Chapter 105 – Going to the Li Palace

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Luoluo possessed the blood of the White Emperor clan and had abundant quant.i.ties of true essence. In her several months within the Orthodox Academy, she had cultivated in accordance with his instructions and easily reached the upper level of Meditation—if demi-human cultivation followed the same levels as human cultivation, then she was also confronting an extremely perilous pa.s.s.

When thinking about this, Chen Changsheng was overcome with remorse and fear. If Luoluo were to encounter some problem when breaking through, he truly would not be able to forgive himself. Right now, he had some understanding of the process of breaking into Ethereal Opening, and more importantly, he had medicine.

He could no longer sit still. Rising, he ran over to the small wooden house by the gate and asked Jin Yulu, "Luoluo…when will Her Highness be able to take a trip outside the Li Palace?"

Jin Yulu was drinking wine, his eyes squinted as his hand ferried white nuts into his mouth. Hearing this question, he became somewhat puzzled and asked, "What's wrong?"

Chen Changsheng saw his expression and felt that he had been thinking too simply. After considering his response, he said, "I have some things that I need to tell her and want to meet her. If…it's truly too inconvenient, could I trouble Sir Guardian to help me by delivering a letter to her?"

Jin Yulu threw a peanut into his mouth, chewing on it while he said indistinctly, "Just that?"

Chen Changsheng was somewhat confused. What did he mean by 'just that'?

"If you want to see her, go see her. What need is there for me to deliver a letter?"

Jin Yulu raised his wine cup and downed it all in one gulp, constantly clicking his tongue at its fiery taste.

Chen Changsheng was even more confused, his eyes opened wide as he asked, "I can…see her?"

"It's not convenient for Her Highness to leave the Li Palace because of her safety, but you are Her Highness's teacher, and you're not going to harm her. If you want to see her, go to the Li Palace and see her. Who's going to stop you?"

"Sir Guardian…why didn't you say this earlier?"

"I saw that you never took a step outside the Orthodox Academy and thought you wanted to focus on cultivating."

"Guardian…"

"What's wrong?"

"I've thanked you…"

"But I don't seem to be hearing any grat.i.tude in your voice."

It was not possible to enter the Li Palace at night, so early on the morning of the next day, before the sun was even up, before five o'clock, Chen Changsheng woke up early for the first time ever. He then proceeded to wake up Tang Thirty-Six and Xuanyuan Po. Afterwards, he went to the gatehouse to place awakening incense under Jin Yulu's nose to stir him from his drunken stupor.

The carriage wheels rolled across the flagstones of Hundred Flowers Lane, rumbling as the carriage carried two humans and two demi-humans towards the Li Palace.

The Li Palace was the residence of the Pope and the center of the Orthodoxy, and it had always been on equal level with the Great Zhou Imperial Palace. It was located in the western part of the capital and was a vast collection of palace halls, a most towering and grandiose sight. Even as far as New North Bridge, ten-some li from the Li Palace, it was still visible.

The Orthodoxy was established in the year fifteen-seventy-three of the Calendar of Light and had now existed for eight hundred years. However, given how long ago the Heavenly Tomes descended to the world and the Dao of light became prevalent on the continent, its history exceeded ten thousand years. The Li Palace, as a symbol of the Orthodoxy, was naturally extraordinary.

This collection of palace halls occupied such a vast amount of s.p.a.ce as to seem boundless. The Divine Avenue, able to hold eight carriages running side by side at once, ran through the entire complex. The true Li Palace in which the Pope resided was at the very back of these palaces, in the deepest part of the Li Palace. The several dozen palace halls and stately buildings surrounding the plaza of white stone at the front belonged to several large inst.i.tutions of the Orthodoxy.

The Li Palace Academy was naturally within this group of palaces. Contrary to what the average person might expect, the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green and the Temple Seminary, also schools belonging to the Six Ivies, were also contained within these palaces. They were so close as to seem like one, leading some people to occasionally call the Li Palace the Academy City.

