I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1200: Ascension (Grand Finale)

"Your Majesty, are you leaving?"

On the fifteenth day of the first month of the twenty-third year of the Kaiyuan era, the Lantern Festival was celebrated.

In the Ziwei Palace of Luoyang, Consort Ren found Su Yao gazing at the moon alone in the Imperial Garden. Moonlight shone on his handsome profile, as if time had left no trace on him.

"I am right here, Hong'er, why do you say that?"

Hong'er stepped forward, opened her arms, and hugged Su Yao's waist from behind: "Your Majesty, do you think I have been with you for so many years?"

Hong'er gently pressed her cheek against his back, her voice slightly choked with emotion: "It has been a full twenty-four years since you saved me from dire straits in Bingzhou, Your Majesty. I am fortunate to have followed you to this day, watching you conquer the world and rule the land... How could I not see through your heart?"

"Never before have you summoned all the children back to your side like this year, giving them earnest advice and instruction on how to be a ruler, on how to govern a country, on brotherly love and respect, and on the importance of the people."

"Never before have you ever had such a sudden urge to take your sisters back to old places, and even made a special trip to Taiyuan to see the Wang family residence where we first lived."

“Even… you’ve been visiting Sister Wannian more often lately than in previous years.” Hong’er’s voice trembled slightly. “Your Majesty, are you… making arrangements for your passing?”

Su Yao's body stiffened slightly, then relaxed. He turned around and gently embraced Hong'er. In the moonlight, Hong'er's eyes were already moist. Those eyes, which had witnessed his rise from humble beginnings and accompanied him through his tumultuous years, were now filled with reluctance and understanding.

"I couldn't hide it from you after all." Su Yao sighed softly, stroking Hong'er's still jet-black and shiny hair. "Hong'er, I do need to leave for a while to do something I must do."

"Is it because of... that thing in the sky?" Hong'er looked up. As intelligent as she was, she had already guessed a thing or two based on the numerous strange events that had occurred in the empire over the years, as well as the occasional solemnity that Su Yao showed.

Su Yao nodded, his gaze fixed on the deep night sky, as if trying to pierce through the veils and look directly at the entity hidden behind the scenes: "He is like a malignant tumor, hanging over the heads of me and the entire Han Dynasty. If we do not eliminate him, today's Aztec invasion may only be the beginning. I cannot allow the empire I have built, and my descendants and your descendants, to live under this threat forever."

"Is it dangerous?" Hong'er's voice was filled with deep worry.

“Danger.” Su Yao did not hide anything. “It is an existence beyond this world, the rule-maker, or rather… the usurper. But I must go, and I must win.”

He cupped Hong'er's face in his hands, wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes with his fingertips, his tone firm yet gentle: "Don't worry, I won't lose. I promised to show you all the splendor of this world, and to grow old with you both. I am the Emperor, and my word is my bond."

Hong'er buried her face deep in Su Yao's chest, hugging him tightly as if she wanted to merge herself into his bones and blood. After a long while, she said in a muffled voice, "I know I can't stop Your Majesty, and... I shouldn't have. But please, Your Majesty, take care. I am here in Luoyang, as are my sister Wan Nian, my sisters, and my children. We will protect this family and wait for Your Majesty's triumphant return."

"Okay." A warm current surged in Su Yao's heart as he tightly embraced the woman who had shared so many years of life with him. "I promise you that I will win this battle. I will reshape the laws and restore peace and tranquility to the world. There will never be any more of those strange anomalies. I will give you and the children a truly peaceful and tranquil world."

On the third day of the third month of the twenty-third year of the Kaiyuan era, the Shangsi Festival was held.

After nearly twenty years of dedicated cultivation, accumulating strength, and properly arranging the blueprint for the empire's development over the next few decades, Su Yao felt that the time was ripe.

His energy was already at its peak, and his understanding of the Book of Ascension had reached a critical point. The coordinates from the "Garden of the Gods" were becoming clearer and clearer in his perception, like a star constantly calling to him.

The time to move forward has come.

