Chinese animation: Starting with Bad Guys

Presumably, that old codger Yuan Tiangang would be happy to see it happen and wouldn't obstruct it.

A cry of an eagle pierced the sky, and a magnificent gyrfalcon swooped down, bringing news of Prince Qi, Li Maozhen. The Empress's spies had already discovered his whereabouts on the border between Raojiang and the Central Plains.

"Chi Meng, you go back to Luoyang to see Senior Gu King first," Qin Chuan quickly arranged. "Lin Xuan, you go back with me. Brother Hou Qing, please escort him for a while. Hao Ling, Xuan Ling, you two go and invite Li Xingyun to Luoyang."

Chi Meng and Lu Linxuan both felt reluctant to part, but they also understood that the coming period would be the busiest time for Qin Chuan, and their presence would only be a burden.

So he nodded obediently and walked toward the horse, turning back every few steps.

Watching everyone part ways, Qin Chuan's figure blurred, and with a light tap of his feet, he sped off towards Raojiang like an arrow released from a bow.

The appointed time for Yuan Tiangang to open the Xuanwu Gate in Chang'an is drawing near.

A rumor powerful enough to shake the entire land, driven by an invisible giant hand, swept across the world like wildfire—all the warlords would gather in Chang'an to jointly enthrone Li Xingyun as emperor!

Even in this remote border town near the Hundred Thousand Mountains of Xinjiang, this matter has become the hottest topic of conversation in the streets, alleys, teahouses, and taverns.

Inside the town's largest restaurant, a cacophony of voices filled the air. A large group of patrons were arguing heatedly about the matter, their faces flushed and spittle flying.

"If you ask me, Li Xingyun is a complete waste! The one most qualified to sit on the dragon throne in the world today is none other than the Grand Preceptor of the Great Liang!"

"Bullshit! It was clearly the young marshal of Qi who defeated an army of one hundred thousand with only eight hundred iron cavalry!"

"No, no! In my opinion, the one who single-handedly kills the barbarian tribes of the northern desert with his sword, the Unruly Man Tian Anxing, is the true choice of a wise ruler!"

The argument escalated, with each drinker sticking to their own version of events and refusing to back down. Some even started pushing and shoving, and it looked like they were about to come to blows.

Who are they?

A clear, cold voice suddenly rang out. It wasn't loud, but it carried a strange penetrating power, instantly suppressing the noise in the hall.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice. They saw that the speaker was a handsome young man, whose most striking feature was his unusual heterochromatic eyes.

A red cloud-patterned hair ornament between her eyebrows, her hair tied high with a crown, and the luxurious fabric of her clothes all indicate her extraordinary status.

What's even more striking is that on his right hand, one can vaguely see an ancient totem in the style of the Raojiang region.

"Friend, you don't even know the three great heroes of our time?" someone couldn't help but ask.

"This guy, did he just crawl out of some remote mountain village?"

"Judging by his attire, he doesn't look like a savage."

After a brief silence, there was even more laughter and discussion.

Their words differed, but all carried a mockery of this "ignorant and ignorant" person. Even a young child could name the three heroes of this era, yet this man was completely unaware of them.

The young man with heterochromia parted his thin lips slightly and uttered only one word.

In an instant, an invisible, chilling pressure spread out from him, sweeping across the entire tavern!

The air, which had been noisy and sweltering just moments before, suddenly plummeted to freezing.

All the drinkers felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave, their drunkenness vanishing instantly. They trembled under that heavy aura, and began to recount the deeds of the three heroes of the era in a flurry of chatter.

The more the heterochromatic-eyed young man listened, the more his brows furrowed.

Of these so-called three outstanding figures of the era, only the Grand Preceptor of Liang, "Qin Chuan," has a clear name that has been passed down through generations.

The other two are only known by nicknames such as "Young Marshal of Qi Kingdom" and "Dark Star of the Bad Guys," and have never shown their true faces.

Even more bizarrely, whenever one of them stirred up trouble, the other two would disappear without a trace, as if they had never crossed paths before...

"...we've never crossed paths before..."

An utterly absurd yet persistent thought suddenly arose in Li Maozhen's mind, like a thunderclap:

These three extraordinary figures who have shaken the world... could they possibly be the same person?!

"I have only been away from the Central Plains for sixteen years, yet such a person has emerged?" The young man with heterochromatic eyes was filled with shock and disbelief.

His fingertips tapped the table unconsciously, producing a dull thud that seemed to strike the hearts of every drinker present, silencing them completely.

He thought that after sixteen years of seclusion in the Twelve Caves of Raojiang, apart from the unfathomable and all-encompassing leader Yuan Tiangang, all the heroes of the world were within his grasp.

Unexpectedly, such an unparalleled genius has quietly risen from the Central Plains, like a dragon lurking in the abyss!

One person encompassed the three most popular candidates for emperor in the hearts of the people!

Such cunning, such methods, such strength... it's simply unheard of!

What made him even more conflicted and unable to express his feelings was that this person actually had a close relationship with his younger sister, who lived far away in the Qi Kingdom of Fengxiang!

Just then, a steady footstep came from the doorway.

The footsteps weren't deliberately heavy, yet they strangely pierced through the deathly silence that remained in the tavern due to Li Maozhen's oppressive aura.

