Chapter 42: Destiny Is Here, Head of Punishment Inheritance
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
[In the 43rd year of the Jing Dynasty, Tianshan Ji Que’s end is approaching.
Before he died, he came to challenge a martial arts legend. You successfully survived his challenge and survived a calamity. You received a survival reward—Ultimate Cultivation Technique, the Heavenly Heart Lightning
Technique.]
Jiang Changsheng sat on the bed and smiled.
As expected of a Grandmaster, the reward was extraordinary!
Jiang Changsheng began to happily inherit the Heavenly Heart Lightning Technique. As he became stronger and stronger, there were not many survival rewards he could get by staying in Longqi Temple, so he had expectations every time.
In fact, he could still choose another path. That was to roam the martial arts world and fight and kill every day. The number of survival reward would definitely increase, but that would be too inappropriate. It would delay his cultivation. After all, survival rewards would only give him a cultivation method and not directly make him stronger.
Moreover, he felt that he would fail if he had too many enemies.
Those who could kill until the end were protagonists. Those who died on the way were all supporting characters or even villains.
Ji Que died in battle at Longqi Temple and was buried in the Hero’s Tomb. This matter spread like wildfire in the martial arts world in just a month.
Although the Sword Freak and the Killing Blade were strong, they had yet to reach the status of Grandmasters.
In this battle, the status of the Hero’s Tomb was completely engraved in the hearts of the martial artists, and there was even a comment.
The luckiest thing for people in the martial arts world was to die in the Hero’s Tomb.
Of course, there were even more people who scoffed at that comment. They looked forward to flattening Longqi Temple and stepping on the Hero’s Tomb to establish their own martial arts legend.
Autumn.
Crown Prince Jiang Yu led the army back to the capital. After understanding the Emperor’s arrangements, he could not help but be furious. He barged into the palace angrily and confronted Jiang Yuan in the imperial study.
Jiang Yuan was already in his twilight years. He lay on the dragon couch with his eyes half-closed.
“Father, you’re trying to harm me. If you support Ziyu, won’t you cause trouble for Zihan? When I ascend the throne, I’ll definitely appoint Zihan as the crown prince!”
Jiang Yu scolded angrily, not treating Jiang Yuan as an emperor at all.
Jiang Yuan said weakly, “Zihan is too conceited and ruthless. You don’t want to see your children kill each other, right?”
Jiang Yu frowned and fell silent.
Although he fought with his brothers, he did not want to see his sons fight.
Crown Prince Jiang Yu came to the table and sat down. He sighed and said,
“Father, I suddenly feel so tired. The throne is not as easy as I thought.”
In the past two years, he had gone out to fight, which had worn down the arrogance in his heart.
Jiang Yuan did not answer and seemed to have fallen asleep.
Jiang Yu began to recount his encounters in the past two years. Even if he invited experts from the Mahayana Dragon Tower, they could not turn the tide. Although there were only three Ancient Han grandmasters, all of them were figures comparable to Zong Tianwu. The experts of the Mahayana Dragon Tower could only restrain them, and in terms of the army, Ancient Han was stronger and had more people.
Most importantly, the Jin Dynasty actually participated in the battle and completely defeated Crown Prince Jiang Yu.
The Great Jing and Ancient Han had fought for many years, causing the people to suffer financial losses and the country’s strength to weaken. However, the Jin Dynasty had always been resting and recuperating. Its strength was faintly stronger than the Great Jing and Ancient Han.
“The Dragon Tower has gone too far and forced me to restore Chu. If we don’t return to Chu, they won’t send more stronger experts to support us. The same goes for the five grandmasters of the martial arts world of Great Jing. Father, is the fortune of Great Jing really over?”
Crown Prince Jiang Yu gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in his sleeves. He could not calm down.
Even when Jiang Yuan heard the words “restore Chu”, he still did not have any emotions.
He no longer had the strength to think so much. Right now, he was completely hanging on by a thread by Jiang Changsheng’s medicine.
Jiang Yu spoke for a long time to vent the frustration in his heart. After venting everything out, he stood up and looked down at Jiang Yuan on the dragon couch. “Father, it’s time for you to die. Let me make the decision to restore Chu. This won’t disgrace your reputation, but if you continue to hold on, it will be a stain on your life as an emperor.”
With that, he turned around and left.
Jiang Yuan opened his eyes with difficulty and looked in the direction he left. His eyes were filled with regret and unwillingness.
“This game… I still… lost…”
At the end of the year, Eunuch Li came to look for Jiang Changsheng and said that the Emperor had summoned him. Hearing this, Jiang Changsheng had a premonition and followed Eunuch Li.
