Chapter 2296: The Rotten Wood Art!

The problems in the capital were far more serious than first thought.

Zhang Que recognized Old Eagle, but he didn’t recognize Wang Chong. Something like this was simply unimaginable.

Moreover, when Zhang Que talked to Old Eagle, he said that he should have been out on the frontier, but they had gone to Sindhu. Zhang Que should have known all about this.

Was Zhang Que working with everyone else to play some terrible joke on their liege before his wedding? Considering Zhang Que’s personality, they could basically rule that out. As for the second possibility…

Young Master Qingyang and Li Siye glanced at each other, their faces turning grave.

“Heheh, Zhang Que, do you recognize me?” Young Master Qingyang asked, smiling as he stepped up.

As he spoke, Young Master Qingyang stared hard at Zhang Que, trying to catch every one of his movements.

Zhang Que smiled and casually said, “Heheh, aren’t you Young Master Qingyang? We’ve met each other a few times, so how could I forget you?” His tone when he spoke to Young Master Qingyang was clearly much warmer.

But this only made the mood even weirder.

Zhang Que recognized Old Eagle and recognized him, but he did not recognize Wang Chong. Moreover, just like how Old Eagle was supposedly on the frontier, while Zhang Que recognized them, he understood their circumstances to be completely different.

From Zhang Que’s tone, he and Young Master Qingyang were mere acquaintances, but in reality, Young Master Qingyang was one of Wang Chong’s important subordinates and one of the most trusted aides in the estate.

Young Master Qingyang used a message transmission technique to whisper into Wang Chong’s ears, “Your Highness, this is bad. Zhang Que’s memories have been heavily altered. The entire King of Foreign Lands Residence– no, perhaps even the entire capital might have had their memories modified.”

“Mm.”

Wang Chong subtly nodded.

He had begun to suspect this when he saw that young lady distributing candies at the gate, let alone now. The only things Wang Chong wanted to know right now were who had done this and why they had done it.

If it was an enemy, why had they not just killed Zhang Que and the others rather than resort to a method like this?

Wang Chong used his Psychic Energy to connect their minds. “Qingyang, Old Eagle, Siye, bide our time for now. Let’s not alarm the snake until we’ve finished our investigation.

“Old Eagle, calm Zhang Que and enter the residence. I need you to gather more information.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

The three of them exchanged glances and quickly reached an agreement.

Once everything was handled, Wang Chong smiled, stepped forward, and gave Zhang Que a profound glance. “Zhang Que, do you really not recognize me?”

“Heh, this good sir…”

Zhang Que grinned. Just when he was about to say ‘no’, he heard something flabbergasting.

“Do you still keep that ‘Art of War Chess’ book in that jade pillow and sleep with it every night?”

These words set off massive waves in Zhang Que’s mind, and Zhang Que looked in shock at this fellow that his master had brought.

That ‘Art of War Chess’ was his most valuable possession, and he had even crafted a jade pillow with a secret compartment in which he kept the book, sleeping on it every night.

This was a secret that he had never even told his master. How had this friend his master had brought with him from outside know about it?

Wang Chong looked at Zhang Que and asked, “Do you remember who gifted you that book?”

Boom!

Zhang Que’s mind was thrown into disarray, as if thunder had exploded within it. Countless fragments of memories exploded out of his mind like an erupting volcano.

“You’re–”

Zhang Que covered his head with his arms and staggered back several steps, his brow furrowing in pain.

The ‘Art of War Chess’ was his most precious possession, but why did he consider it so important? He had never been much of a reader.

Moreover, why was it that he didn’t remember who had sent him something so important and where it had come from?

Numerous memories rushed into his mind.

“Wait, who are you…

“Why do I feel like I’ve met you before…”

As Zhang Que looked at Wang Chong, his face was stricken with pain and confusion.

Seeing this, Wang Chong sighed. Flicking his finger, he sent a surreptitious sliver of energy into Zhang Que to soothe the pain in his mind.

Young Master Qingyang and the others all had complicated expressions on their faces.

They naturally knew where he had gotten the ‘Art of War Chess’ from. Wang Chong had personally written it, and while several editions had been printed, Wang Chong had gifted the first edition to Zhang Que. Zhang Que had naturally valued it as a supreme treasure.

