The Human Emperor

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

“I’m hungry! So hungry!…”

Moaning and wailing, the starving people turned mad, their instinct driving them to rush at Li Junxian’s master. They tore large chunks of flesh from his master and his fellow students, and swallowed them down while they were still dripping with blood.

Li Junxian could clearly see at this time that there were women, elders, and even children in this crowd.

“Masteeeeer!”

As he watched his master being devoured by the starving people, Li Junxian roared and charged forward like a madman. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not close the distance between him and his master.

“I’m so hungry!”

A starving voice came from his side, and before Li Junxian could react, a figure charged at him and began to madly gnaw at his arm.

“Stand aside!”

Li Junxian’s eyes turned red, and he fiercely raised an arm to shake off this starving person.

But when he got a clear view, he froze.

It was a child, his body scrawny and thin, his immature face brimming with the desire to survive. Though Li Junxian’s hand was raised high in the air, he couldn’t bring himself to strike.

A moment later, his master and all his fellow students were engulfed by the crowd.

In that final moment, Li Junxian saw his master’s eternally compassionate and benevolent smile. He shook his head one last time, his hand still stretched out and ordering him to stop before it finally vanished.

Tears streaked down his cheeks, and Li Junxian once more felt incredibly helpless.

A booming voice resounded over the world. “Li Junxian, you can’t even save your master and your fellow disciples. How can you save the people of the world?”

Li Junxian said nothing. His body trembled, his breathing turning ragged, and the stabbing pain in his heart intensified.

“You failed! Give up! Look at the starving people around you. Even if you gave them your everything, they would still not be satisfied.

“Your senior brothers, junior brothers, junior sisters… now that you’ve lost everything for the sake of the Harmonious World, are you still willing?”

Li Junxian placed his hands on his chest, his body trembling even more fiercely.

Countless thoughts were running through his mind.

“I am willing,” Li Junxian heard himself say.

“But can you do it? Your master, your fellow disciples… all of them died right in front of you, and you can’t even save these starving people. How can you save all the people of the world?” the voice pressed.

Li Junxian immediately felt like a mountain had been placed on his shoulders. His breathing grew heavier and heavier, almost stopping.

It was true. What could he save? How?

It was a question he had asked himself countless times before. He had never felt energetic and confident. He only felt like he was walking on a thorn-covered path, every step a frightening one.

One person’s strength was triflingly insignificant compared to the vast sea of the people of the world. Often, it would just be a mantis trying to stop a carriage.

But after sacrificing so much, how could he just give up?

His master was dead, his senior brother was dead… Could he allow their deaths to be in vain?!

“There’s a way, there must be a way…” Li Junxian muttered to himself. He was meek and helpless, but deep in his heart, an idea was gradually forming.

Just like his master had said, if he wasn’t prepared to die, how could he possibly realize the Confucian Sect’s desire, realize his own desires?

No matter what, he needed to obtain the Crown of Confucius! To obtain the power to realize the ideals of the Confucian Sect!

Li Junxian’s eyes were suddenly brimming with resolve.

Rumble!

As if in response to Li Junxian’s thoughts, the earth suddenly began to shake. A moment later, a massive mountain protruded out of the earth, thrusting straight into the gloomy sky.

That massive mountain was as black as ink and appeared to rise tens of thousands of meters into the air. Not even Li Junxian’s eyes could see its end.

At some point, the surrounding flames had been extinguished, and the starving and moaning people appeared to have never existed. Li Junxian was left alone with that massive mountain.

Suddenly, Li Junxian appeared to realize something, and he began to stride toward the peak.

The path to the peak seemed endless and arduous, but Li Junxian felt no more hesitation.

……

Whoosh!

After some time, Li Junxian opened his eyes, finding himself drenched in cold sweat and completely exhausted.

Only a few seconds might have passed, but Li Junxian felt like he had gone through an entire reincarnation cycle. Looking around, he saw that the passage remained quiet and that nothing had changed. But upon looking down, he saw that a large character had protruded from the ground at his feet, ‘仁’ (Benevolence).

“This is the Punishment of the Seven Admonitions?”

Li Junxian suddenly understood.

The essence of the Confucian path was benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, integrity, and finally a heart that possessed filial and fraternal piety. There was no doubt that he had just experienced the ‘benevolence’ trial.

He suddenly understood why generations of Confucian Sect leaders, many of them possessing astonishing talent, had failed to obtain the Crown of Confucius.

