1039 Old Acquaintance
After returning to the upper dimension, Lin Fan and the other two did not immediately return to the Rebellion; they instead contacted Emperor Kong and the academy using a sensitive code word, as Wang Wei suggested.
"Do you think it will work?" asked Yang Guowei.
"It should," replied Xiao Songxi. "Why don't we ask the others if it worked for him?"
"Alright." Lin Fan sent a message to the people who had already ascended. A few minutes later, he received a reply.
"It's Yin Gen," declared Lin Fan. "According to him, his sect soon sent someone to contact him after using the same codeword. Now, they have established initial contact."
"Really? What about the others?"
"They haven't responded yet, but it should be the same for them," replied Lin Fan, who chose to wait a while. As luck would have it, someone did contact him by sending him a secret location and password. Lin Fan did not hesitate and headed to that destination.
This hideout led him to teleport across multiple continents and dimensions before they finally reached a large mansion, and by that time, he had no idea where he was.
Someone was waiting for them at the mansion's entrance, so Lin Fan and the others followed. Midway through their journey, they encountered someone unexpected.
"Headmaster?" called Lin Fan as he looked at the gentle and prose gentlemen before him.
"I'll take over from here." Bai Han dismissed the guide before concentrating on the group.
"Lin Fan, long time no see."
"I thought you were dead or something."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Well, you probably were not the only one," replied Bai Han. His forced ascension was definitely the kind of news the Academy would want to hide and not make public.
"What exactly is going on? I thought Xu Shi was the academy's Emperor. And why are there so many Emperors in one generation? What happened to Wang Wei?"
"A lot has happened. If you don't mind, I would like to explain everything immediately after seeing the founder."
"That's...fine. I should not be in a rush. Let's go, I will take you to see my father."
The team followed Bai Han to a large room with a handsome middle-aged man with a noble and wise aura. He sat on a cushion with a small table before him, followed by four seats and tables -one next to him and three before him. Bai Han sat beside his father, and the other three sat opposite this legendary character.
"I apologize that I could not meet you beforehand," said Emperor Kong.
"We understand how complicated the current situation is," replied Lin Fan, who was feeling slightly nervous. Although the founder was not releasing any aura, his presence as an Everlasting Empyrean was still noticeable or palpable.
The tea cups before everyone operated independently and served everybody. "Why don't you start from the beginning?" Lin Fan did not hesitate to tell Emperor Kong everything, starting from his death, his revival, Wang Wei's coronation, the appearance of the Heavenly Court, their contact with the Rebellion, the deal, their descension, and the information Wang Wei provided them.
"Is that so? Many things are making more sense now," muttered Emperor Kong. With history hidden by these people, he lacked many significant pieces of information. Although he discovered and deduced a few things, he was missing the larger picture - until now. Such information will fundamentally affect how he operates from now on.
"So, I was right about him."
Emperor Kong looked at his son and frowned slightly, "Haven't you moved on after so long?"
"Didn't you hear what he said about Wang Wei? I was right to worry about him."
"So what if you were right? Does that mean your actions were justified?"
Bai Han quieted down.
"You heard yourself. If not for the diplomatic means of young Xu Shi, who knows what that kid would have done to my academy because of you?"
Bai Han had no rebuttal for these words, so Emperor Kong changed the subject. He knew his sons had two knots in his heart: his mother and Wang Wei - his actions towards the latter, to be precise. After seeing the former, Bai Han's attitude toward him changed and even improved after he proved the Dao to become an Eternal Emperor.
'If he cannot change his ways, I will remove him as my successor,' thought Emperor Kong. His son's talent was slightly better than before he ascended, so he only achieved the 1-Fold Battle Realm after proving the Dao. Over the years, with his training, he reached 3-Fold but was soon approaching his limit and needed to use more drastic means.
Previously, he had to worry about his successor. Although the world called him a [Sage], he was also human with emotions and could not be impartial in certain things, for example, regarding his legacy. The Academy had many talented individuals, but Emperor Kong wanted someone from the exact same origin as him to be his successor.
Luckily, Heaven brought him Xu Shi and Lin Fan. Not only were their strengths better, but their managerial and tactical mind appeared better than his son.
'Let's continue to observe for now,' he concluded. If he wanted to cultivate a top Paragon Lineage, such a decision could not be made lightly. Anyway, he was still young and not hurrying to retire.
"By any chance, do you know how Wang Wei knows all this information?"
"We don't. After we descended, he summoned us and gave us the news: he never mentioned the source."
"Could he be the destined one?"
"Destined one?"
"There have long been rumors that someone would inherit the destiny to end this terrible era," replied Emperor Kong. "Moreover, this type of destiny is not as simple as it seems.
[Half Step Transcendence]---three words that many people in the world would pay any price to know their meaning. Now that he knew its implications, the world's situation became more severe.
"You should tell your friends to be extra careful," said Emperor Kong.
"Of what?"
"The Earth Emperor," he replied. "After succeeding in acquiring a small portion of the Earth Emperor Karma Position, he has been obsessed with the others. Although the Qin Saint Court disappeared, he at least has an inkling of where to search, but he has always been confused about the Heavenly Emperor's Position. So, if he learned you guys knew something, he would go to extreme lengths to get his hands on it."
Lin Fan frowned, "Xu Shi told me these people sent spies in the lower dimension. A while ago, news about the court was leaked to other world communities."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"So, it's only a matter of time before they learn something," muttered Empyrean Kong. "This could be a problem." Technically speaking, no news should bypass True Heavenly Dao's blockade, but the presence of these people showed this fact was not absolute.
"I will help you and your friends protect the information in your mind, but you should understand my ability is limited when it comes to certain people."
"We are grateful you're willing to help," swiftly said Xiao Songxi as he cupped his hands and bowed; Yang Guowei followed and imitated him.
Emperor Kong nodded, "Unfortunately, I cannot do anything about your contract with them."
"It's alright, ancestor. We were already prepared to participate in this fight," reassured Lin Fan.
"It's good to have such a mindset. I have provided information and support to many individuals in their cause. You can contact them if you need anything."
"Thank you, ancestor."
"Lastly, don't ever fully trust Empyrean Jimin," warned Emperor Kong.
"Who's that?"
"He's the official leader of the Rebellion," he explained. "He's a man of many faces, literally. Although I don't doubt his dedication to ending this era of oppression, he's also a very ambitious and greedy man, so don't ever put your full trust in him."
"We understand."
Emperor Kong placed a potent seal in their souls before dismissing Xiao Songxi and Yang Guowei. He spent the next few days learning more about Lin Fan before sending him away.
'Xu Junyao should know about this news,' thought Emperor Kong. More than fifty million years ago, after she became an Everlasting Empyrean, they began planning a major event that involved a celebration. They knew they could not hide her breakthrough and prepared for when the news leaked.
Afterward, Xu Junyao would declare to the world that she would celebrate her party to lure some people to attend. However, Emperor Kong felt it was best to inform her of this new information as it could affect the overall plan.
Now that these moons were occupied with foreign threats to their power, it was the best time to plot underneath their nose.
'Should we wait until the destined one ascends to make a move?' contemplated Emperor Kong. He knew their chances of succeeding would drastically improve if they had fate or destiny on their side.
'Let me talk to her before making a decision.'
He secretly left the mansion. Things were proceeding faster than he anticipated, and he did not know whether this was a good or bad thing.