The Human Emperor

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

King Song gave a long sigh. He naturally understood the situation. If another army attacked, the Great Tang would probably suffer a major defeat.

But not even King Song could do anything about the current situation. He almost subconsciously turned to look at the youthful figure mounted atop the White-hoofed Shadow.

Since the start of the battle, Wang Chong had been seated motionless on the horse, his body entirely devoid of energy. Although King Song didn’t know the exact details, King Song could see that Wang Chong was in his own dangerous battle.

“Everything that can be done has been done. All six-hundred-thousand-some soldiers have been deployed. Wang Chong, it’s all up to you!” King Song softly muttered, his brow tinged with deep concern.

King Song had no idea what Wang Chong was planning, but there was one thing he was sure of. Despite the many dangers the Great Tang had faced, everything had been within Wang Chong’s expectations.

Even the Arab cavalry riding out of the steppe had been predicted. They had been why Abusi’s Tongluo Cavalry had remained in reserve all this time.

It was precisely to deal with this sort of scenario.

In the war of the southwest, the Battle of Talas, and the Rebellion of the Three Princes, Wang Chong had used his intelligence and daring to reverse the tides again and again, resolving crisis after crisis for the Great Tang. Now that the empire faced an unprecedented battle of annihilation, only Wang Chong could lead the Great Tang out of this predicament.

While King Song worried, in another spacetime, in the mental world, the battle between Wang Chong and the High Priest had intensified to a white-hot level.

A battle between warriors would only destroy the fleshly body, but a battle between Psychic Energy practitioners would annihilate the soul, wiping away any traces one had on this world.

Rumble! Black-violet bolts of lightning linked together into balls of electricity that flew over a seething black ocean. Each ball of lightning contained pure destructive power.

This was a dangerous mental world, a forbidden zone!

This was the sealing world created by the High Priest!

Every mental world was different. This one was seemingly infinite, and every inch of it was packed with destructive power.

“Truly formidable, Child of Destruction, to last for so long in my ‘Forbidden Art Sea’!”

The High Priest’s voice resounded over the world. Above the roiling black sea stood the High Priest in his black robe, walking on the water, the waves rising to support his feet.

He was the absolute hegemon of this world.

“The Forbidden Art Sea is an ancient technique used by a long-lost civilization to deal with powerful Psychic Energy practitioners who refused to be restrained. In that bygone era, it was an extremely popular art. In the western world, the dwindling number of Psychic Energy practitioners has much to do with the Forbidden Art Sea. After all, the western world was once a playground for Psychic Energy Practitioners!”

The High Priest confidently strode across the sea as he spoke astonishing tales about the deeds of ancient empires and civilizations.

The continent had been home to many civilizations, but these matters of the ancient past had long ago vanished, leaving behind only bits and pieces that those who came after could only speculate about.

But the High Priest spoke as if these lost civilizations were no secret to him. It was impossible to say just how many more things he was hiding.

The High Priest’s rumbling voice was cold and without emotion as it continued to resound over the world.

“The Forbidden Art Sea is not a sea, but it is also not an illusion. It is formed from tens of thousands of psychic arts. The more forbidden psychic arts it contains, the greater the world is, and the greater its power. Its strength is far greater than that of any other mental domain or world. Unless you completely destroy this place and all the arts within it, you can never leave. Thus, Child of Destruction, you cannot escape!”

With these last words, the High Priest’s gaze shot across the gloomy sky toward that young figure, floating like a burning sun.

Wang Chong!

Earlier, the High Priest had used just one finger to destroy Wang Chong’s ‘Blazing Sun Domain’. Not only that, he had also used some incredible power to pull Wang Chong’s consciousness out of his body and pull him into this ‘Forbidden Art Sea’.

In this dangerous world that was brimming with Psychic Energy, countless streams of energy were pressing in from all sides, their corrosive power whittling away at Wang Chong.

Wang Chong could only rely on his own Psychic Energy to defend himself, gathering it into a sun that protected him against the omnipresent threat of the Forbidden Art Sea.

“There’s no need for you to keep boasting. There’s no mental world that can’t be escaped or domain that can’t be destroyed. This world is made of Psychic Energy, meaning that it’s nothing but an illusion in the end. Since it’s an illusion, there’s nothing to fear. In the end, you’re still a human, not a god!”

Wang Chong’s blazing sun steadfastly protected him against the energy around him.

