Tang Dynasty: Starting with Dimo, he was targeted by Li Shimin.

Chapter 22 Fish Leaps Over the Dragon Gate

Li Shimin looked at the two small purple snakes coiled together on the mirror and first asked the question he cared about most—

Is it strong or not?

"Ancient Bell Serpent, Ice type. Evolves into Frost Serpent, with above-average abilities." Lin Luo answered truthfully.

"The key is the double appearance of purple light, which has an extremely low probability. In terms of luck, His Majesty is indeed incredibly lucky."

"I don't want Europe."

Li Shimin's voice was calm yet firm.

"I want a dragon."

"…………"

Lin Luo decided not to continue on this topic.

After Cheng Yaojin carefully put away the two ancient bell snakes, he noticed Li Shimin's noticeably low spirits.

He hesitated for a moment, then leaned closer and whispered:

"Your Majesty! Cheer up!"

"Next time it'll be the pity pull! The pity pull is guaranteed to give me a Pokémon!"

Li Shimin raised his head.

"Guaranteed minimum?"

"Yes! The shopkeeper said before that if you don't get a Pokémon after several consecutive attempts, the system has a guaranteed drop mechanism, and you're guaranteed to get one next time!"

Li Shimin's eyes lit up again.

Guaranteed minimum.

It will definitely happen.

That is to say-

If you draw one more time, you're guaranteed to get a Pokémon!

As for whether a dragon can emerge—

...Li Shimin chose to believe in destiny.

He stood up again, straightened his clothes, and walked to the Star Mirror.

This time he didn't rush to press the mirror.

Instead, he closed his eyes.

The entire room fell silent.

"Your Majesty, what is this—" Yuchi Gong was about to ask.

"Shh." Cheng Yaojin quickly covered his mouth.

Li Shimin took a deep breath and slowly spoke—

"The Three Pure Ones, the Dao Ancestors, are above."

The entire audience was shocked.

Li Shimin has actually started dabbling in metaphysics? ??

His tone was extremely solemn, as if he were offering sacrifices to Heaven at the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

"I, Li Shimin, the Emperor of the Great Tang, sincerely pray—"

"I wish to offer twenty years of my lifespan each as a sacrifice—"

I need a Dragon-type Pokémon!!

"Wait, wait, wait—!!"

Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong, and Fang Xuanling jumped up at the same time.

"Your Majesty!! Whose twenty years are you talking about?!" Cheng Yaojin roared.

"Your Majesty! I am nearly fifty years old, minus twenty years—" Fang Xuanling's voice trembled.

"Your Majesty, this is so unfair!!" Yuchi Gong rarely lost his manners.

Li Shimin opened his eyes and looked at the three men's terrified faces.

A slight smile curved his lips—

"What are you afraid of? I was just joking with you."

"When you were sacrificing each other's lifespans just now, weren't you afraid?"

The three of them: "..."

It seems... they were indeed the ones who started it.

"However—" Li Shimin's expression turned serious again.

"This time, it's my turn to draw the lots."

"I do not need to sacrifice anyone."

"because--"

He placed his hand on the Star Mirror.

"If I am truly the chosen one, then destiny itself will give me the answer."

Golden light exploded—

The phantom spun rapidly—

This time, everyone fell silent.

Even Cheng Yaojin didn't dare to utter a sound.

The speed of rotation is getting faster and faster—

Then it stopped abruptly.

An outline appeared on the mirror—

Very small.

very small.

So small that it's almost impossible to see what shape it is.

The light dissipated.

A creature appeared on the mirror—

A small, blue, round-headed fish, about the size of a palm.

It has a round mouth, a short tail, and two big eyes.

It looks like a swimming blue jelly bean.

The entire room fell silent.

"…………"

"…………"

Li Shimin looked at the palm-sized fish on the mirror.

Looked for a long time.

Then he slowly began to speak:

"Shopkeeper."

"Um."

"What is this?"

"Pentfish. Water attribute."

"…………"

"…………"

"My safety net... is a fish?"

"yes."

Li Shimin closed his eyes.

Take a deep breath.

Take another deep breath.

Then he opened his eyes and looked at Lin Luo—

"Shopkeeper, let me speak from the heart."

"There are three ponds in my imperial garden, and thousands of koi carp swim in them."

"Does the Emperor lack fish?"

(°_°)

The tone contained resentment, anger, resentment, and despair.

It was so bad that everyone present couldn't bear to look at it.

Cheng Yaojin was practically bursting with suppressed laughter, but he dared not laugh—because Li Shimin's eyes told him that whoever laughed would die.

Yuchi Gong pretended to be looking at the scenery in the distance.

Fang Xuanling held the little spirit face and silently turned around.

The little spirit peeked out from his arms and looked at Li Shimin's expression.

It immediately shrank back.

Its social anxiety threshold is about to explode today.

But Lin Luo—

Lin Luo did not laugh.

He looked at the holographic image of the pygmy fish on the mirror and frowned slightly.

Then it slowly relaxed.

"His Majesty."

"...What?"

"Don't be disappointed yet."

"Take a look at its evolutionary chain."

