Chinese animation: Starting with Bad Guys

An exquisitely crafted gilded mask slipped off the fake Li Xingyun's clothes, bounced twice on the salt crystal ground, and made a teeth-grinding sound as the metal rubbed against the salt grains.

That was a gift he had painstakingly crafted over three months. Every pattern was meticulously carved in imitation of Yuan Tiangang's mask, and a line of small characters was engraved on the edge: "For the Boss."

But Yuan Tiangang ignored it, coldly raised his foot and crushed it, the sound of the shattering being crisp and piercing.

Then, Yuan Tiangang bowed deeply to Li Xingyun and presented the Longquan sword with both hands:

"The Dragon Spring has appeared; Your Highness, please proceed."

Li Xingyun did not take the sword, but still stepped into the underground passage.

Now that things had come to this, he had made up his mind. If Yuan Tiangang was willing to listen to his advice and let Qin Chuan ascend the throne, then the Longquan Treasure would be his gift to his junior brother-in-law, Qin Chuan.

If Yuan Tiangang disagrees, then he will settle things with Yuan Tiangang in the Longquan Treasure.

"Your Highness, I will guide you."

Yuan Tiangang was the first to enter the passage.

Then came Qin Chuan and Li Xingyun.

The princes and nobles looked at each other in bewilderment, and eventually followed suit.

However, their personal guards were intimidated by the invisible pressure and could only stay outside to guard.

The wind howled as it swept across the salt marsh, and the soldiers' clothes beneath their armor were already soaked with cold sweat.

In the far distance, a pair of deep, dark eyes slowly watched all of this, a murderous intent lurking beneath the surface.

The man's lips curled into a cold smile, and around him, like fireflies in summer, a dozen pairs, dozens of pairs... eventually nearly a hundred pairs of eyes lit up in the darkness.

They each carried firearms made of sulfur and saltpeter, and silently dispersed in all directions.

The leader was none other than the Witch King Chi Li, who said softly:

"Respectfully seeing off the Commander-in-Chief."

Inside the Longquan Underground Palace.

The dull thud of a mechanism engaging came from the stone wall, like the first gasp of a giant beast awakened from a century-long slumber.

The darkness was filled with the stench of decay, mixed with a strange spice aroma that made one dizzy.

Yuan Tiangang pressed the mechanism, and the torch suddenly ignited, stretching into a fiery dragon that illuminated the entire underground palace.

In the instant the firelight flickered, countless dark figures fled in panic from the corner; they were swarms of white-haired rats, their eyes glowing with an eerie red light in the darkness.

The dome is over ten zhang high, and thousands of luminous pearls are inlaid to form a star map, which, upon closer inspection, is actually the celestial phenomenon of the Zhenguan era.

The bronze dragon pattern cast on the ground swirled in the firelight, and the obsidian inlaid in the dragon's eyes appeared compassionate like a Buddha and ferocious like a demon, depending on the viewing angle.

Yuan Tiangang stopped in front of a stone wall, casually pressed a button, and the trapdoor mechanism opened, revealing a dark entrance.

When he turned around, his gaze behind the mask was complex and unfathomable, and for the first time in three hundred years, he felt a kind of emotion called "hesitation".

"Come with me, you guys."

His gaze lingered only on Qin Chuan and Li Xingyun.

The former is the only person in the last three hundred years who can rival him.

The latter was the last direct descendant of the Li Tang dynasty.

As for the fake Li Xingyun? He was just an illegitimate child and never even caught his eye.

The feudal lords were kept out, and no one dared to disobey them.

Amidst the crowd, Tianzui Xingjing, the inner demon, sighed silently, bowing deeply to Yuan Tiangang's back, his forehead pressed against the cold ground for a long time without rising.

When he looked up again, his eyes were filled with tears, and he murmured, "Respectfully seeing off the General."

The moment the entrance closed, Li Xingyun heard a faint commotion outside, but it was quickly shut out by the heavy stone door.

The three stepped into the darkness, their footsteps echoing in the deathly silence.

Yuan Tiangang pressed the mechanism again, and in an instant, flames shot into the sky, illuminating the entire underground palace.

The sudden burst of bright light forced Li Xingyun to squint, and when his vision returned, he gasped in shock.

In the far distance, a ferocious stone dragon with bared teeth and claws is coiled on a high platform, its head looking down at all living beings, its appearance ferocious and terrifying, and a huge luminous pearl held in its mouth.

At the end of the ninety-nine white marble steps, the dragon throne gleamed golden in the firelight.

The kneeling skeletons maintained their orderly worship posture, their empty eye sockets still stubbornly gazing at the throne.

They were all scoundrels who built the Longquan Underground Palace.

