“Help me up!”
“Yes, Ancestor!”A junior of his clan handed over his walking stick while several youths of the Yan Clan came over to help him stand.“You should come with me and carefully record this battle. I’m too old to record very much, so I’ll have to rely on you children in the future. Remember, our Yan Clan controls the records of history, so we must strictly stick to the facts, ensuring our words are as firm as steel. Although battles between martial artists have never been worthy of entering the annals of history, this is a battle between the King of Foreign Lands and the Secretariat Advisor. The militarists and the Confucians… The future state of the empire will be decided by these two,” Yan Wenzhang sternly said.
Chapter 1812 - The Match Begins!
Chapter 1812: The Match Begins!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Yes, Ancestor!”
The Yan Clan members bowed. There were forty to fifty Yan Clan members packed into the courtyard. The Yan Clan was a clan of historians, but it was also a great clan with many branches and many members.
“Let’s go! It’s about time for the match to begin!” Yan Wenzhang declared, and he quickly set off for the training ground, escorted by the numerous Yan Clan members.
……
Time slowly passed, and by now, almost everyone of note in the capital had arrived at the training ground in the southern part of the city, from important officials to the members of prestigious clans. And for several thousand meters around the training ground, extending into the streets, was a vast crowd of people, so tightly packed that not even a drop of water could get through.
The taverns, tea houses, and any buildings that had a view of the training ground were packed. Even the rooftops had spectators atop them.
Around two years ago, Wang Chong had defeated the First Prince of Ü-Tsang here, and now, it had become the ground for the crucial match in the militarist-Confucian conflict.
The crowd buzzed and chattered as they waited in anticipation for the match to begin.
This was undoubtedly one of the most important matches in the history of the Great Tang.
Bong!
A bell rang out across the capital, and a moment later, the crowd exploded in cheers.
“King of Foreign Lands!”
“King of Foreign Lands!”
“Secretariat Advisor!”
“Secretariat Advisor!”
Cheers for Wang Chong and Li Junxian resounded through the world, each person crazily calling out in support of their own hero.
On the northern end of the training ground, a long sandalwood table had been placed. Behind it, Fifth Prince Li Heng sat at the center seat. To his left were the Grand Preceptor and Grand Tutor. To his right were Prime Minister Li Linfu and Minister of War Zhangchou Jianqiong. Li Heng exchanged a glance with the other people at the table, and then he nodded.
“Begin!”
With this order, the match which would decide the fate of the empire finally began.
Buzz!
Countless people watched as a young, white-robed figure slowly walked out with his escort.
Bang!
The sight of that scholarly and elegant figure instantly stirred the crowd into a frenzy, and their cheers resounded through the heavens.
“Secretariat Advisor!”
“Secretariat Advisor!”
Putting aside the militarist-Confucian conflict and any personal conflicts, Li Junxian’s elegant and scholarly demeanor had won him many fans in the capital, particularly amongst young women, who shrieked in delight at Li Junxian.
At the edge of the training ground, the white-robed girl solemnly said to Li Junxian, “Senior Brother, you must be extremely careful in this match. In addition, this match is of the utmost importance. Senior Brother, you must not show mercy!”
“Relax. I know what to do.”
Li Junxian nodded and stepped onto the training ground.
His eyes did not linger on the people around him, and stared straight ahead.
A few moments later, the crowd on the other side parted. Escorted by Li Siye, Xu Keyi, and his other subordinates, Wang Chong walked out.
Bang!
When Wang Chong appeared, the heavens trembled at the resounding cheers, which far surpassed the cheers for Li Junxian.
“King of Foreign Lands!”
“King of Foreign Lands!”
“King of Foreign Lands!”
Around the training ground and from even farther away, all the noble sons and daughters of the capital madly cheered with all their strength, their expressions glowing with passion.
After the Rebellion of the Three Princes, Wang Chong’s reputation had reached its zenith, leaving Li Junxian choking on his dust. Not even Wang Chong had realized that he had already become the idol and hero for all the youth of the capital.
The day had finally come!
Wang Chong’s subordinates began to unconsciously breathe faster and turn more nervous. They couldn’t afford to lose this battle, nor could the militarists. The consequences would be unthinkable.
“Relax.”
Wang Chong smiled. At a time like this, he was the one who ended up having to soothe his subordinates.
“Just wait for the good news!”
Wang Chong swept his sleeve and strolled onto the training ground.
Clap!
Wang Chong’s steps rang out clearly across the training ground, and as they did, the entire world seemed to fall silent. Everyone stared at Wang Chong and Li Junxian, and behind the table, even Li Heng and the other dignitaries held their breaths.
Buzz!
The two of them stopped some two hundred feet from each other, their eyes meeting. The air instantly became fraught with tension.
“You’re finally here!”
Surprisingly, Li Junxian was the first to speak, his eyes shining with resolve.