They arrived at Jiang Yuan’s bedroom. The Empress was feeding Jiang Yuan medicine. When he saw Jiang Changsheng, he was so excited that he coughed.
Currently, Jiang Yuan was so thin that he was only skin and bones. His face was covered in gray spots, and his life force was about to end.
“All of you… get down…”
Jiang Yuan said with difficulty. Seeing him wave his hand, the Empress could only leave with the palace maids. When she passed by Jiang Changsheng, the Empress looked at him worriedly and sighed. Then, she left and closed the door.
Jiang Changsheng came to the bed.
Jiang Yuan held his hand excitedly. His hand was trembling, but he could not speak.
Seeing that his eyes were red and filled with tears, Jiang Changsheng could not bear to see him like this. He used the Rejuvenation Technique on him and allowed him to recover before death.
In an instant, Jiang Yuan clearly felt the pain in his body disappear and was replaced by strength that he had almost forgotten. He sat up shakily and said in a trembling voice, “Changsheng, this is definitely not martial arts… However, I am already on the verge of death… I summoned you to make up for the regret and guilt in my heart…”
Jiang Changsheng’s expression did not change as he said, “Your Majesty, at your age, you can be considered to have died of old age. Why are you regretting it? The world has its own fate. Trust your descendants.”
Jiang Yuan held his hand with both hands and his chest heaved. He tried his best to calm down and said, “I have something to tell you… I didn’t want to say it and wanted to bring this secret to the netherworld, but I was afraid…”
Jiang Changsheng said, “What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of letting me down, or are you afraid that someone will target me unknowingly?”
Jiang Yuan was stunned and looked at him in disbelief.
Jiang Changsheng said, “My dear father, actually, I have always known. That the mysterious person you saw that night was none other than me.”
Jiang Yuan felt as if he had been struck by lightning and subconsciously let go of Jiang Changsheng’s hand.
Jiang Changsheng was still calm.
Jiang Yuan was enlightened, but he was still puzzled. He asked, “Who told you? Eunuch Li? Or those guys who were beheaded by me?”
Jiang Changsheng said, “Just take it that I’m fated.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yuan’s expression changed and finally turned into a bitter smile.
“It’s not important anymore… The reason why I wanted to tell you about your background is because the Crown Prince’s mother also knows about this. It was originally nothing much. After all, your martial arts are powerful… However, the Crown Prince wants to restore Chu. Once Chu is restored, you and your other brothers will die. Moreover, the Crown Prince has grasped a peerless divine technique that can absorb true qi. I’m afraid that you won’t be able to guard against it…” Jiang Yuan gritted his teeth and said.
His face was filled with regret.
Jiang Changsheng said, “Thank you for the reminder.”
Jiang Yuan looked at him again, his eyes filled with guilt. He asked, “Qian’er…
Changsheng, do you hate Father…’
Jiang Changsheng said, “When I found out the truth, I did hate you, but I’ve let it go now. I’m not interested in the throne. I just hate it when others decide my fate, so I resisted.’
Jiang Yuan said helplessly, “Changsheng, you’re indeed very strong and you’re now a supreme expert in the martial arts world. However, I still have to give you a piece of advice. Don’t underestimate this world. The thirteen prefectures are only a corner of the vast world. Behind the Crown Prince is the Mahayana Dragon Tower, a holy land that has stood for a thousand years. Such a holy land might not be limited to the Dragon Tower. In order to monopolize the martial arts resources of this land, the Dragon Tower asked the Chu Dynasty to issue a martial arts restriction order. The martial arts of the thirteen prefectures are not the strongest and are even lagging behind other places. Although the Mahayana Dragon Tower will not participate in the change of dynasties, I have angered them by promoting martial arts. Therefore, they imparted the Crown Prince with that divine technique and absorbed my true energy before preparing to restore Chu…”
Martial restriction order?
Jiang Changsheng did not know about this, but he knew that the Chu Dynasty valued literature over martial arts.
“The Mahayana Dragon Tower is very strong… You are definitely not their match. Leave the capital as soon as possible…” Jiang Yuan was too excited. At this point, he could not help but cough again.
Jiang Changsheng said, “Is that so? What if I destroy the Mahayana Dragon Tower?”
Jiang Yuan was stunned. He only felt that Jiang Changsheng was fooling around, but when he met Jiang Changsheng’s eyes, he felt that he was not lying.
“So what if you destroy the Dragon Tower… No matter how strong you are, the world doesn’t belong to you. You don’t have a status, and the Great Jing is still taken away by others…” Jiang Yuan shook his head.
