The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  Everything fell silent for what seemed both like one second and like countless years.

  Roooar!

  A heaven-shaking roar exploded in everyone’s ears—not from Su Zhengchen, but from behind Taiji Palace, deep within the Imperial Palace.

  Bang!

  The Imperial Palace shuddered as if a massive dragon was struggling to break out of the earth.

  Boom! A dazzling ray of light soared out of the Imperial Palace, slicing a giant arc across the night sky before turning around and shooting in Su Zhengchen’s direction.

  Chapter 1790 - The Halo of Spacetime!

  Chapter 1790: The Halo of Spacetime!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Clang!

  As Su Zhengchen drew back his raised right hand, a three-foot sword appeared in it with a flash.

  This sword was simple and ancient, its body covered in years of rust. Even the tassel hanging from the hilt had mostly rotted away. However, the part of the edge not covered in rust was still as sharp as ever, apparently unaffected by the passage of time.

  Upon close inspection, one would find that small characters from an ancient script had been inscribed on the sword, together with exquisite cloud designs. They imbued the sword with a sense of nobility, holiness, and mystery.

  As soon as Su Zhengchen grasped the sword, his entire being transformed, his demeanor becoming like an extremely sharp and dangerous sword.

  Even True Lord Yellow Dragon sensed the change in Su Zhengchen, and he couldn’t help but furrow his brow.

  “Your Majesty Taizong, I’m sorry! This lowly subject must break the promise I made with you!”

  A complicated light gleamed in Su Zhengchen’s eyes as he gazed at the sword, but it swiftly faded away.

  Boom! A peerlessly sharp Sword Qi surged out of his body and into the sword, instantly sweeping away the dust and rust to reveal the shining blade beneath.

  Su Zhengchen was nurtured in turn by the sword, his energy growing sharper and more vicious, breaking free of its restraints. One wave of frightening Sword Qi after another radiated from his body.

  If Wang Chong had been here, he would have been stunned. This was because it had been a very long time since Su Zhengchen had last used a weapon. Even when he was teaching martial arts to Wang Chong, he had only used his hand.

  “Interesting. I didn’t expect a trick like this. But even after summoning this sword, you are still an ant who can change nothing!”

  With a chuckle, True Lord Yellow Dragon once more became disdainful and confident. This human truly was very strong, but if this was all, then he was still a little lacking.

  “Since you so earnestly long for death, this god will fulfill your wish!”

  True Lord Yellow Dragon showed no mercy this time, his fingers immediately clenching into a fist.

  Boom!

  As True Lord Yellow Dragon punched, it felt like a meteor had crashed into a lake, creating a massive wave. This wave was one of pure golden light that hurtled toward Su Zhengchen as fast as lightning.

  This fist moved so quickly that it took less than a second to reach Su Zhengchen.

  Boom! Su Zhengchen and his sword were instantly annihilated by True Lord Yellow Dragon’s fist.

  “True Lord!”

  All the men in black madly cheered, but True Lord Yellow Dragon raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

  “It’s not right!”

  It didn’t feel like his punch had killed Su Zhengchen.

  Buzz!

  As this idea flitted through True Lord Yellow Dragon’s mind, he spotted a flash of light at the corner of his vision. A pillar of Sword Qi was coming down behind his left-hand side, falling like a collapsing tree.

  This Sword Qi tore through space like it was paper.

  Kaboom! In the blink of an eye, that Sword Qi crashed against True Lord Yellow Dragon’s body.

  A vast wave of Stellar Energy erupted from the impact site. “Aaaah!” The Imperial Army elites and men in black closest to the wave were instantly jolted to death, their bodies tossed high into the air.

  “Retreat! Retreat!”

  Cries of alarm resounded through the air as everyone fell back. When experts like True Lord Yellow Dragon and Su Zhengchen fought, even the aftershocks would be enough to annihilate experts beneath the Saint Martial realm.

  True Lord Yellow Dragon and Su Zhengchen cared nothing for what those around him were doing.

  “Wait! That wasn’t his real body!”

