[Host has seen the Golden Dragon Chariot in Fengtian City. This is the national treasure of Great Yan.]
[Though it's unclear why the Golden Dragon Chariot appeared here, this is without a doubt the perfect chance to take it.]
[Please seize the Golden Dragon Chariot. Doing so will greatly boost your reputation.]
[The Golden Dragon Chariot is Great Yan's national treasure and will definitely be heavily guarded by their top cultivators. This mission is extremely difficult. Proceed with caution.]
[Mission reward: Divine Dragon Soul.]
"Uncle, why are you giving me this carriage?" Yang Cheng asked.
"You're my nephew and also the Crown Prince. You're bound to face danger. If I don't give it to you, who else would I give it to?" Yun Jinghuai said matter-of-factly.
"Alright. Then in the future, I'll make sure to return the favor with an even better gift," Yang Cheng replied.
This gift was tied to his mission, so of course he wasn't going to refuse it.
"I'll be looking forward to it," Yun Jinghuai laughed.
Ding!
[Host has unknowingly worked with Yun Jinghuai to seize the Golden Dragon Chariot. Great Yan's national treasure now has a new owner.]
[Congratulations, host, on completing the mission. With the Golden Dragon Chariot in your possession, your presence will be unmatched wherever you go.]
[Divine Dragon Soul has been issued. Host may collect it at any time.]
This mission had been completed without him lifting a finger.
Yang Cheng hadn't done anything, yet the task resolved itself. He couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.
"Uncle, I want to pick a horse," Yang Cheng suddenly said.
He was thinking about his old horse from his past life—Lao Huang.
Fifteen years later, Lao Huang had carried him across tens of thousands of li, helping him escape countless pursuers. But it had only been an ordinary yellow horse and died from sheer exhaustion.
At this time, Lao Huang should be just two years old—right in its prime youth.
So Yang Cheng asked Yun Jinghuai to take him to the royal stables.
At a glance, he found Lao Huang.
Right now, it was full of energy.
Unfortunately, most of the horses in the stables were spirit horses.
Lao Huang was just a regular horse, so none of the other horses wanted to play with it.
It was precisely because it was so ordinary that the useless Yang Cheng of his past life had been able to get it.
[Why is host looking for Lao Huang's corpse? Does host intend to bring it back to life?]
[Lao Huang was a mundane horse and has been dead for 484 years. Reviving it will be even harder than resurrecting Yun Jinghuai.]
[Mission issued: Revive Lao Huang. Deadline: 10 years. Host may choose to accept or decline.]
[Mission reward: Divine Dragon Whip.]
Yang Cheng was stunned for a moment.
"Greetings to the Crown Prince. Greetings to the Grand Marshal." The stablemaster greeted them with a wide grin.
"I'm here to choose a horse," Yang Cheng said.
"Choose a horse?" The stablemaster immediately perked up. "Your Highness, let me show you around. We have a fine batch of Qilin Horses here, each with Qilin bloodline—"
"No need," Yang Cheng waved his hand and walked straight to Lao Huang.
Lao Huang was being driven off by a female spirit horse, hanging its head as it grazed on the grass in dejection.
Noticing Yang Cheng and the others, it raised its head blankly, eyes filled with dumb innocence.
"Bring it out for me," Yang Cheng said.
The stablemaster quickly stepped in. "Your Highness, that horse isn't suitable. It's just an ordinary, mundane breed."
Lao Huang lowered its head again.
It had no hope of being chosen.
It knew that being picked by someone would mean a better life.
In the stable, it only ate regular feed.
But once selected by a noble, it would enjoy better treatment and resources.
Plenty of nobles had come through before, yet none had even looked at it.
Judging from the other spirit horses and the staff's attitude toward it, Lao Huang knew its bloodline was mediocre and low-class.
The little human in front of it—judging by his clothes and how everyone treated him—was clearly far more important than the nobles who had come before.
There was no way someone like him would choose it.
Yun Jinghuai looked intrigued.
He had been confused as to why the Crown Prince would pick such a poor horse.
But he was sharp. At that moment, he noticed something unusual in the horse's eyes—an intelligence that was anything but ordinary.
So Yun Jinghuai said nothing.
"No need to say more. I'm choosing this one," Yang Cheng said.
Lao Huang jerked its head up, staring at Yang Cheng in disbelief.
Seeing its comically dumb face, Yang Cheng couldn't help but chuckle.
He knew this horse better than anyone.
Despite its stupid looks, it was actually cunning as hell.
If it weren't, it could've never carried him through that hellish escape in his past life.
The stablemaster didn't dare go against the Crown Prince's order and reluctantly brought the horse out.
He didn't take it seriously, assuming the Crown Prince was just being childish.
He believed that once the prince realized how poor the horse's quality was, he'd return it sooner or later.
Yang Cheng was still too small to mount the horse on his own.
