Volume One, Chapter 108: Even the Great Emperor Is Shameless

Emperor Zhenwu stood tall, his hair loose, clad in mysterious dark robes, adorned with golden armor and a jade belt. A circular halo radiated from behind his head like a brilliant sun, and wind and thunder stirred beneath the feet of the tortoise and snake that accompanied him. He was awe-inspiring, imposing, and stern. Without preamble, he presented a choice: were they planning to fight him and be annihilated, or would they be sensible and surrender to be thrown into prison?

Sky Spear was incensed, his blood boiling. "Damn it! Even if you are Emperor Zhenwu, you are just another Emperor. A Celestial Venerable is only one rank above me—do you really intend to kill or imprison me? My administrative rank may be lower than yours, but does that mean my cultivation and martial arts are inferior by as many levels?"

Xuan Ge, usually more patient than Sky Spear, was not in the mood for restraint. Seeing that Emperor Zhenwu had clearly offered only death or imprisonment, his own stubborn, inhuman nature flared. He raised his black spear and strode toward the Emperor, shouting, "Fight!" He thrust his spear toward Zhenwu, the force of the strike shattering the void and leaving jagged cracks in its wake.

Emperor Zhenwu snorted coldly. A terrifying martial will erupted from his body, surging directly toward Xuan Ge and Sky Spear.

The effect was instantaneous. It wasn't just that Sky Spear and Xuan Ge felt as if they had stepped into an infinite quagmire, where every movement became agonizingly difficult; their very bones creaked and groaned under the pressure of that martial intent. Even worse was the fate of the divine generals and Golden Core-stage soldiers behind them, who were instantly frozen in place. One of the Eight Kui, seeing this, cast a Heavenly King’s Net, scooping them all up with effortless ease, bringing the skirmish to a swift conclusion.

Trapped and desperate, Sky Spear and Xuan Ge were shattered, filled with agonizing regret. How was this merely the level of a Celestial Venerable? He had to be at least a high-ranking True Monarch; there was no way they could have stood against him.

Just as they resigned themselves to death, Emperor Zhenwu extended his palm and closed it gently. The two great divine warriors were plucked from the air, shrunken down to the size of eggs, kneeling in his palm and begging for mercy.

Emperor Zhenwu asked, "Who sent you? Speak the truth; I have no interest in hearing your lies."

Trembling and stuttering, Sky Spear and Xuan Ge confessed, hoping that their honesty would earn them their lives. As it turned out, the mastermind behind the scheme was the Grand Protector of the Three Masters, King Weilie, Wei Wuyang. (The Three Masters being the Grand Preceptor, the Grand Tutor, and the Grand Protector).

Wei Wuyang was a formidable figure in the Ziwei Enclosure, an official of such stature that he was equivalent to a Minister of Defense in Chu Zhe’s past life. Both in martial skill and strategic intellect, he had few rivals. Although Wei Wuyang lacked the direct authority to mobilize armies, he held significant sway over the appointment of generals, allowing him to cultivate many loyalists within the military over the years. Though Sky Spear and Xuan Ge were not human, they were his protégés and remained fiercely loyal to him. By virtue of his position, Wei Wuyang also oversaw the military’s scout divisions, responsible for intelligence and special operations.

Because of this, he had received news of the potential emergence of the Heavenly Spring in the Andromeda Nebula before any other major figure. He should have reported it immediately to the Ziwei Emperor or even directly to the Jade Emperor, but he suppressed the information, hoarding this intelligence—the most significant discovery for the Northern Heavens—for himself.

Under the guise of an inspection, the Grand Protector summoned Sky Spear, Xuan Ge, and others to the vicinity of the Ziwei Enclosure. He orchestrated a "campaign against bandits" as a pretext to launch a brutal purge of the Desolate Star, forcing Chu Tiange to flee and wander the Andromeda Nebula. In reality, he wanted Chu Tiange to stumble upon some opportunity there; if the Heavenly Spring were to erupt, or if he could merely obtain information on its trajectory or potential location, Wei Wuyang would be the first to know.

