Time flew by in the Dragon Palace.
Three years passed in a blink of an eye.
In the palace hall, Fang Yuan sat on his throne and gradually opened his eyes, "I have finally fully cultivated the imperial order!"
The Qi Lake Water Dragon was a heavenly deity with control over the spiritual energy of the entire 150-mile radius of Qi Lake, a manifestation of its abilities.
Each and every rune and inscription on the imperial order were all sacred texts! It contained arcane and unpredictable powers, and were reflections of the laws that governed the realm.
By wielding knowledge of such laws, one could then possess great abilities and be able to harness the spiritual energy of the entire Qi Lake.
"Although it is just a position and not my own power, it is already very beneficial for my understanding of the laws."
Fang Yuan suddenly thought of the powers the royals held in Da Qian Empire.
Prominent Divine dream masters were naturally of no match to True Elemental spiritual knights and True Divine martial artists. However, if he had the blessing of the heavens in this realm as a dragon, he would be able to fight them.
In actual fact, this was also one of the uses of the imperial order in a larger extent.
Going against such kind of blessings was like opposing the realm it came from and its laws. With Da Qian Empire's natural source, even the Prominent Divine dream masters had to be fearful of such blessings.
"Perhaps…, the purpose of dream masters exploring other realms was not only to search for the source! It was to occupy and control a realm powerful enough to fight with Da Qian?"
Fang Yuan closed his eyes, the situation of the entire Qi Lake appeared in his mind.
However, there were a few spots covered in mist. It meant that those areas were under the protection of powerful forces or arrays, and were most likely occupied by powerful demons. Thus, they appeared as eye-catching as fireflies in the night skies.
"I guess being able to understand the big picture from a look is part of my power as a heavenly deity?"
Fang Yuan flicked his fingers.
"Wooonnggg!"
A force spread across the entire Dragon Palace and lit up the place. The seals used to seal the palace disappeared at once too.
Drums and bells rang as the doors opened to receive the worship of the commoners.
"Sir!"
The tortoise guard and Luo Zhu immediately rushed over and paid respects to Fang Yuan.
"Tortoise guard, bring over the shells ladies and the water dwellers' elite troops to fill the Dragon Palace! As the Dragon God, I will meet my people later! It has to be very dignified!"
Fang Yuan instructed in a majestic and imposing way while holding a jade ornament.
"Yes, Sir!"
The tortoise guard immediately proceeded to do what he was told.
"What's the situation now? What about the spirits?"
Fang Yuan turned and looked at Luo Zhu.
"After you killed the three demons, other spirits were naturally fearful of you! They have already prepared celebratory gifts for you as a sign of allegiance!"
Luo Zhu answered respectfully.
In reality, the moment Fang Yuan obtained the divine position, all these were expected.
Whereas, Luo Zhu did not pay close attention to the matters regarding the humans.
"Xu family's fate energy and mine are intertwined. In the past three years, I could still sense that they were growing well. They have been strengthening their territory till now, and I guess it's time for war…" Fang Yuan thought as his eyes sparkled.
It was the right timing for Xu Ting's troops to be dispatched.
He then calmly ordered, "After this homage, I will be hosting a feast for the officials and the powerful demons! Invite them over!"
"Yes, Sir!"
As the Qi Lake Water God, Fang Yuan's words were all mandates. Hence, they were all immediately obeyed and properly carried out.
As the lake housed numerous kinds of spirits, it made him realise a certain difference. "Oh…, even as the water dwellers in Qi Lake reproduce, there are very few demons. There are only around 20,000 demons, and more than half of them are my army…"
As Fang Yuan realised this, he understood something.
Beasts were beasts and demons were demons, they were two different things!
In this realm, although there were many different species of animals, plants and even water dwellers, those who could become spiritually aware and cultivate into demons were the extreme few.
Unless both parents were powerful demons, their offsprings would be born as beasts and had to slowly learn, even if they were to have an innate disposition to be demons.
Due to their restricted population size, their foundation would not be as strong and thus, their position as rulers would naturally decline.
This was the heavenly trend and could not be changed!
Whereas for humans, just in one prefecture, there would be tens of thousands of them! Although most were stupid, they could be trained with basic combatant skills, and with a large enough foundation, the potential for cultivation would grow too.
Hence, humans were the rulers of all; They could grasp the heavenly fate energy and were favoured by the heavenly trend!
"Greetings, Dragon God! May you enjoy boundless longevity!"
At that moment, a group of servants and guards arrived and stood at attention.
Large numbers of water dwellers then came forward and worshipped the new Dragon God. They were slightly uneasy at the sight of the Dragon God.
The two previous Water God's of Qi Lake were both snake demons but this time, it was finally a dragon.
Also, the way the Dragon God killed the three demons made them fearful of him.
"As long as you all do not commit any offences under my rule, you all will enjoy a peaceful and happy life!"
Fang Yuan smiled, "Come, follow me to review the troops!"
Outside the Dragon Palace, 8,000 soldiers gathered. They had a hint of demonic energy and yet had some divine light too.
They were amassed by Bai Guan and his predecessor and maintained by the tortoise guard. With the 8,000 of them, it was beneficial for Fang Yuan.
