Chapter 5: The Howling Steppes
The Barbarian Tide
Khan Morgath's war horns echoed across the Gobi Desert, their sound a physical force that cracked drones midair and sent lesser qi cultivators to their knees. Lin Tian stood atop the Great Wall's reforged battlements—no longer mere stone and mortar, but a living rampart of glowing runes and ancestral wrath.
A holographic interface flickered before him, displaying critical updates:
*Huaxia's Luck Points: 89/100 (Ascending).*
*Active Blessing: Dragon's Aegis (Defense +40% within Huaxia borders).*
"They're not human," Lin Xue muttered, zooming her holocams on the advancing horde. The barbarians rode six-legged wolves fused with qi-steel armor, their faces hidden behind masks of fossilized bone. At their core rolled a massive siege engine shaped like a snarling wolf's head—Khan Morgath's mobile throne.
Xia Qingyue materialized, frostfire wings shedding embers. "Morgath was the first warlord to defy the Dragon Dynasty. His soul has festered in the Vein's shadows for millennia. He knows *all* your ancestor's tricks… and hungers for new ones."
Lin Tian gripped the Imperial Seal, now pulsating with the Wounded Azure Dragon's spirit. "Then we teach him fear."
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The Battle of Three Eras
The clash defied time itself:
- The Jiang Clan's White Tiger Mechas dueled mammoth-sized wolf constructs, their plasma blades slicing through ancient curses.
- The Bai Clan's Flame Scribes ignited the sky, countering Morgath's sandstorms with scrolls of forgotten poetry that hardened air into shields.
- The Zhen Clan's Geomancers sank entire battalions into the earth, their chants resonating with the land's reawakened memory.
Yet Morgath advanced, his siege engine devouring the dead to fuel his immortality.
"You fight well, Dragon's Puppet!" The Khan's voice boomed from the wolf-head throne. "But your people's faith is fragile. Let me show you their true hearts."
A pulse of decayed qi rippled outward. Civilians in nearby bunkers clutched their heads, screaming as Morgath's influence twisted their hopes into nightmares:
Farmers saw Lin Tian as a new Patriarch.
Children recoiled from Xia Qingyue's phoenix form.
Soldiers turned guns on comrades, howling about betrayal.
The system interface flashed a warning:
*Huaxia's Luck Points: 71/100 (Falling).
"He's weaponizing doubt," Luo Mei realized, her silver qi fraying as she fought. "The Luck System is only as strong as the people's belief in you."
Lin Tian leapt into the storm.
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Sovereign's Gambit
Landing before Morgath's throne, Lin Tian channeled the Imperial Seal. The Wounded Azure Dragon materialized, its spectral form still scarred but blazing with renewed purpose.
"You mimic the Dragon's guise, boy," Morgath sneered, emerging—a giant clad in wolf pelts and Vein-corrupted armor. "But I've slain true Sovereigns."
Their duel shook the desert. Morgath fought with the brutality of erased history—ax strikes that eroded memory, curses that aged flesh. Lin Tian countered with the Luck System's precision, redirecting qi to amplify the clans' strengths:
- The Bai Clan's flames purified tainted sand.
- The Zhen Clan's quakes diverted Morgath's reinforcements.
- Xia Qingyue's frostfire severed his immortality's tether.
But the Khan laughed. "You think this is war? This is a distraction."
A system alert screamed:
Warning: Dragon's Vengeance Countdown – 15 Days.
Foreign Invasion Detected: U.S.-E.U. Coalition Crossing Taiwan Strait.
Morgath's throne exploded into a sand vortex, engulfing Lin Tian. "Your enemies are legion, Sovereign. And I am patient."
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The Fractured Council
Back in Beijing's war room, tensions erupted.
The Jiang Clan's heir slammed his helmet on the table. "We can't fight ancients *and* modern armies! Prioritize the barbarians!"
The Bai Clan's scribe unrolled a burning missive. "The Dragon's Vengeance will destroy us all in days! We must appease the spirit!"
Zhen geomancers rumbled. "The land itself revolts—mountains are walking!"
Lin Tian silenced them with a pulse of dragon qi. "We split forces. Xia Qingyue and I will descend into the Vein to calm the Dragon's spirit. Luo Mei leads the clans against the coalition. Xue—hack their satellites. Make them see exactly what's coming."
"And Morgath?" Ling asked, her sword still dripping barbarian blood.
"Leave him to me," whispered a voice from the shadows.
The screen flickered—a teenage girl in a tattered Hanfu, her eyes glowing with the same amber qi as the Dragon's Vengeance countdown.
The system identified her:
Ancient Entity Detected.
Identity: Princess Longhua (Dragon Dynasty's Last Heir).
"You've awakened my family's legacy, Lin Tian," she said, her voice layered with draconic harmonics. "Now finish what Morgath started—kill me, and the Dragon's Vengeance dies with my blood."
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Epilogue: The Vein's Truth
Beneath Mount Kunlun, Lin Tian and Xia Qingyue stood before the Dragon's Vein. Its golden currents now swirled with spectral images—the Dragon Dynasty's fall, the Patriarch's betrayal, and a lone princess fleeing with the Vein's heart.
"Princess Longhua is the Dragon's Vengeance," Xia Qingyue realized. "Her soul has been trapped here since Morgath's first invasion. Freeing her ends the curse… but risks unleashing her wrath."
Lin Tian waded into the Vein, its currents peeling back his humanity. "You once told me to trust those bound to me. Does that include dead princesses?"
Xia Qingyue's frostfire dimmed. "I… knew her. In another life. She wouldn't have chosen this."
The Vein's memories engulfed them—a flash of Xia Qingyue in ancient robes, screaming as Morgath's axe struck the princess down.
The system updated:
Huaxia's Luck Points: 94/100 (Echoes of Glory).
"You were her guardian too," Lin Tian said softly.
Xia Qingyue's composure cracked. "And I failed. Don't repeat my sins, Sovereign."
As they plunged deeper, the system warned:
Dragon's Vengeance Countdown: 7 Days.
U.S.-E.U. Coalition 12 Hours from Shanghai.
Somewhere above, Princess Longhua whispered to the stars: "Let them come, Dragon's Heir. Let them see what happens when a forgotten era bites back."