Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 929: King Skycrusher!

Home. It was a word packed with meaning.

When it came to “going home,” Xu Qing remembered Master Seventh saying something like that before. ‘Home’ generally means the same type of thing to most people, but at the same time, everyone would have their own unique interpretations.

When Master Seventh said home, he meant Seven Blood Eyes. When King Firecrusher said home, he meant humankind. To Palace Lord Kong, home was Sea-Sealing County.

As for Xu Qing, his path had taken him from the continent of South Phoenix to Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, then to Sea-Sealing County, then to the Holytide Region... and finally to the imperial capital of humankind.

As time passed, ‘home’ came to mean different things to him.

He went from his shack in the slums to Sergeant Thunder’s residence in the scavenger basecamp. He moved on to Seven Blood Eyes, the Swordsage Palace in Sea-Sealing County, and now he was a resident in the imperial capital.

Without even realizing what was happening, Xu Qing had long since ceased to be that kid from long ago. The years hadn’t taken away his good looks. But his life had continued. Thankfully... the timescape hadn’t marched on fruitlessly.

What was past in the timescape couldn’t be brought back. But the experiences of life were always there, and they became part of memory and part of fate. This process had a name. It was called ‘growing up.’

Thirty years. From the time Xu Qing piled up all those corpses in the ruins of that city until now, thirty years had passed. [1]

King Firecrusher's words caused Xu Qing to enter something like a daze. In his mind’s eye, he suddenly saw the inside of Ningyan’s mansion. He saw a beautiful woman there, whose memory had long since become a part of him, deep in his heart.

He remembered the first time he saw her in the middle of the night, like a violet floating down from the canopy of heaven. He would never forget their journey on the Everlasting Immortal Profundity River. He could almost hear the familiar melody of Parting with Sorrow. It reminded him of the jianghu, and its tale of a lifetime of sorrow which culminated in a jug of unfiltered rice wine.[2]

Alone, one drank. Ripples spread through one’s heart.

Those ripples reflected onto a woman who was on the bank of the river, her arms wrapped around her knees as she murmured, “Maybe there is a lamp in this world....”

That lamp had a name. It was the Plumdark Evergreen Lamp, and it had borne witness to the parting of sorrow back in that pitch-black phoenix palace. Its existence was like a cycle. The past became a vivid image.

“Home?” Xu Qing murmured, smiling. He had grown up. He might have been naive and ignorant in the past, but he was not that way anymore. Thus, he took a deep breath, and with Erniu looking doubtful off to the side, they followed the smiling King Firecrusher toward the imperial capital.

Auspicious signs were visible in the sky. Flowers covered the landscape. King Firecrusher walked with them, and the host of nobles and officials followed.

Once inside the capital, they saw hordes of commoners waiting to catch a glimpse of Xu Qing. When they did, their cheers rose high into the sky. Their adulation came from the depths of their hearts. The commoners were simple and sincere. If they believed someone to be a good person, they wouldn’t hold back their praise and adoration. And any human who managed to establish prestige over nonhumans made them a hero to the people. It led to this spontaneous welcome right on the streets.

Of course, the fact that the nonhumans involved were Firemoon Darkheavens made things even more significant, and that was without even mentioning the Grand Darkheaven situation. To top it all off, the war had ended, thus ensuring that the glory which had been won wasn’t limited to a single person, but became like auspicious clouds that covered everyone.

The end result was that Xu Qing got a hero’s welcome. Destiny aura flowed toward him along with the cheers of the crowd, nourishing his void soil and The Emperor’s Sword.

There were familiar faces in the crowd. For example, he saw Wu Jianwu, Kong Xianglong, as well as swordsages from Sea-Sealing County. They all nodded in greeting to him. Xu Qing didn’t spot Plumdark, which caused his heart to start beating a bit faster.

Striding forward, he greeted Wu Jianwu and Kong Xianglong with the wave of a hand.

Kong Xianglong smiled and hurried toward him. Wu Jianwu didn’t dare to misbehave in such circumstances, so he quickly followed Kong Xianglong’s lead.

“Congratulations, Region Lord!” Kong Xianglong said, his smile turning into a serious expression as he clasped hands and bowed.

“There’s no need to act like that around me, Big Bro Kong,” Xu Qing said, smiling as he lifted Kong Xianglong up from his bow.

Meanwhile, Wu Jianwu opened his mouth to speak, but before any words could come out, Erniu was there, sliding his arm around Wu Jianwu’s neck and pulling him close.

