Chapter 115: A Contest with the Prince

Chapter 115: A Contest with the Prince

Emperor Yang Wei’s voice was exceptionally deep and resonant, though it trembled slightly. Whether this was due to excitement or shock at Wu Hong’s performance, no one could say.

Emperor Yang Guang had bestowed the title of Martial Might King upon him and made him a Peerless King because he regarded the Martial Might King as someone even closer than a blood brother.

Now that the Martial Might King’s whereabouts were unknown and his fate uncertain, Wu Hong had inherited his legacy. Thus, when Yang Wei addressed Wu Hong as Elder Brother, no one found it objectionable.

“Elder Brother, come, come—take the seat of honor.”

With extraordinary enthusiasm, Yang Wei took Wu Hong by the arm and led him up the steps.

No one objected. The position of Martial Might King had always been supreme, no less exalted than the position Emperor Yang Guang had once occupied.

Wu Hong made no attempt to decline. Everything here rightfully belonged to him.

As Yang Wei continued leading him upward, Wu Songran finally closed her mouth, which had remained open until that moment.

“Brother Hong, you’re incredible! So Father passed the throne to you long ago? You’ve been carrying the token with you all this time! You hid it from me so well!”

Wu Songran cried out, delighted on Wu Hong’s behalf.

She quickly caught up with him, slipped her arm through his, and clung to him with unmistakable intimacy. Several civil and military officials, along with former generals who had served under the Martial Might King, had long heard rumors about the ambiguous relationship between Wu Hong and his half-sister.

Seeing how close the two were now, they all silently filed the spectacle away as the latest court gossip.

The Great Qian Dynasty had no explicit law forbidding brothers and sisters from marrying. Even so, such a union, if it existed, would be condemned and reviled by the majority for the rest of their lives.

Naturally, Emperor Yang Wei hoped Wu Hong and Wu Songran truly had some sort of relationship. It would allow him to deal a heavy blow to this newly risen king.

Yet at that moment, Yang Wei’s thoughts were extraordinarily complicated. The plans he had prepared against Wu Hong might prove difficult to carry out.

The Martial Might King’s influence throughout the Great Qian Dynasty was simply too vast. Now that Wu Hong had inherited the title, Yang Wei could do nothing but appease him and seek a way to ruin him later.

Among the military commanders, Wu Lie’s expression was twisted and ugly. At the same time, he felt utterly helpless.

Why? Why was he not the late king’s true son? Everything here should have belonged to him!

Wu Lie screamed inwardly again and again. But once the Martial Might Token had appeared, it was already too late. Nothing could be changed.

Envoys from several great nations were present, along with tens of thousands of soldiers, civil officials, and military commanders. Every one of them witnessed the succession.

“Come, come, Elder Brother—sit in my place!”

With a face full of smiles, Emperor Yang Wei invited Wu Hong to sit upon the imperial throne.

Wu Hong did not move. He merely said, “Your Majesty, I am only a subject. I have never presumed to sit upon the imperial throne…”

His tone was calm, but he placed heavy emphasis on the words “imperial throne,” clearly testing Yang Wei’s reaction.

Emperor Yang Guang had always feared that one day the Martial Might King would overthrow him and take the position everyone in the world longed for.

To Wu Hong’s disappointment, Yang Wei’s expression did not change in the slightest.

“Someone, bring out the seat reserved for the Martial Might King!”

Only Yang Wei himself felt his heart thumping uneasily.

Why had Wu Hong said that? Did he know that the Martial Might King had been secretly murdered as part of his father’s scheme?

Impossible. His father had spent more than ten days planning it, and the plot had been flawless. Wu Hong must merely be making a guess.

A smile remained fixed upon Yang Wei’s face, making it impossible to discern what he was thinking.

Before long, two imperial guards carried a throne to a position below Yang Wei.

“Slap!”

“Foolish servants! Have you forgotten where the Martial Might King is supposed to sit?”

Yang Wei abruptly slapped one of the guards carrying the throne.

Then, still smiling, he said to Wu Hong, “Elder Brother, these two servants only entered the palace recently and do not understand the proper protocol. Please forgive them. Please forgive them.”

With a sweep of his imperial sleeve, Yang Wei released a stream of black vital energy that gently lifted the throne and placed it level with his own, on his right.

Wu Hong was startled when he saw the form of Yang Wei’s vital energy, but his expression remained unchanged as he exchanged a few courteous words with the emperor.

The throne of the Martial Might King had been crafted from almost pure gold, just like Emperor Yang Wei’s throne. They were nearly identical. However, every court official in the Great Qian Dynasty knew that the golden dragons on the armrests of the Martial Might King’s throne possessed eight claws.

The golden dragons on Yang Wei’s throne possessed nine.

That was the only difference. The colors, carvings, and every other detail were exactly the same.

Wu Hong sat down calmly. Though Wu Songran was the daughter of the Martial Might King, a formal occasion such as this was hardly suitable for her to stand beside Wu Hong. She therefore took her place beside Wu Lie among the military commanders.

