Ze Tian Je

by Stayrr

To pick is to choose. This is a story about choices. Three thousand worlds full of gods and demons, with a daoist scroll in your hand, you are able to control the entire universe... At the beginning of time, a mystical meteor came crashing down from outer space and scattered all over the world. A piece of it landed in the Eastern Continent. There were mysterious totems carved upon

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Ze Tian Je

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To pick is to choose. This is a story about choices. Three thousand worlds full of gods and demons, with a daoist scroll in your hand, you are able to control the entire universe... At the beginning of time, a mystical meteor came crashing down from outer space and scattered all over the world. A piece of it landed in the Eastern Continent. There were mysterious totems carved upon the meteor. Through viewing these totems, mankind comprehended the Dao and established the Orthodoxy. Several thousand years later, the fourteen years old orphan Chen Changsheng left his master to cure his illness and change his fate. He brought a part of a marriage vow with him to the capital, thus beginning the journey of a rising hero...

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Ze Tian Ji #Prologue - Read Ze Tian Ji Prologue Online - All Page - Novel Next

The world is relative.

The Central Continent and the Great Western Island are separated from each other by the ocean, but they are distantly opposite of each other. The east has a high altitude, so it seems the sky is also higher. There the clouds rise up from the sea to dry land, without stopping they float endlessly. In the end they gather together, in the entire year they will not scatter.

This is the tomb of clouds—the grave of all clouds in the world.

In the innermost depths of the tomb of clouds sits a lonely mountain. The summit leads to the endless sky; no one knows where it goes.

Tales say the world is made up of five continents. Each continent has its own different landscapes. Only those who possess the lifespans of immortals can see all the different landscapes. To normal people, the tales are tales. They do not know where the other continents are, do not know how to reach them, do not know that the lonely mountain within tomb of clouds leads to the path to the other continents.

Naturally, there is also nobody that has seen the scenery high above the clouds. Here, the serene clouds are like white silk spreading out in all directions, seemingly without end. Above the endless sky mirror is black endless abyss, inside are countless number of stars.

Suddenly, two stars light up, getting brighter and brighter, they quickly reach the sky mirror. When those two stars arrive before the mirror, it becomes clear that they are not stars but two balls of holy fire.

On this mirror surface that separates the real world from the abyss appeared a spider web of cracks, but in a moment it was restored.

Those two balls of flame, through some magical means, appeared on the other side of the mirror surface in the real world. In the thin atmosphere, the two flames burned incessantly, warping the air and causing it constantly change shape—those are not balls of flame, but eyes.

The entire world, because of this grand descent, is in an uproar. Light is constantly being reflected; on the surface of the clouds appeared a long shadow like a mountain. The space began to warp, as if it was about to break.

A great golden dragon emerged from within the clouds.

The distant sun was completely obscured by its enormous body. The entire world above the clouds consequently grew dim, all around the air rapidly grew colder, and ice began to crystallize in the clouds. The countless rays of light became strange flickers on the crystal surface. Heaven and Earth changed colors; truly this dragon was an awe-inspiring existence.

The great golden dragon looked down upon the world, its eyes indifferent.

The view above the clouds, it had already seen many times.

The dragon flew towards the lonely mountain on the horizon. As it approached, its terrifying dragon body submerged itself into the cloudy abyss, completely vanishing from sight. The endless quantities of fog were cut open by that terrifying dragon's body. The crags and cliffs of the lonely mountain are extremely precipitous; no plants grew there, not even moss. The deathly stillness made it seem like a tomb.

Just like this the dragon flew through the foggy abyss. Many days and nights passed. Who knows how far it had flown, but it had never left the fog. It met no other beings, but one could faintly see that on the mountain crags appeared moss. The fog had also grown thicker, or perhaps the pressure it gave off was the cause. The fog began to change shape into many crystals. These water droplets also made the air moister.

The dragon bore these transformations with no interest, continuing to fly downward.

The plant life within the lonely mountain gradually grew more and more abundant; the air moister, the water drops pooled in the cliffs gradually became countless thin, leaf-sized streams. These countless thin streams of water flowed down the cliffs into the fog.

As the golden dragon gazed upon these countless streams of water, the look within its eyes became more concentrated, the two divine flames grew more serene—this place was the tomb of clouds, but it was also the source of all water.

Of these countless streams falling from the lonely mountain, the dragon chose one.

The golden dragon flew silently along this single water way, flying countless days and night, almost as if it would repeat again, until suddenly...the fog in front of him scattered.

Before the fog, was the earth.

The bottom of the clouds was flat and smooth, calmly rising and falling in accordance with the ground. Perfectly protecting the space between the clouds and the earth was five feet of distance. Coincidentally this was the height of the average man, as if the Creator himself had fashioned this space. This space that was five feet tall, the surface seemed to go on endlessly, with faint rays of light, but no sun to be seen. On the surface flowed countless streams of water.

The fog dissipated on the dragon's body, revealing a small stream.

This small stream originated from the moist dew of the lonely mountain. Clear, tranquil, and cold, in the stream there was a wooden basin, in the basin were several layers of cloth, on the cloth was an infant—the infant's complexion was blue, eyes closed, it was clear that it had just been born not too long ago.

The mist over the stream was like the blossoms of a flower, opening countless thousands of petals, clustering, rushing, scattering, making a chi chi noise; then a golden dragon even larger than a palace slowly emerged from the mist and made its way to the riverside.

The 5 foot space between the mists and the river was quite narrow to the dragon—the golden dragon's physique was hidden within the mists, part of its head was also hidden within the mists. It made the dragon seem all the more majestic, mysterious, terrifying.

The golden dragon quietly waited by the riverside.

The wooden basin floated on the water, bobbing up and down.

In this insignificant wooden basin was this abandoned, eyes closed, blue-faced, newly born infant.

...

...

The fog gradually scattered, everything returned its serene and tranquil state.

However, this peace was only temporary...in the deepest depths of the mist, all the way till the lonely mountain; all at once there were countless mournful sounds, panic-stricken whistling and howling!

In this seemingly lifeless world, there was in reality many birds and beasts. Everywhere within the fog was the sound of many flapping wings. There was also the sound as if a unicorn was heedlessly destroying countless tens of thousands of trees in its rush to escape; there was even the extremely brilliant cry of a phoenix!

A string of divine and intangible fire emerged from the river side and spread to the horizon. The moist grass suddenly became incomparably dry, even the plants within the water suddenly curled up!

The golden dragon remained expressionless, noble, and apathetic; lord of all under Heaven.

All the beasts in the world under the clouds all fled, the dragon paid no attention to it. Even if the phoenix fled, the dragon paid no attention to it. The dragon only stared at the small stream, stared at the wooden basin floating on the stream. From the lonely mountain fell tens of thousands of little streams, but the dragon looked at only this particular stream. After 30000 years, the dragon only descended to this world for this infant in the wooden basin, who could shift its gaze?

A very thin piece of silk slowly fell. This piece of silk was golden on the outside; on the inside it was a divine pure white, it seemed as if it was giving off its own light. The front of the piece of silk was very thin, but gradually grew thicker towards the end until it grew as thick as an arm. The surface of the silk was perfectly smooth. It seemed to penetrate the depths of the cloudy abyss, making it even more beautiful.

This piece of silk seemed to be made of gold or jade, giving off a very heavy feeling. But in fact it was very light, swaying with the breeze from the brook, as if it were dancing, wanting to touch that wooden basin, only to again draw back.

It was the golden dragon's whisker.

Now, the divine fire within the golden dragon's eyes was no longer in that eternally calm state, the eyes had gone from apathetic to pondering, as if hesitating over something. The two dragon whiskers, like two soft fingers, lightly touched the edge of the wooden basin floating on the river, as if gently stroking it, but in reality not touching it at all.

This golden dragon had already lived countless years, possessed unimaginable knowledge, yet this simple wooden basin presented to it an unsolvable problem—the mood within the dragon's eyes became more and more complex: there was longing, vigilance, hesitation, and finally, struggle, perhaps unintentional, perhaps intentional. A slight change in the breeze, the edge of the wooden basin that should have touched the dragon's whiskers swept past, until finally the whiskers were able to touch the wooden basin for the first time, even brushing the infant's ear!

This light touch brought about a violent reaction—the two divine fires within the golden dragon's eyes suddenly exploded, becoming a myriad of stars. Within that ocean of stars came an undisguised callous and greedy desire!

This desire, it was praiseworthy, it was moving.

It praised life, it was moved by life.

It was life's most primal longing.

The golden dragon gazing at the wooden basin, opened its mouth, dragon's breath like broken jade poured out.

The infant's eyes were still closed; it simply did not know what would happen in the next moment.

A shadow enveloped the stream.

Dragon's breath surrounded the wooden basin on all sides.

In the next moment, the wooden basin and the infant within would become the golden dragon's food.

At this moment.

A hand was put on the edge of the wooden basin, pulling it out of the river!

This was a hand covered with scars; thin, weak, and small.

Hua hua, the water's surface was broken. That pair of hands pulled the wooden basin and ran to the creek edge.

The owner of that hand was a three or four year old Daoist boy.

The boy pulled the basin to the stream edge and hid it between a stone and his own body, then drew a sword from his belt and turned to look at the terrifying, enormous golden dragon's head.

This was a very strange boy.

He was blind in one eye, missing one ear, when he was running on the water one could tell that his legs were somewhat crippled. From his empty sleeve, one could see that he also only had one hand.

No wonder he had to first put the basin behind his back before he was able to pull out the sword.

Seeing that enormous dragon head above the water, the small boy's complexion was pale. His teeth were chattering, not because of the ice cold water from the stream, but because of the fear in his heart.

This was his first time seeing a real dragon. He didn't even know what a dragon was; only that it was terrifying. Yet he did not flee, but held that flimsy looking sword and tightly and securely hid that basin behind him.

The golden dragon gazed indifferently at the boy, only a being as strong and powerful as it could tell that deep within the abyss of its eyes were anger and cruelty.

The boy did not say anything, face pale, fear extreme, but he did not let go of the basin.

The golden dragon grew angrier, dragon's breath encompassed both sides of the stream, and death was coming.

The sword was left in the water, the boy took the basin and held it to his chest.

The golden dragon's scales rubbed against the mist, bring about countless divine fires, causing the water within the stream to boil.

At this moment, a middle-aged Daoist appeared on the by the stream.

The middle-aged Daoist looked upon the golden dragon with a calm expression.

The heavenly fire over the stream was suddenly extinguished.

The golden dragon looked upon the middle-aged Daoist and spoke a dragon word!

This dragon word was extremely long, almost as if it continued on forever without stopping, it surely contained an extremely complex meaning, hearing it was like listening to a most complicated piece of music, but also like the sound of nature's most horrifying storm, it was a mixture of unimaginable power!

The middle-aged Daoist looked at the golden dragon and spoke one word.

It was a single syllable word, its pronunciation extremely strange and difficult to understand, it did not seem like a human language at all, a fragment seemed to contain endless meaning, overflowing with ancient meaning.

The golden dragon understood, but it did not agree.

Then the fog over the stream fiercely rose up.

Dragon's breath was sprayed everywhere, the moist grass and trees suddenly turned into a frightening scene of fire.

That small Daoist boy with his back to the river simply had no idea what was going on, his head was bowed down in fear, his eyes shut, holding the wooden basin tightly to his chest.

...

...

Who knows how much time passed, the stream side at last grew quiet.

The small Daoist boy gathered up his courage and looked behind him, but only saw the clear water of the creek. The fire on both sides of the creek had already been extinguished, only the burned trees and roasted stones attested to the terrifying battle that had occurred.

From the cloudy abyss came a dragon cry. This cry was full of anguish, unwillingness, and regret. The dragon was telling the world's five continents about how his own hesitation had brought about such profound regret.

The Daoist boy was frightened badly. With his one hand holding the wooden basin, the boy limped onto shore and walked to the middle-aged Daoist's side, timidly looking up towards the cloudy abyss.

The middle-aged Daoist reached out his hand to put out a fire on the boy's shoulder.

The Daoist boy thought of something, and with difficulty raised up the wooden basin.

The middle-aged Daoist reached over to the wooden basin and gently took up the infant; his right hand took the cloth and wrapped it over the infant's body. His brows creased.

"Your fate...is definitely not good", he said with pity as he looked upon the cloth-wrapped infant.

...

...

In the Eastern continent's East, there is a small town called Xining, outside of this town there is a small stream, by this small stream is a mountain, on this mountain there is a temple, in this temple there are no monks, only a middle-aged Daoist and his two disciples cultivating the Way.

The hill is a nameless hill, the temple is abandoned. Of the two disciples, the elder is called Yu Ren, the younger is called Chen Chang Sheng.

Xining was within the Zhou country. 800 years ago, the Great Zhou Dynasty made the Way the state religion. Down to the present Zhengtong era, the state religion united the country as one. It was indeed worthy of respect. If speaking reasonably, a master and his two disciples ought to have lived a life of silk clothes and jade rice. But Xining was too remote; the abandoned temple was even more remote, other people were rarely seen, so they could only live a very plain life.

Daoists naturally practice the Way. Presently there are countless ways to cultivate, but that middle-aged Daoist's method of teaching the Way compared to other sects was completely different. It did not specify any specific cultivation method, it did not care about absorbing light from one's fated star, nor did it care about refining the mind; it only emphasized one word: Memorize.

From his childhood, Yu Ren was memorizing the texts of the Way. Chen Chang Sheng, from the moment that he could open his eyes, was placed before the yellowed and old books. The first thing he could recognize was a room full of texts on the Way. After he learned how to talk, he learned how to recognize letters, and then he learned how to memorize the characters in the classical texts on the Way.

Reciting and studying until able to memorize backwards, this was the life of those two disciples.

When they awake at dawn, they are memorizing books. Under the scorching sun, they are memorizing books. In the evening, they are memorizing books. When the spring comes and flowers blossom, when the summer storms thunder, when the autumn wind blows, when the winter snow chills; they are in the row of crops, by the riverside, under the tree, by the plum flower; holding the classics of the Way in their hands, studying, memorizing, not knowing the time gradually passing by.

The abandoned temple has a room completely filled with classics of the Way. When Yu Ren was seven years old, he was bored and counted them. There were 3000 of these books. In these 3000 books, one book might have several hundred words, or perhaps several thousand. The shortest classic, the Classic on Gods, was only 314 words. The longest was the Longevity classic which had more than 200000 words. These books were the entirety of what they had to memorize.

The elder and younger disciple ceaselessly memorized, only seeking to remember, not seeking to understand. They knew early on that their master would never answer the questions they asked, only say: "Just memorize, and understanding will naturally come."

To those children who studied the Way but lived leisurely lives, this sort of life is hard to imagine. Fortunately this green mountain is very out the way and was rarely visited by people, so there were no external things to distract and the mind could concentrate. These two disciples' temperaments were exceptionally good. Unexpectedly they did not find this lifestyle to be dull, just going from day to day memorizing, not realizing that several years have passed.

One day, the sound of studying that had gone on for several years suddenly ceased. Two children sat upon a stone, shoulder to shoulder, a book propped open on their knees. They both took a glance at the book, then at each other, both at a loss at what to do.

They had already memorized to the last book, but they had no means to continue because they could not understand. The words on this classic were unfamiliar—to be precise the words were very odd, the radicals and strokes were all recognizable but the character as a whole was a queer thing, how to study? What does it mean?

The two children returned to the temple and found the middle-aged Daoist.

The middle-aged Daoist said: "In all the 3000 classics of the Way, you have read up to the very last book, this book has 1601 words. In all the time that the Way was passed down, no one has been able to completely understand the meaning within this book, how could you two?

Chen Chang Sheng asked: "Teacher, even you could not understand?"

The middle-aged Daoist shook his head and said: "There is no person that would say what they truly understand and do not understand, I also cannot say."

The two disciples looked at each other and felt some regret. Though they were only children, they had memorized all the 3000 classics of the way but one; of course they would not be happy. Of course, they were not ordinary children, from the time when they were in ignorance they had accompanied each other in studying the classics of the Way, their personalities were also rather relaxed, so these two people were prepared to turn around and leave.

At this moment, the middle-aged Daoist continued speaking: "...but I can read it."

From that day, the middle-aged Daoist began to lecture on the method to read the last classic of the Way, one by one imparting the pronunciation of the characters. These pronunciations were particularly monstrous and strange. The syllable was simply, but it required the use of some certain throat muscles and also had some specific requirements. In short, it was not the sort of sound that a normal human being could produce.

Chen Chang Sheng did not understand at all, he was like a little duckling, obediently copying his master's pronunciation. Yu Ren occasionally thought back to many years ago by that creek side, when the master faced that monstrous beast and spoke those words.

Yu Ren and Chen Chang Sheng spent a long time grasping the pronunciation of those 1601 words, but still did not grasp the meaning. When asking the middle-aged Daoist they still could not obtain the meaning. In fact, they had already spent an entire year on this last book. Afterwards, they began their usual method, holding the last book in their hands and reciting, until at last they had it memorized.

When they thought they had at last brought an end to their life of memorizing the classics of the Way, the middle-aged Daoist required them to study the classics a second time. With little choice, the children were compelled to repeat their studies. Perhaps because this was the second time studying the classics of the way, they felt it was even more exhausting, they even felt like speaking bitter words.

It was also at this time that they began to question, why did their master want them to study these classics? Why not teach us to cultivate? Obviously in the classics of the Way was written how Daoists should practice the Way, it should be correct to pursue longevity.

When Yu Ren was ten and Chen Chang Sheng was six and a half, in the autumn, a white crane came. It brought with it a silk document. On this document were a birth date, a marriage document, and a letter—some high official that the middle-aged Daoist had once saved wished to fulfill a promise he had made.

The middle-aged Daoist saw the marriage document and laughed so hard he could not speak, and then looked over at his two disciples. Yu Ren waved his hand and pointed at his blind eye, smiling as he rejected the idea. Chen Chang Sheng had a frustrated expression. He did not understand the meaning, in confusion he had somehow ended up taking the marriage document, and now it turned out he had a fiancée.

Later on, every New Year, that white crane would return, bringing from the capital that noble man's greetings, along with some meaningful small gifts for Chen Chang Sheng.

Chen Chang Sheng slowly came to understand what marriage meant. Often at night, by the starlight he would look at that marriage document sitting in the drawer. He had some feelings he could not speak. Towards his similarly aged fiancée, he had some happy, some embarrassed, mostly frustrated feelings.

In this peaceful life of studying, when Chen Chang Sheng was ten years old, there came on unfortunate accident. On a night, he was on his 72nd time in his memorization of the 1601 words of the last classic, when he suddenly felt a strange feeling in his body, he began to drift away in this forest on the green hill. His body began to emit some sort of beautiful scent.

