The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  But as the saying went, ‘one step away, but worlds apart’. Even though he was a sliver away from the Grotto Heaven realm, that sliver was like a massive chasm!

  Fortunately, Divine Embryo 1 had a formidable Earth Movement technique. At crucial moments, it could travel several hundred li into the earth. Even if it encountered that Firmament Supreme mentioned by the faceless man, it could still safely escape.

  Thus, it was the best choice for ‘scout’ in this ‘Caspian Sea Operation’.

  Clang!

  In the blink of an eye and a metallic clatter, a large golden pavilion appeared behind Divine Embryo 1, as resplendent as the sun.

  The Supreme and Infinite Origin Immortal Art!

  Divine Embryo 1 was truly divinely talented. It had taken only a short while to cultivate to level twenty of the Origin Immortal Art’s Trayastrimsa Heaven, and at a greater level of proficiency than even Wang Chong.

  It was clear that Divine Embryo 1 had already cultivated it to a transcendent level.

  Divine Embryo 1’s talent is truly incredible. With the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art and the Origin Immortal Art, paired with its incredible strength, it should be a match for any opponent beneath the Grotto Heaven realm, perhaps even deserving the title of ‘Number One of the Subtle realm’.

  Wang Chong couldn’t help but sigh in wonder at this sight.

  Of course, he was also excited and pleased.

  He had needed a significant amount of time and energy to cultivate the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art and Origin Immortal Art, and there had been some impurities mixed into the process. But only a short while after his return, Divine Embryo 1 had already reached a masterful level in these two supreme arts.

  Not even ‘one thousand li in a day’ could describe this speed!

  In terms of strength, Divine Embryo 1 was probably even stronger than him!

  But after summoning Divine Embryo 1, after a few moments of silence, Wang Chong decided to summon Divine Embryo 2 and Divine Embryo 3 as well.

  Buzz!

  The ground near Divine Embryo 1 rippled as the two other divine embryos emerged.

  Divine Embryo 1 was using its Earth Movement ability to call out the others.

  The hall was quiet as the two divine embryos exuded their golden and red halos.

  Compared to the height of Divine Embryo 1, Divine Embryo 2 and Divine Embryo 3 were significantly shorter, like comparing an adult to children. Besides that, the dazzling radiance of Divine Embryo 1 was significantly brighter than the other two.

  These two divine embryos were clearly much slower in growing than Divine Embryo 1.

  Moreover, Wang Chong had discovered that they lacked any special abilities other than immense strength, perhaps because they had not fully matured yet.

  There was a clear gap between them and Divine Embryo 1!

  These three divine embryos all have different natures, but they share the same origin. Moreover, they clearly share some special connection through blood! With these two divine embryos assisting, it should be more than enough! Wang Chong said to himself.

  Bang!

  With this thought, Divine Embryo 1 and the other two divine embryos traveled through the earth and began to move to the northwest with astonishing speed.

  Outside, the faceless man was waiting for them.

  ……

  With Wang Chong presiding over the capital, everything was proceeding smoothly.

  Each day, more coal was dug out and sent to the interior.

  Each day, large quantities of grain were bought from the surrounding countries and gathered.

  Each day, many stalwart youths were recruited into the army!

  Numerous soldiers and resources were being sent from all parts of the empire to the northeast.

  The great machine of the Great Tang was experiencing major changes each day, immense amounts of manpower and resources being effectively put to work for the sake of the coming war.

  At the same time, Wang Chong’s three divine embryos were traveling through the ground, the faceless man traveling on the surface, as they headed toward the shores of the Caspian Sea in the distant northwest.

  The faceless man had Wang Chong’s token and could switch out his horse whenever necessary, so he could travel without stopping. As for the three divine embryos, they possessed such vast amounts of spiritual energy that they knew nothing about exhaustion!

  Fifteen days later, the group reached the Western Regions without garnering any attention.

  The Western Regions was thriving, completely different from when Wang Chong first arrived. Even though there were thirty-six kingdoms in this region, the Great Tang had maximal influence in the area.

  The war banners of the Great Tang could be spotted in many areas, particularly those of the King of Foreign Lands and the Qixi Protectorate, symbols of Wang Chong’s power.

  And there were also many more Han to be seen in the Western Regions.

  Wherever these Han went, the Hu would look upon them with respectful eyes, no longer the hostile and rejecting eyes of the past.

  The past served as an example for those to come!

  The conquest of Arabia had silenced the Western Regions. No one dared to oppose the Great Tang any longer!

  The Great Tang’s power in the region had swelled to the maximum.

  Wang Chong’s party stayed in the Western Regions for only a short time before heading off toward that ‘sea on the land’ spoken of by the faceless man.

  Several days later, they arrived in a deserted region which even the Hu of the Western Regions did not usually visit.

  There were few supplies to be found. Food was secondary to the lack of water.

  But the three divine embryos didn’t need to drink or eat, and the faceless man had long ago grown accustomed to a harsh lifestyle.

  Completely unaffected, they ‘fed on the wind and slept under the sky’. After traveling for around half a month, they once more arrived in a region in which water and grass were abundant.

