Chapter 22: The Divine Emperor of Great Xia

Cheng Zhihai had left, his whereabouts unknown.

After emerging from the secret chamber and leaving the grand hall, Cheng Guang raised his eyes. The heavens above were still awash in a faint golden radiance, the surrounding white clouds tinged with gold beneath its glow.

“Young Lord.”

Qingluan, who had been waiting outside, hurried over, her face etched with worry. “How did it go?”

Cheng Guang understood her unspoken question—she was asking whether he’d managed to conceal the truth.

He nodded slightly, “More or less.”

After replying, he glanced again at the golden light in the sky, a lingering sense that his bloodline might be even stronger than he had imagined. The shock he saw in Cheng Zhihai’s expression only deepened his conviction.

After a moment, Cheng Guang patted her shoulder. “Come on, let’s go back.”

Seeing this, Qingluan let her questions rest. She still had no idea how Cheng Guang had managed to deceive Cheng Zhihai, only that he’d spent a long time gazing up at the sky.

Was that golden brilliance in the heavens the work of the Young Lord?

Qingluan was bewildered. How could healing an injury create such a startling phenomenon?

...

Elsewhere in the Duke Protector’s estate.

Cheng Zhihai retrieved a rare treasure from a chest—a Stone of Kin, capable of communicating across great distances. The Duke held the parent stone, while several subsidiary stones had been distributed among the estate’s key figures; one of them was in Cheng Zhihai’s possession.

Though he had been involved throughout the process of stripping the imperial bloodline from a royal descendant and implanting it into Cheng Guang, Cheng Zhihai knew far less of the royal lineage’s secrets than his father, Cheng Shiyuan.

Now, the bloodline stone had revealed an anomaly far beyond Cheng Zhihai’s understanding.

He activated the Stone of Kin, attempting to contact Duke Protector Cheng Shiyuan.

Channeling his energy into it, the stone shivered gently, mysterious ripples spreading from its surface.

In an instant, the trembling ceased, and a vigorous yet slightly aged voice resonated.

“Zhihai, why have you contacted me so suddenly?”

Cheng Zhihai answered quickly, “Father, Guang’er’s injuries have healed!”

At this, even the air seemed to grow still.

The stone hovered up and down, until, after a pause, a heavy breath sounded.

“He’s healed? So the bloodline rejection is gone? My grandson can cultivate the spiritual path now?”

Cheng Zhihai nodded, “It seems so, but there’s something odd.”

Cheng Shiyuan’s voice brimmed with suppressed delight and excitement. “What’s odd?”

Cheng Zhihai replied at once, “Father, I just tested Guang’er’s blood with the stone. There are supposed to be seven colors corresponding to the imperial bloodline’s concentration, but just now, the stone revealed gold!”

“Gold?” The Duke was stunned.

“Yes!” Cheng Zhihai nodded emphatically, his tiger eyes trembling. “It was as if the stone couldn’t bear Guang’er’s bloodline—it shattered, and that gold light burst forth, soaring straight into the sky! If I hadn’t intervened to contain some of that energy, I fear the entire capital would have been shaken!”

He finished and immediately asked, “Father, do you know what it means when the bloodline stone shows gold?”

His question was met with silence.

Cheng Zhihai wasn’t impatient, waiting quietly. He knew his father was already searching for the answer.

Though the Directorate of Lanterns was the most powerful intelligence agency in the Great Zhou, when it came to knowledge of the royal family, Cheng Zhihai could not compare to his father.

A long while passed.

At length, Cheng Shiyuan seemed about to speak, hesitated, and finally said in a hoarse voice, “Gold… It’s said that tens of thousands of years ago, during the era of the Divine Emperor of Great Xia, the direct bloodline of the emperor would register as gold on the bloodline stone.”

“But after all these ages, the direct line of the Divine Emperor has splintered countless times. Even among direct descendants, gold should no longer appear…”

“So what is going on?”

He had begun by answering Cheng Zhihai’s question, but by the end, the Duke himself sounded lost.

For one as composed as Cheng Shiyuan—who could remain unflinching even if Mount Tai collapsed before him—there was now a faint trace of existential doubt in his voice.

If the Duke was so shaken, Cheng Zhihai was even more so.

At the mention of the Divine Emperor of Great Xia, his eyes narrowed, his jaw dropped, disbelief written all over his face.

“The Divine Emperor of Great Xia?”

“Surely Guang’er doesn’t bear the blood of the Divine Emperor…”

“Of course not,” Cheng Shiyuan cut him off. “The Divine Emperor is a legend. After so many thousands of years, how could his bloodline possibly survive? Perhaps the bloodline stone malfunctioned…”

“After all, the imperial bloodline in Guang’er was forcibly taken and implanted—we may have made an error during the fusion, causing the stone to misread it.”

He offered a reasonable explanation.

Though Cheng Zhihai still felt something amiss, he let it go.

In any case, for Cheng Guang to possess imperial blood was a blessing, and with the hidden dangers now removed, it was cause for celebration.

The burden weighing on Cheng Zhihai’s heart finally lifted.

“Father, now Guang’er can pursue the spiritual path…”

“Good. Do encourage him to continue training in martial arts openly, but let him devote his true efforts to the spiritual path in secret. There’s no need to reveal it too soon.”

“Though I care little for the opinions of the world, the impact of this matter is too great.”

Cheng Zhihai nodded in understanding. “Then, Father, do you know the methods for cultivating the spiritual path?”

The Duke Protector snorted, “How should I know? Ask your wife.”

Cheng Zhihai scratched his head awkwardly, all authority lost before his father. “Father, you know Yuemei’s situation. She’s been bound by oath and cannot reveal any imperial secrets, so she cannot teach the spiritual path.”

Cheng Shiyuan was unconcerned. “If we’ve dealt with the imperial bloodline, how can the mere method of spiritual cultivation be out of reach?”

“Handle it yourself—there’s no rush. Steady now.”

“For the time being, let Guang’er hone his martial arts. No need for extraordinary results, just enough to keep up appearances. When you have the cultivation method, shift his focus to the spiritual path.”

With that, Cheng Shiyuan sighed. “More and more, I feel that beyond the realm of Transcendence, only royal blood can break through. Even if I perfect the martial path, standing at the very threshold of legend, I still cannot find the way forward.”

He ended the connection.

The Stone of Kin, suspended in the air, drifted down into Cheng Zhihai’s hand.

He put the stone away, his expression growing stern and cold. He turned to look at the mural on the wall.

There, an elder stood before a vast horde of demons and monsters, his face serene, almost smiling.

One man, standing against ten thousand foes, yet without the slightest fear.

This was the number one martial artist of Great Zhou, the Duke Protector.

Taking in his father’s portrait, Cheng Zhihai rose and left. He had instructions to give concerning Cheng Guang.

Upon stepping outside, his figure seemed to melt into the void, vanishing in an instant.

The next moment, he was in Cheng Guang’s courtyard.

There, in the pavilion, Cheng Guang and Qingluan were laughing and talking, unaware of his arrival.

Cheng Zhihai was about to approach when he suddenly felt something beneath his foot.

He paused and looked down.

There, half-buried in the earth, was a sheet of paper.

On it was written—

The Tomb of Cheng Zhihai.

Cheng Zhihai’s expression changed.

His entire body tensed.

His fists clenched.