Chapter 2538: Father and Son
The Demon Wolf Clan, in the Hundred Clans Royal City, was equal in renown to the Yecha Clan, standing as one of the three most powerful clans.
The Demon Wolf Clan’s sacred land was also known as the “Seven Peaks Linked Mountain Range.” Amid the mountains, demonic qi formed a sea of clouds, pitch-black and dense, with lightning flowing within and thunder rumbling low, now near, now far.
On the summit of the first peak stood two figures.
The one in front, Qi Tian, pulled back the black hood covering his head, revealing a face around thirty years old, with a beard, spirited and vigorous, his gaze like lightning.
That face, including his form and the aura emanating from him, rapidly transformed.
In moments, he became a different visage.
Zhang Ruochen, seeing the middle-aged man before him—one he had known all too well for years—could no longer contain his emotions. The feelings, questions, and confusion accumulated over the years surged from his heart to his head, then turned into two warm streams flowing from his eyes.
“So… all these years, you’ve been in the Destiny Temple. I thought you had long since died, killed by Emperor Qing and the others, or gone to the Western Buddha Realm to become a monk. How could you… how could you still be alive and well?” Zhang Ruochen gritted his teeth, nearly demanding.
Qi Tian’s other form was none other than the Ming Emperor, who had vanished eight hundred years ago.
Zhang Ling.
The Ming Emperor’s eyes were deep and focused, fixed on the sea of demonic qi below. “I know you carry hatred and resentment in your heart, but a man, no matter how bitter or weary, how hateful or resentful, should not shed tears. Your temperament, in the end, resembles your mother’s more.”
Zhang Ruochen laughed bitterly, almost to himself. “When emotions run deep, how can one not shed tears? And you’re wrong—I don’t hate, nor do I resent. I only want to know why.”
On the peak, the cold wind howled fiercely.
The Ming Emperor did not answer him immediately. After a long silence, he said, “I’m sorry.”
Zhang Ruochen stood straight as a spear. “That apology isn’t for me. It should be for Mother, for those loyal ministers and subjects of the Sacred Bright Empire who died or were forced into exile because of you.”
“You’re wrong. That apology doesn’t mean I believe what I did was wrong. It’s just that I feel guilt—guilt for not being strong enough. If I were strong enough, I wouldn’t have had to do so many helpless things. With power, I could have protected our home, our country, our civilization, and our world.”
The Ming Emperor turned, finally facing Zhang Ruochen directly. “I know you’ve learned a lot. I also know the doubts in your heart and your dissatisfaction with me as your father.”
Zhang Ruochen stood aside, listening quietly.
“Your temperament truly is more like your mother’s. She appears ruthless in her actions, but in reality, her vision is narrow—she values family and loved ones above all else. I am different. From childhood, I was the crown prince of the Holy Bright Central Empire, and later became its emperor. From a young age, I was instilled with the idea of responsibility, responsibility, and more responsibility.”
The Ming Emperor laughed, a self-deprecating sound. “Without the world, where is the nation? Without the nation, where is the home?”
“If you hadn’t been born into an imperial family, you wouldn’t have to bear these responsibilities. To hold a position without shouldering its duties is a disgrace to the world, unworthy of living in it.”
“If you were merely an ordinary person, you wouldn’t have to do anything. For a world, for a nation, for a civilization, ordinary people only need to reproduce. But those with extraordinary talent must bear the responsibility to write history, create the future, or save the people from suffering.”
The latter words seemed to be spoken to himself, or perhaps deliberately to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen had indeed learned about the events of eight hundred years ago from Murong Fengye, Prince Mingjiang, Kong Lanyou, Chi Yao, and Granny Haitang.
Sometimes, he could understand the Ming Emperor’s plight and acknowledge those unavoidable grand truths. After all, he had grown up with the Ming Emperor and knew his father quite well.
But why hadn’t he been told everything eight hundred years ago?
Zhang Ruochen said, “After so many years, we meet again, and this is what we talk about? I’m no longer a child. I understand the principles I need to.”
“I know you’ve grown up, that you have a strong enough heart to bear the responsibilities you must shoulder. That’s why I came to see you,” the Ming Emperor said.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Eight hundred years ago, when Chi Yao killed me, did you know about it?”
The Ming Emperor looked into his eyes and nodded.
“Why?”
The Ming Emperor clasped his hands behind his back, walked to the edge of the cliff, and looked up at the sky.
Zhang Ruochen pressed forward. “Why? Why did you let her kill me? Why didn’t you tell me the truth? If I had known the truth, for the Zhang family, for the Sacred Bright Empire, for the Kunlun Realm—you should understand—I would have given everything, even my life. Was it the pressure from those who awakened in the Kunlun Realm? Did they force Chi Yao to kill me?”