On this day, Emperor Su Yao, who had not appeared before his ministers for a long time, personally appeared with Empress Wan Nian in the Golden Palace to hold a grand ceremony to confer the title of Emperor upon the 22-year-old Crown Prince Su Yongping, in the presence of all the ministers and officials. This ceremony completed the transfer of power, and Emperor Su Yao appointed key ministers such as Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Zhou Yu, Xun Yu, Liu Bei, and Zhuge Liang to assist in governing the country.

Su Yao did not publicly announce his destination, only declaring that he would be going into seclusion to cultivate in order to seek the Dao and quell the frequent anomalies that had occurred over the past decade. All matters of the empire would be decided jointly by the new emperor and his ministers.

After the grand ceremony, Su Yao ascended the city tower of Luoyang alone, overlooking the prosperous capital city he had personally created. Thousands of lights shone, smoke curled from chimneys, and the faint sounds of bustling city life painted a picture of a peaceful and prosperous era.

"Is everything arranged?" A gentle voice sounded from behind. It was Princess Wannian, now the Empress, draped in a phoenix robe. Time seemed to have been exceptionally kind to her; she remained elegant and noble, but her eyes now held a calm wisdom that seemed to have gained insight into the ways of the world.

"Hmm." Su Yao didn't turn around, but simply pointed into the distance. "Look, this is the empire that I and you all conquered together."

Wan Nian walked to his side and stood beside him: "This is also our home. So you must come back."

Su Yao turned to look at the woman whose fate was most intertwined with his, the one who gave him his initial legitimacy, smiled slightly, and took her hand: "Of course. Everything I own is here, how could I not return?"

He paused, his voice lowering slightly: "Yongping is kind and benevolent. With the assistance of you and the old ministers, maintaining the status quo is sufficient. However, the empire's territory is vast, spanning east, west, north, and south, with diverse cultures. In the future, there will inevitably be a tendency towards centrifugal forces. I have left instructions that if future generations are unworthy, or if the nation's fortunes decline, it is better to divide the land and establish fiefdoms, allowing each son to guard a region, than to force unification and plunge the people into war. Preserving the flame of Han civilization is far better than an empty, vast imperial title."

A flicker of surprise crossed Wan Nian's eyes, quickly turning into deep emotion and understanding. She knew that these words meant Su Yao had truly broken free from the shackles of "family rule," placing the continuation of civilization above the survival of the dynasty. She gripped Su Yao's hand tightly: "I will remember. These words will be passed down as ancestral precepts for generations to come."

Three days later, on the roof of the world, the Himalayas.

Under a clear blue sky, Su Yao stood alone atop a vast mountain.

The mountain wind rustled his clothes. He was no longer the general who relied on system skills and charged into battle, but rather his aura was restrained, and his body was subtly in harmony with the natural world, as if he were a part of the rules of this world as he stood there.

After glancing back at the east one last time, Su Yao broke through the void, crossing dimensions in a single step.

In an instant, time and space reversed, and the familiar snow-capped mountain scenery was stretched and distorted infinitely, eventually transforming into a bizarre and dazzling tunnel of light.

He no longer relied on the griffin, but instead, through his own understanding of the laws of space, directly constructed a passage to higher dimensions.

In this process, he quickly felt his physical form being stripped away and transformed into a purer energy structure, with only his powerful will and soul core remaining intact.

"The Court of the Gods. I have arrived!"

“You have finally come, Fire Thief.”

I don't know how much time passed; perhaps it was a moment, perhaps it was eternity.

When Su Yao's "perception" returned, he found himself in a strange space that defied description. There was no up, down, left, or right, no real sense of the passage of time, only countless flowing lines of laws and shimmering fragments of planes, like the "backstage" of a universe, filled with a torrent of data.

Su Yao had a vague premonition that if he were to be carelessly drawn into it, his existence would likely be completely assimilated and annihilated by the torrent very soon.

Su Yao focused his mind and used his powerful will as an anchor to solidify the existence of his "self" in the void. He could sense that at the core of this space, there was a cold, vast, and lifeless will, like a predator lurking silently in the center of a spider web.

