The Human Emperor
The Human Emperor - Chapter 154: Trial of Life and Death!

Wang Chong had been looking for the ‘Demonic Emperor Old Man’ all along, but he didn’t expect for it to be under such a dire situation. This was something he hadn’t expected at all.

At this moment, Wang Chong was very certain that the old man before him was the ‘Demonic Emperor Old Man’ whom he had been searching all around for. The malevolent aura that he exuded, the callousness of viewing human lives as insignificant, and the ‘bastard’ he mentioned… More importantly, he didn’t think that there was anyone who could subdue him so easily despite possessing a lower cultivation.

Wang Chong wasn’t even able to react. The other party’s experience, reaction speed, and judgemental ability far surpassed his. Through this, he was certain that the other party’s cultivation must have once reached an astonishing level, a level even above that of him when he was at the peak of his strength.

The only one who fulfilled all of these conditions was the mysterious Demonic Emperor Old Man.

After confirming the identity of the old man before him, Wang Chong also realized that he had made a huge blunder. He had been tapping into all available resources to find the Demonic Emperor Old Man, but he failed to consider the fact that the man before him was still a demon who had no regard for human lives.

Finding the Demonic Emperor Old Man and obtaining the 《Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art》 was not as simple as he thought, and huge risks were involved in the matter.

Humans can change.

The Demonic Emperor Old Man did become a kind person in the future, even going to the extent of giving up his unparalleled cultivation and his own life to fulfill another person.

But this change wasn’t something that could happen in a single day. The Demonic Emperor Old Man had just undergone betrayal, and given his skeptical personality, it would be more dangerous than ever to approach him at this moment.

Wang Chong just had to meet him when he was at his most unstable and aggressive state.

What was even worse was that he realized that he had underestimated the Demonic Emperor Old Man.

Even though the other party was severely wounded, he still possessed his means, dexterity, mental resilience, and wariness.

Wang Chong had stationed his men around the Eastern City’s Zhou Ji Charcoal Wine Brewery to look for the Demonic Emperor Old Man, but the other party saw through his arrangements in an instant. This matter had become a sharp dagger placed against his neck instead.

If Wang Chong couldn’t find a good reason to convince him, all that awaited for him was death.

“The most powerful divine art… I should have known that it wouldn’t be so easy to obtain them!”

This was the only thought left in Wang Chong’s head.

The more powerful a martial art was, the more difficult it would be to obtain it. Even though Wang Chong possessed the advantage of knowing the future, this logic still held.

The surrounding was completely silent, and a tense atmosphere loomed over the area.

At this moment, Shen Hai arrived at the scene, and upon seeing the situation, his complexion immediately turned incomparably awful.

Trading gazes around, everyone came to a decision that as long as that old man were to make a move, they would immediately charge forward to tear him to shreds.

“Old man, you’re mistaken. I’m not whatever you’re speaking of!”

With a pale face, Wang Chong replied calmly.

This was the second time that Wang Chong felt that the embrace of death was just a single touch away. The humongous pressure the old man was exerting on him felt as though the Sword of Damocles was hanging right above his head, threatening to fall at any moment.

The Demonic Emperor Old Man might abandon evil and turn to kindness in the future, but that is then, now is now. At this very moment, he was still that brutal Demonic Emperor Old Man.

Wang Chong knew that his next words would determine whether the Demonic Emperor Old Man would spare him or not.

“Hmph, feigning ignorance before me? Looks like you’re tired of living!”

The Demonic Emperor Old Man sneered coldly, and frigid killing intent flashed across the depths of his gaze. Did this lad think that he would be able to fool him?

He abruptly tightened his grasp. Kacha, it sounded as though something within Wang Chong’s body snapped.

“Stop!”

“How dare you!”

“Release the young master!”

…

Shocked and infuriated, the faces of the crowd flushed in agitation. They wanted to charge forth and slay this old man, but they were afraid that the other party would do harm to their young master.

Of the entire group, Meng Long felt exceptionally frightened.

He was the one who informed Wang Chong on the news of the old man, and he was the one who followed Wang Chong here as well. Just a moment ago, the group was even thinking of bringing him to the Charity Hall to treat him, yet, in the next instant, such a matter occurred.

“Old man, you’re really mistaken! I’m looking for someone here, but the person isn’t you!”

At such a dire moment, Wang Chong calmed down instead.

The Demonic Emperor Old Man was a cunning and skeptical person. Wang Chong knew that he couldn’t leave this matter in the hands of fate; he had to utilize all of his wits to escape from the present situation.

“The truth is that I’m looking for the assassins from the Assassin Pavilion who managed to escape the onslaught of the Imperial Guards. They had once sent their men after me, but I managed to borrow the might of the Imperial Army to destroy their nest. However, a few days ago, I received news that they might be hiding in the eastern part of the city. If you don’t believe me, you can ask around.”

Wang Chong calmly pushed everything to the Assassin Pavilion. He didn’t fear the Demonic Emperor Old Man seeing through his lies. Even though he had deployed many men for this operation this time around, the order that most of them received was just to take note of suspicious individuals.

Other than Wang Chong’s close aides, no one knew what was going on.

“Furthermore…I don’t know who the bastard you spoke of refers to, but given that I come from a clan of generals, there’s no reason for me to listen to the orders of another.”

