Chapter 713 – Mirage of Kunlun, The Emperor of Light - Part 3

Over a month passed.

By the end of March, the flowers were in full bloom, though the nights remained bitterly cold.

That was when Li Yuan finally received the Saintess and the Wolf God from the northern lands.

The Saintess had a combat power of 300~800, and the Wolf God’s was even stronger at 500~1100. Both were firmly in the Lesser Insight Realm.

The Saintess, Xiao Bing’er, wore a silk robe trimmed in icy blue. Her long hair was tied neatly, and she prostrated herself before Li Yuan with quiet obedience, begging for forgiveness.

Even the Wolf God, astonishingly, could speak in human tongue, causing the ministers in attendance to murmur in amazement.

Li Yuan granted pardon to both the girl and the wolf.

He even promised them the opportunity to partake in the bestowal ceremony, so they could absorb more Qi for their cultivation.

As for the Gate of the Beast Path, after more than 130 years of being lost, passed around, and contested over...it had finally returned to Li Yuan’s hands.

He stored the gate deep within the imperial palace of Cloud Capital.

Then, he dispatched troops northward to take over the territories of the Golden Tent Nomads and Phantom Camp. Once the groundwork was secured, he would personally lead his armored cavalry north, conduct a bestowal ceremony, expand the empire’s borders, and harvest even more of the land’s Qi.

And yet, it was far from over.

What he had just secured was merely the land of known nations, territories that already existed on the map.

Beyond that, he would need to send envoys to the Great Wasteland, Eastern Sea, Western Extremes, and Southern Pole...to the very ends of the world. His name had to echo across every mountain and river. Only then could he perform the bestowal ceremony at all four corners of the world.

Only

then

would his power be considered truly complete. Only then would he have a real chance at reaching the Fourth Realm.

When that day came, he would once more activate the Life Star Art, grafting this new power onto his core self.

Then, he would begin observing the operation of the Ancestral Land and Underworld. Once the timing was right, he would position the Gate of the Beast Path at the closest possible point and link them.

But placing the gate properly was no simple task.

While he could still perceive the flow of the world without having reincarnated, that perception was limited to precisely that state before reincarnation.

However, Li Yuan had a subtle hunch. If he truly reached the Fourth Realm, if he truly fulfilled the system of the Human Emperor, that limitation might no longer apply.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

The vanguard of Li Yuan’s armored cavalry had already set out.

Having completed a major cultivation cycle, Li Yuan now rode north as well, leading three thousand elite riders.

This time, his attire was markedly different. He wore the imperial crown, and his body was draped in a dazzling platinum robe, its brilliance nearly blinding. Embroidered upon the chest was a radiant sun, intricate and bold, but the sun was low on the horizon, just nearing dusk. It exuded a sense of enduring holiness, light touched by time.

Trailing behind him were youths in ash-grey robes, both boys and girls, all extraordinarily gifted. They were descendants of noble families he had already sanctified through the bestowal ceremony. This journey north served as both a campaign and a traveling classroom: he would teach them along the way.

For each family he sanctified, permission was granted to let their descendants worship the mountains and rivers, thereby earning a sliver of cultivation access.

Of course, this kind of hand-me-down spiritual authority was a diluted version of the original.

Even so, the doctrines of the Church of Light would be passed into these noble houses. Talented children raised under such faith could train in ancient martial arts, visualize Li Yuan, and gain insights. They wouldn’t leap into transcendence overnight, but they would certainly rise above the masses.

By this point, those who followed Li Yuan closely could already be considered the zealots of tomorrow.

Hearts full of light, untouched by corruption.

“Even if eternal night fell, dusk would still remain.”

That was the simple, poetic beginning of the church’s doctrine.

Anyone who wished to visualize the Lord of Radiance had to recite this verse silently, meditate on its meaning, and not allow their thoughts to stray.

There were many interpretations, naturally. But at its heart, the message was this.

“Keep your soul pure. Do not be greedy. Do not sin. Do not do evil. Even if devils drenched in filth descend from the endless night, remember that there is still light. There is still dusk.”

This was Li Yuan’s way of cleansing the hearts of the future rulers.

Of course, excessive light could lead to extremes, an overzealous hatred of evil could turn into dogmatic fanaticism, and excessive purity could drive all life away, like crystal-clear waters that hold no fish.

But even so, it was still better than the alternative, better than the darkness, better than noble clans manipulating power and trampling the lives of the common folk.

The gray-robed boys and girls rode behind the man, watching his every move, listening to his every word. A quiet, almost indescribable sense of solemnity had taken root on their young faces.

It was the feeling of following a legend and witnessing history.

The instinct that once marked them as children of aristocracy, bred to think only of family interests, was slowly fading. In its place was something new, the

honor of light

.

Anyone with eyes could see the vitality of the Great Tang’s golden age.

And anyone with sense could foresee the rise of the Church of Light.

The origin of all that future glory was unfolding now.

They weren’t just walking the northern roads. They were walking the very lines that would one day be written into history books.

What would those books say about today?

Would one of them, perhaps, one day compile the Emperor’s words and deeds into sacred scripture for future generations to study?