His voice was neither meek nor arrogant. Even though he was in this unfathomable world, even though he was facing Masil’s master, the most mysterious existence in the Arabian Empire who even the Caliph revered, Wang Chong felt no fear.

No matter how many transformations they went through, all things shared the same root. As long as one understood their beginning and end, what did it matter how many times they changed?

The High Priest’s ability might have been useful against other Psychic Energy practitioners, but not against Wang Chong.

“Is that so?”

The High Priest was not angered by Wang Chong’s words, and he softly chuckled. Boom! A violet-black bolt of lightning, as thick as a water tank, slashed down from the dark clouds.

Boom! This single strike immediately caused the blazing sun around Wang Chong to flicker, its light dimming.

Wang Chong’s heart tightened, and he immediately shut his mouth and focused on strengthening his blazing sun, eventually restoring its brilliance.

“In your battle with Masil, you once said that everything in the mental world is fake, that nothing is real, and that because it wasn’t real, it couldn’t harm you.”

The High Priest began to speak once more, motioning his staff as he slowly walked forward.

“Your words cannot be considered right nor wrong. This is the shallowest of understandings. Let me ask you: if the mental world is fake, why are you trying to stop it? Since it is all fake, for what purpose do Psychic Energy practitioners exist? Are they all master illusionists?

“And if we follow your train of thought, if the mental world is fake, consciousness is also fake, and then is the soul also fake?”

There was a hint of amusement in the High Priest’s voice.

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, another violet-black bolt of lightning cracked down, turning Wang Chong’s sun into a lightless ball. Wang Chong said nothing, clenching his teeth as he continued to resist, but deep down, the High Priest’s words still resonated.

Psychic Energy was fake, otherwise, this sky, the lightning, the sea… if this was all real, the High Priest was a god, and Psychic Energy practitioners would be invincible. But…

Was Psychic Energy really fake?

What were the soul and consciousness, then?

Wang Chong’s mind was awash with thoughts, but he quickly found himself without the time to ponder them. Rumble! The sky darkened, and then countless violet-black lightning bolts appeared above the black ocean.

One, two… one thousand, two thousand… Everywhere he looked, he could see this divine lightning.

Splash! Splash! The sea waters frothed as a massive golden idol wielding a sword emerged, its expression somber and its body crackling with violet-black lightning. Splash! Several dozen li away, another terrifying idol emerged, and then a third, a fourth…

In just a few seconds, an army of thousands of golden idols had risen from the sea to surround Wang Chong.

These massive idols resonated with the lightning above, radiating extreme danger.

Wang Chong paled.

But anything he wanted to do was too late now.

Boom!

A bolt of lightning slammed against Wang Chong’s sun barrier, the first shot that signaled the beginning of the lightning barrage.

At the same time, the golden idols raised their arms and pointed them in Wang Chong’s direction. Crackle! Countless bolts of lightning burst forth.

“Whether it’s true or false, real or illusion, you can experience it for yourself! Why don’t we see whether this endless Forbidden Art Sea is really an illusion created by Psychic Energy? If you’re still alive after this!”

The High Priest’s voice became drifting and faint, and it soon faded into nothingness.

As the High Priest spoke, the lightning cracked down, obliterating Wang Chong and his sun barrier.

Buzz!

But a moment later, Wang Chong appeared once more. However, less than a second later, the divine lightning tore him to shreds.

Once, twice, thrice… in the face of the High Priest’s terrifying psychic assault, Wang Chong could only firmly cling to his conviction.

All arts are illusion! Everything is fabricated!

Wang Chong staunchly held this conviction, using it to resist the endless lightning and the frightening pressure of the Forbidden Art Sea.

Wang Chong had once used this conviction to break through Masil’s mental world, resisting the blow of the Abyssal Apocalypse, but things were different this time. The divine lightning bolts crashing down were not simple illusions. With each lightning bolt, Wang Chong could feel his soul tremble in pain. It was like the lightning really was striking his body.

How? How is he doing this?

Wang Chong’s mind was in turmoil, seething with ideas and speculation.

The High Priest of Arabia was undoubtedly the most terrifying and most lethal Psychic Energy practitioner he had ever encountered. The various objects he had created out of Psychic Energy were not simply illusions. They had some of the power of the ‘real thing’.

If not for Wang Chong’s Psychic Energy, five times greater than an ordinary Subtle realm expert, he would have been obliterated in the first wave. Even so, the endless barrage of lightning was wearing away at his Psychic Energy.