The Human Emperor c1-2382
Page 1397
“Heaven, didn’t you want to kill me? I might as well make you an even stronger opponent, the one spoken of in the prophecy! I can’t wait to see how it turns out!”
That voice lingered in the dimension as Luo Supreme and his divine warriors vanished into space.
Wang Chong sent a part of his mind into the hazy ball of light, upon which he grimaced.
“Luo Supreme’s Grotto Heaven Core?”
Li Xuantu had walked over and now curiously looked at the ball.
Upon seeing Wang Chong nod, he paled.
“It’s a part of the Grotto Heaven Cores of both Alpha Supreme and Luo Supreme. In addition, it also contains all of Luo Supreme’s memories, the formulas for the Chaos Storm and the Beginning of Light and Shadow, and a True Qi Seed!” Wang Chong sternly said.
Luo Supreme had given Wang Chong almost everything. Though he had only given Wang Chong a fragment of his Grotto Heaven Core, it was just what Wang Chong needed.
Wang Chong’s Divine Embryo clones had long ago reached the half-step Grotto Heaven level, only one step away from a breakthrough. And these two Grotto Heaven Core fragments were exactly what they needed for that last step.
It was easy to see just how generous Luo Supreme’s parting gift had been.
Of course, Luo Supreme had his own aims with this gift, but it wasn’t important.
“Let’s go!”
Wang Chong took one last glance at that fissure in the sky before transforming into a streak of light with Li Xuantu and traveling into the passage. He had some more important things to do.
……
“Tanghulu! Tanghulu for sale!”
Warm tendrils of air curled their way through the streets of the capital of the Great Tang. A peddler holding a large stick on which many tanghulu had been skewered walked past stalls selling steamed buns and soup dumplings, and around him were other peddlers and people of the capital out shopping.
The vast capital had gathered together several million people, and it appeared just as bustling as ever.
Not long after the tanghulu peddler walked past, a white-clothed youth and middle-aged scholar emerged from a tea house on the side of the road.
These two were Wang Chong and Li Xuantu, back from their journey to the Turkic steppe.
Chapter 2330 - Sovereign and Subject!
Chapter 2330: Sovereign and Subject!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Heaven has already wiped away all traces of your existence. Right now, it’s no longer a question in the capital of whether or not you are the King of Foreign Lands, but if the King of Foreign Lands even exists. Everyone seems to have forgotten.”
Li Xuantu, dressed as a middle-aged scholar, scanned the area with a worried gaze.
The capital seemed calm and unperturbed, but concealed beneath this calm lurked a disconcerting danger.
A valued vassal of the Great Tang who had conquered so many other countries had been wiped from everyone’s memories. This seemed utterly absurd, but Heaven had truly done it.
Even more disconcerting was that from the information he had gathered, it seemed this effect was beginning to spread out from the capital and affect the rest of the realm. Even the common folk in other provinces had begun to forget about the King of Foreign Lands of the Great Tang.
“This isn’t important,” Wang Chong calmly said.
“Is that so?”
Li Xuantu frowned. From his perspective, he found it very hard to understand how an important vassal of the empire like Wang Chong could be so calm after having all his achievements wiped away.
Truly a strange fellow, Li Xuantu mentally remarked, keeping this thought to himself.
“I’m worried about something else. Can you sense Heaven’s aura?” Wang Chong said.
Seeing Wang Chong turn to business, Li Xuantu became stern. His brow frowned as he reached out with his senses, attempting to seek out any information in the air.
“This is the third day now, but I still can’t sense any traces of their energies. On the steppe, Essence Supreme’s physical body was destroyed, and Grand Supreme and Radiance Supreme were both badly injured. They shouldn’t be able to recover that quickly.
“But Heaven should still be in the capital,” Li Xuantu sternly added.
