Chapter 35

At this moment, Liu Che was watching his son, who had entered the path of cultivation, and Liu Fuling, who was both his son and grandson and had only just been brought over, playing happily with a resentful look on his face. Just as he was in a foul mood, a subordinate came to report—

"Reporting to the Heavenly King, Crown Prince Fusu of the Qin Dynasty has arrived with his retinue!"

Hearing this, Liu Che frowned uneasily. Though he had never encountered him, he knew that his ancestor had once slipped down to the mortal world for fun and usurped the dynasty's fate. That in itself was nothing much—just a bored Celestial Dragon seeking amusement among mortals. Who could have known that the founding emperor of the Qin Dynasty possessed such extraordinary talent? After several thousand years, his cultivation had reached the pinnacle, to the point where even the Celestial Dragon God had to avoid his edge. After centuries of peace, why had he suddenly come knocking today? Could he be looking for trouble...

"What is it? Fusu—is he Ying clan's Fusu?" Seeing Liu Che frown, Liu Ju could not help asking. He also knew about his founding ancestor Liu Bang's little affair. Seeing Liu Che remain silent with a furrowed brow, he said with a faintly amused smile, "Those are all matters of a former life. Ying Zheng cultivated from a mortal into what he is today. He must have long since cast aside all worldly attachments. Fusu may have come today for some other reason, so why must you care?"

"Even so, who knows whether he comes with ill intent?" Liu Che snorted. Still, even if Ying Zheng had come to make trouble, he was not afraid. Though the Celestial Dragon lineage was not as naturally gifted as Ying Zheng, it had occupied Rainbow Continent for so many years. It was not something a single cultivator like Ying Zheng could stand against.

Still, now that he knew the reason, he could not help feeling somewhat guilty. A Celestial Dragon getting bored and competing with mortals to become emperor truly was not something that sounded good.

Liu Ju understood Liu Che's thoughts and, amused, hugged the bun-like Liu Fuling. Back then, Liu Che had schemed to obtain his true essence, then had someone use surrogacy through in vitro fertilization to give birth to Liu Fuling. He had known nothing of it. It was only after Dongfang Shuo casually mentioned it that he learned the truth. At the time, furious and enraged, he had forced Liu Che to use great power to break open the barrier and bring over Liu Fuling, who was already a teenage emperor. Who would have thought Liu Che would use that as leverage to forbid him from returning to the Clear Origin Sect? After bringing Liu Fuling over, Liu Ju had originally wanted to make it up to him properly. Yet in a fit of jealousy, Liu Che had turned the already graceful and handsome Liu Fuling into a little bun...

"Cough, cough!" Liu Che knew from Liu Ju's look that he was planning to settle old scores again. Looking rather innocent, he said to the guard, "Take them to rest in the main hall for a moment. I'll be there shortly. Remember, do not neglect them."

"Yes!" The guard clasped his fists and immediately turned to leave.

Seeing Liu Che rise to leave, Liu Ju followed behind him while holding Liu Fuling.

"What are you going for?" Liu Che frowned at Liu Ju behind him.

"To watch the fun." Liu Ju spoke with a smile that was not quite a smile. Back then, Liu Che had had him completely under his thumb. Now that he had finally found a way to pressure Liu Che, naturally he had to use it often. These days, his favorite thing was watching Liu Che run into a wall.

"..." Rolling his eyes helplessly, Liu Che pretended not to see his subordinates snickering and strode toward the main hall.

In the main hall, Qin Yi was thrilled as he looked at the decor, which carried a strong Han dynasty flavor. So it really was Emperor Wu of Han! Otherwise, how could the architectural style be so similar...

Meanwhile, Fusu, seated kneeling at one side with elegant bearing, smiled indulgently at Qin Yi as he touched this and examined that, looking utterly like a country bumpkin. Before a cup of tea had even begun to cool, rustling footsteps sounded from the inner hall. Looking closely, they saw a young man clad in yellow, his robes embroidered all over with Celestial Dragons, appear before them. Behind him followed a handsome, slender man carrying a small child.

