The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  This ocean adventure had truly been arduous, one in which he had barely escaped with his life, almost dying at sea. Yet now that he had smoothly returned home, the person Wang Liang was most grateful to was Wang Chong.

  If not for Wang Chong, he would never have left the walls of the capital. Perhaps he would still be in the marketplace, making his flying birds and selling his little toys.

  If not for Wang Chong, he would have never known about the marvelous world that existed outside of his home, or the vastness of the ocean.

  If not for Wang Chong, he would have never found out that in the very depths of his heart, this was what he had always wanted!

  The current him was the truly authentic him!

  He didn't want that dull life. Even without superb martial arts, even without the backing of his clan, he could still rely on his own wits and ability to win the loyalty, protection, and respect of others.

  "Younger Cousin, I didn't let you down. I brought back what you wanted."

  Wang Liang let go and pointed behind him to the large ships floating in the harbor.

  Many people had died on this voyage, and they had suffered from no small number of thunderstorms and hurricanes. Their greatest harvest had been stored in the large ships behind him.

  Although Wang Chong had told him that those were meteorites from beyond the heavens, none of them had been tested. Whether or not all those deaths and hardships had been worth it ultimately hinged on Wang Chong's confirmation.

  Hearing Wang Liang's words, Wang Chong also turned to look. However, what Wang Chong looked at was not the decks of the ships, but that the decks were much closer to the water than normal ships.

  "Elder Cousin, I've troubled you. Let's leave these matters to others. We'll go back first. You've been gone for so long, and I'm very interested in hearing about your voyage," Wang Chong said.

  The Wang Liang in front of him was a completely different person from the one who had set out. His face, neck, and hands had all been tanned by the scorching sun on the ocean, and the coarse, weather-beaten skin was completely out of place on a descendant of a great clan.

  Wang Chong had never expected to see such a composed and dignified person.

  Even if Wang Liang didn't say it, Wang Chong could feel that Wang Liang had many stories from this voyage.

  "Wait a moment!"

  Wang Liang stopped Wang Chong. Confronting Wang Chong's flabbergasted gaze, Wang Liang was quiet for a few moments and then pointed at the members of the fleet before them.

  "These people set out with me on this voyage and nearly lost their lives. I promised them that once I returned, I would grant them a great fortune!"

  "Hahaha, so that's what it was about. Relax; I've already made preparations. What do you see over there?"

  Wang Chong pointed behind him.

  Following Wang Chong's finger, Wang Liang saw many horses and multiple teams of two carrying heavy chests made of crude copper toward them.

  Wang Liang began to count: one, two, three… There were more than ten of these chests.

  Wang Chong snapped his fingers. A horseman pulled out a saber with a clang and cut off the lock on one of the chests. Putting a hand into the chink of the lid, he lifted. In an instant, a dazzling golden light spilled forth.

  That copper chest was full to the bursting with dazzling gold.

  Seeing those chests packed with gold, the crowd excitedly cheered. Some of the more impatient ones even began to rush over.

  "Let's go!"

  Wang Chong led a horse over. This time, Wang Liang did not refuse and mounted the horse. Behind him, Wang Chong snapped his fingers, at which point all the clan guards, the guards sent by his big uncle, and the experts sent by Elder Hu and Elder Ye rushed toward the large ships in the harbor…

  ……

  Wang Chong brought Wang Liang to his own restaurant to welcome him.

  The entire restaurant was empty, and the table was piled high with fine foods and wine. After the windows and doors were closed and some charcoal fires lit, the atmosphere in the room quickly changed.

  While winter winds howled outside the room and snow piled down, the room was a bastion of warmth.

  Wang Chong and Wang Liang, these two cousins, sat across from each other at the table. Old Eagle sat on the side, an eagle perched on his shoulder.

  Wang Liang took a pot of warm wine out of the stove. He first poured himself a cup and then poured a cup for Wang Chong. He then took a piece of piping hot and tender beef from the food pot and took a big bite.

  "Great, it's delicious!" Wang Liang effusively praised, and then he began to chew, occasionally taking a drink of wine.

  "You didn't use to drink alcohol," Wang Chong suddenly said as he watched Wang Liang.

  The Wang Liang of the past would have never done something like this, but now he did it as if it was natural. He was not like the scion of a great clan but a sailor who had spent a long time at sea.

  "Haha, if you experienced what I experienced, you would also be like this."

  Wang Liang heartily laughed. As he spoke, he continued to eat his beef and drink his wine.

  "What in the world happened?" Wang Chong asked.

  He had suppressed this question for long enough already.

  Wang Liang did not hesitate, immediately recounting his experiences at sea. Even though Wang Chong had expected it, he still couldn't help but feel deeply moved by Wang Liang's tale.

  The ocean was an abyss!

  In that place, far from land and far from virtue, one was infinitesimally close to a hellish abyss, and one's character would undergo the harshest of trials.

  There, Wang Liang had to face all sorts of problems, both external and internal.

  As he drank, Wang Liang described his experiences, but it was only when Wang Chong heard that the Wang Clan guards he had dispatched to protect Wang Liang had mutinied that he profoundly understood just how complicated the situation Wang Liang had faced was.