Defeating another was easy, but defeating oneself was excruciatingly difficult.

The Punishment of the Seven Admonitions tested each person’s soul and heart. Many people in the world possessed powerful cultivations and formidable strength, but how many of them were completely compatible with the seven traits of the Confucian path?

The first trial was already this difficult, and Li Junxian found it impossible to imagine how difficult the others would be. Passing the trial of the Path of the First Sage was difficult beyond belief, and it was not something that could be resolved with just martial strength. But at this point, he had no other option.

Clap!

Li Junxian strode forward, his eyes hardened with resolve.

Time slowly passed. Around six hours later, a flash of light came from the depths of the hall. The pale-faced Li Junxian finally emerged from the other end.

As he emerged from the passage, Li Junxian’s legs went soft, and he staggered and almost fell. His breathing was ragged, and he appeared drained of energy, with not even ten percent of his usual power. He was weak and feeble, hardly able to stand.

The path was less than fifty meters long, but Li Junxian felt like he had lived through seven entire epochs.

But in the end, he had succeeded!

Drip!

A bead of sweat dropping down shook Li Junxian from his stupor, and he finally took stock of his surroundings.

Unlike the rather opulent exterior, at the end of the Path of the First Sage was a quaint Confucian temple built in the dignified style of the Spring and Autumn Era.

The Great Tang imperial household had built a grandiose palace, surrounded it with numerous Golden Guards, and even erected a stele of warning, all to protect this ancient temple.

Li Junxian quickly walked over the threshold and immediately spotted the giant idol venerated within.

This idol was more than ten feet tall. It wore a Confucian robe, and held in one hand a book and the other a sword. He had a face that was solemn and dignified, but also suffused with compassion.

The most striking feature was his eyes. Although they were sculpted from wood, they seemed to be alive. They shone with intelligence and wisdom, seeming to contain the entire world. The entire cycle of reincarnation and all the emotions enjoyed in those infinite lives were within.

The Supreme Sage, Confucius!

Li Junxian felt a flash of insight. Only the founder of the Confucian path could possess this compassionate bearing.

This was the founder of the Confucian path and the one whose ideals the generations of the Confucian Sect had sacrificed their lives to realize.

The book in his hand represented the Confucian school and the sword represented the Confucian Sect. Both factions regarded this idol with utmost reverence.

As he moved his gaze down, Li Junxian spotted that object he desired on an old wooden table, a Confucian crown from the Spring and Autumn era.

The Crown of Confucius!

It was a rather plain and unremarkable crown, but it exuded noble and powerful ripples of Psychic Energy. This Psychic Energy far surpassed that of all martial artists in the world. If one looked carefully, one would notice a faint white halo around the crown. Even the Psychic Energy of a Subtle realm expert would appear like an ant before this crown.

The Crown of Confucius was a crown of baptism, a crown of resolve, a crown of divine judgment!

All corrupt, filthy, ruthless, murderous, and dark thoughts had no place in front of this crown. This was Li Junxian’s most powerful treasure against Wang Chong.

“Disciple Li Junxian pays respects to the Supreme Sage. Sage Teacher, please take note of this disciple’s sincerity and bestow the Crown of Confucius upon me so that I might bring peace to the world!”

Li Junxian quickly came forward, got down on his knees in front of the idol, and bowed.

Standing up, Li Junxian finally walked over to the Crown of Confucius.

……

Time slowly passed, and the appointed day drew closer and closer.

“Your Highness, we’ve just received a report from Academic Lu.”

Wang Chong was seated cross-legged on the floor and silently cultivating when Zhang Que suddenly rushed in.

“We finally found a clue regarding the Confucian Sect!”

“Oh?”

Wang Chong raised an eyebrow and looked up.

Eight days ago, in front of Taiji Palace, Wang Chong had sensed something strange about Li Junxian and asked Zhang Que to investigate the matter, though he had not expected any news to come out of it.

“Li Junxian is too confident, so we made sure to gather all the information we could, particularly regarding the Confucian Sect’s conflicts with the militarists. Finally, we’ve made some progress. Our investigation has found that the Confucian Sect has had major conflicts with the militarists three times, but with regards to two of them, only bits and pieces of text remain, and the details are ambiguous.

“But there was one incident in the era of the Great Han for which clear records exist. They mention that the Confucian Sect apparently has an incredibly formidable object called the Crown of Confucius,” Zhang Que sternly said.