  Golden Stellar Energy radiated from True Lord Yellow Dragon, blocking Su Zhengchen’s Sword Qi. His face was solemn, and his attention wasn’t on his left at all.

  True Lord Yellow Dragon had just noticed something. From the moment that mortal martial artist of the Great Tang had grasped that sword, his aura had vanished from Taiji Palace.

  To be more precise, the entire area was now ‘him’.

  Waves of Sword Qi blanketed the area so thickly that not even True Lord Yellow Dragon could tell where Su Zhengchen was hiding.

  But this was absurd.

  “Here!”

  Suddenly, True Lord Yellow Dragon’s left fist exploded with golden light as he punched at a region of empty space to his left.

  Boom!

  This fist had more weight behind it than a mountain, and even formless space seemed to compress itself into a mirror-like surface under the pressure. But this mirror lasted for only a split-second before it shattered, countless cracks appearing across it. And amidst these cracks, amidst the streams of Sword Qi, a blurry figure appeared.

  In the face of True Lord Yellow Dragon’s destructive fist, the man and his sword shattered and collapsed.

  “Life Execution!”

  But as True Lord Yellow Dragon was shattering this figure, a soft and indistinct voice came from behind him. It was a barely audible whisper, but it made True Lord Yellow Dragon instantly pale.

  An illusion!

  Or, to be more precise, an afterimage!

  When Su Zhengchen grasped the sword, his speed had soared to an inconceivable level.

  That stream of Sword Qi truly had hidden his real body, but Su Zhengchen had reacted so quickly that he had already begun to move before the punch had even been made, and when the punch hit, he had already gone around to True Lord Yellow Dragon’s back.

  That he could do this to True Lord Yellow Dragon showed that Su Zhengchen was far stronger than the Tianfu Divine Lord, stronger than anyone on the battlefield except True Lord Yellow Dragon.

  Bang!

  Like a peal of thunder in the middle of a silent night, a dazzling sword ray reached out from the depths of spacetime, going from a dim glow to a vast and blinding sun in a few seconds as it shot toward True Lord Yellow Dragon.

  This attack was surrounded in boundless destructive might that sought to murder and execute everything it touched. The moment it impacted against True Lord Yellow Dragon’s golden Stellar Energy barrier, the heavens themselves seemed to rip open.

  Boom! For the briefest of moments, Su Zhengchen’s form was visible, his hair dancing in the wind, his expression aloof. With one slash of his sword, he had sliced through True Lord Yellow Dragon’s formidable Stellar Energy barrier.

  True Lord Yellow Dragon’s Stellar Energy barrier had been entirely made of energy from a higher dimension, making it tougher than diamond. This was why even those twelve True Dragon Sentinels working together had failed to defeat him. But Su Zhengchen had needed only one strike to break his defense.

  True Lord Yellow Dragon instantly paled, his mind shaken.

  There was no question that this human suddenly displaying such power was a surprise, and True Lord Yellow Dragon finally put away his disregard.

  Clang!

  A shockwave suddenly swept through the area for several hundred feet around True Lord Yellow Dragon, and intense spacetime ripples began to radiate from him.

  With a metallic clang, a white and hazy halo began to expand from his chest, block
ing that terrifying attack from Su Zhengchen which could slay even gods and demons.

  Su Zhengchen’s Sword Qi was as fast as lightning and powerful enough to cleave through a mountain, but when that Sword Qi more dazzling than the sun encountered that dim white halo, it immediately slowed down.

  No!

  That wasn’t all. As the white halo spread outward, even Su Zhengchen began to slow down, like he had been fixed in space.

  The Halo of Spacetime!

  True Lord Yellow Dragon had circulated his Power of Spacetime and released his Halo of Spacetime!

  Crack!

  Half a second later, a crack appeared on the white halo, and then countless more joined it.

  Without the slightest hesitation, True Lord Yellow Dragon released a second, third, fourth… A total of twelve Halos of Spacetime were released, each one more dazzling and domineering than the last.

  The first one was dim white, but the last one had the density and thickness of pure gold!

