The Human Emperor

Chapter 1: The Downfall of the Central Plains

Wang Chong knew that this was his mission in this world!

‘If a barbarian were to become a king, then it would be better that the Central Plains fell’. This was an analect of Confucius. Wang Chong had never thought that in this distant time-space continuum, ‘Central Plains’ would actually be ‘destroyed’!

Furthermore, he himself would be the final witness of the scene!

The skies burned and the earth tremored. Countless corpses laid everywhere, forming mountains and filling oceans. The fresh blood that flowed from them converged to form a crimson river. Wang Chong could even see dense death aura rising from the corpses of tens of million of citizens of the Central Plains lying all around him.

On the other hand, countless cavalries of a foreign race were slowly closing in.

No one knew where these foreign cavalries came from. Neither did anyone knew why they were determined to destroy this world. They only knew that ten years ago, these death aura-filled foreign cavalries appeared from nowhere and within the short span of a few years, they tore through all of the empires!

Along with the appearance of these foreign cavalries, the earth collapsed inwards and space shook! Destruction! Tens of million of living beings were reduced to withered bones!

At this moment, the group that Wang Chong was leading was the final fighting force of this world!

In this center of this vast lands, Wang Chong led the final remaining army of the Central Plains. As though a duckweed floating in a pond, he waited patiently for the end to come.

After going through so many years of hardship, Wang Chong thought that his heart had already steeled. Yet, when the destined moment was about to set upon him, Wang Chong can’t help but shiver.

Sorrow, pain, and despair surged through him, but those weren’t self-pity. Those were for his brothers and the ultimate end that was awaiting this homeland of his, the Central Plains!

“General, please pardon my early departure!”

“You’re not at fault that we came to this point! General, you have already done your best!”

“There is no need to feel sorrow for us! We are already prepared for this. At least, at the very end, we didn’t bring shame to the Great Tang Dynasty! To be able to accompany general in this life, I have not lived in vain!”

“General, let’s meet again in our next life!”

“Come, you foreign rascals! Let’s fight one last round! Hahaha…”

…

Familiar figures passed by him one by one, roaring heartily in laughter. They charged forward resolutely toward the boundless army of foreign race, as though moths attracted to a flame.

“There’s no need, my dear brothers. We will reunite soon enough!”

Looking at those familiar figures disappearing as though an epiphyllum in the midnight, tears finally gushed out of Wang Chong’s eyes, flowing steadily down his cheeks.

Epiphyllum is a flower that blooms only for an instant before disappearing.

Wang Chong wasn’t a soul from this world. In fact, if not for that accident, he should have been in another time-space continuum enjoying the sunlight and rain, completing his university education and living the rest of his life in peace.

Yet, thirty years ago, a mysterious shooting star suddenly appeared, bringing him into this world which was similar to the Great Tang of the Central Plains in China’s history. Yet, it was an entirely different world and in it, he became the fifteen-year-old son of a clan of generals.

Upon arriving, he experienced betrayal and fear. He felt completely out of place and that nothing here had anything to do with him.

But a catastrophe struck and those who loved him and those that he loved died one after another. At that moment, Wang Chong awoke to reality and his fighting spirit lit up!

It was a pity that it was already too late.

In this world, Wang Chong had experienced many different things. Ten years of aimless wandering caused him to miss the ideal window to cultivate in his lifetime. Eventually, due to the doing of certain coincidences and the army commanding that he had gained through playing strategic games in his previous life, he was able to earn the acknowledgement of various seniors of the empire.

They infused all of their Origin Energy into him, allowing him to become the final Grand Marshal of the empire, the person who carried the final hopes of the Central Plains on his shoulders.

Yet, it was already too late. He had missed out on too much, way too much. Even though he gave his all, he still ended in failure.

With sorrow gripping at his heart, Wang Chong slowly closed his eyes.

He did not fear death, just that it wasn’t time yet. He was still waiting. There was someone that if he did not kill, he would not be able to rest even upon death!

He was the culprit for this all! If it wasn’t for him, the empire wouldn’t have weakened to this point!

Wang Chong felt hatred!

Only fresh blood could wash away the endless hatred in his heart!

But the other party was too cunning. He never showed himself easily and Wang Chong could never find an opportunity to strike. Only this time, when he came to this barren valley to bait him out, Wang Chong knew that he would definitely be unable to suppress his urge to come.

He had already hidden for thirty years. This time, when victory was just at hand for him, he would definitely step out from the shadows!

“Wang Chong, give up. I have already spoken to the king and as long as you are willing to surrender, he can spare you from death!”

Suddenly, a voice echoed from afar.

Behind the endless sea of foreign cavalries, a fat tottering figure revealed the upper half of his body. Gleefulness reflected in his sight, but fear and apprehension could be seen in it as well.

He was in no way a cowardly person. However, it was a mystery why the fellow before him was that incredible. He did not hold much military might in his hands, yet he was able to defeat opponents that outnumbered them tenfolds.

He had only taken over control of the army of the Central Plains for a short few years, but the number of foreign warriors who had fallen under his army was equivalent to the that of dozens of years.

If not for his fear of this fellow, he wouldn’t have hidden for that long a time.

“Traitor!”

Wang Chong looked at that figure as hatred burned in his eyes. If not for someone allying with them and guiding them, how could the foreign cavalries cause so much damage and conquer massive plots of land within a short period of time?

This was all his doing!

“Hehe, Wang Chong, as expected of the Central Plain’s God of Warfare! To think that a scion of the Wang Clan who lived off his family while awaiting for death would become the world’s Grand Marshal! Reality is truly an enigma! If those old fogeys chose you thirty years earlier to become their successor, the Wang Clan might not have fallen back then and the Central Plains would still have a hope! However, all is already done!”

The figure gleefully says.

“Wang Chong, let me give you an advice. You are a talented person and the emperor has already said that as long as you pledge him your allegiance, he is willing to spare you! Furthermore, he is willing to convert you into one of them! How do you think about it?”

But Wang Chong didn’t seem to have heard a word he said.

“Kangya Luoshan!”

Wang Chong shouted out his name. His resentment was so powerful that it seemed to shoot out from his eyes. After so long, the opportunity had finally come. In the end, this despicable fellow couldn’t resist the urge to appear before him.

“You shall be buried with me and Great Tang!”

Amid the sound of the trembling of the earth, majestic radiance shot out from Wang Chong’s spear. In that instant, there seemed to be another brilliant sun in the sky, blinding the eyes of all beneath it.

“Retreat! Retreat!”…

…

The wind blew frenziedly and upon seeing Wang Chong, fear ignited in the hearts of the thousands of foreign cavalries. They immediately retreated backward as though an ocean wave.

“Protect Lord Oracle!”

Some of the foreign experts immediately reacted. They gathered around Kangya Luoshan and incredible rings of light and black flames burst forth from them. However, it was too late.

Boom! A ray of light with radiance comparable to a supernova shot down from the heavens and the diffused light from it warped the colors in the sky. In an instant, the light enveloped the hundreds of foreign experts and figures that were between them.

“You!”

A piercing but momentary anguished shout could be heard. That chubby face warped in fear before the brilliant flames and swiftly, Kangya Luoshan was reduced to ashes.

Even at his moment of death, he never imagined that Wang Chong would pit all of his strength to kill him despite being forced to a corner!

At that instant, he struggled angrily. However, he was unable to match up to the unmatchable spear!

“Finally, I have succeeded!”

At this moment, an unexplainable surge of exhilaration overwhelmed Wang Chong!

Father, mother, and the countless souls of the Central Plains, you all can rest in peace now!

Death charged straight at him, but in its face, Wang Chong only smiled faintly as he stared calmly at the countless flamed spears stabbing towards him.

Boom! At the very last moment, Wang Chong ignited his dantian, causing the thousands of foreign cavalries to be pulled down to their graves along with him…

It was said that a human’s final moments would seem as though an eternity. To think that the myth wasn’t true!

Wang Chong smiles sorrowfully, but his heart was tranquil.

He was finally relieved of his duties after so many years. Yet, he felt an aching pain deep in his heart. In that instant, Wang Chong thought of his grandfather, his granduncle, his parents, his eldest brother, his second brother, his cousins and…

If only he wasn’t that obstinate then!

If only he was able to awaken in time, stand up and protect his family and homeland with his military talents!

It was all too late!

All that he loved and all he loved had left him!

All those that loved deeply and all that he loved dearly had left him.

If only he could do it all over again, he would have been a better person. However, it was all too late!

From this moment onward, the Central Plains of China will become the hunting grounds of the foreign race. Thousand years from now, will no one know of the existence of the race known as Yanhuang and the dynasty known as Great Tang?

Wang Chong felt regret, sorrow, and indignance.

“This isn’t how it should be! ——”

Tears of regret flowed down Wang Chong’s eyes. If only he could restart, in order to make up for all the regrets he was feeling now, he was willing to give his all! The entirety of him!

Boom!

When this thought flashed across Wang Chong’s head, in the depths of the heavens, the rumbling of lightning could be heard. At the last moment when the final flicker of his life was going to extinguish, when everything was dark, Wang Chong suddenly saw a shooting star.

This… Isn’t this the shooting star which brought him to this world?

【The user has awakened. Activating the Power of Destiny!——】

Seemingly coming from nowhere, a mechanical voice devoid of any emotions rang by his ear.

“The Son of Destiny! He is the Son of Destiny! Stop him! ——”

In the darkness, the frightened screams of countless foreign cavalries suddenly echoed. What could that made these foreign lifeforms which feared not of death to experience such terror!

However, Wang Chong didn’t know of these. Surrounded completely by darkness, Wang Chong sunk into it.

…

“Why are you called a transcender?”

It might have been an instant or countless long eras, but Wang Chong was suddenly awakened by a curious voice by his ear. That voice seemed distant yet near, crisp as though silver bells, with a tinge of innocence and immaturity to it.

As though a rock that had been thrown into the surface of a lake, ripples diffused in Wang Chong’s consciousness.

Who is it? Whose voice is this?

Didn’t they say that a person is reduced to nothing upon death? Why was he still able to hear? Could this be… an illusion?

“Hmph!”

Just when Wang Chong was still deep in contemplation, a displeased harrumph sounded by his ear. Before Wang Chong could react, he something violently jabbing at his body.

It was a finger!

Wang Chong immediately came to a realization.

That’s not right! How could one’s consciousness still possess a body upon death?

Unless he wasn’t dead!

Weng! The moment this thought flashed across his head, Wang Chong felt as though billowing waves had risen in his head. He struggled to open his eyes and soon, a brilliant radiance spilled onto his eyes.

The darkness before him was illuminated. Not too far away from him, Wang Chong saw a pouting ten-year-old girl staring at him in displeasure.

“I told you not to ignore me!”

The little girl used her slim finger to jab Wang Chong once more.

“Little sister?!”

Wang Chong couldn’t believe what he was seeing. That little girl had eyebrows of a crescent moon, bright eyes and white skin with a tinge of red. Dressed in silver-red leather pants, she looked like a jade sculpture.

However, the two braids on her head that faced the heavens exposed her mischievous nature. Who else could she be other than his youngest sister?

