The Human Emperor

While all the events seemed to take a long time, in reality, only a few moments had passed between the breakout from the imperial prison and Li Xuantu’s reemergence.

“Kill!”

In the Imperial Palace, Wang Chong grimaced in shock as he heard the sounds of fighting. He could sense that thousands of prisoners had broken free and were making their way to Taiji Palace.

They sowed chaos through the palace as they proceeded through it, and he could see countless fires burning, smoke rising into the air.

But the most striking of all was that destructive black storm of energy leading the prisoners.

Even with Wang Chong’s current level of strength, he still felt immense pressure from this foe. Most terrifying of all was that he could sense spacetime ripples extremely similar to Firmament Supreme’s.

Li Xuantu!

With this thought, Wang Chong’s face turned extremely grave.

Wang Chong had just seen Li Xuantu beneath the imperial prison, but this Li Xuantu seemed even stronger than that. It was clear that he had broken the seals the Sage Emperor had placed on him, recovering his strength to a terrifying degree.

“Not good! His Majesty!”

Wang Chong recalled Li Xuantu’s words beneath the imperial prison and shivered. With no time to think, he immediately began to head for Taiji Palace.

Li Xuantu had been jailed for many years, and the Sage Emperor had seized his inheritance. He held a deep grudge against the Sage Emperor and his children, and now that his power had returned and he had escaped, he would not let them be.

Even worse was that Li Xuantu wanted to destroy the Three Emperors Formation beneath Taiji Palace, which was exactly where Li Heng was.

The consequences of these two meeting were unimaginable.

Wang Chong was frantic with worry. Boom! Wang Chong accelerated as he rushed toward Taiji Palace.

……

“Hahaha, good!”

Outside of the capital, Genesis Supreme, wearing his bizarre white mask and black robe, was observing the activity in the Imperial Palace together with the Tianfu Divine Lord.

“Good job, Li Linfu! This god did not misjudge you. So much chaos could have only been caused by the former Crown Prince!”

Genesis Supreme heartily laughed.

Genesis Supreme had noticed the disturbance in the Imperial Palace upon hearing the first explosion.

From his standpoint, he could see fires breaking out in the palace and hear the sounds of fighting. Was this not exactly what he had been looking forward to?

“Venerable One, that Li Xuantu seems extremely strong. Not even the Imperial Army can stop him. But Taiji Palace is protected by the Dragon Guards, and Wang Chong won’t ignore this. Can he really destroy the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Three Emperors Formation?” the Tianfu Divine Lord cautiously said.

“Hmph, there’s no need for you to worry about that. Someone who could fight on par with someone like Li Taiyi, even force him into dire straits, cannot be an ordinary person.

“At the time, Li Xuantu was already half a step from the Grotto Heaven realm. After thirty years, given his talent, he should have reached the Grotto Heaven realm, and he’s also of imperial blood. There’s probably no one but him who can break the Three Emperors Formation!”

Genesis Supreme sneered.

The Tianfu Divine Lord turned his head to glance back at the Imperial Palace, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

This area had not been his original area of responsibility, so he did not know that the deposed Crown Prince had reached such levels of power.

Realizing something, the Tianfu Divine Lord hesitantly asked, “But, Venerable One, if he really destroys the Three Emperors Formation, do we really have to support him onto the throne of the Great Tang?”

Genesis Supreme placed his hands behind his back and coldly said, “We can talk about it again once the formation is broken!”

The Tianfu Divine Lord looked at Genesis Supreme in surprise, but then he understood, and he slowly turned his gaze back to the Imperial Palace, saying no more.

……

Deep within the palace, the escapees from the imperial prison roared and howled as they followed Li Xuantu to Taiji Palace.

Imperial Army soldiers rushed out to intercept Li Xuantu, but with a single strike from Li Xuantu’s palm, he scattered them like leaves. No one was capable of halting his path, or even slowing him down.

The prisoners grew more and more excited, and they cheered and bellowed with all their strength.

“May His Highness the Crown Prince live ten thousand years!”

“May His Highness the Crown Prince live ten thousand years!”

“His Highness the Crown Prince is the true Emperor of the Great Tang! Everyone, swear to follow His Highness the Crown Prince to the grave! Kill!”

Furious cries rang out across the palace.

Even Fumeng Lingcha and the others couldn’t help but be flabbergasted by Li Xuantu’s terrifying power.

