Chapter 50: The Realm Changes Hands

After a brief tidy-up, Qin Yuan was about to begin his daily cultivation.

A short while later, a thought crossed his mind.

Since his physical body did not practice the Rebirth Method of the North-Nether, couldn't his divine avatar practice it instead?

Once mastered, it would be equivalent to having countless alternative identities.

"Divine Avatar."

With a flick of Qin Yuan's mind, a divine avatar materialized before him.

Qin Yuan handed the Rebirth Method of the North-Nether over to it, then promptly recalled the avatar back into his consciousness.

"Dragon Slaying Art, come forth."

As he circulated the Dragon Slaying Art, *Boom!*

Qin Yuan was instantly transported onto an icy lake spanning dozens of miles.

A white dragon, over a dozen zhang long, was coiling menacingly across the frozen surface.

The moment it spotted Qin Yuan, it launched an attack. Its dragon claws tore through the air with a deafening whistle, seemingly ripping the very space before Qin Yuan apart.

Qin Yuan dodged swiftly. Right on cue, another colossal dragon claw came crashing down with the force of ten thousand jun.

Evading it once more, Qin Yuan's entire body erupted with a blinding, dazzling golden radiance.

It was the Five Qi Converging at the Origin grade golden barrier.

Following that, the man and the dragon traded a flurry of ferocious collisions.

Qin Yuan’s entire arm went numb.

The physical body of this white dragon was simply too formidable.

Leaping into the air, Qin Yuan transformed into a streak of divine light, hurtling at breakneck speed directly toward the white dragon’s head.

"Roar!"

Accompanied by the white dragon's thunderous roar, an intensely biting, destructive frost came rushing toward him. Qin Yuan was instantly frozen solid, plummeting heavily to the ground with a dull thud.

Before the massive dragon claw could press down upon him, Qin Yuan shattered the ice and burst forth, delivering a furious, violent punch.

The immense shockwave sent tremors rippling through both man and dragon alike.

Whatever the icy lake was made of, Qin Yuan did not sink into it.

Next, Qin Yuan witnessed another divine ability of the white dragon: lightning.

With a mere flick of its tail, he was plunged into a veritable sea of thunder.

His entire body grew completely numb.

The moment he broke free from the lightning, he was immediately met with a fierce counter-attack from the white dragon.

"The combat prowess of this white dragon is in a completely different league compared to the Fivefold Beasts from before."

Glancing at his bloodied, golden-hued arm, Qin Yuan charged forward once more.

Seizing an opportunity, he landed on the white dragon’s back and, channeling the Dragon Slaying Art, clawed fiercely at a scale.

"Roar!"

The white dragon let out a miserable screech, growing even more frenzied.

Qin Yuan was reduced to purely parrying its relentless onslaughts.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

Qin Yuan finally halted his practice of the Dragon Slaying Art.

After cultivating it for several months, he hadn't even reached the first level.

Compared to practicing other secret arts, the progress was agonizingly slow.

"There's no rush; I have all the time in the world," Qin Yuan said with unruffled calm.

"It's been half a month. Time to head back to the Left Historiographer's Office for a look."

After a quick cleanup, Qin Yuan mounted his beloved little donkey and departed from his residence.

Little Ah-Qiao's shop was closed.

Where should he go for breakfast?

Qin Yuan walked for a long time without seeing anything satisfactory.

He might as well eat at the canteen.

For just five copper coins, he could eat whatever he wanted.

Such were the perks of being part of the establishment.

Arriving at the Left Historiographer's Office, Qin Yuan said to the donkey, "You are already a mature donkey now. You should learn to go to the stable by yourself."

With that, he walked toward the canteen.

Not far away, Qin Yuan glanced back.

The donkey was already gone.

Very good.

Arriving at the canteen, no guests had arrived yet.

Only the chef and the odd-job attendants were bustling about.

"Recorder Qin, you've returned at the most opportune moment!" Chef Hua said with a beaming smile.

When Qin Yuan first arrived in this world, Chef Hua was just a snot-nosed kid trailing behind his father, but now he was already a middle-aged man.

"How so?"

"Today's morning soup is your absolute favorite donkey meat soup."

"Who said I like eating donkey meat?" Qin Yuan denied it verbally while his gaze drifted evasively.

"Everyone says that every time you ride a donkey for a while, the donkey ends up getting eaten by you."

"How can you slander an innocent man out of nowhere? I am a man who truly loves donkeys! Of my three donkeys, one died of old age, one was struck to death by lightning, and one starved to death," Qin Yuan said with a frown.