However, wasn’t his younger sister already…

Wang Chong stared at her blankly. For a moment, his head was unable to react.

Wasn’t he already dead? He remembered clearly that at the very last moment, in order to kill Kangya Luoshan, he charged into the army of countless foreign cavalries. How was it possible for him to see his youngest sister here?

Furthermore, his youngest sister was so tiny. This was obviously how she looked when she was ten, and he was only five years older than her. If his youngest sister was only ten-year-old, didn’t that mean that he was…

Wang Chong lifted his arms and soon, he saw a pair of skinny and white arms. This was different from what he remembered.

In that instant, Wang Chong was speechless. Could it be that… He had come back to life?

Joy and anxiety gripped Wang Chong’s heart. More than that, he felt apprehensive.

“Little sister, pinch me.”

Wang Chong suddenly said.

Right after he said those words, Wang Chong saw a soft and white tiny hand stretching over toward him. Around that tiny hand, there were faint white ripples.

That faint ripples seem to congregate around her hand instead of dissipating into the surroundings, as though steel. It felt impressive.

“Origin Energy Tier 9!”

Wang Chong’s felt a tight squeeze in his heart. That faint white layer was symbolic of a Origin Energy Tier 9 expert. How could he have forgotten that his younger sister possessed superior talent since young and was known to be a ‘herculean warrior’ with unmatched strength?

He was simply bringing himself pain by having her pinch him to wake him up!

“Little sister, don’t…”

Wang Chong’s complexion warped. He hurriedly tried to stop her, but it was too late. Kacha. Wang Chong felt as though his radial bone had cracked.

“Aiyo, little sister, let go!”

Upon hearing Wang Chong’s cry of agony, the little girl looked a little embarrassed. Sticking out her tongue, she retracted her fingers sheepishly.

“Brother, you can’t blame me for this. You were the one who asked me to do it.”

The little girl said while sticking out her tongue. There wasn’t the slightest hint of apology in her words.

Wang Chong smiles bitterly. As expected of that youngest sister of his in his memories. That extraordinary talent and mountain-smashing strength weren’t something average people could bear.

Even so, while rubbing his aching arm, Wang Chong felt incomparably happy. He was able to see, feel and experience pain… This meant that this wasn’t an illusion.

He was really still alive!

“Can it be that the heavens had answered my prayers?”

At this moment, Wang Chong’s heart was filled with many different emotions.

“3rd Brother, it’s not that I want to nag at you, but you shouldn’t hang out with that bastard Ma Zhou. That fellow isn’t a good person. He caused 3rd Brother to be lectured by father and others were saying that you had raped female villagers. Does my 3rd Brother need to rape female villagers? That bastard! I will definitely teach him a lesson if I see him. I will beat him up whenever I catch sight of him.”

The little girl seemed to have thought of something and a frown appeared on her face. Kacha kacha, cracking sounds could be heard from her fearsome hands. It was clear that the resentment she felt towards him wasn’t something trifling.

“Little sister…”

Hearing the sincere tone his little sister spoke with, Wang Chong felt his heart ached. Moved, he hugged his younger sister, Wang Yao-er, tightly.

This was his younger sister, a younger sister who loved her elder brother dearly. However, it was a pity that he was too much of a jerk back then. He wasn’t able to understand her sentiments until he lost her and he deeply regretted it.

Since the heavens had given him another chance, he was determined to prevent his younger sister from experiencing what she had in this life.

“Little sister, thank you. However, there’s no need for it. I will deal with that bastard Ma Zhou personally.”

Wang Chong replies her softly.

Wang Yao-er was taken aback. In Wang Chong embrace, she raised her head and her large eyes reflected in Wang Chong’s eyes. She was surprised. This 3rd Brother of hers seemed to be slightly different today.

He usually lived sloppily and hung out with bad company. He wasn’t the type to say such words.

“Alright, 3rd Brother, you haven’t told me yet. What is a transcender? What does transcender mean? Why have I never heard of it?”

Wang Yao-er suddenly recalled something. The large round eyes she stared at Wang Chong with had a pair of large question marks in them. After talking for so long, she still hadn’t received the answer to the question she was concerned about.

Towards this, Wang Yao-er felt quite dissatisfied towards Wang Chong.

“This——”

Despite his thick-skinned, upon hearing the words of his youngest sister, Wang Chong can’t help but fondle his nose.

About the matter of ‘transcender’, that was when he first came over to this world. At that time, his heart was filled with resentment. Everything was foreign to him and he didn’t know a single person here. He only felt like a passer-by in this busy world, as though a fleeting bubble.

It just happened that this obstinate and interesting little sister with a twin braids came to look for him, calling him ‘3rd Brother’. Back then, his inner youth exploded and he jokingly got her to call him ‘transcender’.

However, his youngest sister took this joke of his seriously. Again and again, she chased him asking what ‘transcender’ was. Thinking about it, this was probably it.

Remembering this joke of his, Wang Chong felt so embarrassed that he could die.

“Hmmm, transcender means a suave man.”

“Suave man?” Little sister’s eyes widened further in confusion.

“It means a handsome guy!”

Wang Chong laughed heartily.

“Brother, you lied to me!”

Little sister immediately erupted in anger. She might be young, but she wasn’t gullible.

“Little sister, I just remembered that father is about to be home soon. You should hurry back. Otherwise, if you are caught here, you will be in deep trouble!”

Sweating profusely, Wang Chong hurriedly changed the topic. His little sister was innocent and believed him easily. However, if she were to realize that he had lied to her, her frightening strength would put him in place.

“Hmph!!”

With her red cheeks puffed up, it was clear that she was still angry. She might be young but she wasn’t that easily fooled. It was clear that her brother wasn’t telling the truth.

Through cajolery and deception, Wang Chong finally managed to dupe her to leave. Even so, she was still enraged and discontent then.

“Father will be home in awhile. Mother told me to remind you to head to the grand hall to have your meal later!”

Boom!

Upon hearing those words, a thunderous roar seemed to have flashed across his head. Wang Chong suddenly shuddered.

After saying those words, little sister stomped out of the room.

Wang Chong fondled his forehead and realized that his hand was full of cold sweat. He really thought that she had managed to sneak in without anyone’s notice. Even if she managed to get past their father, she was unable to escape their mother’s all-seeing eye!

However, it wasn’t a surprise. Given his little sister’s capability, how was it possible for her to escape the Buddha’s Five Finger Mountain?

After his little sister left, Wang Chong closed the door and leaned against the wall. His face tilted slightly upward as he stared at the high roof of the room. His face slowly regained its calmness.

Today’s happenings were simply too bizarre. He needed some time to muse over them.

Everything that happened during his moment of death appeared in his mind and eventually, the shooting star he saw slowly clarified. Some distant memories that he thought that he had forgotten through time abruptly emerged clearly in his head.

Wang Chong could remember clearly that in AD2022, on Earth of another parallel universe, it was a scorching day of summer. When he was walking on the street, a shooting star suddenly fell from the sky onto him. After which, he was brought into this foreign world.

When he transcended over, he thought that he would obtain some ‘transcender’s privilege’. However, he lived an ordinary life, even up to the moment of his ‘death’. Other than his identity as the son of a general, he was no different from any other person.

That shooting star was an enigma. Other than bringing him into this foreign and distant land, it hadn’t showered any miracles upon him.

He didn’t think that it would appear at the moment of his death.

“Was it resentment? Or indignance?”

Wang Chong pondered.

No matter what, he had returned. He had truly returned to this day, thirty years ago! This year, he was fifteen while his little sister was ten!

The era of prosperity and strength for the Central Plains!

Regardless of whether it is the Qin Dynasty or the Han Dynasty, there wasn’t a single dynasty which territory had expanded as massively as the current one. The eastern sea, the western ridges, the southern prefectures and the northern Yin Mountains. They were all part of the sphere of influence of the empire.

With its 600 000 large army, the Great Tang ruled over the entire Central Plains, dominating all of the foreign countries and tribe by its orders. Furthermore, its military was filled with countless talents of general caliber and it was reputed to possess ‘The Radiance of the Hundred Generals’. Even the Hu had to submit to this massive empire.

In short dozens of years, the territories of the empire expanded continuously, resulting in its current size.

Without doubt, this was the center of the world.

The era where the Central Plains was at its greatest.

As such, those of the Central Plains term the one in the palace as the Sage Emperor. In this Central Plains, everyone was proud of their identity and complacency lingered in the air.

However, oblivious to the others, Wang Chong knew that under its powerful exterior, this prosperous empire was on its way to its downfall.

Under the illusion of prosperity and peacefulness, the empire was surrounded by countless threats.

In the highlands at the west of Great Tang, the Ü-Tsang was swiftly growing stronger. Going slightly further, the Umayyad Caliphate had fallen and replacing it was the empire that brought the Arabian world to the peak of its strength, the Abbasid Caliphate.

In the northeast, Yeon Gaesomun was training troops and purchasing steeds. In the south, the Erhai was also moving in the shadows.

All kinds of dangers were present, just waiting to burst.

On the other hand, the Great Tang of the Central Plains was still immersed in the illusion of prosperity. They were completely ignorant of the potential dangers that were lying around them. In fact, when the barbarians propped up their military might and were viewing at Great Tang menacingly, those Confucian scholars were trying to bring about a new line of thought by persuading the royal court to extract their army and return others their territories. They hope to move them through virtues so as to earn the Central Plains and the barbarians everlasting peace.

This was an unprecedented occurrence of one weakening their own army:

A tiger was crippling its claws, a wolf was plucking its sharp teeth!

Four years later, when the avaricious barbarians came conquering its territories and a destructive catastrophe swept across it, the Central Plains found itself lacking the strength to retaliate.

After four years, all of these hidden threats came surging one after another from all directions! Eventually, this massive and prosperous empire fell completely.

His beloved homeland fell into decline within this four years and fragmented. As such, the powerful clan of generals fell to the point of struggling in mud.

He lived his previous life groggily, only awakening when everything was already fixed into place. However, this life, with the memories and experience of his previous, he will not allow the same situation to reenact!

He had contemplated many times over why this massive empire would fall apart in a short period of time. If he was able to put in place the plans he had thought of ‘thirty years later’, the fall of the Tang Dynasty could still be reversed.

But before so, he had to prevent the major event that was going to happen in this household first. His little sister, his eldest brother, his father, his mother and the entire Wang Clan… Everyone would be affected by this matter.

It was due to this matter that the Wang Clan fell further and further into decline, unable to rise up once more.

After a series of events after the happening of this matter, those that he loved and those that loved him slowly left him.

This all happened not long after he transcended into this world.

Just that, he was still ignorant then. However, he was determined to change it all this life!

How can one sweep across the world without cleaning their own household first? How can any egg remain intact under a ruined nest? If he doesn’t salvage his own home, how can he save the world?

No matter what, he had to stop it from happening!

With such thoughts in his mind, Wang Chong pushed the door open and walked out.

Central Plains refer to China when it was still in the feudal era.

Epiphyllum is a flower that blooms only for an instant before disappearing.

