The fake prince was exposed at the beginning, and I took office as emperor on the spot

Chapter 213 An Arrow That Transcends Time (Three-in-One)

Gu Fangchen was about to enter the golden tent when the guard at the door stopped Yi'er behind him, saying:

“Young Master Gu, the Khan’s orders are that only you are allowed to enter.”

Gu Fangchen raised an eyebrow, feeling as if she hadn't expected it.

Although his attitude was quite good on the surface, Sule was a powerful ruler who had ruled the Qingman for thousands of years. In terms of martial prowess alone, he could match Ding Xingfeng in his prime. Naturally, he couldn't simply pretend that the previous events had never happened when dealing with a traitor from an enemy country with an ambiguous attitude.

After all, after Gu Yuye's death, he should have realized that Qingman's previous defeat was all Gu Fangchen's doing.

Although she had the endorsement of Maha Wuliang, Gu Fangchen had indeed come carrying the head of Emperor Yong'an, making this pledge of allegiance extremely important.

But for Su Le, a person like Gu Fangchen is an unstable factor.

At this moment, stopping Yi'er, who had come with him, at the door and letting him go in alone inevitably gave the feeling of going to a banquet in treachery alone.

Maha Wuliang certainly knows Yi'er's identity at this moment, but that doesn't matter.

If the girl following him was just an ordinary girl, she could even be used to threaten him...

In fact, going in like this wouldn't have caused Gu Fangchen any loss, but that was based on the premise that he had genuinely defected to Qingman for refuge.

But he is not, therefore he cannot back down in the slightest.

Gu Fangchen stood there for a moment, then suddenly took out "Azure Tide" and pulled it open towards the inside of the golden tent.

The guards at the door and the wolf guards patrolling around them instantly changed their expressions and surrounded them!
"Boom!"

The sound of scimitars being drawn from waists was incessant, rising and falling in waves.

The guard at the door was also taken aback and shouted coldly:
"Young Master Gu, what are you doing?!"

"You are now a great hero of the Qingman and a guest of honor of the Great Tiansa. Do not ruin your life!"

Few people in the Great Wei understand the language of the Qingman, but the Qingman have been trying to infiltrate the Central Plains for many years and have also been studying various interception intelligence. Therefore, many of their high-ranking officials are fluent in the language of the Central Plains.

The guard in front of me spoke fluent Central Plains dialect.

Right now, Gu Fangchen, after betraying the emperor, is still carrying the head of Emperor Yong'an on his waist as he draws his bow towards the golden tent, making his purpose truly unfathomable.

Therefore, the people around were stunned for a moment before they all drew their swords.

After all, it's not like someone would use the head of the Great Wei emperor as a pledge of allegiance, only to later claim that they were merely using it to infiltrate enemy territory and carry out an assassination...

What kind of cleverness is this, injuring the enemy a thousand while harming yourself ten thousand?

Furthermore, although Gu Fangchen's deeds were frightening, her actual cultivation level was only fourth rank.

Even if he stood at the entrance of the golden tent, at such close range, he might not be able to harm the Khan in the slightest.

Such behavior is truly baffling...

Gu Fangchen smiled and narrowed her eyes upon hearing this, saying:
"Can't you see? I've heard that the Qing people have a tradition that only the person with the strongest horsemanship and archery skills is qualified to become the Khan."

“Sule sat in the Khan’s golden tent for a thousand years, and countless people who tried to challenge him became food in the mouths of eagles.”

"Since I've come to surrender, I naturally intend to adapt to local customs and give it a try..."

His gaze was icy, and he drew his jade bow to its full extent. The mermaid's tears transformed into several intertwined streams of pearly light, like a dream.

The surrounding Qingman people looked at each other, their faces showing anger and disdain. The behavior of the Wei people was so rude, but since no one in the golden tent had spoken, they could not take action.

The Qing people do have such a tradition, but where else can you find such a direct confrontation?
To challenge the Khan, one must follow the rules of their tribe, which involve shooting eagles and riding horses. The one who can shoot down the eagle that perches in the eyes of the "god" on the sacred mountain, or tame or run the divine steed that grows under the feet of the "god," is the Khan of the Qingman people.