Though the memories of Wang Chong in Zhang Que’s mind had been wiped away, he still instinctively kept the gift Wang Chong had given him.

No matter who was controlling everything, it was impossible to be absolutely flawless.

“Old Eagle, let’s part ways here!”

Wang Chong and Old Eagle exchanged glances, and then Wang Chong left.

Once he was gone, Wang Chong soared into the air, and as a dark golden Halo of Spacetime emerged, Wang Chong appeared high in the sky.

From high in the sky, the vast capital appeared to be the size of a millstone.

Wang Chong’s eyes half-closed as he sent out a wave of Psychic Energy, at the same time linking with the Xiangliu Formation beneath the capital.

This was the formation the Sage Emperor had left to protect the capital. Before leaving, he had given control of the formation to Divine Embryo 3. However, he could take back control whenever he wanted.

Buzz!

A few moments later, Wang Chong opened his eyes, his expression grim.

Upon arrival at the capital, he had been able to tell that there was a problem with the formation, but he had never expected the situation to be this bad.

The Xiangliu Formation, which had been surging with energy, was now silent. More importantly, Wang Chong discovered that he had completely lost his connection to the formation.

It wasn’t that Wang Chong had been stripped of this privilege, but rather that the formation was silent and seemingly sealed.

The Xiangliu Formation’s core and energy source was the Three Emperors Formation beneath the Imperial Palace. As long as the Three Emperors Formation existed, the Xiangliu Formation would continue to run. But now, Wang Chong sensed that the connection between the two formations had been cut, like there was some invisible barrier between them.

Wang Chong narrowed his eyes as all kinds of ideas occurred to him.

After some time, Wang Chong muttered a single word.

“Heaven?”

This situation was clearly abnormal, and the only person capable of this feat was Heaven.

Wang Chong did not believe that Essence Supreme was this powerful.

But this revelation only made Wang Chong turn even more serious.

‘Heaven’ was only a name, a code name. There had never been any detailed information on him, and even the Sage Emperor knew only of this name and nothing else.

Not even the twelve Supremes were very clear on Heaven’s background.

Heaven had been born far earlier than the twelve Supremes. He wasn’t even from the same epoch.

Heaven’s appearance and abilities were unknown, and not even Origin Supreme’s memories had contained anything on them.

Moreover, while he suspected that nightmarish experience before his journey to Sindhu to be the work of Heaven and had seen an indistinct figure, Wang Chong had yet to see his face.

This was an unseen enemy!

Hiss!

Wang Chong let out a breath and got ahold of himself.

He did not try to repair the Xiangliu Formation or remove that invisible obstruction. On the contrary, he decided to withdraw all of his energy so that not even the tiniest sliver leaked out.

Wang Chong now appeared like nothing more than a cloud drifting in the sky, barely even existing.

“It’s enough. I have to root out the archcriminal behind all this.”

Wang Chong blinked as he resolved himself.

Young Master Qingyang and the others were right. Their only advantage was that the capital had more than a million inhabitants and numerous experts. Heaven was not guaranteed to have sensed his existence.

The ability Wang Chong had used was Origin Supreme’s ‘Rotten Wood Art’. With this art, one constricted all their energy so that they seemed like nothing more than a piece of rotten wood in the middle of sludge.

This art would be nothing but a joke in front of Heaven’s original body, but things were different with Heaven’s avatar.

Whoosh!

Wang Chong vanished like a ghost from the sky, as if he had never existed.

……

Wang Chong was the King of Foreign Lands, an outstanding vassal of the country, and the imperial household had even constructed the King of Foreign Lands Residence for him. But in the end, the estate in the southwestern part of the capital where his mother and little sister resided was Wang Chong’s true foundation, the start of everything.

At this time, the Wang Family Residence was brightly lit, laughter ringing through the corridors as beaming maids and servants walked around.

Beneath the eaves, flanking the doors, hanging from branches, atop the fake mountains… Bright lanterns were placed everywhere, illuminating the residence in a jubilant glow.

The marriage between the Wang Clan and Xu Clan had the attention of the world. Many places in the estate had been renovated to appear as new, and all members of the household were elated.

Buzz!

In a corridor on the western side of the residence, a tall and gray-robed figure stood. Though he was dressed as a servant, his bright and dazzling eyes indicated that he was not as simple as he seemed.