In the Han mythology, all Chinese are said to originate from the Yan Emperor and Huang Emperor (aka Flame Emperor and Yellow Emperor). As such, we term ourselves as ‘Descendants of Yanhuang (of the Yan Emperor and Huang Emperor)’.

Buddha’s Five Finger Mountain

Journey to the West Reference.

After challenging wrecking the Heavenly Palace, Sun Wukong was challenged by the Buddha to escape from his palm. Thus, Sun Wukong traveled to ends of the world and upon seeing a pillar, he peed on it. However, it turned out that the pillar was Buddha’s finger, and he wasn’t able to escape from his grasp. After which, he was trapped under a mountain known as the Five Finger Mountain for 500 years.

The Southern Prefectures actually meant Northern Vietnam. (交趾)

Hu could be translated as Hu Tribe, but it isn’t actually a tribe.

It would be safe to assume that it refers to all foreign tribes/races.

In some era, the term was used to refer to the nomads. There are various explanations why it is called the Huren, one of them is because the Xiongnu Tribe termed themselves as ‘hu’.

In the Qin & Han Dynasty, Huren mainly refers to the Xiongnu Tribe.

In the Tang Dynasty, it referred mainly to the Caucasian.

(Note: This story is situated in Tang Dynasty)

Ü-Tsang is the ancient name for Tibetans.

I’m assuming that Erhai refers to Dali.

Chapter 2: Reincarnated to a Human

The autumn wind rustled.

The closer Wang Chong got to the grand hall, the more nervous he felt. Perhaps only when you lose someone will you know how dear they were to you.

He lived his previous life in a daze, caring for nothing at all and not allowing anything to bother him in the least. It was hard to imagine that just having a meal would make him so nervous.

“This should be what they call fear of returning to one’s homeland.”

Wang Chong mumbled. Lifting his head, he saw a massive gate with two lion heads on it, one on the left, one on the right. His family’s dining hall was just in front.

The Wang Family wasn’t a great clan of nobility and as such, it wasn’t tightly restricted by traditions and decorum. However, it was still a clan of generals. His mother might not have created many rules to limit their actions, but they still had to maintain the etiquette befitting of a great clan.

The Wang Clan had many offsprings. However, regardless of who it was, and this was including his father as well, as long as they were in the capital, they had to return home for the weekly family gathering. Everyone would gather around a huge round table and share a harmonious meal.

This was the last day of Wang Chong’s grounding. This was also his first family meal gathering in the last seven days. However, what Wang Chong was bothered with wasn’t this.

If things progressed as how it did in his previous life, at this time, his father should have returned home by now. Due to his father’s official duties, he often left the home early in the morning and returned only late at night. Even as his son, he wasn’t able to meet him whenever he pleased.

After that incident, his father would swiftly leave the capital to the military barracks. Most likely, for the next half a year, he wouldn’t be able to meet him.

If he wants to prevent that incident from happening to change the destiny of his clan, this family gathering will be the best opportunity for him to do so, as well as the final one.

However, will his father believe him?

Recalling how he was then, Wang Chong went silent.

One reaps what he sows. In his previous life, he always thought of himself as a transcender and acted like a hedonist. Taking life as a mere game, he committed many different ridiculous actions.

In the very beginning, he obstinately wanted to wander this world leisurely and fool about. As such, he stayed out day and night and made a lot of bad company.

The ‘Ma Zhou’ which his little sister spoke of was one of them.

In his previous life, Wang Chong was a straightforward and honest person. He didn’t think deeply into things. He often thought that since they were friends, they should treat each other with sincerity. Never would he thought that the other scions were so scheming. On the surface, they treated you as their brothers but behind your back, they threw multiple daggers at you.

These fellows made use of his name to fool about outside. In the end, he was even labeled with the sin of raping a female villager in the daylight.

The other matters could be forgiven, but ‘raping a female villager’ was truly overboard. Even his father who was often out in the fields and rarely interfered in his affairs, upon knowing of this matter, rushed back in the middle of a night.

Wang Chong was then grounded for a week due to the affair.

He had completely disappointed his father due to this matter. In the period after his transcension, even though he was rebellious and often committed inappropriate actions, he hadn’t fallen to such a point.

But raping a female villager…

This was already challenging the moral boundaries of his father. From then on, his father gave up all hopes on this son of his and never bothered with him again.

Wang Chong only realized a long time after the incident that he was done in by Ma Zhou and the other bastards and he was extremely depressed for a long period of time.

Even though he knew of these, he probably wouldn’t be able to explain it all to his parents clearly. Besides, if it wasn’t for his inability to see through the true colors of others, he wouldn’t have been betrayed like that. Given the current emotions his father and mother were experiencing, there was no way they would listen to his words.

After all, what proper things could an ignorant playboy possibly do or say?

At this point, Wang Chong felt intense bitterness in his heart. He had no choice but to swallow his bitter gourd that he had sowed himself.

“No matter what, I can’t continue acting like a jerk. I have to change father’s impression of me by hook or by crook.”

Wang Chong was fully aware that he only had this family meal gathering to change the notion that his parents had of him. He had to make them understand that he was no longer the same person as he was.

He had to slowly regain their trust.

Wang Chong took a deep breath. At this point, he already knew what he had to do.

“Young master!”

The gate was tightly shut. Upon seeing Wang Chong, the two sturdy-built guards dressed in uniforms bowed their head to greet him.

The two men looked had broad shoulders and a towering stature. Their presence felt like an indomitable heavenly tower and with a single look, it was clear that they had undergone numerous wars in the battlefield.

“It has been tough on you two.”

Wang Chong paused for a moment beside them and sincerely thanked them.

He remembered these two guards. They were specially chosen by his father, Wang Yan, from the military barracks to guard the residence.

Only with a long journey will one know the stamina of his horse, and only with time will a person’s heart show through. In his previous life, Wang Chong didn’t care much about these guards, not knowing their names even. After the incident which caused a pandemonium in the family, when all of the others guards and housekeepers had left, only these two guards and a few other housekeepers stayed closely by their side, protecting and serving them.

Until the arrival of the great catastrophe which killed the two guards just like how it did with countless other people, they carried out their responsibilities loyally until the very end of their lives.

Only at that moment did their names etched deeply into Wang Chong’s mind. One of them was called Shen Hai and the other Meng Long. They were the two most loyal guards of the entire residence.

“Young master?”

The two guards stared at Wang Chong in astonishment. In the past, this young master often acted haughtily and arrogantly, thinking that it was unbefitting for him to speak with such lowly guards.

To think that he would make the initiative to greet them as well, this was the very first time he had did so!

The two of them could see the amazement in the others’ eyes!

Wang Chong knew what they were thinking of, but he simply smiled silently. The solidification of a river doesn’t happen in a single day of frost. The impression everyone had of him in the past was simply too poor. It would be difficult to change the conception they had of him in a short period of time.

However, after making the first step, he will continue to make the second and the third. One day, they will comprehend that he had truly changed.

Placing his hands on the lion head knocker, Wang Chong pushed with great force. Jiya, the door creaked open, echoing loudly in the grand hall. After which, he stepped in.

“How fragrant!”

Before Wang Chong could clearly make out anything, the deep aroma of various delicacies that made one salivate reached his nose. In the massive room, a large table that was sufficient for more than a dozen people to sit by it was placed in the middle. There were more than twenty sumptuous dishes placed on it.

“It has been long since I have eaten something so luxurious.”

With a single whiff, his appetite was hooked. Wang Chong felt his stomach protesting in hunger. Thinking about it, in the seven days which he was grounded, the food he ate was mostly bland, far from the current spread that laid out before him.

However, despite the lavish spread before him, something was amiss about the atmosphere before him.

Wang Chong felt a chill in his heart. Lifting his head to take a glance, he saw the grim expressions on the faces of his father and his mother. None of them were looking at him.

Even though the aroma of the food was lingering around the dining table, there were two people who weren’t moving at all. On the other hand, his voracious little sister was burying her head in the food. A hand of her held a pair chopsticks while the other cupped a bowl. Her mouth moved non-stop as food disappeared swiftly into her mouth. From his angle, he could only see the two braids on her head bouncing up and down.

This little sister of his only had two hobbies, one was to eat and the other was to play.

Wang Chong almost died from shock the first time he saw her eating. How could this be a little girl? It was obviously a ravenous beast!

However, when one considered her astounding strength, it all made sense.

In his family, his little sister was the only one who was allowed eat outside of official mealtimes. His voracious little sister usually made a lot of clanging sound with her bowls and utensils while eating, yet this time, her mouth was wide opened but not a single sound was produced. It was clear that there was something wrong with the atmosphere.

The air in the grand hall felt so thick that it could suffocate.

“You! Are! Done! For!”

While grabbing her bowl and eating frenziedly, she shot a look of sympathy towards Wang Chong. She could already see the tragic fate that was about to befall her elder brother.

This little girl may be innocent, but she was exceptionally vindictive. She hasn’t forgotten how her elder brother lied to her just now!

Wang Chong didn’t have the time to bother with this infuriating little sister of his. He knew that even though the punishment had ended, but this matter was far from over.

“Father, mother!”

Unlike previously, Wang Chong didn’t walk straight to his seat and bury himself in the food like an ostrich. Instead, he circled around the dining table over to his father and mother and stopped before them.

Upon seeing Wang Chong’s actions, his little sister’s mouth opened wide.

What was her brother doing? Didn’t he know that father and mother were still at the peak of their anger? It was suicidal to run over to them at such a moment!

However, something that left the little girl even more shocked occurred:

“…I am at fault for this matter. I will sever my relationships with them and stay away from them in the future.”

Wang Chong apologized with a lowered head.

Padah!

The little girl raised her chopsticks and stared at her brother intently. She was so astounded that her lower jaw was about to fall to the ground. What happened? To think that her brother would take the initiative to confess to his mistakes.

Surely she had heard wrongly?

Rubbing her eyes, she confirmed that she wasn’t hearing things.

In the grand hall, the heavy and still atmosphere lightened slightly.

Seated in the main seat of the dining table was a middle-aged lady dressed in an emerald silk robe with her hair combed into a bun. At this moment, disbelief flashed across the eyes of the beautiful lady as her face twitched slightly.

This child actually admitted his faults?

Zhao Shu Hua couldn’t believe her ears. She had lectured him over this matter innumerable times, even resorting to caning and grounding to change his mind, but he had no intentions of listening to her words at all.

Sometimes, Zhao Shu Hua thought of herself as a failure of a mother. This made her extremely depressed, just that she had never expressed it before her children.

But this time, he took the initiative to admit his faults. Did this child really change for the better?

At that moment, Zhao Shu Hua was a little afraid.

She wished dearly that her child had truly changed for the better, but she was afraid that it would turn out to be just her wishful thinking. After all, his performance in the past was simply too abhorrent.

“You unfilial son! You still know how to admit your mistakes?”

It was an ice-cold voice. It came from Wang Chong’s father, Wang Yan. He had a stern face and he had a piercing gaze that exerted intense pressure onto one, as though one was faced with a spear stabbing straight toward them.