"I am Liu Che. May I ask why Crown Prince Fusu has found the time to visit my territory today?" Liu Che could not be bothered to circle around Fusu. Strength was the ultimate standard. He was certain Ying Zheng would not dare truly tear relations apart with the Celestial Dragon lineage.

"You are Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che?" Fusu tilted his head, sizing up this young man said to be as renowned as his father, curiosity in his eyes.

At those words, Liu Che's pupils abruptly contracted. It seemed his ancestor's disgraceful little deed had indeed become known. He immediately said in a deep voice, "That was merely a matter of a former life. Why should Crown Prince Fusu dwell on it? Or did Crown Prince Fusu come here today because of this? Even ordinary mortals know that the world belongs to those capable of holding it. Surely the First Emperor would not be unable to let it go?"

No matter what, the Celestial Dragon lineage would never bow its head. Even if the other party was Ying Zheng, the cultivation world's peerless genius, it remained the same.

Fusu smiled good-naturedly. "There is no need for you to be like this. I came today only because I was curious what Emperor Wu of Han, who was as famous as my father, was truly like. I have no other intention."

Liu Che frowned at this but said nothing. He was indeed a little embarrassed.

At one side, Qin Yi was immensely excited as he looked at the sharply defined man before him, whose face seemed carved from marble and whose temperament was hard and imposing. Though the man was doing his utmost to suppress his aura, the faintly leaking dominance still proclaimed his extraordinariness—

So this was the later generations' Emperor Wu of Han, a man of magnificent talent and grand strategy?

The only Emperor Wu of Han who had been born in an age of peace yet enjoyed fame equal to that of a founding emperor?

Liu Che felt somewhat uncomfortable beneath Qin Yi's blazing gaze and asked in a deep voice, "May I ask who this young friend is..."

"This is Qin Yi, a descendant of the Ying clan of Origin Star." Fusu introduced him with a secretive smile. His words sounded casual, but Liu Che was inwardly horrified.

No one knew better than Liu Che himself that after sealing the Nine Provinces Barrier that day, he had essentially cut off Origin Star's path to cultivation. Even later, when he had brought Liu Fuling over, he had paid an enormous price. Yet now someone had crossed the barrier with ease, without even a hair harmed...

Qin Yi had no idea what Liu Che was thinking. Excitedly, he said, "You're Emperor Wu of Han, right? I'm Qin Yi, I'm your fan. Can you give me an autograph?"

How much would Emperor Wu of Han Liu Che's personal autograph be worth in later generations?

Author's note: This section explains a few things from Crown Prince~~

Those who have not read it can just ignore it O(∩_∩)O~

Thanks to that woman from the Time Travel Bureau who called herself the "bureau flower," Liu Che understood some modern expressions fairly well. At this moment, looking at Qin Yi, whose eyes were practically sparkling, he frowned in displeasure.

Emperor Wu of Han Liu Che's face darkened slightly. He had been an emperor in the mortal world for decades, and no one had ever dared act recklessly before him. After entering the cultivation world, he had become the direct-descendant Heavenly King of the Celestial Dragon lineage, still majestic and awe-inspiring. Yet now, some unreliable junior regarded him as an entertainer. He felt gloomy, but for Fusu's sake, he could not be bothered to argue.

Pretending not to hear, he asked Fusu, "Does Crown Prince Fusu have any other business?"

The meaning behind his words was clear: You have seen what you came to see, so leave if you have nothing else to do!

Fusu looked indulgently at Qin Yi, who continued pestering Liu Che, and merely smiled without speaking. In modern terms, Fusu was the sort of twenty-four-filial good father who utterly indulged his juniors. Thus, he smiled at Liu Che as though he had not heard the implication in his words. "And this is...?"

His gaze shifted to Liu Ju, who stood behind Liu Che holding the child, and he asked.

"He is Liu Ju, my son," Liu Che said gloomily. He had plenty of ways to deal with people who were thick-skinned, but against thick-skinned people who also possessed some strength, he had no good methods.

The Crown Prince Li?

Qin Yi's eyes lit up. He turned to look again at the calm and unruffled Fusu, sighing inwardly. The four unluckiest crown princes in history—Fusu, Liu Ju, Li Chengqian, and Yin Reng.

