Chapter 1: The Downfall of the Central Plains (2/2)

Furthermore, his youngest sister was so tiny. This was obviously how she looked when she was ten, and he was only five years older than her. If his youngest sister was only ten-year-old, didn’t that mean that he was…

Wang Chong lifted his arms and soon, he saw a pair of skinny and white arms. This was different from what he remembered.

In that instant, Wang Chong was speechless. Could it be that… He had come back to life?

Joy and anxiety gripped Wang Chong’s heart. More than that, he felt apprehensive.

“Little sister, pinch me.”

Wang Chong suddenly said.

Right after he said those words, Wang Chong saw a soft and white tiny hand stretching over toward him. Around that tiny hand, there were faint white ripples.

That faint ripples seem to congregate around her hand instead of dissipating into the surroundings, as though steel. It felt impressive.

“Origin Energy Tier 9!”

Wang Chong’s felt a tight squeeze in his heart. That faint white layer was symbolic of a Origin Energy Tier 9 expert. How could he have forgotten that his younger sister possessed superior talent since young and was known to be a ‘herculean warrior’ with unmatched strength?

He was simply bringing himself pain by having her pinch him to wake him up!

“Little sister, don’t…”

Wang Chong’s complexion warped. He hurriedly tried to stop her, but it was too late. Kacha. Wang Chong felt as though his radial bone had cracked.

“Aiyo, little sister, let go!”

Upon hearing Wang Chong’s cry of agony, the little girl looked a little embarrassed. Sticking out her tongue, she retracted her fingers sheepishly.

“Brother, you can’t blame me for this. You were the one who asked me to do it.”

The little girl said while sticking out her tongue. There wasn’t the slightest hint of apology in her words.

Wang Chong smiles bitterly. As expected of that youngest sister of his in his memories. That extraordinary talent and mountain-smashing strength weren’t something average people could bear.

Even so, while rubbing his aching arm, Wang Chong felt incomparably happy. He was able to see, feel and experience pain… This meant that this wasn’t an illusion.

He was really still alive!

“Can it be that the heavens had answered my prayers?”

At this moment, Wang Chong’s heart was filled with many different emotions.

“3rd Brother, it’s not that I want to nag at you, but you shouldn’t hang out with that bastard Ma Zhou. That fellow isn’t a good person. He caused 3rd Brother to be lectured by father and others were saying that you had raped female villagers. Does my 3rd Brother need to rape female villagers? That bastard! I will definitely teach him a lesson if I see him. I will beat him up whenever I catch sight of him.”

The little girl seemed to have thought of something and a frown appeared on her face. Kacha kacha, cracking sounds could be heard from her fearsome hands. It was clear that the resentment she felt towards him wasn’t something trifling.

“Little sister…”

Hearing the sincere tone his little sister spoke with, Wang Chong felt his heart ached. Moved, he hugged his younger sister, Wang Yao-er, tightly.

This was his younger sister, a younger sister who loved her elder brother dearly. However, it was a pity that he was too much of a jerk back then. He wasn’t able to understand her sentiments until he lost her and he deeply regretted it.

Since the heavens had given him another chance, he was determined to prevent his younger sister from experiencing what she had in this life.

“Little sister, thank you. However, there’s no need for it. I will deal with that bastard Ma Zhou personally.”

Wang Chong replies her softly.

Wang Yao-er was taken aback. In Wang Chong embrace, she raised her head and her large eyes reflected in Wang Chong’s eyes. She was surprised. This 3rd Brother of hers seemed to be slightly different today.

He usually lived sloppily and hung out with bad company. He wasn’t the type to say such words.

“Alright, 3rd Brother, you haven’t told me yet. What is a transcender? What does transcender mean? Why have I never heard of it?”

Wang Yao-er suddenly recalled something. The large round eyes she stared at Wang Chong with had a pair of large question marks in them. After talking for so long, she still hasn’t received the answer to the question she was concerned about.

Towards this, Wang Yao-er felt quite dissatisfied towards Wang Chong.

“This——”

Despite his thick-skinned, upon hearing the words of his youngest sister, Wang Chong can’t help but fondle his nose.

