The Human Emperor
chapter-2007

Chapter 2007: c

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Wang Chong had never imagined that though his fierce attacks seemed to be suppressing An Yaluoshan and upsetting his tempo, An Yaluoshan was still draining the Central Plains Dragon Qi.

“An Yaluoshan, you’re seeking death!”

Wang Chong’s eyes chilled, burning with cold killing intent.

Bang!

A moment later, without the slightest hesitation, Wang Chong pushed the remaining dancing girls off the stage with a shockwave.

His dantian vibrated as his Stellar Energy blazed, and his sword flashed with cold light. His Sword Qi became several times more powerful than before as he once more slashed at An Yaluoshan.

“Haha, Wang Chong, you can’t stop me!”

An Yaluoshan suddenly heartily laughed in understanding.

What King of Foreign Lands?

What Nine Provinces Protector-General?

What did it matter that he saw through it?!

Did he really think it was that easy to stop him?

True, the dancing girls were really female priests he had brought over from the Eastern Turks, and he was not performing some whirling dance, but actually a ritual dance in concert with them.

But the dancing girls were merely the trigger. Just like how a firework no longer needed the initial length of fuse once it had been lit, he did not require them for the rest of the process.

Even if Wang Chong killed off all the dancing girls, he would accomplish nothing.

“Have a taste of my attack!”

An Yaluoshan heartily laughed.

But he chose to speak in a foreign language. An Yaluoshan was well aware that very few people in the court knew how to speak foreign languages, and the Sage Emperor was not amongst them. Even the vast majority of civil officials would probably not be able to hear what he was saying in the midst of the chaotic battle.

But An Yaluoshan just needed Wang Chong to understand, because he was sure that Wang Chong had a mastery of foreign languages!

Bang!

An Yaluoshan narrowly dodged one of Wang Chong’s attacks, and then he slashed with his knife at Wang Chong, his attack carrying the howling of wind and rumbling of thunder.

At the same time, spiritual energy gathered around An Yaluoshan from the mountains and rivers, fusing with his Stellar Energy and rumbling toward Wang Chong.

“Wonderful!”

An Yaluoshan was elated at the sensation. This was an evolution created by reaching a certain concentration of Dragon Qi.

As he gained more Dragon Qi, he could extract more and more energy from the Central Plains to strengthen himself.

Cui Qianyou, Tian Chengsi, Gao Shang, and Yan Zhuang were all ecstatic.

Steal the sky and put up a sham sun! It’s settled! Your Excellency, no one can stop us now!

Gao Shang quietly sat in his seat, a fierce glint in his eyes.

Bang!

If one looked down from the heavens, one could see sixteen beams of energy rising from the distant Youzhou. To the south, sixteen more beams of energy rose into the firmament. These all represented the plans Gao Shang had laid in the Central Plains.

These beams of energy resonated with lights in the capital.

In every part of the city, countless lights flashed in the darkness like stars, forming a giant formation. And the center of this formation was An Yaluoshan in the Pavilion of Petal and Sepal.

The Big Dipper Black Dragon Heaven Swallowing Art!

This was the formation Gao Shang and the Youzhou group had gone to great lengths to set up, one that allowed them to drain Dragon Qi.

The pillars of energy in Youzhou were meant to strengthen the earth veins of Youzhou and An Yaluoshan’s destiny. The pillars of energy in the southwest were intended to bind the true dragon. But the most crucial of all were the several dozen boxes Gao Shang had transported into the capital. Some of these boxes were in residences, some were in inns, others at stores, and some were in government offices!

Each location was guarded by Youzhou soldiers and experts, and these boxes formed a formation intended to imprison the dragon.

This formation, combined with the formations in the southwest and Youzhou, created the Big Dipper Black Dragon Heaven Swallowing Formation!

In divination and geomancy, the five-clawed true dragon represented tradition, and it was superior even to the golden dragon. Meanwhile, the black dragon was the traitor of dragons, the rebel. It represented the changing of dynasties, the ‘future true dragon’ that would overturn the current dynasty.

The black dragon could only replace the current dynasty if it swallowed its Dragon Qi so that it could evolve into a true dragon and rule over the realm!

And at this moment, the black dragon represented An Yaluoshan!

Some of the Dragon Qi poured into An Yaluoshan’s body, and another part was drawn to Youzhou to strengthen its earth veins so that it could become the dragon’s den.

Such scale and daring represented the masterstroke of Gao Shang and An Yaluoshan.

These formations were precisely why Gao Shang dared to say that Wang Chong could not stop them!