It was not the smell of a flower, nor was it the smell of a fruit, nor was it some sort of perfume. To speak of taste, while it was blown on the night wind for a while it did not scatter. To speak of its smell, it floated on the end of the nose, faintly discernable, but not a smell anything in the mortal world could produce. Incapable of grasping, but extremely alluring.

The first to notice Chen Chang Shen's situation was Yu Ren. When he smelled the rare scent, his expression grew severe.

In the tree covered and remote parts of the green mountain, there were lion roars and tiger cries, there were cranes dancing and dragons rushing, there were the thunder-like cries of frogs that originally only emerged in the summer. In the east of the green mountain, where no people dared to enter, from the misty abyss emerged an enormous shadow, who knew what sort of creature it was. Under the greedy and reverential gaze of countless creatures, Chen Chang Sheng emitted his rare scent, his eyes closed asleep, not knowing when he would wake.

Yu Ren on the couch suddenly began to fan himself. He wanted to fan the smell on Chen Chang Sheng away, since this smell was making him salivated and giving him strange and terrifying ideas. He fanned himself to fan away these thoughts.

The middle-aged Daoist did not know when he came to the side room, stood beside the couch, and saw the sleeping Chen Chang Sheng. He spoke one sentence that only he could understand: "The reason is once again appearing?"

A night passed.

The dawn light covered the green mountain, the scent coming from Chen Chang Sheng suddenly disappeared. One could no longer pick up the slightest scent. Chen Chang Sheng returned to his normal self, and the myriad monsters of the green hills and the monstrous shadow also took their leave.

Yu Ren looked at his sleeping junior brother and stopped panicking, letting out a long breath. He wanted to wipe off the cold sweat on his forehead when he realized that his arm, from an entire night of fanning himself, was incapable of movement.

Chen Chang Sheng opened his eyes and woke up. Though he was fast asleep all night, he knew that there was some problem. He saw the painful expression on his elder brother's face and his pale complexion and asked: "Master, what's wrong with me?"

The middle-aged Daoist looked at him, and was silent for a long time before saying: "You are ill."

According to the middle-aged Daoist, Chen Chang Shen's sickness was due to a congenital deficiency. The body's nine channels were not connected. Last night's scent was because the spiritual energy had nowhere to circulate, it could only emit outwards. This scent carried with it a human's essence, which carried a unique scent. This was a kind of strange disease.

"Then...does master know a way to treat it?"

"No, no person can treat it."

"An incurable disease...this is just fate, right?"

"Yes. It is just fate."

...

...

After his tenth birthday, the white crane no longer came to the green hills. The capital's side cut off information, as if the matter of the marriage document had never been raised before. Chen Chang Shen stood by the creek side, looking to the west, began to recall this situation.

Of course, he was thinking about a lot of things. His illness, his fate...his health was not poor, besides that he easily fell asleep, he looked to be very healthy. He did not seem like a person that would die young. He even began to doubt his master's prognosis. But if his master's prognosis was correct, what then? Chen Chang Shen resolved to leave the abandoned temple to see the flourishing secular world. Besides himself wanting to go see, he also wanted to see the legendary Mausoleum of Books, and he also wanted to return the marriage document.

"Master, I'm going to leave."

"Where are you going?"

"To the capital."

"Why?"

"Because I want to live."

"I said before, your illness is fate."

"I want to change my fate."

"In the past 800 years, only three people have succeeded in changing their fate."

"Those were all extraordinary people?"

"Yes."

"I am not, but I would like to try."

The capital, Chen Chang Shen wanted to go, regardless of if he could treat his illness or not, he always wanted to go. Not only because he wanted to change his fate, but because the marriage document's other party was also in the capital.

He packed his luggage, took Yu Ren's small sword, and turned to leave.

This 14 year old Daoist priest descended the mountain.

Report chapter Comments

"What kind of youngster is he?"

"Very firm. He sat for an hour without changing his posture. He took only one drink at the very beginning, likely for the sake of courtesy and hasn't done so since. On his first drink, he merely touched the cup with his lip. It seems like he isn't acting with restraint but rather, he is acting with caution. He shows deep thoughts, an alert mind and possibly even a degree of animosity."

"He seems to be a smart person, at the very least, not stupid...how old is he?"

"Fourteen."

"I also remember that he should be around that age."

"Yet his maturity makes him seem older than he really is."

"Just a normal person?"

"Yes...his presence of Qi is ordinary. He hasn't even experienced Purification. Though we can't tell his potential, he is already fourteen, so even if he starts cultivating from the start again, it is unlikely that he will have a bright future ahead of him."

"Even if he has a bright future, how can he compare to the disciple of the Longevity Sect's headmaster?"

"Madam, is that marriage contract real?"

"The authenticating object is real so the marriage contract is real."

"How could the Elderly Master had...arranged such a marriage for the young Lady?"

"If the Elderly Master had not died, maybe you would be able to obtain the answer ... open the door, I am going to see him."

Along with a sound, the door slowly opened. The sun shone into the room and lit up all the corners, alongside the Madam's pretty face and the half piece of jade pendant in her hand. The nanny who spoke to her before, stood in the corner and was entirely hidden by the shade. It took some effort to see her.

With the nanny's support, the Madam walked towards the outside of the room. She walked slowly like a thin willow whisked by the wind. The expensive gold hair clip in her hair and the pendant on her clothes did not make any sound which appeared to be somewhat strange.

The yard was very dark. On the grassland, there was a tree so huge that even ten people couldn't encircle it. At the two sides of the road, there were no maids or servants. Far away though, faintly, you could see people kneeling down. The atmosphere around the place was very heavy, like the cold weapons exhibited in the parlor.

The Master of this estate is the great Zhou Dynasty's well accomplished Divine General of the Eastern Decree, Xu Shi Ji. The Divine General managed the estate like he did his troops. The estate had always been quiet and serious and because of the event that occurred today, all of the maids and servants were driven out to a side yard. The atmosphere on the estate was depressing. Even the spring wind blowing from the outside seemed to be frozen.

Madam Xu passed through the courtyard and arrived at the side yard. With her eyebrows slightly stirred up, she stopped to look at the youngster in the room,

That youngster wore a really old Taoist robe that had lost its color due to overwashing. He had a soft and immature face, upright eyebrows, and bright eyes, showing an inexpressible temperament that seemed as if he could see the truth of many things.

The youngster put his luggage aside. The luggage looked really ordinary but at the same time it was well organized. Not even a speck of dirt could be found; even the hat tied on the luggage was very clean.

What made Madam Xu cautious and annoyed by this, was the fact that the tea on the table was now cold, yet the youngster still kept a calm expression. She couldn't see any irritation on his face, which suggested this youngster possessed patience that people at his age didn't normally have.

This would be a really hard person to deal with.

Fortunately, most people like him were usually very arrogant.

...

After he entered the Divine General's Estate and conversed with the nanny for a few minutes, no one bothered him. After sitting in the room for an hour, he was inevitably bored. But Chen Chang Sheng was used to boredom when he was a child, therefore he was able to stand the boredom.

Silently he spent his time memorizing the sixth chapter of Hua Ting Scripture word by word. He was waiting for someone with authority to arrive so he can hand back the marriage vow to the Divine General's family. After completing this task, he had a lot of personal matters to attend to.

He took a sip of the tea to moisten his dried lips. He wasn't careful or suspicious like how the nanny thought he was. He just thought it would be impolite to use the bathroom as a guest in someone else's house after drinking too much water. In addition, although the cups at the Divine General's Estate were all luxurious china, he wasn't used to drinking from someone else's cup.

(TL Note: luxurious china means that the plates and cups were made out of glass and are high priced/quality)

(bbkgs note: it's actually Ru ware ceramics)

He has a bit of OCD regarding using other people's things.

He stood up and bowed toward the well dressed lady. He guessed that she was probably Madam Xu of the Divine General's Estate. He thought he could finally finish this business and move on. Chen Chang Sheng reached into his pocket and prepared to take out the marriage vow.

Madam Xu stopped him in a relaxed and non-urgent manner. She sat down on a seat and accepted the tea from a maid. She looked at him and calmly said . "Did you visit the Mausoleum of Books? What about the Nai He Bridge? The sight of ivy at the Imperial Palace is also beautiful."

Chen Shang Sheng thought it was Madam Xu's polite way of starting the conversation, but he didn't think it was necessary to chat. But because an older person was talking, he couldn't be disrespectful. He answered in a simple manner, "I haven't yet. I'll go see them in the future."

Madam Xu's hand that held the tea cup stopped in mid air, "So basically, after arriving to the Capital, the first thing you did was come to the Divine General's Estate?"

Chen Chang Shang answered truthfully, "I didn't dare to delay."

"Is that so."

Madam Xu raised her head and gave him a cold look. She thought to herself, a poor youngster from the countryside wasn't attracted by the fancy sights of the Capital and rushed straight to the Divine General's Estate to talk about marriage. It's funny how he was in such a hurry.

Chen Chang Sheng didn't know why Madam Xu replied "Is that so". He stood up and reached into his pocket once again, wanting to give back the marriage vow. Since he decided to do so, he didn't want to waste anymore time.

But his action caused another misunderstanding. Madam Xu looked at him and her eyes turned colder, "I do not accept this marriage, even if you take out the marriage vow, it is of no use."

Chen Chang Sheng didn't expect to hear this, he was stunned for a moment.

"The Elderly Master was saved by your Master and thus, settled this marriage... It seems to be a fancy tale?"

Madam Xu looked at him and continued coldly, "But it is nothing more than just a tale, a drama. It can't happen in real life. Who would believe this?"

Chen Chang Sheng wanted to explain that his intention was to forfeit the marriage. But after hearing these insulting words and seeing the disdainful expression on Madam Xu's face, he couldn't open his mouth. His hand was still in his pocket, touching the marriage vow written by the Prime Minister. The paper contained the birth date and time of a certain young girl.

"After the Elderly Master passed away four years ago, this marriage doesn't exist anymore."

Madam Xu looked at the youngster in front of her and continued, "I know you are a smart person, then we should talk like smart people. The thing you should worry about is not continuing this marriage, but rather how you can obtain enough compensation for giving up on the marriage. What do you think of my suggestion?"

Chen Chang Sheng took his hand out of the pocket but the marriage vow wasn't in his fingers. "Can I ask why?"

"Why? That is not a question a smart person would ask."

Madam Xu looked at him expressionlessly and said, "Because, although your Master's medical techniques are good, he is still nothing more than a normal Taoist, but we are the family of the Divine General. Because you are just a poor youngster who can only afford to wear an old Taoist robe while my daughter is the daughter of the Divine General. Because you are just a ordinary person and the Divine General's Estate is not a place where ordinary people belong. Is my explanation clear enough?"

Chen Chang Sheng's hands clutched tightly but his voice didn't shake. "It's clear."

Madam Xu looked at the young face and decided to add a little more pressure. She knew what the smart and prideful youngster couldn't stand. A little later she expect him to voluntarily give up on the marriage.

She placed the tea cup upon the table. She stood up and said. "The tea on your table is Butterfly Tea, it is worth five silver taels every 50 grams. The teacup is from the Imperial Kilns, it is more expensive than gold. The tea is cold, you didn't drink it, which means you are not worthy of the tea. You are just grass in rotten mud. You are not fine china, you are just broken fragments. You want to change your life by marrying into the Divine General's family? I'm sorry, it may please you, but I am not pleased."

Madam Xu's was calm. Although she didn't try to sound mean, she had already pushed him into the ground. She didn't speak with an intentionally condescending attitude, but instead the words felt like someone watching an ant from the sky.

These feelings were all received by Chen Chang Sheng.

Clearly it was all an insult. Especially when she said he was trying to change his life by marrying into the Divine General's family. It was unacceptable for any prideful youngster. To get back at her, most people would choose to argue angrily and take out the marriage vow, ripping it in half and throwing it upon Madam Xu's face, perhaps even spitting a few times.

That would be the scene Madam Xu wanted to see – if it wasn't because that marriage vow was too unique, she wouldn't have needed to think deeply on how to solve this issue.

The room was silent with no noise in sight.

She stared coldly at Chen Chang Sheng and waited for his outburst.

Yet, events completely fell outside of her expectations.

Chen Chang Sheng looked at Madam Xu calmly and said, "I believe you are mistaken. My trip to the Divine General's Estate was to give back the marriage vow to you. I wanted to forfeit the marriage from the start."

The room was silent again.

The wind blew into the room and the leaves were swirling in the air.

Madam Xu was surprised, "Say that one more time?"

She didn't notice that her voice was nervous, yet relieved. She didn't care if the youngster was trying to cover up his embarrassment or wanted to forfeit the marriage, she wanted the promise to be nullified.

Chen Chang Sheng looked at her seriously and said, "Actually...I came to forfeit the marriage."

At the corner of the room, the nanny's expression changed.

Madam Xu's expression didn't change, but her hand landed on her chest.

The entire estate seemed to lighten up at this moment.

But Chen Chang Sheng's expression became serious.

He said, "But now...I've changed my mind."

The wind in the estate turned cold again. The mood became oppressive.

Madam Xu suddenly felt that she had done something wrong.

She forcefully suppressed the uneasy feeling and tried to sound warm, "Why say this? If you've already thought it through, then why not..."

Before she could finish, she discovered that the youngster had no intention to continue to listening to her words.

Chen Chang Sheng picked up his luggage from the floor and put it on his back. He walked straight out of the room.

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Looking at the youngster's shadow disappear into the side yard, Madam Xu's face hardened. She wanted to take a drink of tea to soothe her dry throat but realized that her tea was already cold. She wanted to throw the cup to express her emotions, but she, though not caring about the cost of the porcelain cups, still did not want to let the servants hear any sounds than can be used to figure out her mood.

She was not in a good mood. She could understand the message the youngster was expressing – Sorry, this might make you happy but it makes me unhappy.

In fact, that youngster had acted politely since the very beginning without showing any impolite behaviors. He had simply used two sentences with two completely different meanings and immediately turned to leave. The two sentences were all that were needed to make Madam Xu unhappy, this might also be a talent.

That nanny's face was also gloomy. She walked over to Madam Xu's side, lowered her voice, and said, "Should we let him go that easily?"

"I originally thought he was an arrogant youngster. Now I know he is actually a cunning and insidious villain. If he really wanted to create a good relationship with the Divine General's Estate and remained so cautious that he wouldn't even take a drink of tea, how would he dare to bring the marriage contract with him and come to the mansion? The most annoying thing is...from the beginning to the end, was there anyone that actually saw the marriage contract?"

Madam Xu understood what the nanny meant and said, with a cloudy face, "However, if he is smart, then he should know that in order to obtain more benefits, one should not do such extreme things from the beginning."

...

Chen Chang Sheng didn't understand the events that occurred today. He arrived at the Divine General's Estate intending to forfeit the marriage but how did events turn out like this? What confused him the most was that the Divine General's Estate had many methods to solve the problem, but why did the seemingly smart Madam Xu choose the worst method?

Since he didn't understand many things, he stopped trying to think about them. After hearing the arrogant words of Madam Xu, Chen Chang Sheng grew curious about the daughter of the Divine General. What did she looked like? Is she beautiful? Of course, if she grew up in a place like this, her personality shouldn't be too soft or kind.

The Divine General's Estate was huge. It was even bigger than the entirety of Xi Ning Village. Since there were no servants leading the way, he obviously became lost on the estate. By the time he noticed, he was already located in a wild forest. Thinking back to stories in which some poor son-in-law got murdered by his despicable mother-in-law, he felt a bit uneasy, but he was distracted by his own thoughts.

Suddenly, he felt someone staring at him. He turned his head and looked toward the direction from which he felt the stare originate and saw a girl standing under a stone doorway at the end of the road. Chen Chang Sheng realized that he wasn't lost, but rather, was led here on purpose.

The girl was around thirteen years old. She was dressed luxuriously. The accessories she wore were worth more than all his belongings put together. She was pretty and if she grew a little older, she would be a fair lady. Her cute dark pupils were focused on him. They were bold and observed him from head to toe.

Chen Chang Shang was surprised, is she the daughter of the Divine General?

Since he read the entire Classical Scripture when he was young, he was very patient. Chen Chang Sheng let the girl observe him closely and didn't say anything.

Finally, the young girl broke the ice.

"Are Taoists allowed to marry?"

Chen Chang Sheng noticed that her eyes were on his Taoist hair style. He explained, "I'm actually not a Taoist. Although I'm wearing a Taoist robe and have a Taoist hair style, this is just my habit. It doesn't mean that I'm a Taoist."

The young girl walked in front of him and looked at him sincerely. "Are you an ordinary person?"

Chen Chang Shang was confused for a moment, then he realized what she meant by "an ordinary person". He answered, "Yes, I have yet to cultivate."

The young girl didn't notice that he said he has yet to cultivate and not that he can't cultivate. She stared into his eyes and asked, very seriously, "Are you vowed to marry My Lady?"

After hearing this, Chen Chang Sheng knew that the young girl wasn't the daughter of General Xu. He felt a little disappointed, but at the same time, relieved.

"You are?"

"My name is Shuang Er. I'm the personal maid of My Lady."

Chen Chang Sheng would have never thought that a maid can wear such a luxurious attire. After seeing that there wasn't anyone else around, he had a clearer idea of the status of the young Lady and the maid in the Divine General's Estate.

"I was vowed to marry your Lady."

The maid named Shuang Er looked at him and said, "Do not speak of this, ever."

"Why?" Chen Chang Sheng asked.

Still, this one word remained in Chen Chang Sheng's mind.

Shuang Er looked at the young Taoist's upright countenance and felt pity for him, "If you want to live, then do not talk about this marriage to anyone else, or no one will be able to save your life."

She really felt that she was doing him a favor – although her Lady won't be marrying him, they were vowed to do so. Her Lady had asked her to keep the youngster alive, but what she didn't realize was that her words sounded like threats to Chen Chang Sheng's ears.

Chen Chang Sheng fell silent. He thought to himself, 'Would the Divine General's Estate actually become an enemy and assassinate him?' There were similar stories in the books and drama plays he had watched, but under the rule of the Divine Empress, who dared to do such things in the Capital?

He said, "If the Divine General's Estate wanted me dead, then Madam Xu wouldn't have let me leave in the first place. If I observed correctly, that old nanny is a strong character. Since there weren't many servants that saw me, they should've killed me outright and buried me in the garden as fertilizer. No one would have noticed, right? Therefore, I shouldn't be in any danger."

