Translator: MrVoltaire
Editor: Modlawls123
The bronze doors were simply too heavy. With the City Lord Seal's power, Zhao Fu would be able to easily move a massive boulder that weighed many tonnes. He had never expected opening this bronze door to be so difficult.
Zhao Fu had no choice but to erupt out with all of his City Lord Seal's power. Within Zhao Fu's body, the Great Qin Seal clanged, giving off a large amount of black light that seeped out of Zhao Fu's body as a terrifying power burst forth from his body.
With this power, Zhao Fu placed his hands against the bronze doors and gritted his teeth as he pushed forward with all of his might. The bronze door slowly moved, giving off a low rumbling as it finally opened a sliver.
Immediately, a gust of incredibly cold air rushed out. This cold air caused the bodies of everyone to freeze, making them feel as if they had fallen into an icy cavern. They felt incredibly nervous and continuously sweated, instinctively feeling a sense of danger.
Zhao Fu's expression became serious as he said to Li Wen and the others, "You should all leave first; this isn't something you can get involved in. Tell all of the other teams to leave the underground region as well."
Li Wen could sense the danger behind the bronze doors and said, "Your Majesty, it's probably best that you don't go in. You'll be in a lot of danger, so let us go in and explore first!"
The soldiers looked at Zhao Fu earnestly, hoping that they could go in his place. After all, he was the ruler of Great Qin, and they could not allow anything to happen to him.
However, Zhao Fu shook his head because they were too weak. If they went in, they would be instantly killed by whatever was inside and not be able to do anything. Moreover, players would not die a real death – this was the advantage that he had.
Seeing that they had no way to convince Zhao Fu, Li Wen and the others could only leave, and they decided to report this matter to the other City Lords and have them protect Zhao Fu.
After they left, Zhao Fu once again looked at the bronze doors. Based on the extremely cold air from behind the bronze doors, Zhao Fu knew that whatever was behind them was incredibly dangerous. However, he knew that this could also be a fortuitous opportunity, as it was something from the Heaven Murder Empire.
Even though it was dangerous, he could have a fortuitous encounter, allowing Great Qin to develop even faster.
After making this decision, Zhao Fu continued to use all of his strength to open up the doors until they were about 30 centimeters apart. A massive amount of cold air streamed out, and the terrifying aura from within was enough to cause anyone's soul to tremble.
Zhao Fu shuffled in sideways and saw a pitch-bank passageway, but there was some light at the end.
Zhao Fu carefully walked along this dark passageway before reaching a 1,000-meter wide hall. This hall gave off a brilliant golden light, and it was as if its surface was covered with a layer of gold. There were also ornate pictures of scenery carved onto the walls and floor, looking quite beautiful.
What shocked Zhao Fu even more was that he had discovered that there was a ten or so meter long dragon lying down at the center of the hall. Its entire body was golden colored, and it gave off a golden light. It had a pair of sharp horns, golden wings, and five claws that gave off an icy, sharp light.
The dragon gave off a majestic, elegant, powerful, mysterious aura, and it seemed incredibly dangerous.
Zhao Fu recognized this dragon – the King Remnant Soul that Zhao Fu had obtained before had the image of this dragon, and he had never thought that he would see the actual thing.
The dragon ahead was most likely the Heaven Murder Empire's Fate Dragon. From the system announcement of the King Remnant Soul, Zhao Fu knew that the Skeleton that he had defeated was either a Prince or Princess, which was why defeating it had given him a King Remnant Soul.
Fate Dragons would be passed down with the bloodline, so anyone with the Heaven Murder Empire's imperial bloodline would possess such a Fate Dragon.
Similarly, if Zhao Fu's bloodline was passed down, his descendants would also have Zhao Fu's black dragon. This had already been decided when Qin Feizi had established the State of Qin.
However, the dragon in front of him was not just an image, which made Zhao Fu feel quite surprised. This was because the Heaven Murder Empire had been destroyed for an incredibly long time, and it was impossible for the Fate Dragon to have survived for so long.
As Zhao Fu was thinking to himself, the golden dragon suddenly opened its eyes, revealing its golden pupils and giving Zhao Fu a big shock.
Bang!
A massive sound rang out – as the golden dragon opened its eyes, a terrifying formless energy rushed at Zhao Fu. Zhao Fu reacted in time but was still sent flying. He crashed against a wall and coughed up a large amount of blood, dyeing the front of his clothes red.
Zhao Fu looked quite shocked – he had simultaneously used his City Lord Seal, Nation Armament, and Clan Armament's power, but he had still been heavily injured by this dragon's casual attack.
