Ghost Compendium-Chapter 340 - 335: The Enigmatic Pre-Qin Era

Although expressing awe, his steps into the hall did not pause for a moment.

Entering inside, the hall was brightly lit by candlelight, with curling incense smoke swirling around. Looking up, the ceiling was adorned with exquisite and luxurious patterns, while the marble steps of redwood and jade carvings beneath his feet shimmered with every step, like walking on silk.

The massive stone pillars around him were no longer carved with stone warriors but with several giant dragons, their claws stretched wide, winding vividly around them, each dragon scale so lifelike that they seemed ready to spring to life at any moment.

In this intensely impactful scene, the most attention-grabbing was the splendidly magnificent dragon throne.

On this dragon throne sat a man with thick eyebrows and a square face, looking valiant and domineering.

His high nose bridge paired with eyes like copper bells, full lips, and prominent brow bone shaped like the sun made him an extremely masculine and formidable man, even by modern aesthetic standards.

His fierce and brutal aura was vividly displayed, giving off the sense of an eagle, wolf, tiger, and leopard all at once!

He carried an inexplicable air of ferocity, overlooking the entire hall, bestowing an unseen and terrifying pressure on everyone.

The General of Qin knelt down in a salute upon seeing the man, just like outside the museum before, while Wu Liang and Director Long stood rooted in place, meeting his gaze.

Suddenly, the resonant laughter of the Ancestral Dragon echoed through the hall, as he shifted his gaze to Director Long and chuckled:

"Are you the ruler of this later era?"

"May I ask, is this world prosperous and thriving?"

"If not, it is your fault as the ruler!"

Three extremely succinct sentences, yet they caused the three below to shudder.

Thump, thump — thump, thump!

At this moment, Director Long could clearly hear his own heartbeats accelerating, leaving all other sounds around him fading away. Wu Liang seemed to be whispering something to him, yet he couldn’t hear a thing.

In the end, only the phrase "If not, it is your fault" kept echoing in his mind.

"Huff... huff huff..."

Even Director Long’s breaths became increasingly rapid.

He clearly knew rationally in his head that the petulant figure in the imperial robes on the Dragon Hall was most likely the leading fierce ghost of this nation-destroying supernatural event, not the real Ancestral Dragon reincarnate.

Yet he couldn’t help but question himself — in facing the current supernatural resurgence in Huaxia, isn’t it far from a flourishing era?

Is all of this because of his own lack of effort?

Although Director Long did not consider himself a monarch, the power he exercised as the official leader was not much different.

In a sense, the official authority currently commands Huaxia in facing the supernatural calamity, just like ancient emperors governing the land.

Bang—

Just as Director Long felt his mind starting to swirl into chaos, a hand lightly rested on his shoulder.

Then that cheeky voice laughed toward the ancient emperor at the forefront of the hall, saying, "Natural disasters and man-made calamities are unforeseen events, let alone the supernatural resurgence and the descent of fierce ghosts."

"Can the prosperity of this world be decided by a single person? If someone could truly change the entire world with their own power, they wouldn’t be human, they’d be a god."

"And in this world, there are no gods, only humans!"

Upon hearing this, even the General of Qin kneeling before the hall couldn’t help but tremble, raising his head with a look of shock and fear at this reckless lad.

If the Ancestral Dragon wasn’t present, he would have immediately reacted to apprehend Wu Liang.

How dare such rebellious words be spoken! Wasn’t the First Emperor, revered as the Son of Heaven, exactly someone who changed the world with his own power?

"Pff... Hahaha!"

Suddenly, Director Long couldn’t help but burst into laughter, further confounding the General of Qin.

These two youngsters were just being praised by him earlier; why did they appear mad upon seeing the First Emperor?

"Emperor... I think my friend is right; how can one person determine the changes of the entire world? Isn’t this something only immortals can achieve?"

"Huaxia is currently in trouble, certainly unrelated to any era of prosperity. All I can do is do my best, not seeking merit or fault, but striving for a clear conscience. Moreover, buried in the river of history long ago, where do you get the high ground to guide the future?" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

His voice was not loud and did not carry the booming resonance of the First Emperor before the dragon throne.

