The First Emperor Defied Heaven, but the Great Celestial Venerable Insisted His Dynasty Would Die in the Second Generation!

Outside the great hall, dusk stretched across the sky.

On the raised platform, Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng, stood in a black dragon robe that whipped in the wind.

He raised the blade in his hand, its edge pointed at the heavens, its gleam cold and fierce.

"I am the First Emperor of Great Qin, Ying Zheng!"

His gaze blazed as it swept across the firmament. His voice rang like a bell, reverberating through the nine heavens.

"I will be an emperor for the ages. I will never be a mere Son of Heaven!"

"In the past, I fought the Six Kingdoms. Today, I will fight Heaven itself!"

Lightning flickered along his blade, as if his furious shout had sent the very firmament rolling.

"If Heaven forbids me to cultivate immortality, then I will defy Heaven!"

"If Heaven forbids me eternal life, then I will cut Heaven down!"

His voice rang like cold iron striking, echoing through the Qin palace and beyond.

The warriors outside the hall bowed their heads, not daring to make a sound.

Below the platform, the assembled ministers looked ashen, their bodies stiff as cicadas in the cold.

The Heavenly Dao would not allow an emperor to cultivate immortality, let alone live forever!

Even with the protection of human fortune, Qin Shi Huang had unified the Six Kingdoms and become a great ruler of his age, yet he still had to submit to Heaven. It was ordained!

The fate of Human Emperor Di Xin was proof of what happened to mortals who refused to revere Heaven and tried to fight it.

Li Si opened his mouth, wanting to say something. But as he looked at the emperor standing with his sword raised to Heaven, robes whipping in the wind, the words caught in his throat. He swallowed them back and fell silent.

Behind Ying Zheng, the sinister Zhao Gao seized the moment and hurried forward. Bowing repeatedly, he loudly sang the emperor's praises in a voice as fawning as a snake's:

"Your Majesty, First Emperor, may you reign for a thousand autumns and ten thousand years! You unified the Six Kingdoms, surpass the Three Sovereigns in virtue and the Five Emperors in achievement. May you reign as emperor for a thousand autumns and ten thousand generations!"

"May our emperor live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years!"

Before he had finished speaking, he slammed his forehead against the jade steps, knocking it again and again with loud thuds.

At his words, the ministers inside the hall wore conflicted expressions. But some quickly came to their senses, hurriedly knelt, and joined the cries, their voices gathering into a deafening roar:

"May our emperor live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years—!"

Beneath the heavy dusk, their cries rose alongside the coldly gleaming blade in the First Emperor's hand, piercing the night sky as if they truly meant to stab through the firmament and tear the heavens apart.

Meanwhile, high above the nine heavens, in the Heavenly Palace's golden halls, stood the Hall of Miraculous Mist.

A line of celestial maidens stood with their heads bowed outside the hall. Jade steps descended from the clouds, while the Jade Emperor's throne hung high above, wreathed in rosy light and radiating divine majesty.

Fair-Wind Ear and Thousand-Mile Eye knelt at the foot of the jade steps, which were carpeted in brocade patterned with golden clouds. Their voices trembled, their mouths dry:

"Great Celestial Venerable, the ruler of Great Qin below, Ying Zheng, has proclaimed himself the First Emperor. He means to defy Heaven and cultivate immortality, to attain eternal life. He even dared to declare that he would cut down Heaven... And he has arrogantly proclaimed that he will live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years..."

Jade Emperor Haotian sat upon his throne in the highest heavens, dressed in a sky-blue imperial robe. His cloudlike hair was fastened high, and cold divine light glimmered between his brows.

At this, Haotian narrowed his eyes. A cruel sneer appeared in them as his thin lips parted:

"A mere mortal emperor dares dream of defying Heaven? Heh..."

Before his words had even faded, the golden dragons and jade phoenixes carved into the beams shuddered, as if even the Heavenly Palace were groaning beneath his icy pressure.

"Since he wants to live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years, then I'll make sure he doesn't even live to see fifty!"

"Ying Zheng of the Great Qin Dynasty will die suddenly at forty-nine!"

Haotian's eyes flashed like lightning. He raised a hand and clenched it in midair. Wind and thunder clashed in the void, and a streak of cold, dim lightning flashed.

