Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Heh, is that so? Even now, you’re still not willing to concede?” A voice spoke within the hall, but it did not belong to the palace maid.
There was a rush of air, and seven or eight steps away from the palace maid, an azure-robed eunuch holding a horsetail whisk appeared.
Without the power of ‘Heaven’, the palace maid collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
The eunuch shot the Sage Emperor a jeering look and sneered, “If you hadn’t been so obsessed with opposing Us and carelessly attempted to reach the Divine Martial realm, you might have been able to drag out your feeble resistance for longer and suppress him, but now… this is the price for opposing Us! I’m already impatient to see the drama that will play out.”
The eunuch, or rather ‘Heaven’ within him, heartily laughed.
The Sage Emperor remained cold and aloof.
“Several decades ago, We said that no one could call themselves ‘Heaven’ before Us. Even if you were really Heaven, We would still drag you down to the ground. We are not anybody else, and Our life cannot be controlled by you! The board is already beginning to move, and We have prepared for you a most grandiose game. There will come a day when you fall to the earth and prostrate before Us!”
“Hahaha, you speak of that Child of Destruction?”
‘Heaven’ heartily laughed. The eunuch swiftly crumpled to the floor, and a young guard with a saber at his waist strode in. Though the face had changed, the aura remained the same.
“You did not think that you could hide your plans from me, did you? You’ve truly gotten old! Even your judgment of others has begun to fail. It is simply a Child of Destruction. How long do you think you can protect him? Even you are not Our opponent, so what does he matter? Do you really think he can protect the Great Tang in your place?”
‘Heaven’ coldly sneered.
“Heh, is that what you really think?”
The Sage Emperor chuckled, his eyes seeming to see through everything.
“Moreover, did you appear simply to say these things to Us?”
“Of course not!”
‘Heaven’ coldly laughed, and a moment later, the guard’s eyes turned ice-cold.
“We came to lend ‘him’ a hand!!”
Bang!
A moment later, winds howled and the doors to Taiji Palace flew open. A terrifying wave of energy swept in, and in this wave was a cold flash of light. Outside, a figure wielding a sword rode this ‘wave’ and instantly crossed several dozen feet as they rushed at the Sage Emperor.
Upon a careful look, one would see that this was an armored man with a somber expression and the image of a black dragon on his left breast.
A Dragon Guard of the Son of Heaven!
The one attacking the Sage Emperor was none other than one of the devoted Dragon Guards tasked with protecting Taiji Palace!
All the Dragon Guards had been personally selected and trained by the Sage Emperor. Not only were they extraordinarily powerful, they were absolutely loyal. Even in death, they would not betray the Sage Emperor!
A Dragon Guard whose duty was to protect the Sage Emperor was attempting to assassinate him! Anyone would have been stunned to see this.
But on a closer look, one would realize that the Dragon Guard’s eyes were empty. Someone had clearly taken control of him!
Moreover, the destructive energy erupting from his body far surpassed the level of the Dragon Guards. It reached the Subtle realm and continued to rise, reaching an inconceivable level in the blink of an eye.
“No human can oppose Heaven!
“Heavenly Judgment!”
The cruel voice of ‘Heaven’ resounded through the hall, and the Dragon Guard’s Stellar Energy turned golden and fiercely blazed, even twisting space with its heat.
Under the control of ‘Heaven’, the Dragon Guard unleashed a power that would make even Subtle realm experts seem dim and lightless.
Time and space both significantly slowed.
Bang!
Golden flames wrapped around the sword, and the Dragon Guard accelerated, hurtling toward the Sage Emperor like a meteor.
The air went taut and the danger levels soared.
But the Sage Emperor was unmoved. His eyes flashed as he raised a palm to meet ‘Heaven”s attack. His white and slender palm lightly pushed forward.
Boom!
The heavens and earth swayed as the very fabric of space rippled.
The two terrifying energies slammed against each other in an alarming explosion. At a distance of only a few feet, the assault unleashed by ‘Heaven’ was blocked.
The shockwaves from their clash rippled outward from the Imperial Palace, threatening to sweep across the entire capital. But a moment later, the Sage Emperor stepped forward, suppressing the shockwave so that it moved downward into the depths of the Imperial City.
