The Human Emperor

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

“He stood at the very apex of the world!

“However, just as he was about to leave the Central Plains and return to the north, Ishinishidu ran into a man, a Han! The moment Ishinishidu saw him, he knew that this man was incredibly strong, stronger than any foe he had ever faced! Ishinishidu chased him for ten days and ten nights, from the northeast to the northwest. Only when they were almost at the Western Regions did he finally succeed in forcing the man to fight.”

Bagushidu’s mention of the northwest caused Wang Chong to raise his brow. Even without Bagushidu saying anything, Wang Chong could already guess at a few things.

“…The moment the two clashed, Ishinishidu realized that the martial art used by the man was completely different from any other art he had encountered. It was not Turkic, from the Central Plains, Ü-Tsang, or even Arabia. He had never heard of it before, let alone seen it. Moreover, this Stellar Energy was extremely bold and upright, and not only was it powerful, it could even refine opposing attacks.

“Ishinishidu believed that he had reached a sublime level of cultivation, and his Stellar Energy was incredibly dense. But when he attacked, more than seventy percent of his strength was refined and thrown back at him. You have to realize that Ishinishidu had already reached the Dark Radiant Heaven1, and no one who had not also reached this level could be a match for him. This alone was enough to leave him incredibly shocked.

“Ishinishidu had knowledge of countless martial arts reaching back into ancient times, but he had never read any book with knowledge of this art. The more Ishinishidu fought, the more shocked he became. He knew that he had probably run into a true hidden expert of the Central Plains.

“This man possessed a vast array of moves, none of which Ishinishidu had ever seen. The two exchanged more than one thousand blows, but not only did Ishinishidu not win, he was actually disadvantaged. Such a thing had never happened before. At a certain point, the mysterious man decided to stop fighting, saying that he did not like to kill, nor did he care for achievements and reputation, and he did not wish to fight anyone to the death and hoped that they could both stop fighting here. Ishinishidu felt sincere admiration for this man’s character, and the mysterious expert also felt a closeness to Ishinishidu due to his strength. After fighting, the two of them actually became friends.

“But later on, there was a minor matter that apparently caused the man to develop some misunderstanding of Ishinishidu. In the end, the two of them got into a fight and became enemies. Ishinishidu felt extreme grief and regret over this, but the man’s misunderstandings of Ishinishidu were so great that he refused to listen to Ishinishidu’s explanation and jumped into a pit. Ishinishidu was forced to follow him down…”

Bagushidu’s eyes shone with regret at this moment, apparently feeling rather remorseful over this tragic tale of friends-turned-enemies. But before Bagushidu could continue, Wang Chong cut him off.

“Hmph, if my guess is right, that mysterious man you speak of was the Origin Immortal Lord’s sixth-generation disciple!”

Wang Chong got straight to the point. Given how the man was pursued to the northwest and had a bold and upright energy that could nullify enemy attacks, and given that Ishinishidu had eventually died on the stone bridge at the core of the Origin Immortal Treasury, Wang Chong didn’t need to think much to understand that the mysterious man was the Origin Immortal Lord’s sixth-generation disciple. This was the same disciple who had killed the Four Ends Martial Lord with a single palm.

Not even Wang Chong had expected that Ishinishidu, after causing so much trouble in the Central Plains, would run into the sixth-generation successor of the Origin Immortal Art while returning to his home. And it was no wonder the experts of the Central Plains were no longer able to find him or hear anything else about him.

Just how many people could equal the state teacher of the Eastern Turks?

But what stirred up Wang Chong’s disgust was something else…

“The people of the Origin Immortal Palace don’t care about earthly matters and have never interacted much with the martial arts world of the Central Plains. And given the personality of this Ishinishidu as you describe, once he knew of the Origin Immortal Art’s existence, he would persistently seek the instruction and learnings of the Origin Immortal Art successor. Martial arts are never transmitted to outsiders, particularly not the Origin Immortal Art, which is the number one art of the Central Plains. So why would it ever be given to Ishinishidu just because he asked? But even if Ishinishidu couldn’t get it, he would definitely think of another way.

“If my guess is right, Ishinishidu probably found a moment where the sixth successor of the Origin Immortal Art had his guard down and ambushed him. This is the only way to explain why Ishinishidu died here two hundred years ago. Bagushidu, you’ve got a rather thick skin! You’ve managed to so frankly speak about such a shameless affair while speaking about remorse, pity, and misunderstandings. I really must hand it to you!”

As Wang Chong exposed the truth, his voice was brimming with derision.

If betrayal for the sake of personal gain and a pursuit all the way down to the Origin Immortal Palace more than sixteen thousand meters beneath the earth could be called a misunderstanding, anything in the world could be considered a misunderstanding.

