The Flag Raising

Truth be told, it was also Lin Mo's first time watching the flag-raising ceremony.

Before getting out of the car, the person in the passenger seat suddenly spoke up.

"Actually, we could drive a bit closer."

Meaning that Yanhuang Awakening could secure a better spot.

But Lin Mo shook his head.

"No need for the trouble. The people should stand with the people."

With that said, Lin Mo took Tong Dong and got out of the car.

Leaving the two people behind staring at each other in dismay.

However, one of them leaned against the car.

"How do you think he spotted us?"

"He could even detect a perception-shielding bomb. What's so strange about him finding us?"

"To me, this Lin Mo isn't as terrifying as the rumors say."

"The person isn't terrifying, but the things he's done are. Still, there's nothing wrong with his approach. If that ability-transferring technology really fell into our hands, I reckon the two of us might..."

The rest of the sentence was left unsaid, but everything was understood without words.

That was why many grassroots agents of Yanhuang Awakening felt Lin Mo had done a good job; they didn't want to be shrouded in inexplicable terror.

At Tianmen Square in Tianjing.

The early morning air carried a chill unique to autumn. Since it wasn't a holiday, the crowd wasn't particularly dense. People were scattered in twos and threes across the vast square, chatting in low voices, waiting for the same moment.

In a few days, during the National Day, this place would become the true main stage. By then, it would probably be hard to even find a place to stand.

Neither Lin Mo nor Tong Dong were the type to join in the bustle, but there were some events where, if you didn't join in at least once, it always felt like something was missing.

Of course, on special days, the flag-raising ceremony also had special effects. For example, the number of guards would be different, the number of buglers would vary, and sometimes there would even be a military band performing.

However, this time, taking advantage of the fact that their training hadn't started yet to come out and watch the flag-raising, it felt pretty good too.

"I say, are you sure this spot of ours is okay?"

Tong Dong shrank his neck and stood on his tiptoes to look forward, but could only see rows of the backs of people's heads. "If I had known, we would have come earlier."

Lin Mo glanced at him and didn't speak.

His height had now shot up to 179 centimeters, a very delicate number. He publicly claimed to be one point eight meters, rounding up with absolute confidence.

Tong Dong didn't have this advantage. Being quite a bit shorter, his field of vision was severely restricted.

"Follow closely."

Lin Mo was concise. He leaned forward slightly, like a gentle yet irresistible blade, effortlessly slicing through the gaps in the crowd.

He didn't push or shove, nor did he use any brute force, yet the people around him seemed to have agreed in advance, unconsciously making way for him.

Tong Dong followed behind, somewhat surprised and a bit envious, assuming it was just the oppressive feeling brought by Lin Mo's tall stature. He didn't notice at all that whenever Lin Mo approached someone, a faintly imperceptible aura would gently brush past, making the other person subconsciously want to move aside.

Using Golden Core stage spiritual power to clear a path while watching a flag-raising ceremony could be considered using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

The two eventually squeezed into a fairly forward position, almost able to see the subtle expressions on the faces of the soldiers behind the guardrail.

The sky turned from deep blue to fish-belly white, with a faint touch of gold inlaid in the eastern horizon.

Sunrise was the command for the flag-raising.

This time was never fixed; it followed the pace of the Blue Planet's revolution, swinging precisely in the rhythm of early summers and late winters.

It would be later in the winter, and earlier in the summer.

Like right now, the sunrise time was around six o'clock.

That was why Lin Mo and his companion had to set out early.

The soldiers standing guard around them were like statues. Their breathing was steady and drawn out, collectively constructing a solemn aura.

Lin Mo could sense the surging vitality and blood within their bodies. It was a power purely belonging to mortals, tempered through thousands of hardships, tough as steel.

Before long, a neat, uniform, and sonorous sound of footsteps approached from afar, striking at the heart of everyone present.

The National Flag Escort Guard had arrived.

The initially somewhat noisy crowd seemed to have been put on mute. Everyone's gaze was drawn to that marching dash of deep olive green and dazzling red.

(At this time, it was this color; I checked the records.)

Lin Mo also watched quietly.

This was his first time watching the Tianmen flag-raising from such a close distance.

Up until now, he had always felt that the flag-raising was a very sacred event.

But when the escort guard uniformly switched to the goose-step, the muffled thuds of their leather boots hitting the ground seemed to overlap with his heartbeat. An indescribable sense of solemnity rushed straight from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

That was something his cultivation base couldn't give him, and neither could his system.

"Salute!"

With a single command, the melody of the national anthem soared into the sky.

Lin Mo and Tong Dong's bodies instinctively stiffened to attention.

The flag-bearer raised his arm with a flourish, and that bright red flag unfurled in the morning breeze, like a ball of burning flame.

"Arise! Ye who refuse to be slaves! With our flesh and blood..."

It was unknown who started first, but soon after, the singing spread like a tidal wave.

Men and women, old and young, with various accents, but that emotion was universal.

Lin Mo found his own lips moving, and then, a not-so-loud singing voice naturally welled up from his throat.

He clearly heard his own voice, mixed into the surrounding chorus of high-pitched or hoarse voices, not standing out in the slightest.

He even had the leisure to glance at Tong Dong beside him. This guy was craning his neck, his face flushed red, singing louder than anyone else.

How interesting.

Lin Mo's state of mind suddenly felt a trace of a wondrous stirring.

His divine sense easily covered the entire square, able to clearly see everyone's expressions and hear every single voice.

He saw a white-haired old man, his eyes brimming with hot tears, murmuring something.

He saw a young couple, the girl leaning on the boy's shoulder, holding hands and humming softly together.

He saw a father holding his child high above his head, pointing his finger at the flag that was slowly ascending.

At this moment, countless gazes, countless emotions, and the beating of countless hearts all converged on the same point.

A majestic, vast, and utterly pure momentum condensed in the sky above the square.

That was not spiritual power, nor magic power, nor true qi, but something far more profound.

It was the will of the people; it was the destiny of the nation.

Lin Mo's pupils contracted slightly. In his divine sense perception, as the national flag reached the very top, that invisible momentum seemed to transform into an unseen golden giant dragon, spiraling upward, letting out a silent roar that resounded through the clouds, and finally merging as one with the rising morning sun.

Radiant with boundless light.

The Golden Core within Lin Mo's body actually trembled slightly and uncontrollably at this moment, as if paying homage, or perhaps cheering.

He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

So, this was true power.

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Ancestral Dragon Providence]

[Ancestral Dragon Providence: Do the right thing, and the Ancestral Dragon will protect you]