The Celestial Palace’s power was still in the capital, so Heaven could not leave. But that was exactly what was so bizarre. The two of them had infiltrated the capital several days ago, but there had been no response from Heaven or the Celestial God Organization. Wang Chong and Li Xuantu had tried many methods, but they had failed to detect their existence.
Wang Chong silently frowned.
Since their return from the steppe, the two sides had been in a strange equilibrium. Essence Supreme’s perfect body had been killed, and creating another would take a significant amount of time. As for Heaven, while Grand Supreme and Radiance Supreme could also serve as vessels for his soul, they would not be able to reach Essence Supreme’s level, and they would end up badly injured for it.
Not everyone was a purely psychic existence like Essence Supreme, able to completely disregard a physical body.
And without the Pantheon Pearl avatar, Heaven’s other avatar only had the strength of three to four Grotto Heaven realm experts, which was not completely impossible to fight against.
However, Heaven was perhaps the most ancient existence in the world. Until they were absolutely sure, the two of them could not recklessly take action.
Buzz!
Time slowly passed, and then Wang Chong suddenly looked up at the sky.
A moment later, Wang Chong shot into the air.
“Wang Chong, you!”
Li Xuantu was aghast. Wang Chong’s actions were equivalent to exposing himself to Heaven. With no time to think, Li Xuantu jumped up, joining Wang Chong in leaping into the void.
Whoosh!
A moment later, Wang Chong appeared high in the sky amidst howling winds.
True World!
Archon of Destiny’s Power!
Wang Chong’s eyes flashed, and a moment later, invisible law energy spread out from Wang Chong. At the same time, Wang Chong also sent out a sea of Psychic Energy to engulf the world below.
After a period of silence, Li Xuantu came forward and asked, “How was it?”
Wang Chong had something special on him. It was in no way connected to the Grotto Heaven realm, but it was an extremely mysterious power. Wang Chong had never mentioned it, but Li Xuantu had managed to sense it.
“Nothing. There’s no trace of the Celestial Palace.” Wang Chong shook his head, his brow furrowing even more.
Even after using the True World ability and the power of the Archon of Destiny, Wang Chong had been able to find no sign of the Celestial Palace.
Even so, Heaven’s power had spread like a plague through the capital and was still spreading. From his vantage point in the sky, Wang Chong could sense that many people had slack faces and movements, though they themselves did not notice. This meant that the Celestial Palace was here. There was no reason for him to not be able to sense it!
“We have to leave. Heaven has probably already noticed us. This is far too risky.”
Li Xuantu slapped Wang Chong on the shoulder, concern in his voice.
“The capital is already their territory. It’s nearly impossible to hide from them.”
Wang Chong’s face was calm as he spoke, and he thought back to his first encounter to Heaven.
The first time, he had changed his appearance and infiltrated the Wang Family Residence, believing that he was very secretive. But it turned out that Heaven and Essence Supreme had already noticed him. In these circumstances, being discovered was inevitable, and to not be discovered was purely a fluke.
“From what I can see, they’ve already noticed us. The fact that they haven’t moved means that they have something even more important to do or have many apprehensions that prevent them from taking action.
>
“Regardless, no matter what we do, it probably won’t have any effect. They won’t be showing up at a time like this,” Wang Chong sternly said.
Li Xuantu was taken aback. He wanted to say more, but he realized that he had nothing to say.
Indeed, if what Wang Chong said was true and they had already been exposed, since Heaven had not taken action before, he wouldn’t take action now. If they hadn’t been discovered, then it meant that something absurd had taken place and they could freely move around the capital.
“It’s about time. You leave first. I need to see someone. I’ll meet up with you later.”
As Wang Chong spoke, he passed the Xuanyuan Sword to Li Xuantu.
“I’ve stored my strongest attack into the Xuanyuan Sword. It should be enough to protect you. In addition, the sword’s energy is linked to mine, so if something happens to you, I can immediately return to you.”
“Mm.”
