If they could get this, then they could be considered to have succeeded in their objective in the capital, making their long journey worth it.
Your Excellency, it all depends on you! Gao Shang mentally said, feeling worried for the first time.
Though he appeared calm, he felt great pressure when facing the War God of the Great Tang, his peer when it came to foresight, planning, and intelligence.
One hundred rumors could not compare to a single meeting!
Gao Shang keenly felt this!
After clashing with his opponent for the first time, Gao Shang intensely understood that this young King of the Great Tang would undoubtedly be their greatest foe!
Bang!
Meanwhile, amidst howling winds, Wang Chong had taken complete control of the situation and suppressed An Yaluoshan.
With a great boom, Wang Chong unleashed another majestic beam of Sword Qi. Every one of his attacks had the weight of Mount Tai behind it, and An Yaluoshan was sent staggering back with each blow. Many tears had already been made on his jacket.
When it came to martial arts, An Yaluoshan had made a lot of progress, but he had yet to reach the level from Wang Chong’s last life and was still no match.
Chapter 2009 - Guardian Ritual Tool!
Chapter 2009: Guardian Ritual Tool!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Boom!
Wang Chong’s attacks were sweeping and forceful. After pushing back An Yaluoshan, he immediately sent a wave of Psychic Energy surging toward An Yaluoshan’s mind.
After absorbing the Arab High Priest’s power in the war of the northwest, Wang Chong had reached an astonishing level of Psychic Energy. When it came to strength, it was not at all inferior to physical strength. On the contrary, from a certain perspective, it was even more effective to attack the person’s mind.
But there was a great boom as the Psychic Energy crashed into an invisible barrier in An Yaluoshan’s mind. Despite the force, it was repulsed like a wave crashing against the shore.
A psychic ritual tool!
A hint of anger flashed in Wang Chong’s eyes.
Though An Yaluoshan had gotten stronger, he had yet to reach the Subtle realm. At most, he was a peak Great General near the Subtle realm, still some distance from him. But in his assault, his attacks were weakened to seventy percent by the Power of the World, and all his attacks, whether Stellar Energy or Psychic Energy, were blocked by An Yaluoshan’s ritual tools.
Although An Yaluoshan had received many of his attacks, the ritual tools blocked them all, leaving him completely unharmed!
This was the first time since his reincarnation that Wang Chong had encountered a situation like this.
“Do you really think I can’t do anything to you?!”
Wang Chong’s eyes turned ice-cold.
An Yaluoshan had clearly come to the capital well-prepared, but if he really thought he could rely on these things to stop Wang Chong, then he was being far too naive.
More importantly, An Yaluoshan dared to steal the Great Tang’s Dragon Qi right in front of him. This had broken one of Wang Chong’s greatest taboos!
Clang!
With a great clang, Wang Chong suddenly sheathed his sword. At the same time, he used the Greater Void Step to vanish and reappear at An Yaluoshan’s side.
“Y-y-you… damn!”
An Yaluoshan panicked upon seeing Wang Chong, his face like someone who had seen a ghost.
There was a saying that went, ‘A man has to be looked upon with new eyes after a parting of three days.’ It was a saying that fit An Yaluoshan, but even better with Wang Chong. An Yaluoshan had believed that he could fight to the death with Wang Chong, but after exchanging a few blows, he had completely dropped the idea.
An Yaluoshan was simply no match for Wang Chong. All he could do was block and defend!
What made An Yaluoshan even more afraid were the changes in his body. He had prepared for so long to steal the Dragon Qi, but Wang Chong had immediately seen through it and broken his formation. This made him recall that stormy night from two and a half years ago.
He had believed that he was no longer afraid.
But in their next meeting, he discovered that the fear was still there!
Bang!
Before An Yaluoshan could strike back, Wang Chong thrust a palm forward, but this palm was not meant to attack An Yaluoshan. At the final moment, Wang Chong suddenly seized An Yaluoshan’s arm.
“Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art!”
Wang Chong’s dantian vibrated as he used the supreme art of the evil path, upon which Stellar Energy flooded into his body.
“What art is this?!”
An Yaluoshan scowled in fright.
Through cultivation, he had developed a sturdy foundation and a deep reserve of Stellar Energy, and he additionally had the support of the Power of the World. His Stellar Energy was now as tough and dense as steel. But despite his best efforts, he was incapable of stopping his Stellar Energy from flowing to Wang Chong as if it had always belonged to Wang Chong.
And to An Yaluoshan’s utter disbelief, the Dragon Qi that he had worked so hard to collect was also beginning to loosen and flow toward Wang Chong.
An Yaluoshan almost went crazy from shock!
“Damn it!”
An Yaluoshan’s rage instantly overcame his shock, his anger turning into courage as he raised his ox horn knife and slashed at Wang Chong.
The saber energy sliced the air in half, leaving a long fissure.
Even steel would be cleaved apart if struck by this attack.
But the moment An Yaluoshan attacked…
Stellar Energy exploded out of Wang Chong’s body, joining with the Stellar Energy being absorbed from An Yaluoshan to strike at An Yaluoshan’s chest.
It was a heavy strike that made An Yaluoshan see stars, his entire body shuddering.
He was already weaker than Wang Chong, and with Wang Chong using this method against him, it felt like he was fighting two opponents at once.
“I’d like to see how long those three rings can protect you!”
Wang Chong’s cold and vicious voice whispered into his ear like a commandment from the god of death.
Stellar Energy flowed out at an even faster rate, and Wang Chong’s left hand moved toward the three black rings on An Yaluoshan’s right hand.
“I didn’t think you were even colluding with those men in black, and they even gave you ritual tools like this! But they still can’t protect you!”
Although An Yaluoshan had tried his best to hide it, at such a close distance, Wang Chong could sense the familiar energy of the men in black on those rings.
Bang!
The mention of the ‘men in black’ made An Yaluoshan tremble like he had been struck by a lightning bolt.
H-how?!
How does this bastard even know about the men in black?
An Yaluoshan’s heart was in turmoil, and it felt like his greatest secret had been exposed.
Youzhou was far in the northeast, away from civilization and the reach of the Emperor. An Yaluoshan had always believed that his actions were extremely furtive, particularly when it came to the men in black.
Not even many of the upper echelons of the Andong Protectorate army knew about these men, and they were his greatest support on this visit to the capital.
Wang Chong was far in the capital, so how did he know about them?
An Yaluoshan was stunned and frightened.
If one was completely exposed to one’s opponent, without a single secret, how could one fight back?
This described An Yaluoshan’s mental state.
The brimming confidence he had come with had completely drained away, and An Yaluoshan began to harbor thoughts of retreat.
But regardless of how shocked An Yaluoshan was, Wang Chong’s fierce attack arrived with no delay.
His left hand snatched at the three rings, but when it was just a foot awa
y, a mighty Stellar Energy of a completely different nature from An Yaluoshan’s erupted out and blocked Wang Chong.
A guardian ritual tool!
Wang Chong immediately understood.
There were many kinds of ritual tools. Some ritual tools, if they fell into the hands of another, could be forced to change owners, but some ritual tools could be refined so that they became one with the user. These ritual tools were impossible to steal and had the ability to automatically protect their master. Dangerous moments would trigger the seal in the ritual tool and cause it to attack the enemy.
It was impossible to steal this kind of ritual tool.
However…
Every ritual tool had its limit. Since he couldn’t take it, he would just destroy it.
Boomboomboom!
Wang Chong unleashed a storm of Stellar Energy at An Yaluoshan. At the same time, he stomped down with his foot, shattering more of the jade tiles and causing the crowd to gasp in fright. Debris and dust joined the storm of Stellar Energy, obstructing the vision of the crowd.
