Chapter 2423: The Critical Moment!
Raaaah!
With resounding cries, the energy left by the nine Stones of Destiny turned into nine true dragons that flew toward Wang Chong.
These nine true dragons all had different appearances, but their whiskers, scales, and claws were all realized in vivid detail. In a flash, they had charged into Wang Chong.
With the assistance of these nine streams of Dragon Qi, Wang Chong’s Dragon Qi instantly swelled.
His body rose and higher and higher into the heavens.
As he soared upward, Wang Chong was able to see the battlefield, wracked by smoke and fire as the mountains and rivers crumbled.
Wang Chong could see tens of thousands of otherworldly invaders rushing in through the teleportation gates, their thick death energy sweeping across the world, and beneath their feet, layers of ice crept with astonishing speed over the world.
Wang Chong saw countless broken war banners and piles of corpses across the battlefield.
One million, two million, three million…
Wang Chong couldn’t even count the number of corpses. All he could see were countless soldiers being cut down like weeds, but even at the final moments of their lives, they still struggled, roared, and battled.
None of them had given up.
And far on the edge of the continent, Wang Chong saw countless boats anchored at sea, countless figures standing atop them and anxiously looking to the north.
And even farther away, across the ocean in the Promised Land, Wang Chong could see Zhang Munian, Li Zhuxin, numerous noble scions, and countless civilians nervously looking in the direction of the Central Plains, their eyes carrying both hope and concern.
Arabs, Sindhi, Turks, Han… there was no difference between them in that place. All of them had placed their hopes in the north, and all of them were waiting for news about the war.
These were the people of the world!
They carried the legacy of human civilization that had persisted for countless years!
They were simple and ordinary. Each of them had a father, a mother, a daughter, a husband… All of them had the most passionate of emotions, and all of them were living and active beings, not… ants!
They were me, you, him!
Heaven, I won’t let you have your way!
As this thought passed through Wang Chong’s mind, he accelerated and soared even higher.
Bang!
As he broke through the clouds, he opened his mind. Borrowing the nine streams of Dragon Qi, Wang Chong broke through the restraint and entered that domain that countless martial artists could only dream about yet never reach.
The Divine Martial realm!
Time seemed to go still, and after some time, Wang Chong felt like he had broken through some invisible barrier. Boom! Countless thunderclaps seemed to go off in his ear as he felt like he was entering a new world.
Laws!
Infinite laws!
Wang Chong felt like he was in the middle of space, and under his feet was an azure domed world barrier. In this barrier were countless intersecting laws forming a net that enclosed this world.
These were the laws of the world.
Over the last three years, Wang Chong had already interacted with these laws countless times, but this was his first time viewing them from this perspective.
It was only at this moment that Wang Chong understood that this was the original form of the world laws.
These infinite laws jointly worked together to form the mountains, rivers, earth, birds, beasts, insects, fish, flames, smoke…
These were transcendent laws!
And after the transcendent laws was undoubtedly… the Divine Martial realm!
Wang Chong was enlightened, and suddenly looked up. In the depths of space, Wang Chong saw a vast river formed from countless points of light.
The river of time!
This was a power that countless martial artists would never be able to reach. Within it was recorded the history of countless human civilizations, the joys and sorrows of innumerable lives. It was truly the domain of gods.
Wang Chong had merely controlled a sliver of time energy before, but this was a vast and mighty river. Only by truly stepping into it could one control time energy and become an expert of the Divine Martial realm.
Buzz!
Wang Chong focused his eyes and jumped toward that vast river of time, but when he was still several thousand feet away from it, he felt like some invisible chasm had come to bar his path.
It appeared like it was right in front of him, but it was really worlds away!
This was a vast and unseeable fissure!
Wang Chong suddenly grimaced.
“Hahaha!”
Back on the surface, Heaven sensed what was going on and heartily laughed.
“All in vain! All in vain! What does it matter if you’ve laid down so many tricks!? Even if you do everything in your power to stop Us, it is all futile.”
Bang!
Heaven madly laughed as thick death energy erupted outward, shattering the seals that Xuanyuan and the others had used to bind him.
At this moment, the energy left by the holders of the Stones of Destiny was completely wiped away, the mental brands they had left completely dissipating.
“Wang Chong, just like you said, what is not yours will never be yours.
