The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  He had returned to the royal court recently. Despite his elevated standing as a member of the Imperial Army, his movements were still severely restricted and he couldn't remain outside for too long. As such, he had already handed the job of building the manor to someone else.

  Other than that, he had also raised the matter regarding Cousin Wang Liang in his letter.

  Spending a huge fortune, they had managed to purchase three boats and had an additional one rushing out in the past month. Just recently, the fleet consisting of four great boats had finally set forth from the southern port.

  Wang Liang had truly put in a lot of effort into this voyage. He had gathered many marine charts and found himself two veteran navigators.

  Along with many sailors, guards, and gyrfalcons and seagulls for delivering letters, the group began their voyage for the metal meteors.

  The Wang Clan had sent many experts to assist Wang Liang in his voyage, but Uncle Li Lin was still worried. Thus, through his connections, he found a few retired Imperial Army experts and planted them within the group.

  Wang Liang had spent his entire life lazing around, engaging with minor squabbles with others, and coming up with useless inventions. This had worried both Uncle Li Lin and Big Aunt. As such, they were supportive of this endeavor of his.

  In the letter, Uncle Li Lin also expressed his gratitude toward Wang Chong.

  The latter had given a few hundred thousand gold taels to his cousin without even batting an eye. There was no relative that could go further than that.

  Big Aunt Wang Rushuang and Uncle Li Lin thanked him profusely in the letter, grateful for his assistance.

  As for Wang Chong's words on searching for the metal meteorites, they clearly didn't take it for real. The both of them thought that he was just making up a story to drive Wang Liang's motivation, waking him up from his daze.

  And this only served to deepen the gratitude they had for him!

  "...But I didn't lie about the matter at all. The voyage is truly to find those metal meteorites."

  A bizarre expression slowly crept onto his face after reading the letter from Big Aunt and Uncle Li Lin. The heavens could testify that even though Wang Chong had never traveled to the seas in his entire life, the matter regarding the metal meteorites was the utmost truth.

  His intention to help Cousin Wang Liang was true, but so was his intention to scavenge the metal meteorites. After all, a few hundred thousand gold taels was no joke. He wasn't wealthy to the extent of being able to disregard three hundred thousand gold taels yet.

  "Speaking of which, since Cousin Wang Liang had already gone out to the seas, it should be about time for Miyasame Ayaka to return."

  Suddenly, the furrow on Wang Chong's forehead relaxed.

  He had no experts by his side that he could mobilize at the moment. If Miyasame Ayaka was by his side, his current situation would improve greatly. At the very least, it would mean an additional pair of hands by his side.

  Furthermore, Miyasame Ayaka, as an assassin, possessed acute senses and could sense danger in advance.

  After this would be the situation in the Zhang Clan, Wang Chong thought.

  His partnership with the Zhang Clan concerned the Hyderabad ore, the huge mine, and the mass crafting of equipment. This was also the project that Wang Chong was the most concerned with at the moment. In his plans, his partnership with Zhang Clan was one of the most important chains.

  ---

  Pu leng leng!

  That evening, a pigeon flew down from the roof, delivering to Wang Chong the long-awaited letter from the Zhang Clan.

  Zhang Clan also viewed the partnership with Wang Chong with great importance. As such, the one to respond to Wang Chong's letter was actually the head of Zhang Clan.

  "Everything is going well, great!" Wang Chong heaved a long sigh of relief after reading the letter from the head of Zhang Clan.

  In the letter, the clan head went through the progress they had made in the past month. With the support from Wang Chong's metal mine, the Zhang Clan's immense production and refinement capacity could finally be put to work, and the entire clan as a whole was growing stronger by the day.

  And the one chi long caltrop and the various bizarrely-shaped metal boards that Wang Chong designed had been integrated as a part of their plans from the very start.

  Over the past month, they had already crafted more than eight hundred caltrops and three thousand of those bizarrely-shaped metal boards. On top of that, they were all crafted using the top-quality metal that Wang Chong requested. On top of that, each of them was enchanted with ten layers of reinforcement inscriptions.