"I thought you wouldn't dare come, Fire Thief."

The fluctuation of will directly entered Su Yao's consciousness. Although it was devoid of any emotion, Su Yao seemed to hear a trace of anger and hatred:

Is playing house in the world of ants really that fun?

"Using the power you stole, you altered my rules, even stole my faith... Do you know what a sin this is?"

Following the fluctuations of that will, Su Yao "looked" and saw a gigantic, indescribable ball of light suspended at the convergence of countless lines of law. It had no fixed form; sometimes it resembled a cold star, sometimes it transformed into countless eyes monitoring all realms, and sometimes it became a colossal black hole devouring everything. This was the "Court of the Gods," the true form of the so-called overseer—a collective entity composed of pure rules and cold logic.

"Sin?" Su Yao's resolute will resonated like a resounding bell in this void. "If protecting one's own world and cherishing one's own people is a sin, then what are you, a fellow who treats all things as straw dogs and manipulates fate at will?"

"Protect? Cherish?" The regulator's will carried a hint of mockery. "Laughable emotions. What the world needs is order, a predetermined trajectory. I am the cornerstone supporting the orderly operation of countless worlds, the anchor point maintaining the balance of the multiverse."

"And your existence, and your system, are nothing short of a virus, the source of chaos!"

As soon as the regulator finished speaking, the surrounding torrents suddenly accelerated, with countless turbulent currents surging, as if they were about to sweep Su Yao away and swallow him whole.

However, Su Yao was not defeated by him: "Absurd! So this is your reason for repeatedly bringing down calamities, instigating wars, and sacrificing countless lives? Are those who died because of your instigation also part of your predetermined path?"

"It's no use talking more!"

"This spacetime can only have one will, one ruler!"

"Your very existence is a desecration of order. Today, we will thoroughly correct this error!"

Before the words were finished, countless symbolic lines of law suddenly tightened, as if billions of strings were being plucked at the same time, emitting a piercing buzz.

They coalesced into enormous, multicolored light waves, resembling a force field barrier, centered on Su Yao's location, and came from all directions.

The entire space of the "Divine Throne Court" began to twist and compress violently, as if an invisible giant hand was about to crush Su Yao and the area he was in!
This is not an attack in the physical sense, but an erasure that directly affects existence itself and targets the level of rules!
"Just you?!"

Su Yao let out a long roar, no longer holding back.

The power of faith accumulated over two decades, the experience and energy gathered from battles and killings, and his own indomitable and powerful will to control his own destiny, all merged perfectly at this moment and erupted with a roar!

boom--! ! !
A dazzling golden light burst forth from Su Yao's position, instantly shattering the dome.

The golden light was not flame, yet it burned brighter than a star; no sound traveled in the vacuum, but the violent collision of rules caused the entire "Divine Throne Court" to tremble. Su Yao unleashed the power he had accumulated over twenty years without reservation—the "Way of the Human Emperor," forged from the faith of countless beings and based on his immortal achievements of traversing east and west and conquering thousands of miles!
This power does not belong to any established rules; it originates from life itself's yearning and struggle for freedom, for beauty, and for the future. It may be rough, and it may be tinged with the hustle and bustle of the world, but it is full of a vibrant vitality that regulators can never comprehend.

Ultimately, the law-based light waves gathered by the regulators collided with this golden area, unleashing a silent annihilation.

Rules and will clashed fiercely, and countless tiny spacetime rifts were created and destroyed at the intersection, as if countless miniature worlds were born and destroyed in an instant.

"Absurd! How can low-dimensional emotions shake the order of high-dimensional beings?!" For the first time, the regulator's will was tinged with shock and anger. The cold, purely logical ball of light twisted violently, attempting to mobilize more lines of law to suppress and disintegrate this "abnormal" power.

Countless illusory figures from different dimensions flickered all around, microcosms of the world under the control of the overseer. It attempted to crush Su Yao with the "weight" of these worlds, spreading his existence across endless spacetime, causing him to disintegrate. However, Su Yao's will remained steadfast, his "Dao" clear and unwavering. He saw in those dimensions countless beings bound by fate, struggling in predetermined tragedies. He heard their prayers, their cries, their indomitable shouts.

