Chapter 942: Checkmate!
The words echoed like thunder in the dome of heaven, instantly reaching the crowds gathered both on and off Planet Ancient Emperor.
That said, people weren’t struck to the core. All of the things that had already happened today were already shocking enough. First there was the sudden betrayal by ‘Ningyan,’ then his sacrifice of three gifts. Even more shocking was how the destiny aura of humankind created a punishment, forming chains that bound the emperor. To see destiny aura behave in that way indicated... that what ‘Ningyan’ said was true.
The most unbelievable thing of all, however, was that saber attack by King Firecrusher. People could hardly believe it. No one could ever have predicted that the cautious and conscientious King Firecrusher, who had served in the human armed forces for so long, would actually turn traitor. It seemed completely and utterly illogical.
No one could even guess what reason King Firecrusher could possibly have to try to kill the emperor! After all, King Firecrusher had reached such incredible heights that few people in existence could do anything to him. And there was no doubting that he had truly fought hard for the sake of humankind, especially in recent years. He had very nearly died on numerous occasions, and had been seriously wounded multiple times. He had also killed plenty of nonhumans, and that... was something that couldn’t be faked. He was a towering, noble soul, someone who became a heavenly king and served humankind, and yet... he had clearly tried to kill the emperor with his saber. It was truly flabbergasting to everyone.
But considering that he was standing with ‘Ningyan,’ his true status and identity weren’t even important. In fact, there were some longtime government officials who already realized what was going on. There were still people who had very clear memories of everything that happened not so long ago when Ningyan was investigated. However, the matter of Ningyan’s older brother, who was actually Eleventh Prince, had been made a taboo subject by the emperor. Few people would willingly talk about it.
As the chains snapped and crumbled, the emperor spoke in a voice that echoed across Planet Ancient Emperor.
“Your presence here today is no surprise to me. But what was a shock was King Firecrusher’s actions. King Firecrusher, do you have an explanation for all this?”
The emperor looked at King Firecrusher, who was locked in combat with the court eunuch.
King Firecrusher didn’t say anything as he fought. Booms rang out and saber light flashed through heaven and earth.
The person to provide the answer to the emperor was Ningyan’s older brother, Eleventh Prince.
“He chose to execute you for the sake of humankind! For the sake of justice! Father, as the emperor, you are a malignant tumor to humankind. You don’t deserve to be the emperor! It’s been a very long time since I heard you call me Little Eleventh. Back in the day, that form of address made me feel warm inside. But now... for you to say those words is the epitome of hypocrisy!”
Eleventh Prince’s face was distorted with rage, and his bloodshot eyes exuded hatred. He didn’t seem surprised at all when the emperor called out his true identity. In his opinion, identity and status didn’t matter. All he cared about... was killing the emperor! To achieve this goal, he had worked and prepared for many years.
The emperor looked away from King Firecrusher and to Eleventh Prince. His face was still expressionless, and there was no hint of sarcasm as he said, “When did you possess Ningyan?”
Eleventh Prince roared with laughter, his expression slowly becoming one of pure madness. He was normally dour and aloof, not full of emotion. But today he was different. He had been keeping things hidden for too long, and prepared too thoroughly. Today was the day when everything would explode and he would get his revenge.
“Well, exalted father, it was obvious when you put that idiotic little brother of mine into Heavenly Prison. In order to make that happen, I intentionally left that image of myself to be found as evidence.
“That was the only way I could get Ningyan implicated. I even guessed that Ningyan would use the Immortal Questioning Bell to prove his innocence, but that you would be too wrapped up in personal matters to pay attention to that. Locking him up was your only option. And then I was able to use our clan’s Heavenly Prison to successfully possess him with my will.”
Xu Qing listened thoughtfully. The mysterious cloaked figure in that room... really was Eleventh Prince.
Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed. Back when he was soul-searching people during his investigation of the Xeno-Immortal School situation, clues took him to a certain building. In the room in that building, he encountered a figure in a black cloak. That very night, he found himself thinking about what Ningyan had told him in the prison, about sensing familiar fluctuations beneath him.... [1]
It made perfect sense why Eleventh Prince wanted to possess Ningyan. As Eleventh Prince, he had to remain in hiding, but as Ningyan, he could openly get close to the emperor. Furthermore, killing the emperor in the capital itself would have been incomparably difficult. In order to achieve success, and needed to be in a location where outsiders couldn’t interfere.
The best battlefield imaginable was Planet Ancient Emperor during the ancestral sacrifices. At that time, no outsider could enter without the right qualifications. And the qualifications could only be given by the emperor using destiny aura. At the moment, the destiny aura had been used to create chains to bind the emperor. Without extracting himself from that situation, the emperor couldn’t draw on destiny aura for help.