  Su Zhengchen’s Sword Qi had produced a light that made the rest of the world lose its luster. And the sword he held had become the most frightening weapon in the world, more frightening than even gods and devils. Crack! The blazing Sword Qi blasted through the first Halo of Spacetime, and then the second. It then broke free of the strictures of spacetime to create countless cracks on the third Halo of Spacetime.

  But when it encountered the fourth Halo of Spacetime, scarlet tinged with white, that Sword Qi finally shattered.

  Chapter 1791 - The Son of Heaven’s Sword!

  Chapter 1791: The Son of Heaven’s Sword!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Boom!

  The fifth Halo of Spacetime emerged from True Lord Yellow Dragon’s body, the destructive spacetime energy within obliterating all the Stellar Energy in Su Zhengchen’s body, blasting him through the air like a ragdoll and back to the ground in a great cloud of dust.

  Buzz!

  Su Zhengchen’s body twitched as he attempted to stand, but True Lord Yellow Dragon waved a palm, sending the energy of the sixth Halo of Spacetime surging out. With a boom, the last shred of Su Zhengchen’s Stellar Energy was scattered, sending him flying back even farther. The plume of dust from the impact soared high into the sky.

  “Masteeeeer!”

  A mournful cry of grief and distress came from the direction of the palace gates.

  Wang Chong’s eyes turned red as he sensed what was happening deep within the palace, his face paling. He had been observing the battle in the Imperial Palace this entire time.

  True Lord Yellow Dragon was simply too strong. His age alone exceeded that of several dynasties, and not even Wang Chong’s master had a chance of winning against this old monster.

  “Heh, brat, did you ever hear the saying, ‘the one who makes the most calculations in the tent will defeat the one who makes fewer’? In this battle, did you ever calculate who would win between True Lord Yellow Dragon and Su Zhengchen?” Hou Junji suddenly asked, staring at Wang Chong. A sliver of energy locked onto Wang Chong, preventing him from taking even one step forward, let alone offering any help to the forces in the Imperial Palace.

  “You’ve lost this game!”

  Hou Junji’s furrowed brows completely relaxed. In this ‘chess game’, he and Wang Chong had played all their pieces, and in the end, it seemed like he was the final victor.

  Although True Lord Yellow Dragon had played a large part in this victory, for Hou Junji, this was also a component of one’s strategy. As long as he could win, Hou Junji didn’t care what sort of strategies he needed to use or whose strength he needed to borrow.

  Wang Chong said nothing, his expression grim.

  At this time, the battle between True Lord Yellow Dragon and Su Zhengchen was truly over.

  After the second blow from True Lord Yellow Dragon’s spacetime energy, Su Zhengchen could no longer stand.

  The difference in level was not something that even Su Zhengchen could overcome.

  “Hmph, in the end, mortals are still mortals! By daring to defy a god, you merely seek your own destruction!”

  True Lord Yellow Dragon’s voice was cold and majestic, that of a deity speaking to the world.

  “Now, let this god grant you death!”

  True Lord Yellow Dragon’s face was cold, his eyes burning with murderous intent. He stepped forward, planning to kill this formidable expert from a human dynasty, but at this moment, plop! Something dripped down from True Lord Yellow Dragon’s forehead.

  True Lord Yellow Dragon’s face froze, and he lowered his head and saw a drop of blood on the ground. It was just a tiny drop, no bigger than a grain of rice, but when it fell to the white jade steps, it revealed a golden luster.

  Buzz!

  True Lord Yellow Dragon froze as he stared in disbelief at the golden drop of blood.

  Blood!

  It was a drop of the blood that flowed through his body. After he had mastered the Power of Spacetime, even the blood within his body had turned from the human crimson to the divine gold. This was also why True Lord Yellow Dragon regarded himself as a god. While this amount was truly insignificant, it was unquestionably a drop of his blood.

  As a terrifying existence who had lived for more than one thousand years, True Lord Yellow Dragon had never imagined that he could be wounded by a human martial artist.

  He couldn’t even remember the last time he had been injured by a mortal.

  Most importantly, he couldn’t even remember when he had been injured!

  He clearly recalled that the four Halos of Spacetime he had released had blocked Su Zhengchen’s attack.