Shuang Er scoffed coldly, "Countless people are watching the Divine General's Estate, therefore, you are actually safe within its territory. But when you exit, will you able to live like you said previously?"

Chen Chang Sheng thought about it for a moment, "I don't understand."

Shuang Er explained, "If other people knew about your marriage vow with My Lady, what would the Longevity Sect think? What would the clan of Qiu Shan think? Even if you are in the Capital, no one can stop them from killing you."

Chen Chang Sheng asked, "Longevity Sect and clan of Qiu Shan? What are those places?"

Shuang Er looked at him and thought he was an idiot, "You don't know anything?"

Chen Chang Sheng was confused, "What should I know?"

————————————-

The young Taoist from Xi Ning Village obviously didn't know some things, but those things were known to the entire world. For example, the world was under the rule of the Zhou Dynasty； The Divine General of the Eastern Decree, Xu Shi Ji, was deeply trusted by the Divine Empress. Xu Shi Ji's father was the Prime Minister of the previous dynasty, but Xu Shi Ji's status came mostly from his daughter.

Xu Shi Ji had only one daughter, her name is Xu You Rong. She is the reincarnation of the Sky Phoenix. Her bloodline and talent was unimaginable. She successfully purified her bones and body at an extremely young age. When she was twelve years old, she traveled to the far south to study the Heavenly Tomes. Rumors said she was already at the upper stage of the Meditation Realm. Her name was renowned across the world. Everyone respected her and thought she was the only possible candidate for the next Holy Maiden of the Radiant Divinity Faith.

That young girl had the perfect background, teaching, and talent. Her admirers were countless. Rumors said that even the blood-thirsty Prince of the demon race was one of them. But every time there was a discussion about who her future husband would be, people would only mention one name and that name was also famous throughout the world.

Qiu Shan Jun.

The clan of Qiu Shan was the most powerful clan in the south. This generation of the Qiu Shan clan had a son of enormous talent and his name was Qiu Shan Jun. He is the reincarnation of the Heavenly Dragon. He is the eldest disciple of the Longevity Sect and the head of the Seven Laws. Qiu Shan Jun followed his teachers to cultivate. Although right now he is eighteen years old, he was already expected by many to be the future candidate to become the strongest person on the continent for the next few hundred years.

Sky Phoenix and Heavenly Dragon, Qiu Shan Jun and Xu You Rong were fellow disciples under the same school. They were also the most famous of this generation. It was impossible to find a third young person that matches their talent.

The entire world knows that Qiu Shan Jun adored Xu You Rong. He waited patiently for her coming of age ceremony. The entire Longevity Sect, Zhou Dynasty, and clan of Qiu Shan thought that this pair of youngsters were destined to be together. Even Lady Mo Yu in the Imperial Palace said that the Divine Empress liked the story between these two.

Except, suddenly a young Taoist held a marriage vow and arrived at the Divine General's Estate.

He said he is the fiancé of Xu You Rong.

If this word got out to the world...

Perhaps the entire continent would be shocked.

————————————————

The yard was silent. Wind occasionally blew bamboo leaves into the stone arch gate.

"Now you know." Shuang Er looked at Chen Chang Sheng and said, "You are only an ordinary person, far removed from My Lady's world. You can never shorten such a distance. For you own sake it would be better that you forget about this marriage vow."

Indeed, Chen Chang Sheng did not know that the girl who was engaged to him was such a great person. He thought a bit and then asked, "Why didn't Madam Xu tell me before?"

Shuang Er said, "Because Madam Xu doesn't want you to make more requests after knowing this fact."

He looked up at her and asked, "Why did you tell me this?"

Shuang Er said, "Because My Lady mentioned you in the letter. My Lady is a gentle person, even though she won't marry you, she doesn't want to watch you die. Moreover...I think you are smart, after knowing all these things, you should have enough self-understanding and make the only possible right decision."

Chen Chang Sheng said, "I know."

After saying this, he walked toward the stone arch gate. He stepped on the bamboo leaves, making "sha sha" sounds.

Shuang Er was dumbfounded. She thought, what kind of thing is this?

Chen Chang Sheng suddenly stopped his steps, turned around and looked at her.

Shuang Er let out a sigh of relief and put her hand on her chest, awaiting his decision.

Chen Chang Sheng looked at her asked, "I want to get out, which way is it?"

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Shuang Er came back from her thoughts after a while.

She could tell that the young Taoist priest was not trying to sneer at her intentionally. Instead, he really didn't take her words into consideration. Looking at his serious and calm expression, she felt her anger rising up within her.

She said angrily, "You will die."

Chen Chang Sheng opened his eyes and said, "Everyone will die."

Shuang Er said, "You know that I didn't mean it that way."

Chen Chang Sheng said seriously, "Thank you for informing me about the situation."

Shuang Er's face turned angrier by the second and she said, "The Madam wanted to annul the engagement, there definitely will be payback. Why did you have to get upset and tell her that you came to cancel the engagement? Did you do it so that you can get your pride back? If you really did make a decision based on your pride, it's still fine but why did you change your mind at the last moment? Such an attitude is surely not pretty."

"Actually...I really did come to cancel the engagement, whether if you choose to believe it or not. However, I don't want to cancel it anymore."

"Why?"

Chen Chang Sheng tilted his head and pondered seriously. A smile gradually appeared on his immature face because he ascertained that he found a reason which could be used to convince himself, and he said, "Because...you guys never asked for my name."

"Why?"

Shuang Er did not understand.

"From entering the estate till now, whether the Madam or you, neither of you have asked for my name."

Chen Chang Sheng looked at her and said, seriously, "My name is Chen Chang Sheng. I know this name is really crude, but my master wished for me to live a long life. (Chang Sheng means longevity in Chinese) The intention is really nice, so I kept this name."

After saying these words, his eyes became bright and his attitude became decorous.

Shuang Er suddenly thought that the ordinary young Taoist priest revealed some sort of luster. It was probably due to that serious temperament. After understanding his reasons, she no longer felt confused or bewildered.

Ever since he entered the Divine General's Estate, no one asked for his name. Although he was treated this way, he didn't show any anger or the feeling of having been humiliated. When he was talking to the Madam or Shuang Er, he behaved politely all the time, without lacking in any courtesy. Even though he appeared slightly inflexible and old-fashioned, strangely, the people who made him unhappy were the ones who were eventually worse off than him.

It's not that he was good at making people unhappy, but he was serious when doing the things he thought he should do. His decision to cancel the engagement felt right to him in that others can't deny the choices that he makes himself. Because the people who made him unhappy weren't able to ignore his decisions, they were left feeling worse than him.

Shuang Er had lived on the Divine General's Estate since she was a child. Because of her master, she had a high status. Even the Divine General and The Lady of the estate wouldn't criticize her. Moreover, she had never encountered people like Chen Chang Sheng. Chen Chang Sheng made her feel insecure and she wasn't used to it.Not sure if she wanted to convince Chen Chang Sheng or herself, she softened her tone and said,

"On the entire continent, only My Lady possesses the blood of the phoenix. She is unique!"

"My senior brother had a quote in his notes. I've always thought it was very rational, now I give it to you, hopefully you can understand it later on. He said: everyone in the world is unique."

Chen Chang Sheng gave her a serious look.

...

At the end of the long street there was a shabby stone arch bridge. Under the bridge was not Luo River, but instead, it was a small unnoticeable river. Chen Chang Sheng walked on the bridge and turned back to looked at the Divine General's Estate. He felt that the region was quite prosperous. Among the countless big houses, Xu Mansion was the most outstanding one. He involuntarily shook his head.

After he went into the capital, he didn't go visiting famous attractions. He also didn't have any urge to go see the Mausoleum of Books. Instead, he simply cleaned up a bit on the side of the Luo River and walked directly to the Divine General's Estate. He wanted to cancel the engagement. He really was in a rush. If he married the Divine General's daughter, but he couldn't cure his disease, he would be wasting her life. Why would he implicate her? Even if it was curable, it would probably still take many years.

Out of goodwill, he did not want to waste someone else's youth , but he didn't expect that he would face the supercilious looks, contempts, and ridicule of others at Xu Mansion. Now he recalled that after he reached the age of ten, the temple had not receive her gifts anymore. The two sides stopped interacting with each other, which meant the opposite side already had the intention of breaking the engagement. Today he had come to the Capital to actively cancel the engagement. This was originally a simple thing, a thing that both sides wanted but he didn't expect to encounter such an outcome. Therefore he changed his mind on the spot.

He did not cultivate and he was not a Taoist priest, but he had read the Scriptures of The Way (Taoist canon) since childhood so he was deeply influenced by them. His destiny was gloomy from the start, therefore, during his journey he chose to follow the will – The so called "follow the will" was basically to feel at ease. Traveling for so long to reach the Capital in order to cancel the engagement was following the will. Not canceling the engagement was also following the will — The Divine General's Estate was impolite so he didn't want them to feel at ease, because then he wouldn't feel at ease.

Of course, Chen Chang Sheng only wanted the Divine General's wife, who hid coldness behind her kind face, and the maid, whose eyes only looked at the sky, to feel harried for a while. After a few days, he would still return the marriage contract. Life and death matters more than a grudge, Miss Xu's lifelong happiness was obviously more important than the cold reception and supercilious looks he received. He still thought that way.

However, it was still not a happy event. Sometimes, Chen Chang Sheng himself would even forget that he was only a 14 year old boy, but in the end, he was still but a boy. He had his own pride, so he would feel unhappy after being humiliated.

He walked down the stone bridge and bought two sesame seed cakes from a street shop. He squatted on the stones near the river and ate the cake while looking at the distant Divine General's Estate. He felt slightly sour. He knew where the feeling originated from, but he also knew that if he let such a feeling overflow it would hurt his own health and wouldn't help in solving the problem.

On the Luo River, the boats were like clouds. On the long street, on the opposite side of the river, there were wolf riders from the west. Even from a really far distance, people can still smell the rancid scent from the huge wolves' mouths. There was a shadow flowing by the river surface. Looking up, he saw a horse with two white wings dragging a gorgeous wagon to the North. At the distant archer tower, red eagles kept arriving and departing to transfer military info. At the farther green sky, there were more flying mounts from the military, like annoying dragonflies outside the temple...

This is the Capital of the Zhou Dynasty. There were countless scenes that country-folk couldn't even imagine. Chen Chang Sheng was biting his sesame seed cake. Opening up his eyes, enjoying these pictures, and comparing them to what he read in the Scriptures of The Way, he thought that maybe he could get to see legendary creatures such as the turtle that had carried stone pillars for over 3000 years at Li Palace. He was not sure if there was still dragons in the Imperial Palace. He heard that the most noble and rare Golden Dragon had not shown up in the secular world for several tens of thousands years. Would he get to see it in the future? Oh, there was also the phoenix... Thoughts like these ran through his head while he ate.

The sesame seed cake smelled very good but it was very hard as well. It took some effort to eat it. Chen Chang Sheng originally thought that he had already forgotten about what he experienced at the Divine General's Estate and had successfully rid himself of the sour feelings, but after thinking about the word "phoenix," he automatically recalled the phoenix blood that he heard today. He recalled Xu Mansion's young Lady who possessed the phoenix blood, and recalled the gifts he received from many years ago...

He looked at the last piece of sesame seed cake in his hand. Dazed for a while, he put it into his mouth and carefully chewed thirty two times. Swallowing it into his stomach, he took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and cleaned up the cake crumbs. He stood up and packed up, before disappearing in the crowd.

He did not notice that in the corner, not far away, there was an unimpressive wagon. At an unimpressive place on the wheel, there was a bloody phoenix symbol. Of course, even if he saw it he wouldn't know that this symbol represented the Divine General of the Eastern Decree's Estate– After young Miss Xu was born, the Divine Empress had presented the bloody phoenix to the Divine General's Estate as a new emblem. This was a high prestige and some sort of declaration.

Looking at the area under the bridge, the warhorse, that appeared cold and aloof in front of the wagon, had unicorn's blood. Inside the wagon, the old lady's eyes were also very cold, but there was also surprise, caution, and worry in her eyes.

After Chen Chang Sheng left the Divine General's Estate, she had followed him. She didn't know that after the youngster saw the Zhou Capital he would continue to remain that calm. He didn't look like an uneducated country child at all . That was because she didn't know the youngster had already read countless books since he was very young. In the books he had already seen countless landscapes and traveled countless miles.

...

Xu Shi Ji sat in his study room. His enormously built body spread a slight scent of blood. Ten yards away from the window, the birds were hiding their heads beneath their wings and dared not to make any noise. The strong bloody presence proved the horrific power of this Great Zhou General but it also showed that he wasn't in a good mood.

The reason for his irritated mood was the jade pendant on his table.

"When my father was still the Prime Minister, he was deeply trusted by the Divine Empress. He was sent by her to Mount Tai to perform a ceremony for the dynasty. The demon race tried to sabotage the event by sending out Gong Yang Chun to assassinate my father and he was severely wounded. It was so bad that even The Pope couldn't heal his wound. Only until a traveling Taoist traveled past Tai Shan City and healed his wound did he live. Therefore this marriage vow was made.

Madam Xu whispered, "Then that Taoist must have had some extraordinary skills."

Xu Shi Ji raised his head and looked at the bright sky out of the window, "We live in a world with unlimited possibilities and countless heroes. That Taoist was regarded as a saint in the field of medication and healing. Of course he was extraordinary. Why else would father vow to marry Rong Er to his heir?"

Madam Xu was nervous, "Right now the most important thing is that marriage vow...If that Taoist has no background and isn't some important figure, then this situation can be handled much smoother, without many interruptions."

Xu Shi Ji answered expressionlessly, "Teach that young Taoist to be a little more sensible."

Madam Xu lowered her voice so low that if one didn't listen carefully it couldn't even be heard, "The young Taoist didn't seem like a character that can be placated by simple gifts. What if he stands his ground? The Mausoleum of Books is going to open next year and the Southern Saints are definitely going to send people here. I'm afraid that they are going to propose to the government. We can't mess up during a time like this."

Xu Shi Ji closed his eyes slightly, like a tiger going to sleep, "Then just burn him into ashes and throw them into the river."

The raining season was arriving soon and the water level of the River Luo was about to rise. Ashes or bones, once they sunk into the river, they will all disappear in an instant.

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Like every morning for the past fourteen years, Chen Chang Sheng woke up at five, used five seconds to calm himself, then got off the bed, dressed up, folded the quilts, and made the bed. In the dining room of the inn, he ate a bowl of duck porridge and four freshly made hot meat buns. He then returned to his bedroom, rinsed his mouth using the tea from last night, and dressed up before walking out into the yard.

–Now that he was no longer in the small temple at Xi Ning Village. He didn't have to chop firewood and deliver water. Facing the morning fog and light coming from far away, he closed his eyes and started to silently read the Scriptures of The Way. Until he felt refreshed and alert, his daily routine of the day was over. He walked out from the side door to the crowded and noisy street in the Capital.

He had a roster in his hand. On the roster were the names of some schools in the Capital. After getting the addresses from the market manager, he walked faster. He didn't notice that there was a wagon following him. He didn't see that the horse possessed unicorn blood, and of course, he didn't notice the bloody phoenix emblem on the wheel.

Long ago, The Heavenly Tomes descended upon the world. Humans were enlightened, and developed countless teachings, but all the change originated from one point. The classics and scrolls that were written in the past all traced the source of the change. Agriculture, industry, business, and education were all included. Now, publicly, the most authoritative evaluation to these was the annual Grand Examination

The Grand Examination was initiated by the first emperor of Zhou, Emperor Taizu. Whether to become a government official, military general, or even a priest in the Orthodoxy, the grade from the Grand Examination was the most important criterion. Most importantly, Emperor Taizu declared that only the top three grades had the right to enter the Mausoleum of Books. Because of this rule, each year, countless elites would come to the Capital. During the year of the first Grand Examination, Emperor Taizu stood on the wall to look at the geniuses from various sects on the continent who came in. He smiled and then spoke a line which is not only famous today but also established the status of the Grand Examination.

In the Southern countries, the powerful sects, such as the Longevity Sect, were extremely dissatisfied with this rule. To them, even though the Mausoleum of Books was at the Capital of Zhou, the Heavenly Tomes were divine rocks that had fallen from heaven and should be the commonwealth of the entire continent. Therefore, the South had attempted to resist the Grand Examination for many years, making the relationship between the two sides tense.

The Mausoleum of Books was too important to cultivators. Even though the Zhou Dynasty was very strong, it still could not monopolize it. The South, on the other hand, also could not resist the lure to enter the Mausoleum to see the stela. Even after the demons were defeated, the South still tried to resist the Grand Examination publicly. Even though the South tried to resist, there were many elites that traveled from the South to take the exam in private.

After the Divine Empress came to power, the Zhou Dynasty eventually formed an agreement with the South. The Southern sects and countries were allowed to freely send out diplomatic corps to participate in the Grand Examination. To make it fairer, the evaluation was based on both sides. Moreover, the southern students did not have to accept titles and rewards from the Zhou Dynasty. The test takers will all be treated equally. After many years, the examinations got a brand new name: Grand Examination.

In many years, the Grand Examination selected countless elites. It's known that the strongest elites on the continent had all traveled to the Zhou Capital and participated in the Grand Examination. Other well known facts were: the current Pope of the Orthoxy and the Elder of the south's Holy Maiden Peak were once winners of the Grand Examination. Not to mention, some geniuses from the West's yao race transformed themselves as humans and came to participate in the Grand Examination. Even for the demon race, there was a Prince who took the risk to come and participate. His identity was detected by the former Pope and exorcised into ashes.

Those were stories from many years ago. Now, what people were more concerned about was, in next year's Grand Examination. Would Qiu Shan Jun from the Longevity Sect attend? How many of the Seven Laws would get into the First Grading? Would Xu You Rong break through her stage early and leave Holy Maiden Peak to return to the Capital? Would the cold and mysterious genius elite on the demon's wild plains appear in front of people for the first time? Or would he continue to violently chase and kill more demons? People in the Capital also cared about how many outstanding geniuses from all the schools in the Capital will show up this year.

Yes, there are many schools in the Capital. The Divine Empress held power. Under her strict rule, the government officials were candid and efficient. (TL: Yea sure... look at the Xu family please . they are totally candid...) People's lives gradually improved. In these decades, The Empire was in a golden age. Multiple schools appeared like the bamboo shoots in spring after raining. Indeed, in recent years there were many private schools that were taught by the elites from the Orthodoxy. Their goal was to aim specifically for the Grand Examination. Of course, the most famous and influential schools were still the ones with the longest history. Among them, two of the schools were even established earlier than the Zhou Dynasty.

