The Human Emperor

“Senior, this junior has no ill intentions. Whether one was right or wrong, it all happened thirty-some years ago and is all in the past. Even the Sage Emperor is no longer here. If Senior can promise to let go of those past grudges and cease treating the descendants of the Sage Emperor as your enemy, this junior can release Senior and return freedom to Your Highness!” Wang Chong sincerely said.

Surveying Li Xuantu’s life, he had not committed any major crimes. All of his actions had been in line with a typical War of the Princes. Wang Chong sensed that Li Xuantu was not an extremely wicked and fierce man. This was why Wang Chong was willing to make this sort of promise and release him.

Moreover, Li Xuantu was still a member of the imperial household. With the Great Tang facing danger on all sides, it needed all the help it could get. If he could convince Li Xuantu, the Great Tang might gain another powerful ally.

“Let go? How can I let go!?”

Li Xuantu’s entire body trembled in great agitation.

“Brat, don’t you know that this prince is the true Son of Heaven, that this prince was the candidate chosen by the previous Emperor to inherit the throne?! Li Taiyi is merely a transmigrator who stole everything from this prince! How can this prince let go?

“Thirty years ago, during the Divine Dragon Coup, do you know how many old officials trusted this prince, entrusting the lives of their families to this prince? But in that coup, all of them died. And now, you want this prince to let go?

“How can I let go?!”

A cold and majestic voice thundered through the underground palace. On the altar, Li Xuantu parted his long hair, revealing his cold and pale face, seething with hatred.

Most alarming of all were his bloodshot eyes, streaked with vicious killing intent.

Even Wang Chong couldn’t help but be affected.

After a long while, with a cold chortle, Li Xuantu calmed back down.

“Brat! In the end, you came to intercede on the behalf of the Li Clan’s descendant. But this prince did not even yield to Li Taiyi, and now that Li Taiyi’s son has inherited the throne, you want this prince to submit to him? Do you think that’s possible? Truly ridiculous!

“If that is what you came for, then you should leave at once. This prince does not need your favor!

“One day, when this prince comes out, the children of Li Taiyi will pay!”

Li Xuantu stared at Wang Chong, his voice full of derision.

Wang Chong’s heart sank and his brow creased.

He had not expected Li Xuantu’s grudge against the Sage Emperor to run so deep.

Wang Chong had believed that he was the only one who knew that the Sage Emperor was a transmigrator, and perhaps the men in black also knew a little. But it seemed that Li Xuantu, who had been imprisoned for thirty years, had seen through everything.

It was apparent that the deposed Crown Prince who had been hailed for his extraordinary talent was even more frightening than the rumors made him out to be.

But this was not Wang Chong’s greatest concern.

On this journey underground, Wang Chong had been thinking that releasing Li Xuantu could increase the strength of the empire, return a favor, and resolve an ancient grudge, giving the deposed Crown Prince a good end.

But it seemed that the passage of time had not caused Li Xuantu’s hatred to fade, only intensify.

Though he had been imprisoned underground for thirty years, his mind still lived in the Divine Dragon Coup.

To release him now would be to allow a tiger back into the mountains, bringing only disaster and not blessings.

After taking in a deep breath, Wang Chong respectfully bowed and sternly said, “Senior, regardless of whether you are capable of working past that mental knot, the matters of the past are in the past, and many of the people who took part in the Divine Dragon Coup are no longer here. Even the Sage Emperor has passed. I know that Senior has a revered status as a member of the imperial household, and your heart must certainly be full of pride. Will Senior fight with the Sage Emperor’s children because you were unable to defeat the Sage Emperor himself?

“The Great Tang is experiencing a time of prosperity and abundance, and the new Emperor is also a capable sovereign. If Senior is still brooding over that matter so much that you would even drag in the Sage Emperor’s children, then please forgive this junior for being unable to release Senior.

“This junior trusts that Senior is not that sort of wicked person.

“This junior will come to see Senior again. If Senior can let go of your grudges, this junior will still be willing to release Senior and return your freedom!”

Three-foot-thick ice did not form in a single day, and changing Li Xuantu and making him let go of his grudges was not something to be accomplished in one day. Even if Wang Chong wanted to let Li Xuantu out, he had to wait for the right time.

But Wang Chong was confident that Li Xuantu would change his mind one day and be released from this place.