In the 《Book of Rites》, it is stated that ‘A father should be loving and a son should be filial’. Although Wang Chong felt pressured by Wang Yan’s gaze, he knew that his father was already keeping his might in check so as to not injure him.

“What are you saying? Do you think that it is impossible for Chong-er to repent on his actions? Didn’t you hear him admit his faults?”

In the beginning, Zhao Shu Hua was worried that Wang Chong was simply saying those words to console her. Even so, upon hearing Father Wang’s words, she immediately became displeased. It was a rule in the royal court that ladies mustn’t interfere in politics and as such, Zhao Shu Hua never interfered in Father Wang’s military and politic work.

However, as Father Wang was often out commanding the army, the residence and the four children were mainly supervised by Madam Wang. In the matter of educating the children, Madam Wang held absolute authority in the family.

Father Wang might have total authority over commanding the army in wars, but at home, his authority was beneath that of Madam Wang.

Wang Chong’s head was lowered, but he could discern their expressions clearly. His father still had a steeled face and he refused to look at him face-on. However, his complexion had soothed slightly and it was no longer as tightly-knitted and stern as before.

Clearly, his apology wasn’t completely useless.

“I will listen to father’s reprimand. Chong-er was too stubborn and foolish in this past, thus causing father and mother sorrow. From today onwards, Chong-er will change anew.”

Wang Chong said with his head still lowered.

That single sentence caused Father Wang and Mother Wang to raise their heads. Both of them could see astonishment in the others’ eyes. To think that he wouldn’t retort upon being lectured, perhaps the sun had risen from the west today!

His apology might just have been on the spur of the moment, but his response clearly wasn’t so. Could this unfilial son have truly changed for the better?

“Chong-er, don’t listen to your father’s words. Hurry up and sit down. As a family, we should be eating together harmoniously, it isn’t appropriate for you to have that stiff expression on you.”

Mother Wang hurriedly says.

Un, Wang Chong answered. He walked obediently to his seat and sat down. His face was still lowered and he sat there quietly. Father Wang and Mother Wang hadn’t started eating yet, so Wang Chong also remained motionless.

This action of his caused another wave of astonishment to Father Wang and Mother Wang.

“This child has really changed.”

The one who felt the happiest and relieved at this moment was Mother Wang, Zhao Shu Hua.

Who doesn’t hope for their own son to soar to the heavens as though a dragon?

Yet, the behavior of this child of hers broke her heart time and time again. Could it be that her prayers had been answered, and this child finally became sensible?

At this moment, Zhao Shu Hua almost burst into tears from the happiness gushing through her heart.

Wang Family referred mainly to Wang Chong’s family whereas Wang Clan referred to the entire clan, including the extended family.

Chapter 3: Changing Myself

Wang Chong’s heart was filled with guilt.

Wang Chong saw the reactions of his own mother clearly. Just simple actions like apologizing and sitting properly by the dining table could make her so delighted. Through this, it was clear to him how much of a jerk he was in his previous life.

In his previous life, he was forced to transcend here from another world and thus, he rejected everything. Even though they had always treated him as their son, deep in Wang Chong’s heart, there was always a lingering thought that they weren’t his true parents.

Thus, Wang Chong always felt distant from them.

This was also why in his previous life, albeit the caning and lectures, he refused to listen to their teachings. Wang Chong had always thought that this wasn’t his world and that he was just a passer-by here.

Everyone and everything… felt just like fleeting bubbles in his life. However, reality had proven him wrong.

Only when one lost what they possessed will they learn to treasure it; only those who are left with nothing will know how precious everything is!

In his previous life, after that incident which caused his clan to fall, he thought that the behavior he had shown previously would cause his father, his mother and his relatives to give up on him.

Yet, it was them who, during his arduous and hardest moments, in those days that he lived fleetingly, stayed by his side and took care of him.

If there was a mouthful of rice, he would be the first to receive it.

Remembering his mother, who wasn’t even fifty yet then, with a head full of white hair as though a seventy year old elderly, Wang Chong was filled with guilt.

His mother spent the final moments of her life in his embrace. When that seemingly indomitable figure fell, Wang Chong was shocked to realize how fragile and weak her body was.

Wang Chong’s heart bled.

It was that moment that Wang Chong’s heart shattered and died. In the thirty years after that, the living Wang Chong was merely a walking zombie.

Mother! Why did you have to treat me that well?

At that moment, Wang Chong wept. In that heavy downpour, he roared in agony. That was his first time crying so painfully after coming to this world. At that moment, the entire world collapsed!

Wang Chong awoke, but it was all too late. Nothing could be changed anymore!

Perhaps, the heavens had heard his voice and decided to grant him a chance to start anew. Looking at his mother, Wang Chong felt his heart ache.

Mother, don’t worry. In this life, I will not make you sad. I will not allow anyone to hurt you, no one at all!

Beneath the table, Wang Chong’s fists were tightly clenched.

“Come, eat, eat! M0ve your chopsticks. We can talk after the meal.”

Madam Wang, Zhao Shu Hua, was in high spirits. Picking up her chopsticks, she placed a large piece of roasted chicken onto Wang Chong’s plate.

“Mother, you eat as well!”

Wang Chong grabbed his chopsticks and placed a large piece of meat onto his mother’s plate as well.

Madam Wang was overjoyed and relieved. Even for the steely-faced Father Wang, who was extremely dissatisfied with Wang Chong, his face toned down significantly upon seeing his actions. In the Three Cardinal Guides and the Five Constant Virtues, filial piety was the very first value. For this fellow to know to grab food for his mother, it was a huge improvement.

The big ruckus that had occurred this time probably awakened his senses. When he thought of this, Wang Yan nodded his head in approval.

“Father, mother. I would take to make use of this opportunity to inform you of something, and I hope that the both of you will able to agree to it.”

Just when everyone was about to dig in, Wang Chong put down his chopsticks. His eyes rippled and he seemed to be contemplating whether he should speak of the other matter he had in mind.

“What do you want this time?”

Upon saying those words, Father Wang’s complexion darkened and his gaze turned cold. This beast! After doing something like that, I thought that he would have changed for the better. Truly, a leopard never changes its spots.

After saying so much and behaving so obediently, it turned out that it was all in preparation to negotiate with them. He would like to see what this unfilial son of his was up to now.

“Chong-er, what is it that you would like to say?”

Unlike Father Wang, Mother Wang was greatly interested in what Wang Chong had to say and her tone carried a tinge of expectation. Perhaps it was within a mother’s nature to believe in her son unconditionally. On this point, Mother Wang did not think into the matter as deeply as Father Wang did.

“Father, mother, I have considered this matter for a very long time…”

With his head lowered, a look of contemplation appeared on Wang Chong’s face. This would be the key, as well as the only way to regain his parents’ trust. Wang Chong knew that what he was going to say would change his life.

“I want to join the army!”

Wang Chong said.

The moment his words rung out, the entire grand hall seemed to have tremored. At that split moment, everyone was dumbfounded. Even when putting everything Wang Chong had said earlier together, it still wasn’t as impactful as this one.

Madam Wang’s mouth quivered. She stared blankly at her son and words seemed to have jammed in her throat. This news was too shocking to her, she needed time to digest it.

Even Father Wang, who had been treating Wang Chong coldly all this while, not even viewing him straight in the eye, had an astonished expression on his previously steeled face.

He was a general of an army and he had led troops to war. He was someone who wouldn’t even blink an eye even if mountains were to collapse. However, this single matter that Wang Chong spoke of was simply too shocking to him.

This son of his was simply too mischievous. He had no motivation whatsoever and idled his time away. He even befriended bad company and the rape incident this time put the entire Wang Clan to shame, making it a laughingstock of the city.

After the ache in his heart had settled, he finally made up his mind to send Wang Chong to the military in advance. The military barracks challenged a person’s physical and mental limits. Perhaps it was the only place which could bring this unfilial son of his to the right path.

Even if Wang Chong did not speak of this matter, he was prepared to bring this up over the meal. His will was resolute and regardless of whether Mother Wang and Wang Chong were agreeable to it or not, this matter would be done by hook or by crook.

He never thought that Wang Chong would bring up the matter before he did.

It was precisely because he knew what kind of person this unfilial son of his was that Father Wang’s poker face crumbled. He knew that it was difficult for Wang Chong to garner such determination.

Joining the military wasn’t a joke. It was filled with dangers and threats. If he had thought of Wang Chong’s previous actions as an attempt to maneuver around them, then the matter of him joining the military crushed all doubts that he had. After all, this matter wasn’t one to be joked about.

A prodigal who returns is more precious than gold. Could it be that, after going through so much, this unfilial son of his had finally repented and decided to start anew?

At this instant, Father Wang was ecstatic. He started to believe that his son had truly changed.

Looking at their expressions, Wang Chong knew that his words had managed to move them.

Given his knowledge of his previous life, Wang Chong knew that even if he didn’t bring this matter up, his father would bring up the matter of enlisting him in the army over this meal as a punishment for his actions.

Back then, he protested for a very long time but it was all in vain. His father’s hardened determination and will would not be moved. Since he knew of it in advance in this life, he might as well bring it up himself.

This way, he could change the impression his father had of him and earn his trust!

Furthermore, thinking back on it, this wasn’t really anything bad. Just that, it was worth thinking how he should go about doing that.

“Chong-er, you are still a little too young to join the army. However, it isn’t really a huge problem. Have you thought about where you want to enlist at? I will go and greet them in advance.”

Father Wang said.

In the past, he often addressed Wang Chong as an unfilial son. However, this time, he chose to address him as ‘Chong-er’. From this fact itself, it was clear to see that Wang Chong’s decision had delighted him.

“Father, I have thought about the matter. I would like to start from the training camps. Before metal can be molded into a sword, it has to be sufficiently tough. I would like to enter Kunwu Training Camp to train up my martial arts first before joining a division.”

Wang Chong said the words that he had contemplated over for a long time.

“Kunwu Training Camp?”

This time, Father Wang was truly shocked. He had just received news from the royal court about the emperor’s decision to establish the Three Great Training Camps, Kunwu, Shenwei and Longwei. They would become the camps where the youths of Great Tang would train at.

This matter was just confirmed not long ago. Given how confidential the matter was, how did this unfilial son learn of it?

However, thinking about it again, this unfilial son had made quite a few bad company, so perhaps he might have heard the news from them.

“Why would you choose Kunwu Training Camp?”

Father Wang swiftly regained his composure and asked:

“There is Shenwei and Longwei Training Camps too. Kunwu was specially created for sons of ordinary military officers. On the other hand, Longwei and Shenwei are of much higher level than Kunwu. It is specially targeted to the sons of nobility and authoritative officials. The training that one will receive there should be much more complete and of a higher level than Kunwu.”

“Perhaps it will prove to be useful to your future if you go there. If you wish to, I can make use of your grandfather’s influence to enlist you into Shenwei or Longwei Training Camp.”

Father Wang was just a general by the borders and he wasn’t a member of nobility. As such, Wang Chong was just an ordinary son of a general.

However, Wang Chong’s grandfather was different. He was a meritorious subject who assisted the current emperor to the throne. After which, he was even promoted to become the Left Premier and his students and old buddies were throughout the entire Tang Dynasty.

