At the tender age of eight, he was hastily dragged out and made emperor!

As the ancestral home of the Murong clan, Mount Chihan holds a special position and significance in the Murong Dynasty. Legend has it that the Murong ancestors received guidance from heaven, which enabled them to multiply and grow stronger, thus laying the foundation for the Murong Dynasty's hegemony.

Within the territory of the Murong Dynasty, besides this ancestral sacred mountain, there is another equally special place called the Heavenly River. Only with this mountain and river can the Murong Dynasty stand tall and powerful!

The ceremony of offering sacrifices to Heaven at Tianhe and informing ancestors at Chihan Mountain was an extremely solemn ritual for the entire Murong Dynasty.

Whenever important events such as the change of the imperial throne, the establishment of the crown prince, the appointment of the empress, or the conferment of the crown princess occurred, the central government of the dynasty would send a large number of people to Tianhe and Chihan Mountain to offer sacrifices to heaven and ancestors. As such, not only were there absolutely elite guards protecting the mountain and the river, but also members of the royal family, nobles, large clans, and tribes of the Murong Dynasty on duty there. This was also an important symbol of the imperial power's control over everything.

Chihan Mountain is located at the intersection of the northeast of the Southern Capital and the northwest of the Eastern Capital. Chihan Mountain faces west towards the Upper Capital, thus protecting the Murong Dynasty and ensuring its eternal existence...

"Da da da--"

On the edge of Chihan Mountain, on a flat grassland, dozens of young men dressed in various martial arts uniforms and with their hair tied in the same style rode their mounts at full speed.

"what!!"

"drive!!"

"..."

Amidst the alternating sounds, the riding team of dozens of teenagers split into several columns. Apart from the seven at the head, no matter how hard the remaining teenagers tried to catch up, they could not catch up with the first column.

Even though some of these teenagers were anxious and indignant, all their efforts were in vain.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the winner of this equestrian contest will be one of the seven riders positioned very close together at the front.

Amidst the incessant sounds of horses' hooves and shouts, a red ribbon fluttered in the wind, causing the seven men at the forefront to display various expressions.

Whoever emerges victorious in this contest will gain all the troops, divine weapons, and precious armor they've staked, and will also earn the respect of others. For these young men from distinguished backgrounds, however, obtaining these things is secondary; the key is to overpower everyone and achieve victory!

"Be careful!!"

Suddenly, a shout rang out from behind.

Yuwen Jing felt a gust of wind from the whip, and as he leaned forward, he instinctively dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the sudden attack.

Yuwen Jing hung sideways on his mount, gripping the reins tightly with his right hand while holding the horse's mane firmly with his left, causing the horse to neigh and charge forward in pain.

As his mount galloped and lurched, Yuwen Jing coldly glanced at Murong Kan, who had ambushed him. Seeing that his attack had failed, Murong Kan revealed his anger and lashed out with his whip, causing his mount to roar and charge forward. This sudden turn of events disrupted the rhythm of the other five, unexpectedly putting Yuwen Jing and Murong Kan at the forefront.

Bu Lu Guhan, Yuchi He, Tuoba Qing, Qiu Mulingchuan, and Huyan Chi all had different expressions as they stared at Yuwen Jing and Murong Kan, who were locked in a fierce battle, each with their own thoughts.

No one expected that Murong Kan would resort to such despicable tactics in this contest; it's utterly disgraceful to the royal family!

Murong Kan's identity is not simple. He is the younger brother of Emperor Tuowu. He was born when Murong Tuo was alive. He had a relationship with a palace maid while drunk. However, because his mother was of humble origin, he was not recognized by Murong Tuo. He was sent to Chihan Mountain right after birth. Although he was included in the imperial genealogy when he was three years old, he never left Chihan Mountain. Because of this, Murong Kan has a violent and sensitive personality, but he is also skilled in archery and horsemanship.

Deep in Murong Kan's heart lay a burning desire: one day he would go to Shangdu with dignity and honor, and make everyone look up to him!

As for Yuwen Jing, he was the third grandson of Yuwen Hong, an important minister of the Murong Dynasty. After he was sent to Chihan Mountain, he was targeted by Murong Kan.

The two have never stopped their open and covert rivalry.

Whether it's Mount Chihan or the Tianhe River, there exists a special group that is nominally on guard of the mountain and the river, but their true purpose is self-evident.

Moreover, they were all legitimate children.

"what!!"