Of these two things, Suler is still the one who does them best.

The arrows in his hand could travel thousands of miles and pierce the eagle's brow.

His strong and imposing body could keep up with the passage of time. When he was still a boy, he ran wildly for three days and three nights, exhausting his divine steed to death.

If we're going to compare, we'll do it according to their rules, one thing at a time.

Gu Fangchen, on the other hand, drew her bow and arrow right at the entrance of the golden tent, creating a tense atmosphere.

For a moment, one began to wonder whether they were barbarians, or whether this guy was more like a barbarian...

The guard twitched his lips and said:

“We Qingman do indeed have such a tradition, but we need to let the Great Tiansa choose a suitable time. Perhaps we should wait until Young Master Gu has rested and regrouped before competing with the Khan…”

Gu Fangchen raised the bow in her hand and said calmly:

"Those are your rules, but these are my rules."

He glanced at Yi'er, who was hiding behind him and clutching his clothes, smiled, but his tone was icy as he said:
“Since you believe that you have the final say according to your rules, then I also believe that I have the final say according to my own rules.”

Gu Fangchen said loudly:

"Sule, let's have a contest, see whose arrow is faster and farther."

"I don't want your tattered golden tent. I just want you to come out and greet me as you would a god of your Qingman tribe!"

……

Inside the golden tent.

Sule's brow twitched, and he raised his head, his golden beastly eyes fixed on the tent door.

His daughter, Qiqige, was initially surprised, but then smiled and said:
"Father, this man is an idiot."

"Where in this world is there an arrow faster than 'divine punishment'?"

The name Sule means "divine punishment".

"Heavenly punishment" refers to thunder.

On the day he was born, the Great Heavenly King said that he would become the hero of the Qingman tribe who would unify the four major tribes, and would be as swift and fierce as "divine punishment," like a thunderbolt falling on the grassland, silencing all horses.

At that time, even the four major tribes were not completely united, and there were a total of seventy-two tribes on the grassland.

At that time, Sule was just a prince of one of the small tribes.

The prophecy brought him constant assassination attempts and countless calamities, but he overcame them all. In the end, just as the prophecy foretold, he ascended the throne of Khan and reigned in the Golden Tent for a thousand years.

Ambitious, he set his sights on the vast Central Plains, and at one point expanded the territory of the Qingman people to the south of the Yangtze River, even taking over the capital of the Central Plains.

That boundless and magnificent Imperial City.

He had once sat on that supreme throne.

However, in the end, he was not the only hero created by the times. Fate fell upon the sky of the Great Wei, and one after another, outstanding figures rose up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, shattering his dream of becoming a hegemon.

Over the years, as he gazed at the ever-growing number of names on that "half of the country," the lurking beast within him revealed its fangs more and more.

In Sule's heart, he only had one enemy: Xie Qian, the Confucian sage who caused him to fail at the last moment.

Although Emperor Yong'an's head was important, in his eyes, this emperor of the Great Wei was muddleheaded and incompetent, and became even worse after he grew old, unable even to protect the country.

Even with countless talented people under his command, he could not stop the collapse of the Great Wei dynasty.

Therefore, Emperor Yong'an himself is not a concern.

Whether it's those who plotted against Gu Fangchen or Gu Fangchen herself, they are still within the game.

It deserves attention, but not enough for him to adopt an equal attitude.

Moreover, accompanying Gu Fangchen at this moment was also the "Four-Phase Calamity Master" of the Demonic Sect.

In Sule's view, it should be the "Four-Phase Robbery Master" who saved Gu Fangchen, and the latter was probably a pawn of the former.

Gu Fangchen's greatest value lies in the two powerful auras that clashed and disappeared within the Xiajing Path. He may be the only one who knows exactly what happened.