  Something of this caliber was definitely qualified to be named as the strongest war machine in the world.

  In truth, even when tapping into the Wang Clan's connections, crafting two to three hundred of both the caltrops and metal boards would already be the limit. However, with the experienced blacksmiths in the Zhang Clan, crafting this much was no trouble at all. On top of that, this all was done with only a portion of the manpower from their side.

  No outsider could hope to compare up to that. The Zhang’s Clan’s smithing production capability was truly outstanding.

  Other than that, following their promise to Wang Chong, the Zhang Clan had already crafted eight Wootz steel swords, and they were still waiting for Wang Chong to conduct the final tempering process and such.

  In the letter, the clan head had asked deferentially whether Wang Chong could free himself to help in the final part of the crafting process.

  The pigeon brought Tuoba Guiyuan's letter, as well.

  In the letter, Tuoba Guiyuan mentioned the issue regarding the Wootz steel sword as well. Wang Chong had been spending his time in the Kunwu Training Camp for the past month, and this meant that a month had passed since any Wootz steel weapons were sold to the Imperial Army guards.

  It's about time. I'll deal with those two matters together after I successfully cultivate the sword qi of the Art of Life Massacre, Wang Chong thought as he held onto the letters.

  As for Li Zhuxin's letter, Wang Chong received it a long time later.

  The man had tagged behind Zhang Munian all the way to Jiaozhi, protecting him from the shadows.

  Even though Jiaozhi was some distance away, one month should be more than sufficient for them to complete the journey. In the letter, Li Zhuxin had described the rough situation there.

  After finding a place in Jiaozhi, Zhang Munian managed to garner much help and conveniences from the county magistrate Great Tang had sent there.

  Jiaozhi's climate, which allowed rice to mature thrice a year, had delighted Zhang Munian.

  Just like what Wang Chong expected, the latter was filled with drive as soon as he arrived at Jiaozhi. He spent days and nights in the fields searching for the most suitable strains of rice.

  Despite buying a residence, Zhang Munian rarely appeared there. Instead, he spent most of his times in the fields. In fact, sometimes, he even slept right beside the fields.

  Even when sleeping, Li Zhuxin could hear the man prattling on about superior breeding and stuff, and this left him worried. After all, the other party wasn't a young man anymore.

  All Li Zhuxin could do was to massage the other party's body using his Origin Energy and loosen his tendons. In the letter, Li Zhuxin persuaded Wang Chong to send a letter to Zhang Munian to stop the latter from overworking himself.

  Li Zhuxin didn't speak of it explicitly, but through his words, Wang Chong could sense that he possessed deep respect for the old man. In fact, he even expressed his intentions to remain in Jiaozhi to continue protecting the old man.

  “Food is the foundation of all civilizations.” In the time that Li Zhuxin had been with Zhang Munian, he should have probably realized this fact. What Zhang Munian was researching concerned the survival of the masses. His contributions might not be apparent now, but countless others would benefit from his efforts in the future.

  As such, Wang Chong wasn't t
oo surprised by Li Zhuxin's intentions to remain in Jiaozhi.

  This is fine as well. With Li Zhuxin standing guard there, I doubt that there would be any trouble at the rice paddies, Wang Chong found himself agreeing with Li Zhuxin's opinion after contemplating for a moment. His concern regarding Zhang Munian's research exceeded even that of Li Zhuxin's.

  Sometimes in a war, the battles occurred somewhere beyond where one's eyes could see.

  To Wang Chong, Zhang Munian and his hybrid rice was such an existence. The outcome of the future wars wouldn't just hinge on the military might a country possessed on the surface, but the seemingly insignificant factors neglected by most as well.

  Zhang Munian was the secret weapon Wang Chong wielded, as well as the treasure trove he was leaving for the future.

  On top of that, Li Zhuxin also raised good news in the letter.

