Journey to the West: I, Li Chengqian, Won’t Fetch Scriptures for the Buddhist Sect

The autumn of the second year of the Zhenguan era.

Li Chengqian opens his eyes to find himself the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, kneeling on the golden bricks of Xuanzheng Hall.

Outside the hall, Khan Jieli’s hundred thousand cavalry stand ready by the Wei River, just forty li from Chang’an. Inside, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui are on the verge of a bitter clash over whether to fight or make peace. His father, Emperor Li Shimin, stands with his back to him, pressing a jade ruyi firmly against Chang’an on a map of the empire drawn on sheepskin.

“Chengqian, you are the crown prince. I want to hear your thoughts.”

As the greatest emperor in history puts him to the test, memories of Li Chengqian’s previous life surge back. He knows this is the most humiliating peace settlement since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, but also the starting point of a golden age.

He bows his head and makes a solemn pledge: with an agreement to return in two years, he will use wealth to keep Jieli at bay and buy time to sharpen the blade. In two years, Jieli will be nothing but a skeleton in his grave!

As the words leave his mouth, the System awakens.

[Innate Dragon Qi] enters his body, healing his crippled leg and hidden ailments. The [Human Emperor Scripture] brands his soul, granting him the power to command all living things. Construction points for the Tang Dynasty can turn stone into gold.

Yet as Li Chengqian wields the destiny of humanity as crown prince, he gradually glimpses the truth of this world:

A restless monkey is trapped beneath the Five Elements Mountain. A flaw in the cycle of reincarnation lurks in the Netherworld. The Celestial Court and Spirit Mountain lord it over all, but only at the cost of humanity’s decline...

In this life, he will not only help Li Shimin forge a golden age of Zhenguan, but also raise humanity above the immortals and Buddhas. What they bring back from the journey west will not be scriptures, but an answer for all that Heaven owes the mortal world.

“Father, two years from now, I’ll go with you to the northern deserts to collect what we’re owed.”

“As for all those gods and Buddhas in the heavens, if they stand in humanity’s way, we’ll simply cut them down.”