Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Hundred Flowers Lane had experienced desolation, spectacle, destruction, and reconstruction. Its appearance from yesteryear had been replaced long ago, but it was more prosperous and yet quieter than before. Newly planted willow trees grew along the road. In the early spring, their new buds of light green were unable to conceal the eaves of the restaurants behind them.

Tianhai Shengxue gazed quietly for a very long time at the gate of the Orthodox Academy, deep within the lane.

The current gate had been built by the Tianhai clan, its old one having been rammed open at his order.

He thought back to that drizzling day in the capital, of how he had returned from the north with his subordinate cavalry and had a warhorse crash through the gate at his order. At the time, how brilliantly he and the Tianhai clan had shone, how arrogant they had been, but now?

After the coup of the Mausoleum of Books, other than when they carried out tasks assigned by the venerable Daoist or the emperor, the Tianhai clan was as inconspicuous as it could possibly make itself. This year, with great difficulties, they had finally prepared to demonstrate their power at the Mount Song Army headquarters and obtain some benefit for themselves, but they ended up encountering a major affair and that proud younger brother of his died.

As for Tianhai Ya'er, who had long ago brought the Tianhai clan into conflict with the Orthodox Academy, he had been forgotten long ago.

Fei Dian saw the desolate expression on his face and guessed at what he was thinking. He said, "If you've missed it, you've missed it. Let's go."

Tianhai Shengxue shook his head and spurred his horse into Hundred Flowers Lane.

Fei Dian appeared a little surprised. He silently watched Tianhai Shengxue enter.

Tianhai Shengxue was not merely passing by, but had come specifically to visit the Orthodox Academy, because he no longer wanted to keep missing out.

He knocked on the gate of the Orthodox Academy and then went inside.

His choice was the same as the one he had made in the Grand Examination.

He hoped that his clan could continue its succession, so he chose to bet everything on the other side.

He wanted to completely cut himself off from his clan so that even if the Tianhai clan was slaughtered to the man, he would survive.

Emperor Taizong had left behind many descendants. Even after so many years of trial and tribulation, after so many years of killing, quite a few of them still remained.

The princely estates lining the Road of Peace were proof.

The owners of these estates were all looking at the Prince of Xiang's estate.

If the Prince of Xiang did not give his stance on today's matter, the other princes could only remain silent.

The Road of Peace was extremely quiet.

But in one of the princely estates, one could hear an endless stream of curses, a string of obscenities so foul that they made one's ears recoil in disgust.

It was the Prince of Zhongshan's estate.

Amongst the princes of the Chen clan, the Prince of Zhongshan, Chen Xuanqing, could be considered the most famous, in part due to his temper, and in part due to his legendary experience.

If he had not played the madman back then and eaten no small amount of horse feces, he would have been put to death by the Tianhai Divine Empress ages ago.

This matter also indirectly proved how outstanding this prince was. If he was just an ordinary prince, if he did not possess an extremely formidable strength, only slightly inferior to the Prince of Xiang, how could he have been forced to such measures by the Tianhai Divine Empress?

For such a powerful prince to be able to endure such humiliation was proof of how terrifying he was.

Especially when his complexion was as gloomy as it was now.

The vassals of the estate and experts loyal to him packed the room. The Xiaoling Divine General and the Prince of Luling, who had just hurried back from Mount Xiao, were also present.

Everyone had their heads bowed, none of them daring to meet the Prince of Zhongshan's gaze, much less speak.

This only further soured the Prince of Zhongshan's complexion. He pointed at them and cursed, "They're bullying us right in front of our door and all of you can still remain seated!"

At Mount Song, he had been forced to concede by the arrival of the three Prefects of the Orthodoxy and the unseen Chen Changsheng, which had already put him in a bad mood. Now, the experts of the southern sects had waltzed into the capital with an intimidating pressure, causing him to explode with fury.

His vassals kept their heads bowed, their mouths shut.

The Xiaoling Divine General looked at the Prince of Zhongshan and attempted to drum up his courage to speak, but he ultimately chose to take back his gaze.