"The donkey currently in the pot froze to death," Chef Hua retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Then bring me a bowl of it," Qin Yuan said candidly.

Before long, a steaming bowl of donkey meat soup accompanied by sesame seed cakes was placed before Qin Yuan.

On such a freezing day, a sip of donkey meat soup paired with a bite of sesame seed cake was an indescribably comfortable feeling.

"Brother Qin, what brings you to the canteen today?"

Yang Huzhan strode in from outside, beaming with radiance.

There was not a trace of his previous furrowed brows and gloomy expression.

Qin Yuan smiled and asked, "Is the Chancellor celebrating some joyous event?"

Yang Huzhan stroked his beard and said, "Guess."

Yang Huzhan had extensive connections and likely knew important figures within the Ambition Army. That was Qin Yuan's first reaction.

He immediately dismissed the thought.

Given Yang Huzhan's personality and life experience, to be beaming this brightly, his friend surely had to be someone far beyond merely an important figure.

"The Chancellor knows Zheng Sanfa?"

"Mm." Yang Huzhan nodded. "Back in the day when I was in the south, he and I used to play cards together, drink together, and..."

Yang Huzhan abruptly cut himself off.

Qin Yuan didn't even need to guess to know the last one was visiting brothels.

"Congratulations, Chancellor."

"Hurry up and eat. Once you're finished, we're going to welcome Zheng San—cough, Grand Commander Zheng."

Zheng Sanfa's official title was Grand Commander of the Ambition Army.

People respectfully addressed him as Grand Commander Zheng.

Qin Yuan had heard people talking about it on his way back.

Finishing his meal hastily, Qin Yuan followed Yang Huzhan to the Ten-Mile Pavilion outside the city.

Amidst the boundless expanse of pristine snow, a massive army was slowly marching toward them.

"Yuanda, how is your relationship with Lin Dongze?"

Yang Huzhan suddenly threw out this question.

Something about his expression seemed off.

"Mediocre," Qin Yuan replied.

"That's good." Yang Huzhan looked around mysteriously, leaned close to Qin Yuan's ear, and whispered, "I heard the two factions are about to have a falling out."

Qin Yuan listened in utter confusion.

Just as he was about to inquire further, Yang Huzhan shifted the topic entirely: "Have you heard? Some audacious bastard dug up the Eastern Tombs."

I was the one who instigated it.

How could I possibly not know?

"Such a thing actually happened?" Qin Yuan feigned absolute astonishment.

"Not many people know about it yet, but in a few days, once the storm breaks, we're going to have a great show to watch." Yang Huzhan wore a look of schadenfreude.

The "great show" undoubtedly meant the former dynasty's imperial clan members and court loyalists desperately wanting to murder Old Master Sun.

Qin Yuan estimated that Old Master Sun would most likely be completely fine.

In this world, there was nothing that couldn't be resolved with money; if something wasn't resolved, it simply meant the amount of money wasn't enough.

And right now, Old Master Sun had money to burn.

While the two were talking, the vanguard of the Ambition Army had already arrived.

They ceased their chatter.

A short while later, Zheng Sanfa arrived, riding atop a tall, majestic steed.

True to the legends, he was bald.

Aside from that, he possessed quite a dignified and handsome appearance.

A crowd of high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants from the capital rushed forward to greet him with obsequious smiles.

The flowing currents of military might, with their iron-fisted leader; the enduring rocks of officials and plutocrats.

Qin Yuan sighed inwardly.

Zheng Sanfa deftly dismounted and exchanged courteous pleasantries with everyone individually.

He seemed to be deliberately imitating the late Father of the Nation, Song.

Unfortunately, he managed the outward appearance while missing the spirit entirely.

When he reached Yang Huzhan, Zheng Sanfa's attitude instantly warmed up considerably.

"Big Brother Huzhan, it's been a long time! I've missed you to death, brother!"

Yang Huzhan's courtesy name was Huzhan.

"Grand Commander—"

"Why are you acting so distant with me? Call me Sanfa!" Zheng Sanfa stared wide-eyed in mock anger.

Zheng Sanfa's courtesy name was Sanfa.

Yang Huzhan reluctantly forced out a "Sanfa."

Zheng Sanfa was immediately overjoyed.

He grabbed Yang Huzhan's hand and announced to the gathered crowd that Yang Huzhan was his sworn elder brother, and recounted how wonderfully they used to get along down south.

This prompted the surrounding onlookers to cast gazes filled with intense envy toward Yang Huzhan.