"Your order is stagnant water! Your trajectory is a shackle on living beings!" Su Yao's will transformed into an invisible giant axe, carrying the momentum of creating chaos and reshaping the universe, and fiercely cleaved towards the huge ball of light of rules. "Today, I will open the heavens for humanity!"

Click——!
It was as if something had shattered. Not matter, nor energy, but some more fundamental "structure." Countless lines of laws broke and dissipated in the golden light, and the enormous ball of light was forcibly cleaved open with a huge crack, from which a cold and merciless aura surged out like a flood.

"No—!!!" The regulator's will emitted a sharp, incredulous scream. It sensed that the very foundation of its "existence" was being shaken. It had never imagined that an individual from a "lower dimension," who had grown up by "stealing" power, could truly threaten it!

"Fire thief? Today, I will burn your rotten throne to ashes!"

Su Yao pressed his advantage, the golden light receding inwards to condense into his true form, which was even taller and more majestic, like a deity composed of pure will and energy. He took a step forward, directly plunging into the crack in the ball of light, entering the core domain of the overseer.

This is an ocean of information, a convergence point for countless world destinies. Countless ribbons of light flow, each representing the possibility of a civilization, the fate of a life. And the core consciousness of the regulator lies hidden in the deepest part of this ocean of information, a core program that is constantly performing cold calculations.

Su Yao saw the predetermined "plot," saw countless heroes struggling in vain in a predetermined tragedy, and saw civilization endlessly cycling through periods of prosperity and destruction...

Ultimately, all of this is to provide "nourishment" for a higher-ranking entity, helping them climb to higher levels.

The blood and tears of humanity are utterly insignificant to them.

In fact, Su Yao even saw his own fate in this calculation.

"Your soul and spirit will be destroyed, your empire will collapse, and everything you cherish will be wiped out without a trace, as if you had never existed."

"Only if you can beat me."

Without a trace of emotion, Su Yao concentrated his last bit of energy, transforming it into a massive golden beam of light that shot densely toward the core of the overseer.

"Don't even think about it!"

The regulators also mobilized their last remaining strength to protect the core. Countless shimmering blue energies, like a surging torrent, converged and countered the beam of light shooting from the upper right.

boom--! ! !
The ultimate collision of the two forces plunged the entire Divine Throne Court into unprecedented chaos. Golden and blue energy torrents tore and annihilated each other, fragments of rules scattering like shattered mirrors. Su Yao felt his will being assaulted and analyzed by countless cold, calculating logics, attempting to dismantle his existence from within.

"Useless, Fire Thief!" The core of the Overlord flickered in the information deluge, conveying a final frenzy. "Your source of power, your emotional patterns, have all been recorded by me! Next time, I will create an even more perfect 'cleanup program,' and your resistance will be futile!"

"There won't be a next time!"

Su Yao's will was like steel forged through countless trials; instead of collapsing under the opponent's frenzied attacks, it became even more refined and pure. He abandoned all defenses, pouring all his power, along with the ultimate secrets of the "Book of Ascension" that had merged with his soul, into this final strike.

"Die, you piece of trash!"

Su Yao's will transformed into a pure, golden light that suddenly pierced through the shimmering blue torrent, shattering it from its center and pushing it headlong into the core of the regulator.

"Error! Logical paradox! Unanalyzable!" The regulator's core program issued a piercing alarm, its shimmering blue light flashing violently and becoming extremely unstable.

The regulators' cold logic was incomprehensible: why, in their absolute home turf, the will of this fire thief was not crushed, but instead burned even more fiercely.

That golden radiance does not contain an energy structure that can be calculated or decomposed, but a variable that has never been recorded in its database—a miracle called "possibility".

It was a miracle formed by pure will, a firm belief in one's own invincibility, and the yearning of billions of living beings for a peaceful and prosperous world, a miracle that even the laws of heaven and earth under his control could not bind.

"Do not--!!!"

