The Human Emperor

Dalon Trinling was too dangerous. No one understood this more than Wang Chong.

Dalon Trinling was a dragon trapped in a shallow pool. In this war, he needed to head to Youzhou no matter what. Once he arrived, he would have a nigh limitless number of soldiers under his command. He would be a dragon swimming in the ocean, and the amount of damage he could do would be on a completely different level.

Right now, Wang Chong was gambling that he would not abandon Ü-Tsang’s cavalry and people and head alone to Youzhou.

If that was the case, then so long as Wang Chong kept an army garrisoned in Wushang’s City of Steel, together with the Western Turks, he could intercept Dalon Trinling and prevent him from safely reaching the east.

Wushang as the second battlefield was intended to keep Dalon Trinling as an imprisoned beast, a necessity to ensure that this renowned strategist could not exhibit his full power.

This was an extremely important part of Wang Chong’s plan.

“But what if the Tibetans make their approach through Big Dipper City or the Annan Protectorate?” the Minister of Revenue worriedly said.

The Bureau of Revenue was responsible for the well-being of the people. It could not accept the tragic losses that would come from Longxi or the southwest being plunged into the flames of war.

Zhangchou Jianqiong spoke up. “Relax. Two steel fortresses have already been erected in Longxi and the southwest to block the Tibetans’ southern paths. The King of Foreign Lands has also sent five thousand ballista soldiers to each of those two areas. In addition, six hundred thousand prefectural army soldiers are marching toward the region and will arrive soon. Finally, Mengshe Zhao will also muster its army when the time comes to defend!”

They had already played out this scenario several times.

In truth, the strongest defense for Longxi and the southwest was Fengjiayi’s Mengshe Zhao army.

But the fighting power of Mengshe Zhao was somewhat lacking, and it was primarily infantry. It was good for defense, but lacking for offense. It was no good in an offensive battle. At some point, they had considered moving the Mengshe Zhao army to the northeast to join in dealing with the alliance army.

But the Great Tang currently had an army of more than one million soldiers, so the addition of Mengshe Zhao’s would just be icing on the cake. In addition, as they were two different armies, many problems would probably appear when trying to coordinate them, and if the job were done poorly, the Mengshe Zhao army might actually drag down the Tang army.

Thus, the best choice was to have them remain in the south to guard against Tibetan aggression.

If the Tibetans attacked, Mengshe Zhao would not need to push them back, only buy time.

In addition, Zhangchou Jianqiong had discussed with Wang Chong what to do if Longxi and the southwest fell. After all, given Dalon Trinling’s abilities, it wouldn’t be strange at all if Mengshe Zhao were defeated.

But in the final analysis, they decided that with the descent of the cold wave, there was little reason for Dalon Trinling to occupy those areas, and it would not have too much effect on the war in the northeast. Moreover, the price he would pay was just too great.

Once the war was over and the time came to settle accounts, the Tibetans would not be able to escape obliteration.

As a wise man, Dalon Trinling would not choose to attack there!

“So that’s how it was!”

The Minister of Revenue sighed in relief.

Wang Chong’s big uncle, Wang Gen, spoke up. “Time is short, so let’s move on to the problem of coordination!”

Wars were never simply fights between two opposing armies. They required coordination from all parts of the empire and were massively complicated affairs.

Wang Chong nodded, and everyone quickly seated themselves around the model in the center and began to confer.

After a long while, the discussion ended, and everyone took their leave of Wang Chong’s residence.

Massaging his forehead, Wang Chong returned to the main hall after sending everyone off.

There were a multitude of things in the empire that he needed to worry about, far too many.

“For now, I should think about how to break into the Grotto Heaven realm…”

Wang Chong’s eyes flashed.

Under his stimulation, all of the empire’s advantages had been made manifest, and more and more soldiers were making their way to the northeast, their training going smoothly.

But deep down, Wang Chong still had a deep worry.

Genesis Supreme!

Wang Chong couldn’t help but think about this man.

In the memory fragment he had obtained from Supreme Divine, he saw that Genesis Supreme had already successfully revived and seemed even stronger than before.

Only a Grotto Heaven expert could contend against a Grotto Heaven expert.

If he did not find a way to reach the Grotto Heaven realm soon, then if Genesis Supreme appeared on the battlefield, no one would be able to stop him. Someone of Genesis Supreme’s strength was wholly capable of slaughtering all of the Great Tang’s top-class generals.

The consequences of that would be unthinkable.

At this time, Wang Chong came to more keenly understand what the Sage Emperor meant when he said that the men in black would always be the greatest threat to the Great Tang.