"drive--"

Yuwen Jing and Murong Kan shouted in turn, and the two gradually widened the gap between themselves and Bu Lu Guhan, Yuchi He, Tuoba Qing, Qiu Mulingchuan, Huyan Chi and others. They were getting closer and closer to the red silk. Some of the young men chasing behind slowed down their mounts and looked up. The outcome of the battle was about to be decided between the two.

until--

"Ha ha!!"

Murong Kan's hearty laughter rang out, the red silk ribbon fluttering in the breeze. Some of the young men frowned; in this contest, Murong Kan's victory was not honorable!

You lost!

Ignoring the gazes of others, Murong Kan, holding the red silk, rode his horse toward Yuwen Jing, staring at him arrogantly, "I have won this contest."

"Ah."

Yuwen Jing nodded slightly.

"you……"

Murong Kan frowned, staring intently at Yuwen Jing. Through Yuwen Jing's expression, he saw a hint of disdain, which fueled Murong Kan's anger.

"Thirteenth Prince! Your victory was dishonorable!!"

"This fight doesn't count!!"

"A victory won through a sneak attack..."

What happened next fueled Murong Kan's anger even more.

Murong Kan was extremely averse to the title of Thirteenth Prince. Those younger than him or of similar age had all been granted the title of prince, but he alone had nothing. He had lived on Mount Chihan since childhood, with only an old servant by his side.

His archery skills were taught to him by that old servant.

"A win is a win!"

Faced with these questions and complaints, Murong Kan's eyes hardened, and he said coldly, "On the battlefield, the enemy won't just stand by and watch you win!"

"But we are not the enemy!!"

Murong Kan's words displeased Tuoba Qing, "This competition was agreed upon from the beginning; it's all about horsemanship!!"

Tuoba Qing's counterattack surprised some people.

Tuoba Qing actually spoke up for Yuwen Jing.

You should know that neither of them looks down on the other.

But some people are not surprised at all.

"His Highness the Thirteenth Prince won this contest."

But what Yuwen Jing said next made many people frown. Under everyone's gaze, Yuwen Jing said, "The Thirteenth Prince is right. On the battlefield, the enemy will not just watch you win."

"Our dynasty is now facing a great calamity. Powerful enemies such as the Zanpuqin Khanate, Nanyu, and Xichuan have used extremely despicable means in an attempt to force our dynasty to submit. This is absolutely intolerable!!"

"The letter we wrote in blood was sent to Shangdu, requesting to go to the battlefield to defend the dynasty and relieve its worries, but we have not heard anything since. Why don't we take advantage of the end of this competition and write another letter in blood with His Highness the Thirteenth Prince? What do you all think?"

Yuwen Jing's words silenced Tuoba Qing and the others, and many eyes turned to Murong Kan.

"Whether you write it or not is up to you."

Under such gazes, Murong Kan dropped the red silk he was holding, took out the short dagger from his waist, and slashed at his palm. The pain made Murong Kan frown slightly, and blood kept flowing. Under such circumstances, Murong Kan jumped off his horse. Seeing Murong Kan do this, Yuwen Jing also jumped off.

He tore off a piece of white silk and handed it to Murong Kan.

Bu Lu Guhan, Yu Chi He, Tuoba Qing, Qiu Mu Lingchuan, and Hu Yanchi looked at each other with different expressions. Compared to this competition, what they cared about more was going to the battlefield. Deep down, they had a special feeling for the Murong Dynasty.

Now that the Murong Dynasty has suffered such a calamity, perhaps their ancestors and fathers, whether in Shangdu or elsewhere, had their own thoughts and calculations. However, their desire was relatively pure: to participate in foreign wars and fight against the invading enemies.

In this invasion, most of the enemy states, including the Zanpuqin Khanate, Nanyu, and Xichuan, wanted to go south to join the Southern Court King's Palace to fight against Nanyu. In their eyes, the Nanyu people were a lowly ethnic group that had been suppressed by the Murong Dynasty before, and the emperor of Nanyu was still so young. In their hearts, such a dynasty was not worthy of being compared with the Murong Dynasty at all.

Nanyu should bow down and submit to the Murong Dynasty!

Nanyu deserves to be conquered and seized by the Murong Dynasty!!

“Count me in!!”

"And I!!"

“Take me with you!!”

After Murong Kan wrote his letter of request to fight in blood and wrote his name, Yuwen Jing silently stepped forward. Under Murong Kan's gaze, Yuwen Jing picked up a short dagger, slashed his palm, frowned, and then wrote his name in blood. This scene prompted a reaction from the others.

It takes about a cup of tea.

The white silk was covered with densely packed blood-red characters.