Of course, there were also Liu Rong and Liu Qiang, though those two were not nearly as famous. Their fates, however, were just as tragic.

Seeing the strange expression on Qin Yi's face, Liu Ju smiled helplessly. As someone who had lived another life, he naturally knew how later generations judged him. This Ying clan descendant was likely one of them as well...

Liu Che's face grew even darker. In the end, afraid Liu Che would bristle, Fusu forcibly dragged away the utterly tactless Qin Yi. When the dragon carriage flew back toward Chang'an, Qin Yi still sighed regretfully.

He still had not gotten Liu Che's autograph!

"What is it?" Fusu could not help smiling as he looked at Qin Yi's sighing form beside him.

"Nothing!" Qin Yi replied. "Anyway, I've already seen what I wanted to see. I'll go back now and tell them about this!"

By "them," he meant the main branch of the Qin family.

"Very well." Fusu nodded and took out the jade plaque Qin Yi had seen earlier. He said to Qin Yi, "Take this jade plaque. With it as proof, they will be more likely to believe you."

"That won't do. This jade plaque must be very important, right? If you hand it over to me and something goes wrong, how could I answer for it?" Qin Yi declined.

"Take it. Liu Che said just now that he has sealed Origin Star. Without this jade plaque, it will be impossible to bring all those clan members over," Fusu explained patiently.

"Oh, no need." Qin Yi stammered. He had no way to explain Andre's situation to Fusu. Let alone some mere seal—it was completely useless against Andre.

"Take it. This jade plaque is only one half. The other half is on Origin Star. Only by putting both together can they form the He Clan Jade. Only the He Clan Jade possesses the power to break open the Nine Provinces Barrier," Fusu explained slowly.

"The He Clan Jade?" Qin Yi's eyes lit up. This was a good thing. He immediately stopped refusing, placed the jade plaque into his spatial storage, and said, "Don't worry. Once I return, I'll hand the He Clan Jade back to you exactly as it was."

Fusu looked at Qin Yi with some reluctance before finally sighing. "Go. Remember to come back."

Qin Yi nodded. Silently reciting Andre's name in his heart, he returned the next second to a room in the J City villa.

In the room, Qin Rong had just finished circulating his cultivation and opened his eyes.

"Brother, guess who I just saw?" Qin Yi immediately jumped down from the bed and asked excitedly.

"You went to another plane with Andre just now?" Qin Rong knew at a glance from Qin Yi's movements what had happened. He asked with great interest, "Who did you meet?"

"Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han, and Fusu and Liu Ju too!" Qin Yi said with a blissfully excited expression.

"...Those two aren't from the same dynasty, are they?" Qin Rong raised a brow. "Just where did you travel to?"

"I don't know either. It was called Rainbow Continent, a cultivation plane. Originally, I was planning to return to Kate's place and sweep through all the remaining temples..." Qin Yi complained at length. "Andre is never reliable anyway. This plane seemed to be a higher-level plane. Apparently, Qin Shi Huang had sought immortality back then and, through a series of strange coincidences, embarked on the path of cultivation. As for Emperor Wu of Han, he isn't human at all—he belongs to the divine beast Celestial Dragon lineage."

Qin Rong quietly watched Qin Yi chatter on as though telling a story, recounting his experiences over the past two days. He did not interrupt from beginning to end. Only after Qin Yi had finished did he ask, "So what you mean is that we are actually Ying Zheng's descendants, and Qin Shi Huang is our ancestor?"

Qin Yi nodded with certainty.

"What, you don't believe me?"

"It isn't that I don't believe you. The key is, how are you going to make Grandpa believe it?" Qin Rong had a headache too. What kind of mess was this? It was getting more and more complicated!

"Crown Prince Fusu gave me that jade plaque. He said I could use it to convince them." After thinking it over, Qin Yi took the jade plaque from his spatial storage and handed it to Qin Rong.

Qin Rong accepted the jade plaque and examined it with a frown. It truly was similar to the jade plaque at home. "But what are you going to tell them? That you're one of those immortals from novels who can ride clouds and soar through the mist, that you've now found his ancestor, and that you want him to go live over there?"