40: Chapter 40 Now, they are mine.

He slowly crouched down and gently touched the suit of armor. What reached his fingertips was not just the heaviness of gold, but the vicissitudes and weight of over a hundred years of history.

Under the cold beam of the flashlight, the golden light flowed and danced. The nine coiling dragons were vivid and lifelike, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, as if they would break free from the armor and soar into the clouds the next second.

The large South Sea pearl in the center of the breastplate emitted a soft and mysterious halo in the darkness. Having weathered a century of erosion, it remained as lustrous as ever, without a single scratch.

"Hong Xiuquan, oh Hong Xiuquan..."

Hu Tian shook his head lightly, a bitter, indescribable smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, as if he were looking at an absurd joke. "You exhausted the nation's strength to forge this armor, wanting to proclaim to the world that you were the True Dragon Emperor, destined by Heaven. But what was the result? You treated it as a decoration to be displayed in the deep palace, while you hid in the Heavenly Kings Mansion, living in a drunken stupor, leaving your soldiers to bathe in the blood of the battlefield. This armor never even smelled the stench of the battlefield, and in the end, it became your burial object. It really is 'the mansion was built, the guests were feasted, and in the end, the mansion collapsed.' It's incredibly ironic."

He stood up and examined the armor again, his gaze complex.

In terms of craftsmanship, this armor is undoubtedly one of the most exquisite artifacts of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom remaining in the world. Every engraving embodies the painstaking effort and wisdom of the craftsmen from Suzhou and Yangzhou back then. Looking at modern history, one can hardly find a similar artifact that compares to it.

A scene involuntarily surfaced in his mind: Hong Xiuquan, clad in golden armor and a yellow robe, holding a scepter, standing atop a warhorse. Behind him, flags snapped in the wind, and the soldiers of the Taiping Army shouted, "Long live the Heavenly Father, the Heavenly Brother, and the Heavenly King!" as they charged toward the Qing army's positions with towering morale...

"What a pity. No matter how mighty the armor, or how sharp the sword, it cannot stop internal collapse."

Hu Tian shook his head and carefully placed this treasure back into the box. "Regardless,"

He took a deep breath, his eyes reigniting with a greedy and fervent light. "Today, it belongs to me. This is also its best destination; after all, only by following me can it see the light of day again."

Hu Tian took one last look at the armor. With a thought, a golden light flashed, and the entire suit of armor disappeared from the spot without a sound, taken into the System Space.

He clapped his hands, as if brushing off the dust of history, and turned around.

In the deepest part of the secret room, two sandalwood boxes stood side by side, silently resting in the darkness, as if after waiting for over a hundred years, they had finally waited for this "person of destiny" today.

Hu Tian swept his gaze over them, and the Treasure Hunting Radar had already provided feedback one step ahead of him.

The box on the left was shrouded in a rich purple halo, deep and luxurious, like some extremely rare and important antique.

In his radar identification system, purple represented top-tier collectibles, and every appearance meant it was of great value. Hu Tian was now a person who had seen the world, so his heartbeat did not fluctuate much.

But the box on the right—his eyes suddenly narrowed, and he skipped half a beat in his breathing.

Pale red.

It was a very, very faint rose red, like the last trace of twilight on the horizon when dawn is about to arrive. It was soft, yet carried a breathtaking sense of shock, as if silently recounting some forbidden majesty.

Hu Tian stared at that pale red, and something in his chest began to beat rapidly, striking against his ribs.

He had been using the Treasure Hunting Radar for so long, and this was the first time he had seen a pale red halo!

He had seen purple, he had seen blue, and he had seen gold, but this pale red—his throat tightened slightly, and he tried hard to make his voice sound steady, but he couldn't help swallowing his saliva: "Could it be... national treasure level? Or even the legendary 'National Treasure'?"

The radar did not provide a text response, but the pale red halo seemed to become increasingly clear, quietly shrouding the sandalwood box, like a summons from the depths of history, tempting him to unveil the final veil.

