Chapter 526

Chapter 526: Emperor Wuping

With a crisp sound,

The bamboo scrolls scattered in front of the palace, with letters covering the ground densely.

It was clear that Emperor Wuping had been concerned about this matter for quite some time; he had a grand plan that stretched over ten or twenty years and had secretly communicated many times with Southern King Wang Songhe.

Emperor Wuping was not young anymore; his hair was already turning gray, and the marks of time on him were far heavier than those on the vigorous Founding Emperor Yan.

At this moment, looking at his timeless ancestor, he slowly began to speak:

"My ancestor, the era name ‘Wuping’ means ‘chaos brought by Wuping.’ When I took the throne, I was still young, and this era name was actually decided by you."

"This chaos of Wuping was indeed your hope, my ancestor."

"At that time, the former emperor was killed by three hundred old soldiers who came out of the Hundred-mile Desert. Chaos broke out in the Jiu Province, and the kings supported by the Nine Immortal Gates rose up, while the Earthly Immortal Kingdoms stood tall in the mortal Jiu Province."

"During this time of trouble, you chose me, my ancestor, and from that moment on, I became known as ‘Emperor Wuping’ to others."

Emperor Wuping started to reminisced about the past.

Such inner and outer troubles often happen at the end of a dynasty. It was indeed very hard for a young emperor to take the throne during such chaos.

However, if we look through history, many dynasties have faced similar situations.

But the difference was that young Emperor Wuping had a founding ancestor who lived for over three hundred years by his side.

Inheriting the throne during a crisis, with threats from the Immortal Gates outside and the watchful eyes of Founding Emperor Yan inside… it was not an easy task. After decades of trials and storms, it was difficult to maintain the existence of the Great Yan Imperial Court, enjoying little and facing much hardship.

If it were an emperor from a peaceful time, he would never be willing to give up his power, but Emperor Wuping can’t even choose his own era name…

At this moment, there were loud footsteps coming closer from outside the hall.

A group of officials dressed in court robes, led by the Flying Fish Guard, had already arrived and stopped outside the Founding Emperor Yan’s palace.

"At a time like this, you still allow the civil and military officials to enter the palace… It seems you’ve been plotting and waiting for this day?" Founding Emperor Yan’s eyes widened as he stared directly at Emperor Wuping.

"The right and wrong can only be decided today," Emperor Wuping said calmly.

"If it were not for the True Immortal descending to the world, I might have my plans, but this matter is indeed too serious. Even if I, as the emperor, took charge, it would still be a very difficult thing. Perhaps I would have hesitated and kept this box of documents sealed for a long time, continuing to prepare."

He paused and looked at the officials outside the door.

"Normally, court discussions should be held in the Golden Luan Hall… but today, time is urgent, so we need not adhere to those formalities."

This matter is indeed very difficult. It is like a student’s summer vacation plan; it sounds wonderful when talked about, but it may never see the light of day.

The arrival of the True Immortal is a great disaster.

Whether to run away or to resist no longer matters.

But it is only at such moments that Emperor Wuping can push aside his doubts and take out the box that has been sealed for many years.

Because if this is not done now, it will be taken to the grave.

"Ha, it seems that after giving you power for decades, you have really grown your wings," said Founding Emperor Yan with a cold smile.

Founding Emperor Yan’s eyes widened, clearly very angry.

He had not been this angry in many years.

The last time he was this furious was when three hundred old soldiers burst into the palace and confronted Emperor Yonghe.

At that time, he was extremely disappointed and dissatisfied with his descendant, Emperor Yonghe, and allowed the three hundred old soldiers to assassinate him.

But today is different.

To be precise, the Founding Emperor Yan’s anger today cannot even be compared to that of Emperor Yonghe back then.

Emperor Yonghe was simply incapable, but this young son of Emperor Yonghe, the current Emperor Wuping, is secretly planning to destroy the foundations of the Great Yan Imperial Court!

It is important to know that the Great Yan Imperial Court has been shaky for a long time, and with a founding emperor watching from the side, it has struggled for fifty years to hold on.

And this descendant, who is already the emperor, still wants to rebel personally and destroy the Great Yan Imperial Court?

The Great Yan Imperial Court and the royal family have been the obsession of Founding Emperor Yan for nearly four hundred years.

This is his greatest achievement in his youth and the support of his later life.

Without the Great Yan Imperial Court, Founding Emperor Yan would just be a superb martial artist who lived for three or four hundred years.

Therefore, he absolutely cannot stand by and let Emperor Wuping act this way!

With a clear and crisp sound, the sword rang out.

In the frightened gaze of many court officials, Founding Emperor Yan raised the Human Emperor Sword in his hand, pointing it at Emperor Wuping’s neck.

Founding Emperor Yan shouted, "Throughout history, there have been wise kings, foolish kings, and confused kings, yet you don’t even want to be an emperor. Do you really wish to be a saint?"