Even though he had already retired, he still held considerable influence.

By using Wang Chong’s grandfather’s influence, there wasn’t any problem to enlist Wang Chong into Shenwei or Longwei Training Camp.

Wang Chong became silent. His father had good intentions in mind, but Wang Chong knew that the truth was opposite of what Father Wang said. Of the Three Great Training Camps, Kunwu was the best.

In his previous life, at this period, the wise emperor wanted to pick out capable personnel from the sons of nobility and officials so as to organize a juvenile army. As such, he established Kunwu, Shenwei and Longwei Training Camp.

At the very beginning, when everything was still at the primary phase yet, everyone thought that Shenwei and Longwei were of higher standing than Kunwu and they were better choices.

Afterward, for a long period of time, there would constantly be many people trying all means to squeeze their way into these two training camps. However, Wang Chong knew that time would eventually prove that Kunwu was the best of the three.

In the days that followed, when that catastrophe struck, the country plunged into chaos and all of the older generals fell one after another, nearly 90% of the highly capable generals that appeared in the Great Tang Empire afterward came from Kunwu Training Camp

However, it would be difficult to explain this to his father.

“Father, I have given some thought to the matter and I still think that Kunwu is more suitable for me. I know most of the scions in the capital. Father wants me to go to Longwei or Shenwei, but the others are definitely thinking of the same as well. If I were to enter Longwei or Shenwei Training Camp, wouldn’t I meet with Ma Zhou and the others?”

Wang Chong could only find other reasons to explain the situation to his father.

Initially, Father Wang was still opposed to Wang Chong’s decision. However, after giving it some thoughts, Wang Chong had just barely ended things with those bad company of his. It was hard for him to repent and change for the better. If he were to hang out with Ma Zhou and the others at this point and revert back to how he was at the start, wouldn’t he regret it for life? It would go against his intentions of sending him to the military.

“Since your mind is made up, then we’ll just do it your way.”

Father Wang said with a frown.

He didn’t agree with Wang Chong’s decision, but what Wang Chong said made sense as well. He could grudgingly accept Wang Chong’s explanation.

“Regardless of what you father and son have to say, say it after the meal. Chong-er, ignore your father. Come, eat!”

Madam Wang had heard everything clearly by the side as she was in exceptionally good moods.

Initially, when she heard that Wang Chong wanted to join the military, she got the scare of her life and her worry for her son gripped her heart. However, upon hearing that it was only the training camp, she heaved a sigh of relief.

The Wang Clan was a family of generals and Wang Chong was already fifteen-year-old. Going to a training camp first before officially joining an army was something Madam Wang could accept.

This was the case with most of the general clans in the capital. As progenies of such a family, they had to step onto the battlefield sooner or later.

This was something the madams in the capital had to comprehend and accept from the very start.

Wang Chong said no more. Picking up his chopsticks, he started to dig in.

“I wonder if father would be able to accept the words that I am going to say later on.”

Wang Chong was slightly anxious.

Even though he has successfully changed his parent’s impression of him, Wang Chong knew that this was only the first step. The next one was what was crucial!

Shenwei -> God Might

Longwei -> Dragon Might

However, as there isn’t really a translation for Kunwu, I decided to go with the hanyupinyin for all three.

“Father Wang was just a general by the borders and he wasn’t a member of nobility. As such, Wang Chong was just an ordinary son of a general.”

This may sound weird to some, so allow me to explain. General isn’t the highest rank there is in a military. A general is ranked by the military under their control, how well-valued they are by the emperor and where they are employed to. Also, even as fellow generals, some may be conferred titles like ‘Duke’, ‘Marquis’ etc, and they aren’t of the same standing as normal generals. Normally, the nobility can be passed down within the family. Otherwise, one has to make a big contribution (such as Wang Chong’s grandfather) to be conferred nobility. As for why Wang Chong’s father isn’t a noble, it could be that the title wasn’t passed down to him (Normally, the title is passed down to the oldest child, and the other children would remain as normal citizens) or his grandfather was still retaining the title (Usually, the nobility is only passed down when the person ‘retires’ or ‘departs’ from the world. It could only be passed down with the emperor’s edict).

This may not be true in all scenarios, but technically, those who have army near the capital are of higher standing. Unless the borders are volatile (If so, the emperor may send a trusted general over to stabilize the region), normally, generals by the borders are of lesser importance.

This is just some general knowledge I have on ancient China, and you have to note that China has many different dynasties which different cultures for each of them. These may be right or may not be right, but it gives you a rough idea about the cultures then.

Left Premier

-Imagine Prime Minister being split into two positions, Left and Right.

-According to a history expert (Tann), Left Premier seem to wield greater authority than the Right Premier. [Additional note: This was more toward the Ming Dynasty, which came after the Tang Dynasty]

Three Cardinal Guides and the Five Constant Virtues(三纲五常)

This is the official translation for it. This reflects the core human relationships in a society and the values one should treat others with as believed by Confucians. If you would like to know more of it, you can try googling the phrase.

Chapter 4: Crisis of the Wang Clan

Without a doubt, this was one of the happiest meal he has had in awhile.

The laughter over the meal never stopped. Madam Wang’s face was filled with delight and she kept placing food on Wang Chong’s plate. The food on Wang Chong’s plate piled high as though a mountain, making it impossible to put anything else on it.

On the other hand, Father Wang wasn’t as stern as he was before. Under Madam Wang’s piercing glare, he placed some food on Wang Chong’s plate as well.

“Third Brother, incredible!”

Upon seeing this sight, the little sister of the Wang Family was surprised. She shot her elder brother a glance. At this moment, she couldn’t be any more impressed with him.

She thought that her brother would fall under this calamity and she had already mentally prepared herself to witness a tragedy of the mortal world. She didn’t expect that with just a few words, not only did her parents not blame him, they were even chuckling and complimenting him. Even her father, which was an austere man, took the initiative to place food on his plate.

The Wang Family’s little sister couldn’t help but feel envious. She had been in this household for such a long time but never did she receive such treatment.

“Father, I don’t care, I want it too!”

Her face puffed up and she pushed her bowl to Father Wang.

“You are a lady, look at how you are behaving!”

Father Wang’s face was stiff and his words caused the Wang Family’s little sister to feel indignant. Tears welled up in her eyes. Taking the scene in sight, Madam Wang didn’t know whether she should reprimand her or laugh:

“Here! Mother will give you some food!”

“Brother will give you some food too!”

Chuckling within, Wang Chong also grabbed some food for his little sister.

“Thank you, brother.”

A smile finally appeared on the little sister’s teary face. She began to dig in happily once more, seemingly having forgotten all of the indignance she had felt previously.

The family dug into the food happily.

“Father, I heard that you are going to meet Lord Yao?”

In the midst of the meal, Wang Chong casually spoke.

In an instant, the atmosphere over the dining table changed and became slightly stiff. Madam Wang hurriedly shot Wang Chong a glance and little sister’s chopsticks stopped in midair in fright.

Everyone in the family knew that Father Wang didn’t like talking about work at home, and neither did he like anyone interfering in his job.

“Where did you hear that from?”

Father Wang lifted his head and said without a change in his expression. However, Wang Chong clearly saw a slight frown flashing across his father’s forehead. It was clear that he was displeased by Wang Chong’s action of bringing up this topic.

Gedeng, Wang Chong’s heart skipped a beat. Even so, he could only continue speaking of the matter. After all, this matter was extremely important to him. If he could not change this course of events, all of his previous hard work would have gone to vain.

“I just happened to overhear it when father was speaking about of this matter to mother.”

Wang Chong said. His heart was beating furiously out of nervousness. Whether it would be a success or failure depended on what he was going to say next.

“Oh.”

Father Wang’s forehead twitched slightly. At this point, he suddenly recalled that he seemed to have informed his wife, Zhao Shu Hua, of this matter. However, he had only spoken of the matter at home once. To think that Wang Chong would happen to overhear their conversation.

“Indeed, there is such a matter. Why are you bringing this up?”

Wang Chong’s good performance previously had worked its wonders. Father Wang did not get mad instantly and instead, he asked him to continue speaking of the matter. Clearly, he was treating him as an adult now.

Indeed, it wasn’t appropriate to treat a person who was about to join a military training camp to prepare for war as a child.

“Lord Yao had never been in good relationship with father. Furthermore, the both of you don’t have much contact. Yet, he took the initiative to arrange a meeting with father this time. I fear that he might have bad intentions.”

Wang Chong slowly explained.

Wang Chong knew that father didn’t like his family interfering in his work affairs. These words shouldn’t have come from the mouth of a fifteen-year-old child, but Wang Chong didn’t have a choice.

In his previous life, that Lord Yao, Yao Guang Yi, under the name of work, invited his father, who he never interacted with, for a meeting.

It wasn’t that his father was not guarded against him. If Yao Guang Yi had tried to pull him over to his side during the meeting, his father would have flatly rejected him. Yet, this Yao Guang Yi was extremely cunning. He didn’t say anything during the meeting and instead, he pulled father for a drink and chatted about miscellaneous matters.

After which, Yao Guang Yi intentionally pointed out the matter to King Song.

King Song is one of the relatives of the royal family and he is involved in military affairs of the country. He is one of the few people who wield great authority among the clan of the royal family. Due to Wang Chong’s grandfather, King Song trusted Father Wang deeply.

On the other hand, the reason why Wang Yan was able to become a general who wielded actual authority at such a young age was highly due to King Song’s contribution as well.

Father had a ‘secret meeting’ with the King Qi’s loyal servant, Yao Guang Yi, and given the hostile relationship between King Song and King Qi, how could King Song not get angry at the situation?

If it was under usual circumstances, it would be nothing much.

However, King Song and King Qi was current vying with one another in the royal court, both on the surface and in the shadows. The current situation was volatile and a lot of King Song’s students and old friends had been poached by King Qi. This caused King Song to be isolated and his authority in the royal court had fallen tremendously.

This incident had agitated King Song, causing him to become suspicious of his subordinates. At such a moment, his father had a private meeting with Yao Guang Yi. It was clear what King Song would think of him.

Furthermore, his father had an extremely straightforward and inflexible personality. He knew that King Song was suspicious of him, yet he claimed that he did not speak of anything with Yao Guang Yi, that the two of them only drank together.

How could two opposing authoritative officials in the royal court meet privately for just a drink? How could King Song possibly believe such a story?

Not only did his father’s words not dispel the suspicions King Song had towards him, it made King Song believe that his father had betrayed him and King Qi was intentionally sending him over to humiliate him in his face.

After which, Yao Guang Yi intentionally misled King Song and created a series of incidents by the border, causing the misunderstanding between King Song and his father to deepen.

He thought that the entire Wang Clan had decided to side with King Qi upon seeing that he wasn’t in a good position.

As the saying goes, the deeper the love, the greater the hate. Given their close relationship, King Song found the ‘betrayal’ of the Wang Clan unacceptable.

This incident had struck a heavy blow to him. He found it even harder to accept than when dozens of his students and old acquaintances had abandoned him for the enemy. King Song was completely disappointed with the Wang Clan.

