The fake prince was exposed at the beginning, and I took office as emperor on the spot

Chapter 268 The Will of Heaven
Seated at the head of the table was none other than Xiao Zhenwu, the "Ancient Human Emperor".

In the game, even if the player reveals Emperor Yong'an's identity and enters the BOSS battle of [Hengchang Daozhu], he will still appear in the form of Emperor Yong'an.

For players, the title of "[Primordial Human Emperor]" is just a BOSS title and does not represent a deeper identity, nor is it equivalent to "[Lord of Hengchang Dao]".

As for Gu Fangchen, he now knew that the truth was that this old man was actually wearing a disguise.

Emperor Yong'an is an alias of [Hengchang Daozhu], who in turn is an alias of [Shigu Renhuang].

However, the [Hengchang Dao Master] in the middle is somewhat special.

In the Great Wei Dynasty, the [Hengchang Dao Master] is the leader of one of the "Ten Supreme Paths" of the Demonic Cult, the final boss, and the mastermind behind the change of dynasties.

In this "great age of raging fires," it means exactly what it says.

He is the holder of the "Hengchang" Dao Seed and bears the "Hengchang" Dao.

Gu Fangchen also learned that he was the only descendant of the [Hengchang Dao Master] born from the Daoist discussion, and that his "time travel" and involvement in the game of the true and false princes were actually orchestrated by this old man.

They took his soul and heart's blood, let him live in another world for sixteen years, and then sent him back.

This is the Dao that [Hengchang Daozhu] wanted to discuss and verify.

However, Gu Fangchen still had a huge question in her mind.

Because he is now certain that the "modern society" he once lived in was a world created because of him.

But... even if he is the offspring of the Lord of Hengchang, he shouldn't have such abilities.

This world isn't designed so that cultivation can be passed down through blood relations.

When a person becomes an immortal or an emperor, they can also bless their descendants, and even their chickens and dogs can ascend to heaven.

Moreover, the Lord of Hengchang Dao himself could not even create one independently; at most, he divided a world in two, creating the Yin and Yang realms and establishing reincarnation.

This is simply because the world has two sides, and he has just redesigned the path and rules.

He couldn't create the world on his own.

Even Old Deng himself couldn't do it, so why should Gu Fangchen, as his offspring, be able to?
Therefore, there must be a step in this process that Gu Fangchen was unaware of.

It is very likely that the problem lies in the so-called "discussion on the Tao" at that time.

So at this moment, he stood before the Lord of Hengchang, seeking the answer to this question.

Upon hearing this, the tall man on the dragon throne raised an eyebrow with interest and asked in return:

"What did you want to call me?"

Answering questions with questions... Old Deng is really impolite.

Gu Fangchen felt that he seemed to be testing her attitude, but the years that either the [Hengchang Dao Master] or the [Ancient Human Emperor] had experienced were probably beyond counting in tens of thousands of years.

The history contained within this sky is only a small part of it.

He has restarted and manipulated the history of the present world countless times, making it so similar to the "Great Furnace Era".

Gu Fangchen was puzzled by this.

Having witnessed all the changes in the world, would he still care about how his offspring treat him?
But then again, how exactly did he produce offspring...? In any case, it probably wasn't through normal means.

Gu Fangchen was silent for a moment, then said:
"Then let's call you Xiao Zhenwu, after all, that's your real name."

Xiao Zhenwu didn't mind and chuckled.
“I also think this name is very good. When I was just a beggar, I didn’t even have a proper name. But I never felt that I was inferior to others, nor could I be inferior to others in any way, so I gave myself this name.”

"Now no one knows that there was once a beggar named Xiao Zhenwu; they only know that he was the Emperor Xiao Zhenwu."

He looked at Gu Fangchen meaningfully:
"It is clear that what a person becomes depends on what they think they are in their heart."

Gu Fangchen twitched her lips.

The "past" that this ultimate old man is talking about, who knows how long ago that "past" was, that it's being brought up now seems rather inexplicable...

Gu Fangchen didn't find his words inexplicable. Xiao Zhenwu probably saw through her inner confusion and the inner demons she had overcome. These words were meant to give her some guidance.

But Gu Fangchen's current strength was enough to prove that he had overcome his inner demons and had no more doubts about his own existence.

It was somewhat superfluous for Xiao Zhenwu to bring it up again at this point.

Gu Fangchen's gaze turned somewhat strange.

Surely he couldn't possibly be trying to express his concern through this?

Seeing that Gu Fangchen remained silent and ignored him, Xiao Zhenwu also fell silent for a while before speaking again:

"Fine... If you have any questions, just ask me." Gu Fangchen: "..."

Although the person opposite him at this moment is the Ancient Human Emperor Xiao Zhenwu, he is also Emperor Yong'an and the Lord of Hengchang Dao.

Even though their identities are different, their habits and details remain the same.

The most fundamental reason for this is an arrogance stemming from a complete sense of control; he simply disdains to engage in a flawless disguise.

Because no one could see through his identity.

Given his personality, he naturally wouldn't bother pretending to be someone he's not.

Old Deng is always very adept at doing things and loves to speak wittily, but if he suddenly falls silent and chooses to change the subject...

This means—

He was embarrassed!

Gu Fangchen's expression became even stranger as she realized that her earlier guess had indeed been correct.

Old Deng's attempt to express concern failed, and he was so embarrassed that he gave up on small talk and could only get straight to the point...

Gu Fangchen found it somewhat amusing, and looked around, but there wasn't a single stool.

He simply snapped his fingers, and a white plastic stool appeared behind him—the kind of open-back plastic stool you'd find at a street food stall.

He sat down casually, feeling that he should have another sword next to him to create a better atmosphere.

Xiao Zhenwu watched him fiddling around, his gaze falling on the plastic stool with a look of inquiry or curiosity.

"Is this a product of your world?"

Gu Fangchen nodded.

He stroked the armrest of the plastic chair and asked:
“I have two ‘paths’ within me, and those are the reason I was able to create that world, right?”

Xiao Zhenwu:

“Truth and falsehood are the foundation of the world. I separated the two and used my descendants, created by the art of cause and effect, as a container to make a mirror.”

He stretched out his hand, pointed at Gu Fangchen, and smiled:

"That is, you."

"One side is true, the other side is false."

Gu Fangchen raised her head and met his gaze:

"Where is the truth, and where is the falsehood?"

"Where you are, where you stand, that is the truth."

Gu Fangchen finally understood.

Why did Xiao Zhenwu only take his divine essence and heart's blood, but leave behind his incomplete soul?

He must be on both sides at the same time for the world to be real.

Otherwise, as he saw when he returned to modern society after his "death," everything would stagnate, disappear, and vanish into nothingness.

Gu Fangchen asked again:

"Has there been any result in your so-called debate on the Dao?"

Xiao Zhenwu nodded:
"I think—she won."

Gu Fangchen narrowed her eyes:
"she?"

Xiao Zhenwu laughed, a hint of mockery suddenly appearing on his face:

"Weren't you looking for her? You even searched all the way to the southwest?"

Gu Fangchen was taken aback:
"Ning Caiyong?"

Xiao Zhenwu said slowly:

"Or, you can call her—the Will of Heaven."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: I'm so sleepy, only one chapter today, lol
(End of this chapter)