The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  The Stone of Destiny had been analyzing the seed for a very long time, but it had given no result until now. Wang Chong had never imagined that the Stone of Destiny would need several months to complete the analysis.

  “Wonderful!”

  Wang Chong was elated. This was enormous progress. The seed had spent more than one thousand years with the Origin Immortal Lord with little change.

  “Yes!”

  Unlike before, Wang Chong almost immediately agreed to the exchange. But the Stone of Destiny’s response left Wang Chong feeling rather embarrassed.

  “Exchange failed! User does not have enough Destiny Energy to unlock the initial seal!”

  One million points of Destiny Energy?

  After a moment’s daze, Wang Chong took in a long breath. He had only heard that he needed to expend energy to unlock the seal, not taking notice of the number behind it.

  How could it be so much!?

  Wang Chong had exchanged Destiny Energy for many items within the Stone of Destiny, including the Heavenly Mandate Battle Armor, but one million points of Destiny Energy was far beyond what Wang Chong had imagined. Wang Chong had already obtained many points of Destiny Energy, with the battles of Talas and Khorasan granting him hundreds of thousands of points, but they all paled in comparison to the number needed by the Stone of Destiny.

  Shock! Remorse!

  But Wang Chong quickly shook off his regret and reluctance.

  What is this golden seed? Why does unsealing it require so much Destiny Energy? If not for those large-scale wars from before, then even with the Stone of Destiny, it still would have been completely hopeless!

  What a pity! It seems that I’ll have to think of something new, to be able to deal with this golden seed! Wang Chong commented to himself.

  One million points of Destiny Energy was needed to open only the first seal of this object, and while it left him with his jaw on the floor, it also stimulated his curiosity. From what Wang Chong understood about the Stone of Destiny, the greater the expense, the more important something was. Wang Chong wanted even more to know what this seed the Origin Immortal Lord had given him was, and what abilities it possessed.

  But Wang Chong was in no rush after this momentary setback. In the future, he just needed to accumulate enough Destiny Energy to unlock the seal, though this would probably take some time.

  The day soon passed and the darkness descended. After dinner, Wang Chong went to his study to look through documents. Now that he was the temporary Minister of War, he naturally had to tend to the numerous affairs of the Bureau of Military Personnel.

  Thwish!

  As he was looking through the documents, he heard a rush of air. Raising an eyebrow, he raised his head and looked out the window. At that moment, his eyes seemed to flash with countless cold pinpricks of light.

  Chapter 1687 - Night Raid by the Six-Armed Idol!

  Chapter 1687: Night Raid by the Six-Armed Idol!

  Wang Chong suddenly raised his head and ordered, “Pass on my order! Extinguish the lanterns at the Hai Period (9-11pm). Everyone can go to bed a little earlier!”

  “Yes! Your Highness!” A voice quickly came from outside the hall, and a guard rushed away to deliver the order.

  After the guard left, Wang Chong lowered his head and continued to review the documents. After finishing the last one, Wang Chong placed his brush on the rack, stood up, and walked out of the hall.

  In the gusting night wind, Wang Chong looked around at the King of Foreign Lands Residence. It was calm and peaceful, with guards placed around the area to vigilantly protect it.

  Looking up, Wang Chong immediately saw the looming and resplendent Imperial Palace of the Great Tang to the northeast.

  Amongst all the nobles and officials of the Great Tang, Wang Chong was the only who had his residence in such close proximity to the Imperial Palace, a sign of the Sage Emperor’s favor.

  In the middle of his contemplative mood, he suddenly heard hasty footsteps.

  “Your Highness, the kitchen sent a message. They made some new palm cakes and some wolfberry and silver-eared fungus soup, and would like Your Highness to sample them,” a servant of the estate known as Little Li called out from the distance. Wang Chong had brought this servant with him from the Wang Family Residence.

  “Understood. Place it on my desk!” Wang Chong indifferently said without turning his head.

  “Yes, Your Highness!” the servant softly said as he came forward with a tray.