Many years ago, when Emperor Yonghe was killed by three hundred old soldiers with their knives, Founding Emperor Yan did not stop it.

In fact, he was silently agreeing; as the founding emperor, he had already thought about killing, just unwilling to act himself, which put his descendants’ lives at risk.

But this time.

The entire box filled with dense writing and piled-up documents from Emperor Wuping showed that his own descendant, whom he had personally assisted, was secretly plotting against the Great Yan Imperial Court.

How could this not ignite a fire of anger in his heart, causing murderous intent to arise?

The Great Yan Imperial Court is the royal dynasty of one family; if a king of this dynasty is secretly planning the downfall of the Great Yan Imperial Court, even the largest family fortunes cannot withstand such ruin.

The founding emperor held the Human Emperor Sword, pointing it at the reigning emperor Emperor Wuping.

Such a scene, seen by the officials, naturally left them feeling very anxious.

"This cannot happen, this cannot happen…."

"Great Ancestor, please reconsider…."

These two people, one is the current emperor, and the other is the founding ancestor.

The standoff in the palace left the officials feeling overwhelmed.

Founding Emperor Yan’s eyes were like cold lightning; although he was filled with anger, he remained very calm.

"Bring it here, let these items in the box be shared with the officials to have a good look."

With a wave of his large sleeve, immediately a eunuch came forward to distribute the bamboo scrolls from the box to the waiting officials outside.

The court officials nervously took the documents, read them one by one, and whispered to each other.

The papers in this box describe the unfinished business of Emperor Wuping after the Soul Predicting Path Immortal Gate was quietly destroyed.

The first step is to expand the army and train the soldiers.

They practiced the "Human Path Sutra" and trained in the "Spiritual Human Mountain Battle Formation."

"That’s right. If the Soul Predicting Path Immortal Gate is also going to fall, then there will surely be a battle between the North and the South… Fifty years ago, the return of the Immortal Gate only eased the conflict between the two sides, but did not lead to peace…" one court official murmured.

The Southern King, Wang Songhe, once was a high-ranking official who opposed the government even in death, but after he resigned, he became a rebel, and later, with the support of the Xuantian Sect in Nan Province, he became the nominal South King.

However, Emperor Wuping’s first strategy was actually aimed not at the South King, but at the… superb martial artists.

"A hundred years ago, the martial world was led by the Earth Sword Immortal, followed by the Spear Saint and the Eight-armed Heavenly Dragon. There were only about ten superb martial artists who could surpass the 9th rank."

"Among these ten, except for the Earth Sword Immortal, the rest could only protect themselves against the imperial army, with no ability to confront or defeat them directly…"

"But in the present day, one hundred years later, it is not so."

Before losing contact within a hundred miles of the Soul Predicting Path Immortal Gate, the court had received news from Wei En on the battlefield, saying that the three thousand soldiers led by Li Changshi could kill the Shaoyang Taoist Lord of the Soul Predicting Path.

The battle of Long Life Gate, with its ten thousand soldiers forming a grand formation, once shone brightly.

The three thousand Immortal Slaying Army has already defeated immortals, so opposing the superb martial artist at the peak of martial arts is certainly not impossible…

"Wait, what does this mean? I don’t quite understand." A military officer feels confused, sensing a tangle of thoughts:

"Since Your Majesty does not intend to go to war with the South King after destroying the Soul Predicting Path, then why treat the superb martial artist as a hypothetical enemy?"

Emperor Wuping then said:

In today’s Jiu Province, One Sage, One Ancestor, and Five Peerless Ones are all great pillars supporting the mortals of Jiu Province in times of crisis; I do not question their moral character.

"However, their strength is overwhelmingly high, and one person alone can rival a nation. We should not rely the safety of Jiu Province and its people solely on the moral integrity of one or two top martial artists."

Speaking of this, Emperor Wuping said deeply:

"If the Soul Predicting Path Immortal Gate is destroyed, there will be no Immortal Gate left in Jiu Province. But I can’t just watch Jiu Province give birth to a new ‘Martial Immortal’, can I?"

At this point, some keen-minded court officials could not help but glance at Founding Emperor Yan from the corner of their eyes.

At this moment, the Human Emperor Sword in Founding Emperor Yan’s hand was still resting against the neck of his descendant Emperor Wuping. Hearing such discussions, his expression showed no disturbance, clearly he had anticipated this.

"No wonder the Ancestor is so angry… Isn’t he the ‘One Ancestor’?" someone quietly thought.

A court official skilled in martial arts shook his head, standing on Founding Emperor Yan’s side:

"This statement is too extreme."

"The martial arts of Jiu Province, which began with the Qiao family members, is merely a path to longevity, not a path to immortality."

