Shanghai's Heartbeat**
The Huangpu River ran crimson.
Lin Tian stood atop the Oriental Pearl Tower, now a makeshift command post, as tendrils of corrupted qi coiled like serpents through Shanghai's abandoned streets. The Luck System's hologram flickered before him:
***Purify Shanghai's Qi Corruption: 27% Complete.***
***Huaxia's Luck Points: 42/100 (Stabilizing).***
"The people are rallying in Pudong," Luo Mei reported, her silver qi threads mapping the city's decay. "But the old French Concession is a dead zone. Sensors detect a… *presence* there."
Xia Qingyue materialized beside them, frostfire phoenix wings dissolving into mist. "Not a presence. A memory. The Concession hides a *Temple of the Azure Dragon*, buried by your family's greed centuries ago." Her gaze pierced Lin Tian. "Unearth it, and the city's purification leaps. Fail, and the corruption metastasizes."
A system alert flashed:
***New Quest: Reclaim the Temple of the Azure Dragon.***
***Reward: +20 Luck Points, Unlock "Echoes of the Dragon Dynasty."***
---
**The Forgotten Temple**
The Concession's cobblestones cracked beneath Lin Tian's boots, revealing a staircase slick with bioluminescent moss. Lin Xue's drones buzzed overhead, their scans rebounding. "The temple's shielded by pre-Qin Dynasty runes. My tech's useless here—time for the 'Sovereign's touch.'"
Lin Tian pressed his palm to the sealed stone doors. Golden qi surged, and the runes *sang*:
"Blood of the oathbreaker, shall the path unfold.
Yet mercy lingers, for the Dragon's tale is retold."
The doors crumbled. Inside, murals depicted the Lin ancestors not as tyrants, but as stewards—wise scholars and warriors guiding Huaxia through a golden age. At the chamber's heart stood a stone pedestal holding a cracked jade seal.
Imperial Seal of the Dragon Dynasty (Damaged).
Effect: Unlocks National Legacy Memory (0/3).
Xia Qingyue inhaled sharply. "This seal… it's why the Patriarch erased history. It holds truths that could dismantle his lies."
---
Echoes of Betrayal
As Lin Tian grasped the seal, visions erupted:
- A thriving ancient Huaxia, where qi harmonized with nature.
- The first Lin Sovereign, kneeling to a celestial dragon, swearing to protect—not plunder—the Vein.
- The Patriarch, then a young man, poisoning the dragon and seizing its power.
Huaxia's Luck Points: 62/100.
New Calamity: "The Dragon's Vengeance" (Awakening in 30 Days).
"The Patriarch didn't just steal qi," Lin Tian muttered. "He murdered Huaxia's guardian. Now its spirit seeks retribution."
A rumble shook the temple. The murals bled, their pigments coalescing into a spectral dragon—smaller than the Vein's behemoth, but radiating sorrowful fury.
Guardian Fragment: Wounded Azure Dragon (Rank: Ancient Soul).
"It thinks you're the Patriarch!" Ling lunged, her sword deflecting the dragon's claw.
Lin Tian channeled the Luck System, golden threads weaving around the spirit. "I'm not your enemy. The Lin who wronged you is gone."
The dragon paused, its lone eye reflecting Lin Tian's unbroken scales. Then it dissolved into a rain of light, infusing the seal.
Imperial Seal Restored (1/3).
Huaxia's Luck Points: 72/100 (Reviving).
---
The World Takes Notice
That night, in a rare moment of respite, Lin Tian reviewed foreign broadcasts:
- U.S. President: "China's 'qi resurgence' is a hoax to mask bioweapon failures."
- E.U. Chancellor: "We propose a UN tribunal for Lin Tian's 'cult of antiquity.'"
Xia Qingyue smirked. "They fear what they can't steal."
But Luo Mei frowned at the map. "Our people believe again, but this…" She pointed to rural reports: villages vanishing overnight, replaced by forests of crystalline trees. "The land remembers its old protectors. And its old enemies."
A system alert blared:
Ancient Rival Awakened: Kingdom of Xirong (Barbarian Plains, 2000 BCE).
Leader: Khan Morgath (Undying Warlord).
Threat Level: Cataclysm.
Lin Tian's jade pendant warmed—a warning from the Vein. "The forgotten era doesn't just bring relics. It resurrects *empires*."
---
Epilogue: The First Alliance
In a moonlit courtyard, Lin Tian faced representatives of the Four Guardian Clans—noble houses thought extinct:
1. Jiang Clan (White Tiger): Tech-masked warriors wielding plasma guandao.
2. Bai Clan (Vermilion Bird): Pyrokinetic scholars clutching flame-etched scrolls.
3. Zhen Clan (Black Tortoise): Stone-skinned geomancers.
4. Xia Qingyue (Phoenix): "My clan… the Fifth Guardian. The Patriarch slaughtered us. I am the last."
The Jiang heir stepped forward. "Our ancestors fought beside yours. Prove you're not the Patriarch reborn, and we'll join your… rebirth."
Lin Tian ignited the Imperial Seal, its light bathing the clans in ancestral glory. "Help me mend Huaxia's soul. Or watch the world burn again."
As they knelt, the system chimed:
Four Guardian Clans United (4/4).
Huaxia's Luck Points: 87/100 (Ascending).