“It’s about time things came to an end between us. I won’t let you ruin my plan, won’t let you drag the people of the world into endless war for the sake of your personal desires.”
“Heh!”
Wang Chong chuckled at Li Junxian’s words.
“You’ve seen so many wars and clearly understand the root of the matter, yet you still persist in speaking such childish words?
“I’ve never opposed your Confucian Sect’s ideal of a Harmonious World, but does one person’s ideal, or a group’s ideal, require burying all the people of the world and an entire empire?”
A wind gusted, blowing fallen leaves between the two. Wang Chong’s eyes turned ice-cold.
For the Confucian Sect and Li Junxian, he would show no mercy.
“The true fool is you! It’s precisely because the world is engulfed in endless war, that the strong eat the weak, that we must firmly advance and do all we can to change this.
“Our Confucian Sect has persisted through the generations, and the only reason we have never succeeded is militarist brutes and autocrats like you.
“Whenever we face this kind of situation, in every era, a disciple of slaughter like you will stand in front of us and constantly hinder our progress. In the end, we are forced to use that martial strength we most loathe to resolve all the quarrels.”
Li Junxian sharply stared at Wang Chong.
“Wang Chong, you will not win. This time, I will finally bring an end to you and uproot all your strength within the Great Tang!
“The Confucian Sect has waited one thousand years. It must win!”
Li Junxian’s final words practically thudded against the ground, and they were tinged with murderous intent. It was clear that Li Junxian wanted to kill Wang Chong.
No one else in the Great Tang had ever been able to pressure and hinder the Confucian Sect as much as Wang Chong. He had been the Confucian Sect’s stumbling block for too long.
“Heh! All that talk from you about benevolence and righteousness, that promotion of the Harmonious World? It’s all in vain! In the
end, just like the militarists, you still rely on martial strength to clear away the thorns and open the road. What makes you different from us?”
Wang Chong couldn’t help but laugh, his eyes oozing derision.
“Unfortunately, the world is not a testing ground for the Confucian Sect, nor am I a person you can easily defeat. The strong eat the weak, and only the fittest can survive.
“In this world, only the strong can protect the country and its people. To speak of the Harmonious World and favor the foreigners will only bring about self-destruction. Peace is won through one’s own strength and power, not through the other party’s pity.
“I will show no more mercy to you. If I win, your Confucian Sect’s ideals will be completely ripped out from the Great Tang. This era and this world do not need these misguided ideals. Li Junxian, you have no chance of victory,” Wang Chong sternly said.
Whoosh!
Li Junxian and the Confucian Sect members behind him grimaced. Even the Grand Preceptor and Grand Tutor couldn’t help but slightly pale.
The two of them had heard an astounding resolve in Wang Chong’s words. If he won, then the struggle would be far from over. It was apparent from his tone that he planned to use all his strength to suppress the Confucian Sect.
With Wang Chong’s status as the King of Foreign Lands and his achievement of protecting the emperor, he really might be able to do it.
Li Junxian’s eyes turned cold as he declared, “Wang Chong, I return the same words to you!
“If I win, the Wang Clan and all you bloodthirsty and militaristic warriors will be swept out of the Great Tang.
“A general’s career is built on the back of ten thousand bleached bones. All of your achievements have come on the backs of countless slain soldiers. When the Harmonious World is finally realized, there will be no place left for you and your kind to hide,” Li Junxian coldly vowed.
The two of them stared at each other, electricity crackling between them.
Even Li Heng, the Grand Tutor, the Grand Preceptor, Li Linfu, and Zhangchou Jianqiong could sense the terrifying energy between the two.
For outsiders, this was simply a contest of martial strength, but for Wang Chong and Li Junxian, their lives seemed to be on the line.
Bong!
In this tense air, the bell rang out once more, and then a dignified voice resounded over the training ground.
“Milords, I am sure you understand the Sage Emperor’s decree.”
On Li Heng’s left side, Grand Tutor Pei Guangting slowly stood up, instantly grabbing everyone’s attention.
“Both of you agreed to this match in front of the Sage Emperor himself. No matter what the final result is, both of you must comply with the results. There will be no regrets. Is that understood?”
Wang Chong and Li Junxian simply nodded in reply.
“Very good! Let the match begin!”
The Grand Tutor nodded and quickly sat back down.
The training ground instantly fell silent. Everyone stared at Wang Chong and Li Junxian, whose bodies began to stir with energy.
Chapter 1813 - The Power of the Crown of Confucius!
Chapter 1813: The Power of the Crown of Confucius!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
This moment has finally come!
Wang Chong took in a deep breath. The Stellar Energy in his dantian began to vibrate, and a storm of immense energy soon erupted from his body.
Boom!
The heavens trembled, and the calm training ground instantly turned into a raging sea, the seething waves of energy causing the air to howl.
Boom!
