It was because he had experienced this life and accepted the help and charity of others that he was able to empathize with the plights of other vagrants.
Regardless of which time-space continuum one was in, even in the most prosperous era, there were always destitute, exiled vagrants and beggars.
There were many reasons for their poverty. Some of their clans had fallen, just like Wang Chong; some of them were born with disabilities; some of them had met with disasters; some of them had suffered great traumas; some of them had lost the land which they made a living on…
Regardless of the reason, there was a tragedy behind every single one of them!
It was because of his personal experience that Wang Chong thought of establishing this Charity Hall to help those in need, just like how those anonymous strangers helped him in his previous life.
This was one of the wishes Wang Chong had from his previous life!
Other than that, he was also looking for a mysterious old man.
There were several things that Wang Chong sorely desired in his previous life, but never got a chance to obtain! Even at the brink of death, these things remained unfated with him.
One of them was Su Zhengchen’s 《Art of God and Demon Obliteration》. In the battle at the capital, Su Zhengchen slaughtered thousands of foreign invaders alone with his earth-shattering sword art, thus dulling their powerful offense.
Right after this unparalleled technique showed its edge and took the world by shock, it was buried with Su Zhengchen in the rubbles of the capital, destined to remain lost for eternities to come.
In the days ahead, there were countless desperate battles where such a powerful divine technique was required, but regretfully, no one possessed the knowledge or capability to fill the gap.
In Wang Chong’s previous life, whenever people spoke of this technique, they couldn’t help but sigh regretfully.
Other than that, there was also the 《Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art》.
During the battle against the foreign invaders in the Central Plains, there was a particularly exceptional individual. Without any weapons, he was able to slaughter innumerable foreign invaders.
All of the foreign invaders who stood before him died tragically, reduced to dried rotting corpses.
The strength that this individual displayed with the 《Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art》 in the war against the foreign invaders didn’t pale in the least to Su Zhengchen, who fended off an entire army in the capital by himself.
In that catastrophic era, it was publicly recognized as one of the Five Mystical Arts!
However, it was a pity that even though that person had managed to obtain this unparalleled divine technique, his talent was simply too lacking. His fighting experience, reaction speed, agility, nimbleness, and adaptability couldn’t match up to the caliber of this divine technique.
Everyone thought that this mystical art was wasted on that person’s average talents.
However, it was after that person’s passing that everyone realized that it wasn’t the case.
When that person was twenty-seven to twenty-eight, he was working as an employee for a wealthy clan. He didn’t have much of an achievement in martial arts, or rather, he didn’t even have an interest in it.
However, he had a strength that very few possessed—a kind heart. Even on normal occasions, he would help those in need.
One day, out of some sheer coincidences, he actually saved a peerless old demon. When that demon was younger, he committed many evil deeds. The blood of countless people dyed his hands, and his name was a topic of fear in the pugilistic world.
However, he was betrayed by his comrades, and eventually, he ended up being saved by the young man. After which, his nature suddenly changed. Abandoning his evil self, he started to commit himself to doing good instead, thus becoming a kind and compassionate old man.
This old man forced him the young man to accept his 《Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art》 and guided him to an entirely different route from what he had been walking on.
As though trying to redeem for his sins, as well as to alter the kind young man’s ordinary constitution, the elder eventually gave up his strength and life to channel all of his energy into the other party, thus creating an unparalleled expert.
On the other hand, due to excessive loss of strength, the old man died.
Thus, this ordinary young man turned into a top-notch expert overnight! In order to repay the old man’s kindness, the kind young man forced himself to become cruel and callous to exact vengeance on those who had betrayed that old man then. He ended up walking on the same path as the old man, a path that he was unwilling to take from the very start!
—Wang Chong had never seen that person before, and all of these were stories that the kind young man spread out himself.
If a person treads on a path which he disliked, then even if he were to succeed, he wouldn’t be happy.
When a person of ordinary talents with no interest in martial arts stepped into the pugilistic world to repay another’s kindness, his fate was already sealed.
Eventually, the unparalleled expert who inherited the 《Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art》, due to his lacking battle experience, fell into an encirclement by those foreign steel cavalries and died.
As such, the 《Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art》 became lost!
Back then, Wang Chong hadn’t become the Grand Marshal of the Central Plains yet, and the martial artists of the Central Plains had also yet to organize the grand gathering to open up all martial arts to everyone yet!
Similar to the 《Art of God and Demon Obliteration》, it became one of the greatest regrets of the martial artists of the catastrophic era!
Chapter 138: Progress in the Chess Match!
These were matters that were deeply etched in Wang Chong’s mind.
These were the deepest regrets Wang Chong felt after he became the Grand Marshal of the Central Plains. Due to the lack of these ultimate arts, the fight to save Central Plains became exceptionally difficult.
Until his death, Wang Chong was unable to surpass his limit to reach that legendary level!
Thus, in this life, Wang Chong strongly desired to obtain these ultimate techniques that would become lost in the near future.
It was for him, as well for these ultimate techniques.
