreme strike containing all of Zhao Yu’s power!

The “Lin” Puppet’s electronic eyes, which had been flickering with red light, instantly dimmed. Its mountain-like, burly body also collapsed with a crash, turning into a pile of cold scrap metal!

And with the fall of the first Puppet, the remaining two soon followed in its footsteps.

Ma Qianli used his sword, which was fast to the extreme, and Xiang Hao used his hammer, which was powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, to successively destroy the energy cores of the “Wind” Puppet and the “Fire” Puppet!

With this, the battle of the God Capital and all its suspense had settled!

When those prairie barbarians and royal death soldiers who were still putting up a desperate resistance saw that their last hope—the Blood Wolf King and those three invincible war Puppets—had all fallen one after another.

Their already crumbling will to fight completely collapsed at this moment!

They threw down their weapons, knelt on the ground, and offered their most humble surrender to that young monarch who was as invincible as a god.

God Capital, the South City Gate, atop that already dilapidated watchtower.

An old and lonely figure stood quietly there.

It was none other than the Imperial Teacher of the Great Qian Dynasty who had chosen to sacrifice himself for his country—Lin Zhengde.

He gazed from afar at the Peak of the Imperial City, at that head belonging to the Blood Wolf King, filled with unwillingness and resentment, held high by Gao Feng. A complex expression appeared on his wrinkled face.

There was relief, there was liberation, there was unwillingness, and there was also a faint trace of anticipation for the coming new era, something even he himself had not noticed.

He knew that the era belonging to the Great Qian Dynasty had completely ended.

And he, as the last and most loyal guardian of this old era, had completed his mission.

He slowly turned around and glanced at the thousand-year-old capital, which was already scarred but faintly revealed a hint of rebirth amidst the ruins. A miserable yet tragic curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Your Majesty... Your old servant... has come to keep you company...”

He muttered to himself, his voice filled with endless exhaustion and loneliness.

Then, he opened his arms and, like a tired bird returning to the forest, leaped from the hundred-zhang-high watchtower!

With his death, he drew a tragic and final period for the Great Qian Dynasty, which had once been glorious but had ultimately headed toward decay and destruction.

The wind blew past.

The dragon flag embroidered with the character “Qian,” already dilapidated but still stubbornly fluttering, finally fell slowly from the high flagpole.

Replacing it was a brand-new black “King of Yan” banner embroidered with a ferocious nine-clawed golden dragon, fluttering and snapping in the wind under the illumination of the morning light!

It was declaring to the entire world the end of an old era and the arrival of a new one!

Gao Feng, holding the Blood Wolf King’s head, which was still dripping blood and filled with unwillingness and resentment, walked step by step up the stairs paved with corpses and blood to the Peak of the Imperial City—the Hall of Supreme Harmony, which symbolized the highest power in the world.

Every step he took felt like treading on the pulse of history, heavy and full of power.

The black royal banner behind him, like his invincible will, flew high over the thousand-year-old capital that had just experienced the baptism of blood and fire!

Finally, he stood before the Hall of Supreme Harmony, a place that once only the True Dragon Son of Heaven could set foot in, and slowly raised the ferocious head in his hand. With a voice devoid of emotion yet filled with endless majesty, he announced the outcome of this battle to all the survivors in the city.

“The Blood Wolf King is dead!”

“The God Capital has fallen!”

“From this day forth, this world has a new master!”

His voice, like rolling thunder, exploded over the God Capital, clearly reaching everyone’s ears!

Upon hearing this, all the remaining enemy soldiers in the city who were still putting up a desperate resistance had their already crumbling will to fight completely collapse at this moment.

They threw down their weapons, knelt on the ground, and offered their most humble surrender to this young monarch who was as invincible as a god.

As for the common people hiding and shivering in the cellars of the ruins, upon hearing this voice, their faces revealed an incredibly complex expression.

Among them was relief that the war had ended, confusion about the future, but more than anything, a heartfelt awe and gratitude toward the new ruler—he had saved them from the flames of war and tyranny.

Gao Feng casually tossed the ferocious head to a personal guard behind him and slowly pushed open the palace doors made of pure gold, which symbolized supreme power, and walked inside.

Inside the hall, there was no one.

Only the dragon chair, carved from a single piece of Kunlun warm jade, radiated a mesmerizing, gentle luster under the sunlight streaming through the hole in the dome.

Gao Feng walked step by step to the dragon chair.

He reached out and gently stroked the cold, smooth armrest, feeling that aura called “power” that could drive any man to madness.

He did not sit down immediately.

He stood there quietly, his thoughts drifting back many years.

He recalled the oath he made when he first arrived in this world—to become the master of the world and hold his destiny firmly in his own hands!

For this seemingly unreachable goal, he had paid too much.

He endured, lay dormant, planned every step, and calculated everything.

While the warlords of the world fought tooth and nail over petty gains, he quietly developed his strength in the northern territories.

He opened factories, reformed the military system, promoted education, and developed firearms.