  “Master, up ahead is the place I spoke of! We need to be careful from here!”

  The faceless man, riding upon a Ferghana steed, pointed ahead.

  In his other hand was the metal sphere Wang Chong had given him, intensely flashing.

  This was a sign that the destination wasn’t far.

  Chapter 2065 - The Kailong People! Movement in the Northern Regions!

  Chapter 2065: The Kailong People! Movement in the Northern Regions!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Wang Chong’s divine embryo nodded, and the group continued.

  Whoosh!

  After some time, the faint sound of crashing waves entered their ears. Wang Chong also began to smell salt on the breeze.

  It really is the Caspian Sea!

  Wang Chong turned pensive.

  He had spent more than half of his last life in the Central Plains, and he had never traveled to such a distant place.

  The Caspian Sea!

  If this were the world he had once belonged to, there should have been quite a few countries here that would have developed into a thriving civilization. But in this world, this place was deserted.

  Now that I think about it, this place should be considered under the Arabian Empire’s influence.

  Wang Chong’s heart thumped in realization.

  Tang rarely traveled this far, but the same couldn’t be said for Arabs.

  Wang Chong vaguely recalled that the Arabs had aggressively expanded in all directions, but they had encountered fierce resistance and pursuit from a nomadic people of the extreme north.

  Although these people were few, they were strong and constantly used guerrilla tactics. Even Qutaybah had been at a loss for how to deal with them, forced to resort to scorched earth tactics to slowly wear them down.

  Bang!

  At this moment, the faceless man suddenly unleashed his Stellar Energy, obliterating the head of that precious Ferghana
steed with one strike of his palm.

  This Ferghana steed that any general would have treasured plopped to the ground without a sound.

  The faceless man acted as if he had done some minor deed, his expression utterly unperturbed.

  Bang!

  The faceless man thrust out his palm again, digging out a large hole in the ground. He swiftly pushed in the body of the Ferghana steed and then covered the hole. After some simple cleaning up, it seemed as if the Ferghana steed had never existed.

  Wang Chong stood on the side and watched the faceless man work. Though he found it somewhat of a pity, he understood that this was a way of covering up weaknesses and ensuring that they weren’t discovered by the men in black.

  If their party were exposed, they would immediately be placed in dire straits.

  “It’s enough!”

  A few moments later, the faceless man stood up and clapped his hands. He woodenly said, “Master, starting from now, we will be entering the territory of the men in black. If they discover us and we can’t escape, we’re dead. Moreover, though I have not seen that Supreme with my own eyes, I can sense his aura. Although Master’s divine embryo is powerful…

  “Forgive your subordinate for speaking bluntly, but Master is no match for him!”

  The faceless man spoke very directly.

  Wang Chong wasn’t surprised to hear this. If this teleportation gate really was overseen by a Supreme like Genesis Supreme, he truly did not have the strength to contend against him.

  While the divine embryos were powerful, Wang Chong had not had them for long enough. They needed more time to mature.

  “Master, these clothes are for you. We must hide our true faces, starting from now!”

  As the faceless man spoke, he took out a black robe from his bundle.

  This was the uniform of the organization of men in black. Regardless of rank, all men in black wore the same robe.

  As the faceless man spoke, a black fog seeped out of his body, and his aura instantly turned sinister and bizarre.

  At this moment, the faceless man was nigh identical to a man in black. Not even Wang Chong could tell the difference.

  It was clear that during his long pursuit of the men in black, the faceless man had completely mastered the ability to disguise himself as a man in black.

  Wang Chong took the black robe from the faceless man and put it on. His aura also shifted, becoming exactly the same as the faceless man’s.

  But Wang Chong’s body soon shivered as he slightly altered his aura.

  Although Wang Chong had obtained this disguise from the faceless man, he clearly had a better grasp of the art. Moreover, it would be too suspicious if their auras were identical.

  “Let’s go!”

  With the preparations done, Wang Chong had the other two divine embryos remain on the outskirts while he and the faceless man proceeded forward.

  What appeared close at hand was actually very far!

  Though they could hear the crashing of the waves, they were actually much farther from the sea than they had imagined.

  After traveling ten-some li, Wang Chong sensed something strange.

  “What a powerful chill!”

  Wang Chong raised his head and looked in the direction of the waves.

  As they got closer and closer, Wang Chong could feel the temperature rapidly dropping. The wind was now carrying a deep chill, and it seemed to be coming from the direction of the cold wave.

  Wang Chong squinted in confusion.

  The great cold wave was still to the north of Lake Baikal and still had a great distance to cover before reaching the south. How could its effects have reached this place?

  Wang Chong also felt that there was something strange about this cold front. It didn’t seem very much like that intense cold front that brought about the ice age.

  “This is a cold wave brought about by the teleportation gate!” the faceless man reported.

  “When I last left, the cold wave wasn’t this serious and hadn’t spread this far. It seems that their teleportation gate is approaching completion!”

  An Yaluoshan was still in Youzhou, and that rebellion that would sweep over the realm had yet to occur. Moreover, according to the Landeshunger, the spacetime gate would only open after six teleportation gates had been established.

