Guan Shanhai

Seeing the power of national destiny suspended in midair as though it had become an unowned thing, Lu Yang recalled what Meng Jingzhou had told him about it before. For the power of national destiny to detach from Emperor Xia's body could only mean one thing: Emperor Xia had passed away! He had arrived a step too late after all! At a single glance, Lu Yang recognized the elderly figure standing above the Imperial Palace with an aura fit to rule the realm. It was Dean Qi Xiuya, the Imperial Academy's foremost scholar of history. "Why is Dean Qi here?!" Lu Yang distinctly remembered that Dean Qi was merely at the Body Integration stage. The power of national destiny was tied to the very foundation of Great Xia; it was absolutely not something a Body Integration cultivator could touch! In fact, not even cultivators at the Tribulation Transcendence stage would dare lay a hand on it! "And this pressure..." Dean Qi had originally kept his cultivation tightly restrained like an ordinary old man, but perhaps because he had finally obtained the power of national destiny, he could not resist letting slip a wisp of pressure. A mere leak of pressure born from emotional turbulence was enough to blanket the Imperial City and even eight neighboring cities beyond! Even a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator releasing their aura in its entirety could never achieve such a feat. "He's an immortal!" Lu Yang was the first to realize. "Imperial Preceptor, save me!" General Yu shouted in desperation the moment he saw the power of national destiny leave Emperor Xia's body and witnessed Dean Qi make his grand appearance to reap the prize. Under the combined assault of Jin Caiwei and Jiang Lianyi, he had been rendered utterly powerless to fight back. "The Imperial Preceptor?!" The only person General Yu would ever willingly address as "Imperial Preceptor" was Guan Shanhai, the founding Imperial Preceptor who had been both mentor and friend to Emperor Yu Wu Yao, co-founding the Great Yu Dynasty! He was also one of only two immortals Great Yu had ever produced. The instant the Imperial Preceptor's identity was confirmed, Lu Yang roughly pieced together Great Yu's scheme. To seize the power of national destiny, Guan Shanhai had taken advantage of Emperor Xia's critical illness to orchestrate unrest in Yuzhou, drawing the Jiang family ancestor away to provide reinforcements. That left him as the sole immortal in the Imperial City, free to do whatever he pleased. If an immortal wished to hide his identity, he could suppress his cultivation, alter his appearance, and grow up anew from infancy, gradually unsealing his power as he aged. In this manner, every single step of his upbringing left a traceable path. Even if Great Xia investigated, they would uncover nothing out of the ordinary. There was no telling how long Guan Shanhai had lived under an assumed name in the Imperial City; even his identity as Dean Qi had been in use for over a thousand years. With disciples scattered across the entire realm, it was entirely likely that Dean Qi used them as intelligence sources. For instance, Ye Gu, who served as a private school teacher for the Meng Family, could supply him with information on the Mengs. *I knew there was something off about Dean Qi,* Lu Yang thought to himself. *A Body Integration cultivator who doesn't hold a grudge against Master—how could he possibly be an ordinary person?* "The Imperial Preceptor of Great Yu?!" General Yu's shout was so loud that more than half the Imperial City heard it clearly. Shock rippled through the populace, plunging them into instant panic. Even if they did not understand what the power of national destiny was or why the Great Yu Imperial Preceptor had come, the appearance of an ancient immortal in the Imperial City was an omen of extreme danger! Guan Shanhai ignored the terror-stricken faces of the city's inhabitants and paid no heed to General Yu's cries. Walking on air, he took measured strides toward the crimson power of national destiny. As he drew closer, his appearance shifted. He transformed into a sunken-cheeked, middle-aged man with a goatee, gradually matching the portraits of him preserved in the history books. As if sensing Guan Shanhai's ill intent, the power of national destiny trembled erratically, releasing ripples terrifying enough to make even Tribulation Transcendence cultivators shudder. Yet Guan Shanhai merely offered a faint smile and reached out to seize it, much like a snake