In the 398th year of Great Song, the fourteenth level of the National Preceptor's Tower was completed.
That same year, His Majesty of Great Song personally led the National Preceptor on a campaign. Within less than three months, they quelled the unrest across the land and restored peace to the people under their rule.
What followed was the execution of rebel factions, the killing of wicked bandits, the enfeoffment of new kings, and the appointment of new generals.
The greatest contributor to how smoothly everything had gone was naturally the National Preceptor, Song Kaiyang.
Above the imperial city, before the civil and military officials, the Emperor of Great Song bestowed upon him in succession the two grand titles of Duke Who Protects the Nation and Duke Who Guards the Nation.
He even publicly issued an Imperial Decree: to see the National Preceptor was as to see the Emperor himself. On this day, the name of Great Song's National Preceptor reached its zenith.
Officials and commoners alike cried out the National Preceptor's name, singing praises of his towering achievements.
From that moment onward, Song Kaiyang's status was acknowledged by the entirety of Great Song.
And on that very day, he branded his soul imprint upon Great Song's dragon vein.
Thus, more than ten years of preparations finally neared their end.
With the grand plan on the verge of success, Song Kaiyang was not as excited as he had imagined. Instead, he was unexpectedly calm.
On a rainy night, he stood atop the towering National Preceptor's Tower. Beneath the pouring rain, he looked down over the entire imperial capital. A trace of remembrance and reluctance seemed to flicker through his eyes, only to be replaced in the end by resolve and determination.
"National Preceptor."
A slender figure leaped onto the tower roof.