Yun Jinghuai smiled and gently lifted him up onto Lao Huang's back.
Sitting on Lao Huang's back, Yang Cheng immediately felt a deep sense of familiarity.
He patted Lao Huang's back. "Lao Huang, take me for a walk."
Across from the stables was a large training field.
The stablemaster looked anxious, worried that this lousy horse might hurt the Crown Prince.
But Yun Jinghuai waved his hand to keep him from interfering. The Crown Prince had killed Martial Masters—how could a mundane horse possibly harm him?
Lao Huang was extremely intuitive. Though it didn't recognize Yang Cheng, it instinctively knew this was its future master. There was no way it would hurt him. It obediently strolled with Yang Cheng on its back.
"Lao Huang, in our past life, both of us were nobodies," Yang Cheng softly said once they'd walked to the far side of the field. "This time, I've changed my fate. So let's change yours too."
[Host has touched Lao Huang and detected its vigorous life force. This confirms that Lao Huang has been resurrected.]
[What an unbelievable feat. Host's actions are growing harder and harder to comprehend.]
[Reward issued. Host may claim it at any time.]
"System, accept the Divine Dragon Soul and inject it into Lao Huang," Yang Cheng commanded.
He had the system directly inject the soul into Lao Huang's body, using its power to mask the energy signature, avoiding detection.
As expected, it worked perfectly.
The system released a mysterious force that completely blocked off Lao Huang's energy. Although a powerful transformation was happening inside—the fusion of the dragon soul—no changes were visible on the outside.
After just half a quarter hour, Lao Huang had successfully fused with the Divine Dragon Soul.
Its soul had clearly evolved. Its pupils were now dark gold, and its fur carried faint traces of gold.
Though the Divine Dragon Soul only altered the soul and didn't change the body much, the minor spillover alone gave Lao Huang a sliver of divine dragon bloodline.
"Let's go back," Yang Cheng said, directing Lao Huang toward the stables.
"Huh?" Yun Jinghuai immediately sensed something unusual. "That's dragon blood aura… Seems I underestimated this horse. Or maybe, it had dormant divine dragon blood all along that just hadn't been awakened. The Crown Prince has sharp eyes and bold methods."
He figured this awakening was likely thanks to Yang Cheng and had no desire to dig deeper.
All he needed to know was that the Crown Prince—his nephew—was growing stronger by the day.
"Lao Huang, this is the Golden Dragon Chariot. From now on, it'll be our ride."
Yang Cheng brought Lao Huang to the Golden Dragon Chariot.
In their past life, he and Lao Huang had never enjoyed such luxury. Back then, even the best they had was a simple wooden cart.
But Lao Huang looked uneasy, even resistant.
The chariot came with harnesses, which were a kind of restraint to horses.
"You dumb thing," Yang Cheng laughed and scolded. "All beings in heaven and earth must suffer trials to grow. This chariot is built from dragon bone. Pulling it every day won't just train you—it'll wash you in dragonbone power. This kind of opportunity? Other horses can't even dream of it."
Hearing that, Lao Huang's resistance disappeared, replaced by anticipation.
Yun Jinghuai clicked his tongue in amazement. He was starting to think this horse was practically sentient.
Soon after, Yun Jinghuai had the staff harness Lao Huang to the chariot.
Lao Huang immediately felt the crushing weight. At the same time, he sensed faint invisible forces flowing from the chariot toward him.
The power triggered a resonance in his divine dragon bloodline, making his whole body tremble with vitality.
He knew right away—Yang Cheng hadn't lied.
Pulling this chariot really would be the best way to strengthen himself.
Half an hour later, Yun Jinghuai returned Yang Cheng to the palace.
Yang Cheng brought the new chariot with him.
Yun Liyue glanced at it and smiled. "Good horse. Fine chariot."
She didn't realize Lao Huang had originally been a regular steed and had only changed after Yang Cheng used the dragon soul. She just assumed Lao Huang had divine dragon blood from the start.
As for the chariot, she already knew Yun Jinghuai had gifted it to Yang Cheng.
The next day.
Yang Cheng went to Autumn Water Courtyard like usual.
[Five hundred years ago, Cheng Junyi left the Wasteland Realm and joined the Great Yan Dao Palace because she'd lost all hope in the Wasteland Realm.]
[If Cheng Junyi had stayed, it would have been a huge boost to the realm's strength.]
[Now, for unknown reasons, she's returned. Host, use this chance to resolve her inner conflict and make her stay.]
[Mission reward: Great Achievement in Sword Dao.]
The system's prompt made Yang Cheng pause in thought.
In his past life, around this time, Cheng Junyi had indeed been preparing to leave.
Not long after, she joined the Great Yan Dao Palace.
Five hundred years later, she was one of their elders and showed open hostility toward the Wasteland Realm.
Back then, he'd been too dazed and overwhelmed to think about her.
Now that he thought about it, something about the whole situation didn't sit right.