novelraw Chapter 1112: Shadows
Chapter 1112: Shadows
There’s an old saying: emperors are Heaven’s favored children, incarnations of dragons—thus the title True Dragon Emperor.
Naturally, this “True Dragon” isn’t literal… True Dragon Emperor is simply an abstract metaphor. But even as a symbol, it powerfully emphasizes the nobility of an emperor’s identity.
It’s also said that a Son of Heaven protected by a True Dragon is immune to all evil. This True Dragon, in reality, refers to the Dragon Vein—an invisible current of fate unique to each dynasty, varying in strength. The emperor is the living vessel of this Dragon Vein’s energy.
When the Dragon Vein thrives, so does the nation. When it withers, the country falls—and so does its ruler.
As a former princess of the Great Qin Empire, who once basked under the shadow of that eternal emperor, Princess Chuyang had experienced the Dragon Qi firsthand. This wasn’t some geomancer’s trick—it was a matter of true sight. When you encountered it, you just knew.
And that’s precisely why Princess Chuyang found this unbelievable: the strange man who had brought her out of the tomb was now surrounded by a faint but unmistakable aura of Dragon Vein protection.
Just as she reeled in shock over the Song family’s mysterious background, the mist swirling around Song Haoran suddenly surged. In addition to the vague golden glow of Dragon Qi, another power emerged.
Golden flames—sun-like golden fire flickering within the mist around Song Haoran’s body!
Princess Chuyang immediately felt the terrifying force within these flames. When they flared, they stirred her very soul, disrupting her vital energy. Though weakened, her spirit was incredibly strong, honed through a soul-tempering technique during centuries of sleep in the stone coffin. That powerful soul allowed her to clearly perceive the dread force hidden in this golden fire—it was as if the flames held a sliver of unspeakable universal might.
Whether it was the Dragon Qi or the golden flames, these were powers almost never seen in the mortal realm. And yet both now dwelled in this man’s body… Princess Chuyang could no longer maintain her composure. A man like Song Haoran in ancient times would have been a harbinger of chaos—a Demon Star.She thought this must be the limit of his potential.
But at that moment, yet another force erupted from Song Haoran, sending chills down her spine.
“Divinity!!”
In this world, there are divine spirits—and those spirits possess divinity, a trait unique to free-roaming deities!
Though faint, the divine presence now appearing was unmistakably real. It danced around Song Haoran, and the golden fire began to chase and attempt to consume it. Meanwhile, the imperial Dragon Qi remained indifferent, calmly flowing like a buffer between these two clashing powers.
Dragon Qi, golden flames, and divinity—three extraordinary forces now existed in an oddly stable balance.
And Song Haoran remained calm. Silently, he pushed the Tongtian Floating Pagoda technique to its seventh level. It seemed to be his current limit—or rather, the limit for his first time cultivating.
The white mist surrounding him now surged into his body with each breath. The Dragon Qi, golden flames, and divine aura gradually faded from view.
Song Haoran exhaled deeply and slowly opened his eyes.
A flicker of flame danced in his gaze before clarity returned. He rolled his neck—crack crack crack—his joints popped loudly, and hard, shell-like flakes began falling from his face and neck.
He frowned and instinctively stirred the new energy within him, shaking off the remaining “shell” from his skin.
It felt like shedding a mortal body.
For the first time, Song Haoran felt like every cell in his body housed a roaring engine, overflowing with power.
“So this is the strength gained from martial cultivation? Amazing.”
He was deeply satisfied.
“Princess Chuyang, thank you for the guidance… Princess Chuyang?”
She had turned away at some point and now muttered in a low voice, “Shameless scoundrel!”
Song Haoran looked down—he’d shattered not only the impurities on his skin but also… his clothes. He glanced at the embarrassed princess and grinned mischievously.
“Uh-oh… According to our customs, a man's chastity is important too. Looks like I’ve lost mine. Your Highness, you’ll have to take responsibility.”
Princess Chuyang spun around, flustered.
“Is that true?! Customs these days actually… Wait—you dare lie to me!”
She quickly turned away again. His grin grew wider. She now clearly realized just how shameless he was.
“Who knows, maybe it’ll become true one day,” Song Haoran chuckled.
“Once I’m powerful enough to change the world, maybe I’ll make it official.”
“Delusional!”
He didn’t mind. Grabbing a bathrobe from the coat rack, he casually put it on and walked toward the door. His senses were sharper than ever—he could hear footsteps, voices, and even breathing on the other side.
His dad and Song Ying were outside.
Song Tianyou was stunned to see his son step out in just a robe. He opened his mouth to speak.
“Don’t overthink it. Nothing happened.”
Song Haoran shrugged with a grin.
“If anyone’s having babies, let it be Song Ying.”
Behind Grandpa Song, Song Ying raised her middle finger at him.
“Haoran, what happened to you?”
Grandpa Song ignored the nonsense—he really wanted grandkids or even great-grandkids, but he could sense something was different about his son.
“Should be a good thing,” Song Haoran said seriously.
“But let’s not focus on that now… something’s going on outside, right?”
Song Ying glanced back into the room—no sign of that ancient-dressed woman. She had always been under Song Haoran’s care since he brought her back. No one else could approach her. So Song Ying quickly summarized what had been happening outside.
