Chapter 2038: The True and False Sage Emperors!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The golden figure behind Third Son Xuan paid no attention to the obeisance from all the servitors and soldiers.
“I gave you a chance…”
The Sage Emperor’s long-unheard voice, resounding and majestic, imbued with the aura of the master of the world, began to speak.
“But alas, you did not cherish it!”
The disappointment in the Sage Emperor’s voice was obvious.
His back to the Sage Emperor’s manifestation, Third Son Xuan rapidly began to go red in the face.
“b.a.s.t.a.r.d! We are the Son of Heaven, the master of the empire. Do We need you to give the chance?” Third Son Xuan angrily said.
He had already lost control over his body and had been frozen in place, but the immense shame and anger he was feeling made him temporarily take back control.
Bang!
Third Son Xuan’s body trembled, and he seized his brief moment to turn around and unleash a golden flood of energy that instantly pierced through the golden figure.
Boom!
The giant beam of light pierced through the golden figure and crashed into the metal walls of Taiji Palace, making the entire building tremble. Visible waves of sound rippled outward, shaking the fabric of s.p.a.ce and traveling tens of thousands of feet.
Buzz!
Outside, the Golden Guards and Imperial Army soldiers had already surrounded Taiji Palace so tightly that not even a drop of water could hope to get out.
When they heard this ma.s.sive explosion, they glanced at each other in fear and unease.
They had come upon hearing a great shout, and they could see from the situation that some momentous battle was taking place in Taiji Palace.
The Imperial Army’s duty was to protect the Sage Emperor, but it was also true that Taiji Palace had a special status and that entry was not allowed without the Sage Emperor’s decree.
“What do we do?”
The officers of the Imperial Army glanced at each other before eventually turning to the southeast, where Xuanwu Army Marshal Zhao Fengchen stood.
Although Zhao Fengchen had not been favored ever since Third Son Xuan had taken the throne, Zhao Fengchen was also the only Marshal of the Imperial Army who had partic.i.p.ated in two large-scale wars and had battle experience. This endowed him with great status and influence in the Imperial Army.
“Let’s wait and see for now! Pa.s.s on my order! No one is allowed to enter unless explicitly ordered!”
As Zhao Fengchen spoke, he shot a worried glance at Taiji Palace.
The gate of the Imperial Palace was still closed by order of the ‘Sage Emperor’, and Zhao Fengchen had already received the messenger bird from King Song and Zhangchou Jianqiong, so he knew that w.a.n.g Chong had been ordered to enter the palace to see the Sage Emperor.
Moreover, he could sense several dozen energies within Taiji Palace, and one of them was w.a.n.g Chong’s.
There was no doubt that of the two sides stalemated in the hall, one was the ‘Sage Emperor’ and the other was w.a.n.g Chong. If they went in at this time, should they help the Sage Emperor or w.a.n.g Chong?
Moreover, the Sage Emperor had said before, ‘Come! Execute this traitor!’ It was a line that still made Zhao Fengchen’s skin crawl.
w.a.n.g Chong, all I can do to help is delay them from entering the palace for as long as possible. The rest will depend on you.
Zhao Fengchen took another worried glance.
……
Within Taiji Palace, the doors had shut at some point, and the building had been sealed and made into a world of its own.
“Give up! You cannot kill me. Everything is over!”
The rumbling voice of the Sage Emperor echoed through the hall.
Third Son Xuan’s attack had been majestic and frightening, but it had done no damage to him. On the contrary, the Sage Emperor’s body had solidified more.
“d.a.m.n you! d.a.m.n you! We will never lose to you, evil spirit! Die!”
Third Son Xuan became even more enraged, and explosions rang out as beams of energy pierced through the Sage Emperor’s body and struck the wall behind him.
The entirety of Taiji Palace shuddered, the thousands of formations embedded in the walls shuddering with it as they erupted with dazzling light.
w.a.n.g Chong stood next to the dragon throne, imperceptibly frowning as he watched Third Son Xuan go insane.
He was about to move to stop Third Son Xuan, but then he glanced at that golden figure and immediately relaxed.
While Third Son Xuan’s attacks were powerful and threatening, they clearly couldn’t threaten the Sage Emperor. His seemingly fierce attacks had failed to inflict any consequential damage.
His Majesty already has control over the situation. There’s no need for me to intervene.
After some thought, w.a.n.g Chong dropped his hands to his sides.