This golden dragon was simply too powerful! Right now, he had to unleash all of his power, or he would not be a match for the golden dragon.
However, that golden dragon looked at Zhao Fu arrogantly and condescendingly. It said with a voice that was neither male nor female, "You think the trash Nation Armaments of a low-level world can defeat me?"
Zhao Fu's eyes were cold as he wiped away the blood from this mouth and stood up. He then said, "You think you're so great? The Heaven Murder Empire was destroyed long ago!"
"You…" It seemed that Zhao Fu's words had poked its sore point, and the golden dragon looked quite furious as its body flashed with a golden light, and a heaven-destroying aura rushed towards Zhao Fu. Even space itself seemed to be unable to withstand this and started to distort.
Facing this horrifying power, Zhao Fu did not dare to be careless, and he used all of his strength to activate his King's Domain. A black barrier with dragon inscriptions appeared around Zhao Fu's body, blocking that terrifying pressure.
The golden dragon looked at Zhao Fu with its golden eyes and stood up, releasing an even more intense pressure.
Crack!
Suddenly, a crisp cracking sound rang out, and Zhao Fu was startled to see that a crack had appeared in the King's Domain. Zhao Fu's expression became quite unsightly, and he used even more of his Nation Armament and Clan Armament's power, allowing him to barely resist that strength.
"I already said that the trash Nation Armaments from a low-level world like yours can't defeat me. I've destroyed countless ones in the past!"
As the golden dragon spoke, its pressure became more and more powerful, until it was ten or so times greater than before.
This massive pressure caused Zhao Fu's King's Domain to be covered in cracks, and it looked like it would soon collapse.
This made Zhao Fu feel quite shaken – was he really going to die here? Even though he had used all of his powers, he was unable to even bear the other side's pressure. This golden dragon was simply too powerful! This meant that the Heaven Murder Empire's strength far exceeded what Zhao Fu could imagine.
However, Zhao Fu thought about it and remembered that if he died, he would just lose his cultivation and skills; his King's Profession and bloodline were already bound to his soul, and he would not lose them. Therefore, he did not have to worry.
Moreover, even though this underground region was near Great Qin, it could not threaten Great Qin because the Great Qin City now had the protection of the Sky Desolation Azure Dragon. No matter how powerful this golden dragon was, it was unlikely that it was more powerful than the Sky Desolation Azure Dragon.
After all, the Sky Desolation Azure Dragon was one of the Guardian Beasts of this world, so it was most likely stronger than the golden dragon. Therefore, he did not have to worry about Great Qin's safety.
Looking at his King's Domain continuously cracking, Zhao Fu decided to go all-out with this golden dragon. However, at that moment, a black mark appeared on the back of Zhao Fu's right hand that gave off a rainbow-colored light.
Immediately, Zhao Fu felt a surge of power enter him, and he didn't feel anything facing that terrifying might anymore. That mark was the Earth Realm Mark.
Seeing the Earth Realm Mark, the golden dragon's expression changed, and it hesitated before withdrawing its terrifying pressure and saying in surprise, "Boy, I never thought that you would be someone with a Mandate of Heaven Fate!"
Seeing that the golden dragon had withdrawn its aura, Zhao Fu inwardly let out a sigh of relief but did not respond to the golden dragon's words.
The golden dragon did not seem to mind and continued to look at Zhao Fu as it said, "How about the two of us work together? Don't worry. You'll obtain massive benefits, and if I wasn't in this predicament, I wouldn't want to work with a person from a low-level world."
Zhao Fu did not even need to think about it before refusing, "Apologies, I'm not interested!"
This was because the golden dragon was far too dangerous, and Zhao Fu was unable to control it. Moreover, Zhao Fu did not want to partner with the Heaven Murder Empire, because he was worried about its enemies. If they could destroy an empire as powerful as the Heaven Murder Empire, that meant they would be incredibly monstrous. The final reason was that Zhao Fu could not tolerate how arrogant the golden dragon was. However, because of the information he had obtained from God Kerr, he knew that what the other had said was true.
Regardless, Great Qin would not allow itself to be humiliated – Zhao Fu believed that one day, Great Qin would be able to surpass the Heaven Murder Empire.
"Oh? Don't you want the things left behind by the Heaven Murder Empire? They'll be enough for you to dominate this world," the golden dragon said in a tempting tone, feeling quite surprised.