“Nine Stones of Destiny, nine sovereigns! They stored up all their Dragon Qi and poured it into your body, but the calculations are clear. No matter how much Dragon Qi you have, you are no sovereign. If you cannot obtain the acknowledgment of the world, you will never be able to transcend and enter the Divine Martial realm!”
Heaven loudly laughed. When Wang Chong seized his seven Stones of Destiny, he had really believed that he had failed, but after many twists and turns, it had been proved that nothing could escape his control.
Xuanyuan, Li Taiyi, the Qin First Emperor, Emperor Wu of Han… their consciousnesses were gone, and they were now completely dead. There was no one left to stand between him and Wang Chong.
“Xuanyuan, Li Taiyi, you didn’t expect this, did you!? It is Our turn to strike!”
Heaven coldly laughed, a bone-chilling killing intent in his eyes.
Bang!
A moment later, Heaven’s body exploded with energy as he soared into the air after Wang Chong.
So long as Wang Chong had yet to break into the Divine Martial realm, he would never be a match for him. Even with ten Stones of Destiny, his fate would be the same.
In the end, the ten Stones of Destiny would be his.
“Wang Chong, accept your fate!
“This is the will of Heaven!”
Heaven’s callous voice resounded through the hundreds of millions of parallel dimensions.
“Who said so?!” A dignified and young voice came from the rear of the battlefield.
“All subjects, We proclaim that starting from this moment, Supreme King Wang Chong inherits the throne of the Great Tang, becoming the master of the Central Plains and the continent! Thus is Our will!”
Though the voice was neither too loud nor too soft, almost inaudible compared to the other sounds on this intense battlefield, high up in the sky, Heaven heard these words and suddenly paled.
Heaven turned his head back to the battlefield and saw a young figure standing there.
This young man wore a crown and a dragon robe, and held a scroll in his hands, a pre-written imperial decree. He stood upon an opulent bronze chariot, and around him were the Dragon Guards of the Great Tang.
Behind him, the dragon banner of the Great Tang danced in the wind.
The young sovereign looked up at Heaven with a chilling gaze, showing no fear to this domineering, god-like existence.
This man was Li Heng!
The youngest sovereign of the Great Tang and the entire continent!
His cultivation was far inferior to Heaven’s, he was younger than everyone else, and his reputation was far inferior to the Sage Emperor’s!
And unlike the now-deceased Wang Zhongsi or Bahram, he could not lead the army in combat until death.
No one had expected him to stand up at this moment and face down Heaven.
The world fell silent, shocked expressions appearing on everyone’s faces. It was clear that not even the Dragon Guards had known about this.
In the sky, Heaven had a look of immense shock.
He had never taken this young sovereign seriously. In the history of the Central Plains, there had been far too many sovereigns like this who had all the ambition and none of the ability to realize it. In Heaven’s eyes, he didn’t even count as an ant. He could kill such a person as he pleased, so he had never paid much attention to the young Emperor of the Great Tang.
But now, everything had changed.
If Li Heng abdicated to Wang Chong, Wang Chong’s last gap would be filled in. He would become a true sovereign, obtain the acknowledgment of the world, and thus become the true master of the world!
This meant that nothing would be left that could stop him from entering the Divine Martial realm.
“No, We won’t allow it!”
Heaven’s eyes flew open as he gnashed his teeth. He had never imagined that this most insignificant of ants would come out at this crucial moment and deal him such a heavy blow.
“Subjects, why have you not carried out Our decree!” Li Heng harshly barked.
“This subject receives the decree!”
“This subject receives the decree!”
“Paying respects to new Emperor Wang Chong!”
“Paying respects to new Emperor Wang Chong!”
“Paying respects to new Emperor Wang Chong!”
Loud cries came out in response, everyone getting down on their knees, hot tears in their eyes as they seemed to understand something.
“You’re seeking death!”
Heaven was overcome with wrath. He immediately thrust out his right palm, and the sky darkened as death energy swept down toward Li Heng.
This palm covered a vast region, with the entire area for several hundred thousand feet around Li Heng caught up in the attack.
When this palm came down, the earth would certainly collapse, and no one would escape—certainly not Li Heng.
But Li Heng stood on the bronze chariot unperturbed and fearless, having already predicted what his fate would be.