The Ming Emperor gently shook his head. “One day, you will understand. Our generation has been striving to live, to let more people live. Chen’er, after so many years, we meet again, and this is what we talk about? Is there nothing else between us to say?”
Zhang Ruochen knew the Ming Emperor too well. That was why it was hard to feel hatred toward him.
Because he understood that his father would never do anything to harm him. Perhaps their views differed, perhaps there were things kept from him, but the ultimate goal was never bad.
The Ming Emperor and Zhang Ruochen sat by the cliff, enduring the cold wind.
The father was not old, and the son was no longer young. Both were upright men of the world.
“Do you remember when you were seven, and I gave you a severe beating?” the Ming Emperor suddenly laughed, as if reminiscing.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and shook his head. “That might be the most humiliating moment of my life. My butt was nearly beaten to pieces, swollen so much I couldn’t pull up my pants. But I’ve forgotten why you hit me.”
“Because you said you didn’t want to be called Zhang Ruochen,” the Ming Emperor said.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. You said, ‘Ruochen, Ruochen—you want me to become someone like Xue Hongchen. But I am myself. I must change my name.’”
“Having a son should be like Xue Hongchen”—the Ming Emperor often said this, and thus Zhang Ruochen got his name.
Zhang Ruochen asked curiously, “I’m still curious. I was the crown prince of the Holy Bright Central Empire. Was it really appropriate for you to name me like that? The Sword Emperor was indeed outstanding, but you were an emperor yourself. Why admire him so much, even to the point of worship?”
Zhang Ruochen, no longer fearing a spanking, spoke more boldly.
The Ming Emperor’s eyes showed a deep, moving emotion. He sighed, “What I admire and respect about him isn’t just his talent. Do you know? He was the first person in the Kunlun Realm to give up everything he had and resolutely infiltrate the Hell Realm. To find a glimmer of hope for the Kunlun Realm, he embarked on a dark path that could have led to his death without a burial place.”
“From then on, the Kunlun Realm had no Sword Emperor, leaving only countless heartbroken beauties.”
“But do you know? Xue Hongchen was the most romantic and passionate man. He couldn’t bear to see women cry or be sad, and he was most reluctant to leave behind a world of flowers and pleasures. If he heard that some woman had been wronged, even if he didn’t know her, he would travel ten thousand miles with his sword to seek justice for her.”
“I thought that, given his temperament, age, and talent, he would never agree to abandon everything he had, hurt countless beauties, and go to the Hell Realm to live as a dead man walking. But he resolutely agreed and was the first to leave the Kunlun Realm.”
“At that moment, I said, ‘Having a son should be like Xue Hongchen.’ I named you Ruochen because his departing back shocked me.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “How many cultivators from the Kunlun Realm have infiltrated the Hell Realm? All to rescue the Yunshen Daozhu?”
“The Heavenly Court Myriad Realms and the Ten Clans of Hell see the Kunlun Realm as a treasure trove, eager to plunder it, even to exterminate its people. Like wolves descending on prey, the beings of the Kunlun Realm are like sheep on two legs. Those weaker worlds have it easier than us. The Daozhu, with his formations, can block the Yellow Spring Star River for a hundred thousand years. Only by rescuing him can the Kunlun Realm have hope.”
The Ming Emperor stood up. “Chen’er… no, Zhang Ruochen, promise me this: no matter the outcome this time, take good care of your mother. Tell her I never regret meeting her. If you want to rebuild the Sacred Bright Empire, go ahead. You’ve grown up. You’re a Great Saint now. You should have your own path and way.”
The Ming Emperor slapped Zhang Ruochen on the shoulder, then leaped into the rolling sea of demonic qi.
Zhang Ruochen felt the thirty-thousandth part of the Fate Esoterica return to his body. His expression stiffened as he realized his father’s words had the tone of a final testament. He shouted and jumped into the pitch-black sea of clouds.
But the Ming Emperor had vanished without a trace. No matter how Zhang Ruochen called out, there was no response.
The return of the Fate Esoterica meant that the Empress had forged the Fate Heavenly Token.
The plan to rescue the Yunshen Daozhu had officially begun!
The Ming Emperor had come to see him at this time, clearly preparing for the worst in this rescue operation. That was why he had come to see Zhang Ruochen one last time.
Realizing this, Zhang Ruochen rushed out of the Demon Wolf Clan’s sacred land. Even if he couldn’t catch up to the Ming Emperor, he had to return to the Fate Divine Mountain as quickly as possible.
