Huo Lianqi!
Huo Lianqi, Thousand-Household Commander of the Divine Strategy Army!
The Emperor sank into deep thought. In a daze, he seemed to see the frail, deathly ill Founding Emperor.
Even the Founding Emperor, who had possessed all under Heaven and swept across the Six Realms, appeared increasingly haggard beneath the dimly flickering candlelight. Holding the Emperor's hand, he said faintly, "Crown Prince, I do not care how you became Crown Prince, but there is something I must tell you."
"Wei ruled the realm for four hundred years, then collapsed for want of virtue. Heroes rose everywhere beneath Heaven, each holding their own fortune as they fought over the True Dragon!"
"This was no different from bastard sons in an ordinary household competing for the heirship."
The Emperor, who had been Crown Prince at the time, was suddenly enlightened as if divine nectar had been poured over his head. So Heaven's Mandate was not predetermined, but something the masses fought over?
If Heaven's Mandate could be fought over, what about one's lifespan?
Yet the Founding Emperor did not know what the Crown Prince was thinking. Clasping his hand as he wheezed, he said, "Originally, everyone relied on their own abilities. Even a Hidden Dragon like me, thin as a strand of hair, could contend for Heaven's Mandate and still remain whole and unblemished."
"But I knew my foundations were shallow and my start was late. If I wished to contend for this realm, I had no choice but to blaze another trail!"
"Thus, I brought in Demonic Fortune and rose swiftly!"
"But precisely because of this, the realm of my Ji Clan was impure. It would be manageable in times of prosperity, but should it decline, I feared Demonic Fortune would immediately devour us in return and turn guest into