It was impossible for him to announce to the world that he would restore his identity as Crown Prince Jiang Changsheng. If that happened, he would be infamous for ten thousand years and his life would be a joke.
Jiang Changsheng was a little disappointed. He added, “It doesn’t belong to me, but it can belong to my son.”
‘Son?’
Jiang Yuan widened his eyes and stared at him in disbelief.
“Who is your son… King Wei? Impossible… I asked you to be King Wei’s master… How could you design it…” Jiang Yuan asked in a trembling voice.
Jiang Changsheng said expressionlessly, “I’ll imitate you. My respected father, those two waste of the Mahayana Dragon Tower, did not sense anything. Tell me, what threat can such a Mahayana Dragon Tower pose to me?”
Jiang Yuan trembled.
Jiang Changsheng said, “You should be glad that I left you a grandson. This Jing Dynasty can last for another hundred years. It can be considered my repayment for your kindness in giving birth to me.”
He turned around and prepared to leave.
That was all he had to say.
Jiang Yuan raised his hand and subconsciously wanted to ask him to stay, but thousands of words were stuck in his throat. He could only watch as he pushed the door open and left.
Jiang Yuan slowly lay down. He suddenly smiled with tears in his eyes.
“I didn’t expect that I, Jiang Yuan, would rely on the child I abandoned in my life… Hahaha, fate is in the picture…’
Jiang Yuan’s gaze changed. The former Great Emperor Yuan seemed to have returned.
In the 43rd year of the Jing Dynasty, at the end of the year, the Emperor of the Great Jing Dynasty, Jiang Yuan, passed away. His posthumous name was Martial Ancestor, Martial Ancestor Jing.
The Crown Prince, Jiang Yu, ascended the throne and became the emperor. He was named Zhen Yu.
A new year had arrived, the 1st year of the Zhen Yu Era.
This year, Jiang Ziyu was fifteen years old.
Longqi Temple.
Eunuch Li came to visit. He had been expelled from the palace and demoted to a commoner. Although his status had declined, he was still a top expert and could live without worry in the future.
Wang Chen led Eunuch Li to Jiang Changsheng’s courtyard.
When Eunuch Li saw that there was another person in the courtyard, his eyes widened.
He hurriedly knelt down and said, “Your Majesty…”
He did not expect the missing Empress to be at Longqi Temple. He thought that the Empress had been killed by Jiang Yu’s subordinates.
The Empress, who was wearing a simple Daoist robe, stood up and said, “I’m no longer the Empress. You guys can chat.”
She turned around and returned to her room. Her footsteps were on the verge of collapse because she was already old. However, she had taken the Beauty Pill. If not for Jiang Changsheng refining pills for her, she would probably have died with Jiang Yuan. But even so, she would not be able to live for long because her heart was already dead.
Although Jiang Changsheng’s medical skills were brilliant, they could not help him live forever. He was only a cultivator and was not a true immortal. Eunuch Li walked up to Jiang Changsheng. Ping’an, Jiang Ziyu, and Xu Tianji were not around. Today, they went to the city together.
Jiang Changsheng sat at the table and played with his teacup. He smiled and said, “Eunuch Li, now that His Majesty has passed away, are you still looking for me? Aren’t you afraid of death?”
Eunuch Li’s expression changed. He instantly understood what the other party meant and his heart was in turmoil.
“So, Your Majesty…”
Eunuch Li knelt down in fear and kowtowed. “Your Highness… Back then, I also listened to His Majesty’s orders…”
The box in his arms fell.
Jiang Changsheng frowned and asked, “What is this?”
He felt a trace of extreme yin aura. He suddenly recalled the mysterious black aura he saw when his soul left his body that day. The aura was exactly the same as this box.
Eunuch Li looked up and hurriedly said, “This is a gift from His Majesty to King Wei. I hope you can pass it on to King Wei. This is the foundation of the country. I wonder if Your Highness knows about the Head of Punishment?”
Jiang Changsheng snorted. “You don’t have to call me Your Highness. I don’t want this identity. I know about the Head of Punishment. What about him?”
Eunuch Li replied, “Head of Punishment is in this box. He is not a human, but a manifestation of an evil spirit in the mountains. Back then, His Majesty asked the Sage of the Four Seas to save his life, and he served His Majesty from then on. Usually, he uses illusions to transform into a human. It is precisely because he is an evil spirit that the world only knows his name and does not know his real existence. He is a knife hidden by His Majesty, the sharpest knife. Now, His Majesty has imparted this knife to King Wei to help him…’
“Save the Great Jing Dynasty!”