The Human Emperor

Li Linfu is working with the men in black… Li Linfu has been looking for Li Xuantu this whole time… Li Xuantu is imprisoned under the imperial prison, on the twentieth basement floor of the Sui palace… Huang Xiaotian is responsible for supervising the imperial prison… Li Linfu is colluding with Huang Xiaotian… Li Linfu has disappeared…

Wang Chong raised his head, countless thoughts running through his mind.

His sense of unease was growing stronger and stronger.

Was there such a coincidental thing in the world?

He had just come out from under the imperial prison, and Huang Xiaotian, who was in close contact with Li Linfu, happened to be in charge of the imperial prison.

He then recalled the various doubts he had about his meeting just now with Li Xuantu…

“Not good!”

Wang Chong’s face scowled as he finally understood what was going on.

“Stay here. I need to go to the imperial prison!”

After saying this, Wang Chong immediately turned around and rushed back to the golden gates of the palace.

I hope it’s not what I think!

Wang Chong’s unease had reached the maximum.

But before Wang Chong could even get close to the palace gates…

Boom!

An explosion came from deep within the Imperial Palace, from the direction of the imperial prison, and it seemed like the earth itself was about to sunder open.

Wang Chong came to a shuddering stop, and behind him, Zhang Que and Xu Keyi both turned in alarm toward the explosion.

The two of them didn’t understand what was going on, but it was clear that this frightening explosion boded ill.

Creee!

A sharp whistle pierced through the air, and up ahead, the frozen Wang Chong suddenly accelerated to one hundred times his previous speed, shooting through the palace gates and toward the explosion.

“Kill!”

“Hahaha, this old man is finally free!”

A few moments later, the sounds of fighting and chaos came from the inner court of the Imperial Palace.

……

The imperial prison within the inner court should have been heavily guarded, but it was now in complete disarray, the bodies of guards scattered across the ground and the buildings rendered into debris.

Amidst the ruins, a powerful energy shot out of the earth, tearing open a giant fissure.

“I’m out, hahaha! I’m finally out!

“Brothers, kill!

“To be imprisoned in the imperial prison is just another kind of death! Since we’re going to die anyway, it would be better to join this old man and overthrow this Great Tang!”

Brazen laughter came from under the earth.

A stalwart figure with a bald head, bulging muscles, and a naked upper body jumped out of the earth, holding a thick chain in one hand.

His eyes were savage, his left hand clenching the body of an imperial prison guard.

With a flick of his wrist, he slammed the corpse into the ground in a cloud of dust.

“Brothers, come with me! Let’s go all out today so that we didn’t live our lives in vain!

“If we can start some trouble in the Imperial Palace, then even if we die, we’ll die as true men!”

The man swung around his chain and wildly laughed.

“Haha, charge!”

A roar like a tsunami came from behind him, and countless more death row prisoners like the bald man charged out of the collapsed imperial prison.

The majority of these people had committed monstrous crimes and had been either awaiting execution or imprisoned for life.

In short, they were all extremely evil people.

“Kill!”

With this one order, these savage prisoners charged out.

Small battles were taking place all over the imperial prison, but the sounds of fighting faded as the prison guards were pushed back.

“Reporting!”

One of the stronger prisoners came charging back with a panicked expression on his face.

“Bad news! The Imperial Army is coming in around us!”

If one carefully listened, one could hear clattering armor. The explosion in the imperial prison had alarmed the Imperial Army, and their torches lit up the night as they marched.

“What are you afraid of? Get out there and get a new life! If you can’t get out, you have to at least take a few Imperial Army soldiers with you and be a true man!”

The bald man’s eyes exploded with killing intent, and with a savage roar, he began to swing around two chains and charge.

The air was tense in the palace as the three Grand Marshals of the Imperial Army—Bai Hanzhou, Zhao Fengchen, and Li Xuanyi—began to gather.

A rebellion in the imperial prison was unheard of, and the three of them had rushed over almost as soon as they heard the explosion.

“What’s the situation?”

Li Xuanyi was mounted upon a stallion, his brows tightly furrowed and his eyes grave as he turned to the Imperial Army captain in charge of gathering intelligence.

“Milord, the imperial prison has been completely destroyed, and all of the people inside have charged out. The prison guards have already been wiped out!”