Hu Tian took a deep breath, forcing himself to suppress his excitement, and first walked toward the box on the left that was emitting a purple halo.

No matter how precious the items were, one had to take them one by one. One cannot be too greedy, even though he was indeed very greedy right now.

He crouched down and slowly pushed open the latch of the box.

Click—the latch opened in response, and the lid slowly lifted.

In an instant, a brilliant golden light surged out, as if the aura of luxury that had been suppressed for a hundred years had finally seen the light of day, stinging Hu Tian's eyes and making him squint.

Hu Tian held his breath, his gaze falling into the box.

It was a dragon robe.

The golden satin surface gleamed with a soft and luxurious luster under the light. On the robe, nine five-clawed golden dragons coiled, their heads held high and their bodies churning. Every scale was meticulously outlined with gold thread, vivid and lifelike, as if they could come alive at any moment.

The hem of the robe was embroidered with mountain and sea patterns, with surging waves and a magnificent aura. Between the dragon claws were flaming pearls, symbolizing the True Dragon descending upon the four seas and reigning over the world.

Beneath the dragon robe, a scepter lay quietly.

The scepter was entirely gilded, and the shaft was carved with dense cloud and dragon patterns. The top of the scepter was a dragon head the size of a fist, its mouth wide open, clutching a blood-red gemstone that flickered with an eerie red light in the dim illumination, exuding a soul-stirring magic.

Almost the moment Hu Tian's gaze fell upon these two artifacts, the familiar system notification sound arrived as expected, as pleasant as the sound of nature—[Ding! Top-tier artifact detected: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Heavenly King's Dragon Robe]

[Item Grade: Purple (Top-tier Collection)] [Detailed Information: This robe is the imperial dragon robe of Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, made in the third year of Xianfeng (1853), after the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom established its capital in Tianjing. The robe uses cloud brocade satin tribute from Suzhou, woven with a mixture of gold thread and peacock feather thread. It took eight months to complete by three top embroiderers working together. The nine-dragon pattern follows the Ming dynasty style, but the details incorporate the unique religious symbols of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, with the flaming pearls between the dragon claws corresponding to the "God Worshipping Society" doctrine. Hong Xiuquan only wore this robe during his coronation ceremony and important sacrificial ceremonies. It is extremely rare, and this is the only one in existence.]

[Preservation Status: Intact (95%)] [Estimated Value: 580 million RMB] [Energy Points Gained: +58,000 points] Immediately after, the second notification sounded—[Ding! Top-tier artifact detected: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Heavenly King's Scepter]

[Item Grade: Purple (Top-tier Collection)] [Detailed Information: This scepter is one of the symbols of power for Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, made in the fourth year of Xianfeng (1854). The scepter shaft uses fine copper gilding technology, and the dragon head at the top holds a blood-red ruby tribute from Myanmar, weighing 32 carats, with a color as rich as blood. The scepter is 1.2 meters long and weighs about 5.6 kilograms. The shaft is engraved with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom calendar and totems of the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother descending to earth. This scepter is a core ceremonial object for the Heavenly King's outings, symbolizing the meaning of "Acting under the Mandate of Heaven to enforce justice."]

[Preservation Status: Intact (92%)] [Estimated Value: 450 million RMB] [Energy Points Gained: +45,000 points] [Item Origin Trace: In July 1864, on the eve of the fall of Tianjing, Mo Shikui, the inner court superintendent of the Heavenly Kings Mansion, acting on the last orders of Hong Xiuquan, secretly transferred this dragon robe and scepter, along with other important artifacts, to the Heavenly Kingdom Holy Treasury at Cuiyun Peak outside the city. In August of the same year, Mo Shikui was pursued and killed by the Xiang Army. Before he died, he hid the treasures here and left a code for his clansmen. However, the descendants of the Mo family either died in the war or were scattered to other places, so the matter of the hidden treasure became a top-secret, until today.]

