Chapter 837: Chapter 79: Soaring to the Heavens on a Dragon, Drawing the Land into a River! (Part 3)

With no other choice, he could only urgently return to Kaifeng to discuss an alliance with the Southern Tang to oppose the Ming.

The sun and moon shine brightly.

Duncan has not yet officially founded his country, but the name has already been chosen.

Yongle.

As Duncan’s orders to attack the Southern Tang were issued, Li Fengji and others from the Guangdong and Guangxi regions led fifty thousand troops from Guizhou through Quanzhou to attack the Southern Tang. Xu Hao and others from the Ba and Shu regions led thirty thousand troops through the Three Gorges into Jingnan, attacking the Southern Tang from Jingzhou, Nanping, and other regions.

Two armies advanced simultaneously by land and water, forming a ’pincer attack’, giving the enemy no time to react, directly targeting Jinling.

The next month.

The newly trained navy of Li Yu, the Dragon Soaring Army, suffered a great defeat. It was rumored that a flood dragon emerged, greatly defeating tens of thousands of naval forces and breaking through the Southern Tang’s Yangtze River defenses. Immediately following this, battle reports came in from the south, where Lu Shanjun intimidated countless armies, taking the heads of three high monks of the Pure Land Sect, one of whom claimed to be the reincarnation of the Subduing Tiger Arhat.

The seventy-second day after the fall of Later Shu.

The Northern Song envoy reached an alliance with the Southern Tang’s Li Yu, led by Zhao Kuangyin’s brother, the so-called God of the Chariot, Zhao Guangyi. The Northern Song immediately dispatched troops to support the Southern Tang, with Zhao Kuangyin personally leading fifty thousand troops to seize Nanping and Jingnan, intending to cut off the communication route between Ba, Shu, and Guangdong and Guangxi.

The Red Army demon soldiers were greatly defeated, and Nanping fell.

This was Duncan’s first major defeat since the insurrection, as the combat strength of the Northern Song army far surpassed that of other countries.

Zhao Kuangyin was undoubtedly a hero of the time, far surpassing his brother Zhao Guangyi in both civil and martial prowess. If it weren’t for Zhou Xingfeng temporarily holding back the Northern Song’s offensive in Jingnan, Jingnan and other regions might have fallen, with the Northern Song army directly cutting off the connection between Guangdong, Guangxi, and Ba, Shu.

After the ’Cup of Wine and Release of Military Power’, Zhao Kuangyin completed centralization, especially in consolidating military power. The Northern Song was said to have obtained the imperial jade seal, considering it a symbol of the Celestial Destiny and the orthodoxy of the Central Plains.

The eighty-ninth day after the fall of Later Shu.

Duncan assembled his army to stabilize the Jingnan defense line, then personally led a few thousand cavalry on a long-distance raid, using a black flood dragon as the vanguard, breaking through thirty-six water forts of the Southern Tang in succession, advancing all the way to the vicinity of Jinling.

That year, the Southern Tang briefly moved its capital to Nanchang Prefecture before relocating back to Jinling (Nanjing).

Li Yu was greatly alarmed, hastily assembling an army to intercept, and requested help from high monks of the Buddhist sect, but unexpectedly, a fire suddenly broke out in the rear. Adherents of the Ming Religion initiated uprisings in various parts of Jiangnan, capturing cities. Masters of the Ming Religion emerged in full force, killing over ten generals in a day, and figures like the Kind Mother, Bright Envoy, Five Devils, and Five Miaozi launched surprise attacks on Buddhist sect members, resulting in casualties on both sides. However, without a doubt, the strength of the Ming Religion was not at all inferior to other factions.

Three days later.

A Buddhist high monk claiming to be the reincarnation of the Subduing Dragon Arhat was beheaded by Duncan. The black flood dragon revealed itself in the waters of the Yangtze River battle, stirring up massive waves. The Southern Tang troops surrendered en masse, and the Dragon Soaring Army, established for less than three months, was completely consigned to history.

Jiangning Prefecture was subsequently surrounded by the Red Army. Duncan fought alone against sixteen high monks of the Pure Land Sect, beheading fifteen, with only one escaping to the ancestral court.

Quick!

Too fast.

In this battle, Duncan perfectly illustrated the concept of winning through speed. The black flood dragon led the way, crushing the Southern Tang navy. Then the army, personally led by his armored cavalry, went on a thousand-mile raid, first severely damaging the Southern Tang’s main forces, then decisively engaging in a night attack on the Northern Song reinforcements. He then turned back, merging with the navy to attack Jiangning Prefecture.

Li Fengji, Lu Shanjun, Fu Jianhan, and others led their armies to aid Zhou Xingfeng in Jingnan, while Duncan took only half a day to breach the gates of Jiangning Prefecture.

The ninety-sixth day after the fall of Later Shu.

Li Yu opened the city and surrendered, as the capital of the Southern Tang, Jiangning, fell. Tens of thousands of land and naval troops all surrendered, and countless high monks of the Buddhist sect were killed or wounded.

On this same day.