“The mist is spreading faster?”
Song Haoran frowned.
“What about the two masters Mr. Blind invited?”
“They went out to gather information and haven’t returned yet,” said Song Tianyou.
“For now, I’ve posted guards around the hotel and ordered no one to leave.”
Song Haoran nodded.
After a quick family discussion that led nowhere conclusive, the short meeting came to an end.
Naturally, Song Haoran had no intention of wasting a valuable resource like Princess Chuyang.
He approached her again and got straight to the point.
“Princess, you’ve probably already noticed the fog outside is spreading, haven’t you?”
Princess Chuyang nodded.
She had barely rested—watching Song Haoran’s entire cultivation session—and had naturally also noticed the fog’s expansion.
Song Haoran pulled out a chair and sat down.
“Let’s not beat around the bush… Your Highness, don’t you think it’s time you taught me the method for walking freely through the mist?”
Navigating the fog had never truly been a problem for Song Haoran. Even before cultivating the Tongtian Floating Pagoda, he possessed an ability to mentally construct 3D maps of surrounding terrain. Even in total darkness, he could move freely—fog was no challenge.
But it wasn’t just about him now. He had others to protect, so he had to think bigger.
Still, Princess Chuyang said nothing.
Song Haoran calmly continued,
“Once this is over and my family has safely left, I’ll return the Suihou Pearl to you with both hands.”
A chill flashed in Princess Chuyang’s eyes as she sneered.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you once you return it?”
“Surely I still hold some value for you?” Song Haoran replied steadily.
“You’ve awakened in the modern world—things must be inconvenient. I, Song Haoran, am willing to be your vanguard. You don’t need to worry about betrayal—I still need your guidance in cultivating the Tongtian Floating Pagoda. I’ll help you wholeheartedly. A mutually beneficial partnership is the most solid contract, don’t you think?”
The most solid—yet also the most fragile—kind of contract.
Princess Chuyang’s spiritual strength was immense, even her gaze could shake one’s soul. She stared directly at him, but Song Haoran neither flinched nor wavered. His unwavering willpower surprised her.
She frowned and barked,
“Before anything else, go change out of those indecent clothes!”
With a faint smile, Song Haoran went to change out of his bathrobe. Afterward, Princess Chuyang began teaching him the method for moving freely within the mist.
But at that moment, no one in the hotel noticed—somewhere in the fog, a massive shadow had silently appeared… as vast as a mountain.
---
At the gymnasium, the two visitors from the Management Bureau had been taken by Leng Feng to a private room. Though he hadn’t yet processed everything they’d told him, their identities seemed genuine.
Regardless of the Bureau’s purpose, Leng Feng had one top priority: evacuating the local citizens.
“Gentlemen, we’ve got over thirty thousand people in the gymnasium. Don’t you think the two of you might be a little… understaffed?”
One of the men chuckled,
“No need to worry, Major Leng Feng. We’re just here to show the path. As long as we move before the mist spreads further, it won’t be difficult once we’re beyond it.”
That was true—once outside the fog zone, transportation would be available again, making evacuation much easier.
But Leng Feng recalled the horrifying incident from earlier that morning.
“Are you sure the path is safe?”
Sensing something in his tone, one of them asked,
“Major Leng, what exactly are you getting at?”
Leng Feng briefly described the discovery of the bodies.
The two Bureau agents exchanged looks, both frowning.
“Were the bodies brought back? We’d like to examine them ourselves.”
“Please, follow me.” Leng Feng nodded and gestured for them to come along.
From the first batch of evacuees—two to three hundred people—not all the bodies had been retrieved due to limited resources. Leng Feng had only ordered a few brought back, along with a surviving soldier who had already gone mad.
When the two men saw the bodies laid out in sleeping bags inside an equipment room, their expressions turned grim.
Bite marks on the neck. Blood drained. The corpses were icy cold.
“Intense cold energy… and traces of demonic aura.”
“Their essence, energy, and spirit were drained in an instant.”
“A cold-type demon that feeds on fresh human blood… but that doesn’t match any known demon species.”
“Could be a new strain, taking advantage of the chaos to emerge… Let’s focus on the task at hand.”
“Agreed.”
Their lips moved, but Leng Feng heard nothing—he couldn’t tell what they were saying.
Eventually, the two approached him.
“Major Leng Feng, we’ve finished our inspection.”
One of them spoke seriously.
“If I’m not mistaken, this was done by a demon creature on our wanted list. But don’t worry—it’s no match for us. If we encounter it, we’ll take care of it on the spot.”
They sounded confident. Leng Feng couldn’t argue, especially since he knew very little about this so-called Regulatory Bureau.
But among high-ranking officials, there was a saying: “The Management Bureau is one level above any authority. Unless absolutely necessary, cooperate with them—it’ll never go wrong.”
“If you two can guarantee that, all the better.” Leng Feng nodded.
“Good. Then let’s not delay. This fog could spread even faster. We must evacuate the citizens immediately. Major, please begin organizing. We’ll guide the way. After this, we have other areas to assist. The disaster zone is too vast, and our manpower is limited.”
“Thank you both!” Leng Feng nodded and quickly turned to leave.
The two Management Bureau agents watched Major Leng Feng walk away—and shared a strange smile.
(End of Chapter)