"Cultivation requires talent; without spirit roots, one cannot cultivate to become an immortal. The cultivators of the Nine Immortal Gates are actually the geniuses and elites born in this world over thousands or even tens of thousands of years."

"In today’s Jiu Province, martial arts are based on the ‘Human Path Sutra.’ Anyone can practice it. Although there may be talented individuals who train faster… even those with average abilities can surpass others through perseverance and hard work. While there are naturally differences in the order and strength of martial arts practice, is there anything fairer in the world than this?"

"Even if there are wicked martial artists, they cannot be compared to the Nine Immortal Gates, which uphold the incense of ordinary people."

Emperor Wuping did not refute this and nodded slightly.

"Without discussing the seven top martial artists today, what if, years later, a superb martial artist like Wu Qiankun causes chaos?"

"While the harm may vary in size, the court must have the power to deal with superb martial artists."

The discussion had reached this point.

Some court officials who were well-read in history suddenly understood and felt energized.

"It sounds grand, but isn’t this first plan just the emperor’s way of balancing power?"

"When the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden; when the clever rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked. Have they already thought about how to deal with superb martial artists after calming the Immortal Gate’s chaos?"

"The saying ‘We cannot place the safety of Jiu Province and the safety of the people in the character and personal morals of one or two top martial artists’… isn’t it just to ensure the emperor’s position?"

These words, of course, were not dared to be spoken, only kept in their hearts, but they truly felt a chilling fear.

But right after that, when they finished reading the first strategy for balancing the superb rank of martial arts and moved on to the second strategy, they suddenly realized they had misunderstood.

Because Emperor Wuping’s following second strategy was… to reduce imperial power and establish a parliament.

This Emperor Wuping was not driven by a desire for power, wanting to eliminate rivals, but instead was going against that?

If training the Spirit Link Formation to counter the superb rank is using the strength of many to balance the superb rank, then reducing imperial power to establish a parliament is using the strength of many to balance… imperial power?

Soon, a minister stood up and spoke boldly:

"I believe this is not acceptable."

"If we open a parliament, the people will have power while the ruler will have none."

Emperor Wuping’s face remained calm, as if this kind of questioning was still within his expectations. He replied calmly:

"One or two inhumans can rise above countless people; one or two top martial artists can also rise above thousands."

"As the ruler of Great Yan, I am naturally the highest above ten thousand."

"Even if the Soul Predicting Path Immortal Gate is destroyed, as long as there is one person with the will to rise above all living beings, it doesn’t matter if they are called a god, a saint, an immortal, a Buddha, a superb martial artist, or an emperor; they are just different sizes of disasters."

Emperor Wuping looked at Founding Emperor Yan beside him and spoke clearly:

"I simply do not wish for Jiu Province to have any immortals. If there are no immortals in the world from now on, what right do I have to complain?"

As his words fell, the room was silent.

The court officials who had previously grumbled in their hearts were now left speechless.

Even if they still thought Emperor Wuping’s action was ridiculous, they had to admit that this ruler, who had average achievements, truly had extraordinary ambitions and was not double-faced.

Emperor Wuping’s plan is not very reliable.

The so-called establishment of a parliament is just talk on paper before the plan, and the details still need careful consideration, but it doesn’t matter because there is no time for that; it has already been put into action.

Countless ages ago, the True Immortal ascended and has now returned. All dynasties and systems of checks and balances have become meaningless.

This is a plan that was never born, one that Emperor Wuping, a ruler with modest achievements, originally intended to pursue for the rest of his life.

It was only when Emperor Wuping explained everything clearly and laid out the reasoning behind it.

Even the Founding Emperor Yan, who was initially filled with uncontrollable anger, calmed down a little.

"You have truly grown stronger," he sighed slightly, moving the Human Emperor Sword away from Emperor Wuping’s neck and looking directly at him, calmly asking:

"Surely your gathering of officials today is not just to express your ambitions and clarify this stillborn plan?"

The True Immortal has descended to the world, and many people are dying every moment beyond their sight.

At this moment, even if you want to run naked and do your business in public before you die, you have to hurry. Time is crucial, and you must not wait until the last moment to find yourself in a hurry and unable to do it.

Therefore, the words of Emperor Wuping may not have been fully expressed, or perhaps there are still secrets he has not revealed completely.

..

P.S. Recommendation: Book title, "All These Strange Things Are Me"

Summary: [Orange]

"My name is Luo Ling."

"I am just an ordinary high school student."

"I always believed that until one day… I got sick."

"After I got sick, the world seemed to change a little…"

The girl stood in front of the strange half that was left, murmuring to herself, while holding the other strange half in her hand, slowly bringing it to her mouth.

The eerie figure dressed in human skin rampaged, while the demon, feasting on flesh and blood, wailed continuously. The sorrowful songstress serenely sang, awakening Him from the void.

"No one can escape from all of this."

"No… one."