When Wang Chong’s grandfather was still alive, King Song, on accounts of their past fellowship, only stripped Wang Yan of his authority over the army. However, when his grandfather passed away, King Qi started to oppress the Wang Clan, which had already lost King Song’s protection.

In a few short years, the prestigious Wang Clan was forced out of the royal court of the Great Tang Empire.

King Song was the head of the faction which supported an aggressive stand against those who were standing up against the Great Tang. After his fall, no one was able to oppose King Qi in the court. As such, the Great Tang Empire’s stand towards those against them became weaker and weaker. Eventually, it resulted in the catastrophe that caused its downfall.

One could say that this matter wasn’t only detrimental to the Wang Clan and King Song, it was a catastrophe for the entire royal court!

All three factions were the losers in this battle. Even King Qi himself wasn’t the final winner.

Wang Chong was well aware of how deep the impact of this matter was.

The entire Wang Clan and the destiny of the royal court changed from that moment. Even at his father’s moment of death, he was unable to put this matter down. He lamented that the greatest mistake in his life was to accept Yao Guang Yi’s invitation and not explaining the matter clearly to King Song.

Wang Chong remembered all of these clearly.

In his previous life, Wang Chong lived in a daze, pushing away everything from him. He thought that he didn’t hold any emotions to this family of his. Eventually, when he awoke and started to cherish all that he had, it was already too late to change anything.

This was one of the deepest regrets that Wang Chong had.

Since he knew how things were going to advance, Wang Chong was determined not to watch by the side as his family and homeland were destroyed.

Thus, he had to stop this matter!

Just that, it wouldn’t be easy for Wang Chong to explain this matter to his father.

“There’s no need for a child for you to interfere in this matter. I know what I should do.”

Father Wang said flatly. His face was still impassive.

The Yao Clan and Wang Clan were hostile toward each other, but this was a matter of the previous dynasty. A long period of time had passed and Wang Yan himself didn’t really have a grudge with Yao Guang Yi.

It wasn’t that Father Wang was unaware of the conflict between King Song and King Wang. He tried act as though he was oblivious to the matter, but he was afraid that by doing so, he would he would fall out with either side. Thus, he decided to meet him privately.

After all, there wasn’t much of a grudge between the two of them.

At most, if Yao Guang Yi tried to pull him over to his side, he would just have to reiterate his stand firmly and reject it firmly. This matter would then be settled. If Yao Guang Yi chose to continue pestering him after he rejected the invitation to this meeting, that could pose as a potential trouble as well.

Studying the expression on his father’s face, Wang Chong was panicking.

His father was a classic military man. In terms of leading an army to slay the enemies, his father was in no way inferior to Yao Guang Yi. However, in terms of political fights and scheming, Yao Guang Yi far beyond his father’s league.

Both sides weren’t even of the same level!

Yao Guang Yi knew his father’s character and set this trap up for him, knowing that he would fall for it. If father still embraced his attitude of ‘As long as I operate righteously and transparently, there is nothing to fear’, he would be caught off-guard and fall under Yao Guang Yi’s hands.

By then, it would be too late to regret.

“Chong-er, since your father had said so, you shouldn’t touch on the matter any further. Hurry up and eat.”

‘No one could know a person more than his own mother’. Upon looking at Wang Chong, she instantly knew what Wang Chong was up to. Thus, she shot him a glance to urge him to stop.

She understood her husband’s character too well. He hated people discussing work over the dining table. It was already a blessing for him to tolerate Wang Chong so far.

A single phrase ‘I know what I should do’ had displayed his attitude toward this matter clearly. This matter was already decided and all discussion should stop here. If Wang Chong were to continue on, Father Wang would really get furious.

Wang Chong panicked within. Naturally, he was able to tell the intentions of his mother, but this matter was of grave importance. If things didn’t go well, everything here, this dining hall, the entire Wang Clan and even his uncle would all be reduced to nothing.

The entire Wang Clan would be expelled from the political scene of Great Tang. His father didn’t know about Yao Guang Yi’s schemes, so he wasn’t guarded against him yet. Wang Chong had no choice but to continue pushing the matter on.

Even if his father would be enraged, even if he would be criticized by his father, this was something he had to do.

“Father, this matter is of utmost importance. I think that perhaps you should inform King Song of it in advance. At the very least, if anything goes wrong… The situation wouldn’t be too bad.”

Wang Chong contemplated for a moment and decided to change another approach. He used a softer approach to bring up his own suggestions instead. After all, stopping his father from attending the meeting was not a viable solution. His father wasn’t a child and being too obstinate on the matter would just infuriate him.

Thus, Wang Chong could only think of an alternative solution. Instead of shooting down Yao Guang Yi, he decided to bring up King Song instead.

“This is an affair among adults, you need not bother yourself with it.”

Father Wang’s expression was cold and he stood up from the table:

“You all carry on eating. I still have matters to attend to and I will be leaving first.”

After which, he turned around and leave without even finishing his meal.

Mother Wang stared grudgingly at Wang Chong. Wang Chong could only sigh. He knew that this one time off performance was insufficient to win his father’s trust.

“At the very least, he didn’t lash out.”

Wang Chong thought.

Even though on the surface, this meal ‘ended unhappily’, Wang Chong knew that given his father’s personality, his action of refuting him should have infuriated him.

Yet this time, he only looked displeased. This was a huge improvement. It seemed that his words had some effects on him.

As long as his father informed King Song of his meeting with Yao Guang Yi beforehand, his efforts would have not been in vain. This matter had to be done by his father personally. Not even he could represent him and do it in his place.

“Looks like I will need Ma Zhou for this matter!”

Wang Chong thought worriedly.

His father’s personality was too obstinate. The moment he made a decision, he wouldn’t change it easily. Changing his mind with just a few words was something impossible.

It was due to this personality that his father suffered many injustices when his opponents made use of it against him.

Wang Chong’s attempt to convince his father had failed, so he could only look for another solution. No matter what, he had to prevent this matter at all cost.

After coming up with a reason, he hurriedly bid his mother and little sister farewell and left the dining hall.

I have explained in Library of Heaven’s Path before and I will explain again uh.

Emperor -> Sovereign of the country.

Ancient China often operates via the feudal system. There is a central government (led by the government) and a group of fief lords (landowners) under them.

Such a system is natural, given the size of the country and the ineffectiveness of a government ruling over the entire country (given that they didn’t have telephones and effective methods of transport then).

Thus, the emperor would confer nobility to other people and they may (or may not) be granted a plot of land for them to rule over.

Normally, in the fight for the position of emperor, many princes would die. Some of the remaining princes would be conferred as ‘Kings’ (which is the highest level of nobility with exception of the royal family then). Sometimes, they would be given their own land to rule over. Sometimes, they would be given a position in the royal court. Sometimes, they would just be king in name (Meaning, they have the nobility but wield no actual authority).

Some meritorious subjects can be granted the title of ‘King’ as well.

Clan of the royal family

Only the sons and daughters of the current emperor can be considered as the royal family.

I don’t know if there is an official translation for the term for the relatives of the royal family in Chinese, but I’ll just term them as such.

Chapter 5: Number One Expert of the Wang Clan

In the flower garden at the back courtyard, Wang Chong sat on a rugged man-made mountain, deep in thoughts.

He had already been contemplating for a very long time.

His father and Yao Guang Yi was going to meet at a place called Vast Crane Pavilion.

That old fox, Yao Guang Yi, was well prepared for it. He had already passed an order to evict all customers from the Vast Crane Pavilion.

At this moment, other than Yao Guang Yi and King Qi’s subordinates, no one else could enter. However, from the exteriors, it seemed as though the Vast Crane Pavilion was still brimming with customers and nothing was different from the usual.

Back then, his father was duped by this illusion and ended up going along with Yao Guang Yi’s flow.

Wang Chong was well aware that if he didn’t enter, it would be impossible for him to prevent this disaster from happening. However, the Vast Crane Pavilion was filled with experts dispatched by Yao Guang Yi. It was impossible for him to barge in with brute force. Thus, he could only resort to his wits.

“I got it!”

Suddenly, Wang Chong’s eyes lit up as he recalled a certain person. How could he have forgotten that fellow? With that fellow by him, he would definitely be able to sneak into the Vast Crane Pavilion. However, just this much wasn’t enough to foil Yao Guang Yi’s schemes.

“No. The Vast Crane Pavilion is filled with experts, I am insufficient to accomplish this task alone. I need a powerful expert!”

Upon thinking of this, Wang Chong frowned once more.

He knew himself the best. If it was in his previous life, he wouldn’t need to even go through so much trouble. Regardless of how many experts Yao Guang Yi had planted, with his heaven-shattering level of cultivation, he could simply charge in and pummel Yao Guang Yi.

However, he was just a fifteen-year-old kid in this life. With this little strength in his hand, how could he compete with those experienced and hulking experts?

With his current strength, it would serve no purpose for him to barge in. Yao Guang Yi could simply dispatch a single subordinate to expel him from the premises.

At this point, Wang Chong’s frown deepened. The delight he felt just a moment ago scattered into the winds.

Where could he find an expert all of the sudden!

Just when he was feeling frustrated, Wang Chong suddenly heard the sound of footsteps approaching. He subconsciously looked up and saw his little sister frolicking about the courtyard as a few guards stood by her.

He had seen such a scene innumerable times in the past, but for some reason, this scene had evoked a completely different emotion in Wang Chong this time.

“Ah, I truly am a fool!”

Wang Chong slapped his forehead and chuckled. He was fumbling around to look for a lantern when one was right in his hands! Now that Big Brother and Second Brother wasn’t here, who else would be more suitable to assist in his plan other than his youngest sister?

To think that he missed out such an expert right in front of him!

At this point, Wang Chong couldn’t help but chuckle happily.

In the Wang Family, his youngest sister Wang Xiao Yao was a ‘legend’.

Despite being just ten-year-old, her superior talent granted her boundless strength. It was said that she had carried a heavy cauldron when she was just three-year-old.

Wang Chong didn’t witness this sight with his own eyes, but since he had heard of it from his mother, it was definitely true.

Wang Chong was even willing to bet that in the entire capital, and that was including his Big Brother and Second Brother, was able to surpass her in terms of talent.

This was even truer for her potential!

As for this aspect, Wang Chong had witnessed it personally in his previous life so he couldn’t be any more clear of it. He was well aware of how fearsome his little sister’s strength would become in the future.

Actually, the reason why his little sister wielded such fearsome strength was simple, it was because she was born with completely cleared meridians.

‘Controlling one’s breath to extreme smoothness, to the point of an infant’s’, this is a phrase from the 《Inscriptions of Enlightenment》. As everyone knew, everyone’s meridians were completely cleared when they were still in their mother’s womb.

Only after coming to this world and breathing the tainted air of earth will one’s body deteriorate and meridians be blocked. At this point, they would fall from a heavenly being to a mortal one.

This occurred instantaneously during one’s first cry at birth.

However, his little sister was different. She had a unique constitution and upon birth, her meridians weren’t blocked along with her first cry. Such physique didn’t appear even among one out of a million people.