The Ivies of the Li Palace, one of the famous sights of the capital, particularly referred to the seemingly endless ivy vines growing on the surrounding wall that connected these three academies. Of course, it also referred to the greenery in the very back of this collection of palace halls, closest to the Pope.

When Chen Changsheng and his group left the Orthodox Academy, it was still dark. When they reached the Li Palace, it just so happened to be half past five, right when the Li Palace opened. Jin Yulu could not help but laugh and shake his head at how precisely this youth had calculated the time.

The outermost perimeter of the Li Palace was lined with countless stone pillars. These stone pillars were around ten zhang tall and would take several people to completely circle them. Each pillar was separated from the others by one hundred zhang. From a distance, there seemed nothing special about them, but from up close, the rows of stone pillars gave off a sense of grandeur.

As he walked in front of a pillar, Xuanyuan Po realized that there were no c.h.i.n.ks on its surface. He couldn't help but drop his jaw in astonishment. These stone pillars had actually been carved and polished from a single piece of stone. He was absolutely mystified as to how, when they were building the Li Palace, the workers had been able to find so many complete stones and transport them to the capital.

The morning wind pa.s.sed between the pillars and the morning light shone upon them. Nothing lay between these stone pillars, and only the sky was above them. It was all empty, as if nothing stood in the way, and the occasional bird flying through did not seem to invoke any strange phenomena.

But these stone pillars were the main gate of the Li Palace.

If someone entered without permission or attempted to sneak in after the gate was closed, they would trigger a restriction. As for what this restriction was, n.o.body knew. It had been far too many years since this restriction had last been triggered. There was simply no one who dared to invade the Li Palace, so the true appearance of the restriction had gradually been forgotten.

These stone pillars did not bar Chen Changsheng's group. He offered a doc.u.ment and very easily pa.s.sed the inspection. However, the gazes that were aimed at them were somewhat peculiar, because this doc.u.ment very clearly stated that they had come from the Orthodox Academy.

Solely from its name, one would know that the Orthodox Academy was closely related to the Orthodoxy, but that was an old matter from ten-some years ago. From the moment the previous Princ.i.p.al of the Orthodox Academy joined with the Chen Imperial clan and caused trouble, and was consequently suppressed by the Pope, this relations.h.i.+p was ended.

This was the first time in ten-some years that the Orthodox Academy had appeared in front of the Li Palace.

The three youths of the Orthodox Academy were now famous in the capital, let alone the fact that Jin Yulu was their gatekeeper.

In the upper part of the stone pillars, illuminated in the morning light, some sort of design could faintly be seen.

Chen Changsheng had once applied for the Temple Seminary, but he had gone to the River w.a.n.g Branch Academy, which had been a.s.signed the responsibility of enrolling students, so this was also his first time coming to this place.

He drew back his gaze from the pillar and followed Jin Yulu onto the broad and straight Divine Avenue. Countless trees had been planted on both sides of the Divine Avenue. Even in the bleak chill of autumn, when more and more leaves were beginning to fall, it was still difficult to see into the forest because of the closeness of the trees.

The Li Palace opened at half past five, which was also the time when the students of the Li Palace Academy, the Temple Seminary, and the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green began their morning cultivation.

From the distant academy walls came the faint sounds of recitation. Sword Qi crisscrossed through the forests on both sides of the Divine Avenue, startling birds into flight. All sorts of different Qis shuttled back and forth through the forest.

Tang Thirty-Six gazed at those sword glows and sensed those Qis, his eyebrows slightly rising in interest. The students engaging in morning cultivation within the forest had quite a few unusual members amongst them. He could even sense a few Qis that were no weaker than his, but he didn't know which academies they belonged to.

Chen Changsheng valued time and adored studying, so he would naturally be very pleased at this sort of sight, even feeling a slight yearning. However, when he thought of Luoluo, he decided that he didn't have time to stop and look. He quickened his steps, walking towards that imposing palace at the end of the Divine Avenue.

Suddenly, he stopped.

Jin Yulu and the other two youths also stopped.

Something rather strange had happened.

