Empress Su Mingyue's army arrived thirty li outside Yongning City in the afternoon.

The five-hundred-thousand-strong army had marched north from Wild Wolf Slope in An Province, recruiting defectors and pacifying the populace along the way, and today, they finally returned to the borders of You Province.

For an army where even the lowest cultivation level was the Skin Refining Realm, a distance of thirty li was nothing.

As the sky gradually darkened, the army arrived ten li outside Yongning City.

Empress Su Mingyue reined in her warhorse, struck her silver spear against the ground, and ordered the entire army to set up camp on the spot.

The tents for the five hundred thousand soldiers were spread out, one after another, across the wilderness south of the city; campfires lit up in succession, looking from afar like a Dragon of fire crawling across the earth.

She, however, took her ten thousand personal guards, shed her heavy armor, wore only light leather armor, and continued toward Yongning City with light hoofbeats.

Both sides of the official road five li outside Yongning City were already packed with people.

Emperor Yongchang, Liu Ji, had set up a welcoming platform in the middle of the official road, accompanied by all the civil and military officials of the court.

A crimson carpet stretched from the welcoming platform to the end of the official road, and the Imperial Guards on both sides held torches, illuminating the entire road as if it were broad daylight.

The civil and military officials were arranged in order of rank; Zhou Ming stood behind the officials, his dark blue official robes worn meticulously, a perfectly appropriate smile of respect on his face.

Further out were the commoners of the entire city who had heard the news, men, women, young, and old, dragging their families along.

They crowded from the city gate for several li along both sides of the official road; some held lanterns in their hands, others held children in their arms, all stretching their necks to look toward the west.

"They're here! They're here!"

Someone in the crowd shouted first, and then everyone saw it.

On the southern horizon, a long Dragon of torches was slowly moving toward them.

That was Empress Su Mingyue's ten thousand personal guards; the sound of their horses' hooves was uniform, and the torches connected into a winding band of light in the night.

Empress Su Mingyue rode at the very front of the formation, clad in black armor with a silver spear, her dark hair tied high, her black cape snapping in the northern wind.

The ten thousand personal guards formed a neat phalanx behind her, spears and halberds like a forest, their iron armor glinting with a cold, sharp light under the torches.

The commoners began to cheer; at first, it was just a few scattered cries of "Young Marshal."

Soon, it merged into an overwhelming wave of sound.

"Young Marshal! Young Marshal!"

Some held their lanterns high, some knelt down in excitement, and some lifted their children above their heads so they could catch a glimpse of this guardian deity of You Province.

Empress Su Mingyue's warhorse stepped onto the official road, moving slowly amidst the cheers of the commoners lining the path.

The sky had completely darkened, and no one could see the dark expression on Emperor Yongchang's face.

He sat upright on the welcoming platform, his bright yellow dragon robe trembling slightly in the night wind.

The beads of his imperial crown obscured most of his face; only his two hands gripped the armrests of the dragon throne tightly, his knuckles white.

The young eunuch standing behind him saw the veins bulging on the back of his hands and a strange smile appeared on the eunuch's face.

The entire city's commoners were shouting for the Young Marshal, and all the court officials were waiting for the Young Marshal; not a single voice was cheering for him.

Empress Su Mingyue reined in her horse ten zhang away from the welcoming platform.

She dismounted, handed her silver spear to Dongmei at her side, adjusted her black armor, and was about to step forward to salute Emperor Yongchang.

Just then, the sky behind her suddenly lit up.

It didn't brighten gradually; it was sudden, as if someone had sliced open the night sky, letting the light of all the stars in the heavens gush out.

Everyone looked up at the same time, only to see a massive blaze of fire that had appeared in the night sky behind Empress Su Mingyue.

The fire was initially just a blurred crimson mass, then it rapidly unfolded.

Wings, tail feathers, a Phoenix crown, and plume eyes—each feather unfolded in the night sky, transforming into a giant fire Phoenix.

The Phoenix burned with raging flames, its crimson-gold light scorching half the firmament; the clouds were illuminated by the firelight into churning lava, and the stars were eclipsed by the flames.

