Chapter 1161: Conquering the Heavens |
"You're so foolish, truly foolish… What if you got lost in the cosmos? What if that fragment of your divine sense dissipated?"
In this lifetime, Tang San had never told Mei Gongzi that he had come into this world at the price of offering up his own life for love, allowing only a sliver of his true spirit to descend here in search of her. He had never told her that the fall of a God King could mean complete dissipation in the void of the universe, rendering millennia of hard work to nothingness.
Mei Gongzi did not know what price he had paid to find her—but how could Xiao Wu, who had lived by his side for so many years, not know?
"Without you, what meaning would eternity even have?" Tang San smiled gently, his hand softly caressing her long hair. Amidst the roaring thunder, he began to braid it into the scorpion braid she had loved most in her previous life.
His movements were tender, familiar. His face overflowed with endless affection.
At long last, his Xiao Wu had returned… She was back…
The two embraced tightly as thunder slowly abated overhead. The tribulation was nearly past. Having endured the baptism of the Great Thunderstorm of Heaven and Earth, they were now true Emperors of this realm. And having endured the Gauntlet of Ascension for an unprecedented ten thousand meters, they were at the peak of the realm.
"Our family… can finally be reunited, can't we? Brother San, can we go home now? I miss them so much." Xiao Wu's voice choked with sobs.
As the storm clouds dwindled, the figures of Tang San and Xiao Wu grew clearer in the skies. Below, the Emperors were only now regaining their senses.
These dozen Emperors had each endured a fearsome tribulation to ascend, but compared to what they had just witnessed, their own trials felt like pale imitations. That boundless lightning, that sensation as though the entire plane was about to collapse… Was that truly an Emperor's tribulation? How could one who merely sought ascension withstand such a calamity?
Even the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor was momentarily dazed, uncertain of what had just transpired.
Yet the two figures still stood.
In other words, they had succeeded. They were now Emperors.
The skies cleared, the earth stilled, but within the Ancestral Court, shock still gripped every demon and nymph.
From the heavens, Tang San and Xiao Wu descended slowly.
The Emperors' divine senses swept toward them at once.
What shocked them most was that they could no longer gauge the couple's strength. Their senses could not pierce the veil around the two, not even to see their faces clearly. A faint, hazy light blurred their features, much like the Sunborne Nymph Emperor's visage.
One after another, the Emperors rose into the air to greet them.
They could not fathom their cultivation, but they were all aware of one thing: Anyone who survived such a calamity would not be an ordinary Emperor.
Just then, another person showed up: Radiant Dragon King Xu Anyu. During the tribulation, the overwhelming pressure had pinned him to the ground, rendering him unable even to fly. Only now, freed from the crushing force, could he rush over to offer his well-wishes.
"Congratulations to you both!"
"Congratulations, Your Majesties, on becoming Emperors!" The Ancestral Court's elite guards nearby cried in unison, bowing low.
In an instant, a mighty roar swept through the Ancestral Court, "Congratulations to Your Majesties on becoming Emperors!"
Tang San nodded slightly. "I thank you all for your congratulations. But we have not yet reached the end of our path to Emperorhood."
The Emperors were taken aback. The Gauntlet of Ascension to step into the realm, and the Great Thunderstorm of Heaven and Earth to refine oneself—that was the full process. Having passed them, one was already a true Emperor. What else was there?
Tang San continued, "I once heard from my grandfather-in-law that the Emperor Tribulation has not two but three stages. Normally, passing the first two suffices, but today, I wish to face the third together with my wife."
The third stage?
The Emperors exchanged baffled looks. Indeed, there was such a thing, but none had attempted it in two millennia. The last person was, of course, the Crystal Demon Emperor. Yet she had not attempted it until centuries after ascending, and even so, she'd barely succeeded.
The White Tiger Demon Emperor could not help but say, "You two have only just ascended. You must stabilize your foundations. How can you rush into the third stage now? Do not be reckless. You are qualified to attempt it, but rest and consolidate first."
Tang San sighed lightly and shrugged. "Time waits for no one. Better today than any other day."
Raising his voice, he swept his gaze across the Emperors and declared solemnly, "Today, my wife and I shall conquer the heavens!"
This was the name of the third stage: Conquering the Heavens.[1]
When one sought to rule the Ancestral Court, to become its supreme master, they had to challenge all other Emperors in succession, without pause. If they could defeat them all in one sweep, then they would rise in a single step to become master of the Court.
Long ago, the Crystal Demon Emperor had succeeded in this and become the First Emperor. But her success had been under different circumstances; her peers had been mostly freshly-ascended Emperors, while the current Council consisted of Emperors at the peak of their power, some of them not much weaker than the Crystal Demon Emperor had been in her prime.
None of the Emperors had foreseen that Tang San and Mei Gongzi would attempt this immediately upon ascension.
The Celestial Fox Demon Emperor said gravely: "You must consider this well. This attempt might truly bring you above the heavens in one step. But if you fail, you will have to face the punishment established by the Ancestral Court. Your cultivation will be suppressed for a hundred years. Are you prepared?"
Tang San said calmly, "Yes. We have decided. Your Majesties may attack alone or in pairs. If you decide to fight one-on-one, I will take the field. In a pair match, my wife and I will face you together."
The Sunborne Nymph Emperor burst out, "Jin Miaolin, don't grow arrogant. You've just ascended! Consolidation is vital. If your cultivation is suppressed for a century at this point, you may never reach the peak of Emperorhood!"
Tang San smiled faintly. "Your Majesty, you worry too much. You know me. When have I ever acted without certainty?"
The Sunborne Nymph Emperor faltered, frowning.
The Celestial Fox Demon Emperor narrowed his eyes. "Very well. Since you seek to conquer the heavens, then prepare to face the heavens. On behalf of the Ancestral Court, I accept your challenge. Take to the skies."
"Good," Tang San replied, taking Xiao Wu's hand as they rose once more.
The White Tiger Demon Emperor opened his mouth, but then closed it again. It was too late to dissuade them. But recalling their tribulation just now… Could it be that they truly had the confidence to face any Emperor?
He turned toward the Undying Demon Emperor, who had remained silent. He was also frowning deeply, pondering. He had sensed, when his grandson-in-law had spoken, a shift in aura so profound that even with his cultivation at the peak of the twelfth order, he felt… unsettled.
"Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor, you will be the first to accept their challenge," the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor declared solemnly.
1. The original is a four-character word of the author’s own invention that would literally be translated as "stepping on Emperors to ascend to heaven." We have decided on a shorter and more impactful translation that we think renders the meaning sufficiently. ☜
the poing team's Thoughts
As you might have noticed, Mei Gongzi’s name was replaced by Xiao Wu. This is in accordance with the raws; as far as we’re concerned, it would have been interesting if she was given a fusion name like Xiao Wugong (which in fact sounds fairly plausible as a name, much unlike Mei Gongzi). That’s a missed opportunity, we think.