To Huang Tian, the sensation of his first transmigration was utterly wondrous.
He had not possessed or seized the body of any living soul; instead, he had become a newborn infant.
This infant's flesh was born of a wisp of his own consciousness merging with some mysterious energy between heaven and earth. In a sense, heaven and earth were his parents, making him nature's own son.
Yet through his hazy perception, Huang Tian knew that this world possessed no conscious will. At the very least, the late Han world had none, and there was certainly no such thing as a Heavenly Dao.
He was no chosen son of destiny.
Even so, descending into a magicless world in such a breathtaking display meant that if he claimed to be an immortal or god come down to earth, no one would dare question it.
Especially now...
He opened his eyes gently. As far as the eye could see, severed heads rolled across the earth and gore splattered through the air, while hideous shrieks resembling demonic howls battered his ears.
At that moment, an inexplicable power lifted him slowly from the ground. The sight paralyzed the Yellow Turban and Han soldiers hacking at one another nearby. They froze in stupor, staring blankly at the "holy infant," the "immortal babe" hovering in midair.
Before their eyes, the swaddling cloth wrapped around Huang Tian morphed into a young child's garments. At the same time, the young Huang Tian stood upright in midair, taking five steps forward as though treading upon green lotuses.
With each step, his age advanced by a year, his stature growing taller and sturdier. After five steps, he had transformed into a fair, handsome boy of five with rosy lips and white teeth.
This sight was even more miraculous than his descent upon lightning had been!
Every man on the field stared up slack-jawed at the exquisite divine child in the sky. Huang Tian glanced around the battlefield and spoke softly, yet his voice rang beside the ear of every single soul.
"I am Huang Tian. Today I descend to this mortal coil. In the heavens above and the earth below, I alone am supreme!"
*Boom—!*
It struck like a cataclysmic earthquake, leaving everyone dizzy and reeling.
Zhang Jiao's eyes bulged, his beard and hair whipping in the wind. "Th-there truly is a Huang Tian?!!"
Though he had launched the Yellow Turban Rebellion under the sacred banner of the Holy Sovereign Huang Tian and Zhonghuang Taiyi, he knew better than anyone that there were no gods or immortals in this world.
His talismanic sorceries were nothing more than sleights of hand and illusions. They were fine for deceiving ordinary believers, but he himself would never have believed them.
It was precisely because he was the Great Virtuous Teacher of the Way of Peace that he was certain the god Huang Tian did not exist!
Yet here and now, with his own eyes, he was witnessing the descent of "Huang Tian"!
An overwhelming mixture of dread and jubilation welled in his chest.
The dread came from feeling he had lacked piety, treating the god Huang Tian as nothing more than an idol on an altar; the joy came from knowing the god Huang Tian had truly descended, which meant the millions of displaced, starving people of the Great Han were finally saved.
Weeping, he cried out, "Jiao bows before the Holy Sovereign Huang Tian, the God Zhonghuang Taiyi!!"
As he fell to his knees, nearly forty thousand Yellow Turban soldiers knelt and kowtowed like an undulating wave, chanting the sacred name of the god Huang Tian in absolute frenzy.
While the Yellow Turban Army was ecstatic, the Han soldiers felt as if struck by lightning.
Had the divine child kept silent, they might have guessed he was an immortal dispatched by Emperor Gao. After all, legend held that Emperor Gao was the reincarnation of the Son of the Red Emperor, possessing supreme divine power; commanding an immortal down to earth to deliver the Great Han from ruin was entirely plausible.
Yet the immortal child had openly declared his name was Huang Tian. Hearing that name alone was enough for the Han soldiers to be certain that he was the god of the Yellow Turbans. For had they not all heard, *The Azure Sky is dead; the Yellow Sky shall rise*?
Only when the Azure Sky was dead would "Huang Tian" descend!
And who was the Azure Sky?
The Great Han, of course!
*The Great Han... is the Great Han doomed?!* The thought flashed through Lu Zhi's mind, followed by a violent wave of dizziness that nearly made him collapse.