He transformed his barren fiefdom into an industrialized kingdom that was out of step with the era yet full of vitality!

He knew deeply that force alone could not truly conquer the world.

Productivity that transcended the era and technology capable of crushing everything were his fundamental reliance for aspiring to the world.

Therefore, he chose to “accumulate grain widely and delay claiming the title of king.”

He hid himself behind the chaotic situation of the world, watching coldly as those so-called “heroes and extraordinary figures” fought and consumed each other on the chessboard of the world.

He was like the most patient hunter, quietly waiting for the best opportunity.

Until the Great Qian Dynasty was rotten to the core and hopeless, until the so-called “warlords of the world” were all severely injured and unable to contend with him.

Only then did he finally reveal his long-sharpened fangs, sweeping across the world with the force of a thunderbolt, unstoppable!

Behind this seemingly easy victory lay countless days and nights of painstaking effort and endurance beyond what ordinary people could imagine!

Thinking of this, the corner of Gao Feng's mouth curled into a self-deprecating yet satisfied arc.

He turned slowly and, with the posture of a ruler of the world, slowly sat down on the dragon throne that symbolized supreme power.

The moment he sat on the dragon throne, he felt the Dragon Qi within his body perfectly fuse with the dragon throne, the entire imperial palace, and even the vast ley lines of the entire divine capital!

An unprecedented, supreme feeling—as if he could control all things in heaven and earth and dominate the life and death of billions—arose spontaneously!

He knew that from this moment on, he was the only master of this world!

...

After completely controlling the divine capital, Gao Feng did not engage in meaningless slaughter and looting like the conquerors in history.

The first thing he did was order the long-empty city gates to be opened completely!

Immediately after, a royal decree that would drive all the common people of the divine capital crazy was issued from the imperial city!

“Open the granaries! Distribute food!”

The various granaries of the Great Qian Dynasty royal Family, which had already been taken over by the Panshi Army, opened their doors at the same time to the common people struggling in the fires of war and hunger!

Bags of heavy grain, emitting an enticing rice fragrance, were distributed to every commoner who came to collect grain by those Panshi Army soldiers wearing black military uniforms and kind smiles!

“Thank you... Thank you, soldier...”

“Wuwuwu... We... We are finally saved...”

Countless sallow and emaciated commoners, dressed in rags, could no longer suppress the excitement and gratitude in their hearts after receiving enough food to survive, and they wept bitterly while hugging the grain bags!

Then, one, two, ten, a hundred...

More and more commoners spontaneously knelt in the direction of the imperial city!

Facing the black flag with the nine-clawed golden dragon flying high on top of the imperial city, they used all their strength to kowtow the loudest kowtows!

“Long live Your Highness the Prince of Yan! Long live! Long live!”

“Long live Your Majesty! Long live! Long live!”

Those heartfelt shouts, filled with endless gratitude and worship, gathered like a mountain-shaking tsunami and echoed over the divine capital for a long time!

Gao Feng stood in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, listening to the shouts of long live coming from the city, and a trace of imperceptible emotion flashed in his deep eyes.

He knew that from this moment on, he had truly won the hearts of the people of this thousand-year-old ancient capital!

...

Three days later, the divine capital, in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

An unprecedented and magnificent enthronement ceremony was held here grandly!

The cleared imperial city square was covered with a brand-new red carpet that was a thousand feet long.

Tens of thousands of Panshi Army elites, wearing golden armor and holding long halberds, stood like javelins on both sides of the square. The soaring Killing Intent and majesty made all the civil and military officials who came to watch the ceremony tremble with fear!

In the very center of the square, a sacrificial altar ninety-nine zhang high was built.

The auspicious time had arrived!

Accompanied by the majestic and solemn sound of bells and drums, Gao Feng, wearing the twelve-tasseled crown and twelve-patterned robes, and wearing the Imperial Jade Seal at his waist, ascended the sacrificial altar that symbolized supreme power step by step, surrounded by civil and military officials!

He held three sticks of incense and performed the three-kneel and nine-kowtow ritual to the vast heaven and earth!

The ritual was completed!

He turned slowly, facing the tens of thousands of civil and military officials and countless subjects kneeling under the altar, and with a vast voice that could resonate with heaven and earth, he solemnly declared to the whole world!

“I, Gao Feng, follow heaven and respond to men, changing the old and establishing the new!”

“Today, abolish the Great Qian Dynasty and establish a new Dynasty!”

“The national title is ‘Wu’! Establish the country with martial arts, pacify the country with martial arts! Use martial arts to pacify everything in the world that does not submit!”

“The era name is ‘Qiyuan’! Open a brand-new era belonging to all the people of our Huaxia!”

“I am the founding emperor of the Wu Dynasty—the Martial God!”

“Boom—!!!!”

As soon as Gao Feng finished speaking, the vast public sentiment and Luck gathered above his head seemed to find an outlet, turning into a nine-clawed golden dragon of Luck that was a thousand feet long, circling above his head, emitting a vast dragon roar full of joy and majesty!

