Chapter 2379 - 9: Three Years Later!
Edited by: Michyrr
The fabric of space trembled as Heaven’s eyes erupted with a brilliant light, lighting up the sealed dimension.
Heaven lowered his head and said to the two An Lushans, “An Lushan, didn’t you want to kill Wang Chong? We will lend you a hand!”
Boom!
Before An Lushan could answer, an enormous energy howled out of Heaven’s body and into An Lushan’s soul.
But surprisingly, Heaven’s devouring encountered no struggle or resistance.
As Heaven was in the midst of devouring, a voice that was somewhat similar to An Lushan’s but slightly scratchy and brimming with endless hatred cried out, “Come on, then! I only have one condition! No matter what, he must die!”
As this voice spoke, the two An Lushans threw themselves into Heaven’s soul.
If there was one person in the world that could help him kill Wang Chong, then it was undoubtedly Heaven.
Boom!
The fusion process was much faster than expected. A few moments later, a light tens of thousands of times brighter than the sun erupted from Heaven’s body, and a beam of light shot upward, sending ripples throughout the sealed dimension.
The enormous energy even shook Essence Supreme’s soul fragment out of Heaven’s body. Besides that, Essence Supreme could sense that Heaven’s energy was rapidly rising after absorbing An Lushan’s soul.
His soul had been heavily damaged from the backlash that came from the destruction of the Celestial Palace, covered in cracks, but at this moment, his soul’s condition began to rapidly improve. It recovered by more than twenty percent, and while it was still not fully healed, its recovery speed was many times faster.
Moreover, on Heaven’s body, he could sense a special energy that had previously only appeared on An Lushan.
The World Consciousness!
Essence Supreme immediately understood that by completely devouring An Lushan, Heaven had inherited that power that An Lushan had as the Child of the World.
At this moment, Heaven was the new ‘Child of the World’!
As a spatial storm ripped through the region, Essence Supreme came to an understanding that what had happened just now had not been an accident. Heaven had voluntarily removed Essence Supreme’s soul shard.
“He no longer needs me. No one will dare to betray him now!”
Essence Supreme didn’t know what Heaven had gained from An Lushan’s soul or what he had seen, but there was no doubt that Heaven was brimming with confidence!
After a long while, the storm finally calmed down.
Crack!
Essence Supreme could sense that on the very edge of the dimension, there was a sharp crack, and then a tear appeared on that seemingly impregnable domain, a sliver of external energy flowing inside.
“How could this be?!”
Essence Supreme was flabbergasted.
But before he had time to think, Heaven began to slowly open his eyes.
“Your Majesty!”
Essence Supreme hastily lowered his head, his tone one of unprecedented meekness.
Essence Supreme suddenly understood that the moment they had been awaiting for so long had perhaps truly come.
All was quiet, and when Heaven finally spoke, the fabric of space trembled.
“Essence Supreme.
“The moment We have been awaiting for countless epochs has finally arrived!”
Heaven’s simple words left Essence Supreme’s mind reeling.
“But there is one other matter. Do you recall that girl We had you bring back?” Heaven said.
Essence Supreme bowed and said, “Yes. Your subordinate has already taken care of her.”
“Very good. There is a task for you to carry out.”
......
......
Several days later, in the capital of the Great Tang...
A gust of wind caused countless leaves to dance and sprinkle across the ground.
In his study, Wang Chong was reading through reports when a guard came in with a letter.
“Your Highness, someone outside has come to deliver a letter!”
“Understood. Bring it here.”
Wang Chong casually pointed at his desk.
“Yes!”
The guard quickly departed. After a few moments, once he was done reading the report in his hand, Wang Chong finally took the letter. Upon glancing at its contents, he instantly paled.
There were no words on the letter, only a wooden hairpin and a white sheet of paper.
Wang Chong had gifted this hairpin to Xu Qiqin a long time ago, and on the white sheet of paper was an image of the Celestial Palace.
“Heaven!”
Wang Chong’s eyes chilled as he realized what was happening.
As Wang Chong spoke, the letter suddenly flew into the air, and a familiar voice began to majestically ring out.
“Wang Chong, We already know all your secrets. The grudges between us will not end like this. Three years from now, We will lead all of the Celestial Army and destroy this world. At that time, you will not have the slightest chance!
“Cherish your last moments!”