Li Xuantu took the Xuanyuan Sword from Wang Chong. Wang Chong didn’t mention who he was going to see, and Li Xuantu didn’t ask. Besides, Grotto Heaven realm experts could control spacetime, so Wang Chong would not die easily.
“You’re Heaven’s main target. Be careful!”
Li Xuantu quickly vanished.
Wang Chong floated in the air, his eyes quickly locking onto the Imperial Palace to the north.
Swoosh!
Wang Chong soon vanished like a ghost.
……
Late in the night, the capital was silent, the streets that had been bustling in the day now still. Only the Imperial Palace remained brightly lit.
In the depths of the palace, within the imperial study, a youthful figure wearing a dragon robe was reading memorials by the candle light.
It was now the third quarter of the Zi Period (11pm – 1am), and the majority of people were asleep. Outsiders would find it very hard to believe that this young figure was the supreme Emperor of the Great Tang, Li Heng.
Despite his illustrious status, the figure in the dragon robe was young and inexperienced.
Li Heng was even thinner and more tired than when he had first taken the throne.
“Haaah…” After some time, Li Heng put down his cinnabar brush and let out a long sigh.
Government affairs were proceeding as usual in the court, but for some reason, he felt like he was missing something, like his heart was empty.
Bong!
At this time, a soft chime rang, and a palace attendant’s voice came from outside.
“Your Majesty, it’s late. Eunuch Li had the kitchen prepare a tremella and lotus seed soup for Your Majesty.”
Li Heng frowned and almost instinctively wanted to refuse, but a moment later, he changed his mind.
These palace maids and eunuchs meant well, so there was no need to cause them trouble.
“Enter,” Li Heng said with a wave of his sleeve.
Creeeak!
The door opened, and a palace attendant that Li Heng had seen before came in, their body bowed and a silver tray in hand. Upon the tray was a bowl of soup contained in a jade bowl.
The palace attendant took the soup with both hands and respectfully walked over, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
“Place it on the table…”
Just like before, Li Heng didn’t pay much attention, planning to have the attendant leave after dropping off the soup.
In truth, he didn’t even touch the majority of these midnight snacks, and they were usually sent back in the same way they had been left.
For Li Heng, his loss of weight had nothing to do with this.
At this moment, as Li Heng glanced outside, he saw one of the generals responsible for guarding the kitchen, and his eyes widened.
But a moment later, Li Heng returned to normal, his shift in expression seeming like an illusion.
“You’re dismissed!”
Li Heng waved his hand, but his eyes were still locked onto that general.
“Come in. We have something to ask you.”
Li Heng’s request came so suddenly that both the palace attendant and the young general were shaken.
“This lowly subject obeys the decree!”
The general quickly lowered his head.
Boom!
The door was closed, and the study fell silent, the tremella and lotus seed soup still steaming on the desk.
That general seemed particularly young, yet his eyes seemed to have experienced a lifetime. He did not panic after being called in by Li Heng, simply bowed and prepared to answer whatever Li Heng asked.
“What does Your Majesty…”
But before he could finish, he was interrupted by Li Heng.
“King of Foreign Lands, is it really you?!”
Chapter 2331 - Li Heng Still Remembers!
Chapter 2331: Li Heng Still Remembers!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but it sounded like a boom of thunder in Wang Chong’s ears, causing his body to shudder as he raised his head.
The nearby Li Heng was staring at him with sharp and bright eyes.
His face was extremely calm, but the trembling of his lips and sleeves betrayed his agitation.
“Your Majesty, you…”
Wang Chong looked at Li Heng, his mind in turmoil.
Sovereign and subject were so for a lifetime. In truth, he and Li Heng had a very deep connection, but it seemed like Heaven had wiped everything away, making everyone forget about Wang Chong’s existence.
Wang Chong had secretly tried before, but even those who traveled with him to Sindhu, Young Master Qingyang and Old Eagle, had been affected by the Celestial Palace and forgotten about him. And now that he had ‘left’, all of the pressure of the empire was placed on Li Heng’s shoulders.
