If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1447 Instinctive Resistance

Although Ao Guang did not directly explain why the phoenix was not a natural "auspicious omen for humans".

But the vicissitudes in his tone and the weight of the stories he told made Liu Ji feel enlightened.

Phoenix, dragon, and qilin are born "protagonists of heaven and earth," an incomparably proud and powerful race.

Like humans and demons, they also had a glorious period when "the world belonged entirely to them".

The "Years" known as "Dragon Han" seem to be even greater than the Dao Ancestor.

This great race should have had no connection with the later human race.

Without any overlap, there is no such thing as auspicious beasts or divine beasts.

Their becoming auspicious omens for the human dynasty must have been due to some event that created a deep connection, even a bond, between them. And this bond was positive and auspicious; the appearance of dragons and phoenixes brought good fortune.

If Xiaoyu were here, and Ao Guang gave her a few pointers, she would immediately understand the meaning of "True Dragon Emperor".

Liu Ji was actually very intelligent, but as a mortal in the past, his knowledge was limited and his vision was only limited to the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains. He never looked at the problem from the higher perspective of the "human race".

So, at this moment he had some understanding, but he still didn't quite understand what Ao Guang wanted to do.

"Your Majesty, what is the connection between the Phoenix Crying at Qishan, the True Dragon Emperor, and the alliance?"

Ao Guang said, "The Phoenix Cries on Mount Qi is the Phoenix Ancestor passing on the fortune of the True Phoenix Clan to the human race through the Ji Clan Zhou Dynasty."

Why was Yu Fengxian able to control the Nine Cauldrons and Dragons, shaking the destiny of humanity?
The legitimate dynasty in the Central Plains is the leader of the human race.

The fortune of the Central Plains dynasty can affect the fortune of the entire human race.

When the phoenix cried out at Qishan, the Phoenix Ancestor entrusted the true phoenix's fortune to Ji Chang, the Marquis of Xibo; today, in our covenant with Heaven, I entrust a portion of the true dragon's fortune to you.

In return, you must make a covenant with me with Heaven, acknowledging that the 'True Dragon Son of Heaven' will replace the Human Emperor.

Did you understand?

"Why replace the Human Emperor with the 'True Dragon Son of Heaven'? Isn't the Human Emperor the True Dragon Son of Heaven?" Liu Ji asked.

Ao Guang said, "The titles can be similar, but 'Human Emperor' is more than just a title!"
Logically speaking, Hu Hai should now be considered a 'human emperor'.

At least the barbarian states outside of China revered him as the 'Human Emperor.' But did Hu Hai possess the power of his father's Human Emperor regime?

“Hu Hai seems to possess some special power, a very strong one, even immortals fear him,” Liu Ji said.

Ao Guang said, "He cultivated the demonic art created by Yu Fengxian."

Of course, he was able to master demonic arts because he did indeed possess some of the qualities of a human emperor.

Anyone else would have been completely unable to master Yu Fengxian's "Holy Emperor's Demonic Art."

"What if the true dragon emperor replaced the human emperor? What is the difference in power between the true dragon emperor and the human emperor?" Liu Ji asked.

"The true dragon emperor has the power of the true dragon emperor, and the human emperor has the power of the human emperor."

"You're not the Son of Heaven, so this has nothing to do with you. Just make an alliance with me." Ao Guang was getting impatient.

"Since I am not the true Son of Heaven, why should I make a pact with His Majesty? Go find the true Son of Heaven!" Liu Ji asked, puzzled.

Ao Guang said, "Guess who I summoned first? Let me tell you, I haven't even met the King of Chu yet."

You're the first person I ever met!

I will be meeting with Xiang Liang, Jing Ju, Tian Rong, and Wei Jiu later.

Then, right here by the water altar, I bestowed upon them a true dragon's fortune, and they swore an oath with me.

I will bring many heroes from across the land here, but I will not make an alliance with the King of Chu, nor will I grant him the true dragon's fortune.

Because the King of Chu only had the mandate of heaven to initiate the uprising, the master of the aura of the Son of Heaven in the southeast was someone else besides him.

I don't know who the true emperor is, so I can only cast a wide net and call in all the suspected candidates.

In any case, after the Qin dynasty was destroyed, the various factions fought each other and devoured each other's fortunes.

"Now I have bestowed upon you the true dragon's fortune, which will sooner or later converge upon the ultimate victor, who will become the true dragon emperor."