An Yaluoshan had previously sustained attacks from the Art of God and Demon Obliteration, and with his Stellar Energy being suppressed, Wang Chong’s deluge of attacks finally brought the three black rings to their limit.
Crack!
There was a resoundingly crisp crack.
The largest of the black rings, the one on his thumb, reached its limit, a thin crack appearing on it.
Before An Yaluoshan could respond, Wang Chong let out a flurry of punches, sending wave after wave of attacks.
Bang! The black ring instantly exploded into tiny shards.
“You madman!”
An Yaluoshan was struck dumb.
A ritual tool!
This was a powerful ritual tool, but Wang Chong had destroyed it with brute force!
An Yaluoshan had never imagined this scenario.
Even if every ritual tool had a limit, that was only in theory. No one had actually ever reached that limit. Yet this madman had managed to do so and make one of his ritual tools explode.
“You bastard, I’ll kill you!”
An Yaluoshan crazily writhed, trying to break free of Wang Chong’s control, but no matter how he struggled, Wang Chong’s hand remained clasped around his arm like an iron vise.
“An ant trying to shake a tree!”
Wang Chong’s expression remained unmoved in the face of An Yaluoshan’s frenzied struggle. Bang! Under another flurry of attacks, another one of the ritual tools exploded.
An Yaluoshan was truly shocked to the point of madness!
Though Wang Chong’s Sword Qi had been fierce and savage, he had not feared it with his three ritual tools.
Genesis Supreme had said that these three ritual tools had a history going back several thousand years. They would be enough to protect him while he was in the capital, and no one except the Sage Emperor would be able to kill him.
The Sage Emperor had done nothing, but Wang Chong alone was on the verge of destroying all three of them.
Wang Chong’s new tactic, forsaking vicious Sword Qi to bash with simple Stellar Energy, was actually proving far more threatening.
Chapter 2010 - Turn the Fake into Real, and Make a False Accusation!
Chapter 2010: Turn the Fake into Real, and Make a False Accusation!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
With only one ritual tool left, An Yaluoshan was in dire straits. It was only a matter of time until the third ritual tool shattered and he would have nothing left to defend himself.
“Cui Qianyou, what’s the situation?” Gao Shang suddenly said, his expression grave and his mind in turmoil.
Although his cultivation level was too low for him to make out the situation with the dust and debris obscuring everything, Gao Shang could still use his divination arts to see the situation of An Yaluoshan’s star.
Before this, An Yaluoshan’s star had been getting stronger and stronger, growing thicker and thicker with Dragon Qi. But just a moment ago, An Yaluoshan’s star had suddenly begun to dim. And most strangely, its Dragon Qi also began to weaken. Gao Shang couldn’t help but be extremely concerned.
“Not good! His Excellency is being completely suppressed!” Cui Qianyou solemnly said as he stared ahead.
Even though the two were engulfed by dust and debris, a Great General like Cui Qianyou could still sense many things.
“Have His Excellency end the battle at once. Even if he loses, it doesn’t matter!” Gao Shang said, his heart heavy.
“Ah?!”
Cui Qianyou was stunned. A second ago, Gao Shang had still wanted An Yaluoshan to persist, but now, he was urging him to end the battle, even concede. The contrast was just too great.
“Okay!”
Though he was confused, Cui Qianyou immediately adopted Gao Shang’s proposal.
“Your Excellency, withdraw!”
Cui Qianyou sent out a stream of Psychic Energy, condensed to the maximum, that carried a message into An Yaluoshan’s mind.
Boom!
Cui Qianyou’s Psychic Energy was far inferior to Wang Chong’s, but the ripples from his Psychic Energy still drew An Yaluoshan’s attention.
An Yaluoshan briefly glanced in Gao Shang and Cui Qianyou’s direction. Stellar Energy was howling around him, basically deafening his ears to their words, but An Yaluoshan could understand what they were saying by watching their mouths.
A moment ago, An Yaluoshan had been drowned in fury over the loss of his ritual tools, but he now immediately calmed down, a cunning and savage light in his eyes.