Clearly, Eleventh Prince had put a lot of thought and effort into his plan. And he had been waiting for the ancestral sacrifices.
Perhaps before Ningyan returned, Eleventh Prince had other plans that didn’t involve the ancestral sacrifices and Planet Ancient Emperor. But once Ningyan returned, possessing him became an obvious choice. Or perhaps it was best to say that possessing Ningyan was just one option. And after Xu Qing rose to prominence among the Firemoons, it was the best option. It was by means of Xu Qing’s recommendation that Eleventh Prince got ‘Ningyan’ onto Planet Ancient Emperor, where he was able to stand right behind the emperor.
However, Xu Qing still had questions.
Was Ningyan aware of all this? And more importantly... did he go along with it? Also, as an Imperial Sovereign and the peak will in all humankind, was the emperor really unaware of what was going on? Or... did he know all along?
Xu Qing remained calm and collected. After everything he had experienced in life, he knew that there was no such thing as only pure good and pure evil among humans. Human nature was a complicated thing, and it often shifted based on the circumstances.
What was very strange was that the emperor still seemed extremely calm, and there was even a meaningful smile on his face.
“It seems you have quite a deep connection with your little brother. Everything you’ve said so far was carefully worded to create distance between the two of you. Are you worried about dragging him into the situation? I won’t cause problems for Ningyan, so there’s no reason to be worried about me misunderstanding. The reason you made your debut in this manner, and the reason you’ve been talking so much, is that you’re trying to buy time.
“Whatever it is you’re waiting for, there’s clearly more you want to say. So I’ll give you the time it takes an incense stick to burn to speak your mind. After all, it takes a good explanation to justify patricide and regicide.”
From beginning to end, the emperor didn’t sound surprised at all when he talked.
Eleventh Prince was scowling, yet he was still confident in his preparation and his backing. His facial expression quickly returned to normal as he stared at the emperor.
“Good explanation? Don’t you understand already why I’m doing this? I was there the day you gave the orders for my mother to be killed. I watched her heart break before she died! Dark War, you and I are enemies who cannot live under the same sky!
“I have a hatred for you that eats away at me every moment of every day. I knew all along that you knew I was alive. And I know why you spared me! You wanted to use me as bait. Right? When the right time came, you wanted to use me to see who you could hook!
“Well I’ll fulfill your desire! If I don’t kill you, then I’ll never be able to think clearly. If I don’t kill you, then I’m an unworthy son. And if I don’t kill you, I don’t deserve to live!”
Eleventh Prince’s words echoed out for all to hear.
A flash of reminiscence appeared in the emperor’s eyes. Clearly, what Eleventh Prince had just said caused him to think of that event, and the beautiful portrait that he had spent time every day looking at afterward. It turned into a sigh. The sigh contained all the emotions of the past, and it restored the emperor’s heart to a state of calm.
“You must have other tricks up your sleeve, right? Go ahead and continue.”
“As you wish!” Eleventh Prince said, and he looked down at Planet Ancient Emperor with a cold look in his eyes.
All of a sudden, muffled rumbling could be heard from below. Something dramatic was obviously happening on the planet below. This was obviously why Eleventh Prince had been trying to buy time. Next, something happened that no one on or off Planet Ancient Emperor could ever have predicted, and it struck them all to the core.
As thunderous rumbling echoed out from the planet, the misty depths of the planet surged with heaven-shaking, earth-shattering fluctuations. As they reached a fever pitch... a pentagonal altar was dragged out of the depths of Planet Ancient Emperor by some immense force!
The altar was what shocked everyone so deeply.
And that was because there were five huge coffins on the altar. Every single one of the coffins pulsed with a terrifying, apex-level imperial energy. There was also a shrine by each coffin. There were no statues in the shrines, only spirit tablets. Each tablet had something different written on it: Eastglory; Sageheaven; Mirrorcloud; Dao Life.... The last one read: Dark War.
It was a mysterious ceremony that could rock Revered Ancient to the core.
In the middle of the five coffins was a lamp. It was made of violet stone, and had a violet flower atop it, as well as a violet phoenix that was extremely lifelike.
The lamp was covered in cracks. It also spat out crimson fire that covered the coffins, experienced some unknown transformation, and then poured into the coffins. By mixing with the imperial energy, that fire changed colors. It turned golden. It hissed and popped as it burned. The aura of a god spread out from the flames.
It was godfire. Put precisely, it was godfire on the verge of being completed.
“Oh exalted father, I’m going to make you a living sacrifice for the godly ascension ceremony I’ve been secretly preparing. And everyone will see it. So... is this a good enough explanation for why I’m going to kill you?”
Eleventh Prince laughed coldly.
1. Xu Qing visited Ningyan in prison inchapter 773 . He encountered the black-cloaked figure inchapter 791 . ☜