  Zhang Munian's ten days of hard work in Jiaozhi, along with the experience he had accumulated throughout his entire life, had paid off. He had finally found the first “male sterile line” amidst the fields.

  Li Zhuxin was just quoting Zhang Munian's words. He still had no idea that the concept was actually originated from Wang Chong.

  Even though the discovery of the male sterile line didn't amount to much, and Zhang Munian was still a far way off from finding and developing a perfect hybrid rice, such an improvement was still a positive sign.

  Since he was able to find the male sterile line, it shouldn't take long for him to uncover the rest as well.Finally, everything is on track, Wang Chong thought happily.

  Chapter 232: Sword Qi of Slaughter

  Chapter 232: Sword Qi of Slaughter

  Everything was on the right track.

  Wang Chong didn’t need to worry too much about them anymore. Once the snowball gained sufficient momentum, nothing would be able to stop it.

  While the snowball hadn't really grown large enough for Wang Chong, at the very least it was already starting to move!

  Thus, after meeting with Zhao Jingdian and Wei Hao a few more times, Wang Chong returned to his training.

  Days passed one after another, and Wang Chong's martial arts progressed steadily.

  ------

  Eight days later...

  Chi!

  In a dark chamber, a burst of radiance suddenly shot forth from Wang Chong's dull sword.

  That radiance was as thin as a thread of hair, but it was incomparably glaring, making it extremely difficult to even set one's eyes on it. On top of that, the radiance seemed to be very compact. It didn't fade or dissipate even after traveling a distance of ten zhang.

  Only after coming into contact with the wall around twelve zhang away did it swiftly dissipate into nothingness.

  "This... Sword qi! Great!" Wang Chong stared at the surge of light excitedly

  After ten days of experimentation and comprehension, he had finally compressed the Origin Energy in his body to the maximum, thus forging this string-like surge of sharp sword qi.

  It might be as thin as a strand of hair, but it was the result of compressing an immense quantity of Origin Energy into a line.

  After so many days of effort, I've finally succeeded in cultivating sword qi!, Wang Chong thought excitedly.

  In truth, sword qi was actually Origin Energy compressed to its maximum. It was due to this that expert swordsmen possess unbelievable might in their attacks.

  In that instant, Wang Chong suddenly felt that all of the effort he had devoted to his training had paid off.

  "Hm?" While Wang Chong's heart was beating so excitedly, he suddenly noticed a bizarre ray of light spilling into the chamber. It didn't originate from the entrance, but the wall right in front of him.

  The location he was in should have been a dark training chamber, a place completely devoid of light. He had chosen this place to grow to train his hearing and temper his instincts. Thus, the ray of light was truly out-of-place.

  "There shouldn't be any light here...?" Wang Chong walked toward the light, finding a narrow slit on the wall a meter above the ground. That bizarre light shone in right from this slit.

  Initially, Wang Chong was completely baffled by this small slit. He even raised his finger to touch and analyze it. But soon, he realized something—wasn't this slit at the spot where the sword qi he launched had struck?

  What's going on? Could it be that my sword qi has even penetrated the wall of this training chamber? Wang Chong was stunned.

  The training chamber he was in was made of steel. It was precisely due to the difficulty of building such steel chambers that these training chambers could only be found on the main peak.

  In fact, Wang Chong even chose one of the sturdier training chambers, prepared specifically for martial artists with a cultivation realm of Origin Energy Tier 7 and above. When he checked the wall, he had ascertained it to be at least a chi thick.

  Even the Wootz steel sword would have trouble cutting such a thick layer of sturdy steel.

  And yet, he actually left such a narrow slit on the wall with his sword qi?

  "The sword qi of the Art of Life Massacre is actually so sharp?" Wang Chong glanced at the dull metal sword with his trembling eyes. Even though he was the one who launched that sword qi, he still found the situation a little too unbelievable.

  Chi!

  Suddenly, a thought suddenly struck Wang Chong and he abruptly lifted his head. Without much thought, he turned around, swung his sword, and chi, another glaring radiance shot out and disappeared into the thick steel wall.