“Hahah, brat, don’t waste your strength, and don’t come here again. I will never change my mind and take your deal!”

Li Xuantu loudly laughed, his voice infused with immense strength that made the palace tremble and shook dust from the ceiling.

“This junior bids farewell!”

Mentally sighing, Wang Chong turned around and left, carrying a tinge of disappointment.

Divine Embryo 1 was waiting outside. Upon seeing Wang Chong, it grabbed his shoulder and took him into the earth.

The underground world fell silent.

On the altar, Li Xuantu ‘watched’ as he left.

After a long while, Li Xuantu’s eyes flashed.

“He’s gone! Come out!” Li Xuantu suddenly announced.

After a moment of quiet, the wall behind Li Xuantu crumbled, and several figures walked out.

Their leader was a man wearing an official’s hat and dressed in casual robes, with a fish token on his belt. The others following him were all wearing black robes and masks.

“Li Genu, you’re very bold! Do you know what your fate will be if this information reaches the new Emperor’s ears?!” Li Xuantu coldly said without turning his head.

Li Xuantu spoke neither too loudly nor too softly, but the information in his words exploded like a thunderclap.

Wang Chong would have been flabbergasted if he were present, for the man walking out from the wall was none other than the man he was having Zhang Que watch around the clock, Great Tang Prime Minister Li Linfu.

Li Xuantu was located beneath the imperial prison, on the twentieth floor of the Sui palace.

Wang Chong had believed that he was the first to arrive, but it now seemed that Li Linfu was the first.

“Many thanks to Your Highness Crown Prince for your concern.”

As Li Linfu stepped over the debris, he bowed at Li Xuantu, his expression confident and unperturbed.

“But regardless of what Li Genu does and whether or not the new Emperor knows, he will not meet a good end. Rather than passively waiting for death, it is far better to put it all on the line. Li Genu has always respected Your Highness, and I trust that if Your Highness is released, you will not treat this one poorly.”

Li Xuantu coldly grunted in response.

Even if he detested Li Linfu, he had no other resources at his disposal.

“As for Your Highness, have you finished considering my proposal? Your Highness has been imprisoned here for several decades and presumably hates Li Taiyi and his children to the bone. If Your Highness agrees to break the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Three Emperors Formation beneath Taiji Palace after you are released and kill the new Emperor, Genu will offer Your Highness his full support in taking back the throne and what is rightfully yours!”

Li Linfu bowed and sternly said, “And the men in black also promise to offer their full support to Your Highness in becoming the new sovereign of the Great Tang!”

A panicked dog could jump a wall, so why couldn’t a human?

This matter had originally not required his personal intervention, but Li Linfu had eventually decided to come in person.

Now that he had fallen out of favor with the court and no longer enjoyed popular support, not only would he eventually lose his Prime Minister post, his career might also come to an end. He could not accept this.

Following this train of thought, he concluded that only assisting a new Emperor onto the throne could change the situation, and was his sole chance at survival.

“Hmph, I didn’t see it back then, but Li Genu, you’ve truly got some guts and skill. It shouldn’t have taken several decades for you to finally be recognized. But what a pity…” Li Xuantu coldly said, his voice oozing disdain.

Li Linfu remained unperturbed, as if Li Xuantu was talking about someone else. When it came to keeping a calm demeanor, there were few in the realm that could compare to him.

“Has Your Highness made a decision?” Li Linfu calmly said. “If you have, Li Genu still has a little ‘Sealbreaker Blood’ that can assist Your Highness in breaking the surrounding formations and seals.”

As Li Linfu spoke, his right hand emerged from his sleeve.

Atop his white palm was a golden ball of light. Inside this floating ball of light was a crystalline drop of golden-red blood.

And if one looked very closely, one could see tens of thousands of tiny characters in this drop of blood.

These mysterious characters seemed to have a life of their own, melding together into a powerful formation!

Li Xuantu’s eyes went slack for a moment.

“Li Linfu, Li Taiyi was a skilled and intelligent strategist, hailed by all the people as an eternal sovereign, but his sole mistake was you. Who could have imagined that the mighty Prime Minister of the Great Tang was so close to the men in black? That bastard Heaven even gave you a drop of his essence blood.”

Li Xuantu smirked.