catcher gripping a serpent by its fatal spot. No matter how violently it thrashed, its struggle was in vain. "Jiang Ping'an truly possessed remarkable skill to create something like this power of national destiny." The power of national destiny was something Jiang Ping'an had forged after founding Great Xia. It was the creation of an immortal, but unlike the Child-and-Mother River or the Twin River, Jiang Ping'an had fashioned it directly using the authority of his Dao fruit. It bore the prayers of Great Xia's millions of people, forming the very foundation of the empire. Because Jiang Ping'an had poured boundless effort into creating it, Guan Shanhai could not fully assimilate it in a short time, even if he wished to. But he had no need to claim it in its entirety; what he valued was its connection to the people. By relying on that bond, he could transform Great Xia into Great Yu! From the moment he grasped the power of national destiny, he had already begun refining it. Refining it was not difficult, though it took time. While occupied with the process, he turned his head slowly to look at General Yu—who had been compressed into a two-dimensional sheet and sliced into countless pieces—as well as Jiang Lianyi and Jin Caiwei, who were watching him as if facing a mortal threat. "Fellow Daoist Jin, we meet again just a few days after parting at the Imperial Academy, though I hardly imagined it would be under such circumstances." Guan Shanhai smiled genially, displaying not the slightest trace of arrogance. "Fellow Daoist Jiang, long have I admired the renown of the Phoenix Clan Ancient Ancestor. Seeing you today, you truly live up to your reputation. Were it not for someone standing above you, I fear you would already be an immortal as well." Even though Guan Shanhai was extraordinarily polite, willing to treat Jiang Lianyi and Jin Caiwei as his peers despite his status as an immortal, his words only drew hostility from them. As if blind to the cold glares directed at him, Guan Shanhai turned toward an empty stretch of air and cupped his hands once more. "And Fellow Daoist Ao Ling, you have been hiding there for quite some time. It is about time you revealed yourself." Ripples spread through the void, and a grim-faced Ao Ling stepped out from the folds of space, fixing her gaze upon Guan Shanhai. No matter how peerless her concealment methods were, she had nowhere to hide before an immortal's divine sense. "I must ask the three of you to release General Yu." Guan Shanhai spoke in an even tone, as though discussing a minor, everyday matter. Ao Ling stared at Guan Shanhai for a moment, then exhaled slowly. She understood the gulf between an immortal and a half-immortal better than anyone; this was not an opponent they could defeat. "Release General Yu." Jin Caiwei obediently complied, releasing her rudimentary Plane Dao fruit and restoring General Yu to his three-dimensional form. However, General Yu was currently reduced to tiny fragments; piecing himself back together would have to depend entirely on his own efforts. "This Guan thanks the three of you. I came to the Imperial City solely for the power of national destiny, yet never imagined I would have the fortune of meeting Immortal Kirin's three wives. Truly a stroke of supreme luck." Becoming Dean of the Imperial Academy had not merely served Guan Shanhai's need for cover and intelligence; he genuinely loved the study of history. Ancient history in particular. "Three wives?" Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi exchanged bewildered glances. Where on earth had their husband gotten three wives? Guan Shanhai blinked in surprise as well. "Fellow Daoist Jin told me so herself. Could it be mistaken?" Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi turned their heads at the exact same moment, their eyes boring into Jin Caiwei. Guan Shanhai did not dwell on the matter. Instead, he cupped his hands again and continued. "Might I trouble the three of you to tell me where Immortal Kirin is? This Guan has several matters he wishes to ask him." Ao Ling shook her head. "None of us know where our husband is." Guan Shanhai narrowed his eyes, clearly unconvinced by their words, and his tone turned slightly unfriendly. "This Guan considers his conduct toward the three of you to have been sufficiently courteous. Do not mistake me for someone easily trifled with! "Tell me Immortal Kirin's location. Otherwise, I fear the three of you will have to remain here today until he comes to retrieve you!"