Chapter 677: Fief!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Mm, let’s go.”
Wang Chong nodded his head and left with a wave of his sleeve.
The result of this battle was completely within expectations. Intentionally or unintentionally, the black-robed men had made a fatal mistake in disregarding the existence of Zhang Qiantuo.
Now was the time for them to pay the price.
“Everyone else, stand guard outside. Li Siye, you go outside as well. Without my order, no one is allowed to enter.”
Wang Chong issued out a string of orders and then turned to look at his master, the Demonic Emperor Old Man.
“Master, I’ve troubled you.”
“Hmph, I also want to know what sort of person can be so capable that they could create that strange monster.”
The Demonic Emperor Old Man slowly stepped forward.
By daring to attack Wang Chong and Wang Xiaoyao, these people had broken his taboo. Even if Wang Chong had said nothing, he would still have taken matters into his own hands and sought to uproot their organization.
Dragons were said to be enraged if one touched their reverse scale, and the Demonic Emperor Old Man’s reverse scale was the lives of his last two disciples, Wang Chong and Wang Xiaoyao.
Anyone who dared to touch them would die!
Buzz!
The Demonic Emperor Old Man spread apart his fingers, and the black-robed leader on the ground was suddenly raised up by some invisible energy and brought to the old man’s palm.
The Demonic Emperor Old Man closed his eyes and a thick black energy immediately entered the head of the black-robed man.
The evil path had many methods of searching a person’s memories.
As the former hegemon of the evil path and its supreme expert, the Demonic Emperor Old Man knew a significant number of these methods. If powerhouses of the evil path like him wanted to know the truth of some incident, they wouldn’t need to use torture tools and interrogation. They could extract the truth straight from the subjects.
Buzz!
Time slowly passed. The Demonic Emperor Old Man remained standing in place while the leader of the black-robed men floated in the air, his body shuddering and writhing, his lips letting out moans and groans as if he was experiencing some terrible pain.
The techniques of the evil path, especially those that had the goal of searching a target’s memories, were all extremely domineering and cruel, with severe side effects.
The majority of the people subjected to this art would have their minds severely damaged and ultimately end up as idiots.
Wang Chong stood next to the Demonic Emperor Old Man, looking at his master with anticipation. Even in his own generation, the Demonic Emperor Old Man was still someone that the vast majority of people could only look up to and existed far beyond their reach.
If not even he could turn up any information on these people, then others certainly could not.
Everything has its reason. By capturing the leader of this group, I should be able to quickly find out their true goal, Wang Chong quietly said to himself.
Across the entire Central Plains and its surrounding foreign kingdoms, there was basically no secret that Wang Chong did not know. But these black-robed men did not seem to exist in any corner of history and Wang Chong had no memory of them. Everything about them seemed to be cloaked in a thick and befuddling fog.
Time continued to slowly pass, and the Demonic Emperor Old Man finally opened his eyes.
Wang Chong took two steps forward and asked with deep concern, “Master, how is it? Did you find out their background?”
To Wang Chong’s surprise, the Demonic Emperor Old Man did not immediately answer the question, only gave a long sigh of surprise.
“What a formidable mental seal! In my decades living in the martial world, I’ve never encountered such a powerful and top-notch mental technique. Chong-er, you’re facing a true opponent this time.”
With these final words, the Demonic Emperor Old Man turned to Wang Chong, a hint of deep worry flashing through his eyes.
“Master, were you not able to find anything?”
Wang Chong felt his heart thump as he suddenly had an ill foreboding. His master’s reaction was not that of someone who had succeeded.
Wang Chong found it very difficult to imagine something that not even his master, the greatest expert of the evil path, could resolve.
“Hmph, how could that be possible? No matter how formidable their seals are, it’s not possible to completely hold me back.”
The Demonic Emperor Old Man snorted as his eyebrows slightly rose. His face exuded an aura of disdain and confidence.
“The other side has an extremely formidable master of mental seals. All the critical memories have been sealed, and carelessly touching them will immediately make these people explode and die. This naturally means that no information will be leaked.”
The Demonic Emperor Old Man extended a finger and pointed at the black-robed leader.
“However, nothing is absolute. No matter how formidable their defenses are, I still managed to find some information about them. These people call themselves the Children of God. They apparently believe that they’re following some actual god. Hah, ridiculous!”
The Demonic Emperor Old Man ended his words with a snort.
As the greatest master of the evil path, the Demonic Emperor Old Man had never worshiped any god, much less believed in one. It was just a bunch of fools being fooled.
Moreover, if a god really did exist, wouldn’t he himself be a god?
“…It’s just a bunch of idiots play-acting as ghosts and gods.”
The Demonic Emperor Old Man showed disdain in his eyes. In the world of martial arts, the strong eating the weak had always been the indisputable and basic principle. If a ‘god’ really did exist, they would just be some even more powerful martial artist.
The minds of people were ignorant!
“A god?”
Wang Chong’s brows rose and he seemed to fall into deep thought. This information was completely unexpected.
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“Oh, that’s right. Although this is a faction of ignorant, furtive, and shady people, they have a few extraordinary aspects. Your master has discovered from their memories that the monster we killed previously was a thing they called Lu Wu, a living being they say was created by God. Although I don’t believe that any person in this world can call themselves ‘god’, that monster truly was rather good.”
The Demonic Emperor Old Man gave a rare nod of approval.