Genesis Supreme had yet to appear, and the forward base had not come under his attack, but this only made Wang Chong more uneasy.

If Genesis Supreme had not yet appeared, it could only mean he was gathering strength so that he could come out at the last moment and decide the battle.

No matter what, I have to break through that barrier and reach the Grotto Heaven realm! Wang Chong said to himself.

Buzz!

Wang Chong’s soul entered the world of laws. The hall around him disappeared, replaced by overlapping dimensions and spider webs of law energy.

If other martial artists could see what Wang Chong was seeing and experience what he was feeling, they would probably be overcome with excitement. To see the very foundation of the world was an opportunity that they could only dream about.

But when he saw all this, Wang Chong slightly frowned.

Li Xuantu’s assistance had allowed him to reach this level, but his comprehension of Grotto Heaven laws had ended there. He had not experienced any other qualitative changes.

Wang Chong’s progress could already be considered extremely fast for ordinary martial artists, but it was far too slow for Wang Chong.

Time would not wait for him. If he could not successfully reach the Grotto Heaven realm, then if he ran into Genesis Supreme on the battlefield, all that awaited him was death.

Just how can I successfully break into the Grotto Heaven realm? Wang Chong said to himself.

He could sense that he was actually not far from truly reaching the Grotto Heaven realm. He was only missing one crucial piece before he could push open the door and enter that realm, completely fusing with Firmament Supreme’s Grotto Heaven core and fully comprehending the Grotto Heaven law he had obtained from observing the battle between Genesis Supreme and Li Xuantu.

In the silence of the hall, Wang Chong continued to dwell on the world of laws and the true face of spacetime, his mind thinking back to True Lord Yellow Dragon, Firmament Supreme, Genesis Supreme, Li Xuantu, the Sage Emperor…

The Grotto Heaven experts that Wang Chong had interacted with and the Grotto Heaven abilities they had displayed all flashed past Wang Chong’s eyes.

Their various Halos of Spacetime, big and small, white as jade or black as ink, or even dark gold… appeared before him.

The insides of those Halos of Spacetime, as narrow as sheep intestines or as wide as roads, wrinkled like the insides of a stone cave or as smooth as a mirror…

Wang Chong had encountered numerous Grotto Heaven realm experts, and more importantly, he had been inside their spacetime passages. He had a far greater understanding of the Power of Spacetime than ordinary Subtle realm experts.

However, there was no escaping the fact that a vast chasm existed between the Subtle realm and Grotto Heaven realm. If one did not comprehend some key principle, what was nearby would actually be at the end of the world, but once one comprehended it, the end of the world would be brought right to him.

“But how do I do it?” Wang Chong muttered.

Far too much Grotto Heaven information needed to be absorbed to go from the Subtle realm to the Grotto Heaven realm. Even someone as extraordinary as the Sage Emperor had still needed half a year. But Wang Chong only had ten-some days to perform the same feat.

Wang Chong had pondered this for a long time, and his failure to make any progress made him more and more frustrated.

Swish!

Wang Chong turned into a bolt of lightning and shot out of the hall.

Dark skies and cold winds flecked with snow engulfed the capital.

The capital, which was positioned in the north, had also been affected by the cold air flows, and snow was drifting down much earlier than usual.

But unlike with the countries in the north, it merely felt like an ordinary winter day in the capital.

Buzz!

Several hundred feet away from the cloud layer, Wang Chong appeared in a flash of light, floating in the air.

The howling winds chilled both his body and his mind.

Grotto Heaven, spacetime, laws…

What connects them? What is the essence of the Grotto Heaven realm? Wang Chong inwardly muttered to himself.

His eyes swept over the sky before eventually resting on the earth. From his position, he could see the entirety of the capital.

He could even make out the people walking the streets and in their homes.

As Wang Chong moved his eyes to the northeast, he felt a strange sensation.

He felt as if someone was ‘looking’ back at him.

A few moments later, a voice rang out in his ears. “King of Foreign Lands?”

“Eunuch Gao?” Wang Chong murmured in shock.

Amidst the snow, to the northeast, the one ‘looking’ at him was none other than Eunuch Gao, who was standing guard over the Sage Emperor’s tomb.

“Are you attempting to comprehend the Grotto Heaven realm and are only missing that one last piece?”

Eunuch Gao’s voice resounded in Wang Chong’s mind, tinged with curiosity.

“Yes!”

Wang Chong nodded.

The world fell silent, and after a long while, Eunuch Gao spoke once more.

“Incredible! I did not think you would reach this level in such a short amount of time.”

Eunuch Gao’s voice was tinged with sincere praise.