Chapter 652: The Sage Emperor of the Great Tang!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
In my last life, there was an appraisal. Although King Qi was born as an Imperial Prince, as a relative of the Emperor, he still wasn’t lacking for any techniques or pills, greatly smoothing his path of cultivation. Thus, although he never leaves his home, King Qi’s cultivation has already surpassed the vast majority of cultivators, placing him amongst the elite. He might even be a little stronger than fierce generals like Geshu Han and Fumeng Lingcha.
For Gao Lishi to be able to send him flying is simply inconceivable!
Wang Chong’s mind was in turmoil. In a flash, that amiable and plump Eunuch Director of the Inner Court seemed to grow several times larger and infinitely more unfathomable. But even more shocking was the fact that Eunuch Gao had dared to strike King Qi.
This was the most surprising thing of all.
“Crazy, he’s gone crazy!”
All the people on the observation platforms couldn’t believe their eyes.
King Qi had always been hard to restrain. None of the nobles or officials dared to strike him. Even a prestigious clan like the Wang Clan had some apprehensions about King Qi. No one could have ever even dared to think about attacking King Qi.
But Gao Lishi had sent him flying without a second thought.
“Feng Yuanyi, you dare!!” King Qi bellowed out from the base of the Imperial Stairway, his roars shaking the heavens. As he got up off the ground, a killing energy began to explode from his body, and his bestial eyes viciously glared at Gao Lishi.
Damned slave!
Nothing more than a slave for the house of heaven, not even a man, and yet you dare attack me! You deserve ten thousand deaths!
King Qi’s eyes flashed with vicious light. If looks could kill, Gao Lishi would have experienced death thousands of times already.
“Your Highness King Qi, the ceremony has not concluded. Where are you intending on going?”
Eunuch Gao stood high up on the Imperial Stairway, looking down at King Qi. His complexion was ruddy, his face beaming. He was amiable as ever; not even King Qi yelling out his old name was able to stir any anger on his face. It felt impossible to determine what he was truly thinking.
“You slave that doesn’t know the heights of the heavens or the thickness of the earth! I’ll kill you!”
King Qi’s killing intent was inflamed.
Roooar!
The moment he spoke, a golden light exploded and the air resounded with the roars of dragons. A majestic storm of energy had arisen from King Qi’s body. Space began to twist as a massive golden dragon manifested over his head, bellowing as it emerged from the void. And its target… was the distant Gao Lishi at the top of the Imperial Stairway.
Who cares if you’re Gao Lishi?
Who cares if you’re the Director of the Inner Court?
Angering me will result in your death all the same. I don’t believe that those fellows would dare to do anything to me, the mighty King Qi, a member of the imperial clan!
“Your Highness, you can’t!”
Yao Guangyi had completely lost control of himself.
Who was Gao Lishi? He truly was a eunuch, of a lowly status who could not even compare to an imperial clansman like King Qi. But this was only true for ordinary eunuchs, and who except King Qi, in the inner court of the Imperial Palace—no, the entire capital—would dare to treat Gao Lishi like an ordinary eunuch?
He had served for decades at the Sage Emperor’s side. They had experienced the War of the Princes together and all the tribulations that came from ascending to the throne… Given his achievements, could his status in the palace really be described with an ordinary word like ‘eunuch’?
Buzz!
Just when everyone was about to witness King Qi and Eunuch Gao clash in the Imperial Palace, the situation changed…
The earth trembled as a majestic, dignified, and revered energy suddenly flooded out of the depths of the palace, instantly covering the entire area.
Buzz! Winds stirred and clouds began to gather, transforming the clear day into a dark and stormy one. A powerful energy that Wang Chong had never felt before, one that reigned supreme over all things, instantly entered the perceptions of everyone present.
The majesty and grandeur of this energy made everyone seem as insignificant as ants. Even the brilliance of powerful existences like Eunuch Gao and King Qi seemed dim in the face of this energy, like fireflies trying to compete with the moon.
“Impudent!”
A voice emerged from the depths of the Taiji Palace, and when this voice spoke, everyone felt a shiver of fear that came from the depths of their hearts. Even the arrogant King Qi who was about to battle against Gao Lishi in front of Taiji Palace now threw himself against the ground in fear, groveling before the Imperial Stairway.
“Your Majesty!”
King Qi faced the ground, his entire body trembling like a mouse running into a cat. Although he was normally arrogant and tyrannical, doing as he pleased, that was because of the people he was doing these things to.
In front of the Sage Emperor, no one dared to act recklessly.
The Sage Emperor was magnanimous, allowing all the ministers to express their views in court. Even in the case of old Imperial Censor Duan Cao chastising Duan Qian, the Sage Emperor did not speak, making the matter completely acceptable.
