Chapter 170 – All The Powers Wait For This Battle

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Upon reaching the mist, Daoist Ji stopped. One of Yu Ren's legs was somewhat lame, but if he was not climbing a mountain path, he rarely used a walking stick. He somewhat awkwardly propped the stick beneath his left armpit and signed a question with his hands, "Isn't the Grand Examination just about over? I wonder how Junior Brother is doing right now?"

Daoist Ji had an elegant and detached expression. His appearance was the same as it had been all those years ago, free of any sign of old age. Upon seeing the faint concern on Yu Ren's face, he smiled and rubbed him on the head, but said nothing.

Yu Ren gestured, "Master, when will we go to the capital?"

Daoist Ji replied, "When you need to return to the capital, we will naturally go."

Yu Ren did not notice that Daoist Ji had used the word 'return'.

This place was the most remote and wild mountain range in the Eastern Continent. Monsters ran amok and it was devoid of human civilization. This place was even more desolate than the ma.s.sive mountain behind Xining Village, and the mist was so thick and heavy that it was impossible to know what lay within, giving off the feeling that one had departed the human world. Just how could the people Mo Yu had sent possibly find this master and disciple?

The frequency at which those fragments of sound rose up from the fog increased, and strange movements could faintly be seen. Soon after, ten-some mighty Qis appeared, most likely belonging to some extremely powerful monsters.

Daoist Ji was not willing to meet these ugly and disgusting creatures. Slightly frowning, he said, "Open a path."

Yu Ren obediently stepped forward and called out to the thick mist at the end of the path.

Half of his tongue was missing, so he could not speak like normal people, but this did not mean that he could not make noises. A shrill howl burst from his lips.

It seemed like a howl, but it was actually a word, a monosyllable containing a boundless amount of information. It was also precisely the sort of word that Chen Changsheng used to communicate with the Black Dragon in the underground cavern: Dragon language.

Yu Ren's clear howl flew through the air and vanished into the mist, not causing any ripples or turmoil. Yet immediately after, the crus.h.i.+ng pressure containing within the howl spread through the mist to every corner of the mountain range. Those monsters hidden deep within the mists let out roars of fear and unease, expressions of their servitude and pleas for forgiveness. With grinding noises, they vanished as swiftly as they could, and the mists returned to serenity.

In a place even farther from a capital was a white desert. At the very center of this desert was a city made of stone. The city walls covered a radius of several dozen li and were a magnificent sight.

Millions of people kneeled in the desert outside the stone city, their knees and foreheads giving off a faint burning scent after touching the white sand that had been scorched by the heat of nine suns for too long. However, no pain could be seen on their faces, only absolute peace. They also gave out no sounds, leaving only absolute silence. It was like a serene and terrifying sea, a sea of people.

In the very front of the sea of people was a high platform made of wood, and there were even countless green leaves growing along the edge of the wooden platform, posing a stark contrast to the blazing and monotonous scenery of the desert.

In the very center of the wooden platform stood the word '正' (righteousness), a symbol thick with the scent of religion. As the millions of wors.h.i.+ppers silently prayed, the '正' symbol emanated a faint Sacred Light.

A middle-aged man stood in front of this religious symbol, quietly watching the millions of people kneeling in front of him. From his clothes, one could see that he was probably of monk of this religion. The middle-aged man had faint wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, yet they did not harm his perfect appearance. Most enchanting of all were his eyes. Those tranquil and clear eyes of his contained boundless compa.s.sion and love and seemed able to see incomparably distant places, able to see everything.

He raised the staff in his hand, facing this dangerous world with a smile.

The millions of people stood up from the white desert and shouted as one, "None care not for their homeland!"

It was early spring in the capital, so it was still very cold. In early spring, Xuelao City was cloaked in an even harsher cold, the shrieking and wailing of blizzards howling through the streets of the city like sandstorms, making it impossible for one to open one's eyes.

Demons loved the darkness, loved tranquility, loved blood, and loved killing, the latter a part of their innermost being. As a result, in the homes of the demon artists and the secret dwellings of the princely clans, one could always find garishly colored paintings or strange and twisting lines. Yet the shade that dominated all of Xuelao City was gray, a color that made one feel at peace, almost numb. The people who walked within this city also liked to wear black robes, so it was difficult to distinguish one from another at a distance.

A demon dressed in a black robe walked through the snowstorm. The black robe they wore was very normal and somewhat old, its lower edge already fraying, but at least this was a black robe different from the rest.

The black robe flickered in and out of the wild blizzard. Even if one stared at it, it was very difficult to keep track of it. Finally, the figure walked out of Xuelao City and stood on a glacier to the south of the city.

A gust of cold wind lifted a corner of the hood, revealing the profile of the demon. This was a face so pale that it seemed as if it had not seen sunlight for many years, as if the owner had just been struck with a serious illness, as if it was devoid of any warmth, or even life, carrying a heart-pounding aura of death.

The demon looked south, in the direction of the human capital. After a long period of silence, the corner of this demon's lips drew back and cold voice with a barely contained delight spoke, "At last, you can no longer continue to ignore his existence."

After Luoluo had moved into the Li Palace, the Hundred Herb Garden had become deserted. The youths of the Orthodox Academy had all gone to partic.i.p.ate in the Grand Examination, so there was also n.o.body there to see the new door built between them being pushed upon.