  True Lord Yellow Dragon looked at Su Zhengchen and said, “Human, I underestimated you!” The seething killing intent in his eyes began to rapidly recede.

  “You can be proud that you were able to wound me!”

  After saying this, True Lord Yellow Dragon cast aside Su Zhengchen and began to stride toward Taiji Palace.

  This time, no one was left to stop him.

  Bang!

  The six remaining True Dragon Sentinels tried to get up off the ground to stop him, but True Lord Yellow Dragon, without even looking at them, unleashed a wave of spacetime energy that blew them away.

  “Hmph! The time has finally come, blasphemer!”

  True Lord Yellow Dragon’s eyes flashed as he stared into the dark and vacant Taiji Palace. He sped up and swiftly vanished within.

  At the same time, at the southeast corner of the palace, near the palace gates…

  “The battle is finally over!”

  Hou Junji’s voice resounded in everyone’s ears.

  “I thought that you might have had a few more surprises, but just like your master, you disappointed me.”

  Hou Junji shook his head as he prepared to turn and leave. The undefeated reputation of the Army-Shattering War God would continue. In battle, he had never once tasted defeat. As for Wang Chong, Hou Junji wasn’t prepared to do anything. He had already won.

  Once Li Ying took the throne, Wang Chong and the Wang Clan would be hunted down for the rest of their lives. It didn’t matter if he killed him here or not.

  “Heh!”

  But to his surprise, he heard a chuckle in the darkness.

  “What are you laughing about?”

  Hou Junji stopped and stared at the laughing Wang Chong, his brows creasing.

  “Senior, it is better to break the enemy’s schemes than to break their soldiers. It doesn’t matter how many decades you spent researching formations and recruiting soldiers, and it doesn’t matter how many soldiers I summoned or whether I could break your formation or plant any spies. Senior, do you know what the most critical part of this battle is?”

  Wang Chong squinted at Hou Junji, his expression relaxed, in stark contrast to his previous grimness.

  “The critical part?”

  Hou Junji’s pupils constricted, but he quickly broke into a cold laugh and jeered.

/>   “What is it? Your master, Su Zhengchen?”

  “Heh, it’s the Sage Emperor!”

  Wang Chong glanced at Hou Junji and smiled.

  Hou Junji’s derisive face instantly paled, the name ‘Sage Emperor’ resounding through his mind. Countless thoughts began to rush through his mind, and at this moment, kaboom! The heavens and earth trembled, and a bolt of lightning seemed to flash across the sky.

  At the same time, Hou Junji heard an explosion coming from the direction of Taiji Palace.

  Boom!

  A bolt of lightning tore through the sky as if it wanted to rip open the heavens. At this moment, all of the Central Plains, from Youzhou in the east to the Cong Mountains in the west, began to sway. The clouds seethed in turmoil while thunder boomed.

  At the same time, deep underground, where no one could see, the silent sea of golden Dragon Qi beneath the Central Plains suddenly began to flow, surging with inconceivable speed toward the capital.

  From the still and pitch-black Taiji Palace, so quiet that it seemed to be part of another world, a majestic beam of golden energy soared into the clouds, stabbing into the void like an enormous sword.

  As this golden beam of energy shot into the air, the Dragon Qi that had been converging on the capital with inconceivable speed sensed a summons. Traveling at speeds faster than light, the streams of Dragon Qi instantly converged on the dazzling golden pillar.

  Clang!

  The ringing of a sword resonated through the world, resounded in the hearts of all living beings in the Central Plains, inspiring fear and awe that came from the very depths of their souls.

  All the people in all parts of the realm turned in the direction of that ringing sword, their eyes wide open in shock. What they saw was something that they would never forget, something that could only be described as miraculous.

  In the boundless void, the immense sea of golden Dragon Qi had coalesced into a sword of several hundred thousand– no, a million– no, ten million feet in length! It was a massive golden sword that spanned the universe!

  Buzz!

  The dark clouds were cleaved open by the sword, revealing the moon, the stars, and the endless cosmos!

  This sword had exceeded the bounds of human imagination, of martial artists. Even the gods were but ants before this sword!