Yet at that very moment, golden light began flowing slowly across the motionless heavenly screen once again, without any warning.
[Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, but though his glory blazed for a time, it was no more than a night-blooming flower.] [His so-called mandate of heaven was merely flowers in a mirror and the moon upon water, deceiving himself and others.] [The title of greatest emperor of all time was not one he could bear.]
Those three short lines were like a basin of ice water poured over Yuan Shu from head to toe.
The wild delight on his face froze instantly, and he stood rooted to the spot as though struck by lightning.
The fawning smiles of the civil and military officials below the dais froze as well. They exchanged glances, their eyes full of terror and bewilderment.
What was going on?
Was the heavenly screen... slapping His Majesty in the face?
At that moment, Yang Feng's heart began pounding violently.
Here it came!
Sure enough, here it came!
He knew this heavenly screen's routine all too well!
Praise first, then condemnation. Lift you into the heavens, then send you crashing down!
Sure enough, the great golden characters on the heavenly screen continued scrolling mercilessly, laying bare before everyone the events that were about to unfold, one after another!
[The year after Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, his followers betrayed him, his kin deserted him, and enemy songs surrounded him on every side.] [His subordinate general Sun Ce seized the opportunity to break free of Yuan Shu's control.] [He also took his close friend Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and other talents of Jiangdong with him, laying a firm foundation for his future sweep through Jiangdong and the establishment of his dominion.] [Meanwhile, Lü Bu of Xu Province also tore up their alliance and stabbed Yuan Shu in the back.] [His trusted subordinate generals Chen Lan and Lei Bo, the very two who had urged him to proclaim himself emperor, saw the tide turning, seized the army's grain, and defected!] [Cao Cao of Yan Province seized the opportunity to issue a proclamation against the rebel in the name of Emperor Xian of Han, joining forces with Liu Bei of Yuzhou, Lü Bu of Xu Province, and Sun Ce of Jiangdong. Their four armies encircled Shouchun!] [Yuan Shu suffered a crushing defeat. Betrayed by his followers and deserted by his kin, he had no choice but to abandon the city and flee in panic toward Runan.] [He later sought to travel north to seek refuge with his elder brother Yuan Shao, but Liu Bei intercepted him on the way. His army collapsed like a falling mountain, and he finally retreated to Jiangting, reduced to utter destitution.] [Summer, in the third year of his reign.] [Yuan Shu's army ran out of provisions. Soldiers devoured one another in scenes of extreme horror.] [At the end of his road, Yuan Shu sat upon his couch. Though his entire army was searched, not even a bowl of honey water could be found.] [He then vomited over a dou of blood and died in grief and rage.] [Only after these withered bones in a tomb had finally perished did the true greatest emperor of all time clear the obstacles before him and begin his magnificent, turbulent life.]
Buzzz-!
The image on the heavenly screen froze once more.
The words "though his entire army was searched, not even a bowl of honey water could be found" and "these withered bones in a tomb had finally perished" were like two dull knives with the sharpest edges, plunging viciously into Yuan Shu's heart!
The entire hall fell deathly silent.
A falling pin could have been heard.
No one dared so much as breathe loudly as they stared in terror at the figure by the dragon throne, now utterly petrified.
Yuan Shu stood there blankly, the color visibly draining from his face, going from flushed red to deathly white, then livid, and finally ashen.
"No..."
"Impossible..."
His lips trembled.
"Fake!"
"It's all fake!"
"You bastards... you're all lying to me!"
He whipped his head around, his bloodshot eyes sweeping over every person below the dais like a starving wolf!
The officials who had just been fawning over him and crying "Long live Your Majesty" were now frightened out of their wits. Every one of them buried his head, wishing he could crawl into a crack in the ground!
Meanwhile, in Yuan Shu's main camp.
Sun Ce, who had just felt stifled and resentful because the heavenly screen had acknowledged Yuan Shu's proclamation as emperor, was utterly dumbfounded when he saw what followed!
What the fuck?
What was wrong with this heavenly screen?
Reveal the greatest emperor of all time if you wanted, but why throw in spoilers?
It had just exposed his little schemes before the entire world?
And he was going to take Zhou Yu and Lu Su with him?
He was screwed now!
After seeing this, would that fool Yuan Shu possibly spare him?
Sure enough!
Inside the great hall, Yuan Shu's gaze abruptly locked onto several envoys preparing to depart from the entrance!
They were the delegation he had just dispatched to Xu Province to arrange a marriage alliance with Lü Bu's daughter!