Liu Ji swallowed hard. "Your Majesty, I am Tiankui Fuxing. I am afraid of death. I will not fight with them. I... I don't want your true dragon fortune. Please spare me!"

"Don't be a coward!" Ao Guang shouted majestically, "It is precisely because you are the Heavenly Star Auxiliary Star, destined to assist the true dragon emperor, that I disregarded others and prioritized making an oath with you."

A battle among dragons doesn't necessarily have to be a fight to the death. Even if you surrender to the true emperor, his fortune will still be devoured.

“But I am Tiankui Fuxing. You have already determined that I am not destined to become the true dragon emperor. Why bother to make the true dragon's fortune circulate around me?” Liu Ji said.

Ao Guang was taken aback for a moment, then said, "You do not need to bear the true dragon's fortune."

However, oaths to Heaven cannot be coerced in any way; they must be sincere and have a cause and effect.

Giving you the true dragon's fortune is not my purpose.

My goal is to sacrifice the very essence of the dragon's destiny to truly make the 'Son of Heaven' a reality.

“Didn’t the emperors already become ‘true dragons’ starting from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors?” Liu Ji said.

Ao Guang said, "Back then, they were only called 'True Dragon' in name, but they preferred to call themselves 'Human Emperor'."

"The emperor replacing the human emperor is the will of Heaven, you should understand that, right?"

"I still don't quite understand. Isn't 'Human Emperor' a good title?" Liu Ji asked.

"You, a hidden dragon with dragon energy, don't even know about the destiny of 'the emperor replacing the human emperor'?" The old dragon's eyes widened. "This destiny was barely considered a secret a few decades ago."

But Chen Sheng's uprising has been going on for a year now, how come you still don't know this outdated news?

"Who should I listen to? The people around me are all ordinary people from Pei County, and they don't know as much as I do."

"For the past year, I've been a bandit in Mangdang Mountain, cough cough. I've been cultivating in the mountains and haven't had much contact with the outside world," Liu Ji said.

"Sigh, it's pathetic that Qianlong is treated like this."

Old Dragon first explained the Mandate of Heaven for the Son of Heaven to succeed the Emperor, and then said: "Think about it, if the Emperor's rule were good, would the people of China be impoverished and in turmoil? Would you rebel kings be born?"

The Human Emperor hindered the development of humanity, therefore the Human Emperor must be deposed and a Son of Heaven established.

Liu Ji said, "Emperor Ying Zheng was tyrannical, and the Qin Dynasty was immoral, which is why it lost the world. Why not just change the dynasty and replace it with a new emperor? Why uproot the 'Emperor' and replace him with a true dragon emperor?"

Is it true that the power of the true dragon emperor is far inferior to that of the human emperor?

If the master of the "Southeast Emperor's Aura" becomes the true Son of Heaven, will he lose the power and status that Qin Shi Huang once possessed?

Old Long glanced at him with some surprise.

This fellow is clearly shallow in his knowledge, but he is extremely sensitive to power and authority.

Even though he was completely ignorant of destiny, he still accurately grasped the key to the true dragon emperor replacing the human emperor.

"What you said isn't entirely wrong. The Emperor's government possesses supreme imperial authority, which has no limits."

Once power is unchecked, even if the Human Emperor acts recklessly, no one can stop him.

Wouldn't this be a great harm to the world?

Liu Ji frowned and asked, "If the True Dragon Emperor replaces the Human Emperor, who will restrain the True Dragon Emperor, and how will they be restrained?"

This question is beyond the limits of Lao Long's wisdom and knowledge, as well as his patience.

He said impatiently, "It is the will of Heaven that the Son of Heaven will replace the Emperor of Man! It is the arrangement of Heaven and the general trend of human development, and it will surely become a reality."

As for what the future holds, I dare not speculate, and you need not ask further.

What I need to do now is to fulfill the ancient agreement and add the words "True Dragon" before "Son of Heaven".

The true Son of Heaven remains the Son of Heaven, bringing only benefits and no harm to the development of humanity and to the Son of Heaven himself.

What you need to do now is to fulfill the oath with me.

You don't need to worry about me fooling you in front of the Heavenly Emperor.

I bestow upon you, these hidden dragons and true dragons, the fortune to ensure your smooth sailing, turning misfortune into good fortune, and granting you all your desires during the upcoming great calamity, thereby overthrowing the tyrannical Qin and fulfilling the Mandate of Heaven. This is also the main purpose of this anti-Qin alliance!