For an unknown reason, the Yangtze River suddenly broke its banks, the flood rampaging, and the people of Jiangnan were in extreme danger.

Duncan faced a significant decision at this moment, whether to first lead troops to aid Jingnan to resist the main forces of the Northern Song, or to first save the countless people under the rampage of the Yangtze floods.

Ultimately.

Duncan ordered the masters of the Ming Religion to aid Jingnan, and even top figures from the medical, agricultural, and Mo families were all dispatched. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

In Jiangning Prefecture.

Duncan looked down at Li Yu kneeling on the ground in front of him, glimpsing at the Zhou Empress by his side, then ordered Xu Hao and others to take over everything in Jiangning City, to guard against a surprise attack by the Northern Song army.

"Long live the emperor! Long, long, live!"

Tens of thousands of soldiers kneeled on one knee, shouting long live, their voices shaking the universe.

Duncan, with an expressionless face, looked down upon the mighty army, then rose into the air gracefully, like ascending to the heavens. Amid a heart-shaking roar, the figure of the black flood dragon, more than ten feet long, appeared in the riverways of Jiangning. Countless people lay prostrate on the ground, trembling with fear.

The autumn wind was fierce.

Duncan walked in the air, standing on the dread head of the black flood dragon. He infused all his True Yuan into the black flood dragon’s body. With the infusion of the Xuanhuang Qi, the scales of the black flood dragon underwent a transformation, the dreadful head already revealing the outline of a True Dragon, with the faint appearance of wings on its spine.

"The Yangtze River has broken its banks, countless people on both sides of Jiangnan are hanging by a thread."

"If you help me succeed today."

"It will be enough to wash away all past sins and achieve the position of a True Dragon."

The Yellow River is the tempestuous old mother, while the Yangtze River is the real natural disaster.

Duncan’s black dragon robe fluttered loudly in the wind as he grasped the horns of the emerging dragon, pouring all his cultivation into its body. With True Yuan flowing like the sea, the black flood dragon let out an earth-shattering dragon roar. He said solemnly, "In the past, Dayu controlled the waters, using a dragon to clear the way, carving the earth into rivers, and smoothing the mountains and rivers."

"Since I have made a vow to bring peace to the world."

"I must rise to the occasion and cannot sit by and watch while the world suffers."

"Today, I use the fate of the dynasty to help you become a True Dragon!"

Words become reality.

All the scales of the black flood dragon were shed. From the regions of Guangdong and Guangxi, Ba, and Shu, even the Southern Tang, invisible dragon aura gathered on the black flood dragon. Coupled with Duncan’s overpowering cultivation of a millennium, the black flood dragon let out a high-pitched dragon roar, suddenly ascending, growing True Dragon five claws, possessing the ability to ride clouds and mist.

With a sweep of its tail.

The earth cracked open.

The black flood dragon originally possessed Dao Entrance Realm cultivation. Today, with the dynasty’s dragon aura granted by Duncan and coupled with his terrifying cultivation, it far exceeded the True Dragons of the world. Its body expanded to several dozen feet, and the dragon’s shadow circled a hundred meters above Jiangning City, bringing a series of thunderbolts. It then controlled the clouds and rain, diving down, and in the eyes of countless shocked people, it emulated the ancient Yinglong’s method, using the powerful body of a True Dragon to forcibly pioneer a river path.

The Yangtze River’s breaking of its banks was too peculiar.

But Duncan had no other way. The Yangtze is not the Yellow River, it is more violent. He couldn’t quell the flood alone but could only use the black flood dragon’s ability to control the river with his cultivation.

The black dragon emerged!

The black flood dragon transformed into a True Dragon several dozen feet long, using divine power to control the raging flood. Then relying on Duncan’s terrifying cultivation, with a dragon’s claw, it shook the earth, sweeping the rivers with its tail. The river path expanded with a rumbling noise, forming a buffer zone. Then, the black dragon controlled the river flow, diverting it away from the cities along the path, using the divine power of the True Dragon to release the flood, directing the Yangtze’s flow eastward into the sea.

To achieve this feat, the black flood dragon even risked its life.

The True Dragon’s incredibly powerful body vastened the river path, dispersing rain clouds with divine power. Although it couldn’t save everyone, at least the scale of the natural disaster was contained.

Duncan commanded the True Dragon, opening mountains and cracking stones, grooming the entire lower Yangtze River basin’s river path.

Lu Qiongxi prostrated in the Jiangnan palace, her eyes shining with divine light, murmuring in her heart, "Only now does the world realize Your Majesty’s cultivation reaches the heavens!"

The day Duncan took her to ascend and seek the Southern Heavenly Gate, she realized that the cultivation His Majesty displayed was less than one-tenth of his full power.

Today, with cultivation reaching the heavens, he assisted the flood dragon in transforming, emulated Dayu’s method, commanded the True Dragon, managed the rivers, and mitigated the catastrophe.

This act will surely shock the world!

The status of the Human Emperor.

Whether Ghost God or True Dragon, all are subject.

.........