"Stop!"
Yuan Shu let out a hysterical roar!
"Who told you to go?!"
"Come back!"
"All of you, get back here!"
Pointing at the envoys, who were so terrified they were nearly wetting and soiling themselves, he roared, "The marriage alliance with Lü Bu is canceled!"
"That slave of three surnames dares betray me?!"
Then, as though remembering something, he abruptly turned his crimson gaze toward the doors, his voice so shrill it seemed about to pierce everyone's eardrums!
"Guards!"
"Arrest Sun Ce!"
"Immediately! Right now!"
"And those two dogs, Chen Lan and Lei Bo!"
"Traitors who sell out their lord for glory!"
"Drag them out and behead them!"
"Behead them-!"
Yuan Shu's voice echoed through the hall, filled with boundless madness and brutality.
He felt as though his lungs would burst with rage!
The world spun around him!
Unable to catch his breath, he swayed and nearly toppled straight off the dragon throne!
It was over!
He had gone completely mad!
Watching this, Yang Feng felt his heart go cold.
Yuan Shu had always been a fool whose ambitions far exceeded his abilities. Now, provoked by the heavenly screen, his intelligence had dropped straight to zero, turning him into a madman who knew nothing but slaughter!
Kill Sun Ce now? Kill Chen Lan and Lei Bo?
Wouldn't that be turning the heavenly screen's prophecy into reality with his own hands, step by step?
No!
He absolutely couldn't let him do this!
If Yuan Shu died now, he would have to follow him into the grave!
At that thought, Yang Feng steeled himself, abruptly stepped out of the crowd, and bowed to the tottering Yuan Shu!
"Calm your anger, Your Majesty!"
His cry rang especially loudly in the deathly silent hall.
Everyone's gaze instantly focused on Yang Feng, their eyes full of shock and disbelief.
Had this brat gone mad?
He dared stick his neck out at a time like this?
Yuan Shu also whipped his head around, fixing Yang Feng with eyes that looked ready to devour him.
"Calm my anger?"
"You want me to calm my anger?"
"My realm is about to fall! My life is about to end! How do you expect me to calm my anger?!"
Neither servile nor overbearing, Yang Feng met Yuan Shu's murderous gaze and said gravely, "Your Majesty! At a time like this, you must be all the more careful not to throw your own ranks into chaos!"
"What the heavenly screen said is certainly terrifying, but have you considered why it told you these things in advance?"
"Perhaps this... is heaven's test for you!"
Hmm?
Yuan Shu's frenzied gaze briefly stilled.
Seeing an opening, Yang Feng immediately struck while the iron was hot. His mind raced as he began his performance.
"Think about it, Your Majesty!"
"If the heavenly screen truly wanted your destruction, why wouldn't it let these things happen quietly and catch you unprepared?"
"Instead, it insisted on revealing them!"
"That means it's warning you! It's giving you a chance to seek fortune, avoid disaster, and defy heaven to change your fate!"
"Sun Ce is going to rebel? Then we'll strike first, take him into custody, and strip him of his military authority!"
"Lü Bu is going to break the alliance? Then we won't arrange the marriage alliance with him, depriving him of an excuse to attack!"
"Chen Lan and Lei Bo harbor disloyal intentions? Then we'll strip them of their commands in advance and keep the soldiers firmly in our own hands!"
"As long as we prepare beforehand, won't everything the heavenly screen described become impossible?"
Yang Feng's voice rang firm and strong, filled with the power to sway men's hearts.
His whole line of reasoning about "when heaven is about to bestow a great responsibility upon a man" was practically tailor-made for someone as supremely conceited and obstinate as Yuan Shu!
Sure enough!
After hearing him out, Yuan Shu's savage, frenzied expression gradually gave way to a trace of contemplation.
Yes!
Why had it revealed these things?
If it wasn't giving me a chance, why had it revealed them?
Could this... truly be heaven's test for me?
As long as I passed the test, could I become the true greatest emperor of all time?
Seeing Yuan Shu's expression soften, Yang Feng secretly rejoiced and immediately added one final burst of fuel to the fire.
"So, Your Majesty, what matters most now isn't killing people, but remaining calm!"
"The heavenly screen isn't finished yet!"
"There might still be a turn for the better later!"
"Why don't we... keep watching?"
Yuan Shu stared fixedly at Yang Feng, his chest heaving violently as he panted.
A long while passed.
As though clutching his last straw of salvation, he forced a single word through his teeth.
"Fine!"