As they felt the new Dragon God's might and divine light, the crustacean army did not hesitate to worship, "Greetings, Sir! I pledge my life to you!"
The tidy formation represented a strong force in the lake. Such a display made other powerful spirits' expressions change at once.
"All of you will be rewarded for your loyalty and protection of the Dragon Palace! Enjoy the feast!"
Fang Yuan appeared elated as he gave his instructions. He then gathered the officers to enter the Dragon Palace to enjoy the feast.
The melodious drums echoed around the palace.
During the feast, numerous servants joyously presented the delicacies and as they caroused, words of respect could be heard continuously.
Fang Yuan sat on his dragon throne with a golden cup in his hands while he smiled looking at the scene.
It was a lively celebration!
This was the Dragon God's enjoyment!
At Da Chu, although Wang Qiao had ascended the throne, none of the military occupied towns recognised him as the emperor, and hence, the regnal dating system of the previous emperor continued. It was now the 8th year of Yong An.
Inside Golden Lake Prefecture.
Xu Ting was just in his early twenties, but he already had a strong and vigorous appearance. He had also married his wife, who was a lady from a noble family. She was cultured and refined, a perfect match for him.
Furthermore, they had a son and a daughter.
Compared to his wife, Li Luan was still a titleless maid, which also caused gossip to spread.
Xu Ting also had a moustache. He looked towards Li Luan and thought for a while but then stopped immediately.
The world was in chaos and there was no time for such relationships!
Xu Ting walked into the room and paid respects to Xu Ren, "Father!"
"Oh, my son has come over, have a seat!"
Xu Ren was very satisfied with this son of his.
"I have followed your orders and finished organizing the troops. They are currently separated into 10 battalions and each battalion has 3,000 soldiers. There are also 20,000 marines and one hundred warships!"
The five prefectures near Golden Court Lakes produced plenty of goods and were not prone to natural disasters. Thus, with slight organisation, their strength easily took shape.
"Hmm, in this three years, we have managed to train the troops and form close relationships with the officials. Now, our officers are already well trained and would be able to hold their own ground."
Xu Ren stroked his beard delightfully, "With such a large troop, we can win a war! Xu He, what do you think?"
A middle-aged man walked forward, he was an officer appointed by Xu Ren to be in charge of commerce. In actual fact, he was the leader of their spies. He paid respects to Xu Ren and Xu Ting, and then reported, "Sir! General! The fake king Wang Qiao was ambushed and killed at Luolong Hillside, and his army of 10,000 men has fallen apart!"
"What?"
The news was earth-shattering, Xu Ting immediately stood up in shock at first, but the expression on his face turned into joy immediately, "Wang Qiao is dead? Heaven is really helping our family!"
Although the battle was very fierce, Wang Qiao still had an advantage as he had control of the imperial court and the imperial guards. In the past three years, he had already annihilated five military occupied towns. But now, just as he was about to fully succeed, he was met with a sudden death.
With his death, the imperial court had no leader, and with the opposition from the royalties of the original emperor, Wang Qiao's followers were bound to be completely purged.
The five remaining military occupied towns also suffered severe losses to their strength as many of their soldiers were heavily injured or dead. It was a total mess for them to recuperate, occupy more territories and attack the capital at the same time.
If this was not the perfect opportunity, then when would it be?!
"I can't believe it, Wang Qiao just died like that…"
As Xu Ting's biggest enemy and obstruction just died, it made him slightly worried, "Who was the one who planned it?"
Wang Qiao was so close to completing his grand plans but died suddenly. After Xu Ting's initial joy, he felt a chill down his spine as he sensed there was something sinister.
"Although the five military occupied towns proclaimed allegiance to each other, but in reality, the one in charge was still Xinfeng army's military governor, Baili Xuandu!"
"Xinfeng army, Baili Xuandu!"
As Xu Ting uttered his name, he knew he was his biggest foe.
"If I was Baili Xuandu, I would have immediately charged to the capital and forced the imperial court to hand me the title of the emperor!"
Xu Ting took a few steps, his eyes radiating with sharpness.
"That's a good guess, my son!"
Xu Ren sighed as he passed an intelligence report to Xu Ting.
After Xu Ting read through it, he realised Xinfeng army's movements were indeed as he predicted. Furthermore, they had received the backing of two other military occupied towns. It was an urgent matter, Xu Ting said, "This is not good, if our family still wants to rise to power, we have to use two methods! Firstly, I will quickly lead the troops along An River to Qi Lake and conquer all the prefectures along the way, thus, occupying half the country! Also, we have to send spies to the capitals to influence or divide them, as long as Baili Xuandu does not easily conquer the capital!"
"That's right!"
Xu Ren said, "Since you have the will, just do it! Three days later, we will dispatch the troop!"
"Yes, father!"
Xu Ting replied, and his voice was like a warcry.
Inside Golden Court Lake, a shadow emerged to gaze at the spiritual energy ashore and he sighed, "After three years, is it finally happening?"
The shadow was Golden Court Dragon God, he appeared puzzled and thought, "How did Wang Qiao just die like that? Demons must have interfered!"