Li Yuan had yet to say it outright, but everyone already understood.

The Emperor of Great Tang and the Lord of Radiance were now one and the same.

And soon, such a role would demand a new title.

As the head of the Church, Li Yuan knew he had to lead by example for the children who followed him.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

And so, the pilgrimage northward slowly advanced.

At every stop, Li Yuan did good where he could, resolving the chaos left behind in the aftermath of war. Yet corruption ran deep among the bureaucrats, divided by factions and self-interest. He couldn’t simply kill his way to a clean slate.

Autumn arrived before he knew it, and the Emperor's mobile court was nearing the northern territories.

All along the journey, he had seen the suffering of the people.

The young pillars of the Church watched as their revered leader’s stern face showed mercy, watched as tears quietly slid down cheeks that rarely showed softness. One by one, they too were moved, their hearts aching as their eyes welled up with shared sorrow.

“Light will reach even here,” Li Yuan said solemnly. Then, turning to the children, he added, “

You

all are that light.”

They felt their very souls cleansed by those words.

That same day, the procession passed through a small, desolate town called Birdfall.

Poverty was everywhere. Many huddled outside the taverns, trembling in the autumn wind. Some, clutching their daughters’ hands, were preparing to leave town entirely, fleeing toward what little hope remained elsewhere.

The young disciples of the Church of Light immediately stepped forward. Without hesitation, they pulled silver from their pouches, treating it as worthless dirt, and began distributing aid.

They had all come from noble houses, and wealth was something they’d never lacked. But now, they wanted only to spend it on the suffering before them.

Li Yuan, too, walked through this cold, somber place, its colors washed in gloom, its spirit weary from hardship.

Beggars and paupers bowed before him.

He gave them coin.

It was the most straightforward thing he could offer.

A single large coin could mean another day of life for someone on the edge. These people couldn’t wait for some far-off revolution. They didn’t need prophecies or grand designs for the future.

They needed food in their stomachs, clothes on their backs, and warmth to get them through the deepening cold.

It was just like how the end of the world didn’t matter to mortals because mortals only lived a hundred years.

And who would care about what happened after that?

Li Yuan was doing his best to set an example.

One person after another came before him, then left again.

The sound of gratitude never stopped echoing in his ears.

Wearing his radiant crown and the sun-emblazoned platinum robe, the

Emperor of Light

brought hope to this grey, impoverished town.

And just then, a rather unremarkable beggar approached.

He shuffled forward, head low, mixing in with two or three other beggars. His smile was timid and ingratiating, almost fearful.

Li Yuan looked up and the moment he did, his gaze landed squarely on that man.

He handed out large coins to the other beggars, but not to him.

The beggar kept his head bowed, hands trembling, just about to speak when Li Yuan let out a quiet sigh.

“It must’ve been hard,” he said.

The beggar looked up, bewildered. His face was filthy and covered in scars.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Li Yuan studied him for a moment, then said, “Come with me.”

The beggar obeyed without a word.

Li Yuan brought him to a nearby tavern, tossed the innkeeper some silver, and instructed them to prepare a bath and fresh clothes. He then ordered a full table of dishes and sat waiting.

When the beggar returned, he was already a different man.

The servile air was gone. His ruined face was still ugly, yes, but his back was straight now, and the aura around him began to change, slowly but surely expanding outward.

In a hoarse voice, the man said, “I’m honored by your kindness. I am willing—”

Li Yuan waved a hand to stop him, staring for a moment before suddenly saying, “If I’m not mistaken...you’re the Phantom King, aren’t you?”

The beggar froze.

That look of sheer disbelief etched itself into his face like a brand. It was as if time had stopped around them. The bustling noise of the street outside the tavern vanished into silence.

The wind blew cold and colorless through the dimming dusk. A slant of dying sunlight streamed through the skylight, casting his lonely face in gold.

“...Heh. Hahaha!”

The beggar suddenly burst into wild laughter, laughing so hard tears rolled down his cheeks, laughter filled with bitter self-mockery.

He had endured humiliation, concealed his strength, disfigured his own face, devised an elaborate plan, and finally, at the perfect moment, when his enemy was most relaxed, appeared in the most advantageous position, only to be seen through in a single glance.

“Hahahaha! What a joke! What a goddamn joke! HAHAHAHA!” Huyan Hai’s laughter was filled with sorrow.

Once an emperor who had dared to slay gods...and yet, in the end, he had failed to pull off even one last miracle.

Li Yuan glanced at Huyan Hai’s combat power of 2,000~21,500, then back to his own of 6,000~60,000.

He let out a long sigh and chuckled as well.

Some of the loneliness in his eyes faded as he said, “You’re a true genius. I genuinely admire you. But...you really shouldn’t have stolen that gate.”

“...” Huyan Hai said nothing.

Instead, he grabbed a roast duck from the table and started devouring it ravenously.

He needed energy. He needed to recover.

Li Yuan said with a smile, “Take your time. No rush. Eat as much as you want, then get some rest. When you’re back in shape...I look forward to the surprise you’ll bring me.”