Thus, the old man who possessed the 《Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art》 had always been an important figure on Wang Chong’s list.
However, it was a pity that this old man was too elusive and mysterious.
Even that young man back then also didn’t know much about his mysterious and powerful demonic arts teacher, only knowing that he was addressed as ‘Demonic Emperor Old Man’. Given how big the capital was, how would Wang Chong know when he would be backstabbed and where he would appear?
Thus, Wang Chong could only request for Wei Hao’s help.
“There’s no need to rush this matter. You just have to take note of the matter for me and inform me if there’s any bizarre old men.”
Wang Chong knew that he had given the other party too little details, and his actions were no different from searching for a needle in a haystack. To hope to find the Demonic Emperor Old Man through such minor details was nigh impossible, even with the connections of the Wei Clan.
Circling around the capital with Wei Hao, Wang Chong noticed that Wei Hao had done a good job with the Charity Hall. There were many people at the door, and inside, there were clothes, food, drink, as well as a place to rest… The facilities were rather complete.
There were experts in the Wei Clan that dealt with such matters, so it was much better to leave it to them.
“I will have Shen Hai prepare another fifty thousand gold taels, so open up a few more Charity Halls. You should also open a few in the other regions outside of the capital as well. Also, help me continue taking note of the old man I spoke of! Inform me once you get any news.”
“Alright!”
&nbs
p; Wei Hao agreed readily.
After chatting for a moment with Wei Hao, Wang Chong let Wei Hao down before slowly walking to the Ghost Tree District. Thinking about it now, given that he had spent the past month cultivating on the spirit vein in the mountains, it had been awhile since he was last here.
“Big brother!”
Except for a young child squatting beneath the Chinese scholar tree, there was nearly no one in the surroundings. Upon seeing Wang Chong, he hurriedly stood up. His eyes lit up, and his face flushed with excitement.
“Little fellow, you’re still here!”
Wang Chong patted his head with a smile as he casually passed a candied haw stick which he bought off a roadside merchant to him.
“Big brother, why have you been gone for so long? Grandfather has asked about you several times, and he thought that you weren’t coming back!”
The child named ‘Jianjian’ said.
Even though the other party didn’t mean anything by it, Wang Chong’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat upon hearing that the grandfather Jianjian spoke of had asked about him.
It was the first time Wang Chong was hearing news on ‘that person’. Without a doubt, his performance on the chessboard had won him the attention of the other party.
“Don’t worry, how could big brother not come? I just happened to go on a trip to a distant land.”
Wang Chong smiled.
“Then will big brother go on another trip to a distant land?”
“Probably not.”
Wang Chong replied. The opening of the Three Great Training Camps was a huge affair, and it would affect his entire future. In comparison to that, raising his cultivation by a tier or two at the spirit vein didn’t mean much.
In any case, he had all the time to go there in the future.
“Great!”
The little child’s thoughts were shallow, and upon hearing that Wang Chong wouldn’t go on ‘trips to a distant land’ anymore, he immediately leaped in joy. As he exclaimed delightfully, his chubby hands reached into a stone jar and took out a black stone.
“Big brother, here is your stone.”
Wang Chong smiled. Grabbing the black stone tightly in his hands, he examined the chessboard. The first time Wang Chong was here, it was still a small skirmish between both sides. There were only slightly more than twenty stones on the chessboard then.
But now, the entire chessboard was densely filled with several dozens of black and white stones.
With just a single glance, Wang Chong could tell that the white stone was at a definite disadvantage.
“It isn’t too far away before the white loses!”
Wang Chong smiled. Even though Su Zhengchen possessed unparalleled martial arts and was proclaimed as a war god, in terms of military stratagem, the other party wasn’t a match for him at all.
The wars that Wang Chong led his army through in his previous life was definitely more than that of Su Zhengchen. Furthermore, before his transcension into this world, Wang Chong was already an internationally renowned ‘War Saint’ in a war strategy game.
Most probably, there wasn’t a single person in this world who could match up to him in military stratagems.
“The white will have to admit defeat in a few more days’ time.”
Wang Chong smiled.
His line of thoughts in chess was very different from the others. From the very first day, he was already laying out a trap for the other party. Su Zhengchen most probably thought that Wang Chong was only in a slight advantage at the current moment.
But a few days later, when Wang Chong finished building his trap, Su Zhengchen would know that he had lost utterly.
It was more like it for him to challenge him to a martial arts duel. To challenge him to a game of Go? Even if the other party was a war god whom he respected, the other party had truly picked the wrong opponent.
Pah!
Setting these thoughts aside for the moment, Wang Chong made his move cleanly on the golden chessboard.
“There’s one last thing to deal with!”
Leaving the Ghost Tree District, Wang Chong thought of Six-fingered Zhang.
A month had already passed, and based on the rules of the organization, he should be able to procure three pills. Thus, he had his carriage head to Falling Jade Pavilion
“Aiyo, my little ancestor, young master, gongzi… You’re finally here! If you don’t come any sooner, a huge problem would have occurred!”