On Chen Chang Sheng's roster were six schools, the Heavenly Academy he was currently walking to was on the top of the list. In fact, even among the entire continent, Heavenly Academy could be ranked highly — In the recent two hundred years, students from Heavenly Academy have obtained 1st place in the Grand Examination a total of twenty four times. The students of Heavenly Academy were all very talented. The school nurtured many important priests for the Orthodoxy, and educated countless cultivators for many sects. More importantly, the current Pope of the Orthodoxy was a past student of Heavenly Academy.

Heavenly Academy had the best record, so it was the hardest to get into, but there were still many taking the entrance exam. Chen Chang Sheng walked to the entrance of Heavenly Academy. Looking at the gate and looking at the name written by the first emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Taizu, he naturally felt a yearning to attend the school. Almost immediately, such a feeling was crushed due to the smell of sweat and ink. Subconsciously, he looked down.

When he left Xi Ning Village, he had already calculated the time. The time he arrived at the Capital coincided with the days the schools were recruiting students. He also expected that the number of people taking the exam would be large, but he didn't expect it to be a horrifying number. Especially when he looked at the young men who stood crookedly, looking lazy, and pointing at the crowd; he felt extremely uneasy.

Those young men wore the same style of attire. The clothes were mostly black and tied with a golden belt. That should be the uniforms of Heavenly Academy. Chen Chang Sheng knew that the people in line were the students who failed to pass the entrance exam at the beginning of the year. These people were usually full of themselves but now they were embarrassed due to their failure. They didn't show any good attitudes toward the test takers. Looking at the mocking expression in their eyes, Chen Chang Sheng lowered his head even more.

The act of lowering his head wasn't due to fear, but rather, was due to his slight mysophobia. Whether mentally or physically he didn't want to smell the sweat, nor hear the insulting words of the crowd.

"Just look at that idiot, looking like a pig. Why would he stick a fan into his collar? Does he think he is Prince Huan Yu? Why didn't he think that his fat neck will break the fan?"

"True, his steps seem to be soft and unsteady. He's probably only completed Purification for two months. How does he dare come to the entrance exam of Heavenly Academy when he hasn't set the groundwork for the Purification Stage? Where does he think he is? Orthodox Academy? Hilarious...I don't understand what these idiots are thinking of, do they really think they can read and understand all the Scriptures of The Way with such a weak spirit and mind?"

"Read and understand all the Scriptures of The Way? Even the book worm, Gou Han Shi, doesn't dare to say he's accomplished that. You guys may sympathize with the troubles those idiots are going to endure, but I feel bad for their parents. Embarrassing themselves may be bad, but the money they wasted earlier can't be refunded. If I was the parent of that idiot pig, I would use the money to buy some pills and have him lose some weight so that he can at least find a wife to marry."

"So what if he found a wife to marry? The Han Mei Pill can only cure one person. If he has seventeen sons and daughters in the future, all of them will be as fat and stupid as he is. Is taking care of a litter of pigs a good thing?"

These students were laughing among themselves and recklessly commenting on the people taking the entrance exam. Their words were unbearable and they didn't control their volume. They actually wanted to be heard by the people they insulted. The face of the fat kid who got bullied turned bright red but he dared not to resist because everything the students said were true. He had just reached Purification ten days ago and probably had no chance to enter Heavenly Academy, but the most important point was that even if he did enter the academy, he wouldn't dare to mess with these seniors.

Chen Chang Sheng walked through the crowd and heard the unbearable conversation. He raised his eyebrows slightly and thought, if he was to be the one those students were commenting on, he didn't know if he could endure such insults. But luckily his head was low and his presence was ordinary. No one noticed him in the sea of people. He successfully passed the inky jade door and entered the school.

Because he was thinking about other things and his head was low, he didn't notice that the two big stone walls, next to the entrance of Heavenly Academy, had a few hundred names carved on them. It seemed like a list of some sort. Many desperate and admiring eyes were observing the names.

The family members and servants following the students taking the entrance exam weren't allowed into Heavenly Academy, therefore, after the students entered the school the environment suddenly became spacious. Chen Chang Sheng took out a clean white handkerchief from his pocket and swiped the sweat off his face. He took deep breaths to calm himself before he advanced. Following the student in front of him, he got to the back of the long line.

The number of people taking the entrance exam were countless. The line was so long that it looked like the Hundred Yard Snake from western mythology. The line stretched from the far away building all the way to the grassfield in front of Chen Chang Sheng. There was even a beautiful brook between the two locations. Many students who were taking the entrance exam stood on the wooden bridge on top of the brook. The cold wind of early spring blew into their faces and they were chilled by the coolness.

Soon enough, there were people coming out of the building and all of them were young men and young girls.They were just as expressionless as the people standing on top of the bridge due to the cold air. But since they weren't being blown at by the cool wind, it was probably due to their bad results. The people who were still in line became nervous after seeing their terrible expressions and stopped chatting with each other.

Since Chen Chang Sheng didn't know anyone, he didn't chat with anyone. He looked at the far away building curiously. The only thing he cared about right now was the entrance exam of Heavenly Academy. Was it still conducted the same way as stated in the books? Why did the people who fail back out so quickly? Has the exam of Heavenly Academy actually changed?

The crowd kept on moving forward. After passing the grassfield and the brook, Chen Chang Sheng arrived at a bamboo scaffold. Looking at the teacher who had a serious expression sitting behind the stone desk, Chen Chang Sheng saw a black stone fragment on the table, He realized the identity of the item. Remembering an old event that occurred in the Tao Scroll, he was slightly stunned.

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The students who entered the entrance exam followed the teacher's command and picked up the stone one by one. As they held the stone tightly for a few seconds, the black stone would emit light in the hands of the people. Sometimes the light was bright, sometimes dim, and sometimes the stone didn't change at all.

The pitch black stone has a very unusual name called the Sensory Stone. There was a chapter named Ten Thousand Uniques in the Scriptures of The Way which described special or weird items all over the world. Chen Chang Sheng saw the picture of this stone in the chapter and knew its special effect. The dark stone naturally contained a trace of spiritual power. When it came in contact with a human body, a small trace of this power would sink into people's body and activate the person's True Essence. Just like fishing, the stone will absorb the True Essence and start to emit light. The stronger the True Essence of the holder, the brighter the stone will shine. After years of testing, humans already concluded its usage. They can use the brightness of the stone to determine the strength of the holder.

Because there are too many people taking the entrance exam every year, this extra step was added. People continuously reached for the stone and held it. Some brightened but some dimmed. Some people continued toward the building while some people were stopped by the teacher. The entire line's mood was depressed.

One boy held the dark stone but the dark stone didn't give off any reaction. When he was asked to leave by the teacher, he fell into hopelessness and cried for another chance. He held the dark stone tightly in his hand and refused to let go. However, his struggle didn't bring anything but mockery from the crowd.

The exam continued. People who could make the dark stone shine had a happy look on their face while the people who couldn't were disappointed beyond their beliefs.

Faintly you could hear the mocking from the senior students on the other side of the river. The face of the teacher who was responsible for the dark stone stage turned darker as more and more students held the stone. Since the morning until now, several hundreds of people had held the Sensory Stone. Although many of them could make the stone glow, which meant that they are already in the Purification Stage, the results couldn't compare to the past. The performance of this year's students were too ordinary. There was only one person at stage three of Purification. No one had reached the peak of the Purification stage. Geniuses who are able to reach the Meditation Realm at a young age were nowhere to be found. Because of this, the teacher's mood wasn't exactly positive.

The human race's way of cultivation is very different from the Yao race and Demon race. At the beginning, humans needed to open their minds through education, train insight through meditation, and use the wisdom and spirit of nature to purify their body. This process starts from skin then continues down to veins and muscle. It goes all the way until it reaches the bones and marrows. When they reach the peak, humans are strong enough to lift stones and resist regular illness. This is called the Purification Stage.

However, the Demon race are born with rock solid bodies. If humans didn't go through the Purification Stage, they aren't even able to fight against them on the battlefield. Therefore to join the military and fight, people need to atleast be in the Purification Stage. Besides this, Purification has one other important usage and that is strengthening the bones and veins of the human body. It also helps to open the minds of people. After Purification, a human's memory ability and thought processes grow to a new height. Using a summary from the Scriptures of The Way, it described it as "Seeing a whole new world"!

There was a saying, "There are three thousand Ways in the world." There was an ocean of literature and countless words in the world. If a person didn't Purify his/her body, how dare he challenge himself to seek the knowledge in the sea? Even he if was bold, he would be lost in a second and killed by the endless waves of uncertainty. This extra step that Heavenly Academy added recently was very logical. If you weren't even in the Purification Stage, how are you even qualified to cultivate deep and mystical techniques?

Yesterday at the Divine General's Estate, Chen Chang Sheng mentioned twice that he didn't cultivate. Naturally he didn't Purify his body either. This means that later, when he holds the dark stone in his hand, the dark stone won't emit any light and he will be expelled from the line for entering the exam. But the weird thing was that his expression remained extremely calm. He didn't seem to be worried.

Right now, he's very close to that table. There were only three people in front of him. The frontmost person was a youngster who wore a blue shirt. The youngster walked towards the table and didn't wait for the teacher to speak and picked up the dark Sensory stone with his hand. Unknowingly, everyone felt nervous at this moment. Perhaps it's because the youngster was too calm.

During that early spring, the Capital was always cloudy. The sun was blocked by the white clouds in the sky and the grassfield was dark. Suddenly, the grassfield on the two sides of the brook turned brighter, as if the newly grown grass leaves became jade. The leftover dew became pearls. The thin fishes in the clear brook looked at the sky and was stunned by the light.

The crowd instinctively covered their eyes. They thought it was the light shining on the earth by the cloud-broken sun. However, they realized in the next moment that even the brightest spring sunlight couldn't be this intense. If it wasn't sunlight...then where did this bright light came from?

As the light dimmed away, their eyes adapted to the brightness. People put down their hands and saw the teacher from Heavenly Academy drop his jaw. His face was full of unthinkable surprise. Simultaneously, people realized where the light originated from – it came from the palm of that youngster wearing a blue shirt. The once pitch black Sensory Stone was now like the hottest rock in the opening of a live volcano. Countless light rays were emitted from the separation of his fingers. It seemed like it was burning!

"Meditation...it really is...Meditation Realm?"

The teacher from Heavenly Academy said with a shaking voice. Right now he's looking at the blue shirt youngster as if he was a precious gem. He hurried to stand up and walked towards him. The teacher lowered his head and greedily looked at his palm and the light emitted from the stone. No one thought that the teacher misbehaved. You have to know that the blue shirt youngster looked very young. He was definitely not over sixteen years of age, but was already in the Meditation Realm!

What did this mean? What is a genius? This is a genius! The senior students on the river side had already stopped their teasing a long time ago. Instead they looked down the bamboo shed as if they saw a ghost. The senior student who teased the most was so surprised, that he slided off of the stone chair and fell on the ground. He was so surprised that he didn't even feel the pain from his back bone at all. All shaken up, he said "How is this possible? Even Guan Bai senior only the Meditation Realm at sixteen...this kid...is this kid just young looking? Otherwise how is it possible!"

At this moment, an old and cold sound came behind them.

"If he is Tang Thirty Six, then there is nothing impossible!"

"Tang Thirty Six? So he is Tang Thirty Six?" After the crowd heard the name, they felt even more shocked. Someone said, "He was already at the 36th place on the Proclamation of Azure Clouds...Why did he leave Wen Shui and come to the Capital? For next year's Grand Examination? But his ability is more than enough to enter the Mausoleum of Books."

Someone explained, "Tang Thirty Six is very arrogant. He thinks no one is better than him. Not to mention the Seven Laws. He even remains unconvinced that he is weaker than the wolf kid in the North. Since he was going to enter the Grand Examination next year, he would definitely change his name. By doing so...he obviously wants to arrive at the Capital early. Since he is coming to the Capital, he obviously wants to join our Heavenly Academy."

After they mentioned the name Tang Thirty Six, the students thought of the rumors about the Wen Shui young genius. They involuntarily applauded. Someone then said, "He thinks he is superior to almost everyone among the Seven Laws, but how does he dare to feel he is stronger than Qiu Shan Jun?"

"That's unknown, but based on the brightness of the black rock, he probably didn't use full power. Even if he hasn't reach the completion of the Meditation Realm, he is probably not far away from it."

The crowd continued this discussion for a long while. Suddenly they recalled the old voice they heard. They turned around and realized that the incoming person was the scariest Vice-principal Zhuang of Heavenly Academy. They involuntarily got scared and made a bow to show courtesy right away before rushing to give way.

...

Both elites and geniuses deserved to receive others' sights. The youngsters who were taking the entrance exam didn't recognize the blue shirt youngster but they felt both surprise and admiration from looking at his back. Chen Chang Sheng looked at that blue shirt youngster. He also felt admiration, but he didn't have such talent so he was somewhat envious.

The blue shirt youngster coldly walked forward. Shortly after, he entered the building deep into Heavenly Academy but everyone else's exams had to continue. In a short while, it was finally Chen Chang Sheng's turn. He walked to the table. He took a look at that black rock which had a rough surface and faintly infinite small holes. He hesitated for a while but finally grabbed the black rock and lifted it in front of his eyes. He began to look at it closely.

He could clearly feel that a cool and comfortable air came out of one of the black rock's small holes. It flowed along the center of his palm and entered his body. It then circulated along his vessels at a high speed, attempting to go into the deeper places to seek his True Essence. The cold air apparently had no consciousness and obviously no malevolence. He didn't do any reaction, allowing it to seek around. Of course, even if he wanted to react against it, he didn't have any ability. He understood very clearly that his vessels had some problems. Before he started the curing process, that air could not find out anything. Since there was no True Essence flowing back. No mentality sensed. The black rock obviously wouldn't light up.

Nothing surprising occurred. The black rock was a still black rock, quietly lying on his palm.

He put the black rock back to the table, looking toward the Heavenly Academy teacher and said "It didn't light up."

In others' eyes, he had simply grabbed the stone then put it down. Such an obvious fact, but he confirmed it seriously, which might have appeared somewhat funny. Strangely, no one laughed. As they looked at his indifferent facial expression, people felt somewhat strange. The previous youngsters who did not make the stone light up all felt somewhat shameful and also sad due to failure. They would even cry like the previous boy. He...looked too calm.

Did he not understand what this meant? It seemed like that's not the case

The teacher slightly frowned. He should have just waved his hand and suggest Chen Chang Sheng leave, but because of the strange silence, he asked, "You can't cultivate?"

"I have not cultivated."

Chen Chang Sheng said a sentence that he had repeated twice yesterday at the Divine General's Estate.

The teacher looked at him expressionlessly, implying why don't you leave now?

Chen Chang Sheng made a bow to show courtesy, then left.

The direction he was heading for was not the gate of Heavenly Academy, but towards the building.

The teacher felt shocked before he realized what he was trying to do and shouted angrily, "Stop!"

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Chen Chang Sheng stopped walking and turned towards the teacher. He was rather confused by his anger. He then realized where the anger came from. The previous students who failed this part of testing all backed out disappointingly. As a result the instructor thought he would've done the same. However, Chen Chang Sheng kept on walking regardless of the results. This of course, didn't make the teacher too happy.

Chen Chang Sheng didn't want to waste his precious time on useless arguments and debate. He bowed sincerely to the teacher and explained plainly, "Sir, I'm not trying to cause trouble."

That teacher wanted to scold him for trying to cause trouble in the testing field, but suddenly Chen Chang Sheng defended himself before he said anything. He was so shocked that he was stuck between his words. The teacher coughed a little and yelled, "Then why aren't you leaving yet!"

The young students behind Chen Chang Sheng in line were already waiting impatiently. They realized that he didn't have any intention to leave and thought he was trying to slow down the process to get back at the academy. They got irritated as well and start to yell at Chen Chang Sheng with the teacher. Some of them even mocked that he had mental issues.

Chen Chang Sheng heard the words and mockery, but his expression didn't change a bit. His calmness was rather rare in a fourteen year old youngster. He looked at the teacher and bowed again with manner, "I have yet to cultivate, but I can still apply for Heavenly Academy."

The teacher was stunned. He didn't know what the youngster was trying to say. He has yet to reach the Purification stage then how was he qualified to enter the exam? There was no exception in recent years. Even if there was, then why would he be the exception?

Chen Chang Sheng continued, "According to the eighth note of the fourth ruling of the seventeenth chapter of the Law of Heavenly Academy, the only needed qualification to enter the school is to pass the written exam. Eleven years ago, there was such a case in the Ministry of Personnel."

Looking at Chen Chang Sheng's inexpensive clothing, the teacher instinctively wanted to rebuke him for lying. It was not because he disliked the poor, but rather he couldn't believe that the poor youngster in front of him was more knowledgeable than he was about the Law of Heavenly Academy. What note? What ruling? Was it actually mentioned in the law? Then how come he had no memory of it?

Just when the teacher was about to call people to drag this youngster out of the field, he heard the words "Ministry of Personnel". He was surprised and didn't order the guards.

The Ministry of Personnel used to be an insignificant department under the Zhou Dynasty. However, after the Divine Empress came to power and after her famous subordinate Zhou Tong took care of the place, the once unnoticeable Ministry of Personnel changed drastically. Countless officials who were loyal to the previous royal clan died mysteriously in the seemingly ordinary buildings of the department. Slowly, this name was feared by all officials of the Zhou Dynasty.

Although Heavenly Academy wasn't in the territory of the Ministry of Personnel, it nonetheless feared it. The thing that worried the teacher the most was that the Ministry of Personnel wanted to eliminate their bad name. As a result they did everything legally. If there was actually a ruling in the Law of Heavenly Academy mentioned by the youngster and he dragged the youngster out, then he would be in deep trouble...

Looking at the calm expression of Chen Chang Sheng, the teacher suddenly felt insecure. After a few moments of hesitation, he yelled at the back of the crowd and turned away and left. The mocking and yelling of the crowd stopped and turned to whispering. No one knew what was happening.

After a while, the teacher finally returned. The expression of his eyes toward Chen Chang Sheng was complicated.

Chen Chang Sheng knew that he probably went to check the Law of Heavenly Academy and saw the note he mentioned earlier. He read the entire Three Thousand Scriptures of The Way when he was young and memorized the countless literatures from front to back. He even read laws and manners of different countries countless times. Of course he wasn't wrong.

"Even if you continue testing, you have no chance. Why waste your time?"

The teacher said strictly to Chen Chang Sheng with no expression.

Chen Chang Sheng answered, "I still want to try."