  Wang Chong waited for a moment, but other than the thin ray of light, the room remained completely dark.

  "This... Am I mistaken? Was that slit not caused by my sword qi?" Stunned, Wang Chong was unsure of himself.

  Was this all a coincidence?

  Weng!

  While Wang Chong was contemplating, a small ray of light suddenly penetrated the wall and shone into the chamber.

  Two small rays of light, one on his left and one on his right, crossed each other, creating a particularly conspicuous sight.

  Indeed! It was the result of the sword qi of the Art of Life Massacre!,Wang Chong thought as he gazed at the two small rays of light on the walls. In truth, even though he had already verified his conjecture, this matter was still a little too inconceivable for him to accept at this moment.

  To think that the sword qi from Elder Su's Art of Life Massacre would be so sharp! I have barely cultivated the most basic level of sword qi and yet, I am already capable of cutting through steel a chi thick. If I were to master this foundation formula, it would be unimaginable how fearsome my sword qi would be. It is no wonder why Elder Su was able to slay innumerable foreign steel cavalry with his individual strength in the capital back then.

  Wang Chong took in a deep breath as awe for Su Zhengchen sprouted in his heart.

  This was his first time witnessing the might of the 《Art of God and Demon Obliteration》, and furthermore, rather than just a description from Su Zhengchen, he was experiencing it personally.

  In an instant, many thoughts flashed across Wang Chong's mind as he recalled the incidents that occurred in his previous life.

  The foreign cavalry that appeared back then wasn't only strong, their defensive capability had also reached a monstrous level.

  Their bodies were compact, powerful, and resilient, and they seemed to possess no weaknesses whatsoever. Seemingly fatal attacks were completely ineffective against them.

  The conventions that governed battle didn't seem to apply to them. Even with a sword impaled through them, they were still able to move without trouble.

  They could even survive destructive martial arts that could kill a human several times over. The defenses and resilience of both parties simply weren't on the same level.

  Due to this, humans suffered catastrophic losses, and many famous experts in both Great Tang and other nations perished in the face of them.

  Fresh blood and death soon forged the names of these invaders, but even their
fearsome reputation failed to match up to their true prowess. Humans truly had no way of standing against them.

  Wang Chong had once witnessed the sight of a thousand foreign cavalry annihilating a human army of ten thousand people.

  Even the army that Wang Chong trained only managed to fight squarely with them through vastly improving cooperation among troops and collaborative brainstorming to maximize their fighting prowess.

  Teamwork. That was probably the greatest edge that humans had over them.

  But under such circumstances, Su Zhengchen actually managed to kill almost ten thousand foreign cavalry with just his individual might.

  When Wang Chong first heard of this matter, all he thought was that Su Zhengchen was incredible. To what extent the other party's real strength was had remained unfathomable to him.

  In the past three months with Su Zhengchen, Wang Chong learned much of the other party. He was a stubborn and determined person who stuck firmly to his values. He valued kinship, and this left him drowning in the sorrows of the past, thus playing a part in his eventual seclusion from the world. All in all, he was an unhappy old man.

  However, one thing he never learned from Su Zhengchen was exactly how strong the other party was. Even at the moment when the both of them parted, the latter had only demonstrated an insignificant “Void Crushing Palm”.

  Thus, this was the first time Wang Chong had a peek into the true Su Zhengchen, as well as what lay beneath the glacier known as the Art of God and Demon Obliteration.

  Those foreign cavalry that fell in the capital then must have surely died tragically, Wang Chong thought.

  Given the might of the Art of God and Demon Obliteration, Wang Chong was certain that the foreign cavalry must have ended up with innumerable holes in their bodies. Under such circumstances, no matter how resilient and compact their bodies were, the only fate that awaited them was death.

  "The Art of God and Demon Obliteration... As expected of the strongest sword art in the Central Plains. Even when facing a True Martial realm expert, I am confident that I could shatter the layer of qi protection around them to inflict wounds on them!"