A lamp was lit in the Falling Jade Pavilion. Upon seeing Wang Chong, Six-fingered Zhang slapped his thigh and looked at him with a gladdened expression.
“Do you know that if you don’t appear for another few more days, your qualification as a Shadow that you bought with much difficulty would be canceled! That’s two hundred thousand gold taels, you know, two hundred thousand gold taels!”
“Haha, stop exaggerating things here. Won’t you be able to settle it if anything happens? Where’s the pill? Give it to me!”
Wang Chong chuckled, not falling for the other party’s ploy at all.
Six-fingered Zhang was part of the core group of the secret alchemist organization, and given his influence, delaying for a few days wasn’t a problem at all.
After hearing Wang Chong’s words, he chuckled awkwardly.
This Wang Clan gongzi might be young, but he sure wasn’t easy to fool!
“Where’s the pill? There’s three of them right? Come, give it to me!”
Wang Chong said as he flung his robe and sat down on the tiger-skinned chair in the room. Even though the Falling Jade Pavilion seemed eerie and remote on the outside, its interior was actually extremely extravagant.
“Hehe, I knew I wouldn’t be able to fool gongzi!”
Six-fingered Zhang didn’t dawdle about either. He walked into a room, and a moment later, he returned with a few elaborately designed purple silk boxes in hand.
“Gongzi, open it and check. This is something that I specially got for you from the others this month.”
Six-fingered Zhang said with a fawning look.
Usually, the secret alchemist organization wouldn’t work with outsiders easily. Take the Wang Clan for example, even though it was a powerful clan consisting of three generations of ministers and generals, the secret alchemist organization had never considered making them their partner.
All of their partners were established alliance mates. In fact, some of their partnerships even traced back to the previous dynasty.
However, the situation with the Wang Clan was unique.
Not only did it possess immense influence in the royal court, it had also found a way of make up for their greatest flaw—lack of wealth. It was showing signs of becoming the largest and strongest clan in the empire.
At the very least, in Six-fingered Zhang’s perspective, as long as they maintained status quo, the Wang Clan could potentially become the newest permanent partner of the secret alchemist organization.
“I’ve troubled you. Don’t worry, I will repay you for your assistance!”
Wang Chong patted Six-fingered Zhang’s shoulder.
Pah!
Opening the box, a familiar scent wafted into the air, reaching Wang Chong’s nose. Within the box was a white and round pill with purple aura shrouding around it.
“Tiger Bone Divine Pill!”
Wang Chong’s eyes lit up as he exclaimed. Of all pills, what Wang Chong was the most concerned about was this one due to its ability to nourish one’s root bone.
These pills were simply too valuable and rare,
It was completely impossible to buy such a pill outside. It was exclusive to only the alchemists in the royal palace and kings’ residences.
“Un? This pill seems a little different?”
Suddenly, while Wang Chong was observing the pill, he realized that this Tiger Bone Divine Pill was slightly different from the one he consumed before.
“Hehe, gongzi sure has good eyes. The one you consumed before is a subpar product.
This one is a pill which has been forged to perfection. Its effectiveness is completely different from the one before.”
Six-fingered Zhang chuckled as he revealed the secret.
“What!”
Taken aback, Wang Chong immediately turned to look at the pill in the box.
“Hehe, gongzi, there’s no need for you to be worried. We don’t sell faulty products or semi-completed products. All of the pills are of good quality, and the subpar which I refer to is only in the eyes of us alchemists. Any of these subpar products, when put outside, are still top-notch medicine. However, I know that gongzi wants the very best pills to nourish your root bone, so I went through the trouble to get this for you.”
Six-fingered Zhang started about the contributions he had made to Wang Chong.
“Hehe, you went to gamble again?”
Hearing those words, Wang Chong burst into laughter as he lifted his gaze to stare at Six-fingered Zhang.
“If you may, listen to my advice. It’s fine for you to gamble, but avoid those gambling dens run by Goguryeons. I can’t possibly save you every time you meet with trouble.”
Wang Chong said.
“Gongzi is as insightful as always!”
Six-fingered Zhang smiled sheepishly. Although the one staring at him was just a fifteen-year-old youngster, he felt as though a kid being lectured by an adult after doing wrong. Six-fingered Zhang knew that it would be best for him to stay out of gambling dens, but his body just wouldn’t listen to his rationality.
This Wang Clan gongzi seemed exactly like a monster who could peer into one’s soul. Despite having said nothing at all, the other party immediately knew that he had gone gambling and was lacking money.
Even though he had only interacted with the other party a few times, Six-fingered Zhang felt as though there was no secret he could hide from him.
“Don’t worry, I won’t forget you fair share of benefits.”
Wang Chong didn’t pursue the matter of the other party’s gambling. Pah, Wang Chong opened another box and dense Origin Energy immediately diffused from the box.
Upon smelling the scent, Wang Chong’s face warped in astonishment.
“Origin Energy Pill! To think that you all are capable of forging this!”
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 75