The teacher said, "You have yet to reach Purification, how are you going to answer the questions? Furthermore, your mind will be damaged by doing so. Are you sure you want to try?"

What the teacher said was true. The most important thing after Purification was that physical strength will increase as well as mental abilities. This was an obtained ability and cannot be changed by mortal force. Without Purification, it would be impossible to solve such difficult questions. They could even damage one's mental ability if they try to force it. Therefore the Sensory Stone on the table became a necessary stage in the entrance exam. People who couldn't emit light from the stone will be eliminated from the test. This had already became a tradition or common sense. Therefore no previous failures said anything until Chen Chang Sheng appeared.

Chen Chang Sheng bowed once more and said "I'm sure."

The expression on the teacher face wasn't good. He thought that Chen Chang Sheng read the ruling out of luck from somewhere and wanted to waste his and everyone's time. Then he let Chen Chang Sheng go. Even if his mental ability got damaged from doing so, it would be his own fault.

"Then go."

Chen Chang Sheng bowed one last time and said no more. He walked out of the bamboo scaffold and continued walking toward the building of Heavenly Academy.

Then the teacher said no more and looked at the rest of the students. His expression was frozen and said, "Next."

(Apparently my translators trolled me and slacked me... Thank hypersheep for pointing this out... Really sorry guys. He translated the other half after here which i will link to... Really sorry... /KA4K4Z7k)

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After the incense burnt out, a gong was hit to inform the students that this round of testing was finished. Chen Chang Sheng walked out of the testing building with the rest of the students and didn't care about the people who gave him weird looks. He followed the instructions and walked to the back of the lake where the results were given. He waited patiently for dusk and the final testing result.

Many others stayed in the building and checked answers with each other. They talked to each other about their opinions of the test. After Chen Chang Sheng arrived at the lake, the rocky plain was still very quiet. Only the blue shirt youngster from before stood there. Chen Chang Sheng thought that geniuses were always proud and lonely. As a result he didn't walk up to him. However, out of his expectations, the youngster walked towards him.

"My name is Tang Thirty-Six." the blue shirt youngster said.

Chen Chang Sheng was surprised. He didn't expect that the youngster would take the initiative to speak to him. He organized his attire and answered politely, "My last name is Chen, Chen Chang Sheng."

Tang Thirty-Six was startled for a second. He didn't expect that the youngster's name would be so unsophisticated. Even rich people from the rural areas wouldn't give such a name to their son. After a moment of silence he said, "Your name is simple. I couldn't say it's bad."

(Again Chen is the family name and Chang Sheng means to live long so his name in the US would just be Chang Sheng well people call out to him.)

Chen Chang Sheng thought that Tang Thirty Six spoke quite boldly, but his name was also weird.

"My name is Chen Chang Sheng...because I was very sick when I was young and my Master wanted me to live to be a hundred years old. What about you? Why are you named Tang Thirty Six? Is it because you are the thirty sixth child in your family? Why do you have so many family members? Where are you from? Wouldn't it be noisy to have so many siblings when you are studying?"

Tang Thirty Six was stunned.

Asking the meaning and origin of one's name in front of the person wasn't something polite. In addition, Tang Thirty Six had a serious face that wasn't exactly friendly to strangers. The people who didn't know the meaning of his name wouldn't dare to ask in front of him no matter how curious they were. But he didn't expect that this youngster would just ask the question so casually.

But what Chen Chang Sheng thought was very simple. Since he's living in a city where he doesn't know anyone, he should give back friendliness to the genius who was willing to talk to him. At least he should actively chat with him and talk about something.

Chen Chang Sheng had lived with his Master and senior brother since he was young. Master didn't speak much and senior didn't speak. Because of the environment he grew up in, he had no idea how to chat regularly. Even when he did so with good intentions, it was easy to create misunderstanding, just like what happened at the Divine General's Estate yesterday. (No common sense?)

But the interesting thing is that Tang Thirty Six wasn't offended or angered by it. Rather, he thought Chen Chang Sheng as very honest and real. Tang Thirty Six had always wanted to be a "real" person his whole life, but people he encountered are always lying and fake. The sudden encounter of Chen Chang Sheng was rather satisfying.

"I have a lot of relatives from the same generation in my clan, but when we study we always study at our own respective homes. Because of this it isn't noisy at all. My name is Tang Thirty Six not because I'm the thirty sixth child in my family, but because when I entered the Proclamation of Azure Clouds for the first time last year when I was fifteen years old, I was the thirty sixth on the list. I was embarrassed by my placement. Especially when I am compared to that woman and that wolf. To remind myself of my weakness i changed my name to Tang Thirty Six. Yep, I think I answered all the questions."

This conversation was the first Chen Chang Sheng has had since leaving Xi Ning Village and arriving at the Capital. The conversation was also the first for Tang Thirty Six after he left Wen Shui and arrived at the Capital. At that instant Chen Chang Sheng was fourteen years old while Tang Thirty Six was going to be sixteen years old. They were inexperienced in many fields and their conversational skills were lacking as well. But the funny thing is that this conversation will prove to be one of the most important conversations that will occur in history. Or it could said that it was the most successful and important chat after the vow taken by Emperor Taizong and the Demon Lord.

"How many questions did you answer on the test?"

Tang Thirty Six asked. He was interested because he felt that Chen Chang Sheng was an ordinary person but he felt that he was special at the same time. When he saw Chen Chang Sheng's pale face, he realized that his question was inappropriate. Even a genius like himself struggled in the sea of test questions. It was clear that Chen Chang Sheng had used all of his mental strength. Speaking from this situation then, Chen Chang Sheng's result shouldn't be good.

"I couldn't answer some questions in the field of cultivation like divine sense, True Essence, and other things..."

Chen Chang Sheng answered honestly and felt lucky. From a young age he has been reading the Scriptures of The Way so the seemingly difficult concept and detailed questions were rather easy to him. But because he didn't cultivate, he didn't know how to answer those questions. Good thing that this was an entrance exam because the questions tested on cultivation wasn't the main focus.

Tang Thirty Six felt strange. The only questions he couldn't answer were the cultivation related ones. Is he saying that he answered all of the other questions? At that instant he noticed that at the other side of the lake a teacher was holding a big stack of testing papers and ran quickly toward a building. The teacher seemed to be excited that he even almost tripped himself when going up the stairs. Tang Thirsty Six was stunned for a moment and thought back to Chen Chang Sheng's answer. Is he really going to give everyone a big surprise?

"You answered...all of the rest?"

"I'm cannot speak too confidently. There are two versions of the Chanting of Ultimate Calmness. When the Orthodoxy was established, a new version was created and everyone used the newer version. However, the question asked for the time before the year of 1573, and I wasn't sure which version to use. At last I answered with both versions. I hope the teacher won't disapprove of it and deduct points off of my answer."

After Tang Thirty Six heard Chen Chang Sheng's response he was shocked. He remained silent for a while.

For that question he only knew one version and only answered with one version.

After a while, he looked at Chen Chang Sheng and said, "I always thought that a certain someone and I are the most arrogant in the younger generation, but I didn't expect that you are more arrogant than us."

Chen Chang Sheng was confused. How was he arrogant?

———————————————–

The result was finally out...

And Chen Chang Sheng's name wasn't on it!

Chen Chang Sheng stood under the list and was silent for a long time.

The crowd looked at him without mercy and showed a mocking attitude. If Tang Thirty Six didn't stand beside him, a lot of insults would have been used by now.

"I don't understand." Chen Chang Sheng said.

Tang Thirty Six didn't understood either. He believed Chen Chang Sheng's statement of answering the questions. If he said he answered most of the questions, then he did answer most of the questions. Just from the score, even if he wasn't on top of the list, he should've made it on the list.

Chen Chang Sheng found the teacher who was responsible for the stage of Sensory Stone and said, "I want to check my paper."

The teacher was organizing his stuff and didn't look at Chang Sheng's calm and steady eyes, "Before you used legal ruling to obtain the permission for the entrance exam, but you should know that the testing papers of Heavenly Academy are not allowed to be rechecked. This represents respect to the academy. if you didn't enter, then you didn't enter."

Chen Chang Sheng looked at him in silent for a long time before he turned around and left.

————————————————-

"Although he didn't say anything, I know what he wanted to say. ... A youngster who is angry but speaks nothing of it is truly significant." Tang Thirty Six watched as the youngster's shadow disappeared at the other side of the lake. He turned around and mocked at someone "Heavenly Academy dares not to accept such a genius. No wonder why it's famous and well respected."

"You are only older than him by two years. It's funny that you are calling him a youngster."

The vice-principal of Heavenly Academy said, "But the more interesting part is, how do you know what he wanted to say?"

"He wanted to say 'you will regret this...' The reason that I know this is because if I was treated like him, I will definitely mark my words."

"Heavenly Academy will regret its decision to reject a normal student?"

"He is not a normal student. He is a genius like me."

The vice-principal of Heavenly Academy fell silent and said, "I saw the testing paper of that youngster. Although he didn't reach the Purification stage yet, he is already very knowledgeable. For sure he is a genius. He probably isn't even far off from Wang Zhi Ce. If it was under normal circumstances, I would have definitely accepted him into the school and taught him myself. Except, not this time"

Tang Thirty Six looked at him and asked, "Why not?"

"Because someone said so." The vice-principal answered.

"Who?"

"The Divine General's Estate" (TL: F*ing son of a *... idk but it pisses me off at least..)

"The continent's strength pyramid consisted of: the lone Du Fu (Single Man), Five Saints, Eight Storms of the Cardinal Directions, and countless characters on the Proclamation of Liberation. Not mentioning the Demon lords, the thirty eight Divine Generals were obviously also powerful... But why would a place like Heavenly Academy follow orders from a Divine General's Estate?"

"Your father asked me to take care of you so I won't hide this from you, but you can't leak anything out... Just a Divine General's Estate wouldn't affect Heavenly Academy, but that Divine General's Estate is different. It's the Divine General of the Eastern Decree's Estate and the owner is named Xu Shi Ji."

"Xu Shi Ji... although he has the favor of the Divine Empress and is powerful himself he is still just a Divine General."

"But he has a Phoenix in his house..."

Tang Thirty Six's coldness and pride on his face melted when he heard the word "Phoenix". He was silent for a long time and mumbled, "...How did Chen Chang Sheng cause trouble with that Phoenix? Who is he?"

The vice-principal said calmly, "We couldn't less who he is. All things aside, he is already fourteen years old. Even if he start to cultivate now, there are too many geniuses in this world. Even if he has good talent, what is he going to do? I compared him to Wang Zhi Ce previously, but if he really has Wang Zhi Ce's perseverance and luck, then does it really matter if he got accepted into Heavenly Academy or not? All he needs to do is to work hard and he can be the best."

————————————–

Chen Chang Sheng didn't know that he got rejected because of the Divine General's Estate. He thought he was kicked off the list because the son of a rich family in the Capital wanted his spot. Although he had just entered the regular world, he read about many shady business in the literatures. What else can he do besides keeping silent right now?

As he left Heavenly Academy and walked towards the second school, he still didn't notice that a carriage was following him from afar. On that carriage was an emblem of Blood Phoenix faintly expressed its unquestionable presence.

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Nowadays, the mainstream methods of cultivation were the canonical methods of the Orthodoxy. The main source of True Essence was the stars in the sky – the Radiant Faith focused upon the word: Radiant. What lit up the night was actually Starlight – break through the Meditation Realm and enter the Ethereal Opening realm then advance into the Star Fusion Realm, which was to use the energy released from tens of thousands stars onto the world. The final goal of cultivation is to evolve the mortal's body and mentality. From this, we can see the importance of stars in the world of cultivation. Every country and sect has star observation platforms. However, they rarely named the platforms "seizing stars" or "stealing stars" because this would sound disrespectful towards the stars.

However, the second school on Chen Chang Sheng's roster, surprisingly, was called Star Taker Academy.

Star Taker Academy- this school used such an aggressive name, but the Orthodoxy had no disagreement. The school was originally very aggressive.

In the entire world, only this school had dared to use and deserved to use this name.

Because this school was directly affiliated to the Zhou military, in countless years it had nurtured many brave and determined youngsters and many Generals as stars. During the war against the Demons, Star Taker Academy joined the war when the humans were in a hopeless state in the war. The whole school faculty and students all joined the war effort to fight back the Demons. Nine out of ten participants of the school died at the end of the war. After the war, the large school was like a graveyard due to the large number of casualties. For this reason, Star Taker Academy earned great respect in the human world and it also gained unimaginable momentum.

Who would disagree to have such schools who sacrificed so much, not just Star Taker Academy, to want to use such names?

Everyone in the world understood Star Taker Academy's bloody yet honorable history, including Chen Chang Sheng. Chen Chang Sheng's master placed Star Taker Academy second on the roster, but in his heart, Star Taker Academy should be ranked first. Although Chen Chang Sheng felt a bit upset for not getting into Heavenly Academy, he wasn't affected much mentally.

He believed that Star Taker Academy definitely wouldn't act like Heavenly Academy, at least not to a large extent.

As he thought, he arrived at the solemn and dignified Star Taker Academy, which had began to prepare for the second exam.

As expected, Star Taker Academy was different from Heavenly Academy. Even though outside the school there was also a huge crowd, the field was completely silent without any sound. It might have been because of the fully armed soldiers' eagle like eyes or the big stone tablet that was filled with the names of generals who died for the nation.

After filling the simple sign up sheet and obtaining their number, around six hundred young adults followed the military officer's lead.

Similar to the exam at Heavenly Academy, Star Taker Academy also prepared a pre-Exam. The aim was to eliminate students that haven't purified and lessen the pressure for the officials on administering the test.

The stone plate was huge, just like a millstone- as a matter of fact, it was the millstone from Star Taker Academy's kitchen. It weighed three hundred pounds. Only students who are able to lift this plate and walk up thirty steps on a flight of stairs are qualified for the official entrance exam.

Three hundred pounds of weight, unless they have reached the Purification Stage and enhanced their muscle and bone, regular people are usually unable to complete the task. In addition, they needed to walk up such a long staircase. Many young students who had yet to reach Purification looked at the stone plate and their expressions changed. Many of them shook their heads and left the field. Even some students who had reached Purification but hadn't completely adjusted to their strength, forfeited the task reluctantly. Of course, some ordinary youngsters bravely tested the strength of their body, but not a single one of them succeeded.

Actually, it wasn't too hard to see people pick up the stone plate before reaching Purification in the entrance exam of Star Taker Academy. For example, the current White Tiger General was born with enormous strength. During his exam to attempt to enter the academy, he hadn't reach the Purification stage yet but he easily picked up the stone plate and threw it across the lake...

But it wasn't something that happens daily.

The instructor was a little disappointed. He checked for the time and decided to speed up the process. He ordered the students to report their stage of cultivation and let the people who had reached Purification test first, then let the ordinary students try.

Sadly, even until noon, not a single ordinary student had created a miracle.

Just when people got bored of the failures and wanted to leave, a well built young student entered the stage and easily picked up the stone plate. In just a few seconds, he flew up the thirty steps and wasn't even out of breath. To show his strength, he then carried the stone plate back to its original location.

The crowd was stunned.

The youngster raised his hand and waved to the people. He once again proudly walked up the stone stairs and headed for the inner part of Star Taker Academy. The interesting thing was, he had a honest face. No matter how much he tried to act proud and arrogant, in the eyes of the crowd it was just a silly act. There was no mockery but only friendly laughter.

After the well built youngster left, many people started to guess his origin and background. Suddenly someone mentioned that he saw a faint blue mark around his ankle. With this information the crowd stopped chatting. The reason was that the youngster probably inherited the bloodline of the Yao race or he could be actually from the Western Yao Domain!

For hundreds of years now, humans and Yaos had become allies and fought against the Demon race. Due to the alliance, although the relationship between them wasn't exactly friendly, it was natural. Some nobles of the Yao race who could transform into human form even lived in the human world. Surely there are some of them living in the Capital right now – except, the way and culture of humans and yao was very different. In the human world, no one really talked about this but it was fine as long as the Yao race behaved.

After the Yao youngster successfully lifted the stoneplate, another two young students who were formerly hunters on Mount Min, also used their natural body strength and picked up the stone plate and moved it up the stairs. Although they were struggling, people still cheered for their achievements.

The military instructor who was sitting above the stairs nodded his head lightly. He seemed to be pleased by this year's result.

Time went on and it was finally Chen Chang Sheng's turn. The gathering crowd observed this young student and sympathetically cheered a bit for him and stopped. This student was seemingly young and his body had yet to develop. Let's not compare him to the Yao student, Chen Chang Sheng wasn't even as well built as the two young hunters. It seemed impossible for him to lift the heavy stone plate.

At Heavenly Academy, Chen Chang Sheng used his familiarity with the laws to skip the stage of the Sensory Stone. Right now in Star Taker Academy's exam, he might be able to think of some other way but perhaps he was affected by the heated and serious theme of the surroundings or perhaps he wanted to just try the challenge. Either way he didn't do anything out of place and followed the rules.

(I gotta say he Yoloed like a boss...)

He walked to the stone plate and slowly squatted down. His hands steadily held the two sides of the plate and took five deep breaths. He concentrated all his might into his waist, legs, and arms. As he groaned deeply, he released his power!

The crowd in front of the stairs suddenly became silent. The people who were chatting forgot to continue out of shock. Their jaws dropped as they looked towards the testing field.

The stone plate slowly elevated and at last, Chen Chang Sheng picked it up to the height of his chest. Not an inch more or less, exactly at the required height!

His face was a little red, but his expression was still calm and there was not a trace of nervous or panic in his eyes.

The field was filled with compliments and claps. Everyone continuously cheered the youngster on. Using rhythmed shouts, they wanted to help him lift his feet.

Chen Chang Sheng walked forward one step. Just a single step and his knees shook a bit.

It was one matter to lift the plate but moving the heavy plate and walking up the stairs was another matter.

His breathing patterns became disorderly and his face got redder and redder.

He didn't make any sound, but from his bumped cheeks it's clear that he was biting his jaw and struggling.

He took one step after another up the stone stairs, slowly walking up.

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It was certain that Chen Chang Sheng hadn't reached the Purification stage yet. The strength of his muscle and bones should only be that of an average teenager. Furthermore, since he was constantly ill when he was a child, he should have been weaker than a normal teenager. But because he was sick and it was a sickness that hard to treat, the people in the broken temple outside of Xi Ning Village cared deeply for Chen Chang Sheng's body.

