The immortal is beside me

Chapter 132 He is the blazing sun, and I chase the sun.
The specialist in charge of communication sat on a futon, parallel to Zhao Bing.

His name is Lin Jing. He is a special senior specialist at the Beijing headquarters of the Sanitation Bureau. After Zhao Bing was promoted to the strategic level, he became this powerful figure's personal secretary. He is one of the people in the bureau who is closest to him and one of the very few who know his real name and detailed information.

That is why he understood better than most why this powerful figure's information was kept secret.

In today's modern world, there still exists a true ancient emperor within China's borders. He is a strategic figure who controls social data, and with his multiple identities, it is no exaggeration to say that he is the most special and sensitive existence among the great powers of today.

But now, it seems that an even more special entity has emerged.

"According to what you just said, your fire magic and spear skills are inherited from that master?"

“Inherit his mantle?” Zhao Bing shook his head slightly. “With my current skill level, I have only learned a little of his techniques and grasped a little of his superficial understanding.”

“Hundreds of years ago, I did have the desire to reach for the blazing sun, but the higher I climb, the more I understand the gap between him and me. He is what I aspire to, but I can never catch up with him, and I know that better than anyone else.”

Lin Jing stared at Zhao Bing in front of him, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

In his daily life, Huo Sheng is not exactly a man of few words, nor is he particularly talkative. Apart from necessary exchanges, he rarely says anything superfluous and has even less of a "chatting" activity.

However, when mentioning that "master," this usually silent and powerful figure became unusually talkative, not only increasing his volume of words significantly but also adding countless rhetoric, which could even be described as "praise."

"How do you people view the Song Dynasty today?" Zhao Bing suddenly asked, abruptly changing the subject.

The usually taciturn Fire Saint actually took the initiative to start a conversation, which caught Lin Jing off guard. He hesitated for a long time before speaking.

"The Song Dynasty was a significant era in Chinese history. Under the leadership of your family, the court witnessed an unprecedented economic and cultural golden age, the influence of which continues to this day. As a great scholar once said, 'The culture of the Chinese nation, after a thousand years of evolution, reached its zenith during the Song Dynasty.'"

While he was speaking, Zhao Bing remained silent, simply sitting there listening quietly until Lin Jing finished speaking, at which point he spoke again.

"Is that so?" Zhao Bing said. "But when I was browsing online before, I saw many people calling the Song Dynasty a cowardly and weak dynasty, saying that the Song Dynasty was a deformed and weak dynasty that suffered all kinds of humiliation from foreign tribes."

His tone was calm, but with each sentence he uttered, Lin Jing's expression behind him twisted a little more. If expressions could make sounds, then his face would undoubtedly be sounding an air raid siren.

When not on missions, Huo Sheng always stays at his private residence. Previously, most outsiders, including himself, assumed that this was a powerful being in seclusion and did not think much of it.

So he was just staying home surfing the internet?! And what kind of random online forums did he browse?

"Please don't mind those comments," Lin Jing quickly added. "The control over online speech is not strict these days, and there are always those with ulterior motives who publish inappropriate remarks in an attempt to distort the truth. We will definitely strengthen our control over public opinion in the future."

"No need."

Zhao Bing shook his head slightly: "In my opinion, what they said is not wrong. When the Eternal Heaven arrived, the situation in the Great Song Dynasty was indeed like that. No one in the vast Central Plains dared to fight against it. My ancestors could only pay tribute and negotiate peace with the enemy. Even the Mongols at that time said that we were grass-eating lambs and they were wild beasts."

Lin Jing opened his mouth to speak several times, but then hesitated each time. As a senior commissioner, he naturally knew about the historical material Zhao Bing mentioned.

Around the 11th century, the Eternal Heaven belief group reached its peak, with powerful tribes such as the Khitan and the Jurchens rising in turn, one after another taking the stage.

Until the 13th century, Temujin, the first emperor of a unified empire, was born. He single-handedly unified the entire steppe and brought the people of the Eternal Emperor to unprecedented heights. No one in the entire Eurasian continent could rival him, including the Southern Song Dynasty.

After the Mongols marched south and occupied the Central Plains, the Southern Song Dynasty's territory was gradually eroded within 50 years. Such is the nature of mortal history; the situation within the cultivation world behind it is naturally self-evident.

According to rough estimates, in the 50 years between the Mongol invasion and the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, more than half of the immortal sects in the Central Plains were destroyed. The remaining sects either closed down and retreated into seclusion or submitted and surrendered. There was no one in the Central Plains who could rival them.

All of this is merely a cold written record for later generations, but Zhao Bing was a firsthand witness, and that most desperate moment is truly etched in his memory.

In the Battle of Yamen, the Mongols, with the blessing of the Eternal Heaven faith, defeated the Song Dynasty's 200,000 soldiers and civilians with fewer than 20,000 men.

For him, or rather for the people of the Central Plains at that time, the name of the Mongols was synonymous with an invincible myth; wherever their iron hooves went, they could only retreat in defeat.

