Chapter 1505: The Art of Dark Heaven!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
w.a.n.g Chong focused his mind and asked, “I’ve never been to the Eastern Turkic Khaganate before and don’t know the internal situation, but with your strength and royal status, becoming the state teacher shouldn’t be difficult, right?”
w.a.n.g Chong sensed that this was probably his best chance to understand the situation in the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, particularly the political situation.
“Heheh, you’re not a Turk, so you don’t understand how much weight the position of state teacher has to us. It’s very normal for you to ask this question.”
Bagus.h.i.+du smiled and glanced at w.a.n.g Chong as if understanding what he wanted. However, he showed no intention of denying him. w.a.n.g Chong was already injured, had his cultivation defect, and his Stellar Energy was sealed. If Bagus.h.i.+du couldn’t deal with someone who was little more than an ordinary person, he would truly be a laughing stock.
“The Eastern Turkic Khaganate has many different sects, which makes it rather similar to the Central Plains in some ways. But of all the sects, our Earth Sect is the main school and the strongest lineage. Almost all the state teachers of the Turkic Khaganate originated from our Earth Sect!”
Bagus.h.i.+du’s robes fluttered as he walked and spoke. His steps were calm and unhurried, like he was taking a stroll through his garden.
“Whether it is the Western or Eastern Turkic Khaganate, whether they are fractured or whole, holding the position of state teacher bestowed transcendent status and glory on the Earth Sect, and it even became a tradition of sorts. But two hundred years ago, after a certain incident, no state teachers appeared amongst the Earth Sect, and both the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates dissolved the position of state teacher. From that point, the Turks no longer had a state teacher or state religion. This was a great humiliation for our Earth Sect.”
As Bagus.h.i.+du spoke, w.a.n.g Chong noticed a gravity in his eyes and a twinkle of pain, both of which astounded w.a.n.g Chong.
“…Afterward, generations of the Earth Sect’s masters did everything in their power to make the Khaganates approve the position of state teacher and restore the Earth Sect’s status as state religion. Alas, whether it was the Western Turks or the Eastern Turks, their Khagans cherished their authority too highly. They failed to realize that the Earth Sect as state religion could unite the people and bring the two Khaganates back together, offering many benefits and no disadvantages. Moreover, the state teachers of the past never involved themselves in governance and would have been no threat to their power. In their shortsightedness, they failed to see, so the Earth Sect has never been able to realize their wish.”
Bagus.h.i.+du’s eyes seemed to dim as many events from the past flitted through his mind. But a few moments later, he regained his composure.
“Thus, when Ozmish proposed making me the state teacher, I couldn’t refuse.”
Bagus.h.i.+du suddenly stopped, glanced at w.a.n.g Chong, and smirked.
“The Great Tang’s King of Foreign Lands is known throughout the land, and your reputation is forged from countless bodies. Although this king is not involved in politics, as an Eastern Turkic King, even without considering the matter of the state teacher post, this king would still have to intervene once for the countless people of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate so that Khorasan does not repeat itself within the Khaganate.”
w.a.n.g Chong’s heart thumped and his mood turned grim.
In the Battle of Khorasan, w.a.n.g Chong used the icy weather against the Arabian Empire, causing them to lose hundreds of thousands of soldiers and numerous generals. This was a major feat for the Great Tang, and it also made all the bordering countries fear w.a.n.g Chong and want nothing more than to kill him.
And this was clearly what Bagus.h.i.+du intended as well!
“I didn’t think that Ozmish Khagan and Your Highness would view me with such high regard!”
w.a.n.g Chong gave a long sigh. Since Bagus.h.i.+du had wanted to deal with him from the very beginning, it would probably be very difficult to end this matter peacefully.
“Only fear underestimating, not overestimating. The appearance of the Origin Immortal Treasury has gathered many experts of the Central Plains, but all of them are probably underestimating you,” Bagus.h.i.+du nonchalantly said.
“Oh?”
w.a.n.g Chong turned to look at Bagus.h.i.+du, his eyes flas.h.i.+ng. Bagus.h.i.+du’s att.i.tude was far too surprising. It seemed like he had some unseemly admiration for this major foe of the Turks.
“Heh, your Central Plains have a saying: ‘The person on the spot is baffled while the onlooker sees clearly.’ Whether it’s Song Yuanyi or the Black Yin Ancestor, these experts of the righteous and evil sects of your Central Plains are all looking down on you. Based on what they’ve said, you must be cultivating the evil art of your master and are suffering from its cultivation defect. And in terms of strength, age, and seniority, you’re far inferior to them. Thus, it’s no wonder that they look down on you.