When he began to memorize the Three Thousand Scriptures of The Way when he was young, Chen Chang Sheng's master found countless herbs to make medical soup out of them and allowed Chen Chang Sheng to bathe in them. Senior Yu Ren used wood sticks and thorns to help enhance his endurance by beating him. For more than a decade, the people he was most familiar with were the three people in the temple. The most familiar taste for him was the taste of book, medicine, and sticks.

His sickness wasn't cured by the consumption of medicine and beatings, and it was impossible for him to obtain the enormous strength of the Yao youngster. But the supposedly weak body of his was now stronger than an average man. Although it's just healthy and power on the surface, Chen Chang Sheng was still very happy about it.

A youngster who was sick when he was a child and surrounded by the dark shadow of his illness cared deeply about his body and the details of it more than anyone else. Therefore today at Star Taker Academy, he silently walked toward the stone plate and only wanted to use his strength to pass his exam.

He wanted to lift that heavy stone plate to prove himself, and also to thank his master and senior.

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One step, two steps, three steps, four steps...

Chen Chang Sheng breathed harder and harder. His face got darker and darker as he advanced. His tied up black hair was full of sweat, but his eyes were still calm and steady.

The cheering and shouting from the crowd had already stopped. Everyone looked at the struggling youngster walk up the stairs. They were worried about the youngster and felt respect for him at the same time. There were a few times that the youngster was about to fall, but he held his place with a mysterious strength in his body!

The instructor, at the end of the stone stairs, looked at Chen Chang Sheng with nothing but admiration and praise in his eyes.

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Seven steps, eight steps, nine steps...

Chen Chang Sheng's steps got slower and slower.

The praise in the instructor's eyes grew stronger and stronger. He was surprised by the performance of this youngster – as a soldier. What he cared about the most was Chen Chang Sheng's perseverance and bravery. He has already decided that even if Chen Chang Sheng didn't move the stone plate up the stairs, he would still let him pass the first exam. As for the problem of the honor and reputation of the academy and Zhou military...

The instructor looked at the nervous crowd and felt relieved. It seemed that most of the participants would side with him.

Children who were trying earnestly should be praised and respected.

———————————–

Thinking about this, the instructor's mind went blank. He didn't look at the stairs for a while until his mind came back. When it did, he noticed the change in the crowd's expression.

He turned around and there was another person standing beside him.

It was the youngster who was tired and covered in sweat.

The instructor was relieved. He extended his arm and patted the youngster's shoulder.

Chen Chang Sheng had walked to the top of the stairs.

The heavy plate was on the floor next to him.

He succeeded.

This time Chen Chang Sheng successfully entered the official entrance exam of Star Taker Academy. Except this time, it wasn't cold and mocking eyes that welcomed him like at Heavenly Academy but rather, hopeful and caring smiles from the students and the teachers from Star Taker Academy. He felt warm and happy with the first encounter and was determined to be accepted.

Different schools in the Capital desire different things from their students. Heavenly Academy relies heavily on Classical Teaching and talent on cultivation. Compared to them, Star Taker Academy cared less about cultivation. The Zhou Military always believed that cultivation is something to worry about after entering the schools. What the military actually care about was the student's manner and discipline. Therefore the number of testing question was less than that of Heavenly Academy's. On the other hand, Star Taker Academy had a strict requirement on the testing format and penmanship. In addition, the context of the questions was mostly about creating simulations and strategy on the battlefield.

If Chen Chang Sheng had any talent, his most valuable talent was the thousands of books and literature he memorized from cover to cover. Just like the test for Heavenly Academy, after opening the exam, the first question he saw looked familiar . The three thousand ways include tens of thousands images, this sentence contained no error. It covered countless teachings, of course it included the military strategies and famous battles in history. It especially detailedly described the war between humans and demons. He remember those, obviously he wouldn't answer them wrong.

Smoothly, Chen Chang Sheng finished the exam and left with the other students to the building of rules. They waited for the final result to come out. Standing by the legendary beast who represented the solemn Zhou military ruling, he recalled what was on the test. After ascertaining that there should be no problem for him getting into the Star Taker Academy, he relaxed a bit. Then at the corner he saw that Yao race youngster who now looked somewhat sad. Chen Chang Sheng friendly stood on tiptoe and tapped his shoulder to show comfort – obviously, this Yao youngster didn't know much about human's military strategies therefore he couldn't have done too well.

The sun was about to fall and red beams of light was shining down upon the iron fence that stood on the building of rulings. The scene created a mysterious feeling to the surrounding and the crowd. Chen Chang Sheng stood under the light and looked at the empty wall. His immature face was filled with happiness and expectation for a bright future.

Yet he didn't know that later on what would come was still bitter disappointment.

...

"Why?"

The Zhou military officer, who supervised the primary lifting stone exam, and another serious looking officer stood in front of a desk, questioning. They both looked directly at a mid-aged General. The first military officer's face was strangely red because he could barely suppress his anger.

That mid-aged General was expressionless. His eyebrows looked like two ink silkworms. He had a serious face but it was without anger. Listening to his subordinates' angry question, he slightly frowned and said "Is this your attitude when asking your superior?"

The two officers paused after hearing this. One of them pointed to the sun outside and said "Even though only two of us saw that test paper, there are other co-workers who are concerned about that student named Chen Chang Sheng. My attitude right now is wrong, but if others knew the results, they will ask the same question as well."

The mid-aged General replied, "He is only a regular youngster who didn't even successfully purify, why do you take him so seriously?"

That officer angrily stepped up and pointed at the test paper that was already crumbled into garbage. He said, "You also saw that test paper. You of all people should understand clearly. In recent decades, among the students that took the entrance exam, there was never such a perfect test paper. From standard questions to battle analysis, there was no mistake at all. Not a single miswritten character or even a slightly thicker stroke! Yes, that kid probably can't become a strong General like you, but he can definitely become one of the best military advisers!"

The mid-aged General remained silent for a while before he replied. "This is a command from the Imperial Palace, I don't need to give you any explanation."

That officers were shocked after heard the reply. After a while he woke up and said with a slightly deeper voice, "But...I need to give that kid an explanation."

The mid-aged General looked up and give him a look. "Call him over, I will give him an explanation."

...

Chen Chang Sheng walked into the severe and strict building. Looking at the fire on the desk, Chen Chang Sheng remained silent. His fists gradually tightened up. His face became slightly pale, not sure if it was because of exhaustion or anger or even both. When he looked at the wall, it didn't have his name on it. He was extremely angry and even angrier than he was yesterday when he encountered supercilious looks and contempts.

Because he had great hopes on entering Star Taker Academy, he was happy, but all his hope transformed into disappointment the moment he saw the admittance announcement. All his effort up until now seemed to have become a joke. Why did these events happen?

He wanted an explanation.

The mid-aged General who sat behind the desk said he would give him an explanation. He knew what it would be.

"Sorry."

The mid-aged General stood up, like a beast staring at a rabbit. The look he gave Chen Chang Sheng was cold but the word he spoke was the word sorry.

"As a Zhou soldier, I have to violate my own principle, so sorry."

"My action will affect Star Taker Academy's reputation, so sorry."

"You have talent and a bright future. You are only a kid, but I have to temporarily hinder your future, sorry."

"I can't tell you why, sorry."

"But I think you will know the reason quickly. So, I wish you can give me a chance to correct myself."

After Chen Cheng Sheng finished hearing the apologies, he remained silent for a while. Then he turned and left.

...

At five o'clock in the morning on the second day, Chen Chang Sheng woke up punctually, like yesterday and everyday for the past fourteen years. He cleaned up and dressed up. He calmed down and obtained a clear mind before he left the inn and continued his intended school path.

According to the roster's order, he went to the next two schools. What he encountered at Heavenly Academy and Star Taker Academy obviously made him upset and unhappy, but he was the one who treasures time the most in the world. He didn't want to waste time on useless anger and regret. He only wanted to use time for valuable reasons, such behavior sometimes gave people an impression of extreme determination.

The experiences yesterday didn't seem to influence him at all. He prepared seriously and carefully took the tests. He used the knowledge in his brain and determined spirit. He successfully passed the two schools' entrance exams. Based on the content of the test, he felt that he should be able to pass successfully, but he didn't make it. It didn't seem to surprise him anymore.

With the experiences from the previous two schools, Chen Chang Sheng did not feel that disappointed anymore. In another word, he already felt numb.

He understood clearly, there were people interfering behind his back. Who were those people...this answer was also very clear.

At evening, he walked out of the fourth school and finally saw that carriage from the Divine General's Estate for the first time. He saw the dark but clear blood phoenix emblem on the wheel. The owner of the carriage stopped it in front of the school intentionally to let him see it.

Chen Chang Sheng saw the carriage and understand that the answer was about to come.

Even though he had already guessed the answer, the feeling of directly obtaining the answer was somewhat different.

A mid-aged woman walked down the wagon.

"You are only a child ... you don't deserve to let the Divine General's Estate do these things to you."

The mid-aged woman walked up to him and said expressionlessly. "Yet we still did these things because we worried that you were too young to have a clear understanding of the situation. As a result we seriously demonstrated the strength of the clan to let you see for yourself. Now you should understand clearly. As long as we disagree, you will have no future in Zhou."

Chen Chang Sheng remembered her from the Divine General's Estate. She was the first person he saw. He gave a gesture of greeting and stood straight without saying a word.

The mid-aged woman felt surprised. She didn't expect that Chen Chang Sheng could still have such calmness. So calm that he didn't even forget to give her a greeting. His actions would truly make people feel dumbfounded and even uneasy.

"You should clearly know what we want... If you agree, then what we took from you will be returned to you. Heavenly Academy, Star Taker Academy, Temple Seminary ... you can choose where you want to attend. You can choose which teacher you want to follow. You can choose to join the military or enter the Orthodoxy or become an official in the government... All of these thing you can get and choose."

The mid-aged woman looked at him and said seriously "But if you disagree, the experiences you had in the last two days will become scenes repeated over and over again in your life."

Chen Chang Sheng still remained silent and did not speak a word.

The mid-aged woman continued "You are a smart man, you should know clearly how to choose."

Chen Chang Sheng looked at her and finally spoke his first sentence. "Senior had written in his notes, 'a smart person will live unhappily, so people should live pretending to be unaware.' "

The mid-aged woman smiled and replied. "Yet you are truly clever. You didn't tell the engagement to anyone...otherwise you would be dead already."

Chen Chang Sheng finally confirmed that in the past two days, the Divine General of the Eastern Decree's Estate had always kept an eye on him.

The mid-aged woman said, "Of course, don't misunderstand...what I said previously was only a possibility. Under the eyes of the Divine Empress, the Divine General's Estate will always follow the laws. It has never bullied anyone and will only help people. We only need you to give up something...what you were originally prepared to give up before. We can then help you to gain much more."

What he had originally prepared to give up was obviously the engagement.

Help you to gain much more. All these things were what he could obtain by himself.

Chen Chang Sheng suddenly felt, in comparison to the prosperous Capital, like he was behind the old temple. The mountain and forest that was filled with beasts was so safe and pretty.

He looked at that mid-aged woman and suddenly said "Nanny, did I do anything wrong?"

The mid-aged woman was shocked. She did not know how to reply.

She had lived in the Capital for more than a hundred years. She had watched her Lady marry into Xu Mansion. She watched her Lady's husband fight for a better future countless times. She was used to government high officials and strong cultivators cheating on each other. But never had she ever heard such words. It was a seemingly immature question, but it was hard to answer.

So she couldn't and didn't answer.

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"It seems like I didn't do anything wrong."

Chen Chang Sheng looked at the mid-aged woman and said "Since I didn't do anything wrong, then why do I have to change so much?"

After saying this, his expression did not change but his breathing had unnoticably became slightly heavier.

Only those who knew him well enough would know that these details indicated he was already very angry.

The mid-aged woman's face became serious and said, "Aren't you afraid of death?"

"I... am very afraid of death." Chen Chang Sheng's voice was as hard as iron, "...therefore the first thing I planned to do when I came to the Capital was to cancel the engagement at the Divine General's Estate. Even yesterday I was preparing to cancel the engagement after getting into Heavenly Academy or Star Taker Academy, but sorry, now I have truly changed my mind."

The mid-aged woman stared at him. Her eyes became slightly cold.

Chen Chang Sheng looked back at her quietly and said, "Unless you realize what you did wrong, remember my name."

The mid-aged woman remained silent for a really long time.

"Actually I favor you very much."

She looked at Chen Chang Sheng. The emotion in her eyes was somewhat complicated "For these past few days I had always been observing your life, I have never seen a youngster who was so good at self-regulating, and in the four entrance exams, what you showed was very rare. You deserve praise...I sometimes would even think, if I have a daughter, it should be a good choice to marry her to you."

Chen Chang Sheng didn't know what to say, but he was praised by someone. He felt that he should reply so he thought for a while and said two words, "Thank you."

Picking this moment to say thank you was somewhat ironic, cute, and very respectable.

The mid-aged woman looked at the wall behind the school's gate and said "But unfortunately, in the entire world no one thinks the young Lady should marry you."

Chen Chang Sheng followed her sight and saw many names on the green stone wall. This was the back of the main entrance to the academy, therefore this couldn't be the list of people who got accepted. Then what was this list? He suddenly remembered that he saw similar lists on the back of the entrance to Heavenly Academy and Star Taker Academy. There were many names carved on top of them.

There was a sentence carved on the topmost of the green stone wall – "The strong gale will offer strength, and I will enter the azure cloud."

After reading this sentence, Chen Chang Sheng thought back to the records in the books, and knew the list of names carved on the green stone wall was the mythical Proclamation of Azure Clouds.

There were countless powerful cultivators on this continent, but geniuses always start when they were young – The Proclamation of Azure Clouds was the tier list for cultivators under the age of twenty. All of the people who entered the proclamation were either the core students of different countries, different sects, different academies, or geniuses who held special talents. If they didn't die in the middle of seeking The Way, then these people would all become cultivators with true strength.

The reason for the academies in the Capital to put up the Proclamation of Azure Clouds was to use the famous names on the list and give the students a model to chase after and enhance the connection between schoolmates. But the effect wasn't as well as they expected – the students knew they had no chance to enter the proclamation, so they were only respectful, jealous, or even fearful of those names on the list.

The Proclamation of Azure Clouds didn't care about people's knowledge, level, sect, gender, but only strength. The single limitation was that the people who entered the proclamation cannot be older than twenty years of age. There were a few times in the past where a lower level cultivator had won against higher level ones and were immediately placed in front – this condition was despised by many.

When the Council of Divine Ordinance first created the ranking, this condition was questioned many times, but the answer of the council was simple and powerful – no matter knowledge, level, or even manner and characteristics, all mixed together was strength. The condition of the proclamation was to test strength, and the best way to test it was victory and defeat.

Chen Chang Sheng glanced over the names on the proclamation. Those names were strange to him. Sometimes he could even see some weird names, and they probably belonged to young cultivators from Yao territory, and some genius from the southern forest. Suddenly, he saw Tang Tang's name on the thirty sixth spot. Chen Chang Sheng thought back to Heavenly Academy and the blue shirt youngster explaining the story of his name, Tang Thirty Six, Chen Chang Sheng laughed happily. He was proud of him.

Finally, his eyes landed upon the highest point of the list, and saw the only name that stood there. The name on top appeared to be lonely, cold, and proud. He knew that name, he knew the name very well – Xu You Rong.

"The Proclamation of Azure Clouds lists all the young geniuses all over the world. The Zhou Dynasty is full of talented people. Even just in the Capital there are more than ten people on the list. Four people from Heavenly Academy, three from Star Taker Academy. But it's not especially well, when comparing to the Longevity Sect and Scholartree Manor in the south. It wasn't until the young Lady of the estate entered the proclamation did the North and South even out..."

The middle-aged woman looked at the list and her pride could easily be seen, but of course she didn't need to hide her pride. She said, "Two years ago My Lady entered the proclamation for the first time and entered first place. From that day onward she never got lowered in her ranking. The young geniuses behind her couldn't compete. No, it was too difficult for them to even approach her."

Chen Chang Sheng looked at the name on top of the list and remained speechless. These four years he kept the marriage vow on him and he read it many times. He knew her name and knew how old she was. After calculating, this Miss Xu entered the proclamation at the age of twelve and was invincible... The bloodline of Sky Phoenix was truly miraculous.

The middle aged woman looked at Chen Chang Sheng and said sincerely, "You are talented. Although you have yet to reach Purification you still have the ability to enter those academies. But, you are too different from My Lady... It's not about effort, it's not about talent, and trying doesn't matter either. You are continuing to climb up in your life, and I believe you will be able to climb to a very high peak. But My Lady has already left that place. If you want to stubbornly chase after her, then the only thing you will receive is raging lightning from heaven."

Chen Chang Sheng was silent. He thought about Shuang Er, the maid he met in the forest, and the man she mentioned before. The genius who was the reincarnation of the Heavenly Dragon and was recognized by everyone on the continent as the perfect fit for Xu You Rong.

"Qiu Shan Jun..."

The middle aged woman didn't expect him to know the existence of Qiu Shan Jun. She said emotionlessly "Qiu Shan Jun had been the champion of the proclamation."

Chen Chang Sheng asked, "Why did he leave the proclamation? Was it because he didn't want to lose to Miss Xu?"

The middle aged woman replied, "Two years ago, Qiu Shan Jun past the peak stage of Meditation, now he is the champion of the Proclamation of Golden Distinction."

Chen Chang Sheng sighed. He noticed that it was hard to find any relief from this information because the people on the proclamation are all above him. He himself couldn't even go on the board of acceptance... Speak less of the Proclamation of Azure Clouds. They were truly living in different worlds when compared to Chen Chang Sheng.

He asked, "Previously you said the difference between me and Miss Xu isn't in talent or effort, then what is it?"

The middle aged woman answered, "...It's destiny. Even if you are the best ordinary person out there, you are still just an ordinary person. When My Lady was born, she wasn't an ordinary person. You were born as a human, but she was born as a phoenix. The difference between you two is that of the sky and the earth."

"So...it's destiny once again."

Chen Chang Sheng sighed once again. After remaining silent for a long time, he looked at the woman and said seriously, "Perhaps you don't believe me but the reason I came to the Capital was to change my destiny... Although it's not about the marriage, destiny has no believability to me."

The woman was stunned. She didn't expect that Chen Chang Sheng would still not let go of the marriage vow after she explained the situation clearly.

As the sun was setting to the west, Chen Chang Sheng followed the crowd and walked to the other side of the street.

The middle aged woman noticed, at first his head was a little low and his back a little bent. It seemed he was lonely and tired. But after a short period of time had past, his back became straight and he raised his head. Once again he looked at the crowd on the street and the setting sun far away.

