Soul Land V: Rebirth of Tang San

"You may leave. I have no time to see you," the voice of the Crystal Great Demon Emperor was clearly icy.

Tang San smiled indifferently, "What if I insist on seeing you?"

"Do you wish to die?" Rage was evident in the voice of the Crystal Great Demon Emperor.

Tang San shook his head, "Because I do not wish to die, I want to see you. This is not only about my safety, but also about yours. I don't want to die, and I believe someone with such a long life as yours does not wish to die either."

There was a moment of silence from the Crystal Great Demon Emperor, and after quite a while, he finally said coldly, "I don't know what you're talking about. If you are determined to come up here, then be prepared to pay a price you cannot afford."

"Alright," Tang San answered with a smile and then continued to climb upward as if he had not heard what the Crystal Great Demon Emperor had said before.

Finally, he neared the mountain peak, the dense fog gradually dissipated, and the view suddenly cleared. The dazzling, resplendent Crystal Palace, shimmering with brilliant crystal light, once again appeared in Tang San's field of vision.

Even though it was not the first time he had seen the Crystal Palace, Tang San was still mesmerized by its beauty. This palace was so magnificent that, even in the Divine Realm of his previous life, he had never seen such a splendid structure. Of course, while he admired it, he did not particularly like this type of extravagance. He preferred tranquil scenes of picking daisies by a fence and leisurely viewing the southern mountains. Living in seclusion with his beloved in a great forest brimming with life aura, occasionally climbing to the mountain peak to gaze into the distance—that was what he truly wished to do.

At last, stepping on the final stair, Tang San arrived in front of the Crystal Palace.

The gates of the Crystal Palace slowly opened, and the cold voice of the Crystal Great Demon Emperor resounded again, "Come in."

"Alright," replied Tang San, confidently striding forward into the Crystal Palace without a trace of fear.

Stepping inside was like entering a bizarre world; all the decorations around were made of crystal, and they seemed to act like mirrors, reflecting everything. Surrounded by this, Tang San immediately saw and felt the existence of countless versions of himself. His reflections were everywhere, and each one so real that he felt a dizzying confusion, almost unable to discern which one was the real him.

Tang San slowly closed his eyes, a serene smile on his face, and just stood there motionless.

"Are you afraid to open your eyes?" asked the Crystal Great Demon Emperor.

Tang San shook his head and said, "It's not that I don't dare, it's that I'm unwilling. You should be clearer than I am that in my current state, an eruption or collapse could occur at any moment. Do you really wish to see me like this? Whenever I attempt to break through this Mirror Domain here, I would inevitably have to unleash my own power, and thus, uncontrollable situations would naturally arise. Or could it be that you do not wish for your original body to be reborn, and prefer to continue wielding power here? Sadly, you won't be able to accomplish that either. It might be undiscovered for a short while, but as time progresses, when the truth is finally uncovered, your insufficiency in strength as a copy will reveal everything. Then, the world will no longer have Crystal. Am I right, your Excellency the Crystal Great Demon Emperor copy?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Is provoking me over and over the purpose of your visit today?" the Crystal Great Demon Emperor coldly said.

Tang San shook his head and said, "Of course not, I'm here to make a deal with you. Or rather, to seek help. After all, we are in a relationship where our fortunes are tied together."

The Crystal Great Demon Emperor said indifferently, "Stop beating around the bush. What do you want? Speak."

Tang San said, "I'm now at the most critical moment, about to face my Tribulation. If I'm not mistaken, you should be able to feel that my power isn't entirely of this world. That's probably why you chose me, am I right? But, what I must tell you is, the Heavenly Tribulation I'm about to confront will be a terrifying existence without precedent in this plane – the Destruction and Oblivion Heavenly Lightning of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. I believe you haven't even heard of it, but I must tell you, this is the truth. It will be incomparably terrifying, and not even I know what will happen. So, if you still harbor the idea of using me as a cocoon to achieve your own rebirth, I fear, you too will be destroyed alongside me in the end. Only with sincere cooperation and our utmost effort might we have a chance to overcome this obstacle and attain a new life together."

"I don't understand what you're saying," the Crystal Great Demon Emperor said with an impatient tinge in his voice.

With a light sigh, Tang San said, "Must I really spell it out for you? Or do you think I'm of insufficient intelligence to have spent so much time and undergone so much yet still be unable to determine your true state? I've made it clear already, your Excellency the copy."

The Crystal Great Demon Emperor fell silent and did not respond to Tang San's words.

Tang San continued on his own accord, "At the very beginning, I actually had some suspicions because your actions were too strange. When I climbed up the Crystal Sacred Mountain, the first impression you gave me wasn't that strong. Trust me, in this respect, I should be able to surpass all the Emperors in this realm."

"As the strongest of this age, known to be all-powerful, the Crystal Great Demon Emperor, how could you not be strong enough? How could this be? Even though my own strength was not that great at the time, I believed my feeling couldn't be wrong. Afterwards, you gave me that Crystal Egg to carry with me without telling me what to do with it. Just to have it in my possession. When Jingjing hatched and merged into my body, taking up a place of one of my Marks, I knew something was wrong. Moreover, every time I faced great danger, Jingjing was actually helping me, assisting me through difficulties. Her hatching took place in Hell's Garden, having absorbed a vast amount of the Power of Luck. It was even she who guided me to find Heaven Garden. All of this was arranged by you, the Crystal Great Demon Emperor, wasn't it?"

"The Crystal Great Demon Emperor may have truly died, am I right? Or to say, she didn't really die, but chose a special method to prepare herself for rebirth. And she chose me as the medium for her rebirth. And you, you're just a copy."

"Let me guess further. The Crystal Great Demon Emperor had lived beyond three thousand years, knew that her life was approaching its end, and was unwilling to accept that. So, what to do? She thought of a way. She could copy almost all abilities in this world, so why not copy herself? I guess she must have made many, many attempts, probably failed many times too. But in the end, she succeeded to a certain extent. You're one of her successful cases. However, this copy of you isn't capable of possessing all her strength and even less able to bear the extent of her original formidable power. After numerous tries, only two copies ultimately succeeded – one is you, and the other, Jingjing." Explore more stories with empire

————

First update for today, there'll be more at 10 AM and 5 PM. Don't forget to watch the "Divine Mark Throne" animation as well, three episodes in a row at 10 AM.