Wang Chong had infiltrated the palace as a general and followed the palace attendant to the study only to take a look at Li Heng from a distance and then leave.
After all, now that everyone had forgotten him, the relationship between sovereign and subject no longer had a meaning.
Wang Chong had never imagined that Li Heng actually remembered him.
The Imperial Palace was the center of the capital, and logically, it should have been where the effects of the Celestial Palace were the greatest. But it seemed like Li Heng wasn’t affected at all.
Had Heaven intentionally let Li Heng go, or was there a mistake? But how?
“It’s you! It’s really you!”
Li Heng was ecstatic as looked at Wang Chong.
“I just knew that I wasn’t misremembering. Although all the officials in the court said that We were wrong and that the Great Tang had no King of Foreign Lands, that everything was false, We always believed that it was all true.”
Li Heng had felt very tired lately, like he had been in a dream all this time.
On a day that he couldn’t remember, he awoke to a very strange sensation, as if something had changed. Everything had somehow become unreal.
But he still vaguely recalled that the marriage between Wang Chong and Xu Qiqin was coming, and he was the matchmaker for this wedding.
Thus, just as before, Li Heng summoned a major official of the Bureau of Rites, but to his surprise, when Li Heng mentioned the name ‘Wang Chong’, the rites official was confused, asking him who Wang Chong was. He claimed that he knew of no such person and even thought about requesting the Bureau of Revenue to seek this person out.
Li Heng was infuriated at these comments, believing that this official was making fun of him. He had placed extreme importance on the marriage between Wang Chong and Xu Qiqin. For Li Heng, Wang Chong was both teacher and friend, and he would permit no one to humiliate him.
Li Heng had immediately removed that rites official from his post, and then he summoned another official to ask for an update on the matter. But to his surprise, all of them claimed that they had no idea who Wang Chong was.
Li Heng had been dumbf
ounded.
The Bureau of Revenue, the Bureau of Rites, the Bureau of Punishments, the Bureau of Military Personnel… the officials of the Six Bureaus would never be so bold as to join together to deceive him. Li Heng sensed that something was wrong.
Calming down, Li Heng described Wang Chong’s numerous achievements, how he had reversed the situation in the war of the southwest, won the war of the northwest, the war against Arabia, the war in Youzhou… Wang Chong had a dazzling set of accomplishments that was unmatched throughout the ages.
But after Li Heng finished talking, everyone had baffled looks on their faces, and Taihe Palace was deathly still. Not a single person remembered any of these incidents.
Li Heng felt a sensation of utter absurdity.
He immediately went to find King Song.
King Song’s line had been friends with the Wang Clan for several generations, and Wang Chong had been one of the people King Song had the highest opinion of. King Song had also been one of the most strenuous promoters of Wang Chong throughout his career. While everyone else could forget Wang Chong, King Song could not.
But to Li Heng’s shock, even King Song had forgotten of Wang Chong’s existence.
Though he strained his mind to the limit, in the end, he shook his head. At that moment, Li Heng’s mind was blank from the immense shock.
And what he learned after that left him completely stupefied.
The guards he had sent to the Wang Family Residence had reported that there was no such residence in the southwestern part of the capital, nor was there a King of Foreign Lands Residence. Even the families of Wang Chong’s big uncle Wang Gen and little uncle Wang Mi had disappeared.
This was no longer a problem of whether anyone remembered Wang Chong. They fundamentally didn’t exist.
That Wang Chong and the Wang Clan seemed to only be delusions in Li Heng’s mind.
The court was concerned, and the Grand Tutor and Grand Preceptor had even sent the imperial physician to check on Li Heng, like he had come down with an illness.
At that moment, Li Heng felt unprecedented solitude, and he had even begun to doubt his own memories.
But he was still a sovereign, the one Wang Chong had called the Lord of Resurgence. Li Heng quickly stopped mentioning the matter, treating the matter as a momentary joke.