The Will of Legend

The unconscious girl reminded Qin Luming of the princess who ate the poisoned apple—fragile and beautiful, waiting to be saved.

He felt a surge of excitement. He held her close, his palms feeling the soft warmth of her bent knees and shoulders. Was this the heroine from his novel?

She was so real that Qin Luming couldn't help but steal glances at her as he ran.

Her delicate features, every detail of her face and skin, seemed exquisitely carved, flawlessly perfected. Qin Luming had only ever seen skin and beauty like this on Zuozuo and Caicai.

But she was different from Zuozuo and Caicai. She possessed a feminine charm that drew Qin Luming in. He recalled the many heartfelt descriptions in his novels, and his chest grew warm.

He ran at full speed, long past the positions where the two Emperor's Guardians had stood. Behind him, two statues, towering like mountains, had fallen, shaking the earth and kicking up dust. Mixed with the violent explosions of the solar flare storm summoned by Aizen King, it looked like the end of the world.

He held the beautiful girl, his back to the apocalypse, and ran forward.

His steps were light, almost as if a cheerful tune like "The weather is so nice and clear today, the scenery is beautiful everywhere, little birds poop everywhere" wanted to burst from his chest.

There was a valley ahead, easily crossed with a light step, but he couldn't control himself. He leaped with abandon, jumping high, and after landing, he wanted to jump high again. Watching her hair fly, he finally slowed his pace.

Qin Luming felt he was quite far from where he had started running. He entered a forest and saw cracks appearing in the air. He understood these weren't spatial rifts, but cracks in the boundary of the barrier... The barrier set up by Zhou Nan's formation could neither stop Aizen King's descent nor remain intact under the impact of the solar flare storm.

Qin Luming held the beautiful girl in his right arm and struck the cracks with his left hand, punch after punch. Such an impact might be detected by the barrier's creator, but Qin Luming no longer cared... Besides, even if Zhou Nan noticed, she would likely be too preoccupied to intervene.

"The barrier here condenses the national will of the Zhou Kingdom. 'When one place is in trouble, all directions provide support' has always been the will recognized by the nation and people of Zhou. The harder you strike one spot, the more power from other locations will stabilize it, making it even more unbreakable. If you comprehend it carefully, you can feel the great power of unity. The history of Zhou Kingdom has been fraught with disasters, sacrificing countless soldiers and civilians against natural and man-made calamities. This barrier, forged in hardship, becomes stronger the more it is struck."

Qin Luming stopped in astonishment and turned around, only to find a woman as tall as Yao Ming standing silently behind him.

This made Qin Luming's heart pound with fear. However, since she hadn't attacked, even if her intentions were unclear, she didn't seem hostile.

"Who are you?"

Qin Luming looked at her uniform, identical to Zhou Nan's, except it lacked the hammer-shaped medal on Zhou Nan's chest. Instead, nine other brilliant and ornate medals adorned it, speaking of the wearer's distinguished achievements and noble status.

She wore a midi skirt with leggings and tall boots. A few buttons on her chest were undone, revealing a majestic figure beyond the reach of ordinary girls. Her unusual height meant she always maintained a condescending posture, but her expression at this moment was gentle and proper.

"Regent Jin, the Regent of Zhou Kingdom."

Qin Luming immediately became wary. Was this the person who truly held the reins of military and political power, who had spent years campaigning in the northern deserts, slaughtering hundreds of millions of northern tribespeople—the foremost power broker of Zhou Kingdom?

Aside from the gentle, gentlemanly expression on her face, her height and aura fit the description... Qin Luming couldn't help but suspect Ma Shilong had some peculiar fetish. Given the harem-novel style of this story, such a powerful woman would surely be incorporated into the harem... But she was a two-meter-three woman!

When the male protagonist's height is normal, very few authors set such a giant heroine, because readers find it hard to adapt to the idea of the heroine reaching out and grabbing the male protagonist like a chick.

"But even the sturdiest fortress cannot withstand internal destruction and infiltration." Regent Jin looked up at the distant, fading snow-capped mountains and placed her hand on the barrier.

The barrier opened, and the fine cracks in the air vanished. The barrier gate, rippling like azure water, appeared before them.

"Let's go," Regent Jin said, pointing to the barrier gate.

Qin Luming really wanted to ask why she was letting him go, but there's a saying: villains die from talking too much. Having seen so many villains meet their end, didn't he understand that the best course of action now was to shut up and run? Qin Luming wasn't a villain, but his mind worked better than most villains.

So, Qin Luming asked nothing and ran without looking back.

How many people had come from Zhou Kingdom? If the Regent had come, would she bring an army? Qin Luming recalled Ma Shilong's setting: every strand of the Regent's hair was a soldier, and she carried a hundred thousand troops with her at all times.

That damned Ma Shilong, writing whatever came to his mind. When these things actually appeared in reality, he had turned into a pig and run away.

Qin Luming could only pray that the rulers of Zhou Kingdom would correctly recognize the powerful military forces of Earth and not start a war here. He could see that Zhou Nan wasn't someone who blindly rushed forward; hiding within this barrier was probably because she didn't yet understand the military strength of the real world... Would Aizen King's arrival also make her hesitant?

