The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  "Bastard! Filthy brat, what martial art is this?"

  Dayan Mangban growled as he struck out with a palm. Boom! To his surprise, Wang Chong had chosen to meet palm with palm.

  Dayan Mangban remained in the same place, but Wang Chong and his horse needed to back up several steps before finally dispersing the power of the blow.

  "Saint Martial realm! Impossible! In just a few months, how did you manage to reach the Saint Martial realm?"

  Surprisingly, it was the winner of this exchange, Dayan Mangban, who seemed stunned. He was even more surprised than when Wang Chong's five thousand Wushang Cavalry had stopped the advance of his White Braves.

  Dayan Mangban was a Brigadier General, a high-tier Saint Martial expert. One needed to be a Saint Martial expert themselves to block his blow.

  In other words, Wang Chong was also a Saint Martial expert.

  But how?!

  In their last meeting, Wang Chong had only been at Tier 9 of the Imperial Martial realm! And that had been only two months ago.

  Between Imperial Martial realm Tier 9 and the Saint Martial realm was a massive threshold, far larger than the gap between Imperial Martial Tier 1 and Tier 9. To cross this fissure in two months was simply impossible. Not even the most talented person would be able to accomplish this.

  Even Dayan Mangban, a Brigadier General and Asura War God of Ü-Tsang, would not dare claim that he was capable of such a feat.

  No! It wasn't just him! No Great General in all the Tibetan Plateau had this capability!

  "Wait! What sort of armor is that?"

  Dayan Mangban's pupils constricted as his eyes locked onto that black armor that had suddenly appeared on Wang Chong's body. This black armor was different from any that Dayan Mangban had ever seen.

  This armor was pitch-black, but its darkness exuded an indescribable majesty and grandeur, as if this was a king among armors.

  Any armor, even this special suit of plate armor granted to him by the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple, would lose out to Wang Chong's pitch-black armor, like a foot soldier standing before a sovereign.

  Even more unbelievable was that all armor in the world should have been heavy, as they were all forged from metal, but Wang Chong's armor appeared to be as light as a feather.

  And though the exterior seemed very normal, Dayan Mangban could sense that this armor appeared to bizarrely have a life of its own, matching Wang Chong's every breath.

  This mysterious energy seemed to be twisting the light in a radius of three zhang around Wang Chong, making the area seem dark and gloomy.

  This was no normal armor, and moreover, Dayan Mangban clearly remembered that Wang Chong had not been wearing this armor in their exchange just moments ago.

  In the space of a single thought, he had equipped this armor, and Dayan Mangban had no idea how he had done it.

  "Hahaha, Dayan Mangban, after a separation of three days, you need to look at someone in a new light. You think that I'm some ignorant person unwilling to learn? In this battle, I don't only want to utterly vanquish your White Braves, but also behead you and let all the Tibetans know what happens to those who oppose the Great Tang."

  Wang Chong gripped his sword, his eyes shining with a sharp light, his entire body exploding with a powerful will to battle. Wang Chong had already activated both of the items he had bought from the Stone of Destiny, the Stellar Energy Igniter and the Karmic Battle Armor.

  When Wang Chong had poured his Stellar Energy into the Karmic Battle Armor, he had instantly felt himself fusing with it. The Karmic Battle Armor had become one with his skin, hair, bones, and limbs, breathing in and out with him.

  Most importantly, upon wearing this armor, Wang Chong instantly felt his strength leap past that massive barrier and reach that lofty realm of power.

  The Saint Martial realm!

  In this new life, Wang Chong had once again reached that realm of supreme power, and the pleasure he felt was simply indescribable.

  Come! Dayan Mangban! War Saint versus War God! Let's see who the strongest truly is.

  With this thought, Wang Chong galloped forward.

  Bang!

  There was a flash of light, and Wang Chong was suddenly three, each of them riding a horse, glowing with a purple energy as they charged toward Dayan Mangban.

  'Three Horse Division' was an extremely powerful Saint Martial realm horse technique. It not only produced illusions of oneself as well as one's horse, but the illusions were very difficult to distinguish from the real one.