“It’s time for this farce to end.”
w.a.n.g Chong heard the Sage Emperor’s voice, the calm and even voice of someone who had complete control over the situation. As everyone watched, the Sage Emperor shook his head and raised his hand, taking back control from Third Son Xuan and bringing an end to that salvo of attacks.
After losing control of his body once more, Third Son Xuan finally showed fear in his eyes.
But this fear was quickly replaced by anger, and he began to bellow and roar.
“Li Taiyi! Don’t even think about ordering me around! I will never lose to you!
“Thirty years! You wasted thirty years of Our life, suppressing Our soul in a lightless world, and you still have the face to threaten Us?
“You cannot threaten me. I am the Son of Heaven of the Great Tang, the true heir to the House of Li. You are just the wisp of a soul, a shameless outsider. We will never lose to you! Never!”
With these last words, Third Son Xuan’s body began to violently tremble.
His eyes were bloodshot with hatred.
He had lost control over his body at the age of eighteen. At the time, he had been handsome and energetic, enjoying the love of both his imperial father and mother. But when he awoke and took back his body, thirty years had gone by.
No longer an eighteen-year-old youth, he was now a fifty-some-year-old man nearing old age.
All of this was his fault, all Li Taiyi’s fault!
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!
“Even if I can’t kill you, I’ll destroy everything you love! Anyone who serves you is Our enemy!
“I’ll kill your woman! Kill your loyal subjects!” Third Son Xuan roared, the flames in his eyes growing fiercer.
The anger and hatred acc.u.mulated over several decades buoyed him, and his body shuddered ever more fiercely as he resisted Li Taiyi.
What incompetence? What callousness?
He had the blood of the House of Li, was a mighty eagle that soared across the heavens. An eagle was supposed to wheel in the blue skies, the sun and moon as its companions. Why did it have to set foot on the ground and share it with the common riffraff?!
He was the one who had destroyed his life, so he would pay the price.
w.a.n.g Chong felt an indescribable feeling as he watched Third Son Xuan rant and rave.
After several decades, many things were slowly becoming evident. The destroyed records from that period combined with Third Son Xuan’s words immediately made many of the events from that period clear.
A youth returned as an old man!
At the time of the incident, Third Son Xuan was only eighteen, at the prime of his youth, but afterward, a different soul took control over his body, and he fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up, he was fifty years old. He had lost decades of time and freedom, and his ident.i.ty had been supplanted!
There was no doubt that Third Son Xuan carried a deep hatred for the Sage Emperor, and this could explain all the things he had done.
Third Son Xuan probably understood what sort of damage sowing chaos in the court, banis.h.i.+ng the imperial censors, and indulging in pleasure would do to the country.
But Third Son Xuan did not care, and he did not care because this hatred had twisted his soul.
However, w.a.n.g Chong felt no sympathy. The palace records painted the teenaged Third Son Xuan as a cruel and violent person who regarded human lives like gra.s.s. The previous Emperor would not have stripped him of his right of succession if he had not been so deeply disappointed in him.
If the Sage Emperor had not appeared, then one could extrapolate, based on his personality as Prince and the way he acted after replacing the Sage Emperor, that he would have killed countless people.
One could say that the Sage Emperor’s appearance was a blessing for the Great Tang!
With a deep sigh, the Sage Emperor began to speak once more.
“Do you really think that this was all a coincidence?
“Do you really think that it was through your own strength that you were able to reawaken and take back control of the body?”
Buzz!
The furious Third Son Xuan suddenly s.h.i.+vered as if he had been struck by lightning, and he looked up at the Sage Emperor.
“What do you mean?”
All the Dragon Guards and servitors went pale with fright, their prostrate bodies trembling. This matter involved the very highest echelons of power in the empire and was something that they had no right to know.
“I have thought about this matter for a long time and discussed it with Gao Lis.h.i.+ for some time!”
The Sage Emperor sighed, and then a golden light swept over the hall as he sealed the area.
w.a.n.g Chong could tell that this was a soundproofing barrier.
“Your personality does not suit a sovereign. The empire in your hands would be utterly destroyed, so Gao Lis.h.i.+ objected. But, in the end, I owed you, so after long consideration, I decided to release you!” the Sage Emperor indifferently said.
“Bulls.h.i.+t! Bulls.h.i.+t!
“All of this was through my own efforts! I broke free on my own! I won this!” Third Son Xuan bellowed. His eyes turned even redder, seemingly from rage.