Heaven’s voice was cold, and as he spoke, a black flame instantly erupted from the letter and burned it into ash.
As the ash drifted down, Heaven’s aura vanished. Heaven had only attached a part of his consciousness to the letter, not sent his original body.
Wang Chong sat motionless on his chair, his eyes growing colder and colder.
‘Knew all his secrets’?
What did that mean?
And what did three years signify? Did it mean that Heaven was going to break out of his seal in three years?
Countless ideas ran through Wang Chong’s mind. After the Celestial Palace incident, Heaven and the Celestial God Organization had vanished like a puff of smoke. This was the first letter he had ever received from Heaven.
“Is this a declaration of war?”
Wang Chong slowly rose from his chair, a vast energy beginning to slowly erupt from his body.
“No matter what scheme you have, I will receive it with all I have.
“This time, I will not give you the chance to bring disaster on this world!”
He spoke these final words with absolute resolve.
......
......
Only a few people were informed about Heaven’s letter, so the capital remained calm. But in secret, everything began to change.
Under Wang Chong’s guidance, after discussion with Yeon Gaesomun, Ozmish Khagan, and the other sovereigns, and with the support of Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian Wang Zhongsi, Zhangchou Jianqiong, and Tongluo Great General Abusi, Li Heng began an unprecedented military expansion across the entire continent.
From the Central Plains in the east all the way to the Arabian Empire in the west, all the armies, regardless of people or country, began to rapidly expand at an astonishing speed, with many training camps being established.
This time, however, it was not for a war between countries, but to face a future threat of unprecedented enormity—one which threatened the lives of all of humanity.
Three years!
This was the time given by Heaven’s letter. At the same time, Wang Chong recalled that this was also when the otherworldly invaders would appear. Whether it was to deal with Heaven’s immense Celestial Army or to deal with the otherworldly invaders, humanity required a powerful army of unprecedented size.
From a certain perspective, it was rather fortunate that the entire continent had been embroiled in war for the last few decades. Even though all countries had suffered grievous losses, it also meant that they had been able to train up large numbers of experienced generals and determined soldiers who had been forged in fire and blood. This was an immense resource that Wang Chong had previously not had access to.
Bahram, Tiechi Bileli, Zhangchou Jianqiong, Zhang Shougui, Wunu Shibi... these renowned generals and ironblood soldiers packed the training camps. There were tens of thousands of camps, each one training numerous soldiers.
This massive empire that for the first time constituted the entire continent began to turn like a giant machine.
Not long after all this was completed, Wang Chong announced that he was entering seclusion so that he could break through into an even higher realm.
No one knew how long this seclusion would be, but everyone knew that Wang Chong was preparing for the final war.
...The decisive war between him and Heaven!
......
Three years flew by.
Splash!
As dawn approached, in a part of the ocean far away from the continent, waves splashed as a figure emerged from the bottom of the ocean. Upon closer inspection, this was a creature similar to a giant octopus, but it was also different, as there were many signs that it had been artificially modified. This was clearly a sea creature created through the Behemoth Fusion Art.
“Is this the place?” A whispered voice came from the head of the octopus.
“Yes. Everyone, be careful to not alarm them.”
Several figures silently jumped off the head of the octopus creature and made their way onto the shore. A few seconds later, the group took off the shark skins they used to move around underwater, and raised their heads.
In front of them was a craggy cliff face. They had chosen to come ashore here so as to not alarm the people on this island.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Using both their hands and feet, they scaled the wall like monkeys. In the pre-dawn darkness, they went completely undiscovered.
It took only a few seconds to reach the top of the cliff, from which they had a complete view of the place.
But after glancing around, they paled and immediately rushed toward the center of the island, casting aside all pretense of stealth.
The island was deserted. In front of them were abandoned tents, wooden sheds, and still-smoldering camp fires. There were even fish bones, bowls, and plates.
One of the men in black looked around and solemnly said, “They left, probably not too long ago. We were too late.”
Another voice came from nearby. “Look over there!”
One of the men in black emerged from a small wooden shed. In his hand was a large, ancient bronze book, the front covered with exquisite carvings and a striking golden vertical eye.
The Eye of God!
The men trembled in shock upon seeing this golden eye with its vertical pupil, instantly recognizing it.
The first to discover the Eye of God was the Supreme King, who had discovered it in some ruins deep beneath the Sassanid Dynasty.