  Wang Chong originally did not have the ability to use this powerful charging technique, but now that he was at the Saint Martial realm, many techniques had become available to him.

  "What?"

  Dayan Mangban raised his head in shock at this sight. Wang Chong gave off a completely different feeling. He was now the gleaming edge of a sword, fierce and dreadful.

  "Blood Sea Whirlpool!"

  Although he was shocked, Dayan Mangban's reaction was not the slightest bit slow. With a shake of his spear, a bloody stream of light shot forward as he executed a secret technique of the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple.

  Boom! Space seemed to cave in around the area struck by his spear, and a massive vortex appeared, exuding a crimson light.

  Wang Chong's three illusions were instantly shrouded within this vortex.

  Bang!

  As the illusions were dispelled, Wang Chong's sword blazing with violet flame clashed against Dayan Mangban's spear.

  But before Dayan Mangban could counterattack, two slender fingers fired a fierce stream of Sword Qi. As it flew through the air, space itself seemed to be cleaved in two, and it left a vacuum in its wake.

  "Not good!"

  Dayan Mangban's expression chilled, and he immediately shifted his head to the side. That milky-white Sword Qi only two fingers thick swept past, traveling ten-some zhang and striking a White Brave who had been doing battle in the background.

  The 'Great Bon Defense' shrouding the White Brave that had allowed him to block a full-force blow from the Wushang Cavalry was instantly destroyed, that white shroud of light lasting only for a second before being pierced through, the Sword Qi boring past both it and the plate armor beneath.

  The Sword Qi continued unabated, piercing through a second, third… In the end, it punched through five White Braves before finally dispersing.

  Without even a sound, the White Braves dropped to the ground, their bodies rigid.

  "Great Snow Mountain Devil Dragon Art!"

  A furious light raged in Dayan Mangban's eyes as he snatched out with his right hand. The earth cracked and black smoke began to surge. A massive black dragon, its eyes like lakes and its body like a mountain range, suddenly appeared behind Dayan Mangban, making him seem like an apocalyptic god descended from the high heavens.

  Rumble!

  Dayan Mangban immediately lunged forward with his spear. The earth groaned and cracked as a destructive and chilling Stellar Energy raged, sweeping over the world to meet the attacks of Wang Chong and Li Siye.

  "Up!"

  At almost the same time, Wang Chong and Li Siye leapt forward together. Wang Chong activated the Stellar Energy Igniter, the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art, and the Art of God and Demon Obliteration one after the other, and after them came the other techniques and skills that had become available to him upon reaching the Saint Martial realm.

  As the Grand Marshal from his last life, the supreme War Saint, Wang Chong now had many supreme techniques available, even though many of the most powerful were still locked away because he had not yet returned to his peak.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Wang Chong moved like lightning, his sword weaving in and out as he fired off stream after stream of Sword Qi from the Art of God and Demon Obliteration, making the area in a radius of several dozen zhang a most dangerous hell. Meanwhile, in each exchange, Dayan Mangban would have a portion of his Stellar Energy burned away. The Stellar Energy Igniter was proving extremely effec
tive in this battle against Dayan Mangban.

  In contrast, the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art was not as effective against a Tibetan Brigadier General, a high-tier Saint Martial expert, as it would be on other warriors. Moreover, it was clear that Dayan Mangban had further honed his internal energy after the battle at the City of Steel, making it even more difficult for the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art to absorb his energy.

  Even so, a continuous stream of energy was still flowing into Wang Chong's body. Not even the Asura War God could change this fact.

  And this was only with the relatively immature form of the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art, as Wang Chong had not been cultivating it for very long.

  Boomboomboom! Gusting wind scattered dust and gravel everywhere as both Wang Chong and Dayan Mangban moved at incredible speeds. Even though they were mounted, they moved with just as much speed and flexibility as if they were dismounted. Even the Wushang Cavalry were lacking in comparison.

  "Barbarian of the plateau, hand over your life!"