The core of the regulator unleashed a final, distorted shriek. The azure light was completely swallowed and torn apart by the gold, and countless light bands carrying predetermined destinies shattered inch by inch, turning into nothingness.

Rumble, rumble—! ! !
The Court of Gods, this cold space that sustained the operation of countless world "scripts," began to disintegrate after losing its core driving force. Barriers collapsed, laws crumbled, and those bound and pre-set dimensional projections, as if breaking free of chains, shone with the radiance of freedom before disappearing into the void that returned to chaos.

Spring of the eighth year of Yongchang.

The peach blossoms outside Luoyang bloomed and faded, but the Emperor's sleeping quarters deep within the Ziwei Palace remained empty. Although palace servants meticulously cleaned it daily, its former master never returned.

Over the years, folk tales about Emperor Su Yao have become increasingly fantastical. Some say he ascended to heaven atop a snow-capped mountain, becoming the true Heavenly Emperor and protecting the fate of the Han Dynasty; others say he broke through the void to conquer a wider world; still others say he is simply sleeping in some unknown place and will one day return.

The imperial court remained tight-lipped about the matter, officially stating only that His Majesty the Emperor had gone into seclusion to contemplate the ways of Heaven in order to seek lasting peace. The new Emperor Su Yongping adopted the reign title "Yongchang," and with the assistance of regents such as Jia Xu and Zhuge Liang, he continued the national policies established by Su Yao. The empire continued to operate smoothly on its established track, with a vast territory and peace throughout the land.

Of course, the empire is not without its challenges.

Occasionally, a few clowns, harboring the conjecture that the Emperor is no longer alive, would stir up small ripples on the frontier or in the shadows.

However, in general, the imperial court does not need to take drastic measures.

Sometimes it was an old general who had long since retired from the battlefield, like Lü Bu, who, upon hearing the news, rode out alone into battle, his halberd still striking fear into the hearts of his enemies; sometimes it was Guan Yu's former subordinates stationed in North Africa, whose mere presence on a banner bearing the character "Guan" was enough to intimidate the villains; and sometimes it was simply a rumor circulating in the streets that "His Majesty the Emperor appeared in a dream to the City God of a certain place yesterday, saying that something was amiss here," which was enough to make those with ill intentions tremble with fear and collapse on their own.

Emperor Su Yao may no longer be in court, but his name shines like the blazing sun, still illuminating and protecting the land he built with his own hands. His very existence has become the empire's strongest bulwark, a faith and totem that transcends the physical realm.

However, only those closest to us can truly feel the deep longing and hidden anxieties concealed beneath the prosperity of this golden age.

Princess Wannian, now Empress Shengde, has graying temples. She often stands alone on the high platform in the palace garden, gazing at the western sky, sometimes for a long time. Hong'er (Consort Ren) is even more silent, pouring all her energy into teaching her grandchildren and managing the affairs of the inner palace, as if only being busy can temporarily make her forget the anxious wait.

On this day, Emperor Yongchang, Su Yongping, as usual, led his officials to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices to their ancestors, rejoicing in the years of favorable weather and national peace. The ceremony was solemn and dignified. When the eulogy reached the line, "We will diligently follow the Emperor's last instructions, working tirelessly day and night to protect the nation and its people," Su Yongping's voice choked with emotion. He knew that the court officials interpreted these "last instructions" as admonitions left by his father, but he and his mothers knew in their hearts that it was more likely a... final entrustment.

After the sacrificial ceremony concluded, the officials dispersed. Su Yongping remained alone in a side hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, bowing deeply before his father's portrait. In the portrait, Su Yao, clad in resplendent golden armor, possessed a gaze sharp as lightning, seemingly capable of piercing through time and space. Su Yongping whispered a prayer: "Father, your son dares not fail your trust; I only wish that you... return soon."

The moment he finished speaking, something unexpected happened!
It wasn't an earth-shattering event, nor a dramatic change in the weather, but a more subtle and fundamental shift. The gaze of Su Yao's portrait within the hall seemed to truly come alive, flashing a barely perceptible golden light. At the same time, everyone whose fate was inextricably linked to Su Yao felt a sudden lightness in their hearts, as if some long-standing, invisible shackles weighing on their souls had quietly dissipated. An indescribable sense of peace and fulfillment, like warm spring water, gently permeated their bodies and minds.