Each step seemed to be on some invisible rhythm, clearly reaching everyone's ears and instantly capturing all attention.

Li Maozhen suddenly looked up, his heterochromatic eyes flashing with a sharp light!

The newcomer was dressed in a blue robe, handsome in appearance, and as upright as a solitary pine tree. At his waist hung only a simple, ancient-style longsword, its scabbard dark and dull; there was nothing else.

His demeanor was calm and composed, and his every step exuded a profound and majestic air. The moment he appeared, he attracted everyone's attention like a magnet.

The stale air inside the tavern seemed to clear up.

What chilled Li Maozhen even more and caused his pupils to shrink suddenly was that—before this person stepped into the tavern, even with his sixteen years of arduous training and perception that had reached a state of perfection, he had failed to detect him in the slightest!

It was as if this person had not come from outside the door, but had materialized out of thin air!

This perfect concealment of one's aura and one's own existence has reached a level of subtlety.

"You are……"

Li Maozhen's mind raced, and his astonishing conjecture instantly became crystal clear.

He spoke in a deep voice, each word carrying immense weight, like metal striking stone, echoing clearly in the tavern where a pin drop could be heard:

"The Grand Preceptor of Liang, Qin Chuan?"

The scholar in the blue robe, Qin Chuan, smiled slightly, his gaze meeting Li Maozhen's captivating heterochromatic eyes without flinching.

This brother-in-law is indeed like an empress, possessing both dragon and phoenix-like qualities and extraordinary charm.

"The young marshal of Nagi Kingdom, and the Bad Guys' Tian Anxing..."

Li Maozhen made no attempt to conceal his thoughts, directly stating his earth-shattering conjecture, a conjecture that could overturn the world's understanding. His voice was deep and sharp, like a sword being drawn from its sheath, striking directly at the heart of the matter:

"It's you too?"

The air froze completely at that moment.

All the drinkers held their breath and stared wide-eyed, as if they sensed a truth about to shatter their understanding.

Even the flame of the oil lamp seemed to have stopped flickering.

Qin Chuan stood still, his blue robe fluttering without wind, the smile on his lips remaining calm.

His answer was calm, clear, and frank, as if he were stating the most ordinary of facts:

"It's all me."

His words were like a thunderbolt!

The entire tavern exploded instantly, like a deep pool filled with gunpowder! Li Maozhen's suffocating aura earlier was as fragile as thin ice in the face of this earth-shattering truth!

"Wh...what?!"

A burly man with a thick beard smashed his wine bowl on the ground with a loud crash, shattering it and splashing wine everywhere. He seemed oblivious, his mouth agape and his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

"Tian...Tian Anxing?! The young marshal of Qi Kingdom?! The Grand Tutor?! The...the same person?!"

A young man who looked like a scholar screamed, his voice becoming sharp and distorted with extreme horror.

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"

Some people muttered to themselves in a daze, as if their faith had collapsed.

"My God! This...this..."

Some people were so frightened that they collapsed onto their stools, trembling all over.

Gasps, gasps, gasps for breath, incredulous screams, incoherent chatter...

All the sounds blended together, forming a violent roar that nearly blew off the tavern's flimsy roof!

Every face was filled with extreme shock, bewilderment, fear, and disbelief!

The Three Heroes of Our Time, three legendary figures who shook the land, each with astonishing achievements that shook the world, each a prodigy of their era, attracting countless heroes to follow and drawing the attention of powerful lords!

And all of this was just the same person wearing different clothes!

This unfathomable strategy, this earth-shattering strength, this audacity to manipulate the world at will...

No one could imagine the upheaval that would ensue when this earth-shattering truth, capable of shaking the very foundations of the nation, spread throughout the world!

The shock and fear it brings will far exceed the news of the feudal lords recommending Li Xingyun to be emperor!

This figure in blue robes represents not just the power of one person, but a terrifying existence capable of overturning the entire era!

Li Maozhen stared intently at the calm, abyss-like figure in blue robes before him, his heterochromatic eyes surging with unprecedented turmoil.

The arrogant heart forged through sixteen years of arduous training was completely shaken at this moment by this figure.

Chapter 94 You are not qualified!

"I, Qin, will pay for everyone's drinks today. Would you please do me this favor?"

Qin Chuan's voice wasn't loud, but it was like an invisible thunderclap, exploding in the noisy restaurant.

"How could we dare to trouble the Imperial Preceptor?" a dry reply came from a corner.

"Young Marshal, you're too kind!" someone else quickly echoed.

"The Dark Star has spoken, how dare we disobey?" Many more people seemed to awaken from a dream, their voices filled with awe and realization.

The patrons exchanged glances, their minds clear—Qin Chuan was about to clear the place out.

No matter how intense one's curiosity may be, it can never outweigh the preciousness of one's life.

No one dared to hesitate for a moment. They all stood up, clasped their hands in greeting, and rushed towards the door like a tide, not even bothering to exchange pleasantries, for fear that if they were a step too slow, they would be swept into the storm to come.

Even the shopkeeper behind the counter and the waiter in the corner turned pale. At Qin Chuan's signal, they quickly gathered up the important items and left.

The once grand restaurant was now deserted in an instant. Tables and chairs were in disarray, cups and plates were scattered about, and leftover wine sloshed around the rim of bowls, reflecting the flickering candlelight and adding to the desolate and chilling atmosphere.