But each word was powerful and piercing, and by the end, he lifted his head to meet the brooding, deep eyes of the First Emperor.

A silent standoff crossing ancient and modern times, one an emperor of the ages, the other the last official leader of Huaxia.

Neither intended to retreat in this moment of voiceless confrontation.

Moments later, the First Emperor slowly stood up from the dragon throne, setting aside his immensely loud and superior voice, replacing it with a gentle tone as if chatting with his favorite grandchildren:

"Marvelous, it seems the ruler of later generations also possesses the backbone of a true dragon... now that demons and spirits wreak havoc on humans, fortune and calamity coexist; once persevered, Huaxia shall usher in the most prosperous era!"

Then his tone shifted.

He waved his long sleeves gracefully toward the hall’s exterior, and his authoritative, booming voice resounded once more: "Though the descendants suffer immensely, they yield not to surrender."

"My fellows, what shall we predecessors do!"

Boom—Boom—

Deafening roars erupted from outside the hall, initially seeming as if something had exploded, but listening closely, one could discern the thunderous marching of thousands, even millions of footsteps striking in unison.

At the same time, the General of Qin, who had been kneeling, also stood up, speaking powerfully to Wu Liang and Director Long: "We shall collectively face the national catastrophe!"

"Face the national catastrophe together!"

"Face the national catastrophe together!"

The voices from outside seemed as if they might lift the ceiling of Apang Palace, and the surging sound waves even made the plants and candle flames inside and outside the palace sway, while the earth-shattering shout shook the land.

At this moment, the mighty momentum of the invincible Great Qin Army in the river of history reached its peak!

The overwhelming scene likened to a storm unexpectedly caused both Wu Liang and Director Long’s minds to stall.

What were they saying?

Face the national catastrophe together? Wait! Something’s off!

The nation-destroying supernatural event intends to stand with Huaxia on the same battlefront?

"Hiss... First Emperor... what do you mean by this? What is your reason for helping humanity?"

Eventually, after waiting several minutes, the tumult outside began to quiet down, and Wu Liang furrowed his brow, stepping forward and almost reaching the pinnacle step before stopping, questioning the Ancestral Dragon with a doubtful tone.

He certainly wouldn’t let the imposing pressure of myriad troops cloud his judgment.

Wasn’t the General of Qin, the city-annihilating ghost, contrary to reason by not killing people, and now even helping humans fight against the supernatural?

Aren’t you guys the supernatural!?

Facing his questioning, the First Emperor simply chuckled gently: "Does the Emperor need a reason to wish peace for eternity? Shall we allow evil spirits to attempt to overthrow the world?"

"I do not permit it!"

As soon as these words fell, the First Emperor’s figure vanished instantly from the front of the dragon throne; it wasn’t until a hand rested on Wu Liang’s shoulder did he realize the other’s movement.

This was far more terrifying than the General of Qin.

There were no fluctuations of spatial ability, nor any explosive burst of extreme physicality; there was merely the First Emperor casually stepping forward.

It was as if the concept of distance ceased to exist at that moment; his step was simply meant to bring him beside Wu Liang, as dictated by the laws of nature!

The next second, the two together vanished from where they stood.

While Director Long was still searching for their figure, Wu Liang realized he had been brought by the First Emperor to the peak of Apang Palace, standing upon the spine of the mythical stone beast used for town guardianship at the roof.

Overlooking the expansive and endless area of Apang Palace and the countless stone warriors surfacing as a result of the previous shout, exceeding the tens of thousands Wu Liang initially predicted, making it difficult to estimate briefly.

Without turning, the First Emperor asked: "I consider you to be extraordinary, what do you think of me?"

Images of the various anomalies since meeting the General of Qin flashed through Wu Liang’s mind, including the scenes of the other exterminating fierce ghosts and the scenario where no ghost information could be found about him in the Ghost Compendium.

He responded with disbelief and uncertainty: "You... are not a fierce ghost!"

The next moment, his tone continued with deep meaning: "But you aren’t human either! Am I right?"

"Sharp as a torch, you are indeed extraordinary."

"..."