Chapter 144 - 143: Welcoming the God into the Capital

The Capital City of the Great Yan Country, the political, cultural, and economic heart of the entire Empire, was like a radiant pearl set upon the land.

The entire capital was nestled by mountains and rivers, backed by the majestic, sprawling Canglan Mountain Range to the north and the vast, shimmering Surging River to the south.

Its surrounding walls, a hundred meters tall and built from bluestone, remained as sturdy as ever despite ages of wind and rain. At the first light of dawn each day, the city gates would open to welcome and send off merchants and envoys from all lands.

And with the imminent arrival of the great tournament between nations, the city was more bustling than ever.

As a grand event held once a decade, it was a chance to witness the prodigies of various nations test their skills against one another. Martial Artists from all over, bringing their elders and children, rushed toward the Capital City.

The recent explosion in tourism had directly stimulated the Capital City's economy, leading to a significant increase in its GDP.

Outside the city gates, countless people streamed in and out of the Capital City. And beyond the throngs of people, over a hundred "luxury vehicles" were currently parked.

These so-called luxury vehicles were, of course, palanquins custom-made by worshippers for their gods.

The top one thousand Martial Artists on the Great Yan Country's Hidden Dragon Rankings were currently entering the capital. Naturally, these palanquins, which were the size of small houses, were not permitted inside. Thus, they were arranged outside the city walls, with their respective Martial Artists guarding their "parking spots."

Aside from these luxury vehicles, several young men were gathered together, their appraising gazes fixed on the pedestrians passing in the distance.

It's an old saying: scholars never agree on who's the best, but warriors never accept being second. The whole point of practicing martial arts was for the thrill of a good, unrestrained fight.

Since they knew Martial Artists from all over had to enter the Capital City here, why not just guard the gates and wait for them to show up for a spar?

At this moment, these few Martial Artists from the Hidden Dragon Rankings were gathered together, raising their cups and chatting freely while being served by their followers.

"Those dozen or so Martial Artists have been waiting there for days. What are they waiting for?"

"I sent someone to ask. I hear they're the devotees of that Fang Can."

"Fang Can? The one who's number one on the Ascension Dragon Rankings? The one rumored to have defeated a First Turn Martial Artist after only a month of training?"

"That's the one. I heard that Fang Can is also planning to participate in the grand tournament, so these devotees came to the Capital City ahead of time to purchase property for him to live in."

...

The Martial Artists chattered on, sizing up and gossiping about the group of devotees standing by the river in the distance.

In response, the devotees said nothing. They stood as straight and silent as pine trees, their resolute gazes fixed on the surface of the moat.

Before them was a tributary of the Surging River, several hundred meters wide.

A great bridge spanned the river, but due to the immense flow of people, countless pedestrians were stuck in a bottleneck, the crowd inching forward slowly.

For days now, these Martial Artists—Fang Can's devotees—had been staring silently at the tributary, mystifying the surrounding crowd of onlookers.

Suddenly, the devotees' expressions shifted, their gazes locking onto the tributary before them.

In the distance, a dozen or so Martial Artists could be seen approaching in unison, treading upon the waves.

Despite the turbulent water, these Martial Artists moved as if on solid ground, dancing on the crests of the waves. In just a few breaths, they had already crossed the river.

As if seeing the one they had awaited for more than ten days, these newly arrived Martial Artists knelt on one knee in unison and declared, "Your devotees respectfully welcome the Fang Celestial Emperor to the Capital City of the Great Yan Country!"

As they spoke, the countless pedestrians on the congested bridge suddenly heard the rousing sound of blaring horns from behind them.

The crowd looked toward the sound and saw a dozen or so Martial Artists on the riverbank, shouldering a gigantic, house-like structure that covered over two hundred square meters and stood five or six meters tall, running straight toward them.

'What are these people trying to do, get on the bridge and run us all down?'

The pedestrians on the bridge panicked and instinctively tried to get out of the way, only to see that the massive palanquin wasn't heading for the bridge, but was charging toward the water's surface.

Were these people trying to cross the river by running on water while carrying something that weighed at least several hundred tons?

At this thought, even the group of Martial Artists gathered in the distance stood up instinctively, wanting to see what was going on.

Any one of them could easily sprint across the river's surface alone.

But for a dozen or so people to carry a palanquin of several hundred tons in perfect coordination... at best, they'd make it a few dozen meters before falling into the river. And this tributary was at least three hundred meters wide.

Just as the pedestrians expected, the Martial Artists carrying the palanquin charged straight for the river.

But before they reached the water, a dozen or so other Martial Artists had already overtaken them, running ahead onto the waves.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The river's surface rippled and shook as the dozen or so Martial Artists carrying the palanquin stepped onto the water like a fierce dragon crossing the river.

With explosive splashes of water, they used their momentum to actually carry the several-hundred-ton palanquin over a hundred meters across the water's surface as if on solid ground.

But their momentum couldn't last forever. Under the pressure of several hundred tons from above, the team began to lose stability, and the feet of some Martial Artists started sinking into the water.

Just as it seemed the Martial Artists and the palanquin were about to sink into the river, the group swung the right arms they were using to support it.

In the next moment, the palanquin left their arms and flew smoothly forward, where it was caught by the Martial Artists running ahead. The relay continued as they carried it toward the opposite bank.

And once freed from the palanquin's weight, the bodies that should have plunged into the water quickly stabilized and continued to charge forward.

In this way, with the two teams constantly rotating, the several-hundred-ton palanquin, inlaid with gold and silver, was steadily transported to the other side.

Amidst a sky full of falling flower petals and the sound of musical instruments, the palanquin landed securely on the ground with a THUD. The Martial Artists immediately all knelt and respectfully announced to the person within, "Reporting to the deity, we have arrived at the Capital City."

As they spoke, the palanquin door slowly opened.

Under the gazes of everyone around, a young man stepped out. He was dressed in a sharp white martial arts uniform, with white hair, red eyes, and a devastatingly handsome face framed by sword-like brows and star-like eyes.

The moment he appeared, the world seemed to dim for an instant. In its place, the young man's figure grew ever more radiant, like the heavenly light breaking through the clouds.

As the young man appeared, a red carpet was rolled out by the surrounding Martial Artists, ensuring his feet would not be sullied by the mud and sand of the riverbank.

'So this is Fang Can...'

The few Martial Artists in the distance who had been preparing to cause trouble couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Why hadn't they thought of such a flashy entrance, arriving by treading the waves?

'Let's go. We'll go see what he's all about.' A Martial Artist shouldered his greatsword and strode toward Fang Can.

Following his lead, the other Martial Artists from the Hidden Dragon Rankings also rose to their feet, ready to make a move and test Fang Can's mettle.

But before they could get close, Fang Can's gaze fell upon them.

Seeing their belligerent expressions, it was obvious they were looking for trouble. And Fang Can had seen more than enough of their kind these past few days.

Not bothering with words, he simply unleashed his psychic power. The men only saw it rush toward them, and they were filled with terror.

It was a psychic power like a natural disaster; in terms of sheer magnitude, it was dozens of times greater than their own.

That psychic power formed a sharp blade in the air and stabbed directly into the foreheads of the few Martial Artists from the Hidden Dragon Rankings.

The mental-sealing techniques they had learned were utterly incapable of resisting the blade, which was so condensed it was almost tangible.

With a series of THUDS, the Martial Artists all collapsed to their knees, unable to recover for a long time.

His gaze swept over them as if they were nothing more than small fry. Fang Can said flatly, "Pay them no mind. Let's enter the capital."