Those two auras were at least at the peak of the second rank, but it's unlikely that they were at the first rank... The first rank isn't something that comes along easily, so how could two of them suddenly appear?
Therefore, in Sule's opinion, there must have been two hidden second-rank officials who fought each other over some matter and then perished together.

As for what happened, you'd have to ask the only eyewitness, Gu Fangchen.

To put it bluntly, in Sule's eyes, Gu Fangchen is a key pawn now, but she is still just a pawn.

After all, he was only a fourth-rank official.

If they truly possessed strength, they wouldn't have been framed by Xiao Sheng, forcing them to betray Qingman and come before him.

That's why I gave that intimidating first impression earlier.

At this moment, Gu Fangchen's arrogant words are utter nonsense!
Who is Tasule?

The Khan of the Qingman, the overlord of the four major tribes!

In this world, there are only a handful of people he holds in high regard, but there is not a single one whom he would personally greet!

Gu Fangchen actually wanted him to personally come out of the golden tent to greet him, as if welcoming a god?!

Does this mean he should worship him like a god?!

absurd!

Suler remained expressionless, his eyes icy cold. His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest, a murderous intent rising in his heart.

He originally thought that Gu Fangchen could become his right-hand man, just as Da Tiansa had said, but now it seems that she is just a foolish, arrogant and ignorant fellow.

Whatever his purpose, whether he wanted to elevate his status with outrageous words or to emulate the Confucian ideal of making startling pronouncements to achieve his goals, he used this as a pretext to feign indifference.

Today, he can only die here!
Those who fail to recognize their own strengths and position, and instead constantly flaunt their uniqueness, will ultimately only become a clown.

It's just a pity... It's not easy to have a knife that the Great Wei personally handed over.

"Ah, old man, it seems that even your prophecies seen from the stars can be wrong sometimes."

Suler sighed deeply, turning his head in disappointment to look at his great savior, expecting to see embarrassment on the face of that self-proclaimed infallible old man.

But the gaunt old man in the white linen clothes simply picked up the Western Region glasses hanging around his neck, wiped them, put them on, and stared wide-eyed at the tent door, his face full of surprise.

Suler was taken aback, and frowned:

"Old man, what are you still pretending for? Is this arrogant and ignorant fellow the 'Azure Dragon' you predicted?"

The old man, dressed in a long white linen robe and wearing glasses, resembling a scholar, was none other than the Great Heavenly General of the Azure Barbarians—Maha Boundless.

Maha Boundless chuckled, put down his glasses, and said:

“My Khan, the Great Khan’s prophecies never fail. I think he is becoming more and more like the ‘Azure Dragon’ that is about to soar across the entire sky.”

Qiqige blinked and asked curiously, "'Azure Dragon'? Doesn't that mean he will obtain the nation's destiny? He already has it, hasn't the prophecy come true yet?"

Maha Boundless shook his head:

"The so-called 'Azure Dragon' will change the entire pattern of the starry sky, and it's not just this one small thing."

The dignified emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty passed away, and even the Imperial Seal of the State was taken away, yet he considered it a trivial matter.

Suler sneered:
"You mean, he wasn't just boasting? And now I'm going to stand up and greet him?"

"Old man, I think you've been in seclusion on the snowy mountain for too long, your brain is frozen stiff. Why don't you take it off and let me use it as a wine pot?"

The Khan's tone was extremely hostile; if an ordinary person heard him say that, they would probably be so frightened that they would collapse to the ground, or even commit suicide.

But Maha Bhadra simply raised his head, touched his sparse scalp, and chuckled:

"Khan, prophecy cannot dictate your actions; only you yourself can make you stand up and leave the Golden Tent."

Kiki's eyes widened in disbelief.

Doesn't the teacher mean that he didn't refute Suler's words?

Could it be that Gu Fangchen really has the ability to make her father willingly stand up and go outside the golden tent to greet her?

How is this possible? !

Sule naturally understood the implication of Maha Boundless's words, and his initial disdain suddenly turned into anger.

He snorted coldly and continued to sit in his seat.

"Then let him try. Only when he sees how high the mountain is will he realize how insignificant he is."