“However, you were the one who broke the Origin Immortal Formation, and you were the one who opened the treasury. You even arrived at the core of the Origin Immortal Treasury before Song Yuanyi and the others. Once is a coincidence, but twice, thrice… it’s no longer that simple. This king is different from Song Yuanyi and has never underestimated his foes. From the very start, I felt that you weren’t easy to deal with. This is why I waited until now to make my move,” Bagus.h.i.+du said.
A gust blew across the stone bridge, bringing with it more of that thick fog. Standing on the stone bridge, w.a.n.g Chong felt cold all over. He had never interacted or clashed with Bagus.h.i.+du before, so he had never imagined that Bagus.h.i.+du would have such a high opinion of him.
Now that he thought about it, and given what had just been said, Bagus.h.i.+du had probably been watching him from the moment he had appeared at the Origin Immortal Formation.
The thought of someone watching his every move while he was searching for the Origin Immortal Art made him s.h.i.+ver in discomfort.
“Your Highness is truly clever. It seems that I was under your control from the very beginning, and perhaps you had everything planned out from the moment you gifted me the treasure map. Everyone else thought that they were getting the better end of the deal, but in the end, they were all working for your sake!” w.a.n.g Chong said.
Bagus.h.i.+du shook his sleeves and proudly smiled.
“The King of Foreign Lands praises me too much! To hear such words from the Sage Emperor’s disciple is a great honor for this king. But there is one thing that this king still does not understand. This king considers his energy-concealing art to be without peer, and even those monsters in the cave and guardians in the palace were not able to see through it. How did you manage to see through it?” Bagus.h.i.+du said.
The Solar Holy Mountain was home to a lineage of martial arts completely different from that of the Central Plains. Amongst all these martial arts, the Earth Sect’s Art of Dark Heaven was the most unique and could be considered the number one concealment technique.
Bagus.h.i.+du had always been extremely proud of this art, and its power had been exhibited through the ease with which he had managed to get past all the barriers and get here before everyone else.
But this Art of Dark Heaven had been seen through by w.a.n.g Chong. If he hadn’t responded by immediately attacking, he might have utterly failed to capture w.a.n.g Chong.
This problem had been on his mind this entire time. Bagus.h.i.+du truly wanted to know just how w.a.n.g Chong had managed to do it.
w.a.n.g Chong couldn’t help but be shocked by Bagus.h.i.+du’s question.
The Art of Dark Heaven? So he needed to rely on this supreme skill to get here safely.
w.a.n.g Chong’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
Bagus.h.i.+du’s words had unintentionally revealed his secret. w.a.n.g Chong had believed this entire time that Bagus.h.i.+du had fought his way here, but it was apparent now that Bagus.h.i.+du had not fought a single person on his path here.
w.a.n.g Chong fell silent. Bagus.h.i.+du stood next to him, in no rush at all. His expression was genial and polite, his tone equally polite. It was like the two were friends who had not seen each other in a long time. It was impossible to work up any hostility toward him or treat him as an enemy.
But there was also no doubt that the arm tightly gripped around w.a.n.g Chong’s neck had never once relaxed.
Just like he had said, Bagus.h.i.+du would never look down on or drop his guard against his foes.
This fellow is truly frightening!
w.a.n.g Chong’s heart s.h.i.+vered. He wanted to ignore Bagus.h.i.+du and refuse to tell him the answer, but a moment later, he decided that given the situation, there was no reason for him not to say it.
“The lanterns!”
w.a.n.g Chong pointed at the quietly burning lanterns lining the stone bridge.
Bagus.h.i.+du stared at the lanterns in a daze, not clear on what w.a.n.g Chong meant. But a moment later, he had a flash of insight, and he sighed in understanding.
“It was my mistake. King of Foreign Lands, this king somewhat understands why you’re hailed as the new War G.o.d of the Great Tang at such a young age and are feared by all sides!”
The burning lanterns created smoke, which would leave a scent in the air. Bagus.h.i.+du had remembered to conceal his own energy, but he had forgotten that the lanterns that had begun to burn when he stepped onto the stone bridge had left behind their scent. w.a.n.g Chong had smelled this scent and realized that something was wrong.
“King of Foreign Lands, this king rarely admires another, but this time, this king must truly express his admiration. I didn’t think that our Earth Sect’s Art of Dark Heaven would lose in this way.”
Bagus.h.i.+du raised his head and sighed. From his tone, he seemed to view w.a.n.g Chong with even greater praise and favor, but these words only made w.a.n.g Chong s.h.i.+ver even more. Bagus.h.i.+du was effusive with praise, but w.a.n.g Chong could hear that the killing intent hidden in his voice had intensified.
It was obvious that the more brilliant he seemed and the more Bagus.h.i.+du praised him, the less likely it was that he would be let go.