# 1646
Chapter 1646: Chang'an
"Seven Nights Brother, why are you so distracted?"
Under the blue sky, the army rushed toward Chang'an. Wu Quan rode alongside Lin Qiye and asked with confusion.
"...I just feel something's off."
"Off?"
"Everything related to the Cthulhu Faction is never simple. I blew up that red meteor and released the iridescent mist inside... Although something unexpected did appear, I still feel like it ended anticlimactically."
Lin Qiye glanced back again. The mountain gorge shrouded in iridescent mist had already faded into the distance, nearly invisible.
"He could have disguised himself as any of us, so why did he choose me? Does he not know that my Hongmeng Lingtai is the hardest to replicate?"
"Seven Nights Brother, aren't you overthinking this?" Wu Quan tried to comfort him. "Even if that meteor really was something from the Cthulhu Faction, it was only a fragment split from the red star... Its power probably wasn't as overwhelming as you imagined.
Or perhaps it simply didn't expect the Hongmeng Lingtai to exist?"
Lin Qiye furrowed his brows. He looked at Wu Quan beside him and suddenly asked:
"Wu Quan, did Shen Qingzhu give you a Forbidden Artifact before?"
Hearing this, Wu Quan froze, puzzled:
"When did Qingzhu-ge give me a Forbidden Artifact?"
Hearing this, Lin Qiye's expression relaxed somewhat. He shook his head. "Never mind..."
Shen Qingzhu had never given Wu Quan a Forbidden Artifact. Lin Qiye asked this suddenly just to make sure Wu Quan hadn't been secretly replaced. That iridescent mist was too strange; it was better to be cautious.
"Lin Qiye." A voice called from the distance.
Lin Qiye turned to see Zhan Yuwu riding toward him.
The evil creatures weren't as rampant in daylight as they were at night. After last night's slaughter, under the warm sunshine, everyone was somewhat exhausted, but Zhan Yuwu's eyes sparkled as he looked at Lin Qiye with burning intensity.
"Deputy General Zhan."
"No need to be so formal, just call me Yuwu." Zhan Yuwu waved his hand. "By the way, I was wondering—is your powerful physique a special ability, or did you train for it?"
"It counts as a special ability." Lin Qiye gave a vague answer.
Hearing this, Zhan Yuwu sighed regretfully. "I should have known... I thought you might have some special constitution or secret method for tempering your body... If that were the case, I'd be willing to pay any price to obtain your secret technique."
"Isn't your 【Annihilation Flash Moon】 already powerful enough?"
Zhan Yuwu paused slightly. "How do you know about that? Zhan Zhong only gave 【Annihilation Flash Moon】 its name yesterday..."
"Didn't I tell you? I came from the future." Lin Qiye smiled.
"Tch, you're joking again." Zhan Yuwu gave an awkward laugh. "But actually, I want this body-tempering secret technique not for myself, but for the Marquis... The Marquis's ability is incredibly powerful, but it seems to take a great toll on his lifespan. If there's a suitable body-tempering method, it might compensate for some of his life force.
Although the Marquis does have his own tempering method, compared to your body, it's still far inferior."
Lin Qiye's brows shot up, then he helplessly shook his head.
This theory that tempering the body could compensate for some of the lifespan lost to 【Dominion Emperor】—it was the first time he'd heard of it. Unfortunately, his powerful physique came entirely from the Hongmeng Lingtai; there was no so-called secret technique.
"Speaking of which, we also encountered an esper with a powerful physique on the western frontier, but his strength was pathetic compared to yours. When he threw a punch, he could destroy at most one house..." Zhan Yuwu followed beside Lin Qiye, rambling on about their observations along the journey.
Lin Qiye hadn't expected the seemingly steady and powerful Zhan Yuwu to have such a talkative side. But he didn't mind—it was boring riding in formation anyway, and hearing more about this era was worthwhile.
The army pressed toward Chang'an at full speed. During the day, there weren't many evil creature attacks—only two were encountered, and both were easily slain. However, according to Zhan Yuwu, encountering evil creatures in broad daylight was already quite rare.
Time trickled by, and the bright daylight dimmed once more. Lin Qiye's heart gradually tensed.
They were only one night's journey away from arriving at Chang'an. Based on the previous two nights, the evil creatures grew more rampant as the nights progressed. He could imagine that tonight, the army would face another brutal battle.
Night fell gradually. Zhan Yuwu returned to his original position. Lin Qiye and Wu Quan stayed at the army's rear, constantly vigilant against threats from behind.
Across the dark earth, silhouettes darted past. Lin Qiye could sense their gazes lingering around the army's薄弱 points... But strangely, despite the numerous evil creatures surrounding them, not a single one lunged forward.
Lin Qiye thought they might be waiting for the right moment, but in the blink of an eye, half the night had passed, and the entire army still hadn't been attacked.
"Why did they suddenly become so docile today?" Lin Qiye asked, puzzled.
"Maybe we scared them off last night? By late last night, weren't there also few evil creatures daring to strike?" Wu Quan thought for a moment and said.
Lin Qiye's brow furrowed tightly. Thinking it through, that seemed to be the only possibility.
Against everyone's expectations, the final night before reaching Chang'an was exceptionally smooth. The army suffered no attacks at all. By the time a pale white glow appeared on the horizon, a towering majestic city wall came into view.
"Chang'an... we're here." Zhan Yuwu murmured to himself.
Lin Qiye and Wu Quan gazed at the distant city wall. Under the dawn light, many figures were already waiting by the city gates, preparing to enter.
"It's barely dawn—aren't they afraid of evil creatures?" Wu Quan asked.
"Chang'an is where the Son of Heaven resides. Dragon Qi converges here like a natural barrier that repels evil creatures, so the danger here is much lighter than elsewhere." Zhan Yuwu paused, then continued, "However, along the way, there have been rumors that Chang'an has also been affected by evil creatures... I'm not sure if it's true."
Dragon Qi...
Lin Qiye thought of the Island that guarded the nation's fortune. In modern times, there was no "Son of Heaven," so the nation's fortune and Dragon Qi were artificially channeled to the bottom of the Island. In a sense, that was the heart of the nation's运势. Chang'an was the same.
Perhaps recognizing Huo Qubing's banner, generals immediately came out from within Chang'an. Huo Qubing rode forward to exchange a few words with them, then stationed the army at the edge of Chang'an—close enough to receive the Dragon Qi's protection, yet far enough not to disturb the city's residents.
Huo Qubing brought a few generals and Yan Zhong to Lin Qiye's side.
"Come, follow this Marquis into the city."