The sound of the dragon roar rushed straight into the sky, resounding through the divine capital, and even resounding through the whole world!

At this moment, all the subjects of the Wu Dynasty, no matter where they were, seemed to hear a vast dragon roar from the depths of their Souls in the dark!

They subconsciously knelt down in the direction of the divine capital, making the most pious and fanatical shouts!

“Long live Your Majesty! Long live! Long live!”

“Long live the Wu Dynasty! Long live! Long live!”

The shouts, like a mountain-shaking tsunami, gathered into a majestic torrent, pushing the newly born Luck of the Wu Dynasty to an unprecedented Peak!

Gao Feng stood on the sacrificial altar, feeling the vast national Luck connected to his own Bloodline, watching the civil and military officials and countless subjects kneeling under the altar, his heart, which was as firm as a rock, could not help but ripple.

He had finally reached this step.

He had finally become the only master of this world!

...

After the enthronement ceremony came the long-awaited rewarding of meritorious officials!

Gao Feng did not play the hypocritical trick of “releasing military power with a cup of wine” like the founding emperors in history.

He knew deeply that he could have today because of those loyal brothers who followed him in battles and shed blood since he was in his humble beginnings!

He wanted them to get the deserved, most glorious reward!

“By the mandate of heaven, the emperor decrees!”

A loud-voiced chief eunuch unfolded the imperial edict that was a hundred feet long and read it aloud!

“Confer Su Yue as the Empress of our Wu Dynasty, to be the mother of the world, and hold the Phoenix seal!”

Su Yue, who had been standing quietly behind Gao Feng, heard this conferment, and a happy and satisfied smile appeared on her beautiful face.

She knew that her original choice was not wrong.

“Confer the four sisters Luo Qin, Luo Qi, Luo Shu, and Luo Hua as Imperial Noble Consorts, with a status equal to a deputy empress!”

“Confer Li Qingzhao as the Literary Noble Consort, to assist in managing the six palaces and govern the literary education of the world!”

“Confer...”

After conferring the harem, it was the more exciting rewarding of civil and military officials!

“Confer Liu Chengfeng as the Left Chancellor of our Wu Dynasty, ranking first among the Three Dukes, managing all officials, and assisting me!”

“Confer Xu Changqing as the Right Chancellor of our Wu Dynasty, concurrently serving as the Commander of the Heavenly Net, supervising the world, and serving as my ears and eyes!”

Liu Chengfeng and Xu Changqing, who stood at the head of the civil officials, heard the conferment, and their faces showed sincere excitement and gratitude!

They knew this was Gao Feng's greatest trust and affirmation of them!

“Confer Gao Yong (Big Fool) as the great general who guards the nation, titled ‘Duke of Yong’, with ten thousand households as fief, hereditary and unchangeable!”

“Confer Du Wei as the great general who guards the nation, titled ‘Duke of Ding’, with ten thousand households as fief, hereditary and unchangeable!”

“Confer Zhao Yu as the great general who guards the nation, titled ‘Marquis of Wuwei’, with eight thousand households as fief!”

“Confer Ma Qianli as the great general who guards the nation, titled ‘Marquis of Champion’, with eight thousand households as fief!”

“Confer Xiang Hao as the great general who guards the nation, titled ‘Marquis of Divine Power’, with eight thousand households as fief!”

“Confer Wulu as the Great General Who Conquers the South, titled ‘King of Zhennan’, guarding the southern frontier, forever guarding the border!”

“Confer Gongshu Ban as the Minister of Works, concurrently serving as the Pavilion Master of the Tiangong Pavilion, titled ‘Duke of Lu’, managing all craftsmen in the world, creating a foundation for our Wu Dynasty for ten thousand generations!”

“Confer...”

The long list of rewards was read out slowly by the chief eunuch.

Every name read out inevitably caused a burst of envious and jealous exclamations!

All the civil and military officials who had followed Gao Feng since his humble beginnings and made great contributions had now received their deserved, most generous rewards!

They became the top, most dazzling dignitaries of this newborn Dynasty!

Their families also soared into the sky because of their achievements, becoming the most enviable new emerging wealthy families in the world.

Some were happy, some were sad.

Those families and individuals who had defected to Gao Feng early and made contributions had now received huge rewards they had never dreamed of!

While those old-era gentry who had once disobeyed him and secretly caused trouble, although they kept their lives and property because of timely “surrender,” what they got were only irrelevant empty titles and noble ranks.

They had been completely marginalized by this brand-new era.

They could only watch helplessly as those “mud-legged ones” they once looked down upon climbed to the Peak of power one by one, their hearts filled with endless regret and unwillingness, but they could do nothing.

Gao Feng used this most direct and ruthless way to declare a brand-new simple truth to the world—

In this brand-new Wu Dynasty, to gain glory and status, one does not rely on so-called “noble” Bloodlines, nor on so-called “centuries-old” heritage.

One relies only on real contributions to this country!

The capable ones go up, the mediocre ones go down!

This was the most fundamental and unshakable iron law he set for this new Dynasty!