Chapter 696 – The Emperor of the Yu Dynasty, Calming the Battlefield of Love and Jealousy - Part 1

Li Yuan let Xie Yu pummel him with her tiny fists. He didn’t mind at all. In fact, he rather enjoyed this kind of affectionate tantrum.

As for Patriarch Bao, who was still waiting outside the door, Li Yuan had no intention of dealing with him. Instead, he looked straight at Tang Aizhu and said, “Aizhu, next time something like this happens, just ask Xie Yu directly.”

Tang Aizhu was secretly startled but quickly bowed respectfully.

“Yes, understood.” She then turned toward Xie Yu, clearly waiting for instructions.

Xie Yu didn’t shy away from taking charge. Since she had already decided to accept all of this man’s flaws, she might as well embrace the authority that came with it too.

She gave it some thought and said, “The Bao Clan patriarch is a calculating man. He must’ve poked around and, seeing the carriage enter this palace, put the pieces together. Why don’t you go out and pick just one item from the mountain of gifts he brought? As for the rest, return them immediately and ask him to put everything back the way it was.

“His so-called

offense

isn’t really an issue in my eyes. That’s just how these noble families are. The real problem is the spectacle he caused. People seeing that will stir up unnecessary trouble. His sincerity is undeniable, but it might bring trouble for the Sect Master.”

She was thinking on Li Yuan’s behalf now.

Li Yuan may have said not to worry about Lady Yu. But Xie Yu had returned with a second life. How could she not know the extent of that woman’s obsession? Lady Yu, the one who once dominated the martial world, was not someone who took betrayal lightly.

Xie Yu wanted to shield Li Yuan, to give Lady Yu some room to breathe, because she understood all too well the pain of being deceived. And that pain, she knew, would fall hard on Lady Yu once the truth came out.

She had to try and soften that blow.

Tang Aizhu, no fool herself, nodded and went to handle it.

Meanwhile, Xie Yu returned to the courtyard of the palace with Li Yuan.

He didn’t beat around the bush. “You need to become transcendent.”

Xie Yu replied, “I’ve tried countless methods. I even memorized the breathing method from the Human Emperor’s Martial Canon backward and forward. But I still haven’t managed to get in the door.”

Li Yuan said, “The mountains and rivers must know me. Only through obsession can one grasp true insight. Then, with the breathing method, I can draw power. That’s the path to becoming the Human Emperor. You’re missing the first piece. But after our trip to Southriver, I’ll take you to a bestowal ceremony. That’ll open the door to your cultivation.”

“The mountains and rivers must know me. Only through obsession can one grasp true insight...” Xie Yu murmured the line under her breath. She looked up and said, “My obsession is the sword because it carries too many of my emotions.”

Li Yuan glanced at her. “You must’ve heard about what I did at the succession ceremony.”

“Mhm...” Xie Yu nodded.

Everyone had heard. With his bare hands, he blocked the Tang Sect’s Thousand Leagues Iron Wall, a construct said to be able to hold off entire armies. That wasn’t something a human should be capable of.

His weapon, which was his hand, was the only one to have its name etched onto the Mythic Ranking. It had already been turned into a tale told by street storytellers, spreading like wildfire through teahouses and taverns.

Driven by her obsession with studying the transcendent, Xie Yu had gone to listen herself, hoping to gain some insights. The storyteller’s version had been utterly over-the-top, full of flair and fantasy.

Xie Yu broke into a brilliant grin and said, “So imagine this, daggers, throwing knives, needles, spears, slingshot stones, poisoned darts, soul-chasing chakrams, Yin-Yang rings, five-poison sand, and blood-thistle caltrops...all of it raining down on that young man from every direction. My god, the sky changed color, the earth trembled, and even the sun and moon seemed to vanish!

“Now, guess what the young man did? He raised both hands. His fingers transformed into towering green mountains, and with a sweep, he embraced the vast ocean. Even the Thousand Leagues Iron Wall fell silent, flung aside by those hands. And who was that young man, you ask? None other than the new Sect Master of the Tang Sect, Lord Yu.”

She told the story with such flair and confidence, it was almost theatrical.

“The Qi of the Mountains and Rivers can turn your obsession into true insight. And that insight will, in turn, transform your martial arts. What was once ordinary becomes transcendent, ” Li Yuan explained. “My hands changed because of that insight.”

Xie Yu’s mind began to churn with questions, but she quickly broke into a smile, dimples blooming on her cheeks. Something had clearly crossed her mind, and she blushed as she asked, “So...what exactly are

you

obsessed with?”

Li Yuan caught the flicker of meaning behind her question and gave her a look.

“Let me stop you right there. The reason my martial art manifested as

hands

rather than blades or swords or spears has nothing to do with anything like that.