As Wang Chong said so, he retrieved the Wang Clan token by his waist with trembling hands. It was around the size of a palm, and amidst a background of clouds, a gigantic tiger head stood imposingly at the very center. On the other side, a huge ‘Wang (王)’ character was inscribed.

This was a typical token the members of a general clan carried!

This was also Wang Chong’s final resort!

And fortunately, Wang Chong’s plan worked. Upon seeing the token belonging to the clan members of an official of the Great Tang, the malevolent killing intent of the Demonic Emperor Old Man retreated by a portion.

“To think that you are an offspring of the Wang Clan!”

Suddenly, Wang Chong’s hand was emptied. Before he could see perceive what had happened, the Demonic Emperor Old Man had already snatched over the Wang Clan token to examine it. He slowly examined the detail of the token before glancing at the youngster beofre him with a complicated gaze.

The royal court and the pugilistic world were two separate worlds.

If this child was truly an offspring of a general clan, then it was impossible for him to be in collusion with that wretched disciple of his. That fellow still wasn’t sufficiently influential to issue commands to the clan members of a Great Tang general clan.

But first, he had to check for himself to see whether it was true or not…

Chi!

A small dark shadow flew out as though a bolt of lightning from the hand of the Demonic Emperor Old Man. It flew in an arc before flying back into his hands.

Only at this moment did Shen Hai, Meng Long, and the others manage to catch a clear glimpse at what it was. It was actually a copper coin!

“What are you doing?”

A guard stepped forward and bellowed. But at that moment, the sound of something dropping on the floor sounded. Dang dang dang! Then, amidst shocked exclaims, a token fell from the waist of each of the guards.

Ignoring the uproar amidst the crowd, the Demonic Emperor Old Man stretched out his hand, and a token immediately flew into his grasp.

“Indeed!”

Upon seeing the token, the sharp eyes of the Demonic Emperor Old Man slowly softened. Since these men were the guards of a general clan, it was impossible for them to be in collusion with that wretched disciple.

It seemed like this matter was truly his misunderstanding.

Hu!

Wang Chong could feel the pressure on his wrist lighten significantly. At the same time, he heaved a long sigh of relief.

Even though Wang Chong didn’t know who the wretched disciple of the Demonic Emperor Old Man was, it was a fact that he was here for him!

At least, he had passed this trial!

“Elder, you seem to be severely injured. Allow me to treat you!”

Wang Chong said.

“Hahaha! Treat me?”

Upon hearing Wang Chong’s words, the Demonic Emperor Old Man laughed sorrowfully.

“That wretched disciple colluded with outsiders to destroy my spirit sea. On top of that, they even damaged seven of my meridians and twenty-three of my acupoints, especially my ren and du meridians. Currently, I don’t even wield a hundredth of my previous strength, and I’ll only continue to grow weaker. In less than three days, all of my strength will dissipate completely. Unless I manage to obtain a Saint-tier recovery pill, I won’t be able to retain the slightest bit of my cultivation.”

“However, only the royal family possesses pills of that level, so how can it be easy to obtain it? It’s all too late now. That wretched disciple! I’ll never forgive him! ——”

Recalling his disciple, he immediately grew agitated, and ‘pu!’, and a mouthful of blood spurted from his mouth. He was already injured beforehand, and under such heavy injuries, he still had to escape from powerful pursuers. As soon as his spirit relaxed, all of his injuries immediately acted up. The sight before him turned dark, and he passed out.

“Kill him!”

“Bastard!”

“Protect the young master!”

…

Shen Hai, Meng Long, and the other Wang Family Residence guards had been staring at the situation intently. Upon seeing the injuries of the Demonic Emperor Old Man acting up, they immediately rushed forward and placed their swords by the neck of the old man.

“Wait a moment!”

Wang Chong hurriedly stopped them.

“Young master, we can’t leave such a person. Despite saving him out of goodwill, he nearly killed you! Ungrateful fellows like him deserve to die!”

Meng Long clamored furiously. The situation before was truly a huge fright. If some mishap were to happen to Wang Chong, he didn’t know how he could face the old master and madam.

“Don’t worry. If he wished to kill us, he would have long done so! Do you all remember that copper coin? If it was directed at your necks, can you imagine the consequences?”

Wang Chong said.

Hearing those words, everyone suddenly felt a chill on their necks, and they instinctively took a step backward. Indeed! Given this person’s cultivation, if he wanted to kill them, that copper coin would have sufficed.

Ignoring the crowd, Wang Chong massaged his numb hand for a moment before turning his attention back to the unconscious Demonic Emperor Old Man.

He could tell that the old man had truly passed out this time. However, what Wang Chong was concerned over wasn’t this.

“Weird, why are his injuries so severe?”

Wang Chong stared at the Demonic Emperor Old Man in bewilderment.

The Demonic Emperor Old Man had said that his cultivation would dissipate entirely within three days. If that was the case, how did he pass on his cultivation to Zhou Wen back then? And how did he teach him martial arts?

It seemed that the Demonic Emperor Old Man had sustained injuries that were much more severe than in his previous life.

Wang Chong subconsciously thought of Zhou Wen.

Could it be that his action of luring Zhou Wen away changed the fate of Zhou Wen and the Demonic Emperor Old Ma, resulting in such an occurrence?

However, this wasn’t the time to be musing over such questions. The urgent matter at hand was to save the Demonic Emperor Old Man. Otherwise, the 《Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art》 would be a thing of history.

All of the effort he put in previously would have gone to vain as well.