In all the world, across all the dynasties, only the Sage Emperor treated his ministers with such tolerance. The reason King Qi was able to act so brashly in the capital also had to do with the Sage Emperor’s lenient method of rule.
But once the Sage Emperor was enraged, even the unyielding King Qi would have to lower his head and suppress his anger.
Boom!
The earth shook. The crowd could hear heavy footsteps coming from deep within Taiji Palace.
Each of these footsteps seemed to be treading on their hearts.
Bzz! An enormous shadow was cast out from the palace. Everyone could see that a new silhouette had clearly emerged at the top of the Imperial Stairway.
There was no sound and no movement. The moment that figure appeared, he instantly became the center of the world. The heavens and earth, the sun and moon, mountains and rivers, all things paid obeisance to him.
He loomed like a god in the center of the Imperial Palace, and the atmosphere instantly turned solemn and respectful.
King Qi pressed his face against the ground, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
“May the Emperor live ten thousand years!”
Shouts filled the air as everyone in front of Taiji Palace, including the guards, ministers, and even Wang Chong kneeled down.
In this moment, it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
As Yao Guangyi kneeled, his entire body broke out in a cold sweat. King Qi had always been this way, always working off of impulse and never thinking about the result. In truth, very few people could make him think about the consequences.
But the situation this time was different.
The news of the major victory in the southwest and the Sage Emperor’s desire to reward Wang Chong had already been announced to the world. Both within and without the court, the officials from the Six Bureaus and all the other important officials were watching. King Qi’s impulsive actions at a moment like this had finally provoked the Sage Emperor.
“Li You, are you planning to leave now?”
The Sage Emperor’s voice rang out from above, expressing neither anger nor joy.
“This lowly subject would not dare.”
King Qi’s face was pale and fraught with terror. As beads of sweat the size of beans dropped to the ground, he instantly became drenched. Though he was usually bold, he was now nothing more than a cowardly mouse.
All was quiet. Whenever the Sage Emperor spoke, other people would try to keep as quiet as possible, leaving only one voice within the Imperial Palace.
At this moment, no one was more deeply affected by all this than Wang Chong.
In his last life, the Sage Emperor was publicly acknowledged by the entire world as the strongest, and after his death, he was widely acknowledged as the one who had been the closest to becoming a ‘god’.
But Wang Chong had only ever heard of these things. In his last life, he had never met the Sage Emperor.
Although Wang Chong had seen the Sage Emperor during the Regional Commanders incident, it had been from a very long distance. He had never been so close, and the Sage Emperor had not revealed his unfathomable power.
So powerful! Wang Chong thought to himself as he lowered his head. The Sage Emperor was too powerful, more powerful than he could have ever imagined. Even at Wang Chong’s strongest in his last life, he would be nothing more than an ant before the Sage Emperor.
At this moment, Wang Chong suddenly deeply understood why, after the calamity, all his seniors from the Great Tang always spoke with regret when mentioning the Sage Emperor.
In the southwestern war, Wang Chong had slaughtered more ten thousand Tibetan and Mengshe Zhao warriors, and his cultivation level could not be described as low. However, in Wang Chong’s perception, the Sage Emperor before him seemed to hold an entire world. It was simply impossible to perceive his limits.
Even if Wang Chong had still been the War Saint, he would have still failed to grasp the upper limit of the Sage Emperor’s strength.
This was what it meant to be truly unfathomable.
“Since this is the case, then continue to kneel there.”
The Sage Emperor’s voice rang out in his ear, neither loud nor soft and imbued with a majestic might.
King Qi lowered his head even more, his body trembling even faster.
“Wang Chong!”
The Sage Emperor quickly turned his gaze to Wang Chong.
“In the southwestern war, you volunteered your service, led the army, and defeated the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army. You defended the empire and also defended the safety of the civilians of the southwest. We are very pleased with your earnest devotion to the empire, and the Wang lineage truly deserves its reputation as a clan ardently loyal to Our Great Tang. We are very pleased to see that Duke Jiu has had a descendant like you.”
All was quiet in front of the Taiji Palace. Upon hearing these words, many people showed signs of envy on their faces. The Sage Emperor’s words were an extremely high evaluation of the Wang lineage and an extreme honor.
These words alone would be enough to ensure the safety of a clan for decades at the minimum. Even if the clan declined and the descendants were unworthy, they would still be able to live a life of dignity.
“Chong-er, you’ve provided a great boon to our entire Wang Clan!”
Wang Gen clearly understood the weight of his words, and his face was red with excitement. This was the happiest day in all his decades as an official.
“Wang Chong would not dare. This honor belongs to General Xianyu and the soldiers of the southwest. Wang Chong only did his duty,” the kneeling Wang Chong respectfully said.