“Heh, it’s just a matter from two hundred years ago. Right or wrong, it’s not for those who came after to say. And what need is there to take the matter so seriously?”

Bagushidu wasn’t angered over Wang Chong exposing the truth. He simply smiled and passed over the point.

“At any rate, our Earth Sect’s patriarch followed him into this place, but the sixth-generation successor of the Origin Immortal Art was incredibly shrewd. He used all sorts of traps and mechanisms to deal with Ishinishidu, but Ishinishidu managed to take care of all of them. This was the first time Ishinishidu had ever seen so many mysterious and unknown things, and his mind was opened. Thus, at the time, he had been in no rush to seek an explanation.

“Ishinishidu managed to handle all the obstacles in his way, and nothing the sixth-generation Origin Immortal Art successor did had any effect on him. Surprisingly, the sixth-generation Origin Immortal Art successor also became suspicious and jealous because of this, so he lured Ishinishidu to the core of the Origin Immortal Treasury and used some extremely powerful weapon to kill him on this stone bridge. The most brilliant state teacher of the Turks in the last two hundred years thus died in this place, entering his eternal slumber. What a pity!

“More importantly, with the death of Ishinishidu, our Earth Sect, and the influence of the entire Solar Holy Mountain, was greatly weakened, and for the next two hundred years, no new state teacher emerged. Later on, the Khagans of both the east and west ended the post of state teacher, and our Earth Sect began to decline.”

Bagushidu appeared greatly aggrieved and couldn’t help but sigh.

He had personally experienced the decline of the Earth Sect, and as the current Sect Master of the Earth Sect, he was far more shocked by this tale than those who listened.

Wang Chong was cold and indifferent. Bagushidu was actually being quite sincere with his emotions in front of a Han. Wang Chong could tell that every word of his came from the heart and that he was holding nothing back. Even though they were enemies, Wang Chong had to admit that the Earth Sect Master was different from any other foe he had encountered.

He had an elegance and grace that no one possessed.

“Hmph! In the end, these are all just your conjectures. You didn’t see it for yourself, so all these stories are based on your guesses and theories. There’s no evidence, so it naturally can’t be treated as true!” Wang Chong suddenly said.

“Heheh, and how do you know that I didn’t see it for myself?”

Bagushidu suddenly turned and deeply gazed at Wang Chong, a smirk on his lips.

Wang Chong felt his heart thump, and he was instantly rendered speechless.

The story between Eastern Turkic State Teacher Ishinishidu and the sixth-generation Origin Immortal Art successor had taken place two hundred years ago, and there was naturally no one alive who could have witnessed it, but Bagushidu’s expression…

Wang Chong felt his hair stand on end. It didn’t seem like he was just putting on an act. But how could such a thing be possible?

Bagushidu once more turned his head, looking toward the fog. He began to speak to himself, ignoring Wang Chong.

“Ishinishidu had suffered a heavy injury and knew that he didn’t have long to live. But he was obsessed with martial arts, and after paying such a heavy price, even his own life, how could he be willing to accept this result? Moreover, the more he battled with the sixth-generation Origin Immortal Art successor, the more he realized just how profound this art was.

“Thus, at the moment of his death, he gathered up all his strength and used a supreme secret art of our Earth Sect to seal all of his memories and half of his strength into the three Earthblood Cauldrons. Then, these Earthblood Cauldrons traveled through the earth and were sent back to the two servants who had followed him…”

Bagushidu slowly recounted the history of the Earth Sect. But as he reached the end, he trailed off. Speaking about things to this extent was enough. There was no need to say anything else unnecessary.

Bagushidu had gotten through various barriers and reached the core of the Origin Immortal Treasury first. He now stood on this stone bridge and had seen for himself the body of the greatest state teacher of the Turks in history. He had completed the mission that this supreme sect master from two hundred years ago had not. At this moment, Bagushidu seemed to require a spectator who he could ‘share’ his story with.

And Wang Chong, the Great Tang’s King of Foreign Lands, was the best spectator.

After all, he was going to die soon.

Wang Chong said nothing, his heart in turmoil.

At this moment, he finally understood why Bagushidu had appeared, and he also understood why he had a treasure map, and even why Bagushidu had been able to use the Art of Dark Heaven to avoid all the traps and get here before everyone else.

After the events of two hundred years ago, the wheels of history had turned and finally come back to this place.

“The matter of Ishinishidu is a secret and taboo of our Earth Sect. It has never been mentioned to outsiders, but I’ve made an exception for you. Courtesy demands reciprocity, and since you answered my question, I answered one of yours. Our debts are cleared. Follow me.”