34: Chapter 34 No Fate, No Bond

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Jinyu's heart sank uncontrollably.

Currently, due to the Northern Expedition, all of the Great Qian's manpower and resources had been mobilized to the Imperial City by her.

If the Imperial City were to sink into the ground, the national power of the Great Qian might plummet overnight.

Not to mention the Northern Expedition, it was not impossible for the entire country to fall apart right then and there.

She looked sharply down at the chaotic army and the wailing commoners below.

She recalled that afternoon when she was fifteen, when she had thrown a tantrum and gone to the back mountain, only to encounter a demonic beast.

Brother... Father... Eldest Sister...

"Jinx!"

"Bad luck charm!"

"The Great Qian's fate has ended; your struggles are all in vain, haha!"

A sense of powerlessness instantly gripped her.

No matter how high one's personal cultivation, no matter how well one calculates the heavenly secrets.

In the face of such power of heaven and earth, what could one do?

Could it be... that Aunt's curse had truly come to pass?

Was she truly the one abandoned by heaven, destined to bring misfortune to everyone around her?

Before the Northern Expedition had even begun, was it to end in the middle of its path?

"Xiao Yu."

A deep, resonant voice reached her ears.

It was Teacher.

That's right, Teacher is still here.

She shook her head violently, a flash of ruthlessness crossing her eyes.

Even if fate were so, for the sake of Teacher's world, she would defy the heavens.

Just as she was directing everyone in disaster relief and resistance, while preparing to burn her origin without hesitation to forcibly cast a forbidden technique, attempting to stabilize the land.

A strange humming sound, as if coming from the depths of the soul, suddenly resounded across heaven and earth.

Time, space, and even the earth-shaking tremors.

Seemed to freeze for an instant at that moment.

An indescribable, immensely powerful aura erupted from the center of Zhuge Jinyu.

Immediately following, under the gaze of countless terrified, bewildered, and incredulous eyes.

A figure, too huge to describe in words, appeared above the Young Prime Minister.

That figure stood hundreds of meters tall, its entire body possessing a translucent texture.

Although blurry, one could discern the silhouette of a man.

His posture was upright, and his long hair fluttered.

His face remained shrouded in haze, impossible to see clearly.

He took a step forward.

He stood exactly above the center of the Imperial City, an area that had now almost completely collapsed into a giant pit.

His feet landed lightly upon the earth.

"Stabilize."

Su Chen's voice was calm yet indifferent.

Like a great bell, it resounded in the heart of every survivor.

In just a single instant.

The earth that had been tearing and collapsing wildly was forcibly held down as if by an invisible giant hand.

The violent shaking ceased abruptly.

The ever-expanding cracks stopped spreading.

The collapsing buildings froze in mid-air.

The gushing subterranean fire and the back-flowing river water instantly calmed.

With the giant as the center, a gentle yet incomparably powerful force spread outward.

It formed a huge, transparent light shield, enveloping almost more than half of the Imperial City ruins.

Inside the light shield, the earthquake completely subsided, as if it were the only pure land in the eye of the storm.

Outside the light shield, the earthquake continued, with mountains crumbling and the ground splitting, but it could not penetrate even an inch.

"What is that?"

"God... Has a deity manifested?!"

"It's the State Preceptor! It's Lord State Preceptor!"

The survivors, having escaped death, collapsed to the ground.

Looking at that towering giant figure, they wept and kowtowed one after another.

On the high platform, Huang Ying breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze toward the giant filled with awe.

Liu Dou opened his mouth wide, staring foolishly.

Zhuge Jinyu looked up in a daze, staring at that familiar, yet never before so towering and massive figure.

"Teacher... It is you again..."

She murmured to herself, her voice choked with sobs.

It was Su Chen again.

At the moment of her, and the entire Great Qian's, greatest despair.

He appeared to save her and the Great Qian.

However, this time.

It seemed different from any previous time Su Chen had manifested.

Teacher's aura, while still as vast and formidable as ever.