Eight hundred years have passed, and the sea beneath Yai Mountain has dried up. The rows of warships that once stood there have long since turned to dust. But he still vividly remembers the cries of 200,000 soldiers and civilians of the Song Dynasty in that sea, and the deep-seated fear that the word "Mongol" once brought him. That fear, intertwined with the cold of the ice, was firmly engraved on his soul. "But when I awoke again, everything had changed."

Zhao Bing lowered his eyes and gently stroked the spear in his hand. There was no spiritual energy infused into the spear at the moment; it felt icy cold to the touch, just like the piece of eternal ice beneath the cliff in his memory.

"After the Battle of Yamen, I slept in the ice for about 60 years before being rescued by my master and following him ever since. At that time, hundreds of sects from the Central Plains that had survived the Mongol hordes followed him with me. He never established his own power, but all cultivators who heard his name came to submit to him and joined him in the fight against the Mongols."

"At that time, the people of the Eternal Heaven still existed in the Central Plains, numbering in the hundreds of tribes. Not long after we escaped, we encountered one of these tribes again, and it was then that I had the privilege of witnessing my master's intervention."

He paused for a moment, then raised the spear in his hand to his face, examining it quietly. He watched the moonlight stream through the spear tip, the light slicing through the reflection of the entire world.

"That was the first time in my life that I realized that human power could reach such a level. For the first time, I understood that the Mongols were not invincible, that the Eternal Heaven was not a supreme myth, and that before true power, their proud iron hooves were nothing more than the antennae of ants."

"After that day, I knew where I was headed."

"Although the Song Dynasty no longer exists, as long as I live, the history of the Song Dynasty will continue. I want to be like him, to grasp everything I see, and to ensure that the Song Dynasty will never again be known as weak."

"He is the blazing sun, and I chase the sun."

The words faded, and the room fell silent once more. The man in red lowered his eyes, watching his reflection in the blade of the spear, which seemed to imbue his slightly effeminate features with a sharp edge.

Like someone's projection.

Silence fell in the room again. Lin Jing silently memorized these words, his mind racing as he searched through the historical data stored in his brain for anything that matched his description.

According to existing rough statistics, starting from the late Song Dynasty, most of the records of major sects in the cultivation world of the Central Plains were lost, and we can only glimpse the fragmented state of that time from the gaps in the texts.

Until the mid-Yuan Dynasty, several decades later, the entire cultivation world suddenly became whole again. From thought to records, the major sects showed unprecedented unity, which directly led to the subsequent high degree of centralization. Looking back now, it was all because of the arrival of a certain being.

Historically, a similar scenario occurred once during the Han Dynasty, leading to the annexation of the vast majority of sects under the Cangtian Sect. The "master" mentioned by the Fire Saint did not establish his own power like the Cangtian Sect, but he possessed the same Refinement Void cultivation level as the former Cangtian Sect Master. This alone was enough to make him the undisputed leader and a true symbol of the cultivation world.

As a descendant from eight hundred years in the future, he could no longer imagine what that person looked like when he dominated the Central Plains, but from the Fire Saint in front of him, he seemed to be able to glimpse some of that person's projection.

Now, the people of the Eternal Heaven, carrying the power of Peach Blossom Spring, have arrived, their sights set on this existence.
Based on current intelligence, both of them are probably at the Dao Integration level. It is still unknown why they are involved, but it seems highly likely that it is related to that "master".

As for the specifics of their relationship, we'll probably have to ask the people of the Eternal Emperor.
An alarm suddenly sounded, and the communicator in his hand flashed. Lin Jing looked down, his eyes scanning the communicator screen, and his expression changed.

"Fire Saint, we've received a message from headquarters." Lin Jing looked up, speaking rapidly, "The satellites have detected a strong regional spiritual energy reaction, currently spreading outwards at a speed of two kilometers per hour. We deduce that the mysterious powerful being we detected earlier is about to make a move."

An unnamed atmosphere spread through the room, not because of these words, but because the Taoist priest in front of him raised his eyelids, and flames seemed to flicker in his eyes.

To many, even some powerful beings, the auras of those foreign peoples were similar, with little difference. But he could clearly distinguish one aura among them, an aura from the depths of his memory, an aura he would never forget.

Its name is Mongolia.

200 kilometers apart, under the vast sky, countless figures are unfolding on the ground, raising flags with wolf totems amidst the mighty tide, fluttering in the night wind.

Above all the flags, Suled, dressed in a brocade cloak, stood in the air. Under the moonlight, all the radiance and the blessings from heaven gathered on him, making his shadow resemble a wolf king howling at the sky.

"Eternal Heaven, Eternal Heaven, Supreme Heaven, open your eyes, grant me wisdom and divine power, so that I may carry out your will."

The soft chanting echoed across the sky. Suled opened his eyes slightly, his pupils radiating an overwhelming majesty.

"Let me go and fight the one who holds the immeasurable true fire."

(End of this chapter)