About the matter of ‘transcender’, that was when he first came over to this world. At that time, his heart was filled with resentment. Everything was foreign to him and he didn’t know a single person here. He only felt like a passer-by in this busy world, as though a fleeting bubble.

It just happened that this obstinate and interesting little sister with a twin braids came to look for him, calling him ‘3rd Brother’. Back then, his inner youth exploded and he jokingly got her to call him ‘transcender’.

However, his youngest sister took this joke of his seriously. Again and again, she chased him asking what ‘transcender’ was. Thinking about it, this was probably it.

Remembering this joke of his, Wang Chong felt so embarrassed that he could die.

“Hmmm, transcender means a suave man.”

“Suave man?” Little sister’s eyes widened further in confusion.

“It means a handsome guy!”

Wang Chong laughed heartily.

“Brother, you lied to me!”

Little sister immediately erupted in anger. She might be young, but she wasn’t gullible.

“Little sister, I just remembered that father is about to be home soon. You should hurry back. Otherwise, if you are caught here, you will be in deep trouble!”

Sweating profusely, Wang Chong hurriedly changed the topic. His little sister was innocent and believed him easily. However, if she were to realize that he had lied to her, her frightening strength would put him in place.

“Hmph!!”

With her red cheeks puffed up, it was clear that she was still angry. She might be young but she wasn’t that easily fooled. It was clear that her brother wasn’t telling the truth.

Through cajolery and deception, Wang Chong finally managed to dupe her to leave. Even so, she was still enraged and discontent then.

“Father will be home in awhile. Mother told me to remind you to head to the grand hall to have your meal later!”

Boom!

Upon hearing those words, a thunderous roar seemed to have flashed across his head. Wang Chong suddenly shuddered.

After saying those words, little sister stomped out of the room.

Wang Chong fondled his forehead and realized that his hand was full of cold sweat. He really thought that she had managed to sneak in without anyone’s notice. Even if she managed to get past their father, she was unable to escape their mother’s all-seeing eye!

However, it wasn’t a surprise. Given his little sister’s capability, how was it possible for her to escape the Buddha’s Five Finger Mountain?

After his little sister has left, Wang Chong closed the door and leaned against the wall. His face tilted slightly upward as he stared at the high roof of the room. His face slowly regained its calmness.

Today’s happenings were simply too bizarre. He needed some time to muse over them.

Everything that happened during his moment of death appeared in his mind and eventually, the shooting star he saw slowly clarified. Some distant memories that he thought that he had forgotten through time abruptly emerged clearly in his head.

Wang Chong could remember clearly that in AD2022, on Earth of another parallel universe, it was a scorching day of summer. When he was walking on the street, a shooting star suddenly fell from the sky onto him. After which, he was brought into this foreign world.

When he transcended over, he thought that he would obtain some ‘transcender’s privilege’. However, he lived an ordinary life, even up to the moment of his ‘death’. Other than his identity as the son of a general, he was no different from any other person.

That shooting star was an enigma. Other than bringing him into this foreign and distant land, it hadn’t showered any miracles upon him.

He didn’t think that it would appear at the moment of his death.

“Was it resentment? Or indignance?”

Wang Chong pondered.

No matter what, he had returned. He had truly returned to this day, thirty years ago! This year, he was fifteen while his little sister was ten!

The era of prosperity and strength for the Center Divine Continent!

Regardless of whether it is the Qin Dynasty or the Han Dynasty, there wasn’t a single dynasty which territory had expanded as massively as the current one. The eastern sea, the western ridges, the southern prefectures and the northern Yin Mountains. They were all part of the sphere of influence of the empire.

With its 600 000 large army, the Great Tang ruled over the entire Divine Continent, dominating all of the foreign countries and tribe by its orders. Furthermore, its military was filled with countless talents of general caliber and it was reputed to possess ‘The Radiance of the Hundred Generals’. Even the Hu had to submit to this massive empire.

In short dozens of years, the territories of the empire expanded continuously, resulting in its current size.

Without doubt, this was the center of the world.

The era where the Central Plains was at its greatest.

As such, those of the Central Divine Continent term the one in the palace as the Saint Emperor. In this Central Divine Continent, everyone was proud of their identity and complacency lingered in the air.