Always gave her a feeling that his energy was constantly being consumed, that he was strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

【"Host, please note that in your current state, the energy consumption within your body is too fast; currently, only forty percent remains... 】

【Thirty-five percent... 】

【Thirty percent... 】

"But..."

"If I let the Imperial Capital fall just like this, my investment..."

"Will fail, right."

If the Great Qian Imperial City were to truly fall, Zhuge Jinyu's dream of reviving the Great Qian would certainly be shattered.

Even she herself might never recover from this.

"Damn it... Shouldn't this first investment be at newbie village difficulty? Why is it so challenging?"

"System, I have no other choice."

Su Chen gritted his teeth, continuing to output energy to protect the Imperial City.

【"Host, I will try my best to preserve a portion of your power, and I won't let you disappear from this world right after finishing this battle..." 】

After saying this, the system did not speak again.

Su Chen turned again and looked at Zhuge Jinyu, his voice weak and hurried.

"Xiao Yu... Teacher cannot hold on for much longer."

"I have temporarily stabilized the foundations of the Imperial City, but in this state, my spiritual energy consumption is too great."

"Take this opportunity to organize manpower, quickly evacuate and settle the commoners, stabilize the situation, and preserve vital forces."

"The Northern Expedition... is still possible."

"Hurry!"

Zhuge Jinyu snapped back to reality.

She saw that the edges of the towering giant figure were beginning to become somewhat blurry, as if it might dissipate at any moment.

She did not hesitate any longer and turned sharply.

The weakness and hesitation of "Xiao Yu" that belonged to Teacher slowly faded from her face.

Only the decisiveness and majesty belonging to the Great Qian Prime Minister remained.

"Huang Ying!"

"Present!"

"Transmit my orders immediately!"

"All cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage, follow This Prime Minister to save people!"

"Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators are to maintain order and guide the commoners to evacuate to the high ground outside the city."

"Officials of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue are to calculate the losses, set up porridge sheds, and settle the disaster victims."

"The Ministry of Justice and the Patrol Battalion are to maintain law and order; anyone who takes advantage of the chaos to commit evil shall be executed on the spot without pardon!"

"His Majesty has been frightened; quickly send His Majesty back to the palace... No, send him to a safe place to rest!"

One order after another was issued methodically.

The chaotic situation began to rapidly recover order under the calm command of the Female Prime Minister.

Countless cultivators and soldiers threw themselves into the rescue and disaster relief efforts.

Zhuge Jinyu took one last look at the giant phantom that seemed to be supporting heaven and earth, bit her lip, and turned to plunge into the crowd of disaster relief workers.

In the moment she turned, a clear tear could finally not be held back and slid down from the corner of her eye.

Mixed with dust, it left a clear tear track on her beautiful cheek.

Teacher...

Once again...

Why is it that she can do nothing, and cannot help Teacher at all...

This cannot continue...

Seeing that the young girl had recovered her composure so quickly, Su Chen smiled slightly.

With Zhuge Jinyu's command, he believed that the losses of the Great Qian should not be too great.

The shaking of the earth and mountains continued for who knows how long.

Su Chen's massive body stood constantly in the center of the Imperial City, resisting the natural disaster.

He watched as the cultivators and commoners of the Imperial City slowly began rescue efforts under guidance, and many supplies meant for battle were also saved.

Even some survivors, having escaped death, had already prostrated themselves before him, kneeling down.

"I have always used this form to kill people before; looking at it this way, the feeling of saving people is not bad either."

Su Chen only felt that the vision before his eyes was becoming increasingly blurred.

【"Warning, Host, your remaining energy is less than ten percent! Remaining energy protection has been forcibly activated." 】

Feeling the environment around him slowly calming down, Su Chen nodded.

"Good."

In an instant, he only felt darkness before his eyes.

The hundreds-of-meters-tall body turned into a streak of white light, approaching Zhuge Jinyu, who had long been teary-eyed.

It flew into the mirror in her hand.