Yu Fengxian led the Great Qin Dynasty to great heights, putting immense pressure on you, even altering your predetermined destiny.

We, along with all the other experts, have no choice but to enter the game early and place heavy bets to help you succeed.

You have to give to receive; you have received our help, so of course you must repay the karmic debt.

I don't care about, and I can't care about, the karma between you and the great immortals.

Speaking only of the true dragon race and the human race, let's renew, or rather, further deepen, the ancient agreement between the Three Sovereigns and the dragon race, achieving a win-win cooperation between the human and dragon races.

Old Dragon did indeed conceal some things, such as restrictions on the emperor.

When the human emperor became the Son of Heaven, the ruler of the human world considered himself the "good eldest son" of the ruler of Heaven. Once the son made a mistake, the father naturally had the right to punish him.

When the Emperor was still alive, the concept of "Heaven sending down disasters as a warning" did not exist at all.

The Heavenly Court was even unable to properly distribute disasters.

I dare not, I don't have the ability.

Therefore, the Heavenly Emperor could not use natural disasters to warn the ruler of the human world on behalf of the God of Heaven: Stop doing this, or the God of Heaven will be displeased and punish you, stripping you of your destiny.

Once the emperor replaces the human emperor, and if the emperor becomes tyrannical, Heaven can directly send down divine lightning to destroy a building in the palace, or even burn down the main hall where court assemblies are held.

If the emperor does not immediately repent and correct his mistakes, Heaven, in accordance with the will of the people, will immediately cause him to die a violent death.

For example, if a stroke is made in the Book of Life and Death, even a great and humane ruler like Emperor Taizong of Tang (Li Shimin) would have to die without resistance.

The Book of Life and Death, the Book of Good and Evil, and even the Red Thread of Marriage, are all rule-based spiritual treasures, and they are useless not only to the Emperor's government.

Those who hold the power of a human king or human emperor are basically unaffected, unless their power is too weak.

Take Hu Hai at this time, for example.

Even in his current state of despair, the Book of Life and Death can only record his basic information; the King of Hell can't directly control his fate through it.

The death of a human emperor can only be a natural death from old age or illness, or being killed by someone, just like the human race before the establishment of the underworld.

Another example is Ying Tong, the King of Bohai.

What level of cultivation does the Old Ghost of the Deer Cauldron possess?

During the public trial, he exuded a fierce and menacing aura, which frightened Ying Tong so much that he dared not look him in the eye.

However, if the ghostly or malevolent energy were to attack Ying Tong, it would be immediately blocked by the faint royal aura on Ying Tong's body, and the aura of the ancestral dragon would even cause a considerable backlash to the old ghost.

In contrast, during the Journey to the West period, a mere old dragon from the Jing River could easily harass Li Shimin.

In terms of achievements and reputation, Ying Tong couldn't even compare to a hair on Li Shimin's head; in terms of Taoist cultivation and skill, the Old Ghost of Jinghe couldn't even compare to a hair on the Bucket Taoist's head.

Old Dragon knew all of the above, but he understood that these truths would be too provocative for the heroes of China, so he couldn't say them outright.

However, apart from that, Lao Long was quite honest and did not deliberately evade or mislead Liu Laosan.

For example, the ancient agreement between the dragon race and the human race.

If it weren't for the consent of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of Huoyun Cave, the old dragon wouldn't dare to have a group of hidden dragons swear an oath by the water altar.

If he really does something reckless, Fuqiu Gong and his group of quasi-Daluo among the human race will tear him apart.

The near-Great Luo cultivators earn human fortune, essentially working for humanity. The better humanity develops, the stronger the human race's fortune becomes, and they receive a share of it.

They wouldn't dare to do something like ruining the human race's fortune, nor would they allow others to do it.

Of course, just as every parent wants the best for their child, what they do may not necessarily be good for their child, and the child they raise may not necessarily be "successful".

While aspiring Ronaldo may loudly proclaim the slogan of "following the will of Heaven and responding to the Way," whether he can do it well and do it correctly depends on his true abilities.

After much internal struggle and deliberation, Liu Ji said, "If I don't want the true dragon's fortune, then I don't need to swear an oath!"

He really wants the dragon's fortune!

Having spent a year hiding in Mangdang Mountain, he really didn't want to stay cooped up there any longer, watching enviously as other hidden dragons of China conquered cities and territories, becoming famous throughout the land.

However, the amount of true dragon's fortune must not be too much.