Almost at the same moment, Lü Bu, who was enjoying his grandchildren at the Western Protectorate, was instructing his grandson in martial arts at the training ground when he suddenly felt his halberd tremble slightly. A long-lost feeling of passion and heroism, reminiscent of fighting alongside His Majesty, surged into his heart, and the hidden pain from his old injuries was greatly relieved.

In North Africa, Guan Yu, his hair and beard now completely white, was inspecting the newly built irrigation canal when he suddenly looked up at the sky. A glint of light flashed in his phoenix eyes, and his hand stroking his beard paused slightly. He felt his breathing become smoother than ever before. In various places, the old ministers and generals who had deep ties with Su Yao felt this to varying degrees, and their hidden ailments all eased.

The most obvious example is in the deep palace of Luoyang.

Princess Wannian was dressing in front of the mirror when her reflection seemed to blur for a moment before becoming exceptionally clear. Even the fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes seemed to fade, and her skin regained its radiance. She touched her cheek in astonishment, an indescribable vitality coursing through her body. Hong'er was pruning flowers in the courtyard, the leaves her fingertips touched exceptionally green and full. All the flowers in the garden bloomed simultaneously with a beauty beyond their season, and her heart, which had been aching from years of longing, now felt warm and comforted.

“This is…” Princess Wannian and Hong’er, who had rushed over, exchanged a glance, both seeing shock and unbelievable ecstasy in each other’s eyes. No words were needed; a realization dawned on them: the shadow hanging over the world had completely vanished. A certain cold rule that bound this world had been broken. He… had succeeded!

…………

And in the ruins of the throne garden, which transcends the mortal dimension and has returned to eternal silence.

The remnants of rules, like stardust, drift slowly in the void. Here, there are no longer predetermined paths, no longer cold surveillance, only freely flowing energy and infinite possibilities.

Deep within those ruins, a faint golden light, accumulated over countless years, gradually grew stronger and more solidified from a dying ember. Finally, it coalesced into a clear human silhouette—the very image of Su Yao. He radiated a soft yet boundless golden light, as if constructed from the purest life energy and the very essence of laws.

He slowly opened his eyes. His gaze no longer held the sharp, cold intensity of his past conquests, but rather a depth and peace as vast as the universe. He had successfully destroyed the Overlord, and in this ultimate clash, he had completed a true transformation and ascension.

With a slight thought, his gaze pierced through the endless void, landing precisely on that azure planet. He saw the prosperity of Luoyang, the rekindled hope and vibrant life in Wan Nian and Hong'er's eyes, the peaceful and prosperous world under his son Su Yongping's rule, and the countless people within and outside the empire's borders striving for a better future.

The world's "script" has been completely shattered, and the future is full of infinite possibilities.

And his footsteps will not stop here.

Su Yao smiled slightly, took a step forward, and instantly traversed time and space, reconnecting his existence with the land he deeply loved and the people he cared about in an incredible way.

However, upon his return this time, Su Yao was not as flamboyant as before; he simply guarded the place silently.

His destination is not here; the future of this world must be created by the people here themselves.

After settling the last ties of mortal life, Su Yao returned once again to the realm of the "gods," using his life's cultivation and insights to open a new path and take a step towards a higher dimension.

There, there were stars and seas, all realms and directions, a battlefield and stage far beyond his previous knowledge.

Su Yao could vaguely sense that the once high and mighty "regulator" was merely a link in a much larger system.

Entering such a world would be like starting all over again for someone as invincible as him, but there was no fear in Su Yao's eyes. Instead, a light burned brighter than when he conquered all directions.

"New world, here I come!"

Su Yao's figure gradually blurred in the chaotic halo, eventually merging with the new plane that resembled countless stars and disappearing from sight.

His legend has become an immortal myth in one world, and a new journey is quietly unfolding at the crossroads of countless worlds.
(End of the book)

(End of this chapter)