Inside the governor's residence in Chengdu, Liu Zhang could neither sit nor stand at ease, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.
He paced back and forth as though roasting over a fire, his eyes filled with terror.
Just yesterday, the final image frozen on the Heavenly Screen had shown that "emperor unparalleled through the ages" named Yang Feng arriving in his territory of Yizhou and confronting him.
When he first saw it, Liu Zhang had not actually been all that afraid.
Wasn't he just a slave?
The Heavenly Screen said he was formidable, but could he fly over here and attack me right now?
But after he returned to his residence and pondered it alone in the silence of the night, that belated terror had engulfed him like a tide.
Something was wrong.
Something was very wrong!
Why had the Heavenly Screen singled him out?
And even called him an "emperor unparalleled through the ages"!
The weight of that title pressed down on Liu Zhang until he could barely breathe.
More importantly, his future self had actually become a stepping stone for this emperor unparalleled through the ages.
Didn't that mean I was destined to fall at his hands?
With my meager resources, I probably can't afford to provoke someone that fierce.
Just as the despair of this foreknowledge was tormenting Liu Zhang to the brink of madness, an even more terrifying piece of news arrived from outside like a summons to his death.
Yang Feng had killed Yuan Shu, seized Shouchun, and ascended the throne as emperor just last night!
Boom!
Liu Zhang felt his head buzz. His vision went black, his legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the floor.
Only by bracing himself against a nearby table did he barely manage to steady himself, his face already as white as paper.
He's here!
He's really here!
He isn't some phantom of the future. He's a monster living in this very era, and he's already begun to bare his fangs!
He took out Yuan Shu, who commanded well over a hundred thousand troops, in a single night?
Was that something a human could do?
However useless Yuan Shu was, he was still a regional warlord!
How much stronger could I possibly be than him?
It's over.
It's all over.
The Heavenly Screen's prophecy has begun to come true.
His next move will definitely be to seize my Yizhou!
"My lord! Why are you so alarmed?"
Just then, two figures strode in from outside the hall. They were his subordinates, Ma Liang and Fa Zheng.
Both were startled to see Liu Zhang looking so utterly distraught.
"My lord, we have heard about what happened in Huainan."
Li Yan spoke first, his expression composed and his voice carrying a reassuring strength.
"Yang Feng's move may seem as mighty as a thunderbolt, but in truth, it was foolish beyond measure."
"He was born a slave and has no foundation whatsoever, yet he dared brazenly proclaim himself emperor. He has already set himself against every warlord under heaven."
"He is now the common enemy of the realm, a man anyone has the right to kill."
Fa Zheng nodded in agreement, a trace of cold severity flashing through his eyes.
"Indeed, Li Yan is absolutely right."
"How could the likes of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao tolerate a slave proclaiming himself emperor right under their noses?"
"My lord, you are here in Yizhou, protected by natural defenses. You need only sit high upon the walls and watch their dragons and tigers clash."
"That Yang Feng won't be jumping about for much longer."
But Liu Zhang could not take in a single word of their reasoning.
His fear did not stem from an analysis of the present situation, but from the Heavenly Screen's spoilers, which were as good as divine revelations.
You don't understand!
You don't understand at all!
He screamed frantically in his heart.
Others might lose, but he won't!
Because the Heavenly Screen said he was an "emperor unparalleled through the ages"!
He is destined to come and seize everything I've built!
Meanwhile, in Yuzhou.
Liu Bei and his two sworn brothers were also utterly astonished when they heard the news.
Inside their thatched cottage, the three brothers stared at one another, the atmosphere somewhat strange.
"This... how is this possible?"
Disbelief was written all over Liu Bei's face.
He simply could not connect the words "slave" and "pale-faced scholar" with the "emperor of the Great Yang Empire" who had overturned Huainan and donned the imperial yellow robe overnight.
This was even more bizarre than the Heavenly Screen itself.
It defied all reason.
Rebellion was a complicated undertaking that required skill, prestige, connections, and time.
How had it become as simple as eating and drinking in Yang Feng's hands?
How on earth had he done it?
Liu Bei's heart was filled with deep confusion and wariness.
"Hmph!"
Beside him, Guan Yu narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly and stroked his long beard with a cold snort.
"Elder brother, there is no need to trouble yourself over this man."
"Such conduct is nothing but a monkey wearing a crown, bringing humiliation upon himself."
"He already dares usurp the imperial title and holds the Han imperial house in contempt. How could the heroes of the realm tolerate him?"
"He has put himself over the fire to roast. He won't live long."
"Second brother is right!"
With his panther-like head and round eyes, Zhang Fei slapped his thigh and bellowed, his voice booming like a bell.
"What bullshit Great Yang Empire!"
"I say he's just a fool who doesn't know how high heaven is or how deep the earth runs!"
"So many people under heaven want to be emperor but don't dare, and a slave like him went and beat them to it!"
"Just wait. Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and the rest will send troops to grind him to dust any moment now!"
The more Zhang Fei spoke, the more animated he became, and he opened his wide mouth in a grin.
"If you ask me, that Heavenly Screen had better come back out in a bit!"
"And tell us straight out that Yang Feng was defeated by Liu Zhang of Yizhou!"
"Hahahaha! Then he'd be the biggest laughingstock in the whole world!"
Farther away in Jing Province, Liu Biao merely shook his head contemptuously upon receiving the news, dismissing it as, "An insolent brat courting his own death."
Sun Ce of Jiangdong, meanwhile, laughed heartily and treated the matter as an amusing interlude, never truly taking it to heart.
The established powers under heaven had all but reached a consensus.
This Great Yang Empire that had appeared out of nowhere was nothing more than an absurd farce, soon to be crushed beneath the wheels of the age.
And yet.
Just as everyone under heaven focused their fearful, contemptuous, or curious gazes on that newborn name in Shouchun.
High in the heavens, wind and clouds stirred once more.
The sky, which had only just regained its normal daylight appearance, began to shimmer with a strange light again without any warning.
That light rippled outward like water, swiftly covering the entire sky.
Whether it was Liu Zhang, trembling in the governor's residence.
Or Liu Bei and his two sworn brothers, each harboring his own thoughts in the thatched cottage.
Or Cao Cao, sitting upright in the chancellor's residence and feigning composure.
Everyone instinctively raised their heads and looked toward the sky.
That familiar, awe-inspiring sight, capable of changing everything, descended upon the mortal world once more.
The Heavenly Screen had appeared again.