  The ocean could make the best of people into the worst and the worst into the best, and it could provoke the greatest potential in the most incapable of people!

  Chapter 429: The Third World Constraint!

  Chapter 429: The Third World Constraint!

  Translated: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  As Wang Liang recounted his journey, even Wang Chong found himself shaken to the core. Before the boundless ocean, the strength of a warrior seemed insignificant.

  Wang Liang's narrative let Wang Chong know that he had probably underestimated the dangers of an ocean voyage. Back then, even at his lowest, Wang Chong had never journeyed on the ocean.

  The largest ships, the strongest guards of the clan, and the backing of Wang Clan… Wang Chong had thought that these things would be enough for him to rest easy, but in retrospect, he realized that he had been too simpleminded.

  Unlike the land, the ocean was changing every moment.

  If one fell into the ocean, even the most powerful warrior would end up dead. And one was not confronting only the might of nature. One also needed to deal with the complexities of morale and human nature.

  Lack of food, awful conditions, no sight of land for more than half a year, and no guarantee that one would even be able to return to dry land—it was these circumstances which were most liable to provoke the ugly side of the human heart.

  In the most dangerous periods, Wang Liang had needed to simultaneously deal with three factions or more, and each faction wanted to kill him and take his place.

  Even the cook on his ship had carried such ambitions.

  Everyone was complaining and blaming him. Everyone believed that he was wrong and wanted to replace him and take over the rest of the fleet.

  "…There's something else that I need to tell you. The matter of the 'Meteoric Metal' has already been exposed!" Wang Liang suddenly said.

  "What!"

  Wang Chong's pupils constricted and his chopsticks stopped in midair. The Meteoric Metal w
as extremely important and could not be revealed to outsiders easily.

  Otherwise, those factions seeking out the meteorites would cross the ocean like a school of carp moving down a river.

  The Meteoric Metal was an existence comparable to the Hyderabad ore. Moreover, there weren't just one or two of these pieces of Meteoric Metal, but a vast quantity sitting outside on those islands across the sea.

  This sort of secret would be enough to tempt any of the great clans and trigger mad carnage on the ocean.

  The secret of the Hyderabad ore was already exposed, and it had been the Yao Clan and King Qi that had found out. If even the Meteoric Metal were to be exposed not long after its discovery, it would be a massive blow to his cause!

  "…But there's no need for you to worry. I already helped you take care of it. Other than me, no one else in the fleet knows," Wang Liang said lightly, sipping his wine.

  "Took care of it?"

  Wang Chong was struck dumb.

  "Haha, it is a very long journey from those islands to the mainland!" Wang Liang casually said.

  Wang Chong felt like he could smell the thick scent of blood in Wang Liang's voice. He raised his head and began to carefully to size up this former idler of his clan. Only then did he realize that Wang Liang didn't just have weather-beaten skin, but also a resolve and determination in his eyes that Wang Chong had never seen before.

  No! He had seen it…

  It was when the Wang Clan had fallen and everyone had been rendered homeless. At their moment of greatest despair and dejection, that always-weak cousin stepped forward and used that frail body of his to protect the entire clan!

  In those desperate straits, his cousin's face had exactly this sort of expression.

  …No! Even the cousin from back then did not compare to the one sitting in front of him now.

  Wang Chong truly found it difficult to imagine what sort of trials could hone his cousin to this state in only half a year.

  And he had no idea how many stories were hidden beneath that indifferent face.

  Unimaginable…!

  Wang Chong sighed in his heart.

  His cousin had grown up!

  He had always wanted to help the people of his clan, help them mature and help them succeed. But he hadn't imagined that the first person to mature would be his older cousin, Wang Liang.

  The current Wang Liang was as steady as a rock, composed, persistent, decisive. He gave off an aura of trustworthiness and reliability.

  Although he was still not powerful in terms of martial arts, Wang Chong was well aware that his cousin's expertise had never been in that field.

  The current Wang Liang had reached the state that Wang Chong had envisioned and was truly able to hold his own.

  …Perhaps, in the future, I can let him handle all of the clan's business!

  This thought flashing through Wang Chong's mind left him incredibly relieved.

  Although his cousin looked incredibly rough and not all like that young scion from before, this had been the price paid for maturity!

  Compared to the price that might have to be paid in the future, it was very small.

  "I've truly troubled you this time. This restaurant belongs to our clan, and there's a bathroom here. I've already prepared a change of clothes for you after you've finished washing. Once you've finished eating, take a bath and rest up. Then once your mind has recovered, you should visit Aunt and Uncle. They've probably been waiting for you for a long time," Wang Chong suggested.

  "Mm."

  Wang Liang nodded.

  "I've been gone for so long, so I really should take a rest. And besides, it will be very difficult to get there without the monsoon winds. As for you, your goal this time will be even bigger, so you'll definitely attract the notice of some ambitious people. And once I clean up those evil-minded people in the fleet, those clans backing them definitely won't back down without any results.

  "There are probably going to be endless probes from the various factions. Once the secret of the Meteoric Metal is exposed, people will rush toward those islands like a swarm of locusts. I think that this will be your primary concern."

