Chapter 750: Grand Emperor Awakening

Chapter 750: Grand Emperor Awakening

Every movement and action taken by Xu Qing and his group was being observed by various organizations in the imperial capital. Everyone was watching. From the moment they entered the Imperial Region, they had been under observation, and that was more the case now that they were in the city.

As soon as Kong Xianglong sent the swordsages out, countless gazes locked onto them. They instantly noted that the swordsages went to Tenth Prince’s mansion. Based on various clues and information channels, it didn’t take long for people to determine the reason.

Twelfth Prince had lost something that had been stored in his mansion, and it turned out Tenth Prince had taken it without notice. Tenth Prince had a domineering personality, which was why the number-one heavenly king from his mother’s clan didn’t like him very much. Given that personality, it seemed a given that he would ignore the jade slip delivered to him by the swordsages. Fôll0w current novÊls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m)

“How interesting. I wonder how Xu Qing and his friends from Sea-Sealing County will handle this?”

“When people come to the imperial capital, they either keep a low profile or make a big splash. We’ll be able to learn a lot about this Xu Qing based on what happens.”

“Maybe the number-one heavenly king doesn’t like Tenth Prince very much. But in the end, they’re on the same side. This is actually kind of funny.”

Organizations and government offices throughout the capital chose to simply observe. That was how they usually dealt with unknown entities. It was essentially an instinct, and generally speaking, it was the most correct course of action.

Xu Qing had sensed what was going on the moment he entered the city. Therefore, as everyone stood by and did nothing, he stepped out into the afternoon light. As he walked down the street, he could sense people watching him from every direction. There were spies in the crowd, and also streams of divine will locked onto his location. There was no question that everything he did here in the imperial capital would be observed by someone. He understood the situation, and knew there was nothing he could do to change it. So he kept his expression neutral.

In terms of what happened after that jade slip reached Tenth Prince, the reality was that Xu Qing didn’t care. He had already determined how to resolve the situation.

If Tenth Prince accepted the jade slip, fine. If he didn’t.... Xu Qing’s eyes glittered coldly. He had already chosen to make a splash. After dealing with the misery of life as a youngster, he had learned through experience. Growing up in the slums, he had made it a practice of killing people who tried to harm him, then hanging their heads on his door as a warning. [1]

In short, he was ruthless. But in addition, he was patient. Patient and vicious. Those qualities came out in different ways depending on the circumstances. And based on Xu Qing’s experiences, he felt that, as a newcomer, making a splash right away was the best way to settle conflicts. That was why he hadn’t done anything to restrain the ancient sun back when dealing with the spell formation.

So he ignored the people watching him from afar and the spies shadowing him on the street. He walked along calmly, taking in the unfamiliar city that was the top location for all humankind.

Ningyan also went out, as did Plumdark and the Captain, though none of them went with Xu Qing.

Before leaving, Plumdark had exchanged a glance with Xu Qing, and he immediately understood that she was going to start looking for her lamp. Plumdark was completely different from Ling’er. If Ling’er were here, she would want to stay as close as possible to Xu Qing. Not Plumdark. She did things her own way, and had her own way of thinking.

The Captain worked all of the shiftiness out before leaving. Based on his behavior, Xu Qing had no trouble guessing what he was up to. He was going to start figuring out where all the treasure was in the imperial capital. Either that, or he was going to work on tracking down traces of his past lives.

Xu Qing shook his head. As the afternoon sunlight filtered down, he walked past building after building, street after street, all while planning out what to do going forward. This was what he usually did in unfamiliar environments. He kept his guard up and stayed vigilant. It didn’t matter how high his status had climbed, that fundamental aspect of his personality hadn’t changed. That said, he didn’t let it show. He kept everything hidden, just as he had learned to do from others in Seven Blood Eyes. [2]

Tense on the inside, relaxed on the outside. That was his mental state. From an outsider’s perspective, he seemed completely calm. As he walked, he mentally reviewed everything Princess Anhai had told him about the state of the imperial capital, including the details of the important officials and the imperial children. After combining that with information that Ningyan had given him, Xu Qing felt that he had a pretty solid understanding.

Three imperial daughters. Twelve imperial sons. Grand Princess and Second Princess entered into marriage alliances with nonhumans... and aren’t in the capital.

The emperor had fifteen children. And in many respects, they were the foundation of what happened with all the other organizations. Just about everyone had connections to the imperial children.

Of the imperial daughters, only Anhai has the right to establish a mansion in the city. However, she didn’t choose to do that. She stuck close to the emperor. She has a lot of organizations that back her. The patriarch of her mother’s clan is the number-two heavenly king, King Eastcauldron, who is actually the commanding officer in the current hostilities with the Nightshades. Now, after the imperial daughters, we have the imperial sons....

I suppose I’m the same.

Overhead, the red light from the setting sun created a rosy glow in the clouds. Sunsets like this were beautiful, but at the same time, seemed filled with the color of blood. It made Xu Qing think of a certain day back in Seven Blood Eyes when the same color in the sky had heralded a very tragic event. [3]

Xu Qing’s gaze fell onto a huge statue right in front of him.

Without even realizing it, he had walked to the eastern part of the city, close to the rainbow road. And he was standing right in front of the statue of Grand Emperor Swordsage.

Looking at the statue, he thought about the assessment of the heart, and what the grand emperor had shown to him... how the broken face’s true body encircled the Revered Ancient mainland. He thought about what was said during that assessment, especially the last thing Grand Emperor Swordsage told him.

“I hope that no matter what happens... you never change!”

As Xu Qing looked at the statue, there were numerous spies in the crowd behind him, watching his every move and keeping others informed of his whereabouts. Divine will proliferated. Numerous government departments were using a variety of methods to keep track of Xu Qing and his actions. After all, he was basically a walking Dawning Sun.

“The subject has gone through three districts and has stopped to study nineteen buildings.”

“The subject seems to be memorizing the layout of the city.”

“The subject teleported.”

“The subject is standing in front of the statue of Grand Emperor Swordsage. He’s just looking at it.”

“The subject... is bowing to Grand Emperor Swordsage.”

“The statue of Grand Emperor Swordsage... is moving!!!”

“What’s going on here? The Grand Emperor... is about to wake up??”

As messages sped to different corners of the city, a buzz began to build. All eyes widened with shock and disbelief.

From a distance, the statue of the grand emperor towered high into the sky, as if to guard all humans. Down below, Xu Qing, clad in a green jerkin, respectfully bowed. One of them was massive, the other tiny, and they were separated in life by countless years. But then a hoarse voice echoed out, seemingly from nowhere, filled with ancient time. It echoed through heaven and earth, thrumming with mightiness.

“You’re here.”

1. It was in chapter 53 that we first heard the story of Xu Qing hanging a head outside his door as a warning. ☜

2. Another callback to the early parts in the story. In chapter 51, when Xu Qing first joined SBE, he was told to be like a needle concealed in silk after being told he telegraphed his abilities too much. ☜

3. The reference here is to the Blood-Soaked Performance. The red sky was mentioned in chapter 310, which was basically when the ‘performance’ began. ☜