  But just as he lowered his head and replied, boom! An immense pull erupted and drew the servant along like a ragdoll, his neck falling right into Wang Chong’s grasp.

  “Your Highness, wh-what are you doing?”

  Little Li was shocked and alarmed, and he frantically seized Wang Chong’s arm and began to struggle.

  “Heh, you lot are just as stubborn as ever! I already warned you once in Zhangchou Jianqiong’s estate, but you’re still trying to play your tricks in front of me,” Wang Chong coldly said, turning his head and tearing away Little Li’s ‘face’. With a ripping sound, another, more savage and dangerous, face appeared.

  “Your Highness truly has sharp eyes. No matter what we do or how many other people we deceived, we never seem to be able to trick you!” A voice rang out in Wang Chong’s ear, but it came not from the ‘Little Li’ in Wang Chong’s grip, but from behind him.

  A ghostly figure appeared on the wall of the residence, and then a second, a third, a fourth… They just kept coming, continuing to appear on the walls.

  Their cold and eerie eyes were all staring at Wang Chong in the center.

  The night was quiet. Wang Chong was the Great Tang’s King of Foreign Lands, and his estate was heavily guarded. Logically speaking, the appearance of so many men in black should have alarmed the guards, but the vast estate was quiet. The guards continued to stand sentinel, but they were motionless and showed no reaction.

  Thump!

  Someone pushed a guard, who toppled to the ground like a wooden post, and then, like a chain of dominoes, more and more guards began to fall.

  What followed was absolute silence. In the vast estate, Wang Chong seemed to be the only living person.

  “Your Highness, you truly shouldn’t have made an enemy of us!”

  The ‘Little Li’ in Wang Chong’s hand stopped struggling and looked up at Wang Chong with an eerie and fearless gaze.

  Fwoosh!

  Suddenly, black flames poured out of the man’s open mouth, and in the flames was a black pellet that shot straight toward Wang Chong’s face. Even before the pellet got close, Wang Chong could smell a foul odor. There was clearly a terrible poison within.

  “Seeking death!”

  Wang Chong’s expression chilled. Though surprised, he did not show it.

  Wang Chong shook his wrist, immediately throwing ‘Little Li’ into the air and blasting him into a wall a hundred-some feet away. The black pellet was also knocked aside.

  Hissss!

  The ground began to seethe with black smoke the moment the pellet hit the ground, and everything began to wither and rot. Even a thriving pear tree nearby instantly withered away, shedding all its petals.

  Crack! The pear tree collapsed to the ground as if it had been dead for more than a decade.

  The poison in that pellet was as toxic as could be!

  “Go!”

  “Kill him!”

  As Wang Chong sent ‘Little Li’ flying, harsh cries resounded from every corner of the residence.

  Thwishthwishthwish!

  One black figure after another charged out from the shadows, the walls, the tree branches, the gazebos, and the fake mountains, as did those disguised as Wang Chong’s servants and maids.

  While still a hundred-some feet away, they began to barrage him with attacks, engulfing the world with the Fires of Ju Bi, Mara, and Lu Wu. Amidst the flames, all kinds of strangely-shaped weapons gleamed with cold light.

  One could tell how sharp they were simpl
y by listening to them slice through the air.

  Beyond these strange edged weapons, countless black pellets were shooting at Wang Chong. A vast array of attacks covered every possible angle.

  Many more men in black had appeared than last time. The men in black had learned their lesson and had clearly brought many more men to handle Wang Chong’s strength. Alas, they had still miscalculated.

  “Is this the attack all of you have prepared for so long for?” Wang Chong coldly sneered, completely unmoved.

  Bang!

  When this storm of attacks was still several dozen feet from Wang Chong, there was a metallic clang, and then a golden shroud erupted from Wang Chong’s body, enclosing him like a steel fortress and instantly blocking all the flames, blades, pellets, and vicious poisons.

  These terrifying attacks that would have made countless martial artists tremble in fear were all blocked by the golden barrier as if they were just children’s toys, soft and weak.

  “How could this be?!”