Across from Wang Chong, a pillar of energy shot up like a fire beacon. Li Junxian had almost simultaneously unlocked his own seal, and his energy instantly reached its peak to oppose Wang Chong.
“Li Junxian, it’s time for things to end! Lightning’s Fury!”
Wang Chong’s voice rumbled like a peal of thunder, echoing across the entire training ground. Whoosh! Before anyone could react, Wang Chong gripped the Origin Immortal Sword at his waist and vanished.
Crack!
As a peal of thunder resounded through the heavens, tens of thousands of dazzling lightning bolts suddenly appeared from where Wang Chong had been standing and spread across the skies.
Kacrack!
Above the training ground, the lightning bolts gathered together into a giant sword that surged with destructive power. It slashed down, cleaving through the heavens as it descended toward Li Junxian.
It was impossible to describe the power contained in this sword. As the lightning erupted from its surface, everyone’s minds seemed to stop, and even the flow of time seemed to freeze. All that was left was a world of lightning.
Wang Chong had no plans to prolong his battle with Li Junxian.
This was not Wang Chong’s first clash with Li Junxian, and there was no need for the two of them to probe each other.
Wang Chong had only one goal in mind: use all his power to end this farce as quickly as possible.
Boom!
There was a thunderous explosion, and it seemed as if the very earth had been sundered apart. But when the lightning had faded, Li Junxian still stood tall in his snow-white robes, completely unharmed.
After a brief silence, the crowd called out in surprise.
“Li Junxian!”
“He actually blocked it.”
Meanwhile, Xu Keyi, Young Master Qingyang, and Li Siye instantly paled.
Wang Chong had obtained the Origin Immortal Sword from beneath the Origin Immortal Mountain in the northwest. It was a sword of immense power that not even the Goat, Deer, and Tiger Immortals had been able to stop.
This was even more so after Wang Chong broke into the Subtle realm. Wang Chong became capable of using the full strength of this terrifying sword, and not even Young Master Qingyang dared to imagine how strong it was. But Li Junxian had blocked it.
“How could this be!?”
Xu Keyi and Zhang Que were the most shocked of all. They had personally seen Wang Chong exchange blows with Li Junxian during the Public Order Squad incident. At that time, even though Li Junxian had the holy sword of his sect, he had still been no match for Wang Chong.
But now, Li Junxian had blocked Wang Chong’s full-strength blow.
“Look over there!” someone cried out, and everyone was instantly drawn to the top of Li Junxian’s head. At some point, Li Junxian had donned an ancient Confucian crown in the style of the Spring and Autumn Era.
This Confucian crown exuded a hallowed, majestic, and mountain-shattering energy. A white halo surrounded the crown, and it seemed to resonate with the Noble Sage Sword at Li Junxian’s waist.
This Confucian crown seemed to push Li Junxian’s power to a whole new level.
“That’s! The Crown of Confucius!”
At the edge of the training ground, Yan Wenzhang, who had been swiftly writing with his brush, recording the events of the battle and the conversation between the pair, trembled upon seeing the crown Li Junxian wore. The brush almost dropped out of his hands.
As a member of the Confucian path and a clan of historians, the Yan Clan was more familiar with the records of history than anyone else.
There were clear descriptions regarding the appearance and special features of the Crown of Confucius in the historical texts. While others might not have been aware of them, Grand Scribe Yan Wenzhang knew them like the back of his hand.
“How could this be!?”
Yan Wenzhang’s eyes widened as he stared in agitation at the Confucian crown on Li Junxian’s head.
“What?! The Crown of Confucius?!”
The many Confucian scholars around Yan Wenzhang cried out in alarm upon hearing his words, and the crowd grew restless.
The Crown of Confucius was a holy object, not just for the Confucian Sect, but for all the Confucians of the realm.
After all, it was the Confucian crown worn by the Sage
Confucius himself!
Wang Chong dropped back to the ground.
“The Crown of Confucius?”
Wang Chong solemnly stared at that ancient crown atop Li Junxian’s head.
Given the importance of the militarist-Confucian conflict, Li Junxian was certain to use all the strength he could mobilize. But he hadn’t expected that Li Junxian would really take out the Crown of Confucius to use alongside the Noble Sage Sword.
Academic Lu really got it right, Wang Chong quietly remarked as he recalled the report from Zhang Que.
Former possessions of the Sage were not to be taken lightly. This was clearly Li Junxian’s greatest tool in this battle, and Wang Chong did not dare to be careless with the Crown of Confucius until he could plumb the depths of its power.
“Wang Chong, I said before that you have no hope of winning this battle!” Li Junxian loudly proclaimed. His body exuded righteousness and majesty now that he wore the Crown of Confucius.
“The Confucian Sect does not like fighting, but that does not mean that it is not good at it. This Crown of Confucius is the best tool against crazed murderers and aggressive generals like you!”
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 1109