Looking at the withered bones, Li Xingyun felt a tightness in his throat and couldn't help but sigh:

"They waited until their deaths for a new emperor."

"Just bones, nothing to boast about," Yuan Tiangang coldly replied. "An emperor can sway the world with a single word, even in jest."

"You're right, but I can't do it," Li Xingyun said, shaking his head. "That's why I'll never become emperor."

He stared directly at Yuan Tiangang, his gaze as intense as stars: "The person most suited to be emperor in the world has been right before your eyes all along."

Yuan Tiangang remained silent.

He knew who Li Xingyun was referring to—Qin Chuan, his most outstanding disciple in this life.

The young man who reminded him of Fan Qiao'er when they first met in the Hidden Weapon Pavilion.

"You want to be the emperor?"

Yuan Tiangang finally spoke, his voice filled with unprecedented exhaustion.

Qin Chuan stepped forward, looked up at the dragon throne, his gaze as clear as ever:

"I will end this chaotic era and restore the glorious Tang Dynasty."

This answer was exactly the same as when we first met in the Hidden Armory.

The throne was never his goal, but a means to an end.

"You've all grown up, and you're no longer the same as you were back then..."

Yuan Tiangang sighed softly, slowly ascended the steps, and led the two toward the dragon throne, which symbolized the supreme position:

"May I have a chat with you?"

Chapter 103 The Three-Hundred-Year Chess Game Has Reached Its Finale!

Yuan Tiangang, his black robe billowing, stepped over the ninety-nine white marble steps.

Each step reflects his mottled image from three hundred years ago, and the gilded dragon pattern shatters into starlight underfoot.

As he stood before the dragon throne, three hundred years of vicissitudes flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern.

"Everything I have done in the past three hundred years has been for the sake of the Tang Dynasty."

His voice was deep, as if it came from the depths of time.

"Through countless hardships and trials, I, the commander, have never stopped moving forward."

He slowly sat cross-legged and took out a jar of imperial wine that had been sealed for thirty years from his sleeve.

The crisp sound of the bronze mask hitting the ground startled the silence of the underground palace, and the face revealed made even the candlelight tremble—it was not only the etched lines of time, but also the mark of the backlash from the elixir of immortality.

"For three hundred years, you've enjoyed every success and failure, haven't you?" Li Xingyun asked expressionlessly.

In his view, Yuan Tiangang had used the world as a chessboard for three hundred years, which was the greatest source of trouble in the world.

Yuan Tiangang did not offer any explanation, but simply filled three cups with wine.

Qin Chuan and Li Xingyun sat on the ground opposite him.

"For three hundred years, apart from my close friend Li Chunfeng, I have disdained drinking with anyone. Now, you are qualified."

He tilted his head back and drank it all, but there was no taste in his throat.

The elixir of immortality not only ruined his appearance but also deprived him of his senses as a "human being".

The nectar flowed down my throat as if I were drinking from a cold spring.

"How is it?" Yuan Tiangang stroked the celadon rim of the cup with his fingertips.

"Not bad." Li Xingyun stared at the sedimented nectar.

"Not bad." Qin Chuan drank it all in one gulp.

Yuan Tiangang chuckled softly, "It's a pity this general will never know the taste of it."

"It's better not to know, it's just suffering."

Li Xingyun wasn't just talking about the imperial wine; he was also talking about his own life.

"Even if it's bitter, it's fine." Yuan Tiangang's eyes dimmed slightly.

He suddenly asked, "What? Do you think I shouldn't be sitting here like a useless old man, drinking with you like this?"

"This certainly doesn't seem like the commander-in-chief," Qin Chuan nodded.

"What kind of person am I in your eyes?"

Qin Chuan pondered for a moment, then said:

"The General is similar to Zhuge Liang."

"Zhuge Liang knew that the Northern Expeditions would be difficult to achieve, yet he still launched six expeditions to Qishan, eventually dying of illness at Wuzhangyuan."

"The commander-in-chief foresaw the impending demise of the Tang Dynasty, yet he still plotted for three hundred years, attempting to defy fate."

"You are all shining stars in the history of China, yet none of you can escape the word 'obsession'."

"I originally thought that only Li Chunfeng knew me, but now I realize there's someone else like you."

Yuan Tiangang's laughter was deep and resonant; he had laughed more times today than in the previous three hundred years combined.

After laughing, he asked again softly:

"So, do you think I should live on, or end it here?"

"The commander-in-chief has his own plans," Qin Chuan sighed. "You and I, master and disciple, are both striving towards a common goal, and we will not stop until we achieve it."

"Indeed, it was the right decision for me to take you as my disciple."