MTLNOVEL Chapter 23 - Zhang Liang and Xiang Yu's Shattered Dreams!
Chapter 23: Zhang Liang and Xiang Yu’s Shattered Dreams!
The skies over Xianyang were heavy with thunderclouds, crackling with bolts of lightning that illuminated the city below. The Heavenly Thunder Formation roared with fury, its unrelenting strikes reducing Donghuang Taiyi to nothing but ash.
This astonishing display left every citizen of Xianyang in awe, their hearts brimming with shock and disbelief. Even the most seasoned officials of the Qin court were momentarily rendered speechless by what had unfolded before them.
“Hah…”
“It seems I underestimated my own limits,” Ying Zheng murmured as he hovered in mid-air, his figure swaying slightly as a pale sheen washed over his face.
The Heavenly Thunder Formation had succeeded in obliterating Donghuang Taiyi, but the effort of controlling such immense power had nearly depleted the entirety of his internal energy. If not for his decisive reserve of a small amount of vital force, Ying Zheng might very well have plummeted from the skies to the ground below.
Not wishing to display any hint of weakness before his subjects, Ying Zheng swiftly manipulated his sword, Tianwen, commanding it to carry him back to the palace.
“Wait… could it be true? Donghuang Taiyi is truly dead?”
“He was a Land Immortal… how could he have fallen so easily?”
“Land Immortal? That’s nothing compared to our emperor! His Majesty has become a true celestial being!”
As Ying Zheng disappeared into the distance, murmurs of disbelief spread throughout the city.
The confrontation between Ying Zheng and Donghuang Taiyi had been brief, but it upended everything the people thought they understood.
At first, they had been apprehensive when Ying Zheng publicly challenged a figure as renowned and formidable as Donghuang Taiyi. After all, the head of the Yin-Yang Clan was not only a Land Immortal but a symbol of indomitable power in the realm.
But then Donghuang Taiyi had spoken, inadvertently revealing Ying Zheng’s greatest secret: the Qin emperor had stepped onto the path of immortal cultivation.
The citizens were left grappling with the profound implications. Was their emperor no longer mortal? Was Ying Zheng truly capable of wielding the heavens’ might at will?
And the final clash left no doubt. With the power of celestial thunder at his command, Ying Zheng had vanquished the seemingly invincible Donghuang Taiyi without so much as breaking a sweat.
Such a feat was beyond anything they had ever thought possible of a mere human.
“This is troubling indeed,” Zhao Gao muttered to himself, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “His Majesty tasked me with ensuring Donghuang Taiyi’s proper burial… but how does one bury a man whose body has been reduced to nothing?”
Despite the apparent dilemma, Zhao Gao’s expression betrayed no real concern. Donghuang Taiyi’s destruction had been absolute, and Ying Zheng himself had wielded the power to ensure it. There would be no repercussions for Zhao Gao’s inability to fulfill this ceremonial duty.
However, Zhao Gao’s thoughts turned to the Yin-Yang Clan. With their leader obliterated, how should their remaining members be dealt with? Resolving to seek the emperor’s guidance, Zhao Gao turned toward the palace without hesitation.
“Damn it!”
“That tyrant Ying Zheng! What right does he have? What makes him so special?”
“Why does heaven favor him?!”
Hidden among the bustling streets of Xianyang, Zhang Liang’s face twisted into a mask of fury and despair.
He had come to Xianyang seeking confirmation—was it true that Ying Zheng had regained his youth? Yet what he witnessed with his own eyes had shattered him.
Ying Zheng, now a youthful and imposing figure, had called upon a storm of divine thunder to annihilate Donghuang Taiyi. Zhang Liang’s mind reeled as he replayed the sight of the emperor standing tall amidst a storm of celestial lightning.
At that moment, Zhang Liang’s dream of overthrowing the Qin regime and restoring his homeland crumbled to dust.
“Immortal against mortal?” Zhang Liang murmured bitterly. “No… it’s not over.”
His eyes glinted with sudden determination. “If Ying Zheng could attain the secrets of immortality, then so can I. Somewhere in this vast world, there must be another path to immortality!”
Zhang Liang cast one final, longing glance at the royal palace before turning on his heel and disappearing into the night.
“Until we secure the secrets of immortality ourselves, we cannot rise in rebellion,” Xiang Liang said, his voice heavy with resignation.
[Xiang Liang (Xiàng Liáng, 项梁): A general and nobleman of Chu descent, known for leading rebellions against Qin rule and mentoring his nephew, Xiang Yu, who would later become a legendary figure in Chinese history.]
Seated in a quiet tavern, the ageing descendant of the Chu royal line sighed deeply as he addressed the young man across the table.
Xiang Liang had long sought the right moment to overthrow Qin and reclaim his ancestral throne. Ying Zheng’s departure from Xianyang had seemed like the perfect opportunity to act.
But Ying Zheng’s swift return, along with rumours of his miraculous rejuvenation, had already thrown Xiang Liang’s plans into doubt. Seeing the emperor vanquish a Land Immortal confirmed what Xiang Liang dreaded most—opposing Ying Zheng now would be sheer folly.
“Yes, Uncle,” Xiang Yu replied, his youthful face dark with thought.
Though known for his overwhelming confidence, even Xiang Yu could not ignore the sheer disparity in power. Against Ying Zheng’s celestial might, even the most valiant of warriors would be powerless.
[Xiang Yu (Xiàng Yǔ, 项羽): Known as the “Hegemon-King of Western Chu,” a brilliant yet ultimately tragic leader who defied Qin rule before his downfall during the Chu-Han Contention.]
“Let’s leave,” Xiang Liang said after a long silence. “Xianyang is no longer safe for us. We must begin searching for other immortal legacies without delay.”
“Understood,” Xiang Yu replied, standing with grim resolve.
To challenge Ying Zheng, they would need to rise beyond mortal limits. Only as immortals themselves could they hope to stand as equals.
As they left the tavern, Xiang Yu muttered under his breath, “If I can find the path to immortality, I will topple Qin and restore the glory of Chu.”