Thinking that Zhou Nan had captured Ma Shilong to return to Zhou Kingdom, Qin Luming felt a little relieved. At least Zhou Nan had a plan to return to Zhou Kingdom, not to establish a new Zhou Kingdom on Earth.

Watching Qin Luming pass through the barrier gate and run away without looking back, Regent Jin turned around. A tall horse, engulfed in flames, galloped towards her. Regent Jin affectionately stroked the horse's mane, mounted it, and leaped into the air, flying towards Zhou Nan.

Around Zhou Nan were twenty-four emperor statues. These twenty-four emperors had all been listed in the "Legendary Emperors" chapter of Zhou Kingdom's "Historical Records" during their lifetimes.

The statues retained the aura of the emperors from their lives, immensely powerful, forming an imperial-level formation that could attack and defend, allowing Zhou Nan to survive the solar flare storm.

"The past emperors of Zhou Kingdom dedicated their lives to the country, and after death, their power remained in the Emperor's Hammer. Their flesh and blood were infused into the land of Zhou, and their bones turned into statues to continue guarding Zhou. Every drop of their blood was shed for this great empire, and their will is inherited in my body." Zhou Nan gazed at Regent Jin. "Therefore, I must return to Zhou Kingdom."

"We will find a way," Regent Jin said, looking up at the statues of these legendary emperors.

Emperor, the Emperor.

King, the Regent.

In Zhou Kingdom, there was no enfeoffment by bloodline. His Majesty the Emperor was the embodiment of Zhou Kingdom's will, and the Regent, besides His Majesty the Emperor, was a king with unparalleled wisdom, strength, and an unyielding will, capable of being the spear and shield of Zhou Kingdom with her own body.

"I let that child named Qin Luming and that Aizen King go just now," Regent Jin told Zhou Nan frankly.

Zhou Nan frowned slightly.

"We have no need to take risks. That little girl's origin is extremely powerful and chaotic. Even if she lost consciousness here, she would be difficult to control. Once her origin becomes so chaotic that it explodes, judging by the power of the solar flare storm she summoned earlier, she could tear open void rifts and swallow the entire world." Regent Jin's reasoning was very sound. Facing Zhou Nan's gaze, she was humble and sincere.

"Is she the King of the Divine Kingdom?" Zhou Nan did not dwell on Regent Jin letting the enemy go; this was not the demeanor of an emperor.

"That's what she said. It seems that in the Divine Kingdom, there might only be thrones, and no single emperor, or beings called Divine Emperors." Regent Jin looked up again. The continuous ancient snow mountains that had appeared in the west due to Aizen King's descent had completely vanished. "She mentioned a woman named An Nanxiu, vowing to kill the God King. Those who do such things are usually the supreme powerhouses. Supreme powerhouses only care about other supreme powerhouses. If the God King is not the strongest, then she wouldn't be trying to kill the God King."

"The God King seems very powerful..." Zhou Nan sneered. "But my Zhou Kingdom's history has countless wise men. Some achieved unparalleled military exploits, invincible in their time; some were like saints, bringing salvation to the masses, sacrificing themselves for the country and its people, their will eternal. They protected billions of people and forged the entire Zhou Kingdom into an eternally existing, independent world. Over many years, countless outstanding beings have been born in Zhou Kingdom, nurtured by billions of flesh and blood. The will that can awe heaven and earth guards it. This country itself is comparable to a Divine Kingdom. What is a mere God King?"

"Your Majesty, we have not yet glimpsed even a trace of the Divine Kingdom, so such assertions are inappropriate," Regent Jin said with a smile. "However, the kingly aura you exude is no less than that of the legendary emperors of past dynasties."

Zhou Nan nodded, though she didn't believe there was anything inappropriate.

"That pig... why do his writings reflect Zhou Kingdom? Is it a coincidence or a special ability?"

"This subject does not know."

"Let the Heavenly Prison carry out the castration first. The 'Historical Records' of their world was written by a literati after being castrated in prison," Zhou Nan told Regent Jin.

"Your Majesty is wise." Regent Jin was unconcerned. She didn't think this was something that needed to be figured out; His Majesty was young and ultimately a bit too curious.

"If Ma Shilong cannot write it, then find others with similar abilities. Even if that Qin Luming doesn't have this ability, he should know who would be suitable candidates for us." Zhou Nan glanced at the Regent standing beside her. The woman's imposing figure made Zhou Nan involuntarily shift her gaze, and she said faintly, "This young man also carries the aura of a false god."

"I also sensed it. It's possible that a false god from this world has possessed him," Regent Jin said, recalling the aura Qin Luming emitted when he attacked the barrier. "The reason I let him go was to prevent his false god aura from penetrating the barrier, thus affecting our formation."

False gods... powerful beings born from the faith of countless believers, possessing strong penetration abilities and easily controlling those with weak or impure will and souls.

The barrier here was also a kind of willpower. It was often unbreakable against fierce and swift attacks, but it was easily penetrated by the power of false gods and could collapse. Once the will was no longer pure, it was in danger of collapsing.