Rescuing the Yunshen Daozhu was such a monumental event that it would surely shake heaven and earth. The fall of gods was a normal occurrence.
Could it be that after this brief reunion, they would part forever?
Before he could leave the Seven Peaks Linked Mountain Range, Zhang Ruochen was blocked by someone.
“A Le!”
A Le, dressed in plain clothes, still carrying his iron sword, said in a stiff voice, “He has already left the Hundred Clans Royal City. He is a god—you cannot catch up. Besides, catching up would be useless.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Do you know who he is?”
“Your father,” A Le said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Did he ask you to stop me?”
A Le thought for a moment, then stepped aside. From behind him emerged an old, decrepit cultivator, his body withered, draped in wolf fur, with a tail hanging between his legs.
“If you truly want to help them, you don’t have to go to the Fate Divine Mountain. There are many things you can do right now,” the old man said in a hoarse voice.
Zhang Ruochen probed with his spiritual power and found not a trace of energy fluctuation on the other party. Shocked, he realized this was likely a god.
This should be one of the three gods stationed in the Hundred Clans Royal City.
“He is the grandson of the Wolf Ancestor, a god,” A Le said.
The old man gave a dry laugh. “A god on the verge of death.”
Zhang Ruochen suppressed his chaotic emotions and bowed respectfully. “Greetings, God Handa.”
The Wolf Ancestor had submitted to the Destiny Temple’s Nutian Shenzun, becoming his mount, and thus secured a place for the Demon Wolf Clan on the edge of the Hell Realm.
Without the backing of Nutian Shenzun, how could the Demon Wolf Clan have grown so powerful in just a hundred thousand years?
Zhang Ruochen had heard of the Wolf Ancestor’s grandson, Handa.
The Wolf Ancestor’s grandson said, “Rescuing the Yunshen Daozhu doesn’t depend on how many cultivators go to the Fate Divine Mountain. After all, most of the gods on the Fate Divine Mountain have gone to the Yu Huang Realm.”
“What we need to do is to lure as many of the remaining gods on the Fate Divine Mountain as possible to the Hundred Clans Royal City, making the Fate Divine Mountain even more empty.”
“Why lure them to the Hundred Clans Royal City?” Zhang Ruochen calmed down completely.
The Wolf Ancestor’s grandson said, “Because the Hundred Clans Royal City is on the edge of the Hell Realm. Gods from the Heavenly Court can secretly approach the nearby star region. Only the gods of the Heavenly Court can hold back the gods of the Destiny Temple.”
“In truth, many great worlds in the Heavenly Court don’t want the Yunshen Daozhu to escape. So, asking them to directly help is impossible. We can only use astonishing benefits to lure them here.”
Zhang Ruochen was not foolish. He immediately caught on. “If we add the Yecha Clan, wouldn’t that be even better?”
The Wolf Ancestor’s grandson smiled. “You’re very clever. You’ve already figured it out. Yes, the source light of the Yecha Clan’s sacred land was created by us. The Yecha Clan is the strongest clan in the Hundred Clans Royal City, with deep foundations. Dragging them in will surely trap the gods of the Heavenly Court and the Destiny Temple in a quagmire.”
“Unfortunately, the Origin Divine Temple is not in the Yecha Clan’s sacred land. The gods of the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm may not fall for it.”
Then, Zhang Ruochen asked, “When do the Empress and the others plan to act?”
“Probably not that soon. They’ll wait until the source light erupts again to lure out the gods of the Fate Divine Mountain before acting,” the Wolf Ancestor’s grandson said.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. “The gods are all very shrewd. The Yecha Clan is not stupid either. The source light can only attract them for a while. Without a real Origin Divine Temple appearing, they’ll soon realize it’s a trap and quickly return to the Fate Divine Mountain. By then, the Empress and the others will have their escape route cut off. Not only will they fail to rescue the Yunshen Daozhu, but they’ll all be lost.”
“There can never be a foolproof plan. There are always huge risks. Being able to lure the gods of the Fate Divine Mountain away for even a short time is an opportunity we must seize, even if the chance is slim,” the Wolf Ancestor’s grandson said with a long sigh.
Zhang Ruochen said, “What if the real Origin Divine Temple appears?”
“What did you say?” The Wolf Ancestor’s grandson’s eyes blazed with divine light.
…
That’s all for today’s chapter. This chapter was harder to write than I imagined. I deleted it twice. Originally, there was quite a bit of dialogue between Zhang Ruochen and the Ming Emperor, but I cut it all. It’s really difficult to write that kind of father-son reunion—the emotions, the conflicts, the ideological opposition, and mutual recognition. I figured, since I couldn’t write it well, it’s better to write less.