The dawning light shone on the youngster. It seemed as if he was burning.

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"I have never seen a youngster this self-disciplined. He controlled every aspect of his life. He has no harmful habits nor entertainment. He values time greatly. He values it so greatly that I feel like there was always someone chasing him. But he didn't let anyone around him feel irritated or hurried. It's easy to see that he enjoys living or life itself... Except he has a little mysophobia. The first day, I saw him wash his hands a total of seven times and he probably has more than five handkerchiefs."

At the Divine General's Estate, the middle aged woman stood in front of Madam Xu and said expressionlessly. "Madam, I must say that this child is talented. If he has a chance, he will grow quickly. If he's lucky, then he will have a bright future before him."

Madam Xu never thought that the loyal woman who had followed her for many decades would speak for the youngster. She wrinkled her eyebrows and asked, "What are you trying to say?"

The middle aged woman replied, "Of course our Lady won't marry him...But if we continue insulting and oppressing him like this, it's better if we just kill him. If he actually got the chance and become strong, even if the mansion is not afraid of him, it's still troublesome. In addition...I really think that youngster is nice. Why do this to him?"

This logic might be difficult to understand for normal people, but Madam Xu understood her. She didn't realize that the woman actually liked Chen Chang Sheng. and she thought back to the words Xu Shi Ji had spoken to her at night in the study room. Madam Xu looked deeply at her and said, "There are too many people watching the Divine General's Estate... especially the stubborn elders. If there is any ugly news from the estate, even if it won't affect our reputation, Her Divine Majesty would still not like it. Therefore this thing should be undertaken carefully. It would be for the best if we can use peaceful negotiations to obtain the marriage vow. But if that youngster still wants to maintain his pitiful pride to the very end, or if he wants to obtain more benefits from this, then he should die silently. Even if it will cause some trouble, it's another way to get rid of the source of trouble."

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Shuang Er returned to her room and her mind went blank for a while. Thinking back to the conversation she heard outside of the Madam's room, her felt irritated and insecure. Even after she drank half a bowl of cold tea, she couldn't calm down. She knew the reason she could've heard the entire conversation was that the Madam allowed her to... The Madam knew that she contacted the young Lady of the estate regularly, and thus, let her hear the conversation on purpose. The Madam wanted her to inform the young Lady of this matter. But even if the young Lady won't marry that guy named Chen Chang Sheng, was it really necessary to do this? Would her Lady accept this?

Shuang Er walked to her table and laid a sheet of paper flat on its surface. She picked up a brush and sank it into the dark ink. After thinking a little, she started writing a letter.

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It was still the beginning of spring, but today, it was already hot. Chen Chang Sheng didn't know if it was due to the weather or his emotions. When he returned to the inn, he found that his clothes were wet from his sweat and had become dirty from the dirt. He felt even more upset because he liked to be clean, until he saw that person.

The person was a youngster with green shirt, who was standing in the middle of the inn lobby. He slightly lifted his lower jaw, kept a cold face, and wasn't concerned by how much inconvenience his actions would bring to others at all. He was as arrogant as a wild crane, whose eyes did not see the chickens heading down and eating.

This inn was located close to the Mausoleum of Books, so the population passing by was huge. It was lunch time now and the people who walked in and out of the inn were like tidewater, yet no one dared to get close to the youngster. The green shirt youngster was like the lonely peristele in the Luo canal, tides split apart right after encountering it. This image looked strange – Chen Chang Sheng knew this green shirt youngster, but people in the inn didn't know. The strange image happening now was definitely due to the interaction that happened between them before. He felt a little surprised. Why was he here now? Presumably, he was seeking Chen Chang Sheng, yet what did he want?

Chen Chang Sheng walked up to the green shirt youngster, did a gesture of greeting and then stayed silent because he did not know what to say.

The green shirt youngster was Tang Thirty Six, whom Chen Chang Sheng had met once during Heavenly Academy's entrance exam. His name came from his rank on the Proclamation of Azure Clouds. Interestingly, he and Chen Chang Sheng both, were not good at interacting with others. After returning the gesture, Tang Thirty Six also did not know what to say so immediately there was an awkward silence between them.

The inn was soundless. People did not dare to irritate Tang Thirty Six. Many of them looked down and ate, not daring to make any sound, and even more they did not dare to chat. Yet many visions fell on the two youngsters. People were curious on what was going to happen next.

Awkward silence was a very embarrassing thing. Awkward silence under many people was even more embarrassing, especially to Tang Thirty Six. He had who wanted to show his friendly and mature side to Chen Chang Sheng. Fortunately, he was slightly older than Chen Chang Sheng, after thinking for a bit, he eventually thought of a method to solve the situation and said, "A guest came. Why don't you invite me to sit?"

Chen Chang Sheng was shaken awake. He led him into his room, took out around ten silver taels, called over a waiter to serve a cup of good tea. Shortly, the tea was ready. A pot of tea was placed on a desk. The two cups were poured up to 70%. Chen Chang Sheng said "please," then there was the awkward silence again.

A long silence was truly embarrassing. Tang Thirty Six could not bear it any longer and said openly, "You still didn't get into any?"

Chen Chang Sheng replied honestly, "I did not make it for the fourth time."

Tang Thirty Six remained silent for a while and said, "I know that it's the Divine General of the Eastern Decree's Estate who is interfering with you in the back."

Chen Chang Sheng looked up. He felt surprised that Tang Thirty Six actually knew the inside story of his problems, but he did not know how much he knew. With such uncertainty, his vision naturally became somewhat different.

In Tang Thirty Six's impression, Chen Chang Sheng was a talented, friendly, and determined normal person. Now he suddenly found that this kid's vision was as sharp as a knife edge. He involuntarily felt surprised, slightly narrowed his eyes, becoming even more interested in the things Chen Chang Sheng were hiding.

What made Tang Thirty Six depressed was that, after he said the words "Divine General of the Eastern Decree's Estate," Chen Cheng apparently felt touched. Yet he didn't say the answer he wanted, but instead remained silent like a useless quail. He felt a bit irritated. Two eyebrows lifted up like swords coming out of their sheaths and he yelled, "Don't you feel angry? Don't you feel mad?"

Chen Chang Sheng looked up and gave him a glance before he slowly rolled his eyes.

Tang Thirty Six was drinking tea when he saw the look. He almost spat out the tea in his mouth. He didn't expect that the traditional or even conservative kid would have such a childish face.

Chen Chang Sheng thought 'I felt so depressed that I was about to die, but why do I have to let you know?'

Even the engagement, he did not prepare to let others know, much less the four unjust entrance exams that had happened due to the engagement?

The engagement, until now was still a secret between the Divine General's Estate and himself. Even though the Divine General's Estate had consecutively interfered with him and the mid-aged woman's words made him very angry, he still did not want to publicly announce the engagement to the world. It's not because he was afraid of the threats from the Divine General's Estate or because he was afraid of getting killed by them, but simply because he believed that, after all, he would return the engagement to the Divine General's Estate. Thus, why would he announce it to everyone? Miss Xu might be arrogant and cold, just as evil as her parents, but if the Divine General's Estate apologized later on, why would he give a girl difficulty marrying later on?

Yes, he believed that, after all, he would cancel the engagement because he strongly believed that the Divine General's Estate would apologize to him one day. Moreover, he did not want others know his name because of Miss Xu. It was probably arrogance, probably stubborness, but he wanted to insist on it. His view of this world was still insistent on walking upon the path named innocence.

...

Interestingly, even though Chen Chang Sheng did not say anything and Tang Thirty Six did not know anything. He approximately understood Chen Chang Sheng's intention. For no reason, he felt deep admiration. He finished the tea in one gulp, patted Chen Chang Sheng's shoulder and said "I admire you."

Even though he was the young genius who ranked thirty sixth on the Proclamation of Azure Cloud, was the one who stood in the crowd like a wild crane, with no one daring to interrupt, he was still a youngster. Because of this, Tang Thirty Six's action appeared somewhat pretentious and when he was saying this sentence, his vision and attitude all seemed somewhat arrogant. If it was others, they might feel very uncomfortable, and some might even feel angry. However, Chen Chang Sheng did not. He understood that Tang Thirty Six was trying to show friendship and comfort but because he wasn't used to such actions it had come out somewhat awkwardly.

Chen Chang Sheng said, "Thank you."

Tang Thirty Six said, "Verbal gratitude is not enough, you should treat me."

It was another very awkward yet friendly expression – Chen Chang Sheng suddenly felt pity for this kid. He thought that this kid had probably cultivated for his entire life. No wonder he was at such high level at such young age, but the way he interacted with others was really terrible. He felt worried about how Tang Thirty Six would live in the future.

Chen Chang Sheng was always very focused when he was thinking, which made him seem somewhat dull and inflexible. Tang Thirty Six looked at him and couldn't help but shake his head. He felt pity for this kid, thinking that this kid had probably been reading books for his entire life, no wonder he would remember so many doctrines at such a young age. But the way Chen Chang Sheng interacted with others was really terrible. He felt worried about how Chen Chang Sheng would live in the future.

(TL: LOL like attracts like. It takes one genius to understand another...)

In short, both had no right to feel pity for the other, yet both were feeling pity right now. Thus, another interaction between the two began after the initial one at Heavenly Academy.

Chen Chang Sheng called the waiter over to see the menu. He calculated that the money his Master gave him and the money his senior gave him privately, was enough for him to stay in the Capital for a good few years. Then he stopped thinking and pushed the menu toward Tang Thirty Six and said, "Pick whatever you want...*en, this is my first time treating someone."

He did not know that this sentence made Tang Thirty Six feel even more pity for him, thinking 'which remote mountain did this kid come from?'

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Chen Chang Sheng said to pick any dish and in Tang Thirty Six's point of view these words had two meanings. The two words "pick any" means choose any food without restraint and interact freely with me. Both meanings were about the same but slightly different. Although Tang Thirty Six felt pity for Chen Chang Sheng, he was not really concerned about the prices when picking. He grabbed the menu and casually picked several specialties of the inn. The first two dishes were flying sparrow soup and steamed double headed fish...While he was ordering, he glanced toward Chen Chang Sheng and noticed that his eyebrows were frowned. Thinking that he didn't have enough money and with a hint of regret, he said to the waiter, "No more double headed fish, change it to bass, and also...change the flying sparrow soup to veggie soup."

As expected, Chen Chang Sheng's eyebrows unfolded.

Tang Thirty Six smiled, thinking that sure enough he had observed Chen Chang Sheng in detail and understood him. "Let me get another bowl of plum blossom deer cake."

Chen Chang Sheng frowned.

Tang Thirty Six glanced him, said, "Change it, give me a braised pork with preserved vegetable in soy sauce."

Chen Chang Sheng still frowned.

Tang Thirty Six felt a bit unhappy, thinking that just a bowl of pork which I wouldn't even eat at home. How are you not willing to pay this?

He spoke to the waiter "Give me a dish of steamed lotus root with a plate of barbeque pig ears!"

Chen Cang Sheng still kept the same face of disagreement.

Tang Thirty Six felt really annoyed and said "Since you are treating people for the first time, you don't understand the way of interacting with people. I won't say anything."

Chen Chang Sheng felt a little surprised and asked, "What did I do wrong?"

Tang Thirty Six yelled. "Even if you don't have enough money, you still shouldn't reveal such an attitude in front of guests. It is really irritating! As men, heads can be severed, blood can be drained, but reputation cannot be lost! Even if you have to sell your fur coat later, why should it matter?"

Tang Thirty Six thought that this reason was very appropriate and very good for educating friends, but for Chen Chang Sheng it sounded weird.

Chen Chang Sheng asked "Isn't it slapping one's face until it's swollen in an effort to look imposing?"

Tang Thirty Six felt a little annoyed and said, "What kind of saying is that?"

"It is the common saying from Xi Ning." Chen Chang Sheng explained seriously.

Tang Thirty Six felt stunned. Thinking that this was not what he asked. He was about to get angry but then he heard Chen Chang Sheng's next sentence.

"...Also I don't have a fur coat."

The room became quiet.

Tang Thirty Six forgot about getting mad. Instead, what he felt was worry and pity for this kid. He felt that Chen Chang Sheng was very pitiful.

He often saw the poor elders in his family sell fur coats or flood dragon robes in exchange for wine, but no one had told him how to treat others when they themselves are so poor that they don't even have fur coats or flood dragon robes. How can one treat others without losing face? Because Tang Thirty Six never lacked money and had never treated others before, he didn't know the answer.

He looked at Chen Chang Sheng and said seriously, "I will treat you this time."

Chen Chang Sheng felt a bit surprised and asked "Why?"

Tang Thirty Six looked at him and said in a friendly tone "You don't even have a fur coat, then you most likely don't have any other expensive things. So I should not let you treat me."

Chen Chang Sheng felt innocent and said "But...I have money."

...

Another awkward silence.

Tang Thirty Six's face turned gloomy and replied. "Then while I was picking before, why did you keep that face?"

Chen Chang Sheng thought about the previous scene and realized something. He felt somewhat sorry and explained, "Because...the Flying Sparrow soup you picked is known for being nourishing, but in reality it's too hot for the body. It's good to eat it in the fall or winter, but it's currently spring and drinking that soup is bad for your health."

(TL : Walking Encyclopedia?)

Tang Thirty Six had never thought that Cheng Chang Sheng was thinking about these kind of trifling matters and asked, "Are the other foods also bad? Those are the signature dishes."

"Double headed fish are from deep ocean. It feeds on fish, shrimp, and sea snakes so it should have a lot of toxins in its body. If it's boiled then it's fine. If the cook skimmed its fat from the soup, it will still be edible, but the steamed ones are bad for your health. Also, there's only two of us. Eating too much meat is also bad for your health, especially the braised pork with preserved vegetable in soy sauce. It uses streaky pork, which contains too much fat and it's better not to eat it."

Chen Cheng Sheng lastly added, "The pig ears in barbequed pig ears are good stuffs, but barbeque sauce is really bad. Furthermore, that plate of lotus root, if you eat too much, it will hurt your intestine and heart, which is also bad for your health."

"Stop!"

Tang Thirty Six couldn't bear listening to it any longer.– Chen Chang Sheng's words were like flies buzzing around his ears. It made him feel so uncomfortable. No matter who, listening to so many lines of "it's bad for your health" after happily ordering food, they would feel unhappy. Of course not every food could be healthy, but who would notice these details when eating? And who would notice them in such strict way? If Chen Chang Sheng was an old man who is especially concerned about longevity, it's fine but he was only a fourteen year old young man...

"Why does 'bad for health' even matter? Surely you won't die after eating them."

Chen Cheng Sheng said seriously "You won't die right away, but you will definitely die young."

Tang Thirty Six had nothing to say. He asked curiously "Then what do you normally eat?"

Chen Chang Sheng replied: "100 grams of meat, best would be beef or goat, 1kg of veggies, best will be wild veggies, some sweet potatoes and food grains, one brook fish every two days, best if it has scales, and no soup."

Tang Thirty Six asked, "How long have you been eating like this?"

Chen Chang Sheng replied naturally "I have been eating like this since I can remember."

Now it was Tang Thirty Six's turn to frown.

He felt that these foods were not tasty simply from listening to the names. If he really had to eat them for fourteen years, then how poor was his life?

He found that he felt even more pity for this kid.

...

While eating, both of them were very silent. Tang Thirty Six thought that the foods were too common, but Chen Chang Sheng thought that the foods were too unhealthy. After all, they both had their own dissatisfactions. Of course, this was something that couldn't be compromised from the beginning, just like Tofu Pudding and Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), taste and health, had always been something where humans' point of views clashed into each other the most.

Chen Chang Sheng's first experience in his life of treating someone ended roughly like this. Two cups of tea were put up. The two casually talked about what happened during Heavenly Academy's entrance exam. Tang Thirty Six also asked on what Chen Chang Sheng encountered at the other two schools. He also could not understand how the Zhou military would be influenced by the Divine General's Estate. Then, once again, there wasn't anything left to converse about.

–New friends would usually talk about their childhood stories and experience of growing up. They found some common hobbies, but both of their childhood stories were simple and boring to a scary extent so they could not get more familiar from this part. To avoid the awkward moment of eyes staring at each other, Tang Thirty Six stood up. He walked around the room while holding a cup of tea. He walked from the hall to the balcony then came back. Thinking that this kid could rent such a big suite near the Mausoleum of Books showed that he did not lack money, so his own previous misunderstanding was truly somewhat embarrassing.

While passing by the shelf in the lobby, Tang Thirty Six's eyes subconsciously fell on the shelf. His eyes could not leave the object on the shelf– there was a sword.

That sword was small and exquisite, seemingly not much longer than a regular dagger, and very thin. It appeared very delicate. The scabbard was a regular fur sheath and the handle was also very simple. From inside to outside it showed a sense of regularity. There was nothing noticeable, no dirt or blood, after all this sword was extremely normal, but it attracted him to go near it.

Tang Thirty Six had extended his hand to hold the hilt.

But before his hand could reach for the hilt, Chen Chang Sheng's hand blocked his way and grabbed the hilt in his hand first.

Tang Thirty Six glanced at him.

Chen Chang Sheng looked at him and said, "This is mine."

Tang Thirty Six was holding the cup. There was hot air coming out of the cup. In the air his handsome face appeared to be cold "So I can't touch it?"

Chen Chang Sheng noticed his unhappiness and felt a bit worried, but he still insisted and said, "You should ask me first and if I agree, then you can take it."

Tang Thirty Six took back his right hand and flicked his sleeve as he sat back. He put the cup back on the table in front of him.

Chen Chang Sheng felt somewhat embarrassed, thinking that he had probably done something wrong — Fine, he didn't think he did something wrong, but this was the first friend he had so he felt worried and flustered when he saw that Tang Thirty Six was unhappy. He walked to the table, delivering the short sword up.

Tang Thirty Six looked up and glanced at him without saying a word.

Cheng Chang Sheng pushed the sword even closer.

Tang Thirty Six was unwilling to accept the sword and said, "Behaving in such a non-manly way."

Chen Chang Sheng could not help but think 'who was really the non-manly one? Who was the one acting like a child and getting angry right now?' He was lost for words and did not know what to do. So he walked to the shelf and put the sword back. He turned back and asked, "Do you have anything to talk to me about?"

"In the Capital you are the only person I know. After hearing of your experience, of course I had to come and see. You are welcome, I am such a friendly and enthusiastic person." Tang Thirty Six said indifferently: "Of course, this is established upon the basis that I admire you. You have to know, I barely admire anyone in my age. You should feel proud."