  Has the butterfly effect caused another shift in the world?

  Gallop!

  As he was thinking, the thundering of hooves came from the distance. Wang Chong unleashed a gray-brown energy that immediately covered the nearby faceless man.

  The ground rippled like water, and Wang Chong and the faceless man sank into the depths of the earth.

  A breeze blew over the empty plains as if the two of them had never existed.

  “Hyah!”

  A few moments later, a great cloud of dust rose up from the southern horizon, and hundreds of horsemen waving around whips rode out.

  These horsemen all wore shabby suits of armor, but their bodies were tall and muscular, their eyes bursting with a bright and predatory light. They exuded a bloodthirsty, aggressive, and pugnacious aura.

  Moreover, these men had wild tattoos carved onto their necks and arms.

  As Wang Chong looked at these muscular men and the tattoos, he suddenly realized who they were.

  In the western world, on the shores of the Caspian Sea, there was only one people that had this trait, the nomadic people that had given even Arab War God Qutaybah a headache.

  The Kailong!

  He had heard about them during his time in Arabia.

  The Kailong were not numerous, and they did not have any fixed settlements, but they were extremely powerful and held fast to their grudges.

  Qutaybah had wanted to exterminate them several times, but because he could never track them down, he was unable to do so.

  On the contrary, after Qutaybah killed a few of the Kailong, the Kailong began to constantly raid Qutaybah’s army through a variety of methods: night raids, poison clouds, disguises, poisoned arrows…

  They were so powerful that even Qutaybah’s Revelation Army suffered significant losses. Qutaybah was given such a headache that he was forced to change plans and try to make peace with the Kailong.

  But the Kailong remembered the tribe members Qutaybah had killed, so they refused to make peace, and small-scale engagements between the two sides continued.

  In the end, Qutaybah was forced to withdraw his army fifty li and set up caltrops and barricades to temporarily end the hostilities.

  But Wang Chong had never expected these tenacious foes of Arabia to appear here.

  Neigh!

  The Kailong suddenly pulled on the reins of their horses and stopped.

  “Is everything ready?”

  At the very front of the force, the leader, a man with a savage tattoo on his forehead, sunken eyes, a high nose, and high cheekbones, turned his horse around to face his hundreds of men.

  “Yes, chief!”

  The Kailong raised their scimitars and called out.

  “We’ll be meeting the divine emissary soon! I want everyone to focus!

  “This is extremely important! The divine emissary wants the Kailong to bleed. In a few months, we will help them attack Arabia, which will come at a price. We Kailong cannot lose out!” the chief loudly declared.

  Buzz!

  Deep underground, Wang Chong grimaced.

  The Kailong were a nomadic people of the periphery, never intervening in the affairs between empires. Wang Chong was surprised to hear that they were planning to attack Arabia.

  This would be one thing in the past, but Arabia was under the rule of the Great Tang now, and Gao Xianzhi and An Sishun were both stationed in Baghdad. In attacking Arabia, the Kailong would also be attacking the Tang garrison.

  And those ‘divine emissaries’… is that the men in black?

  Wang Chong’s brow creased in thought.

  The men in black regarded themselves as gods and enjoyed playing the
part. It would be unsurprising if those divine emissaries the Kailong spoke of were really the men in black.

  One of the Kailong said, “Chief, the Tang aren’t very easy to deal with. I hear that their weapons are extremely formidable, and even the Arabs lost to them. If they want our help, they need to give us lots of suits of armor, and only the best kind!”

  “Right! And also weapons! They need to give us the best weapons, bows, saddles, stirrups, and we can’t leave out food. They have to give us… one year! Right, at least one year of food!”

  “And we can’t go without women!”

  The rest of the Kailong chimed in, and with that final request, they laughed loudly with a laugh only men could understand.

  Chapter 2066 - Arrival at the Shores of the Caspian Sea!

  Chapter 2066: Arrival at the Shores of the Caspian Sea!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “Actually… Chief, I heard that the Tang have two Great Generals garrisoned at Baghdad. If it’s possible, it’s best if we don’t participate in this operation,” a Kailong cautiously and softly said. “After all, we Kailong are few in number and can’t compare to the other big tribes!”

  Whoosh!

  The raucous laughter of the Kailong instantly died, the atmosphere turning somber.

  The Kailong turned their heads to the speaker, and their chief coldly scanned the group before setting eyes on a scrawny member of his tribe.

  This Kailong clearly sensed the strangeness of the mood, and he turned red as his head dropped. He seemed to know that he had misspoken.

  “Did you forget the fate of the Ka-er people?

  “Do you really think those divine emissaries are so easy to speak to? Any tribe that dared to defy their orders were dust long ago. Do you want our Kailong to suffer the same fate?

  “This is the divine emissary’s order. All the nomadic tribes of the northern region must participate. We cannot defy it!” the Kailong Chief harshly said.

  “Chief, I was wrong,” that Kailong softly said.

  “The divine emissary will be here soon. All of you, shut your mouths. None of you are to speak without my permission. Let’s go!”