The Human Emperor

In the Demonic Emperor Old Man’s first meeting with Wang Chong, Wang Chong had only been a sixteen-year-old child, but he was now a hero venerated by the masses.

And it was precisely because of Wang Chong’s outstanding and unique character that he trusted in him so much.

The Demonic Emperor Old Man and Wushang Village Chief quickly left.

They had only discovered a small corner of the matter regarding the men in black. They needed to continue seeking the truth and dig up more of this hidden conspiracy.

All fell quiet once the two of them left, the candles and torches flickering uneasily.

Wang Chong stood motionless in the room, his entire being immersed in deep thought.

Far too many things had happened today.

He had battled with An Yaluoshan, his mortal foe, at the feast of all countries, and then a new black-clothed expert in Genesis Supreme had appeared, and then there was the news brought back by his master… He needed time to digest all of this!

Peace and prosperity were celebrated with song and dance, but danger was already lurking in the darkness.

Even though he was already devoting his full strength, he still felt lacking and incapable. But even so, he would not give up, much less passively wait.

Stealing Dragon Qi is truly audacious! It seems he can no longer restrain himself. I’ll have to move up my plans to deal with him, Wang Chong mentally noted, his eyes glinting.

An Yaluoshan’s operation tonight could no longer be described as simple boldness, but a complete lack of restraint. Alas, he had the mysterious ‘Genesis Supreme’ backing him, or else he would have already been dead.

Wang Chong recalled the Sage Emperor and the ‘dragon pearl’ An Yaluoshan had gifted him!

This was clearly a ‘dragon pearl’ that had been prepared by the men in black for An Yaluoshan to offer.

When ‘Third Son Xuan’ obtained the dragon pearl, his energy and consciousness clearly grew stronger. In contrast, the real Sage Emperor’s will was suppressed even more harshly. This was an ill omen for the Great Tang!

Wang Chong placed his hands behind his back and called out, “Zhang Que!”

“Your Highness!”

The doors opened, and Zhang Que came inside and bowed.

“Find a way to get in touch with Young Master Qingyang and Sword Dragon! I need to know what progress they’ve made!” Wang Chong said.

“Yes!”

Zhang Que left with the order.

The Rainbow Glass Divine Grass!

This was the only way he could think of to restore the Sage Emperor’s will to its strongest level.

The Great Tang could not continue with this chaos!

……

The sky gradually brightened.

With the passing of the night, the raucous feast of all countries came to an end.

The streets were still chattering with conversation about the brilliant performances put on by the various countries, the show put on by the new Andong Protector-General, the conflicts that took place in the Pavilion of Petal and Sepal, and the final act of the Sage Emperor walking up to the edge of the Pavilion and joining the consorts in showering the crowd with millions of coins.

This feast would probably be a conversation topic of the capital for the next several decades.

And once the storm had passed, An Yaluoshan and Gao Shang had swiftly returned to Youzhou. Meanwhile, the King of Foreign Lands Residence also began to slowly calm down. But deep within the Imperial Palace, a certain imposing figure within Taiji Palace had had a sleepless night.

“Hahaha, a good treasure! Truly a good treasure!”

A hearty laugh came from the throne. On his throne, ‘Third Son Xuan’ excitedly fondled the ‘dragon pearl’ An Yaluoshan had given him, his entire body feeling comfortable and relaxed.

Once the feast was over, he had come back to this place with the ‘dragon pearl’ and played around with it again and again, never growing tired.

“Li Taiyi, you probably didn’t think that even you would have a day like this!

“You damn outsider! Sleep eternally! Experience that pain of imprisonment that I felt for so many years!”

‘Third Son Xuan’ had a chilly gaze as he smugly muttered to himself.

“And that An Yaluoshan is truly an incredible person. Not only is he so understanding as to send Us so many beauties, he even gifted Us such an important object!

“Dragon pearl? Hmph! Do they really think We are a child? How can a dragon pearl actually exist in this world? But it does not matter whether this is a dragon pearl. It’s fine so long as it can suppress Li Taiyi! Truly a case of wearing out one’s shoes in search for a solution delivered to one’s doorstep! I went to such great lengths to try and suppress Li Taiyi, never expecting that it would be so easy!”

Third Son Xuan heartily laughed.

After so many years, he had finally emerged as the final victor!

And that dog slave Gao Lishi dared to betray him and pledge fealty to that bastard Li Taiyi! But did he really think that giving him a few pots of medicine would be enough?

In the end, nothing could stop him!