Boom! A black shadow shot out of the golden flames and into the Sage Emperor’s body without meeting the slightest resistance.
The Sage Emperor’s face rapidly paled.
“You took the bait!”
The cold voice of ‘Heaven’ rang out in the Sage Emperor’s ears.
Boom! After unleashing this blow, the Dragon Guard seemed to lose all power. He flew backward like a ragdoll and fell unconscious. At the same time, the power of ‘Heaven’, its mission complete, rapidly scattered and vanished.
The hall became deathly still.
This battle had begun and ended quickly. In the blink of an eye, the two supreme experts of this world had fought their battle, and everything had calmed back down. Only that moment where the entire Imperial City had shuddered proved that the two of them had clashed.
“Hmph, mortals are mortals. Li Taiyi, after fighting with Us for a lifetime, you still lost. After taking Our palm, that man should be coming out. As for what comes next… We are truly anticipating it!”
Not long after the battle in the Imperial Palace was over, in a place no one could see, two divine golden eyes opened. There was a cold snort, and then the eyes vanished.
Meanwhile, in Taiji Palace, the Sage Emperor was pale as if he had suffered a heavy injury.
But a moment later, the Sage Emperor suddenly smiled.
“‘Heaven’, after several decades, you finally showed a weakness. You were waiting for Us, so how could We not be waiting for you?”
The Sage Emperor muttered to himself as his right hand opened. Between his thumb and index finger was a spindle of orange light.
The light exuded by this spindle was exactly the same as the energy of ‘Heaven’.
“Ah!”
At this moment, the palace maid, eunuch, and Dragon Guard came to their senses, befuddled looks on their faces.
But when they looked up and saw the Sage Emperor, they immediately trembled and dropped their heads.
“Your Majesty!”
“Rise. You have committed no offense and may leave,” the Sage Emperor indifferently said.
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
The group left in a panic.
Taiji Palace grew calm once more.
But a few moments later, at the King of Foreign Lands Residence…
“This is…?”
Wang Chong had been perusing the reports he had received from the north and northeast when he suddenly raised his head and looked toward the Imperial Palace. At that moment, Wang Chong had vaguely sensed the clash of two powerful energies.
Those two energies had vanished very quickly, in the time it took to blink, so quickly that one could almost believe it was an illusion.
“Just what is going on?”
Wang Chong frowned in confusion.
The Imperial Palace was the residence of the Sage Emperor, and such a large commotion should not have been able to take place there. However, no matter what happened, the Sage Emperor was enough to deal with it.
But Wang Chong still felt rather uneasy.
“Xu Keyi!” Wang Chong suddenly said. “Get in touch with Li Jingzhong and ask him what happened in the palace!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Xu Keyi was startled by the request, but he quickly left with the order.
As time passed, Li Jingzhong quickly sent word that all was well in the palace. Nothing noteworthy had happened except a tremor caused recently by repairs being done to the underground formations.
Wang Chong was still confused, but after receiving this report, he could only set the matter aside.
But a few days later, when Wang Chong had almost forgotten the incident, another incident in court set off a great storm.
“What? The Crown Prince was studying in the Eastern Palace when the Sage Emperor grew enraged and slapped him?”
In the main hall of his estate, Wang Chong stared at Li Jingzhong in shock.
Li Heng hadn’t been Crown Prince for very long, and given his honest and frugal nature, he shouldn’t have made any major mistakes that would incur the Sage Emperor’s wrath.
“That’s not all! The Sage Emperor was so angry that he wanted to strip him of his Crown Prince position! Your Highness, you’re deeply favored by His Majesty! You have to think of a way to help His Highness!”
Li Jingzhong was ghastly pale as he prostrated on the floor, and he seemed to have suffered a bad fright.
Li Jingzhong’s efforts had finally paid off, and now that Li Heng was the Crown Prince, he had become the eunuch director of the Eastern Palace. Normally, he wouldn’t need to personally give reports, but this matter was of utmost importance.
“What’s going on? Give me the details!” Wang Chong sternly said.