Most of the generals changed expression when they saw Wu Hong’s composed demeanor. This was the man who would soon become their superior.

“Long live our emperor! Long live! Ten thousand years of life!”

“Long live the Martial Might King! Long live! Long live!”

The assembled officials fell to their knees and paid homage to Wu Hong and Emperor Yang Wei.

“Rise,” Yang Wei said in a dignified voice.

The civil and military officials rose together and took their places on either side of the hall.

Since the founding of the Great Qian Dynasty, the Martial Might King had rarely attended court. Yet whenever matters of military importance arose, he had always sat on equal footing with Emperor Yang Guang, without distinction between their ranks.

Now Wu Hong enjoyed all the privileges once granted to the Martial Might King.

“Envoys, come forward to pay your respects to the new emperor and the new king!”

Eunuch Li lowered his shrill voice and shouted loudly.

Before long, three burly men clad in rare animal skins strode forward with great force. They came to a halt before Yang Wei and Wu Hong.

“Envoys of the Great Han Dynasty pay their respects to the new emperor! May the new emperor enjoy boundless longevity, and may his years be as enduring as the Southern Mountains! May the Great Qian Dynasty prosper for generation after generation!”

The three envoys of the Great Han Dynasty knelt and congratulated Yang Wei on his accession, deliberately leaving Wu Hong aside.

Wu Hong was not angry. He knew that someone would speak for him.

Emperor Yang Wei frowned and glanced at Eunuch Li.

“How dare you! Can you not see our newly appointed Martial Might King? Why have you not prostrated yourselves before him?”

Eunuch Li understood instantly from Yang Wei’s glance what he was expected to say.

Wu Hong, however, leisurely closed his eyes. He was nevertheless observing everything around him with meticulous clarity. Every expression was etched distinctly in his mind.

“Forgive our rudeness. The name of the Martial Might King is known throughout the four seas. But we recognize only the Martial Might King who is unrivaled in martial arts, who commands armies like a god, and who excels at every one of the four refined arts. Our emperor has personally stated that only someone who fulfills all these requirements may be acknowledged.

“If a man has obtained this position solely through inheritance, then forgive our discourtesy, but we do not recognize him in our hearts.

“Even if he possesses supreme authority, he is merely the Martial Might King of your Great Qian Dynasty—not the Martial Might King of the world.”

The Great Han Dynasty already stood isolated among the five great nations. Had the new emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty not ascended the throne, it would never have sent envoys here at all.

Emperor Yang Wei wore a faint smile but said nothing.

“How dare you insult the Great Qian Dynasty!” Eunuch Li rebuked the three envoys sharply. “Is this the will of your emperor, or does it represent the personal opinion of the three of you?”

The three envoys argued back without yielding.

“We already made ourselves clear. We will not acknowledge any Martial Might King who fails to meet the requirements we have listed.”

They did not answer Eunuch Li’s question directly, leaving him flushed and speechless.

Yang Wei continued to smile faintly.

Wu Hong slowly opened his eyes.

“Then what must I do for you to acknowledge me?”

His voice was low and deep, but vital energy infused every word, exerting immense pressure.

The expressions of the three envoys changed instantly. Nevertheless, they braced themselves and replied, “You must compete against our representatives and defeat them all. Only then will we acknowledge you.”

Yang Wei continued smiling outwardly, but inwardly he was already cursing them.

Three fools! Had they never heard that Wu Hong’s cultivation was the closest to the Innate Realm in the entire Great Qian Dynasty? Beneath the Innate Realm, he was invincible. By challenging him, were they not simply seeking humiliation?

Wu Songran grew nervous when she saw the three envoys suddenly provoke Wu Hong. But once she heard that these arrogant barbarians merely wished to challenge him, her heart settled.

Even Wu Hong smiled.

“What sort of contest?”

The answer given by the three rash envoys left everyone utterly stunned.

“Anyone capable of ascending to the position of Martial Might King must naturally possess formidable martial skill. But the Martial Might King is not merely skilled in combat. As I said earlier, he must also command armies like a god, nearly without equal in this age.

“For the first contest, we shall compare military strategy. Each side will deploy a fixed number of elite soldiers. They shall possess identical levels of martial cultivation, wear identical armor, and fight one another. The victor shall prevail.

“The second contest: We have heard that the Martial Might King is gifted in the arts. We shall compete in music, strategy games, calligraphy, and painting.

“The third contest shall compare the destructive power of our martial cultivation.”

The words of the three hulking envoys left the civil and military officials staring at one another in bewilderment.

This had clearly been carefully prepared—and designed specifically to deal with the Martial Might King.

But why?

Wu Hong cast a cold glance at Emperor Yang Wei and discovered that the other man’s heartbeat showed no irregularity.

His face was somewhat blank, but there was nothing unusual about him.

Wu Hong could not help wondering inwardly:

Who exactly was targeting him so deliberately?