  Fierce gales wreaked havoc around the site of Dayan Mangban and Wang Chong's battle as Li Siye incessantly swung down his massive Wootz Steel sword, his furious roars ringing through the skies. Each strike had enough power to shatter mountains, and each blow rang out with a peal of thunder. Within a radius of one hundred zhang, the earth swayed and the air buzzed, and it seemed like a tsunami was imminent.

  Chapter 786: The Heart of the Great Bon Is Broken!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  The only person who was still able to interfere in this battle between Wang Chong and Dayan Mangban, two Saint Martial experts, was Li Siye, the future Invincible Great General.

  During the battle of the City of Steel, Wang Chong had had to rely on Cheng Sanyuan, Su Shixuan, Xu Keyi, and his other officers, more than two hundred people organized into teams and using formations to surround and attack Dayan Mangban, to eventually force him back. But Li Siye was different.

  He was currently the strongest subordinate under Wang Chong, and no one could replace him.

  Li Siye was so strong that not even a Brigadier General like Dayan Mangban could ignore him. His techniques were vigorous and bursting with destructive Stellar Energy. Although Dayan Mangban managed to block each one, he had to consume a significant amount of Stellar Energy to do so. The Asura God of the plateau was left feeling vexed and apprehensive, yet there was nothing he could do about it.

  "This damned thing! I'll kill you first!"

  Dayan Mangban's killing intent exploded and with a boom, he pushed away Wang Chong. Then he turned his spear around and thrust it at Li Siye. This attack was both extremely sudden and extremely fast, the spear creating vortices in the air and even twisting light.

  The destructive energy on the tip of the sear was enough to pulverize metal!

  Li Siye had not yet reached the Saint Martial realm, so if he were struck by this attack, he would end up heavily injured or dead.

  Buzz!

  To Dayan Mangban's surprise, the ever-vigorous and aggressive Li Siye seemed to predict this attack. His Ferghana steed suddenly backed up, dodging Dayan Mangban's murderous blow ahead of time.

  Boom! The energy shooting out of the spear transformed into a black dragon that continued on like a fierce river for several dozen zhang. As it thundered across the battlefield, horses reared up and whinnied while both White Braves and Wushang Cavalry were thrown into the air like weeds.

  The pitch-black spear energy immediately threw part of the battlefield into chaos.

  "Bastard!" Dayan Mangban cursed, but he knew that he had missed his chance. On the other side, Wang Chong was already back on the attack, those violet flames instantly attaching to Dayan Mangban's Stellar Energy like oil and setting it ablaze.

  With the Stellar Energy Igniter, the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art, and the Stellar Energy Piercer, although Dayan Mangban was clearly head and shoulders above Wang Chong, Wang Chong was still able to slowly whittle away at his strength and prevent him from displaying his full power.

  Boomboomboom!

  While Wang Chong, Dayan Mangban, and Li Siye were embroiled in their battle, elsewhere on the battlefield, five massive explosions could be heard, sending vast waves of energy spreading in every direction. The explosions shrouded the entire area in gravel and dust, and five fierce gales began to howl.

  And with these five explosions, something seemed to break. That thin shroud that had covered the White Braves immediately dispersed, and they felt their divine strength leaving them like they were punctured balloons. In a few seconds, they had dropped back down to their original level of strength, maybe even weaker.

  Caught off-guard, all the White Braves were momentarily dazed, confused as to what to do.

  "Not good!"

  Dayan Mangban had been fully invested in his battle with Wang Chong and Li Siye, but when he heard those five explosions and sensed the change in the White Braves, his composed face immediately paled.

  Dayan Mangban clearly understood that those five explosions meant that the Heart of the Great Bon had been broken, the formation shattered. Although there were six ritual tools to the Heart of the Great Bon and one of them still remained, in truth, the single remaining one was meaningless now that five had been lost.

  One ritual tool was not enough to assume the formation and buff the entire army.

  And even more disastrous was that in past battles, the enemy had either never known about the Heart of the Great Bon or were unable to break the Great Bon Formation, so the Heart of the Great Bon had never been in danger. But now that it had been broken, it was no longer a simple problem of lower defense. The forced interruption had caused the strength of the entire army to fall.