Suler said calmly:
"Since you want to compete with me, then let's compete."

“You are the first person to dare to draw your bow before my golden tent. This is my reward for your courage. You only have one shot.”

"Then, I will draw my bow and nail you to my golden tent, and that will be your honor!"

His arrows were like divine punishment; no one could escape them.

If an eagle thousands of miles away can be pierced through the forehead, how much more so if he wants to kill a person at such close range?
The Qingman guards outside the tent trembled upon hearing the words coming from inside the golden tent and immediately knelt down.

After hearing Sule's request, they all cast regretful and pitying glances at Gu Fangchen.

Of course, there was also ridicule and misunderstanding.

In their view, it was already quite incredible that this guy could make such a great contribution and become a guest of honor of the Khan and the Great Tiansa as a person of the Great Wei.

But he didn't cherish this opportunity at all and ruined his own life!

No matter how he thought about it, it seemed that the success of killing Emperor Yong'an had made him lose his mind and develop an unwarranted sense of confidence.

This is utterly incomprehensible arrogance and ignorance!

Gu Fangchen's smile remained unchanged, but her eyes flickered.

That was his goal: if Suler agreed to this in public, then, given his extremely proud nature, he would definitely keep his promise.

In this way, he completed the first step of his advancement to the third rank using the Azure Barbarian technique.

It is also the most important step.

Normally, a third-grade cultivator needs to find their own "Dao" during the tribulation process at the Refining Tribulation Realm and the Snow Pointing Realm, and then extract and utilize it from heaven and earth.

Gu Fangchen already knew that "Dao" was a parasite, so naturally she would not take the initiative to contact "Dao" again.

Therefore, he naturally could not use the normal methods to advance to the third rank.

But don't forget that the Third Grade Grand Mansion Realm had another name in the ancient Zhou Dynasty and before: the "Incense Realm"!
As long as he can gather enough of the willpower of sentient beings, he can achieve the third grade of "Incense Realm" using ancient methods, without needing to go through "Tao".

However, the practice of "offering incense" is not feasible in the Great Wei Dynasty.

Because after the national destiny was officially controlled, the concept of "incense offering realm" no longer existed among the common people.

The incense offerings were usually controlled by the imperial court.

For example, the scale of "incense offerings" that can be made by temples and the Tara religion is strictly regulated.

Just like the prefects of those places, if they could achieve the rank of third grade, they also had to report to the imperial court and could not exceed a certain limit.

The path of "becoming a god through incense offerings" has been completely severed in the Great Wei Dynasty.

But Qingman is different. This ancient and barbaric land still retains a large number of "gods". The Qingman people are never stingy with their faith and can provide a lot of the wishes of all living beings, which are gathered into "incense".

Therefore, Gu Fangchen's purpose in coming to Qingman this time was not only to obtain the head of Maha Wuliang, but more importantly, to advance herself to the third rank through "incense offerings"!
His first step was to impersonate a reincarnated "god".

That's right, it's the skeletal giant that lies across the mountain range outside.

The so-called "divine" remains used by the Qingman people for casting spells are actually just parts that have been chipped off from the white bones.

The most important step is the cooperation of Suler.

Once Sule believed, the Qingman people under his rule would also have to believe that he was the "god".

However, convincing this powerful ruler that a man from Wei could be the reincarnation of a "god" was not easy.

Fortunately, Gu Fangchen already has the best background.

That is the prophecy and support of the Great Immeasurable.

The moment Gu Fangchen saw the "Wolf God" appear, she already knew that Maha Wuliang must have made a corresponding prophecy, which was why he was so bold as to send the "Wolf God" to meet her in advance.

Whatever the prophecy, it will surely be in his favor.

With the prophecy of the Great Heavenly King of Qingman supporting his stance, whether he was a person of the Great Wei or not became less important.

After all, no one stipulated that the "gods" of the Qingman cannot be reincarnated as people of the Great Wei!
With everything in place, all that's missing is the right opportunity.

This east wind will carry his arrow to Suler, striking a fate he cannot see, so that he will believe that everything is traceable.