Lin Luo reached out and slid his hand across the mirror, and an evolutionary path appeared next to the holographic image of the pygmy fish—

Tiny fish → Fastfin fish → Arowana

Li Shimin's gaze swept over the three names, stopping at the last two characters.

Arowana.

Dragon...fish?

"Arowana?" His voice changed.

"Yes." Lin Luo nodded. "The final evolved form of the pygmy fish is called the dragonfish."

"and--"

Lin Luo looked into Li Shimin's eyes and said, word by word—

"The dragonfish's attributes are—water and dragon."

"Dragon attribute."

The entire room froze.

Dragon attribute!!!

This palm-sized fish looks like a jelly bean—

Its final form is actually a Dragon-type Pokémon!!!

Li Shimin's pupils suddenly contracted.

He looked at the small, blue, round-headed pygmy fish reflected in the mirror.

Then look at the label next to it: "Dragonfish - Water + Dragon".

My hands are shaking.

"You...you're telling the truth?"

"Of course it's true. The Dragonfish is a genuine water-dragon dual-attribute spirit in the Kingdom of Rock," Lin Luo said.

"In its final form, its base stats exceed 500, with both physical and magical attack stats above 110, and its speed is extremely high—"

"I don't care about these things!!" Li Shimin interrupted him.

"I only care about one thing—"

"Is it really a dragon?"

"real."

"Is its evolved name really Dragonfish?"

"Really. His name even has 'dragon' in it."

Li Shimin remained silent for five seconds.

Then--

He smiled.

It wasn't a bitter smile, nor was it a mocking smile.

It was a laugh that welled up from the depths of the heart, a laugh that had been suppressed for a long time and was finally released.

Hahahahahaha—

He slammed his hand on the table, nearly knocking the Star Mirror away.

"Arowana!! Dragon-type!! Its name contains the character for dragon!!!"

"I told you so!! Heaven's mandate is with me!!!"

Cheng Yaojin quickly flattered, "Your Majesty is wise!! This must be the will of Heaven!!!"

"Quack quack!!" Duck Gigi flapped its wings in response.

Yuchi Gong turned around and breathed a sigh of relief—His Majesty had finally come back to life.

But Lin Luo hadn't finished speaking.

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing."

"What?"

"Do you know what the story in Chinese culture is called?"

"The fish leaps over the dragon gate."

Lin Luo looked at him, and the corners of her mouth curved up.

"An ordinary fish, swimming upstream and leaping over the Dragon Gate, can transform into a dragon."

"This pygmy fish—it looks like just a tiny fish the size of a palm right now, weak, inconspicuous, and nobody notices it."

"But as long as they are carefully nurtured—"

"It can transform from a pygmy fish into a fast-finned fish, and then from a fast-finned fish into an arowana."

"From Water attribute to Water/Dragon dual attribute."

From a little fish that nobody cared about—

"To become a real dragon."

Lin Luo looked at Li Shimin, his tone calm but every word hitting the mark—

"Your Majesty, please consider—"

"Isn't this fish's experience remarkably similar to that of a person?"

"A person who fought his way out of a dangerous situation."

"A person whose position has been questioned by countless people as 'illegitimately obtained'."

"A person who, through his own hands and willpower, defied the odds and ultimately rose to the highest position in the world."

The entire room fell silent.

It was so quiet you could hear someone breathing.

Li Shimin looked at the tiny pygmy fish on the mirror.

His eyes welled up with tears.

Not because I was moved—

It's because it's so accurate.

That's incredibly accurate.

This fish—

It's him.

A weak starting point.

The process of going against the current.

The fate of the dragon.

Fish leaping over the dragon gate.

"Manager..." Li Shimin's voice was slightly hoarse.

"Um?"

"This fish—I want it."

"good."

"And—I will raise it myself."

"Do not rely on others."

"Until the day it becomes a dragon."

He looked at the little blue fish on the mirror.

There was no longer any disdain or disappointment in his eyes.

There is only one—

Agree.

It's like looking in a mirror.

What's reflected in the mirror isn't a fish.

It was him.

Lin Luo scooped the pebbles out of the water tank in the backyard—

Yes, it was fished out.

Because this thing is a small, blue, round-headed fish about the size of a palm.

It lay in Lin Luo's palm, its mouth opening and closing, its two big eyes looking around blankly.

"bean?"

It let out a very faint, uncertain cry.

It's as if it's asking: Where am I?

Li Shimin took the diced fish and placed it in his palm.

The little fish thrashed about in his palm for a couple of moments, then fell silent.

It tilted its head and looked at Li Shimin—

Then she rubbed her mouth against his thumb.

"Bean~"

Li Shimin looked down at the small fish in his palm.

The corners of her mouth curved into a smile.

"little things."

"From now on, you will follow me."

"I await your transformation into a dragon."

(๑•̀ω•́๑)

Cheng Yaojin, standing nearby, wiped the corner of his eye—

"Why do I feel a little sore in my nose..."

"Shut up and don't ruin the atmosphere," Yuchi Gong said softly.

"You're the one who should shut up."

"Shut up."

"You shut up first—"

"Shut up, both of you!!" Li Shimin and Lin Luo said in unison.

(；∀；)

……