The wisps of clouds floating in the night sky were torn into shreds by the air currents from the Phoenix's wings, and a rain of fire fell from the Phoenix's tail feathers, vanishing into nothingness mid-air.

The fire Phoenix hovered slowly directly above Empress Su Mingyue, its massive wings dragging long trails of flame through the night sky with every flap.

It circled above her head for a full lap; the fiery wind stirred by its wings whipped her cape, and the firelight shone upon her black armor, gilding her entire form in a layer of flowing crimson-gold.

The Phoenix raised its head and emitted a clear, long cry—not a literal call, but an invisible vibration that seemed to pierce through all things in heaven and earth, causing everyone's robes to tremble slightly.

Then it flapped its wings and soared, flying higher and higher, until it became an incredibly bright crimson-gold dot at the highest point of the night sky, like a meteor flying backwards into the depths of the firmament, disappearing without a sound.

After the Phoenix disappeared, the official road outside Yongning City fell into a deathly silence.

The raging fire vanished, and the night sky returned to darkness.

The light of the torches seemed as dim as fireflies compared to the flames from just moments ago.

Tens of thousands of commoners, all the civil and military officials, and the Imperial Guards on the welcoming platform—everyone remained in the same posture.

Heads tilted back, mouths agape, staring wide-eyed in the direction where the Phoenix had disappeared.

A few old farmers' lanterns fell to the ground and caught fire, yet no one noticed; some women's tears streamed down their cheeks, yet they didn't know they were crying.

No one knew who was the first to have their knees give way and kneel, their foreheads striking the muddy ground with a heavy thud.

"An omen from Heaven, a Phoenix has appeared in the world!"

Someone in the crowd shrieked at the top of their lungs, their voice trembling with excitement.

This cry was like pouring a ladle of water into boiling oil; the entire crowd erupted.

Hundreds and thousands of commoners knelt down in unison, their foreheads pressed against the mud, not daring to look up, not daring to speak; only the sound of heavy breathing and suppressed sobbing rose and fell among the crowd.

"An omen from Heaven, a Phoenix has appeared in the world!"

"The mandate of Heaven has returned! The mandate of Heaven has returned!"

"The sun and moon soar in the sky, the divine Phoenix has descended; this is Heaven's will! Heaven's will cannot be defied!"

The commoners on the outskirts shouted until they were hoarse, and soon, some of the civil and military officials followed suit and knelt down.

The first to kneel were a few vice ministers who had been terrified by Zhou Ming's "pointing at a deer and calling it a horse" in the court.

Then came a few old officials of the third rank and above.

An elderly man from the previous dynasty, with gray hair, knelt tremblingly on the ground, tears streaming down his face, muttering repeatedly.

"The Phoenix does not arrive, the river does not produce the map, it is over for me."

After reciting a few lines, he felt it wasn't right and hurriedly changed his tune to shout about the omen from Heaven.

By the end, a huge crowd had knelt before the welcoming platform; only Emperor Yongchang remained standing.

He stood there, his entire body trembling; the beads of his imperial crown shook with him, the collision of the bead strings emitting a faint tinkling sound.

His lips were pressed into a thin, bloodless line, his chest heaving violently, yet he did not say a single word.

Empress Su Mingyue stood where she was, tilting her head slightly to look at the night sky where the fire Phoenix had vanished.

Her face remained as calm as water, but a faint glimmer of light slid through the depths of her eyes.

She was a general who had experienced countless bloodbaths on the battlefield; she would never believe in any omens.

Her expression was normal, as if nothing had happened, though the corners of her mouth curved slightly in an imperceptible way.

She turned around again, her gaze passing over the civil and military officials kneeling all over the ground and the trembling Emperor Yongchang.

She did not look at the nominal ruler of the country, but instead fixed her gaze precisely on Zhou Ming.

The moment their eyes met, Zhou Ming raised an eyebrow slightly.

Just then, Emperor Yongchang burst into laughter.