At that moment, the crowd surrounding Lin Qian's Nine Dragon Throne gazed in utter shock, their faces filled with disbelief.
Clearly, the sudden appearance of this figure had left them deeply shaken.
"What is this kid up to now?" Emperor Lin widened his eyes, staring at his son sitting atop the throne.
Even Yun Fan, observing his grandson's sudden entrance, showed an intrigued expression. "Five trillion years... That's an incredibly ancient era. There aren't even records from that time about what the Soul Martial Continent was like."
"Hua Xia Empire," Lin Qian's voice echoed, "was the most brilliant jewel of the ancient Soul Martial Continent. During that era, humans were incredibly innovative, and the Hua Xia Empire was an unrivaled power on the continent."
"When I was a child, by sheer chance, I became the inheritor of the Hua Xia Empire due to the faint traces of royal blood flowing in my veins— the Blood of Yan and Huang."
"After inheriting this ancient and long-lost empire, I came to realize that its downfall was intricately linked to the betrayal of the Yun family, who conspired with foreign invaders. Now, the descendants of these treacherous Yun clan members still live among us."
At first, many onlookers were confused by Lin Qian's cryptic words, but as he continued, they began to understand the weight of his message.
"Yes, I'm referring to the Yun family of the Central Region. They were once traitors to the Hua Xia Empire. As the current emperor and successor of the Hua Xia Empire, it is my solemn duty to cleanse these traitors from history!"
"From today onward, the Hua Xia Empire formally declares war on the Yun family of the Central Region."
"This battle will serve to avenge the soul of the last emperor of the Hua Xia Empire. Many of you may not know this, but when the Yun family betrayed the empire, the last emperor was leading his army in defense against an invasion from extraterrestrial forces!"
"The final emperor, Dragon Ao Tian, was a true legend. As a young man, he was deemed weak and was looked down upon by his royal siblings. But one day, he discovered a ring containing the soul of a powerful human elder…"
"Just as he was about to wed, a woman came to break off their engagement…"
Gradually, Lin Qian began recounting the story of this last emperor. The plot was full of twists and turns, drawing the crowd in with increasing interest. At first curious, they soon found themselves engrossed in the tale.
In Lin Qian's version of events, the Yun family had been close friends and trusted allies of this legendary emperor. The emperor had treated them generously. But, driven by greed, they betrayed him, secretly allying with the foreign invaders to overthrow their friend.
"How despicable! The Yun family dared to be so shameless!"
"Unbelievable! The last emperor, Dragon Ao Tian, was a hero of humanity, fighting to protect his people from invaders. And yet, he had a treacherous friend like that?"
"It's true! The Yun family has always been deceitful. Look at how they treated Yun Sovereign Yun Fan, despite everything he did for them!"
"Hmph, finally, we see their true nature…" A young man's eyes suddenly brightened. "Now that you mention it, my family has an ancestral ring. Could it be that there's a powerful elder spirit inside, too?"
"Hey, my family also has a small bottle. Maybe it's a treasure that can make medicinal herbs grow faster!"
As the crowd muttered among themselves, Lin Qian observed them with satisfaction. Things were progressing even better than expected.
The entire story, of course, was fabricated by Lin Qian. The so-called last emperor, Dragon Ao Tian, was a fictional character based on the many classic tropes from the electronic novels of his previous life.
These kinds of thrilling and immersive stories were perfect for captivating people, and since they were considered classics in his previous world, they easily enraptured this audience, who had little in the way of entertainment.
Initially, Lin Qian had only intended to make up a plausible excuse to put pressure on the Yun family through public opinion. He hadn't anticipated just how smoothly things would go.
"I didn't think they'd buy into the story this easily," Lin Qian thought to himself, slightly surprised.
At that moment, a voice echoed in Lin Qian's mind. It was Zhuge Ming. "Your Majesty, it seems we've stumbled onto an unexpected coincidence."
"Hmm?" Lin Qian's expression shifted as he listened.
"In the story you just shared, you said that the Yun family betrayed the Hua Xia Empire, and later, after being betrayed themselves by foreign invaders, they hid and eventually resurfaced to establish themselves in the Soul Martial Continent."
"While you were making that up, it turns out there's some truth to it."
Zhuge Ming's revelation caught Lin Qian off guard.
"In our recent investigations, we've been gathering information from various markets. The agents you dispatched, like Jifeng and Ye Ying, have been working to integrate into the Soul Martial Continent. They've uncovered a number of ancient texts."
"From these records, we learned that the Yun family suddenly appeared in the Central Region. They wiped out an existing power and claimed territory, slowly expanding their domain."
"And before the Yun family appeared, there wasn't any other faction on the Soul Martial Continent that resembled them. This fact has puzzled other factions in the Central Region for ages."
"Now, your sudden emergence with the claim of reviving an ancient empire, combined with your story, makes your claims about the Yun family's betrayal seem eerily plausible."
"Plus, the gripping story you just told will likely spread throughout the Central Region in no time. Our plan has succeeded beyond expectations."
Zhuge Ming's report stunned Lin Qian. He hadn't expected that his fabricated story would align so closely with the actual mysteries surrounding the Yun family.
In fact, Zhuge Ming had long been puzzled by the advanced crafting techniques the Yun family possessed, especially the legendary Refinement Manuals. These should have been far beyond the technological capabilities of the Soul Martial Continent. How had the Yun family come by such advanced knowledge?
Even though their attempt to master these techniques had largely failed, their knowledge far surpassed what the continent should have been capable of.
"Could it be that the Yun family doesn't originally hail from the Soul Martial Continent but came here from the outer void?" Lin Qian mused, furrowing his brow as he looked up at the sky, as if peering into the unknown void beyond the world.