As for what means he intended to use to obtain this information, Sky Spear and Xuan Ge did not know. They only knew that Wei Wuyang had ordered them to guard the Desolate Star and prevent Chu Tiange from returning from Andromeda.

Emperor Zhenwu couldn't help but laugh. Thieves were always prone to being paranoid. If a dignified Grand Protector wanted to mobilize troops, could he not have found a proper excuse? Why resort to such sneakiness? Had he simply called a military conference to discuss the pacification of bandits, he could have authorized Sky Spear and the others to purge the Desolate Star legitimately, which would have been far more effective. Was he truly so incompetent at abusing his power for personal gain?

It seemed he was unwilling to let other generals know about the intelligence, likely fearing that someone might suggest bringing others along, thereby leaking his true intentions. Little did he know that the more cautious he became, the more suspicious he appeared. Now, Sky Spear and Xuan Ge had been caught, having committed the cardinal sin of the Heavenly Court by mobilizing troops without authorization; even if he killed them now, they wouldn't dare make a sound.

"Very well," Zhenwu thought, "for idiots like these, I shall make them suffer." He decided to imprison them in the Five Star Prisons of the Zhi Star, with the sole principle being to keep them from starving, leaving Wei Wuyang to wait in vain at the Ziwei Enclosure. As for when they would be released? That would depend on his mood.

Emperor Zhenwu, Zhi Guangji, handed Sky Spear, Xuan Ge, and their troops over to Little Zhu, ordering him to lock them away in the Five Star Prisons of the Zhi Star and place the Imperial Guard in charge of them. Lu was naturally delighted; the Zhi Star was the domain of the beautiful Su He, and now he had a perfect reason to visit, didn't he? (The Zhi Star was named after the tool used for the execution of waist-chopping, and was itself a great magical artifact.)

At the same time, Emperor Zhenwu arranged for fifty million troops from the northern frontier to be stationed at the Desolate Star, under the pretext of mopping up the remnants of the bandits, ready to enter the "Shoe of Andromeda" at any moment. He also instructed Shi Suhe to invite the ruler of the Andromeda Nebula, Andromeda, to visit Bixu II—the star where the talented woman had established her library.

This was a two-pronged strategy: first, women found it easier to communicate, and the two already had some level of friendship, which addressed the personal side. Second, by inviting her to the Andromeda Nebula, he was effectively providing a heads-up for the Northern Xuanwu Army to enter the "Shoe of Andromeda." It wasn't a formal diplomatic notification, but it prevented anyone from claiming he had ulterior motives. This was the public side of the maneuver. In truth, Emperor Zhenwu simply saw that Andromeda was an honest soul and had Suhe manipulate her.

And who was Andromeda? She was a woman who had suffered more than anyone could bear. Back when her mother was the Queen of Ethiopia, she had declared herself the most beautiful being in heaven or on earth. This might not have been a problem, but the unreliable mother boasted about it to the entire world, eventually offending the wife of the great god Poseidon.

The sea god’s wife, enraged, demanded that her husband take revenge. The sea god, a spineless coward, dared not defy his wife, so he confronted Andromeda’s mother and sent a great whale to ravage her. Andromeda’s father, seeing no other option, sought an oracle, which decreed that only by offering his own daughter to the whale could his wife be spared. The pathetic, unreliable King immediately shackled Andromeda to a rock in a place where the whale frequently passed, trading his daughter for his wife’s safety.

It was a human tragedy. Had the hero Perseus not passed by and saved her, taking her as his wife, she would have suffered an unspeakable fate. Such trauma had completely broken the young, innocent girl. Imagine: an unreliable mother who courted disaster and a heartless father who sold you out—how could she bear it?

And so, although Andromeda ruled a vast star domain, she had no interest in power, leaving her subordinates to do as they pleased. Without family, what was the point of it all? Andromeda was truly pitiable. To use such a fragile woman for his own ends—Emperor Zhenwu was truly shameless.