The two artifacts combined were worth over one billion!

The energy points gained were a direct income of 103,000 points!

Hu Tian slowly reached out, his fingertips gently touching the corner of the dragon robe.

The satin was cool and delicate. After being sealed for a hundred years, it still maintained a soft texture, without any signs of decay, as if time had stood still here.

He gently lifted the hem of the robe, and the entire dragon robe unfolded in his hands. The heavy weight made his wrist sink slightly.

"The Heavenly King's Dragon Robe..."

Hu Tian muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping over every detail of the robe.

The choice of materials for this dragon robe was exquisite, and the craftsmanship was superb, not losing at all to the dragon robes of the Qing emperors, and in some places, it was even better, exuding a nouveau-riche style of luxury and ostentation.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom once occupied half the country, gathering most of the wealth of the Jiangnan region. Hong Xiuquan called himself the Heavenly King, so naturally, he wanted to use the top-tier craftsmanship to create this attire symbolizing power for himself, wishing he could wear all the gold and silver in the world on his body.

He carefully placed the dragon robe back into the box and reached out to pick up the scepter next to it.

It was heavy in his hand, visually estimated to weigh at least five or six jin.

The carving on the scepter shaft was complex and fine, with every cloud pattern engraved clearly. Amidst the flowing golden light, it had a sense of dignity and solemnity. Holding it in his hand felt like holding the power of life and death.

Hu Tian picked up the scepter and examined the ruby embedded in the dragon's mouth carefully against the light.

The gemstone was crystal clear, with flame-like light flowing inside. This quality, this grade, was definitely pigeon-blood red level. If placed in a modern auction house, this single gemstone could fetch an astronomical price, enough to drive countless wealthy people crazy.

"Hong Xiuquan, that old guy,"

Hu Tian shook his head and sighed softly, his tone carrying a bit of mockery. "His ability to rebel wasn't great, but his ability to enjoy life was first-class. This isn't a scepter; it's practically a 'nouveau-riche gold' limited edition selfie stick!"

He placed the scepter back into the box. Looking at this robe and scepter, he was filled with emotion.

These two things were the most direct symbols of the Heavenly King's identity in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, representing the ultimate dream of a grassroots hero of that era—donning the yellow robe and commanding the world.

Unfortunately, a dream is just a dream in the end.

When Hong Xiuquan hid in the Heavenly Kings Mansion wearing this dragon robe and holding this scepter, fantasizing about his identity as the True Dragon Emperor, the foundation of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had long been gradually disintegrating amidst infighting and corruption.

He probably didn't wear this dragon robe many times; most of the time, it was just displayed in the palace, along with that suit of golden armor, becoming a decoration to put on a front.

"Forget it, past events have all become clouds and smoke."

Hu Tian took a deep breath and stopped thinking about it. "Now, they are mine."

He raised his right hand and waved it gently. The entire sandalwood box, along with the dragon robe and scepter inside, disappeared into the air and was taken into the System Space.

The purple halo dissipated, and the secret room appeared even more empty.

In the secret room, only the last box emitting a pale red halo remained, standing quietly in the corner like a silent watcher, waiting for him.

Hu Tian turned around, his gaze locked firmly onto that box, a flash of fervent light in his eyes—the look of a hunter seeing the ultimate prey.

"Next..."

He slowly walked forward, crouched down, and placed his hands on the box lid, his palms feeling the cool temperature coming from the box. "Let's see what earth-shattering secret you are hiding inside."

Crack—the lid was slowly lifted, making a slight friction sound.

Hu Tian's breathing became rapid in that instant; he could clearly hear the thumping of his own heart, an emotion intertwined with anticipation and nervousness.

The moment the lid was fully opened, a soft, pale red halo came into view.

The bottom of the box was lined with a layer of high-quality cloud brocade cushion, and right in the center, a jade seal lay quietly.