“This man is simply too powerful. If he’s really the Crown Prince from Gaozong’s reign… then this operation really might succeed!”

Fumeng Lingcha had decided to follow Li Xuantu toward Taiji Palace because Li Linfu’s words had convinced him to take a risk, but he now saw that if they could kill Li Heng before the empire had time to react, they really had a chance of this coup succeeding.

“Come on, follow!”

Seeing that the distance between him and Li Xuantu had increased, Fumeng Lingcha rushed forward, not even waiting for Huang Tianzhao to speak.

Li Xuantu was advancing without rest toward Taiji Palace, but even so, the formations and seals that had accumulated in the Great Tang Imperial Palace over hundreds of years managed to significantly impede his power over space.

“Mm?”

As he was passing by a building, his brows creased together and he stopped to take a look.

“Jade Dragon Palace!”

He still remembered this palace, and the large nameboard on its gate told him that he was right. His expression chilled as he thrust out his palm.

A black ball of turbulent Stellar Energy exploded from his hands and blasted into oblivion the renowned Jade Dragon Palace.

How could he forget about Jade Dragon Palace? It was where Third Son Xuan, where Li Taiyi, had dwelled.

To love the house was to love the crow perched atop it as well, and the same went for hate. He found anything that was connected to Li Taiyi unsightly.

“Hmph!”

With a cold snort, Li Xuantu continued on his way to Taiji Palace.

Bang!

A black Halo of Spacetime rippled, forcing open a path through the seals above the Imperial Palace, and Li Xuantu flew right through.

……

At the same time, in Taiji Palace…

“Just what is going on?”

Li Heng, dressed in his dragon robe, was seated behind his desk, upon which a small mountain of memorials had been placed.

Though it was late, Li Heng had neglected his sleep to review memorials by candlelight. As the sounds of fighting grew louder and louder, Li Heng was finally forced to put down his memorials and raise his head.

“Your Majesty, it’s just a minor disturbance. Grand Marshals Zhao, Bai, and Li have already led men to the area. I am confident that the matter will be taken care of soon!”

Li Jingzhong, wielding a horsetail whisk, was attending upon Li Heng.

Now that Li Heng had taken the throne, Li Jingzhong had finally gotten his big break. He was now serving in Eunuch Gao’s former post as the Eunuch Director of the Inner Court.

“It will be taken care of soon?”

Li Heng’s expression chilled as he turned his head.

“Do you really take Us for deaf? Does it sound like something that will be quickly taken care of?!”

There was a flash of anger in his eyes.

He had earlier heard about unrest in the imperial prison, and his subordinates had said that the Imperial Army had already mobilized and would pacify the unrest. But not only had the turmoil not faded away, it was getting closer and closer to his location.

“This lowly subject knows he is mistaken!”

Li Jingzhong mentally shivered as he hastily dropped his head.

Li Heng now was not the Li Heng of the past. This was a sovereign, and even Li Jingzhong somewhat feared his wrath.

But quickly, Li Jingzhong slightly raised his head and shot a glance at a figure next to Li Heng.

“Your Majesty, this place is no longer safe. Let this lowly subject escort Your Majesty elsewhere. There is a secret passage beneath Taiji Palace, protected with powerful seals. It would be better if Your Majesty retreated there for the moment while the Imperial Army calms this disturbance. Your Majesty will have plenty of time to preside over the situation later.” General Li spoke in a resounding voice, his body still encased in that black suit of armor that showed only his eyes.

He understood Li Jingzhong’s meaning, and he did not oppose the idea. For both him and Li Jingzhong, the first priority was Li Heng’s safety.

Although Taiji Palace was protected by the Dragon Guards, the sovereign was the heart of the empire and could not be put at risk.

If some mishap occurred, the consequences would be unthinkable.

“Absurd! We are the sovereign of this country. If We must fall back in the face of some minor revolt in the imperial prison, if some greater incident takes place in the future, how can We hold the trust of the people or properly govern?”

Li Heng’s face darkened as he steadfastly refused.

“The Son of Heaven guards the gate of the country, and the sovereign bleeds for the land and people. No matter what happens, We will not leave this place!”

Li Heng exuded grandeur and majesty, and even General Li and Li Jingzhong were momentarily entranced.

But at this moment, a sharp cry came from outside.

“Who goes there?!”

“Stop him!”

The voices of the Dragon Guards!

The three within Taiji Palace turned their heads to look outside.