"This blood-written letter must be given to the General Protecting the Tomb, not to Chang Gun of Chihan Mountain," Yuwen Jing said solemnly, his left hand clenched tightly as he looked at the blood-written letter held by Murong Kan.

"I don't need you to teach me how to do it."

Murong Kan stared coldly at Yuwen Jing and said, "After you hand over this blood letter, I will leave Chihan Mountain for the Southern Courtyard King's Mansion in three days. As for you, whether you want to come with me or not is up to you."

Murong Kan's words caused everyone else's expressions to change slightly.

Leaving Chihan Mountain without a valid reason is a serious crime!

"Are you scared?"

Seeing that Yuwen Jing and his group remained silent, Murong Kan smiled faintly, "It seems you have quite a few concerns. In that case, I will go to the Southern Courtyard Prince's Mansion myself."

After saying this, Murong Kan strode towards his mount.

Compared to Yuwen Jing and the others, Murong Kan had no scruples. He was not recognized by his father from birth, and it was only later, due to certain reasons, that he was able to continue in the imperial genealogy. Because his mother was of humble origin, he suffered such injustice from birth.

Murong Kan had complex feelings about this bloodline; he both longed for recognition and felt a strong aversion to it, which led to his unique personality.

Under the watchful eyes of Yuwen Jing and his entourage, Murong Kan rode forward on horseback. He was going to deliver the blood-written letter, and he was also about to leave Chihan Mountain.

In his subconscious, he felt that this was his only chance.

If he can't seize this opportunity, he'll likely never have a chance to turn his life around.

"Let's go."

As Murong Kan rode away at full speed, someone uttered a sentence, and the silent group began to stir. At that moment, they were all pondering the same thing: whether or not to do as Murong Kan suggested and leave Chihan Mountain for the Southern Prince's Mansion without receiving any decree or order from Shangdu.

The entire journey was speechless.

The group that had been competing on the outskirts of Chihan Mountain returned to the core of Chihan Mountain. Compared with the outer areas, the core of Chihan Mountain was much more formidable.

The core area of ​​Chihan Mountain contains many buildings, but mostly camps. The most central area features a high platform, a palace, and...

In addition to the imperial guards stationed here, there are also members of the royal family, nobles, powerful clans, and tribes who are on duty. There are also several guard tribes. The number of archers is around 50,000. In order to manage these groups, in addition to the imperial guards general, there are also corresponding officials to ensure the order and stability of Chihan Mountain.

However, there are no city walls in the Chihan Mountain area.

Originally, there was a plan to build a city wall on Chihan Mountain, but for some reason, the project was not carried out and was eventually abandoned.

Therefore, the guards of Chihan Mountain were divided into two major areas, inner and outer. The outer area was guarded by various guard forces and tomb-protecting tribes, while the inner area was guarded by the tomb-protecting army. In particular, some key locations were fortified with military camps, arrow towers, and other defensive structures.

Since the Murong Dynasty dominated the grasslands, no one has ever dared to invade Chihan Mountain, not even when the Murong Dynasty was in turmoil.

"Your Highness, you shouldn't have acted so impulsively."

The core of it.

Inside a tent.

An old man carefully bandaged Murong Kan's wounds and bowed to him, saying, "Even if you want to leave Chihan Mountain, you must find a good opportunity, otherwise it will cause..."

"Teacher! I don't want to go on like this anymore."

Before the old man could finish speaking, Murong Kan frowned and said, "No one knows better than my teacher what I have experienced in Chihan Mountain over the years. Now that the Murong Dynasty has suffered such a great calamity, it is something that many people did not expect, but for me it is a rare opportunity."

"Teacher, I don't want to grow old and die on Chihan Mountain. I want everyone to know who I am, and that I also have the blood of the Murong clan flowing through my veins!!"

Hey~

Hearing Murong Kan's words, the old man remained silent, but inwardly he sighed. He knew all too well what kind of person this prince, whom he had never acknowledged as his disciple, truly was.

In fact, Murong Kan was talented, but fate had other plans. His bloodline destined him to have a life full of hardships.

There's no such thing as kinship among royalty.

The old man was unwilling to recall many things about Shangdu. Many times, he wished that Murong Kan could stay on Chihan Mountain for the rest of his life, so that he wouldn't have to go through some of these things. But everyone has a youth, and when he thought back to his own youthful behavior, how could the old man not understand Murong Kan?

However, the situation he now faces is not as simple as Murong Kan thought. Whether leaving Chihan Mountain will be good or bad for Murong Kan is something he cannot predict. But some things are beyond his control...