Thus, regardless of what martial art it was that she practiced, she was able to grasp it quickly, far faster than anyone else could.

The distinguishing trait of her talent was her overwhelming strength.

However, it was a pity that his little sister was still young and she had an innocent nature. She was also extremely mischievous. Thus, she often put off training. Even so, his little sister’s strength was still incredible. She was able to easily compete with those who were ten years older than her.

In the Wang Clan, his little sister was, without a doubt, the number one expert. Wouldn’t he be foolish to leave this ‘number one expert’ idling in the house while searching outward for an expert he probably couldn’t find?

Furthermore, even though she was vindictive and hated being fooled, she was extremely trusting of him. She would definitely be willing to do as he said.

At this point, Wang Chong leaped down from the man-made mountain.

“Little sister, come here!”

Wang Chong beckoned her over with a treacherous smile from afar:

“Brother will bring you to somewhere fun!”

…

“Third Brother, where are you bringing me to?”

From the carriage, little sister’s head popped out from the windows. Her eyes were staring at the bustling city outside as curiosity filled her mind. Her anger had subsided completely and all that was left in her was curiosity.

After all, she was only a ten-year-old girl. Usually, her movement was strictly restricted and she was not allowed to head to the streets as she pleased. It took much difficulty to sneak out with her older brother without sounding mother’s radar, thus she felt extremely excited.

“Hehe, don’t be anxious. You’ll know in awhile.”

Wang Chong chuckled:

“Remember the promise we made. Without my permission, you aren’t allowed to attack anyone. Otherwise, I will not bring you out in the future.”

“Orh.”

Little sister nodded her head obediently, agreeing to his words without even thinking about it. She had complete trust to this older brother of hers. However, she soon thought of something, raised her tiny fists and waved them menacingly:

“Brother, don’t you dare lie to me. Otherwise, you will be done for! Hmph!”

“Of course not! How could I possibly dare to lie to you!”

Wang Chong’s heart beat furiously in fear as he recalled the fearsome strength his little sister wielded. Just a casual pinch could make him die from the pain. If she were to really go on a rampage, wouldn’t he be left on the verge of death?

“Oh! Isn’t that Young Master Chong?”

In the midst of their conversation, a crisp shout could be heard.

“We’re here!”

Wang Chong stepped off the carriage and a hint of a smile crept onto the corners of his lip. This was a pavilion he often frequented. Ma Zhou and the gang should be here.

Leading his little sister out from the carriage, Wang Chong saw a group of slovenly people carrying birdcages in their hands and waving their fans standing in the distance.

The group of people seemed to have expected his arrival and had been waiting here for him.

“Finally! How long have I not seen you for, Young Master Chong!”

The young man that seemed to be the leader of the group had a bamboo fan behind him. He had the looks of a scion to him and the black mole beneath his right eyebrow was extremely conspicuous. Upon seeing Wang Chong, he immediately rushed forward to greet him passionately.

This person was Ma Zhou!

“Young Master Chong, we heard that you were punished by your family members and was grounded in your residence. We brothers had wanted to visit you, but the gates of the Wang Clan blocked us out. We were forced to retreat the last few times we visited you, so we had no choice but to give up on the idea. Young Master Chong, are you alright?”

Ma Zhou immediately grabbed Wang Chong’s hands and showed concern for him. Those who were unaware of the situation might even think that the two shared a deep bond. Just that, the disdain and mock by the corner of Ma Zhou’s lip could not be concealed.

“Hmph, I haven’t noticed it in the past, but this fellow sure can act.”

Wang Chong sneered coldly inside.

‘Outer appearances are defined by perception, and one’s perception changes with one’s state of mind’. Back then, he thought that Ma Zhou’s smile looked ‘sincere’. Now, upon seeing it once more, he found him extremely arrogant.

Somewhere in the depths of Ma Zhou’s heart, that fellow had definitely taken him to be a fool. It was laughable how simple he thought the world was in his previous life. He often thought that treating another sincerely would earn him sincerity in return, thus he never tried to guard himself against these scums.

Ma Zhou’s words were a bunch of bullshit. Wang Chong had asked the guards before leaving, and not a single fly had approached the Wang Clan’s gates in the last few weeks, needless to say, Ma Zhou and gang.

“You have been waiting for me here?”

Wang Chong asked indifferently.

Ma Zhou was taken aback. Something seemed off about Young Master Chong today. In the past, he would be extremely warm-hearted to him. Why did he seem so cold today?

However, he attributed it to his delusions and didn’t pay it much heed.

“Young Master Chong, it is precisely because we heard that you are coming out of seclusion that we specially waited here to initiate you back to society! Brothers, don’t you all agree?”

As he said so, he waved to his back and the crowd behind him replied him fervently. After which, they burst into laughter, as though watching a monkey being fooled about.

“How is it, Young Master Chong? Shall we go?”

Ma Zhou turned back to look at Wang Chong with a bright smile on his face. At which, the disdain and mock in his gaze deepened.

Wang Chong was truly too easy to fool, he fell easily with just a few words. Furthermore, this lad believed in chivalry and was completely unaware of the fact that everyone had treated him as a fool, that everyone ganged up to scam him of his money and dumped all problems onto him for him to shoulder.

Where else can they find such a money bag and shield?

As for initiating him back to society, although it was conducted for Wang Chong, Ma Zhou wasn’t going to pay up. Ever since hanging out with Wang Chong, Ma Zhou had never paid a single cent.

To tell the truth, the few brothers of his had felt restrained in the few days Wang Chong was grounded and they were starting to miss him.

Without this young master here, who would help to clean up their mess and pay their tabs?

Thinking of this, Ma Zhou became even more gleeful.

Pah!

Suddenly, a slap flew towards the gleeful Ma Zhou. Pah! Ma Zhou staggered and a fiery sensation spread across his face. Half of his face had swollen up and the palm print on it could be clearly seen.

In that instant, the entire street fell silent.

Everyone was shocked by this slap!

What was happening? How could Ma Zhou be slapped?

“You slapped me?”

Ma Zhou grasped his burning cheeks as he stared at Wang Chong in astonishment. His head was spinning and for a moment, he was unable to comprehend the situation.

He was unable to grasp what was happening. Wang Chong had slapped him? How could this be possible?

Even the one was slapped was in such a state, lest needed to be said about the others. The other playboys had their eyes widened in shock and their mouths were so large that an egg could be placed within.

Wang Chong actually slapped Ma Zhou?

In this world, anyone could have slapped Ma Zhou, just not Wang Chong. One had to know that the one who was closest to Wang Chong was Ma Zhou.

Otherwise, Ma Zhou wouldn’t have dared to fool him like that.

However, at this very moment, Wang Chong had slapped Ma Zhou in the middle of the street! Everyone was shocked by this occurrence. No one knew what was happening.

“I slapped you.”

Wang Chong stared at Ma Zhou with a smiling face. The only who seemed to be unaffected by the matter was him:

“Ma Zhou, I treated you as my brother in the past, and yet you took me for a fool. It can’t be that you think that I don’t know what’s going on at all?”

Hua!

Another wave of astonishment gushed over everyone. Their mouth widened even further. Was this still the simple-minded and easily-fooled Wang Chong that everyone knew of?

Was this still the foolish Wang Chong who proclaimed everyone as his brother and willingly allowed them to exploit him?

No matter what, it didn’t seem possible that such words came from his mouth. Wasn’t this change a little too big?

Everyone was stunned by the change in Wang Chong. Even more so, they felt a pang of conscience as though their scheme had been exposed. Could it be that this Wang Chong had been playing it dumb all along?

“What?! Ma Zhou, he is Ma Zhou?”

Just when everyone else was feeling apprehensive of the changes in Wang Chong, a bizarre voice rang out. The little sister of the Wang Family frowned and her round eyes widened. One could feel vaguely feel the rage that was spilling out of her.

In the start, she didn’t know that this fellow was the ‘culprit’ that harmed her brother. At this moment, when everything was clear to her, how could she still tolerate it:

“You bastard! To dare to bully my brother, I will beat you to death!”

“Controlling one’s breath to extreme smoothness, to the point of an infant’s”, this is a phrase from the 《Inscriptions of Enlightenment》

Firstly, all books from this novel come from a true source. The true name (as accepted by Wikipedia and in printed press) of Inscriptions of Enlightenment is ‘Tao Te Ching’. It is written by Laozi, the founder of Taoism.

I don’t know how accurate my interpretation of the phrase is, but I based it off from . I would first like to emphasize that ancient texts are normally interpreted in numerous ways. Secondly, the reason why he compares the former to that of an infant was because an infant’s breathing tends to be very quiet. Except for their cries, they are mainly silent most of the time.

Some of the other interpretations (other the one I have stated are),

Once you reached a certain level of mastery, regardless of how old you are, your body can become as flexible as that of an infant.

Just clarifying.

Origin Energy Tier 9 > Origin Energy Tier 1

Chapter 6: Vengeance of a Gentlemen

Talk wasn’t sufficient for the little girl, she wanted to take action as well. Wang Chong knew of her fearsome strength and if she were to be allowed to strike a blow out of rage, Ma Zhou would probably die on the spot. If so, his plan would be screwed as well.

“Little sister, cool down!”

Wang Chong patted the shoulders of his youngest sister and hurriedly cajoled her. “Leave this kind of little things to me. Don’t forget, we have an agreement. It can’t be that you are refusing to listen to my words?”

“Ah!”

Little sister was conflicted. She knew that her brother being grounded for a week was a result of the doing of this Ma Zhou bastard.

Given her personality, a person who dared to hurt her family would be killed in a single punch of hers. However, she couldn’t disobey the words of her brother.

“Alright then.”

Little sister lowered her head, choosing to obey her brother’s words in the end.

Wang Chong smiled. This was exactly as how he remembered his youngest sister!

“Ma Zhou, putting everything in the past aside, you used my name to rape a female villager in daylight. Did you think that I wouldn’t know anything at all?”

Wang Chong said indifferently. He glanced at Ma Zhou and the coldness of his gaze penetrated the other party’s bones. For some reason, everyone felt terrified and uneasy. It was as though he had become an entirely different person.

“Things have blown up!”

“This fellow actually knows of it all?”

“F***, who was the one who told him?”

…

The impression Wang Chong gave them today was one who was suddenly enlightened. To think that he would suddenly awaken from his dreams! The scions immediately retreated backward. Subconsciously, they felt that it was impossible to settle the matter today peacefully.

On the other hand, disbelief and shock reflected on Ma Zhou’s face. Eventually, all of it faded into calmness. Even the right hand that was grabbing onto his cheeks had loosened and fallen downward.

Truthfully, Ma Zhou didn’t expect Wang Chong to suddenly become so smart. It felt as though nothing could be hidden from him anymore.

As though everything that had been done in the past had been exposed.

“Wang Chong, you were the one who asked for it!”

With a dark expression, Ma Zhou howled savagely.

Of all things possible, Wang Chong should have never slapped him in front of so many brothers. How could his pride allow him to take it lying?

Even more so, he shouldn’t have pointed everything out. If he was truly smart, he should have known to just drop the matter instead of speaking of them. At most, he could have just chosen not to roam on the streets in the future.

