Chapter 2003: Sacred Lord White Tiger!

“Too interesting!”

“I only knew that this Hu could fight, but I didn’t expect he could dance! An Yaluoshan is truly an incredible person!”

“Among the major border commanders of our Great Tang, perhaps only the Andong Protector-General could pull this off!”

The spectators whispered among themselves, chuckling at An Yaluoshan’s comical performance. As everyone’s attention remained on him, Gao Shang gave a satisfied nod and whispered, “It’s about time. We can begin.” The scene had achieved exactly the effect he desired.

All the officials and foreign dignitaries were fixated on An Yaluoshan, making it easier for them to maneuver unnoticed. Moreover, the more they laughed, the more they underestimated their liege. Even if something unusual happened, no one would ever link it back to them.

“Your Majesty!” An Yaluoshan suddenly called out. “This lowly subject’s dance is a modified version of the Hu whirling dance. It differs somewhat from the traditional style and was specially adapted to express my respect and love for Your Majesty!”

“Oh?” The Sage Emperor’s eyes brightened with curiosity. An Yaluoshan was truly full of surprises. “Let Us see!”

**Bong! Bong! Bong!**

The drumbeat shifted into a strange and unfamiliar rhythm. An Yaluoshan flipped his hand, revealing a curved blade made from a bull’s horn.

“Careful! Protect His Majesty!” The surrounding Golden Guards tensed, ready to defend.

“Withdraw!” The Sage Emperor remained unperturbed and ordered the Golden Guards to step back. The curved blade in An Yaluoshan’s hand was only about a foot long, with no edge. Moreover, the Sage Emperor was no weakling; An Yaluoshan did not possess the cultivation to pose a serious threat in front of him and so many others.

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An Yaluoshan waved his hand, and a dancing girl tossed over a white and red-painted waist drum, which he caught and tied to his belt. He swayed his hips, lightly tapping the drum with his left hand while gripping the blade with his right. Then, he took a step forward.

**Bang!**

As An Yaluoshan moved, the hundred feet separating him from the Sage Emperor vanished in an instant, and an invisible energy surged from his body.

**Bang!**

The entire world seemed to transform.

**Rumble!**

At the other end of the Imperial Palace, atop the imperial observatory, several astronomers and officials were observing the night sky when the platform suddenly trembled.

“What’s going on? What happened?”

“Not good! The star observation platform shaking is an extremely ill omen!”

The astronomers and officials were thrown into a panic. Glancing around, they quickly realized that only the star observation platform was shuddering in the vast Imperial Palace. Their faces turned ashen.

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This platform was unique, its location personally selected by Heavenly Master Yuan during Taizong’s era. The surrounding area had been rigorously surveyed to ensure it sat at the very center of the Imperial Palace’s Dragon Qi. Through divination, star observations, and geomancy, it had been determined that this spot concentrated the Dragon Qi of the Imperial Palace.

These special conditions made it possible to observe the Ziwei Emperor Star, the general stars, and the shifts in the country’s fortunes from the platform. Though not detailed, one could get a rough estimation of the future by observing these stars.

If the platform was unstable, it meant turmoil was brewing in the Imperial Palace—a major omen that the master of the heavens was about to change! The astronomers and officials were stunned and instinctively looked up at the sky.

“Not good! A comet assailing the Ziwei—a terrible omen! Someone is attempting to harm the Sage Emperor!”

“Look, the stars are dimming! This signals a shift in the Dragon Qi! What... what is happening?”

The astronomers first noticed a massive comet, brimming with black Qi, suddenly crashing into the Ziwei Enclosure, causing the Ziwei Emperor Star to dim rapidly. Before anyone could react, the heavens seemed to sway, and the once-bright stars representing the officials of the Great Tang began to flicker like candles. In mere seconds, eighty percent of their luminosity had vanished.

Shock! Incomparable shock! The astronomers and officials shuddered, their bodies growing cold.

Those who worked at the imperial observatory were seasoned officials, with at least ten to twenty years of experience. But in all their decades of service, they had never seen such an ominous sign.

“The stars dimming means a shift in the Dragon Qi! Hurry! We must report this to His Majesty!”

While the others stood stunned, one astronomer bolted off the platform, a panicked expression on his face as he rushed toward the Pavilion of Petal and Sepal.

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**Rumble!**

Meanwhile, deep in the mountains of the southwest, the earth began to tremble, dust and debris sliding off the steep mountain slopes, and leaves fluttering to the ground. Even the streams running through the mountains rippled restlessly. If one looked closely, they would see golden light seeping out of the mountains, forming the shape of a dragon. But this golden dragon was rapidly dimming, writhing in apparent pain.

**Roooar!**

A dragon’s cry echoed through the darkness, sending countless birds into flight.

“The mountains are shaking! A shift in the earth veins! This... Who could be so bold as to attempt to absorb the Dragon Qi of the Central Plains?!”

Nearby, beneath a large zhennan tree streaked with golden threads, a pair of eyes slowly opened, dislodging chunks of dirt from their eyelashes. In a flash, a pair of bright and wise eyes gazed out.

The southwest was where the head of the earth dragon was located. When the Dragon Qi of the Central Plains shifted, this region would be the first to react. For this reason, many hermits and ascetics cultivated deep in these mountains, and this elder was one of them.

“Dragon Qi is the mark of the sovereign, the foundation of the Emperor. A change in the Dragon Qi means an imminent change in the realm. But the Dragon Qi of the realm congregates at the capital. If one wishes to absorb Dragon Qi, one can only do so within the Great Tang Imperial Palace, right in front of the Son of Heaven.

“Who in this world could be so audacious as to dare enter the Imperial Palace and commit such treason right in front of the Sage Emperor? Wretch, scoundrel, bastard!

“After decades of peace, the pitiable people of the realm might have to endure another disaster!”

The elder’s beard and robes trembled with his agitation. Absorbing Dragon Qi was an act so vile and treacherous that no one in the world would even think of attempting it. Only the most despicable would dare to commit such treason.

**Buzz!**

The elder’s fingers moved constantly, as if calculating something. Then, suddenly, they stopped.

“There’s still a chance, still a chance. In the Ziwei Emperor’s Court, there is still Sacred Lord White Tiger. Risky, very risky. This is the only chance. Everything depends on Sacred Lord White Tiger.”

The elder looked north, toward the capital, his eyes brimming with concern. Only someone with extraordinary daring and audacity would dare to enter the Emperor’s Court and steal Dragon Qi in front of the Son of Heaven. If they dared such a thing, it was only because they were well-prepared and confident.

Stopping them would not be an easy task! And as he was far away in the southwest, even a warning sent by messenger bird would arrive too late.

The world was about to shift, and he could only entrust his hopes to the guardian of the Sage Emperor within the Emperor’s Court—Sacred Lord White Tiger!