"Lord Lu! Lord Lu!" Zong Yuan cried out in panic, hastily propping Lu Zhi up and speaking loudly into his ear to keep him conscious.
This was a matter of life and death—how could the commander-in-chief faint right now?
If he lost consciousness, would they not all be doomed?!
Lu Zhi managed to steady himself, but looking up at the serene Huang Tian floating in the sky, a profound sense of helplessness seized him.
How could mortal men ever contend with an immortal?
"There really is a god Huang Tian!"
"Zhonghuang Taiyi above, I want to join the Way of Peace!!"
"The Holy Sovereign has descended! The Great Han must fall! I'm joining the mo—the Yellow Turbans!"
"Have mercy, Holy Sovereign, please stuff my intestines back into my belly..."
"Huang Tian has descended! Huang Tian has descended..."
Over ten thousand Han soldiers cast aside their spears and halberds, prostrating themselves with fanatical expressions and crying out in supplication.
Across the vast plains, only Lu Zhi, Zong Yuan, a handful of commanders, and the several hundred elite guards flanking Lu Zhi remained standing. Yet even they were paralyzed with terror, not knowing what to do.
Had the prestige of Lu Zhi and the Han imperial court not still held sway over their hearts, they too would have stripped off their armor and bowed down to show their devotion to the god Huang Tian.
Seeing the helpless looks turned toward him, Lu Zhi gritted his teeth and shouted, "Huang Tian has descended, and the Azure Sky shall descend as well! Emperor Gao is the Son of the Red Emperor; he will not stand idly by and watch the Fiery Han perish at the hands of moth-rebels!"
Hearing those words, many soldiers relaxed slightly. Yet Lu Zhi knew the day was lost. Decisively, he commanded:
"Sound the gongs! Recall the troops! Retreat!"
When no one moved, Lu Zhi snapped his sword from his waist and barked coldly, "Sound the gongs!!"
Finally, his men sprang into action.
The clang of gongs echoed across the field. Hearing it, the ten thousand prostrate Han soldiers were at a loss. Should they rise and fall back to camp, or remain on their knees in prayer?
Zhang Jiao was also jolted from his stupor by the gongs, but he hesitated, uncertain whether he should order the slaughter of Han troops who were practically disarmed. Just as he wavered, Huang Tian spoke from the heavens above:
"Huang Tian descends; the Azure Sky dies!"
Those simple, offhand words ignited the morale of Zhang Jiao and the Yellow Turban Army. Scrambling to his feet, Zhang Jiao raised his nine-section staff and bellowed, "Beat the drums! All armies charge! Slay the Han troops! Spare those who kneel and surrender!"
The drums thundered as the order went out. With glowing eyes, the Yellow Turban soldiers surged toward the Han lines like men possessed. Most of the Han troops, thoroughly awed by the miracle of Huang Tian's descent, dutifully knelt and surrendered where they were, so this clash was fought with virtually no casualties.
"Lord Lu! We must fall back!" Zong Yuan shouted frantically.
Seeing his ten thousand elite troops surrender without resistance, Lu Zhi let out a long sigh, stamped his foot, and gritted his teeth. "Retreat!"
Leaping nimbly onto his mount, he led the few hundred cavalry and foot soldiers who remained loyal to him and the Han court as they fled desperately away from Guangzong.
The Yellow Turban cavalry gave chase at once, though they were unlikely to overtake Lu Zhi; the Han army's horses were far superior to theirs. Even so, the few fleeing Han infantrymen stood little chance of escape.
Up above, the inexplicable force finally dissipated, and Huang Tian drifted gently back down to the earth.
Checking inside himself, he felt not a single shred of cultivation. The "miracles" he had just displayed had been entirely sustained by that mysterious power.
*It seems it was because of my superpower again...*
The thought flashed through his mind, but Huang Tian did not waste time dwelling on it. Instead, he turned his gaze upon the sea of Yellow Turban soldiers surrounding him.
Everywhere he looked, their faces were either ablaze with boundless fanaticism or lowered in tremulous awe.
Chapter 12