After all, the old dragon wanted to distribute the true dragon's fortune among a group of heroes from across the land.

More importantly, he worried that the oath would affect his "Old Man's Joy".

Luck is ethereal and intangible, but the benefits of "Old Man's Joy" are real and tangible, greatly helping him.

Old Dragon said unhappily, "I've made myself so clear, what else do you have to worry about?"
Although you are a Tiankui Auxiliary Star and possess dragon energy, if you wish to become a rebel king, the true dragon's fortune will surely lend you a helping hand.

The oath's contents are predetermined, and have no effect on you whatsoever.

"It has no effect on me, so why should I swear an oath? I am just a mortal. Today is the first time I have heard of the Mandate of Heaven of the True Dragon Emperor. My heart is filled with confusion and unease!" Liu Ji's face was also full of fear and unease.

The old dragon's impatience immediately turned into anger, and a cold light flashed in its golden dragon eyes as it was about to shout a stern rebuke.

But when he caught sight of the water basin in front of him, he instantly came to his senses again.

We're practically standing at the Jade Emperor's gate now; what kind of behavior is this, making such a racket?

"In that case, you may go back!"

With a wave of his hand, the old dragon sent a stream of water carrying Liu Ji across millions of miles back to the main hall of the dragon palace.

Old Dragon bowed three more times to the water altar before getting up and returning to the main hall. "Geng'er, go to 'Lingzhu Garden' yourself and invite Lord Xiang Liang over."

The seventh prince, Ao Geng, entered the palace and asked, "Father, have you forgotten something? You were supposed to help Liu Ji resolve the feud with Chen Sheng!"

Moreover, since he didn't obtain the Dragon Clan's fortune, I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to succeed in the future.

He did not swear an oath to you, which may lead to an unexpected turn of events in his destiny as the 'Son of Heaven.'

Ao Guang said, "What kind of accident could happen? I never intended to hand over the True Dragon's fortune to them now. No, not them."

According to my original plan, I should have waited for the owner of the Southeast Emperor's Qi to appear before handing over all the true dragon's fortune to him.

Just like when Fengming Qishan confirmed his identity as the chosen one, he placed his bet directly, which was both safe and allowed him to establish a close relationship with the chosen one.

Because the phoenix's cry at Qishan helped the Western Zhou Dynasty establish its destiny early on, the Ji royal family would come to Qishan every year to worship the phoenix ancestor!
Even today, the Zhenfeng Temple on Qishan Mountain remains a popular place of worship.

Now, Yu Fengxian has suddenly appeared, disrupting the plans of all the great immortals. The immortals are anxious and are asking us for help.

We reluctantly sent out the true dragon energy ahead of schedule, allowing the hidden dragon to rise first, overcome the first hurdle of this great calamity, and destroy Qin.

As for resolving our feud, I'm fed up with him now and don't want to get involved anymore. Let Master Fuqiu and the others handle it."

Ao Geng said, "Fuqiu Gong and the others believe that the fate of the heavens has changed, so we should be cautious now."

Ideally, all the potential dragons should form an alliance in advance to create a powerful force, which will naturally evolve into destiny.

Although Liu Ji was not a true emperor, he possessed the destiny of the Heavenly Noble Star, which greatly influenced the true emperor.

The removal of the emperor and the establishment of a new emperor would be detrimental to the ruling power of the southeast, and he would surely harbor rebellious intentions.

Advisors like Liu Ji were able to advise, appease, and persuade the emperor to accept the Mandate of Heaven.

“My son is right! It’s just that Liu Ji is not very knowledgeable, but he is very cunning. He himself is unwilling, and you can’t force him to make an oath!” Ao Guang said.

"He is, after all, a hidden dragon, destined to rebel, and he can even resist the fortune of a true dragon? Does he not know the benefits of the fortune of a true dragon?"

Why are you all gurus urging us to place bets now?
"Isn't this just helping the hidden dragon of China achieve his goal?" Ao Geng said.

"Perhaps it's because he comes from a humble background and doesn't understand the mysteries of fate. Even though I patiently and earnestly persuaded him, and he understood, he still harbored resentment because he hadn't experienced it himself."

"Just you wait and see, Xiang Liang and Wei Jiu will be moved to tears," Ao Guang said confidently.

Ao Geng sighed, "In that case, let Liu Ji go! As long as everyone else accepts the Dragon Clan's fortune, the overall situation will not be affected."

(End of this chapter)