A great dream unfolded in heaven; in the mortal world, spring and autumn passed time and again.
Since Emperor Xiaoshao Liu Yun's death, the Great Han court had been like a secluded pool of still water, calm and undisturbed, without so much as a ripple. No one wanted to know what raging waves lay beneath that tranquil surface.
And so spring passed and autumn returned, winters bitterly cold and summers ever harder to endure. Year after year, the seemingly tranquil court moved forward, yet a heavy atmosphere brewed throughout All Under Heaven.
Until the gathering tide Ji Zhao had been watching finally took shape, and the great event the world itself had been brewing began.
That day, a white rainbow pierced the sun, subterranean fire surged, and a meteor shower fell upon the Great Han's commanderies and kingdoms. Countless points of light descended with the meteors, purple specks flickering faintly within them.
Ji Lingjun instantly sensed something familiar in them. The Phoenix mandate of heaven within her carried traces of the same quality.
"Old Ancestor, is this the unprecedented upheaval you spoke of?
"Is this great change the reason our family must descend from its lofty platform?"
So many mandates of heaven scattered across the world, practically everywhere. Ji Zhao raised an eyebrow. Was this the world's new way of playing with the mandate of heaven?
``` [What in this world endures forever? What heavenly empire is truly immortal?
The moment one reaches the mountaintop, another step forward leads into a bottomless abyss.
Han's splendor is engraved in the annals, and the deeds of Sage Kings shine upon the long river of history, but all things must end.
When only a rotting body remains, and the spirit that once stirred hearts has utterly decayed, is a brilliant death not better