A monster that even Wootz Steel weapons could not harm could never be a product of nature. If the Demonic Emperor Old Man had not used the Myriad Spirit Sea Art that could break all defenses in the world, then perhaps it really would have been impossible to capture that monster.
“…In addition, although their mental seals are extremely formidable, I found a few clues. If I’m right, these people probably come from the northwest. This is also why the Central Plains essentially has no record of their existence.”
“The northwest?”
Wang Chong’s brow creased once more. That was precisely the next area he was headed. If their base was there…
“I’ve troubled Master this time!”
Wang Chong took in a deep breath and broke off this train of thought. At the same time, he called over the people outside.
“Come, take these people back with us!”
More information could still be extracted from the leader of the black-robed men and the two other captives. And Wang Chong at least knew the simplest method of letting the enemy off in order to catch the bigger prey later.
“Yes, Young Master!”
Several experts stepped forward in response, but just when they had finished their bows and were preparing to lift the black-robed leader from the ground, something strange happened…
Bang! Right before their eyes, the head of the demon-masked man suddenly exploded, bits of flesh and blood sprinkling a circle with a radius of several zhang.
This was quickly followed by the sounds of two more detonations from elsewhere.
“Ah!”
Cries of alarm and turmoil could be heard outside.
“Young Master, bad news!”
“Young Master, the heads of the two men we captured suddenly exploded for some reason!”
……
Several guards quickly rushed in to give their report.
The atmosphere instantly changed. As Wang Chong gazed at the blood-covered ground, his face twisted into a grimace. He had had plans for these people, but they were now useless.
“I was still too slow. I didn’t think their reaction would be so fast!”
The Demonic Emperor Old Man also had a grim expression. He had reacted much faster than Wang Chong, immediately sensing when the signs of strange activity in the black-robed leader began. But he had still been a moment too slow.
Although he was hailed as the greatest evil expert, he was not that skilled in the field of mental seals. And the person who had placed those seals in the minds of these black-robed people was clearly a master of that particular field.
“These people are too cautious.”
Wang Chong’s brows were raised very high.
The black-robed leader’s head would not explode for no reason. The greatest possibility was that the faction backing the black-robed people had discovered the Demonic Emperor Old Man and sensed that the seal had been touched. As a result, they detonated the seals in the minds of the black-robed men and killed them.
A hint of gloom appeared on Wang Chong’s face. His opponents were far more cautious than he had imagined. Although he had managed to obtain a few clues, even more riddles had come with them.
And his opponents possessed mystical methods. Whether it was Lu Wu or those exquisite mental seals, these were methods beyond the scope of normal martial arts. But Wang Chong quickly regained his composure.
“Hmph, no matter how fast your reaction is or how cautious you are, there will come a day where I’ll uncover all of you! If I can catch you once, I can catch you twice,” Wang Chong coldly said. Although his opponents had destroyed a critical piece, Wang Chong had still obtained what he wanted.
“Li Siye, give the order for withdrawal!”
“Yes, Young Master!”
The grandiose operation came to a complete close.
……
“Chong-er, have you decided on the location of your fief?”
In the Wang Clan Residence, Wang Gen sat on a sandalwood armchair, dressed in his crimson official robe and python belt of gold and blue. He sipped on a cup of tea, his expression relaxed and content.
A joyous reunion left the mind refreshed, and Wang Gen’s ruddy complexion was a clear indication of his good mood.
When one person obtained the Dao, even their chickens and dogs would ascend with them to the heavens. The merit Wang Chong had achieved in the southwest had placed the entire Wang Clan on the path to success. Even his big uncle Wang Gen had been rewarded by the Imperial Court. This point was obvious from his robe and belt.
But Wang Gen was still most concerned about the question of Wang Chong’s fief, and this was the primary reason for his visit.
The descendants of the Wang Clan were connected through blood, sharing both glory and dishonor as one. The incident of the southwest was enough to illustrate this principle.
The matter of this fief seemed simple, but it concerned the continuation and long-term welfare of a noble clan. Any great clan obtaining a fief was no minor affair, and the Wang Clan was treating it no differently.
“Chong-er, I’ve already thought of a place for you. Over these last few days, I’ve made a comprehensive review of the fiefs of the Great Tang and I’ve found a great place.”
Beaming, Wang Gen put down his tea cup. With a flick of his finger, he unfurled a scroll on the table, revealing a map of the Great Tang in front of Wang Chong.
“Across the world, no place is more prosperous than Longxi. The place I’ve chosen for you is in Zhao County. The area there isn’t big, but it’s extremely rich and populated. Solely through taxation, one can achieve a yearly income of around two hundred thousand taels of gold. Don’t you need money right now? This is the best choice!”
Wang Gen intoned these final words as if each one held a great weight.
These simple words were the result of Wang Gen’s heartfelt and devoted research. This was also a conclusion that was most favorable to both Wang Chong and the entire Wang lineage.
As long as it had this land, then even if the Wang Clan made no more achievements or produced no talented descendants, the Wang lineage would remain safe and well-provided for.
‘Don’t entrust a clan’s rise and fall to a single person, and don’t entrust a clan’s success and failure to a single moment.’ This was the philosophy that every great clan pursued in order to continue their lines and remain safe and sound through the generations.
The Wang Clan could finally feel the edge of that invisible ‘threshold’.
This was also the reason for Wang Gen’s excitement.