"He wants his dynasty to last a thousand autumns and ten thousand generations? Then I'll make sure the Great Qin Dynasty dies in the second generation!"

Haotian suddenly snorted, his eyes dark with malice and disdain:

"Let all his descendants die young and without a proper burial. That's what happens when you defy Heaven!"

"When one man defies Heaven, his whole family suffers!"

With that, Haotian waved a hand and said coolly:

"Go. If those ants in the mortal realm defy Heaven again, deal with them the same way!"

Taibai Jinxing, standing nearby, hurriedly bowed his head and murmured:

"I obey the Great Celestial Venerable's decree!"

Soon, the Jade Emperor swept his sleeve, sending a streak of golden light through the sky and down into the lower heavens, toward the cloud-wreathed Destiny Palace.

Inside the Destiny Palace, stars swirled, and the Star Lords looked solemn.

Scroll after scroll of fate hovered amid the boundless starlight, giving off an eerie glow.

The Star Lord of Fate unrolled a scroll, picked up a cinnabar-tipped brush, and swiftly added a few lines:

[Ying Zheng: Dies suddenly at forty-nine.]

[Prince Fusu: Takes his own life at thirty-one.]

[Prince Jianglü: Killed by his brothers at twenty-seven.]

[Prince Chuang: Beheaded in a bloody purge at Xianyang.]

[Prince Hao: Executed at Gaoyou.]

[Prince Huhai: Forced to take his own life at twenty-four.]

[The Great Qin Dynasty: Dies in the second generation!]

With every name he wrote, streaks of fortune rose from the scroll, transforming into golden, silver, and black lights. Some flew toward the Ziwei Star Lord's residence, while others vanished into Yama Hall in the Netherworld. The invisible fortune of the world stirred in secret, like a silent storm driving Great Qin toward its fated abyss.

At that moment, outside the Qin palace, the blade in Ying Zheng's hand still pointed at the heavens, its edge still gleaming coldly. He had no idea that the fate of the Great Qin Dynasty had already undergone a world-shaking change!

He had been forsaken by Heaven's mandate!

The Great Qin Dynasty, too, had lost Heaven's favor!

But just then, a blazing streak of golden light split the clouds and arrived in an instant.

A figure stood within the golden light, wearing the Phoenix-Winged Purple-Gold Crown, clad in Chain Mail Golden Armor, and shod in Lotus Silk Cloud-Treading Boots. It was Sun Wukong!

He stood atop billowing golden clouds, the Golden Cudgel resting across his shoulder. His blazing gaze fell upon the First Emperor, who stood proudly outside the hall with his sword pointed at the heavens.

"What a First Emperor! No wonder he unified the Six Kingdoms and became such a mighty ruler!"

But after his praise, a sigh stirred in Sun Wukong's heart. A hint of regret flashed through his golden eyes:

"What a pity... No matter how mighty an emperor is, he's still only an emperor of the human realm! Even with the protection of human fortune, he'd be no match for the Heavenly Dao if he truly tried to challenge it."

The scene of Human Emperor Di Xin of the Shang dynasty setting the Lutai ablaze and burning himself to death flashed through his mind. Flames had blazed into the sky as the people wept in grief!

That was what happened to an emperor who defied Heaven!

Although Qin Shi Huang had been acknowledged by the human realm and was protected by its fortune, even Sun Wukong would suffer the backlash of the human realm and lose cultivation if he tried to kill him by force.

But that was all. He was still far from being able to contend with the Heavenly Dao!

As the thought passed through his mind, Sun Wukong suddenly grinned and muttered:

"Still... If I help him, then even Heaven can be defied!"

With that, Sun Wukong descended from the clouds and appeared before Qin Shi Huang in the blink of an eye.

"You're Ying Zheng, First Emperor of Great Qin, aren't you?"

Sun Wukong cackled. "I hear you want to defy Heaven and live forever? I could give you a hand..."

Before he could finish speaking, killing intent suddenly surged from the jade steps before the hall!

"An assassin! Protect His Majesty!!!"

"Protect the emperor!!!"

Blades flashed like falling snow; swordlight gleamed like cold stars. Countless battle-hardened palace guards arrived in an instant, forming a tight ring around Qin Shi Huang.

Armor clanged, and a murderous chill hung in the air like frost on a winter night.

"Where did this demon come from? How dare you trespass in the imperial palace!"