However, oblivious to the others, Wang Chong knew that under its powerful exterior, this prosperous empire was on its way to its downfall.

Under the illusion of prosperity and peacefulness, the empire was surrounded by countless threats.

In the highlands at the west of Great Tang, the Ü-Tsang was swiftly growing stronger. Going slightly further, the Umayyad Caliphate had fallen and replacing it was the empire that brought the Arabian world to the peak of its strength, the Abbasid Caliphate.

In the northeast, Yeon Gaesomun was training troops and purchasing steeds. In the south, the Erhai was also moving in the shadows.

All kinds of dangers were present, just waiting to burst.

On the other hand, the Great Tang of the Central Plains was still immersed in the illusion of prosperity. They were completely ignorant of the potential dangers that were lying around them. In fact, when the barbarians propped up their military might and were viewing at Great Tang menacingly, those Confucian scholars were trying to bring about a new line of thought by persuading the royal court to extract their army and return others their territories. They hope to move them through virtues so as to earn the Center Divine Continent and the barbarians everlasting peace.

This was an unprecedented occurrence of one weakening their own army:

A tiger was crippling its claws, a wolf was plucking its sharp teeth!

Four years later, when the avaricious barbarians came conquering its territories, when a destructive catastrophe was sweeping across it, the Central Plains found itself without the strength to retaliate.

After four years, all of these hidden threats came surging one after another from all directions! Eventually, this massive and prosperous empire fell completely.

His beloved homeland fell into decline within this four years and fragmented. As such, the powerful clan of generals fell to the point of struggling in mud.

He lived his previous life groggily, only awakening when everything was already fixed into place. However, this life, with the memories and experience of his previous, he will not allow the same situation to reenact!

He had contemplated many times over why this massive empire would fall apart in a short period of time. If he was able to put in place the plans he had thought of ‘thirty years later’, the fall of the Tang Dynasty could still be reversed.

But before so, he has to first prevent the major event that was going to happen in this household. His little sister, his eldest brother, his father, his mother and the entire Wang Clan… Everyone would be affected by this matter.

It was due to this matter that the Wang Clan fell further and further into decline, unable to rise up once more.

After a series of events after the happening of this matter, those that he loved and those that loved him slowly left him.

This all happened not long after he transcended into this world.

Just that, he was still ignorant then. However, he was determined to change it all this life!

How can one sweep across the world without cleaning their own household first? How can any egg remain intact under a ruined nest? If he doesn’t salvage his own home, how can he save the world?

No matter what, he has to stop it from happening!

With such thoughts in his mind, Wang Chong pushed the door open and walked out.

Central Plains refer to China when it was still in the feudal era.

Epiphyllum is a flower that blooms only for an instant before disappearing.

In the Han mythology, all Chinese are said to originate from the Yan Emperor and Huang Emperor (aka Flame Emperor and Yellow Emperor). As such, we term ourselves as ‘Descendants of Yanhuang (of the Yan Emperor and Huang Emperor)’.

Buddha’s Five Finger Mountain

Journey to the West Reference.

After challenging wrecking the Heavenly Palace, Sun Wukong was challenged by the Buddha to escape from his palm. Thus, Sun Wukong traveled to ends of the world and upon seeing a pillar, he peed on it. However, it turned out that the pillar was Buddha’s finger, and he wasn’t able to escape from his grasp. After which, he was trapped under a mountain known as the Five Finger Mountain for 500 years.

The Southern Prefectures actually meant Northern Vietnam. (交趾)

Hu could be translated as Hu Tribe, but it isn’t actually a tribe.

It would be safe to assume that it refers to all foreign tribes/races.

In some era, the term was used to refer to the nomads. There are various explanations why it is called the Huren, one of them is because the Xiongnu Tribe termed themselves as ‘hu’.

In the Qin & Han Dynasty, Huren mainly refers to the Xiongnu Tribe.

In the Tang Dynasty, it referred mainly to the Caucasian.

(Note: This story is situated in Tang Dynasty)

Ü-Tsang is the ancient name for Tibetans.

I’m assuming that Erhai refers to Dali.