The Imperial Army captain got down on one knee, panic and fear running through his body.

The Imperial Army was responsible for protecting the Imperial Palace, and none of them could escape responsibility for such a major incident. On the side, Bai Hanzhou and Zhao Fengchen were next to each other on their own horses, their hearts heavy as they listened to the report.

“How many criminals were being held in the imperial prison?” Zhao Fengchen, with his large Wootz Steel sword on his back, suddenly asked. Their first priority was to find out how many people had been in the imperial prison so they could decide on a plan.

The Imperial Army needed to protect too many places. Besides the imperial prison, they also needed to protect the consorts and concubines in the rear palace, and, more importantly, they could not disturb the Emperor.

They didn’t understand the situation at the imperial prison yet. If it was like the Rebellion of the Three Princes, with insiders working with outsiders, releasing prisoners in the imperial prison as a distraction while the real assault took place at Taiji Palace, then not even several heads would be enough to answer for their failure.

“We’ve investigated, but we’ve found that there aren’t that many criminals inside. Other than members of the imperial household, major officials, generals, and Imperial Army soldiers, there are also major thieves and bandits, and also a few martial artists.

“But there aren’t many of these people. The greatest number are actually the rebellious Imperial Army soldiers who took part in the Rebellion of the Three Princes. As there were simply too many people at the time, a portion were imprisoned in the imperial prison for the time being.

“We estimate… that there are at least six thousand people!” the Imperial Army captain sternly said.

“What?!”

The three Grand Marshals were stunned.

They knew that some of the Imperial Army soldiers who had taken part in the Rebellion of the Three Princes were held in the imperial prison.

The Grand Marshals of the Imperial Army were primarily responsible for matters of the Imperial Army, and the clean-up for the Rebellion of the Three Princes was not under their purview. This was the job of the Bureau of Personnel, Bureau of Punishments, Imperial Clan Court, Taihe Palace, and the Sage Emperor. Thus, while they had known the vague outlines, they had not heard the specifics.

The guards of the imperial prison were not part of the Imperial Army!

The three of them had not imagined that the imperial prison was holding so many rebel Imperial Army soldiers.

“Six thousand Imperial Army soldiers is enough to start a rebellion!”

Zhao Fengchen gripped the reins of his horse as he stared in the direction of the imperial prison.

After some hesitation, the Imperial Army captain added, “In addition, our investigation shows that several of the major conspirators of the Rebellion of the Three Princes were also jailed within…”

“There’s no need to say any more. Our first priority is to pacify the rebellion as quickly as possible. We cannot allow the new Emperor to be disturbed!” Grand Marshal Li Xuanyi coldly said, cutting off the Imperial Army captain and charging to where the fighting was fiercest.

“Everyone, hear my order! Seize all the criminals! Don’t let a single one escape!”

Neeeigh! Li Xuanyi’s horse vanished up ahead.

Behind him, Bai Hanzhou and Zhao Fengchen swiftly spurred their horses into a gallop.

……

“Kill!”

The prisoners charged out, but in the face of the Imperial Army led by Bai Hanzhou, Zhao Fengchen, and Li Xuanyi, they were swiftly routed, large swathes of them seized and some of the more wicked and murderous prisoners being executed on the spot.

Just when it seemed like the unrest would be pacified…

Bang!

With an enormous boom and a chorus of screams, several dozen Imperial Army soldiers were blown back like they were ragdolls.

“This one is finally out!”

A powerful energy that blazed like the sun erupted from the ground, majestic Stellar Energy sweeping over the area.

Boomboomboom!

The man lightly waved a palm, instantly throwing around several hundred soldiers like they were leaves. This man had an energy that was on par with Zhao Fengchen, Bai Hanzhou, and Li Xuanyi.

“Li Xuanyi, Bai Hanzhou, haha! We meet again!”

With an arrogant laugh, the man seized an Imperial Army captain by the neck and raised him into the air, but his eyes were focused on the Grand Marshals, his savage visage shocking to behold.

“Huang Tianzhao!”

Li Xuanyi was deeply shaken.

The former Grand Marshal of the Imperial Army who had joined First Prince Li Ying in the Rebellion of the Three Princes was not dead.

Huang Tianzhao had been the most senior of the three Grand Marshals, and when it came to strength, he even surpassed Li Xuanyi in some aspects!