  The men in black fell silent as they stared speechlessly at the dazzling golden barrier covered in flowing characters.

  As members of the most mysterious organization in the world, regarding themselves as gods, they had learned techniques and arts far beyond mortal ken. So many of them working together were enough to pulverize even the world’s most formidable expert into dust.

  But this golden shroud had neutralized all of their attacks.

  “Hmph, you truly don’t know your own strength!”

  Wang Chong swept his gaze across his surroundings, taking in all the men in black.

  The greatest difference in the fifteenth level of the Trayastrimsa Heaven compared to the others before it was the ability to use the ‘Origin Barrier’, an extremely powerful ability that utilized the secrets of the Origin to create a barrier a hundred times tougher than steel around the user. It was practically invincible and could block almost every kind of attack.

  As long as his foes were beneath the Subtle realm, then even if they had the advantage in numbers, they couldn’t even dream about breaking the barrier.

  This was Wang Chong’s greatest harvest from the fifteenth level. In the past, it would have been much more difficult for him to singlehandedly deal with so many people.

  “It’s my turn now!”

  Wang Chong’s indifferent voice resounded in the ears of the men in black.

  With the Origin Immortal Art, Yang resided in Yin and Yin resided in Yang. It was skilled in both attack and defense, and it wasn’t the Origin Immortal Art’s style for the Origin Barrier to be solely a passive defensive tool.

  Bang!

  With a thought from Wang Chong, the Origin Barrier transformed into a golden hurricane that erupted with a powerful repulsive energy.

  “Ah!”

  Countless fearful eyes could only watch in shock as the flames, weapons, black pellets, and all their other attacks came howling right back at them.

  They screamed as they were tossed around like ragdolls and slammed into various parts of the estate.

  Shock!

  The men in black all felt an unprecedented shock. None of them could have imagined that Wang Chong had reached this level of strength. He seemed simply undefeatable.

  “Nothing but a pack of clowns!”

  Wang Chong stood in the center of the residence, his eyes domineering and his body appearing large and imposing.

  The Subtle realm was a dividing line, and between those above and those beneath was a chasm as great as the gap between the heavens and the earth. In the past, these men in black might have posed some threat, but pure numbers were no longer enough.

  Buzz!

  But just then, Wang Chong felt an intense danger that made his heart thump and his head turn upward.

  A massive palm blotted out the stars as it hurtled toward Wang Chong’s head at lightning speed.

  This palm came so suddenly and fiercely that by the time Wang Chong had looked up, it was already about to strike his head.

  Chapter 1688 - The True Face of the High God!

  Chapter 1688: The True Face of the High God!

  Bang!

  Wang Chong hastily turned his palm over, gathering Stellar Energy within it, and thrust it upward. A moment later, the two palms of starkly different sizes slammed against each other.

  Kaboom! A heaven-sundering explosion resounded through the world, and the earth itself rippled like the waves as it cracked and was shorn away.

  The immense wave of power instantly left the King of Foreign Lands Residence devastated.

  Power!

  The energy in that palm had been vast beyond imagination. When their palms had clashed, Wang Chong felt like he had been fighting a mountain. The terrifying energy had hammered Wang Chong’s feet into the earth, burying him past his kneecaps.

  A Subtle realm expert! realized Wang Chong. This was not a power any ordinary peak Saint Martial expert could possess. This foe had already reached the Subtle realm.

  Wang Chong’s expression froze as he looked to his right.

  In the dark shadows, next to a large scholar tree, there was a massive, clattering idol, its six arms moving and its frigid eyes looking down at him.

  Six-armed Guanyin!

  Wang Chong’s expression darkened. He could see that this was an idol from a temple, and six-armed Guanyins were a very common sight in the capital. But this one was different from the others.

  Its body was pitch-black, making it seem frightening and sinister.

  Clangclang!

  As Wang Chong looked over, the idol said nothing, but the iron poles in its six arms shot toward Wang Chong as quickly as lightning bolts.

  Boom!