“How badly did you miss me, Little Jianjian?”

Xu Qing didn’t bother watching to see how Wu Jianwu would react. Focusing on Kong Xianglong, he hesitated for a brief moment and then asked, “How has Ningyan been doing lately? And what about... Arch-Immortal Plumdark?”

An odd expression could be seen in Kong Xianglong’s eyes. “After Ningyan got back, he spent time working hard for the sake of the people. He’s been focused on cultivation, and finally reached the point of breaking out of Nascent Soul and into Spirit Trove. He’s been in seclusion trying to achieve the breakthrough.

“As for Arch-Immortal Plumdark. Ahem. By the time I got back, the only thing left of her was a message she sent me to pass along to you. She said that if you came back and didn’t ask about her, I was to tell you that she left the capital recently.... And she said that if you did ask about her, I was supposed to tell you... to do your own thing, and that she would come find you eventually.”

Kong Xianglong studied Xu Qing briefly, then cast down his eyes and said nothing further. Of course, just about all the old-timers from Sea-Sealing County had heard rumors about Xu Qing and Arch-Immortal Plumdark, and his good friend Kong Xianglong was no exception....

Xu Qing smiled and asked nothing further. Clearing his thoughts, he looked in the direction of the imperial palace.

Upon entering the city, King Firecrusher had explained to Xu Qing that the emperor wanted to see him immediately. The heavenly marquises, heavenly kings, chief minister, and all the other officials were waiting in the palace for him. Despite the glory and cultivation base progress Xu Qing had achieved, he still couldn’t get a read on the emperor.

Looking at the rainbow bridge, he spotted the eleven huge sticks of incense. Smoke curled up from them and drifted high into the sky. They were the sticks of crown prince incense!

When Xu Qing left the capital, all eleven of the sticks of incense had been burning down at roughly the same rate. But now... the stick representing Ningyan wasn’t burning the fastest, but at the same time, was close to being in last place. No wonder Ningyan had been working so hard on his cultivation.

There were three sticks that were burning the slowest. One of them represented Fourth Prince, who was subordinate to the imperial preceptor. Another represented Fifth Prince, who was associated with King Firecrusher. The third represented Grand Prince! Those three were roughly equal in terms of the standings.

Xu Qing studied the incense sticks thoughtfully. Fourth Prince was the apprentice of the imperial prince, and had clearly performed some amazing services. Fifth Prince was serving well in his duties to control the border. As for Grand Prince, he had obviously performed worthy services among the Firemoons.

Wrapped up in thoughts of what it all meant, Xu Qing followed as King Firecrusher led the way into the palace. Before long, they were in front of the main entrance. The two statues guarding them had their heads bowed reverentially.

Xu Qing’s gaze pierced through the entrance, past the plaza, and toward the grand hall that represented the highest element of human will. The moment he did, an imposing gaze emerged from within the hall to look upon Xu Qing.

Xu Qing bowed his head, clasped hands, and bowed in the direction of the hall.

An instant later, a voice echoed out from the palace. “Heavenly Marquis Xu and Chen Erniu are hereby admitted for an audience with the emperor!”

Every syllable uttered by the voice resounded with the echoing might of heaven.

Xu Qing and Erniu exchanged a glance. Without the slightest hesitation, they entered the imperial palace.

King Firecrusher smiled faintly as he entered with them. The other nobles who qualified to enter did so, with the rest waiting outside.

After about ten breaths of time had passed, Xu Qing and the others had walked up the stairs and into the crowded hall.

Officials were gathered solemnly on either side. Up ahead, on the dais, were the heavenly marquises, and above them, the thrones of the thirty-three heavenly kings! For the most part, all of the marquises and kings were present. Further above them, at the highest spot above the gathered officials, was the Dragon Throne. There, the emperor’s eyes glittered like the sea as he sat there, face expressionless, looking at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing respectfully bowed at the waist.

Erniu blinked a few times. Thinking about what King Firecrusher had just said, he decided to imitate Xu Qing and bow deeply.

“Xu Qing,” the emperor said coolly, his low voice echoing in the hall. “You were in Firemoon territory for some years. During that time, you could observe Firemoon culture, witness the profundities of Darkheaven practices, and gain enlightenment of the dao of mages. You also encountered their grand steward. What was your impression of him?”

The emperor’s words were followed by complete silence as everyone looked over at Xu Qing.

Stories about the Firemoons’ three gods had long since spread throughout Revered Ancient. Although many secrets had been maintained, things were a bit different when it came to humans, and they had learned more than others.