Wasn’t hanging out with other people, even if hypocritically, better than this?

Did he think that just because he called him ‘Young Master Chong’ in the past, he had become the ‘head’ of the group?

Ma Zhou stared at Wang Chong coldly and haughtily, not even trying to hide the disdain and mock in his gaze at this moment.

“Damn, Ma Zhou is going to rage!”

“What the heck, we should hurry up and get away! Ma Zhou’s rampage isn’t a joke!”

“The last time, Ma Zhou had crippled a scion who was in Imbued Bone realm. Given how Wang Chong is only at Imbued Blood realm, he is in for a difficult time now that he had angered Ma Zhou!”

…

The surprise and dumbfounded looks on that bunch of vile young faces were replaced with a gloating one.

Ma Zhou was a bastard, but the others weren’t fools. If he weren’t capable, there was no reason for them to take him as their leader.

This fellow was never an easy figure!

Everyone could already see Wang Chong been thrown around by Ma Zhou’s punches with his teeth scattered all around the road.

Ma Zhou was feeling unhappy now, extremely unhappy.

Wang Chong was only a puppet beneath him, yet this puppet was trying to climb over his head now.

How could Ma Zhou stand this?

Kacha, the crisp sound of bones cracking could be heard from Ma Zhou’s body. Blood surged through his body steadily as though a stream and a powerful strength burst from the depths of his body.

“Imbued Core realm!”

Ma Zhou’s strength had already reached Origin Energy Tier 4. He had already reached the level of drawing Origin Energy to cleanse his bones of impurities. He was much stronger compared to the little Young Master Wang Chong, who was still at Origin Energy Tier 3!

“To think that you would dare disrespect me, you are looking for it!”

Ma Zhou sneered savagely.

“Is that so?”

Wang Chong smirked coldly. There wasn’t a hint of fear in his eyes. Ma Zhou was taken aback. For some reason, the feeling Wang Chong generated in him was extremely bizarre, as though he was an entirely different person.

Putting the matter aside, Ma Zhou stepped forward, advancing as though a strike of lightning, and shot a punch straight toward Ma Zhou. Kacha. The crisp sound of bones breaking echoed in the air. Ma Zhou seemed to have heard the sound of Wang Chong’s bones breaking. Before he could even cheer, he heard exclaims from the surroundings:

“Ma, Ma… Young Master Ma, your nose!”

The youngsters by the side had their eyes wide in fear as they stared intently at Ma Zhou’s nose, as though something it was something fearsome.

“What’s wrong with my nose?”

Ma Zhou was astounded by their words. The moment such a thought flashed across his mind, he immediately felt a pain that penetrated straight through his heart. A fire seemed to be burning in his nostrils and searing fresh blood with flavors of all kind, sour, bitter, spicy and sweet, seemed to gush out simultaneously.

“My nose!”

Ma Zhou howled in agony. That voice was sharp and distinct, causing everyone goosebumps. In this instant, Ma Zhou realized that the sound of bone breaking came from his nose breaking, not from Wang Chong.

The nose bone was the softest bone in the entire human body, as well as the weakest one.

Upon being punched in the nose, Ma Zhou felt his entire body losing its strength as he slumped into a kneeling position on the floor while clutching his nose. Clearly, he had lost all fighting will.

Ma Zhou was still unable to understand how he sustained that punch!

Given how even Ma Zhou himself was unable to comprehend the situation, the others were even more confused. In their vision, they only saw Wang Chong walking half a step to the side, causing Ma Zhou’s punch to hit empty air. At the same time, Wang Chong’s punch struck Ma Zhou’s nose.

They felt their blood curdle!

It was not the first time they were hanging out with Wang Chong and they knew Wang Chong’s fighting prowess well. To think that an Origin Energy Tier 3 Imbued Blood realm was able to defeat an Origin Energy Tier 4 Imbued Core realm?

This wasn’t right!

“He sure is vicious!”

Upon seeing Ma Zhou’s pathetic situation, the others felt their goosebumps rising on their arms once again, and a few of them immediately ran away.

“Ma Zhou, these two slaps are for the people who you have once oppressed!”

Wang Chong grabbed Ma Zhou by his pair and pah pah, two slaps were bestowed upon him. Ma Zhou was the type who only possessed brute strength. In terms of technique and fighting intuition, he was far inferior to Wang Chong.

“Even if you wanted to going about scamming and oppressing others, there should be a limit to it. To actually rape a married woman… Don’t you know that I hate this kind of action the most?”

As he spoke, pah pah, another two slap rained down on him, knocking Ma Zhou’s teeth out of his mouth.

“Brother, good slap! Good slap!”

The ten-year-old younger sister was cheering by the side. Watching the scene, she felt her own resentment being vented. Although she wasn’t able to do it herself, watching her brother deal with this fellow was also exhilarating.

Only after sending any two fists onto him did Wang Chong feel his anger subsiding slightly. Regardless of whether it was this life or his previous one, Wang Chong hated those who bullied the weak. He found it exceptionally unbearable when Ma Zhou and the gang used his own name to commit such atrocity.

This was precisely the reason why his parents grounded him and the Wang Clan was humiliated. As such, Wang Chong struck even harder and viciously!

“AHH! You bastard, you will pay for it!”

Ma Zhou’s eyes were red with frenzy and his body trembled with rage.

Pah!

Wang Chong suddenly kicked Ma Zhou’s crotch and vaguely, one could hear the sound of something shattering. The pain caused the latter to howl in pain as he hurriedly grabbed his crotch.

His entire face turned pale and perspiration beads fell from his forehead profusely as though rain. Only the sound of his pained exhalation could be heard.

“Ma Zhou, don’t think that I do not know that you are Yao Feng’s subordinate. He is making use of you to deal with me. Living off the authority of others, did you really think you are really something big?”

Wang Chong walked over and glared down at Ma Zhou coldly.

Ma Zhou was a person without any background. Without anyone instigating him from the back, how could he dare to make a fool out of Wang Chong?

Upon seeing Ma Zhou’s flabbergasted look, Wang Chong knew that he had guessed correctly. In the entire capital, the only one who wanted to deal with him was Yao Feng.

Even though Yao Feng didn’t have a grudge against him, he had some conflicts with Wang Chong’s Big Brother and Second Brother. As such, he instigated Ma Zhou to deal with their younger brother.

“Wang Chong, don’t you dare get gleeful! Acting so haughtily in front of me, I dare you to do the same in front of Young Master Yao! Indeed! I used your name to rape a woman outside, but what about it? It was all instigated by him, go at him if you dare!”

Ma Zhou stiffened his neck and roared.

“Heh, Ma Zhou, did you think that I dare not to?”

Wang Chong was waiting for these words. In order to enter the Vast Crane Pavilion, he needed this ‘brother’ to lead the way for him.

“I dare you to lead the way then. I would like to see what Yao Feng has to say about this affair.”

Wang Chong sneered coldly.

Hua!

Ma Zhou seemed to have found energy from some unknown source and abruptly forced himself up. A cold gleam flashed across his eyes and from it, one could feel bone-piercing hatred:

“Wang Chong, follow me if you are a man! Whoever who backs out will be a cowardly bastard!”

If he didn’t get back at Wang Chong for this, his pride wouldn’t allow him to live on!

He wasn’t able to deal with Wang Chong, so he could only leave it to Yao Feng to avenge him!

…

Things went even smoother than Wang Chong expected, With Ma Zhou leading the way, Wang Chong soon arrived at Vast Crane Pavilion.

At the center of the bustling city, an octagonal pavilion appeared. It was built with an arched roof with majestic pillars propping it up. There were four levels to the pavilion and golden-plated red lanterns hung layer by layer down the eight corners, bringing out an elegant disposition to it.

Returning back to a familiar land and seeing a familiar infrastructure, Wang Chong couldn’t help but recall the past.

In his previous life, when he returned to this Vast Crane Pavilion, it was already old and in tatters. The corners were filled with dust and spider webs, far the previous prosperity and liveliness it had once experienced.

This was the turning point for the destiny of the Wang Clan!

In his previous life, even on his deathbed, his father couldn’t help but remember this Vast Crane Pavilion. As such, Wang Chong also visited this place over and over again, touring the tattered remains of the Vast Crane Pavilion to reminisce the past.

“If that didn’t happen, everything would probably be different!”

Wang Chong thought.

Now that everything had returned back to the starting point, he finally gained the opportunity to stop everything in his tracks in the place of his father, as well as to salvage everything. Just that, his father no longer remembered anything.

“Wang Chong, I dare you to enter with me!”

By the side, Ma Zhou was already done conversing with the guards in the Vast Crane Pavilion. He angrily beckoned Wang Chong over. The Vast Crane Pavilion had already banned all customers from entering. Other than those from the Yao Residence and King Qi’s subordinates, no one was allowed to enter.

However, Ma Zhou was an exception. He was a lackey of Yao Guang Yi and he was acquainted with the guards of the Yao Residence. The only one who could allow Wang Chong in was this Ma Zhou.

“Why? Are you afraid?”

Ma Zhou snickered coldly in an attempt to taunt him, fearing that Wang Chong might go back on his words.

“Hmph, cut the nonsense and lead the way.”

Wang Chong scoffed.

Estimating the time, his father should have already entered the Vast Crane Pavilion. How everything would go from now on depend on what he did today. Taking a deep breath, Wang Chong, along with his little sister, walked into the Vast Crane Pavilion.

Only upon walking into the Vast Crane Pavilion did one realize how vibrant the tavern was. This was nonsense. In every floor, there were more than two hundred seats but there wasn’t a single person on any of it.

Wang Chong could clearly tell that the people in here were Yao Guang Yi and King Qi’s subordinates. There were even those who once followed King Song.

In scheming against his father, those who betrayed King Song played a ‘vital role’. Yao Guang Yi had truly put a lot of effort into this matter.

However, Ma Zhou seemed to be ignorant of the matter. He couldn’t tell what was different with the atmosphere and all he did was to taunt Wang Chong forward, as though afraid that he would back out and retreat at the last moment.

“Hurry up! Hurry up!”

“Rascal, are you regretting your decision now?”

…

After suffering such indignance, how could Ma Zhou simply let this matter slip? All he wanted now was to use Yao Feng’s hands to teach Wang Chong a lesson.

“What are you hurrying me for, do you think that I am afraid of Yao Feng?”

Wang Chong behaved as though he had fallen for his taunting, but he was sneering coldly inside. He was thankful for his relationship with Ma Zhou. If this fellow knew what was going on in the Vast Crane Pavilion at this moment, he wouldn’t dare to bring him here even if he had ten times of his guts.

Flinging his robe, Wang Chong followed Ma Zhou up the stairs.

The child and two teenagers did not catch anyone’s attention.

The chapter title, , came from a saying.

‘Ten years is not too late for a gentleman to exact his vengeance’

Simply put it, if circumstances before you are looking bad, it might be wiser to take a step back. After all, a vengeance is still a vengeance no matter when you exact it.

It is normally used in persuading people, especially when they have a grudge against someone who is in a better position than them.