In the forests to the sides of the Divine Avenue, in line with where they were standing, the sounds of sword Qi howling through the air could be heard. Those sounds had suddenly stopped, leaving an abnormal silence.

Chen Changsheng looked at the sides of the avenue and then continued forward, Jin Yulu and the others following.

As they walked forward, the clanging of swords and howls of Qi on both sides of the Divine Avenue gradually ceased. Wherever they walked, silence followed.

It was like a wind was traveling through the forest, bringing news. It was also like the creeping spread of some strange atmosphere.

By the time they reached the center part of the Divine Path, still quite far from that spherical palace in front of them, the forests on both sides of the Divine Avenue had already become completely silent. Suddenly, there was a rustling sound—not the sound of silkworms gnawing on mulberry leaves, but many footsteps.

Several hundred young men and women walked out of the forest. Standing on both sides of the Divine Avenue, they looked at Chen Changsheng's group.

These people were the students of the Temple Seminary, the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green, and the Li Palace Academy.

They naturally did not line the avenue to welcome them, but to gawk at them.

They looked upon Chen Changsheng and the others with very complex gazes: curiosity, vigilance, disdain, loathing, and much more.

At the Ivy Festival, the Orthodox Academy had actually managed to defeat the Mount Li Sword Sect, and along with that engagement with Xu Yourong, Chen Changsheng was famous. The students of the Ivy Academies that had not attended the Ivy Festival were very curious about him.

But it was impossible to enter the Orthodox Academy, and Chen Changsheng and the others never came out, so it was not possible to see him. Today, they heard the news that the people of the Orthodox Academy had come to the Li Palace, including Chen Changsheng. They would not miss out on such a hard-sought opportunity.

They wanted to see what Chen Changsheng looked like and what sort of person he was to actually want to marry Xu Yourong!

Many gazes were also aimed at Tang Thirty-Six, but they were different from those complex gazes looking towards Chen Changsheng. These gazes were filled to the brim with adoration, and the vast majority of them belonged to the female students of the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green.

A young genius of the Proclamation of Azure Sky, the descendant of a n.o.ble clan, a handsome appearance, a cold and arrogant personality—from any angle, Tang Thirty-Six was a complete match for the sweetheart that dwelled in the dreams of young women. If one also recalled that the Wenshui Tang clan was so wealthy that even the Imperial Court was envious, Tang Thirty-Six's place in these girls' hearts was even higher than Gou Hans.h.i.+'s.

Tang Thirty-Six had a chilly appearance and his gaze did not stray. He exuded an indescribable aura of confidence and pride, but it was precisely this appearance that cause several girls to almost shriek. Chen Changsheng and Xuanyuan Po were rather surprised. They had grown used to his normal frivolous and lazy appearance and long since forgotten that he was famous.

The loving gazes of the girls diluted the indistinct hostility aimed by the several hundred people on the Divine Avenue at the Orthodox Academy. Chen Changsheng calmed his mind, ignoring those unkind gazes falling upon him, and silently proceeded forward. Only he could feel with abnormal clarity the invisible pressures that weighed down on him.

They first pa.s.sed the forests outside the Temple Seminary. The students here looked at Chen Changsheng and the others with the coldest gazes.

Tianhai Ya'er certainly could not have had a good relations.h.i.+p with others, but he was still a student of the Temple Seminary, and the students of the Temple Seminary had all hoped that he would put on an astonis.h.i.+ng display in next year's Grand Examination. In the end, however, he had been beaten into a cripple by Luoluo. In the discussions taking place in the capital after the Ivy Festival, the Temple Seminary was often described as suffering the most, mentioned alongside the Mount Li Sword Sect as the two greatest losers.

None of the teachers and students of the Temple Seminary dared say anything about the Longevity Sect, so those grudges had no place to go other than the Orthodox Academy. To be more precise, they fell on the three youths of the Orthodox Academy.

Chen Changsheng ignored these gazes, walking right past the Temple Seminary.

Just then, a voice came out of the crowd standing by the Divine Avenue.

"So he was nothing but a fellow who hasn't even succeeded at Purification."