The Black Goat walked out from the door and to the lake. There was still some snow on the lake and the gra.s.s was yellow. It was somewhat doubtful, thinking that the gra.s.s the youth had fed it half a year ago had not had this sort of flavor.

The Divine Empress had also come to the Orthodox Academy.

This was the first time in ten-some years that she had come to the Orthodox Academy.

Earlier in the Hundred Herb Garden, she had recalled the ma.s.sacre Emperor Taizong had inflicted on the Imperial clan. Now as she stood in the Orthodox Academy, she recalled the ma.s.sacre she had inflicted on the Orthodoxy's conservative faction.

After Emperor Taizong returned to the heavens, she had killed many people, as many people had opposed her. From the moment she began to handle memorials in the place of the emperor, those people began to oppose her, all the way until ten-some years ago when the emperor was suffering in agony on his deathbed. Those people still did not care and only thought about opposing her.

Those who dared to oppose her were ultimately all killed by her. She had killed for several centuries, all the way until she had killed so many people ten-some years ago in the Orthodox Academy that finally no one dared to oppose her.

She knew that her hands were drenched in blood, but she did not care. It was just that after seeing the Orthodox Academy no longer ruined after so many years, she very naturally thought back to those days of constant killing.

This sort of reminiscence would not make her feel unhappy, but it would not bring her much joy either.

This was especially because she had admired many of those people that she had killed. Those people had been brave, honest, competent, remarkable, outstanding, persistent, n.o.ble. She had given those people many chances, yet those people had never given her a chance, even forcing her to kill them.

Those people had wanted to prove to the world that she was a cruel ruler.

The Divine Empress gazed in the direction of the Li Palace, thinking about what had happened earlier. She felt somewhat cold, a cold in her heart.

A bout of cold brought by a bout of autumn rain.

The Pope had unexpectedly acted.

She had once believed that Chen Changsheng's journey would come to a close, but now she understood that this was not the case. Thus, she wanted to ask those people, just where do you all want to go? Do you want to force me into killing again?

Important personages had the considerations of important personages, and minor characters had no need to consider those considerations. Chen Changsheng did not care about how many people were paying attention to the Grand Examination, paying attention to him. Just like he had once said to Luoluo, he only cared about whether he could get first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination, whether he could enter the Lingyan Pavilion.

Before this matter, even an invasion of demons would be a trifling concern, let alone anything else. Thus, he went through great pains to prepare for this final battle, silently and attentively listening to the tactics Tang Thirty-Six had prepared for him.

Tang Thirty-Six looked at him with an unprecedented level of seriousness and said, "First try to move him with emotion, then try to convince him with reason, and only as a last resort should you try to suppress him with power, only in the end should you fight. Three phrases, three methods, and the order is very important. I hope that they can be of use. Of course, if that poor scholar remains implacable, I still advise you to consider which method of conceding is more glorious."

On the side, Luoluo whispered, "Teacher, try bribing him."

Tang Thirty-Six sneered, "This is Gou Hans.h.i.+ we're talking about, a scholar who considers himself a virtuous n.o.ble. How could he be bribed? He's not some impoverished fellow who's never seen money in his life like Zhexiu."

Zhexiu was on the stretcher next to the white poplar tree. His bleeding had been gradually staunched and his energy had recovered a little, but when he heard Tang Thirty-Six's words, he remained expressionless and silent.

Luoluo scooted close to Chen Changsheng's ear and whispered a few words. Chen Changsheng was somewhat shocked and didn't want to accept, yet he was unable to stop her from pus.h.i.+ng the item onto him.

Tang Thirty-Six saw the item that Luoluo had stuffed into his bosom, and the corners of his lips twitched. He then searched himself and realized that he could not find a similar level of object. After thinking it over, he took down the Wenshui Sword from his belt and handed it over.

"I have my own sword; what do I need yours for?" Chen Changsheng asked, puzzled.

Tang Thirty-Six looked into his eyes and said, "This is the clan sword of my Tang clan, just like the relic sword from the Discipline Hall being used by Qi Jian. Although it's not fit to enter the Tier of Legendary Weapons, that doesn't mean that it's weak. Just carry it on you and it can block an attack for you at a crucial moment. Even if you can't use it, it's not very heavy, so will holding it tire you?"

Chen Changsheng understood his meaning and it was hard to refuse this intention, so after some thinking, he accepted it.

"That's reasonable." Luoluo had been reminded by Tang Thirty-Six and unhesitantly took the Falling Rain Whip from her waist and placed it in Chen Changsheng's hands.

Xuanyuan Po used his wide and thick hands to search over his entire body, but he couldn't find anything good, not even a talisman to wish him luck, so he couldn't help but feel somewhat dejected.

Chen Changsheng patted his upper arm and smiled. "You make dinner tonight."

Xuanyuan Po gave a hearty laugh and said, "If you win, I'll specially add two spoons of salt."

Chen Changsheng considered this proposition. If he really did get first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination, eating a little salt and oil for one meal and drinking two or three saucers of wine seemed quite harmless.

He prepared to leave the forest's edge when he suddenly remembered something. He turned his head back to the stretcher and said to Zhexiu, "Regardless of whether I win or lose, I will do my utmost to give that item to you."

Zhexiu expressionlessly said, "You must win."

Chen Changsheng walked into the Hall of Was.h.i.+ng Away Dust.

Gou Hans.h.i.+ was already there, quietly standing. The clothes he was wearing were losing color from the number of times they had been washed, and it was difficult to tell whether his sword was rare or not, just like the person himself.