Suddenly, some hidden existence seemed to reply to Third Son Xuan’s words, and the fabric of space in the hall trembled.

“Dragon Qi?”

Third Son Xuan seemed to hear the reply, and he laughed.

“What does Dragon Qi have to do with me? As long as it can suppress you, We do not care. We are the Son of Heaven selected by the Mandate of Heaven, the ruler of the Divine Land. No one can shake Us. Do you really think that chubby Hu is capable of such a thing?

“If absorbing a little Dragon Qi could shake the Great Tang, wouldn’t the Central Plains have fallen long ago?

“Be at ease. Once We finish off you and become the real Sage Emperor, I’ll reconsolidate this realm. As for the rest, you don’t need to worry about that! Hahaha…”

It was some time until the contented laughter began to fade away.

After some time, that large dragon pearl in Third Son Xuan’s hand suddenly flashed with light, and it began to project a model of the Central Plains into the hall.

“This is…?”

Third Son Xuan’s pupils constricted as he looked up at the projection in surprise.

But that model was still shifting. The northwestern corner of the model was expanded, swiftly taking up the entirety of the model.

Depicted here was a massive mountain range, its sides steep and smooth, grandiose and majestic.

The peaks of the mountains were wrapped in clouds, making them seem ancient and mysterious.

“The Kunlun Mountains!”

Third Son Xuan immediately recognized them.

This dragon pearl was from An Yaluoshan, and Third Son Xuan already knew it could project a model of the Central Plains. But this would only happen when external energy was applied.

Yet now, without any sort of external energy stimulating the dragon pearl, it had still projected an image of the Kunlun Mountains. Third Son Xuan did not know what this meant.

The hall was so quiet that Third Son Xuan could hear his own breathing as he stared at the Kunlun Mountains.

From above, the steep peaks looked like a coiled, awe-inspiringly gigantic dragon.

Suddenly, a gust blew over the mountains, causing the clouds coiled around the peaks to surge and billow. Before Third Son Xuan could react, the mists parted, revealing a grove of green trees atop one of the peaks, and in the middle of this little grove was a little wooden house.

A blurry figure wearing a Daoist robe sat in front of the wooden house, a hand holding a horsetail whisk as they meditated.

As Third Son Xuan looked through the dragon pearl at him, that man on the mountain also seemed to sense something, his body trembling as he opened his eyes.

Those eyes were deep and clear. When they opened, Third Son Xuan felt as if the sea of stars had opened up before him.

Not only that, those eyes were so bright and profound that Third Son Xuan sensed that the man’s gaze pierced through the void, staring at him all the way from the Kunlun Mountains.

A moment later, the robed figure stood up and respectfully kowtowed in Third Son Xuan’s direction.

Third Son Xuan was still trying to understand what was going on, but another gust swept in, and that figure in front of the wooden house disappeared together with the Kunlun Mountains.

The dragon pearl swiftly returned to normal.

“What is going on here?”

The Sage Emperor was speechless.

What did this change in the dragon pearl mean?

And who was that ascetic cultivating in the Kunlun Mountains?

Why had he performed a kowtow to him?

Could it be… that he could see him and had realized who he was?

Third Son Xuan fell into deep thought.

……

At the same time, in the northwest of the Great Tang, atop the soaring Kunlun Mountains, engulfed year-round in clouds, a figure in a Daoist robe slowly got to his feet.

This man was lean, and carried a transcendent aura. He seemed completely different from the martial artists of the Central Plains or the Western Regions, and he had an ancient and simple air about him.

“The face of the true dragon, all manifestations of nature returning to oneness! It finally arrived! The best and only chance for the lineage of sorcerers to rise has finally come!” the man muttered, his words containing a shocking piece of information!

Sorcerer!

This man was a traditional sorcerer of the Central Plains, a lineage that had faded away hundreds of years ago.

The man looked up at the sky and muttered, “It seems… it is time for me to leave the mountains!”

A moment later, the man jumped, ignoring the seemingly bottomless abyss as he descended from the Kunlun Mountains and vanished into the mist.

……

Ten-some days passed. While the Central Plains seemed calm, in reality, an undercurrent was surging, danger on the verge of breaking out.

The feast of all countries had been a signal to all the surrounding countries.

Internal discord had appeared in the Great Tang Empire that all of them had feared. Sovereign was at odds with subject, subject at odds with subject. This was a sign of decline, no matter how strong an empire was.

The Great Tang was not a country the other countries could defeat, but internal discord was something else entirely.

All of them chose to sit back and quietly wait for the situation to develop.