However, Zhao Fu continued to resolutely refuse, saying, "No matter how good they are, I don't want to work with you. Even without those things, Great Qin will be able to dominate this world."
"You… do you not believe that I'll butcher Great Qin?" The golden dragon felt quite furious. It had already taken a step back, but this person still refused to work together with it. During the peak of the Heaven Murder Empire, it would not even look at a person like this, yet he had dared to refuse.
Hearing this, Zhao Fu did not feel angry because he wanted to use this opportunity to get rid of the golden dragon. The Great Qin City had the Sky Desolation Azure Dragon defending it, so Zhao Fu felt quite confident and was not afraid of the golden dragon.
"You can try it if you want!" Zhao Fu said with a hint of mockery.
Hearing this, the golden dragon felt quite furious and exploded out with its sky-toppling pressure again as if it was about to rush to the surface and start a massacre.
However, seeing Zhao Fu's cold smile, it immediately withdrew its aura and looked at Zhao Fu with its golden eyes. It then said, "Boy, I'm not going to fall for your trap!"
Zhao Fu felt a bit disappointed and lightly harrumphed, ignoring the golden dragon, thinking about ways to leave.
Even though he would not die a true death and would not lose his professions and bloodline, his equipment, four swords, and the King's Crown would all fall here. With how powerful the golden dragon was, it would be almost impossible to retrieve them.
Zhao Fu also didn't want to restart from Stage 0 again either, so if he could escape, that would be best. He wondered if there were any restrictions in this space; otherwise, why would the golden dragon stay here instead of rampaging in the world?
Moreover, with how powerful this golden dragon was, why would it suddenly want to work together with him? Thinking back to how the golden dragon had withdrawn its aura, Zhao Fu felt that something was off.
However, the golden dragon once again said seriously, "You've most likely obtained the Heaven and Earth Refining Formation, right? Do you think they'll let you off? They control all sorts of heaven-defying formations, so do you really think that you can defeat them? What a joke! Once they find that the Heaven Murder Empire's remains are here, let alone Great Qin, your entire world will be massacred!"
Zhao Fu's expression became quite unsightly because Zhao Fu acknowledged everything that the golden dragon was saying – this was something that he had always been worried about.
Seeing Zhao Fu's expression, the golden dragon inwardly laughed before saying, "Now, your only option is to work together with me, or else you should know the outcome!"
The golden dragon continued to look at Zhao Fu's changing expression and felt quite pleased. From how it saw things, working together with it was Zhao Fu's best option, as well as his only option. Right now, the person in front of him had to give in.
Zhao Fu's blood-red eyes looked at the golden dragon, but he suddenly coldly harrumphed, "Even if Great Qin is destroyed, would they let you off, a remnant of the Heaven Murder Empire? Worst comes to worst, we'll die together. Stop trying to act all high and mighty."
Zhao Fu had already made a decision. He was not sure if the faction that had destroyed the Heaven Murder Empire still existed; after all, tens of thousands of years had passed. Anything could have happened over the course of history, and many powerful empires had been destroyed.
Even though they were powerful, that didn't mean that there were not existences more powerful than them, or perhaps they had had a civil war. As such, there was not a need to worry so much.
Moreover, Zhao Fu had heard from the golden dragon that the faction that had destroyed the Heaven Murder Empire controlled many different heaven-defying formations. This was quite shocking, as the Heaven and Earth Refining Formation was only one of the heaven-defying formations.
Hearing Zhao Fu's words, the golden dragon felt quite angry, but as it thought, its anger disappeared and its attitude became better. It no longer spoke in a condescending tone and started again, saying, "Alright, I'll respect you and view you as an equal partner. Would you be willing to work together with me?"
Seeing that its attitude had become much better, Zhao Fu felt satisfied and nodded.
In actuality, Zhao Fu had no other choice because he was also worried that Great Qin might be destroyed. If he worked together with the golden dragon, he would at least obtain quite a lot of benefits.
With how powerful the Heaven Murder Empire had been, even an ordinary treasure from it would be very useful to Great Qin. After all, they had not even established their empire yet and were still incredibly weak. They had no way to compare with the Heaven Murder Empire.
Seeing Zhao Fu agree, the golden dragon let out a sigh of relief. Without Zhao Fu's help, it would not be able to accomplish much.
Following this, Zhao Fu asked, "What do you need from me?"
The golden dragon thought about it before replying, "I need you to find the Heaven Murder Empire's imperial family, and if you can, restore the Heaven Murder Empire. As for its enemies, you don't need to think about them for now; I won't force you to fight to the death with them!"