The Prince of Luling helplessly shook his head.

If they couldn't sit, what else could they do? Go fight?

The Li Palace could easily find seven or eight peak Star Condensation experts like Linghai Zhiwang or Daoist Siyuan, and the Ivy Academies still had experts like Zhuang Zhihuan and the Archbishop of the Temple Seminary. Such were the Orthodoxy's foundational resources that had been built up over the millennia.

And Mao Qiuyu had already broken into the Divine. Although it was said that he had gone to Mount Han, who knew if he had sneaked back like Wang Po? And if Mao Qiuyu did not return, who could resist the combined sword arts of the Pope and the Holy Maiden? Coupled with those southern experts who had entered the capital, just how were they supposed to fight?

Unless they called back the black-armored cavalry from the north and besieged these experts, the Imperial Court had no chance of victory.

Although the Great Zhou Army had no small number of experts, the fiercest of their number, the White Tiger Divine General, had already been killed by Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu. The remaining Divine Generals were terribly lacking when compared to Xue Xingchuan's generation, and they had not even been of one mind in the first place.

"These disciples and granddisciples of Chen Guansong's really are incompetent! This prince might as well go fight instead!"

The Prince of Zhongshan glanced at the Xiaoling Divine General and cursed, "They're all f**king trash!"

The vassals all bitterly smiled in silence as they thought, Your Highness, even if you could fight, you're just one person, and Your Highness still wouldn't be able to beat that person. As they all silently criticized the prince, they heard his following comment and were suddenly stricken with fear as they wondered, could His Highness possibly know what we're thinking?

The Prince of Zhongshan had no idea, nor did he have any mind to contemplate what his subordinates were thinking. These words were purely an emotional outburst.

"But I still can't beat Wang Po!

"It pisses me off!

"Pisses me off!"

Wang Po of Tianliang was unquestionably the expert that the Great Zhou Imperial Court had kept the closest eye on in the last few decades.

It was for the same reason that the Prince of Zhongshan regarded Wang Po so highly.

An irreconcilable grudge existed between the Chen clan and the Wang clan.

One recalled that Taizong had once made a comment that the weather had gotten cold, the result being the fall of the Wang clan.

Such was the origin of Wang Po's title.

If one could point out the one person that most hoped for the Chen Imperial clan to lose the world, it had to be Wang Po.

Thus, just when Wang Po began to reveal his talent for cultivation, the Chen Imperial clan was ready to suppress him, even eliminate him.

If it hadn't been for the Tang Old Master protecting him in Wenshui for several years, Wang Po would have probably have been killed long ago.

Even after he ascended to the top of the Proclamation of Liberation and became an expert protected by the laws of the Divine, he was still forced into the distant south, where he entered Scholartree Manor.

Once Su Li went to the other continent, Wang Po became the number one elimination target for the Great Zhou Imperial Court.

After the coup of the Mausoleum of Books, the laws of the Divine lost their efficacy, so the Imperial Court set out to make their thoughts reality.

This resulted in that attempted encirclement around the ginkgo tree and the world-shaking battle by the Luo River.

But no one had expected Wang Po's cultivation to advance so quickly.

On the Luo River, he had killed Tie Shu with a single strike of his blade and entered the ranks of the Divine.

From that day, the entire situation changed.

The Great Zhou Imperial Court halted all their movements against Wang Po and the princes of the Chen clan fell silent. Both sides maintained a peaceful attitude.

But today, Wang Po had entered the capital.

The yellowed trees in front of the Imperial Palace and the crack on the Luo River were proof of this, or perhaps they could be called a letter of challenge.

Of course, it was a challenge to the Imperial Court.

To the princes of the Chen clan, this was even more a humiliation.

The Prince of Luling asked with a sour expression, "Then what do we do now?"

"What do we do?"

The Prince of Zhongshan slammed his hand against the table and roared, "We eat shit then! In any case, I've already eaten it for so many years, so there's no fear of doing it again!"