“Ah!”
An Yaluoshan suddenly howled, frightening all the officials and foreign dignitaries in the Pavilion of Petal and Sepal.
“King of Foreign Lands, what are you doing?!”
It was a harsh and bitter cry, brimming with indignation.
Bang!
Without the slightest hesitation, An Yaluoshan detonated the last black ring, instantly causing a fierce explosion of energy.
The Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art had made An Yaluoshan incapable of escaping Wang Chong’s grip, but with the power of the explosion, he was finally able to escape.
Not only that, before Wang Chong could attack, An Yaluoshan flew backward like a ragdoll, like someone had given him a vicious slap.
Fwoosh!
An Yaluoshan’s dantian ‘exploded’, and he immediately vomited blood, putting himself into a miserable condition.
As Wang Chong saw this all, his eyes coldly gleamed.
“Hmph, trying some scheme?! This king will fulfill your wish!”
He was well aware that An Yaluoshan was trying to frame him, but rather than retreating to avoid suspicion, he pursued, harnessing all his Stellar Energy as he thrust a palm at An Yaluoshan’s chest.
“Ah!!”
A terrible scream tore through the air, and An Yaluoshan no longer needed to pretend. He received the full force of Wang Chong’s palm and slammed into the ground. The white jade tiles were blasted apart, leaving a deep, human-shaped impression on the ground.
“Lord Protector-General!”
On the left side of the pavilion’s ‘U’, Cui Qianyou, Tian Chengsi, Gao Shang, and Yan Zhuang were both shocked and enraged, their eyes turning red.
Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi, the strongest of the group, were so angry that they turned their tables over in haste to rush to An Yaluoshan.
Their plan was to have An Yaluoshan fake an injury in front of the Sage Emperor at the final moment and then assign all the blame to Wang Chong.
They had not expected Wang Chong to be so audacious as to go with the flow and heavily injure An Yaluoshan without the slightest fear.
“King of Foreign Lands!!!”
As the gale died down and the dust settled, all the officials and foreign dignitaries bolted to their feet, expressions of shock on their faces.
Dances and performances were all well and good.
But if one
suddenly struck too heavily, or even used the opportunity to heavily injure the other party, everything changed!
“King of Foreign Lands, what is this about?”
The officials turned to Wang Chong.
The Sage Emperor was present, and An Yaluoshan was a meritorious official of the Great Tang who had defeated Yeon Gaesomun and the Goguryeo Empire. Wang Chong had heavily injured him in full view of the crowd, and though Wang Chong was from a renowned clan and was himself a meritorious official, not even he might be able to endure the fury of the Sage Emperor.
Moreover, Wang Chong was currently the number one man in the military. If this matter were handled poorly, he would be accused of being jealous and suppressing other talents of the empire.
Wang Chong’s career would be over!
“Your Majesty, save me…”
An Yaluoshan seized this chance and bitterly screamed.
But inwardly, he was enraged!
Wang Chong, this bastard! An Yaluoshan had detonated his ritual tool and exploded his dantian to fake heavy injuries, but after taking Wang Chong’s palm, his fake injuries had turned into real ones.
What vexed him the most was that Wang Chong dared to commit murder in essentially broad daylight without the slightest fear.
Bastard! I won’t spare you!
An Yaluoshan gnashed his teeth. Whether it was a real injury or fake injury, since Wang Chong dared to attack him, he was done for!
He would never forgive him!
But before he could finish speaking, a thunderous bellow erupted through the Pavilion of Petal and Sepal.
“An Yaluoshan, such audacity! While performing for the Sage Emperor, you dared to secretly bring powerful ritual tools! Are you plotting rebellion, conspiring to harm His Divine Majesty?!”
The roar was so infused with wrath that the very ground trembled.
The tattered An Yaluoshan had just been preparing to accuse Wang Chong, but when he heard this roar, his heart shivered and he was rendered speechless.
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