  Suddenly, the six-armed Guanyin erupted in black flames, its six arms and massive body moving with incredible agility as it rained down attacks on Wang Chong with mountain-sundering strength.

  A single arm carried such power that it warped space by simply moving, as if space itself was unable to bear the load. This kind of power would make the majority of top-class experts take fright and flee.

  But Wang Chong’s eyes merely flashed coldly before he immediately began his counterattack.

  Boom! Wang Chong stomped forward, and then he hurtled out like a cannonball. At the same moment, his body erupted with golden light, the boundless and blazing energy of the Subtle realm shrouding Wang Chong and turning him into a massive golden fireball.

  A heaven-shaking roar came from the golden fireball, and then, clangclangclang! Scarlet arms emerged from the fireball like the petals of a blooming flower. A moment later, a massive six-armed demonic god had manifested.

  The Six-Armed Ksitigarbha Vajra Guardian!

  This was a secret art that Wang Chong had obtained from a Tibetan general long ago in the war of the southwest. This was a rather low-level martial art, but Wang Chong had extracted the essence and fused it with his own martial arts to create a six-armed Origin Ksitigarbha Vajra Guardian, developing a Subtle realm martial art.

  The moment this Origin Ksitigarbha Vajra Guardian appeared, it erupted with a storm of energy that was even stronger than that of the six-armed Guanyin.

  Boomboomboom!

  The two six-armed idols soon clashed with their arms in the air, sending shockwaves of energy sweeping through the area and stirring up such great clouds of dust that it was impossible to differentiate direction. But it was soon apparent that Wang Chong’s Ksitigarbha Vajra Guardian had not only stopped the six-armed Guanyin’s storm of attacks, it was even beginning to push the Guanyin back.

  However, it was also apparent that the six-armed Guanyin was only a tiny bit weaker than the Origin Ksitigarbha. A swift victory was absolutely impossible.

  But then the unexpected took place. Clang! The Origin Immortal Sword rang out as it shot out from Wang Chong’s waist. It sliced through the air like a bolt of lightning, and crackling electricity instantly engulfed the entire estate.

  The lightning flashed for mere moments before win
king out of existence. The fierce battle outside the main hall of the King of Foreign Lands Residence came to a sudden halt. Amidst churning dust, the two idols, black and gold, were in a stand-off.

  All the other men in black stared warily at this eerily calm sight, not understanding what was going on.

  Crack!

  Suddenly, a smooth and glossy wound appeared on the six-armed Guanyin’s massive body, stretching from its right shoulder to left abdomen. Fwoomp! The two halves slid away, the upper half of the idol thudding into the dust while the lower half remained as unmoving as a mountain.

  Clang!

  Wang Chong turned his hand around and returned the Origin Immortal Sword to its sheath. This sword he had gained from his journey to the northwest possessed inconceivable power. At Wang Chong’s current strength, not even the six-armed Guanyin could take a blow from the Origin Immortal Sword.

  All was silent, a deathly stillness shrouding the King of Foreign Lands Residence. The many men in black had fearful expressions, none of them daring to come forward or daring to escape. To be more precise, they didn’t even dare to move for fear that Wang Chong would kill them.

  Suddenly, an eerie voice broke the silence. “Haha, good! As expected of the Child of Destruction! Destroying my six-armed avatar with a single sword strike!”

  Wang Chong’s heart thumped as he turned his head to the northeast corner of the King of Foreign Lands Residence. Two ghostly figures had appeared on the wall, tall and thin.

  The man on the left, with his wide-sleeved black robe, was clearly a monk. As for the man on the right, Wang Chong immediately noticed his eyes: cold, domineering, and utterly emotionless, like the stars studding the blackness of the night. In front of this man, all the other men in black seemed like ants.

  This was the leader of these men in black!

  Wang Chong immediately understood that these men in black weren’t running not because they were afraid of him, but because they were afraid of their tall and slender leader.

  “Why are you not coming forward?! You regard yourselves as gods, but you seem to perpetually be attacking from the shadows like frightened children!”