A formation on such a grandiose scale was not something that Wang Chong could destroy by himself.

Bang!

One wave of Dragon Qi after another surged down into An Yaluoshan’s body, and he felt invincible and unstoppable.

And with so many officials around, even though Wang Chong had realized what was going on, he couldn’t stop it. This made An Yaluoshan feel a unique sense of excitement and joy.

The entire court of the Central Plains was here, but all of them were playthings in An Yaluoshan’s hand!

But suddenly, without any warning, An Yaluoshan sensed the earth swaying, and that furious waterfall of Dragon Qi shuddered and then began to dwindle away, like someone had intercepted it at the source. And An Yaluoshan could see the Dragon Qi above him also beginning to fall into chaos.

But this was not the end. Boom! There was another intense tremor, and An Yaluoshan suddenly felt his ‘power level’ weakening, becoming disobedient and unruly as if it was being disrupted.

“What’s going on here?”

An Yaluoshan paled in shock, as did his farsighted strategist seated in the back, Gao Shang.

The theft of Dragon Qi was extremely important to Gao Shang. Thus, for this entire feast, he had kept his right hand under the table and in his sleeve, where it was constantly performing divinations.

As An Yaluoshan’s Dragon Qi shuddered and greatly weakened, Gao Shang’s index finger trembled as if someone had flicked it.

After a calculation, Gao Shang was stricken with shock, and his mind seethed in turmoil.

The Big Dipper Black Dragon Heaven Swallowing Formation! How? Someone broke the formation!

“Surprised?”

As An Yaluoshan and Gao Shang were both overcome with shock, they heard a voice. An Yaluoshan trembled and raised his head, immediately noticing Wang Chong’s cold eyes.

“You still wanted to pull a trick in the capital with me here? Did you really think I didn’t know about those boxes you brought into the capital?”

Stellar Energy rumbled and winds howled, but Wang Chong’s cold voice seemed to overcome it all to clearly ring out in An Yaluoshan’s ears.

But what alarmed An Yaluoshan even more was Wang Chong’s words.

He and Gao Shang had arranged for the transport of the several dozen boxes into the capital, and they were an extremely vital part of this operation.

How could this be? There are nearly one million people in the capital, and with so many foreign emissaries coming in, how could he find them in just three days!?

All of his smugness and joy disappeared, and An Yaluoshan stared, wide-eyed in disbelief, at Wang Chong.

In order to guarantee success, he and Gao Shang had been extremely careful. Some of the boxes had come in with them from the eastern gate, some from the southern gate, and some of them had even arrived in the capital before them.

In order to make them less obvious, An Yaluoshan and Gao Shang had also recruited many merchants from the Western Regions, the Turks, Mengshe Zhao, Goguryeo, and even from west of the Cong Mountains. All of this was done to avoid Wang Chong’s attention.

And for the days of the celebration, An Yaluoshan had been cautious, constantly changing the location of his men. Each box had been moved at least three times to avoid being tracked down. It was one thing if the capital had been a small place, but nearly one million people lived here. Coupled with the frequent shifts and the communication blackout between all the different parties, there were no clues to be tracked. How had Wang Chong managed to find them?!

An Yaluoshan finally lost all his composure and confidence.

Wang Chong sneered. No matter what An Yaluoshan was planning or how wise Gao Shang was, did they really think he would play cat and mouse with them?

Wang Chong truly did not know the exact locations, but he simply needed to know that the boxes existed. He had the immense resources of the Bureau of Military Personnel, together with the city guard, his own spy teams, and the numerous hedonistic scions that wandered the city.

Even if the capital had one million inhabitants, finding several dozen suspicious locations in this period of time was not at all difficult!

In the end, An Yaluoshan and Gao Shang had gotten too conceited!

……

Deep in the night, as Wang Chong and An Yaluoshan were speaking, a residence in the western part of the city was brightly lit.

Ten-some muscular men stood in a circle, warily observing their surroundings. Though they all wore different clothes and seemed just like any other commoner of the capital, if one looked carefully, one could see a few traits of the inhabitants of Youzhou on their bodies.

Swish!

Suddenly, there was a sharp whistle, and a sharp arrow punched through a box and pierced the heart of a Youzhou soldier.

The man dropped to the ground without even a moan.

“Careful!”

The Youzhou soldiers paled in shock.

Clangclangclang! The ten-some soldiers took out their swords and swiftly took up defensive positions.

Right after they finished, they were barraged by a rain of arrows.

Swooshswooshswoosh!

Three or four soldiers were swiftly cut down by the arrows.