I, the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, am being kept by the state.

Dark as ink.

On the highway leading to Lintong District of Chang'an City, a military transport convoy without any identification number sped along in the silence.

The car headlights pierced the darkness, illuminating the emergency checkpoints and military exercises set up on both sides of the road, and the cold, impersonal "No Entry" signs.

The area within a hundred miles has been completely cleared.

This place is no longer a world-famous tourist attraction, but rather the Zero Zone, the highest-secret area on this planet.

Qian Youmin sat in the lead car, the bumpy ride not affecting him at all.

Looking out the car window at Mount Li, which lay prostrate like a giant beast in the night, he felt a mix of emotions.

Just hours before, he was a scientist giving orders from the command center.

Now, he is about to personally knock on the door of an imperial divine kingdom that has been sealed for more than two thousand years.

The convoy stopped at a temporary base five kilometers away from the earthen mound.

Countless military tents and huge white modular units have been erected here, with countless cables spreading like a spider web, connecting various sophisticated devices with flashing indicator lights.

As soon as Academician Sun Mingde got out of the car, he went straight to a heavily guarded drilling rig, muttering to himself.

"The Twelve Bronze Statues... What technology did the First Emperor use to make metal bear the dragon veins... Could it be an ultra-dense alloy formed by cold nuclear fusion?"

Qian Youmin ignored his old friend, who was already obsessed with technology.

He looked up at the military drones that were faintly visible in the sky, and the patrol tracks of the aerospace forces in the distance, and felt somewhat relieved.

The entire operation, codenamed "Investiture of the Gods," has been fully launched.

They didn't conduct any archaeological excavation in the traditional sense. That would be a desecration of their ancestors and the least efficient approach.

Guided by the divine map provided by Li Chen, dozens of coordinates marked as "array nodes" were precisely located on the ground around the burial mound.

"Let's begin."

Qian Youmin issued the order.

Dozens of specially designed superconducting geological drilling rigs started up simultaneously, emitting a deep hum.

Their goal is to precisely implant, without damaging the main structure of the underground palace, thin quantum communication optical cables and energy transmission media into the dormant energy pipelines deep within the palace.

It's like performing a minimally invasive neural bypass surgery on a sleeping giant.

"Report! Node One has penetrated the surface layer to a depth of 300 meters, and no physical obstacles have been detected!"

"Report! High-intensity mercury vapor reaction detected at node five, consistent with historical records!"

"Report! Node Nine... has connected to the target! We have located the main energy channel mentioned by the Dragon Lord!"

Cheers erupted inside the command center.

On the holographic screen, a green cursor representing drilling point number nine successfully aligned with a thick golden line on the underground palace structure map.

On Li Chen's map, that line was marked as "General Outline of Earth Vein Dragon Qi".

"It went so smoothly!"

A young assistant shouted excitedly.

Qian Youmin frowned.

It went too smoothly, almost abnormally so.

This is the ascension base station prepared by the great emperor Qin Shi Huang for himself. Would the defense system be that simple?

"Connect to Kunlun No. 3 Yimu Array,"

He calmly commanded, "Conduct a preliminary energy connection test, output power of one ten-thousandth, and send a handshake signal."

"Understood! The Yi Wood array energy has been connected. Preparing to send a handshake signal... Three, two, one, send!"

A vibrant green energy, representing vitality, traveled along the newly laid quantum channel and touched the "General Outline of Earth Vein Dragon Qi" that had been dormant for two thousand years.

At the very moment of contact!

A sudden change has occurred!

"Buzz—!"

A deep, rumbling sound, seemingly emanating from the depths of the earth, came from the very depths of the underworld.

The entire temporary base, along with the ground within a radius of several kilometers, shook violently!

Inside the command center, all the instruments simultaneously emitted piercing screams!

"Warning! Extremely high-intensity energy backflow detected! Connection forcibly interrupted!"

"Warning! The quantum optical cable at node nine has been instantly burned out due to energy overload!"

"My God... what is this...?"

An invisible yet overwhelming pressure, so immense it was suffocating, surged forth from the ground like a tsunami, instantly engulfing the entire area.

That wasn't murderous intent, nor was it malice.

It was a pure, lofty, and unquestionable imperial majesty!

It was as if a sleeping dragon had its whiskers accidentally touched by an ant. It was too lazy to even open its eyes, but simply turned over impatiently. The aura it exuded was enough to change the color of the heavens and the earth.

Inside the base, dozens of young researchers and soldiers with weaker wills didn't even utter a sound before their eyes rolled back, blood flowed from their mouths and noses, and they fainted.

Qian Youmin stood in the center of the command cabin, bearing the brunt of the attack.

That oppressive aura was like an invisible mountain, pressing down heavily on his soul. If it weren't for the golden light of merit protecting him, he would probably be just like those people outside, a lifeless shell.

Even so, he felt his bones groaning and his blood congealing.

In a daze, his consciousness was pulled into an endless dark space.

At the edge of that darkness stood an unimaginably enormous black dragon throne. A blurry yet domineering figure, exuding an aura of overwhelming power, sat atop it.

The figure didn't look at him, or even care about his presence.

But Qian You-min clearly received a cold, indifferent thought.

"Who are you...?"

"Does he even deserve to...knock on my door?"

The oppressive aura was fleeting, arriving quickly and departing just as fast.

Qian Youmin suddenly came to his senses, panting heavily, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

Just then, in the command hall, the dragon-shaped necklace, which served as the core of the control system, emitted a golden light. Li Chen's voice, carrying a hint of understanding, resonated in everyone's souls.

"It seems you've encountered the First Emperor's access control system."

"Dragon Lord!"

Qian Youmin wiped the cold sweat from his face. "What on earth is this?"

"The national destiny and aura of the Qin Dynasty."

Li Chen explained, "The First Emperor used the entire army of the empire to cast twelve bronze statues and formed an array of a million war spirits, sealing the fate of the Qin Dynasty at its most prosperous period within this tomb. This tomb itself is a living, self-willed ultimate war weapon. It only obeys its creator, or... the energy it recognizes."

Qian Youmin instantly understood the crux of the problem.

"Our current national destiny... although it is inherited from the same lineage, has undergone more than two thousand years of evolution, and its informational characteristics are completely different. It's like... the system has been upgraded, but this ancient hardware only recognizes the original version."

"That's right."

"What should we do then?"

Sun Mingde rushed in. He had almost been tricked outside as well, and his face was pale, but he still didn't stop his research. "Are we supposed to go to a graveyard and dance for the First Emperor to appear before us and tell us the password? That's absurd!"

Qian Youmin remained silent, staring intently at the red alert marked as "Access Denied" on the screen, lost in thought.

They possessed the strongest power in the world and received guidance from a divine dragon, yet they were firmly blocked outside by a firewall from two thousand years ago.

The plan to create gods hit an invisible yet indestructible wall right from the very first step.

The entire Zero Zone fell into a deathly silence.