Upon hearing the question, Xu Qing thought about Ninedawns being stabbed in the back. He thought about the grand steward longing for godly ascension, and how the three gods sacrificed the heroic souls of countless Firemoon Darkheavens. And finally he considered the grand steward’s dismal end, and how he chose to sacrifice himself. They were such monumental things that Xu Qing didn’t think it was possible to simply recount his ‘impressions’ of them.

After a long moment passed, Xu Qing spoke. “If you can’t control your own life, how can you guide the fate of a species? In the end, such thinking is as unrealistic as flowers in a mirror or the moon in the water. One moment you’re on top of everything, the next, you’re dead.”

The emperor said nothing. A moment passed. Then the emperor raised his hand in a signal to the chief minister.

The chief minister stepped forward. Eyes sparkling, he looked at Xu Qing and loudly announced, “These are the words of Emperor Dark War, who hath accepted the Mandate of Heaven and hath been enshrined by immortals. The destiny of humankind hath stirred. Region Lord Xu Qing of the Holytide Region has descended into the mortal world to bring peace to the conflict with the Nightshades, to sweep aside the rebellious nonhumans, and to establish the might and glory of humankind.

“Due to his propitious accomplishments and superior potential, he is hereby awarded with a greater spirit mansion. Furthermore, he is appointed... as King Skycrusher. He is also appointed as the ‘tutor of imperial princes!’[3]

When the imperial edict was read out loud, most people in the hall, with only a very few exceptions, were shaken to the core. In fact, it took a lot of willpower on their part to not react visibly.

Truth be told, Xu Qing’s accomplishments were befitting of an appointment to the position of heavenly king. But for him to be given the heavenly king name that had the character ‘crusher’ in it was monumentally significant. Heavenly kings with the character ‘crusher’ in their names were considered apex among heavenly kings. In fact, up to this point in the history of humankind, there had only been one such heavenly king.

That was shocking, let alone the fact that Xu Qing had been appointed as the tutor of imperial princes. It wasn’t necessarily a very high position, but it did give him authority over the children of the imperial house. Going forward, any imperial prince who encountered him would need to bow in greeting. Beyond that, once a crown prince was named, historical custom dictated that the tutor’s meritorious services would lead to him being promoted to ‘tutor of the crown prince.’ That was a position very similar to that of ‘mentor of the emperor.’

Everyone was astonished, including Xu Qing. And yet, the chief minister was not finished with the imperial edict.

“The righteous patriot Chen Erniu is supremely honorable and upright, with courage and insight far above the masses, talent to span heaven, and martial heroism of extraordinary quality. Therefore, the Creation Mansion has been specially tasked with using profound darknether iron, nineheavens ice crystal, and a total of fifteen other spectacular crafting materials to forge him a suit of Grand Zodiacist Armor![4]

“In human lands, heavenly kings and anyone of lower ranking are required to offer him formal greetings upon meeting.”

Although the reward seemed impressive, the truth was that it didn’t contain any official position. And yet, Erniu’s eyes shone brightly, and he was nearly trembling with excitement. Raising his voice, he said, “Long live the emperor!!”

1. I was tempted to remove this line from the text (as an edit), because I’m fairly certain it’s wrong. In chapter 914 we were told it’s the year 2,939. We were introduced to the calendar date in chapter 401, when it was 2931. That’s only 8 years. Although we weren’t given calendar dates before that, we were able to track time via the seasons and other clues, and I really don’t think 22 years passed between chapter 3 (when Xu Qing piled up the corpses), and chapter 401. That said, maybe I missed something when it comes to the dates. I’ll leave a comment in this chapter, please feel free to respond to it if you have further information that I missed. In the end, the author’s intention seems to be for 30 years to have passed. That's especially true in upcoming chapters. There are quite a few parts of the story where it's obvious based on various descriptions that many years are supposed to have passed. So I’ll honor that intention and leave the “thirty years” reference in here as he wrote it. ☜

2. Xu Qing first saw Plumdark in chapter 278. They journeyed on the river starting in chapter 297, during which time he learned Parting with Sorrow in chapter 299. ☜

3. The position of ‘tutor of imperial princes’ was mentioned previously in chapter 796. I will also render it as ‘imperial tutor’ when appropriate. ☜

4. The armor is more specifically related to the Big Dipper. However, for reasons which will be made slightly more clear later, I'm coining the term Zodiacist to go along with the armor. ☜