  This situation was extremely lethal.

  "Hahaha! All soldiers, hear my order! Ten Charges Ten Victories, scatter the Tibetan formation!" Wang Chong roared.

  In all things, preparation led to success and lack of preparation led to failure. Dayan Mangban might have tried his utmost to hide the Heart of the Great Bon, but such a thing was impossible to hide from Wang Chong. His six assault teams had finally succeeded, and with the Heart of the Great Bon broken, he had complete control over this battle.

  It was finally his turn to strike.

  Rumble! The Wushang Cavalry once more altered their formation, transforming from that spinning vortex into a callous and fierce wheel of swords. With a killing intent that surged like the waves of the sea, it thrust into the White Braves.

  Neigh!

  Highland steeds whinnied as they were felled, and the White Braves that had been so unstoppable just moments ago were instantly suppressed, their offense and defense both crumbling. Boom! Boom! Boom! Warhorse crashed against warhorse, metal clashed against metal, and more and more White Braves fell to the ground.

  While these White Braves had just moments ago been impervious gods who could send Wushang Cavalry flying with a single punch, they were not even able to take a single blow now.

  Wherever the five thousand Wushang Cavalry went, the White Braves were trampled under the hooves of their mounts. Clang!The first wave of Wushang Cavalry charged past, and the second wave was already coming, their swords whirling through the air. The heads of the White Braves flew into the air, their eyes wide open. Even in death, they dared not believe that they had been defeated on the plateau.

  And their foes had been the Tang that they had always viewed with disdain.

  "Li Siye, go!" Wang Chong bellowed as he once more charged forward.

  Wang Chong could see that Dayan Mangban's mind was unsettled, his plans completely overturned. This was the best chance to kill him, the ideal moment to complete the 'Threat to Qixi' mission.

  "Stellar Energy Igniter!

  "Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art!

  "Art of God and Demon Obliteration!"

  The surface of Wang Chong's body burned with violet flame as he pushed his strongest techniques to the limit. M
eanwhile, the sword in his hand was as nimble as a snake, raining down various Saint Martial realm techniques on Dayan Mangban.

  Moreover, Wang Chong's position was constantly shifting, east to west, back to front. The existence of the warhorse did not restrict his movements, only made them even more impossible to predict.

  On the other end, Li Siye let out a furious bellow. He had clearly sensed as well that this was the opportune moment to strike, and his dantian howled as it unleashed Stellar Energy.

  His massive Wootz Steel sword struck like the ceaseless floodwaters of a river, slashing and hacking at Dayan Mangban from every direction.

  Li Siye's Stellar Energy was fierce and tyrannical, so each strike cleaved away at Dayan Mangban's Stellar Energy.

  Although Dayan Mangban still held the advantage, his Stellar Energy continued to be consumed and his reserves were no longer as deep.

  "Damn it! You two bastards! It'll all turn out the same if I kill you first!"

  Dayan Mangban's eyes were scarlet, and he was no longer able to suppress his rage.

  Before today, he had believed that his White Braves were the best-trained soldiers, their ability to tacitly cooperate far above any other force. Only when he saw the Wushang Cavalry did he understand what it meant to truly have these qualities.

  The inferiority of the White Braves was obvious. When the Heart of the Great Bon began to display its power, the Wushang Cavalry had received a great shock, but they had still maintained their formation and used their collective strength to fend off the White Braves.

  When the Heart of the Great Bon was broken, the Wushang Cavalry quickly returned to their original level of strength, apparently unaffected by the experience.

  In contrast, the White Braves had apparently grown too used to always crushing their opponents and had no idea how to handle being the weaker side.

  In this battle against a stronger foe, the White Braves' flaws and weaknesses were fully exposed.

  "Aaaaah!"

  Screams filled the air as the thousands of White Braves found themselves powerless to respond to the waves of Wushang Cavalry. All the Wushang Cavalry worked together and left no gap, each group with its own task.