Gu Fangchen took a deep breath, exhaled deeply, and said loudly:

"Sule, you're sorely mistaken if you think your arrows are the fastest in the world!"

The Qingman people next to him looked at him as if he were an idiot.

Could the Khan's arrows not be the fastest in the world?

Are you going to claim your arrows are the fastest? What a boastful fellow!
Suler sneered inwardly, tapping his fingers leisurely, wanting to see what other nonsense this guy could spout.

Gu Fangchen remained expressionless and continued:
"That's because you haven't seen the omnipotent 'god.' The bow in His hand can support heaven and earth, and the arrows He shoots can transcend time. No matter when or where, no one's shadow can escape the running arrows."

Suler: "..."

Qingman Khan remained expressionless, and his fingers, which were tapping the armrest, paused for a moment.

This... is not nonsense.

Even he couldn't refute that the fastest arrow in the world must be the arrow of an omnipotent "god".

Even someone as proud as Sule grew up under the protection of the remains of that "god". Looking at that huge white bone, who could say that their arrows were faster than His?

But what did Gu Fangchen mean by saying that?
Realizing that his previous words were too arrogant and offensive, he suddenly changed his tone and wanted to please them.
Doesn't he think it's already too late?
Qiqige was also confused. She tilted her head and looked at her teacher, but the latter just gave her a mysterious chuckle and didn't say anything.

Gu Fangchen then grinned and said loudly:
"But today, you can see it—"

"That arrow that transcends time!"

The crowd erupted in uproar. The Qingman guards nearby, disregarding their position in front of the golden tent, all looked up, their eyes filled with anger and disbelief.

Has this guy gone mad?!
How dare they compare themselves to "gods"?!

What merit or ability does he have to dare to so blaspheme the omnipotent "God"? Is it because of his fourth-rank cultivation?
What's more, he's a man from the Great Wei!
How could the power and blessings of the "heavenly gods" possibly be bestowed upon a person of the Great Wei?!
Gu Fangchen's words completely enraged the public.

If he weren't in front of the golden tent, someone would definitely rush over and spit at him, condemning his overestimation of his abilities.

Sule, enraged, laughed and pointed at Maha Boundless:

"Old man, is this the 'Azure Dragon' you were talking about?"

If it weren't for Gu Fangchen's proven track record, he would have thought he had recruited a madman!
Although there are also people in the Central Plains who are considered "eccentric and unruly," some may deliberately feign madness or stupidity to achieve certain goals.

I've never seen anyone so insane!
Or perhaps being framed for killing Emperor Yong'an drove this guy insane?
"Boom-"

Amidst the angry gazes of the crowd, Gu Fangchen abruptly released the bow in her hand.

Mermaid tears turned into dust and exploded, spiritual patterns spread and unfolded in the air, and rain fell in abundance; those were the patterns belonging to the illusion array.

Gu Fangchen once used these illusion arrays to fool many people.

This time, he will cast this illusion on himself.

Gu Fangchen raised his eyes, and through the rain and mist, he saw the divine steed galloping before him.

"Charge! Kill them all!"

On the battlefield, countless soldiers and horses swept past him, and directly opposite him was a young Suler.

He rode on the back of a giant wolf, his gaze fixed on Gu Fangchen with suspicion and uncertainty, as well as on the arrow flying towards him.

"Whoosh-"

The arrow grazed his temple, leaving a scar on his face.

"Clap!"

Gu Fangchen's arrow transformed into a shower of rain, which was then blocked by the defensive array of the golden tent and stuck to the tent.

The wolf guards burst into laughter.

Amidst the laughter, a pair of hands lifted the golden curtain, and a tall figure stepped out, abruptly ending the laughter.

Sule stepped out of the golden tent, staring intently at Gu Fangchen, and raised his hand to touch a scar on his face.

At this moment, the scar felt as hot as if it were burning.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(End of Volume Two, "A Knife on Credit")

(Next volume: The Rise of the Azure Dragon)
(End of this chapter)