“I’ve simply mastered martial arts to the extreme. A finger can be a blade. It can also become a sword or a spear. An arm can be a whip, or a mighty bow, or a meteor hammer. My body has become indestructible, tougher than any divine weapon.

“Before the Great Upheaval of Heaven and Earth, when I was still in the Eastern Sea, I had already poured everything I knew into my own body. That’s when I realized that in the end, all weapons returned to one’s hands. Two fists. Endless variations, all contained within.

“As for my

obsession,

I chose

dusk

. The dusk of the setting sun, when it sinks beneath the forest, when the day turns old, and night begins its reign.”

Xie Yu said softly, “You’re still amazing. No matter how many lifetimes you go through, you’re always this amazing. But there’s something I still don’t understand.”

She paused, then voiced the question that had been weighing on her.

“How many times have you reincarnated? And how do you do it? I remember wandering through that gray, lifeless world for what felt like forever, like a walking corpse. Eventually, I came to a massive furnace, taller than a mountain. And then, I leapt in.

“I thought that furnace would burn my soul to ash. That’s what it was for. I was certain I was going to be destroyed. But then...it didn’t. The flames consumed the souls all around me. But just as they were about to reach me, they vanished. And instead of being burned, I was pushed out, whole and untouched. Then I passed through a corridor of light.

“I couldn’t move. It was like being a leaf swept along by a flood. Where the flood went, the leaf had no say. And at the end of it, I arrived at the Liu Clan. When I was born, I understood that I’d been reborn. And that passage of light, that was the path of reincarnation.

“But whether or not those flames consume you...that part is pure chance. It doesn’t care if you’re strong or weak. Strength won’t save you, and weakness won’t doom you. If I had to go through it again, I probably wouldn’t be so lucky.

“But you...you died once when the world changed. Then you lived a second life as Lord Yu. So how is it that you’ve been reborn yet again?”

Li Yuan’s expression darkened slightly at her words.

Of course, Xie Yu’s rebirth was a blessing. But only now did he realize it had happened because the Soul Furnace hadn’t fully consumed her. And that could only mean one thing. The world had gotten even worse.

“Xie Yu, actually...” Li Yuan paused, then made up his mind. He pulled her down to sit beside him and began explaining the secret of the Life Star Art. Once she understood that, his reincarnation was no longer a mystery.

After hearing everything, Xie Yu was left speechless.

She shot Li Yuan a vicious glare, then sighed and muttered, “Looks like I forgave you way too early.”

Li Yuan replied, “This thing about the Life Star Art...only you know.”

Xie Yu gave it some thought, then nodded. “Alright.”

Only then did Li Yuan finally relax and let out a quiet breath.

But the moment of calm didn’t last. Work beckoned.

News of the Divine Sovereign’s death had begun to spread, and chaos erupted in the Western Capital. Power struggles were breaking out left and right, and a sky-high bounty had been placed on the assassin’s head.

But for all the posturing and vengeance, the truth was, most people were secretly grateful to the assassin. They just didn’t know who to thank.

Li Yuan spent a little over three months laying the groundwork for a power reshuffle in Southriver.

For him, these weren’t major moves anymore. Just pawns being placed on the board. The actual logistics were handled by the four maids as well as senior members of the Tang Sect.

What truly mattered to him was the

narrative

. The spreading of his legend.

And so, while handling these affairs, he deliberately let the

secret

of his

rebirth

leak, and had three specific messages circulated far and wide:

First, Lord Yu was in fact the reborn Primordial Emperor.

Second, the famed Hundred-Battle Sword Sovereign was none other than Liu Long of the Liu family, whose previous life had been the founder of the Skygale Sect, Xie Yu.

Third, Xie Yu was the wife of the Primordial Emperor.

For someone in power, spreading a message with such confidence and conviction was child’s play.

But what followed was...somewhat ridiculous.

A wave of martial artists, emboldened or perhaps just foolish, began popping up claiming to be reincarnations too. One said he was the rebirth of some great Buddha, another claimed to be a celestial immortal in a past life...

This nonsense didn’t last long.

When Tang Sect assassins showed up on their doorstep, these

reborn legends

turned pale and dropped to their knees, begging for mercy. One after another swore it had all been a joke, just a bit of fun, no harm meant.

But this wasn’t some game.

This was about the Human Emperor. This was a battle for destiny itself.

To snatch at fame in that context? That was a death wish.

Li Yuan didn’t even have to give the order. Tang Nulong, who was in charge, took matters into her own hands and had every single one of them executed.

The

fake reincarnators

vanished without a sound. Dead men didn’t talk.

And so, in the world of martial heroes, all the talk of rebirth dwindled to just two names.

The Primordial Emperor, and the Founder of the Skygale Sect.