  Wang Chong silently agreed. This was something that couldn't be avoided.

  The Wang Clan had paid such an enormous price, spending a million taels of gold, recruited so many people, and organized such a large fleet that was at sea for so long… It would be strange if this didn't attract any attention.

  "There's no need to worry. I've already made plans," Wang Chong indifferently said.

  Whether it was the Wang Clan, his big uncle, or the Zhang Clan, they were all too obvious. So Wang Chong had never planned to put the Meteoric Metal in any of those places.

  Wang Chong had already decided that when the night came, he would begin transporting those meteorites to Deflecting Blade Manor.

  With a top-notch expert like Li Siye standing guard, these meteorites would be safe for now.

  The fleet had just returned, and the stir that it had created was too great. He would need to wait a while for the waves to settle and for prying eyes to look elsewhere. The matter of the Meteoric Metal would naturally fade from notice with it.

  When that time came, it wouldn't be too late to restart his plans.

  "Since you've already made plans, I can relax. As for the members of my fleet, there's no need for you to worry. It's not like every one of them could remember the course of the voyage. Without my navigation map, even if they did have ambitions, they wouldn't be able to find that place. Moreover, the majority of them only know that we found a sort of massive stone on those islands, but they have no idea what those stones are for. Even if there are some people who went behind my back and investigated those stones, discovering that there was metal inside, they would never know that this was Meteoric Metal.

  "In addition, in this period of time, I'll keep them in check!"

  Wang Liang had a dignified air as he spoke.

  Wang Chong nodded and stood up, saying no more.

  His cousin's methods were already rather meticulous, so there was no need for any more input on his part. In the future, he would finally have another person in the Wang Clan that he could talk business with.

  "Cousin!"

  Right when Wang Chong was ready to leave, a voice came from behind him. Wang Liang had put down his wine cup and chopsticks, and his eyes were fixed on Wang Chong, a strange look shining in them.

  "That Meteoric Metal… what do you plan to do with it? …And don't tell me that you plan to start a business!"

  Wang Chong was frozen for a moment, and then he finally turned around. He looked at his cousin as if he was meeting him for the first time.

  He had done many things since his reincarnation, but everyone would just be surprised at his performance or praise his competence.

  His older cousin Wang Liang was the first to ask him what he wanted to do.

  This voyage had unquestionably matured him, allowed him to perceive many things.

  "Haha, you'll find out in the future!"

  Wang Chong chuckled and turned back around. Walking down the stairs and out the door, he swiftly vanished in the vast world of snow.

  Wang Liang watched in a daze, but a faint smile eventually crept onto his lips.

  At times, the lack of denial was admission, and the lack of an answer was an answer.

  Wang Liang had already managed to confirm some of his speculations from Wang Chong's words. His feeling had been on the mark. This younger cousin of his really was up to something.

  The Hyderabad ore, the Meteoric Metal…

  Though he had matured and gained a greater understanding of the human mind and nature, he was still utterly perplexed by this cousin of his.

  There were far too many puzzling things about him.

  But no matter what he did, desired, or schemed, there was one thing that Wang Liang could be sure of: Wang Chong had always been protecting his clan.

  He meant no evil for the clan.

&nb
sp; This was enough!

  Thus, no matter what he did, even if he planned to usurp the throne, Wang Liang would not try to stop him!

  "…The snow is really coming down!"

  As he listened to the howling of the wind outside, Wang Liang took a pot of warmed wine to the window. Opening the window and looking out at the storm, he watched as a slender figure walked alone through the wind and snow, quickly vanishing.

  ……

  Time passed in a flash.

  Rumble!

  A slender figure was seated atop a snow-capped mountain. Thunder rolled and the world seemed to twist. The chaotic and monstrously terrifying energy of the world flooded unstoppably down onto the mountaintop.

  Crrsssh!

  The piled snow, jolted by this energy, began to rustle down. And at this moment, Wang Chong heard a voice at his ear that he had not heard for a long time.

  【Congratulations, user, for passing the third World Constraint. You have consumed 40 points of Destiny Energy. You have 24 points of Destiny Energy remaining.】

  【Next World Constraint: 9 months. Required Destiny Energy: 60 points. In addition, with each successful passage, user's Gold Organs and Flood Dragon Bone will be strengthened. Strength will increase in direct proportion with number of successes!】

  Chapter 430: Li Siye's Harsh Question!

  Chapter 430: Li Siye's Harsh Question!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  The third World Constraint had finally been successfully passed. Streams of energy rushed out of the depths of time-space, flowing into Wang Chong's mind and body. In a short time, he felt that both his physical and mental strength had received a considerable boost.

  "I finally passed through this World Constraint!" Wang Chong delightedly said to himself.

  The World Constraint and its rejective power were like a time bomb. If one made a small mistake, people would die. It was only now that he had finally managed to overcome it.

  Getting up from the ground, Wang Chong began to warm up his body. Crackclack! His body creaked and cracked as a powerful energy began to exude from within.

  This energy broke through the Origin Energy realm, climbing to the True Martial realm Tier 1, Tier 2, and finally Tier 3.