"Indeed, it is I!"
Seeing that the two previously imposing teenagers had become as docile as mice before a cat after this person's arrival, Wang Jiande dared not be negligent and quickly replied.
"Alright, come with me. The Great Ancestor is waiting to see you!"
With a wave of his hand, the man unleashed his magic, and the longsword he carried on his back emitted an orange light, rising into the air.
"Yes, sir!"
Wang Jiande naturally dared not have any objections and complied without hesitation.
Clumsily jumping onto the longsword, Wang Jiande was both afraid of falling and excited. This was flying! He had never experienced anything like it in his entire life.
Seeing his legs trembling uncontrollably, the man didn't laugh at him. Instead, he gently comforted him, "Your Majesty need not worry. Flying on a sword is the safest thing to do. There is no risk of falling!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Jiande forced an awkward smile and said, "I am not afraid..."
"My name is Wang Yuncheng. My ancestor was the Duke of Nanyang. According to seniority, I should be His Majesty's clan elder!"
The man unleashed his magic, and the orange light on his longsword intensified. After trembling for a moment, it flew up with a whoosh.
Fortunately, that person, Wang Yuncheng, did not fly very high, only about ten feet above the ground, flying at a low altitude.
He then added, "Of course, the Emperor Taizu decreed that once we're on the mountain, past seniority will not count. Everyone should address each other according to their status and position. Your Majesty can simply call me Senior Brother!"
After all, with a large family and many people, the generational differences can be quite significant.
It's possible for two people to be roughly the same age, yet be vastly different in age, perhaps by eight or nine generations.
This caused chaos.
Wang Mang then simply ordered his disciples to address him according to their titles on the mountain to avoid trouble.
"Senior brother, thank you for making this trip!"
Wang Jiande was pondering the seniority relationship between the two when he heard what he said next, and immediately smiled and said.
"It's our duty, don't mention the hardship! Your Majesty, we need to hurry, the founding emperor is waiting to receive you!"
Wang Yuncheng chuckled and unleashed his magic. The longsword beneath his feet seemed to have taken a powerful tonic, its speed increasing dramatically, and it quickly flew into the sky.
"ah……"
Wang Jiande exclaimed in surprise, startled by the lightning speed.
Fortunately, the suffering was not in vain, and the summit of Emperor's Peak, which is thousands of feet high, was reached in no time.
Standing on the flying sword and looking up at the summit, what was originally a pointed giant mountain had had a section of its peak forcibly cut off, turning it from a triangle into a trapezoid.
The summit had been carved into a huge platform, which Wang Jiande estimated to be several thousand feet square.
The entire mountain peak is covered with ancient trees reaching for the sky, auspicious clouds fill the sky, divine light shines brightly, divine mist pervades, and flowers and trees bloom in springtime.
Starting from the platform and going downhill, one sees palace after palace, standing side by side.
At the summit, pavilions and towers stand tall, and most notably in the center stands a magnificent palace, taller and larger than any other palace.
"call out!"
The flying sword landed in front of the enormous palace. Wang Yuncheng sheathed the sword and said to Wang Jiande, "Your Majesty, the founding emperor and the imperial tutor are waiting for you inside. Please go in quickly; I'll be going down now!"
After saying that, he turned and flew away without waiting for Wang Jiande to say anything.
Wang Jiande suppressed his surprise and looked up. He saw a plaque hanging above the entrance of the hall with the three large characters "Chengde Hall" written on it.
"Huh? That's not right, why is there nobody here?"
After a while, Wang Jiande came to his senses. He looked around and realized something was wrong.
The surroundings were quiet; there were neither guards nor even a single eunuch.
"That's right. Apart from my royal disciples, there are no outsiders on the mountain, so where would we get servants?"
Then it dawned on him.
At that moment, a majestic voice rang out.
"Alright, if you've seen enough, come in!"
Wang Jiande immediately snapped out of his reverie, stopped his wild thoughts, tidied his appearance, suppressed his surprise, and strode into the hall.
To his surprise, the light inside the hall did not dim; instead, it was bright yet soft and easy on the eyes.
Wang Jiande looked up and saw two people in the hall. One of them was dressed in a black imperial robe and had a dignified face. Judging from his appearance, he looked exactly like the statue of the founding emperor in the ancestral temple.
The other person, dressed in a green robe, exuded an ethereal and otherworldly aura; he was none other than Xiao Ning, the tutor of ten emperors.
"Wang Jiande, the tenth emperor of the Great Xin Empire, pays respects to his great-grandfather and the Imperial Tutor!"
After just a couple of glances, Wang Jiande confirmed the identities of the two men. They were indeed exactly the same as the portraits hanging in the ancestral temple. He dared not hesitate any longer.
He immediately knelt down with a thud, crying out, "Great Ancestor, Imperial Tutor, save me!"
"Get up, no need for formalities! Let's talk things out!"
With a dignified expression, Wang Mang waved his sleeve and helped him up.
Wang Jiande felt a powerful force coming from him, and his body involuntarily straightened up. He was even more amazed, thinking that it was indeed true, as the rumors said, that his great-grandfather had become an immortal.