Chen Chang Sheng was stupefied and then said "So...thank you?"

"Just a thank you is enough?"

"Didn't I just treat you?"

Tang Thirty Six stood up to look at him and said, "I've decided to accept you as my follower."

Chen Chang Sheng asked, "What do you mean by follower?"

Tang Thirty Six explained very seriously, "It means that you can follow me from now on."

Chen Chang Sheng explained seriously, "Sorry, I have a lot of things to do and I can't give any of my time to you."

Tang Thirty Six was a really arrogant youngster, but he felt sympathetic to Chen Chang Sheng's experiences so he had come to visit. Since the opposite side didn't say much, he obviously wouldn't say more. But he was somewhat confused, "What thing? Continue taking the exams? Why do you have to get into the school? What's your reason to insist on trying?"

Chen Chang Sheng asked, "How about you? What's your goal for coming to the Capital?

"I want to participate in the Grand Examination. I want to get first place." Tang Thirty Six said indifferently.

Suddenly, he remembered the young phoenix at the south's Holy Maiden Peak. If she came back early...

"I want to get second place in the Grand Examination."

He corrected himself, but suddenly he remembered Qiu Shan Jun. If that person participated in this year's examination...

"Ok, my goal is third place in the Grand Examination."

Tang Thirty Six finally said, with certainty, "but after all, I want to write down my name on the tablet in front of the Mausoleum of Books..."

"Great goal, I admire you."

Chen Chang Sheng looked at him and applauded. Suddenly he remembered something and asked, "by that time won't you have to change your name to Tang Three?"

Tang Thirty Six didn't know what to say. He changed the topic and asked, "And you? What's your goal for coming to the Capital?"

Chen Chang Sheng said honestly, "I also want to participate in the Grand Examination."

Tang Thirty Six didn't expect that, but he was not so surprised.

Chen Chang Sheng said, "I've never thought of getting second or third place."

Tang Thirty Six encouraged him "People have to know their own limits, but they can't lose their confidence. Don't forget, as long as you get into the top three grades in the Grand Examination, you can go to the Mausoleum of Books..."

Speaking to this point, his voice stopped because Chen Chang Sheng spoke again.

"I want to get first place."

Chen Chang Sheng looked at him and said, "I can't get second or third, I can only get first place."

Complete silence.

Tang Thirty Six suddenly had the urge to turn around and leave.

He realized that he was often forced into a situation where he was left speechless today.

Because what this kid did and said, often made others not know what to say; only wanting to vomit blood.

(TL: ahhh this is why I love our MC)

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"If my observations aren't wrong, you should be... an ordinary person!"

"Yes, I haven't officially started cultivating."

"The Grand Examination's ... first place?"

"Yes, I can only get first place."

Tang Thirty Six's question was straight forward and sharp, but Chen Chang Sheng's answer was serious and calm. It was like describing an extremely basic thing. Like how people should eat both meat and vegetables to keep balance within their body, don't eat things that are too salty or oily, and should sleep early and wake up early. They would have a healthy body this way – Life was eat, drink, digest, and sleep. It's not wrong. This attitude of viewing something formal as everyday life is nice – but the problem is, getting first place in the Grand Examination is not your ordinary everyday life.

Since he could only get first place, then he will get first place. This statement seemed logical and understandable, but it didn't make any sense. Just like how a weak child could say he wants to pull out a whisker of the most powerful Golden Dragon and use it as a sword. It's a nice fairytale, but if someone actually said that in real life, it would only be regarded as sleeptalking.

That person would be treated as mentally retarded or an idiot. Of course, he may also be a genius like no other.

There is a fine line between a genius and an idiot and that line is probability itself.

Then which side should a person like Chen Chang Sheng, who disregarded the line and believed in himself no matter what, be placed?

Tang Thirty Six is prideful and narcissistic, but today, he found a person who seemed as if he should be calm or perhaps stiff, innocent or perhaps naive, that made him feel an ultimate annihilation in the field of pride and narcissism. – Speaking logically, foolish words from an idiot can't move a true genius like him, but the problem was – when Chen Chang Sheng said a silly thing like this with his sincere and determined eyes, Tang Thirty Six couldn't rebuke or mock him. In the depths of his heart, he felt that the possibility of the impossible actually happening, might truly exist!

Why was this? He has never met a person like Chen Chang Sheng before. – He did things correctly in a correct way, therefore he was bold and he is righteous. – Therefore you can't find a way to reply to his comment. This wordless feeling, that's why Tang Thirty Six didn't reply and held his speech to himself. If Tang Thirty Six knew that Chen Chang Sheng left Madam Xu, the middle aged woman, and that maid Shuang Er at the Divine General's Estate, wordless as well, then he would feel comfort and become sympathetic towards them.

After finishing the tea and almost eating the tea leaves in the cup, Tang Thirty Six finally woke up from the previous shock. He looked at Cheng Chang Sheng, whose expression didn't change in the slightest, as if he hadn't said the previous sentence. Tang couldn't help but shake his head and think to himself 'This guy seems more interesting than I had thought."

"There is not even a year of time left ... although I respect your desire, speaking logically, I really can't give you any words of blessing because that would make me seem fake. I only want to warn you, the Divine General's Estate won't easily give up."

Tang Thirty Six didn't know what grudge was between Chen Chang Sheng and the Divine General's Estate, but he thought that the Capital was under the Divine Empress' rule. If the Divine General's Estate used some down low tactics to interrupt Chen Chang Sheng's future, they wouldn't do anything that was way out of hand.

Chen Chang Sheng was silent for a while and then spoke, "I will try to avoid them."

Tang Thirty Six asked, "But are you able to? Even Star Taker didn't accept you."

Chen Cheng Sheng answered, "This is the thing I didn't understand."

Tang Thirty Six said "The Divine General's Estate can't affect Star Taker Academy, Xu Shi Ji has no ability to do that. I heard... someone at the Palace spoke, that's why I'm really curious about your problem with the Divine General's Estate. What is the secret that even managed to drag the Palace into this matter?"

Now Chen Chang Sheng knew the reason why Star Taker Academy didn't accept him. He felt shocked and was left speechless. After returning to his senses, he felt much better – The Star Taker Academy that he respected so much was facing an invincible force.That's why they did some disrespectful actions.

The next question was, why was there the invincible force?

Let's not speak of the faraway and mysterious West Continent. There were many preeminent places on the Central Continent that ordinary citizens cannot approach. For example, the big factions in the south, the Snow City in the north... but since Zhou Dynasty lead the humans to victory in the war against Demon race, the Zhou Empire's Imperial Palace became the most invincible power.

Rumors said that there were countless cultivators guarding the palace. Other rumors said that there was an old eunuch that was at the Star Fusion realm. Some rumors even said that there was a loyal and powerful giant dragon!

In his fourteen years of life, Chen Chang Sheng had read many things about the Imperial Palace through literature, but he never thought that he would have relationship with this powerful, fearful, and far reaching place. Thinking about the words Tang Thirty Six said, he was wordless, he didn't understand.

"There are countless dogs serving the Divine Empress, Xu Shi Ji is a relatively scary one. But even he had no way to move the people in the Imperial Palace to put pressure on Star Taker Academy. Even if he could, he wouldn't have needed to use so much of his resources. Then, something he didn't need to use too many resources on, but the people at the palace would be willing to do voluntarily..."

Speaking up to this point, Tang Thirty Six's clouded mind suddenly became clear. Looking at the young face of Chen Chang Sheng, his thoughts were a little messy – Did this guy who didn't even know how to treat a guest, really...have a connection with the Phoenix?

He was on the verge of asking Chen Chang Sheng what was going on. But today he had learnt of Chen Chang Sheng's temperament. Since he was unwilling to speak, then no matter what happens he wouldn't say anything. At last, Tang Thirty Six said, "...The most important figure at the Divine General's Estate has always been her. You have to know this."

After saying this sentence, he looked at Chen Chang Sheng's eyes for a long time.

Cheng Chang Sheng was silent for a long time and suddenly he asked, "What kind of person is...She?"

Tang Thirty Six's expression didn't change, but a tsunami rose in his heart. From this sentence of Chen Chang Sheng's and the slight change in his expression when he said the words, Tang Thirty Six knew that there was trouble between him and that Phoenix. But he still didn't know what kind of problem it was.

"It's hard to describe her as a person. There is nothing special with her personality in rumors or from other people's descriptions."

Said Tang Thirty Six, realizing that it was hard to explain. Then he saw Chen Chang Sheng's eyes and suddenly realized something.

"She...is very similar to you."

"She is also a person that makes others speechless."

"Of course, the reason for you making others wordless is that your attitude is too calm and your words are too direct. People feel so melancholic after hearing you speak that they want to cough blood... rumors say she doesn't talk much and doesn't appear in front of others often either. But she is similar to you, she also makes people cough blood."

Chen Chang Sheng was confused.

"She doesn't need to speak, she doesn't need to mock, she doesn't need to look down on others... She just needs to exist. She just needs to stand there and it is enough for people to beome melancholic and cough blood. I will speak the truly, those people include me. She had the bloodline of the Sky Phoenix and awakened herself when she was very little. Her way of cultivation was smooth and she is intelligent. Despite her talent, her effort is also top notch as well. Everything about her is of the best... don't you think people like that are out of hand? Even a genius like me feels hopeless in front her. A person like this, that leaves others speechless is truly hateful."

Tang Thirty Six looked at him and said, "Both of you are friends that leave others speechless. But your ways are completely different. She is truly...special. Many people think that perhaps only Qiu Shan Jun can face this kind of girl and be calm?

After finishing his sentence and seeing that Chen Chang Sheng didn't say anything. He then said his good bye and left the tavern.

After the blue shirted youngster left, Chen Chang Sheng cleaned the table until there was no dust left upon it. He didn't go wash himself or read a book, which was rare. He walked to the center of the yard and moved a bamboo chair under a tree. He looked at the beautiful stars in the sky through the scattered leaves and flowers. There was no expression on his face.

He had heard the names of Xu You Rong and Qiu Shang Jun once again. Although his expression didn't change, his mood did. Putting everything aside, he was still a teenager. Although he dislike the sour feeling, it had risen from within his heart twice since he arrived at the Capital.

He was angry that he failed to be accepted by the academies four times due to the Diving General's Estate. The Imperial Palace sent people to pressure Star Taker Academy, not for the Divine General but for her, which made him angrier. With the anger on top of the sour feeling, he realized that he disliked that girl named Xu You Rong more and more.

When he was little and lived in the temple, he said to his senior that he may hate people, but he wouldn't dislike them.

But now he started to dislike that young girl.

Yes, even if she was the genius. The Sky Phoenix that left all the geniuses from different factions speechless, in Chen Chang Sheng's mind she was still a little girl.

He remembered very clearly, she was born on the eleventh of November and that she was younger than him by three days.

Even if she was younger than him by one day she was little, let alone three days.

He really disliked that woman named Xu You Rong.

Chen Chang Sheng's mood became worse and worse. He thought to himself 'Why did master arrange such a marriage for him?' He got off the chair and took out a scroll made of bamboo from his belt and put it into the deepest box in his luggage. Then he started to wash his face and hands. After washing himself clean, his mood got much better.

There was a marriage vow in that box. He had received the little thing made out of bamboo from the capital when he was eleven years old. He remembered the white crane that had delivered the message along with the vow. He remembered the words in the letter and he remembered, after that day, the white crane never came again.

—————————–

Tonight.

A white crane landed on top of Holy Maiden Peak in the south.

Under a sky full of stars, a young girl sat next to the cliff.

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In the current era, the Orthodoxy used the glory of the Heavenly Tomes to dominate the field of religion. Since the Mausoleum of Books was located in the Capital, the Altar was naturally also located in the Capital. Before the Zhou Dynasty came into power, all Popes had come from the Shang Dynasty. Now that the Shang had collapsed and Zhou had risen to power, every Pope naturally came from Zhou. A dynasty built around the Capital was already powerful, but it was also protected by the Orthodoxy, which naturally made it become the center of the human world.

Compared to the Shang Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty, the southern Central Continent had multiple powers in it. There were many kingdoms, factions, and sects. Although they seem to be scattered all over the place, the number of cultivators in each group couldn't be disregarded. It almost seemed as if the southern region had more cultivators than the Zhou Dynasty had. Of these major powers in the southern region, the most influential were Holy Maiden Peak's Nan Xi Institute, the Longevity Sect, and the clan of Qiu Shan.

After ending the terrible and bloody war between humans and demons, the southern powers felt that they had sacrificed a lot and wanted to rise in power and status. They believed the Mausoleum of Books to be a holy artifact that belonged to the entire human world and shouldn't be controlled by the Zhou Dynasty alone, in the same way, the interpretations of the Heavenly Tomes shouldn't be controlled by the Pope, who represented the Orthodoxy.

For this reason, the southern powers debated and argued with three emperors of the Zhou Dynasty, previous and current, about the procedure and even the name of the Grand Examination. In addition, from within the Orthodoxy, a split occurred, giving rise to the Southern Faith. Although the Southern Faith still belonged to the Orthodoxy, it only viewed the Pope as a spiritual leader. Its affairs were actually handled by the Holy Maiden.

Holy Maidens of the Southern Faith were always the strongest cultivators. But because they needed to balance out the struggles between the multiple powers in the south and had no army for back up, their actual power and status was lower than that of the northern Pope. Nevertheless, they were always the most respected and glorious characters in the south. They held the same power and status as the northern Pope did, spiritually and religiously.

Since the Holy Maiden of the Southern Faith was such a special title and status, it was always appointed to a southern lady. There hadn't been a single exception for several thousand years. Only up until now was there a possibility for an exception.

Every Holy Maiden of the Southern Faith came from the Nan Xi (Southern Creeks) Institute. Because of this, the mountain that this sect was located on was named Holy Maiden Peak. And currently there is only one successor at the Nan Xi Institute.

That successor is a girl named Xu You Rong. She is the reincarnation of the Sky Phoenix. Her talent in cultivation was unmatched. She understood the essence of the Scriptures of The Way and arrived at Holy Maiden Peak when she was just twelve years old. All of the teachers and masters of Holy Maiden Peak were shocked and disregarded her status as a Zhou citizen and announced to the whole world: she will be the only female disciple of the Nan Xi Institute's inner circle. This meant that if there were to be no interference, this young girl named Xu You Rong would become the next Holy Maiden of the Southern Faith, a religious leader that can stand up to the North's Pope!

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The night was dark and heavy with stars scattered across the sky. They never seemed to move and yet they also seemed to relocate with every moment. The quietness was both enjoyable and scary. There was nothing but silence in the mountains during the night. Suddenly, a sharp chirp broke through the clouds and a white crane landed from the night sky.

As star light shone upon it, the white crane in the darkness seemed surreal, as if it were formed of paper and contained no dust. The scream of the crane filled the entire cliff. Perhaps it was because of the time, the night slowly faded into oblivion and white lights appeared on the eastern skyline. The dawn has arrived.

The girl who sat on the cliff took down her luggage from the white crane and picked out the letter. She opened it without much care and read it silently. During the reading, her thin eyebrows raised a couple times, but she was mostly calm. The pupils reflected the weak sunlight like the surface of a lake. The beautiful complexion contained youth but no immaturity.

Because the southern region is very humid, when the sunlight grew stronger, mist started to form. The light was scattered by the wet air and landed on her face, making it appear softer, thus, her visage didn't appear clearer, but it was all the more beautiful. This beauty contained a trace of holiness and righteousness.

"That kid is very strange. He claims to have come to cancel the engagement, but for some weird reasons, he regrets his decision. I don't know what is he trying to do. I originally thought he felt embarrassed and said so intentionally to feel better but after a while I felt that this was not true because when he was speaking, he was very calm and without anger."

"Granny watched him for several days. I heard that this kid would wake up promptly at five o'clock in the morning everyday. He, like a wooden man, treats everything seriously. Also he has mysophobia, sounds like those evil perverts you told me about before and makes people scared. Fine, Miss, I admit that he didn't look so bad. When I was talking to him, I thought he looked handsome which making me feel close to him, but the scary thing was that that was my first time seeing him."

" That kid didn't speak of the engagement to the public or anyone else. I am not sure if he is smart or just stupid. Anyways, the family has always sent people to stalk him. Miss, I always thought that the kid is very hypocritical. He thinks so much and demands much more. I will take a look at the most currrent situation. If he still wants to twist the matter, His Grace (the Divine General) and the Madam may start preparing to do something."

"Miss, even though I think that kid doesn't deserve to die, I don't approve of his actions. He holds the engagement and mocks the demesne (the estate) thinking he has a strong backing. I feel that he is full of vengeance. Furthermore...I heard that the Qiu Shang clan will come to the Capital next year to propose a marriage. What if that rascal tries to cause trouble?"

...

The young girl who sat on the cliff read the letter quietly. Her clothes fluttered along the morning wind. Her dark hair floated lightly like silk. They all added some awe-inspiring character to her beauty.

After reading, she remained silent for a while and whispered to herself: "He actually went to the Capital?"

The white crane was waiting silently on a side while the girl was reading. Even when it was squatting down, it had half a man's height. After seeing the girl close the letter, the white crane turned around. It used its mouth to get a pen brush from somewhere and the brush tip was filled with ink. The place where the ink was produced was unknown, but it actually emitted a cold fragrance.

The girl smiled and touched the white crane's slippery thin neck. She took the pen brush and prepared to give a reply but for a moment she did not know what to write.

She had been close to her grandfather since a very young age. If her grandfather hadn't passed away, she might not have left the Capital and came to the Nan Xi Institute at the age of twelve. Even the white crane by her side was given to her by her grandfather. If her grandfather wanted her to do something, she would definitely do it but ...engagement was definitely not ok.

The little Taoist priest from Xi Ning Village should have the last name of Chen?

She slightly frowned, recalling the things she heard in childhood, realizing that she had no impression of the little Taoist priest.

She remembered that her grandfather specifically asked the current Pope to notarize the engagement. Only the male side could cancel the engagement. She then remembered what Shuang Er said in the letter. Her thin eyebrows stirred up a bit and she thought silently. Was that little Taoist priest really that bothersome and hypocritical? She remembered that when they were young, she didn't have the impression that he was that kind of person.

She knew that many people in the Capital, including her father, all wished that she would represent the Zhou Dynasty and marry to the south, and that they would absolutely not allow the little Taoist priest to influence this. Even more extreme, they most likely would kill him if he tried. She thought that this little Taoist priest was truly stupid and dumb. Did he really think that he could gain an advantage from the Divine General's Estate simply because of his little cunning brain?

Thinking of this point, she felt somewhat unhappy.

Unhappiness was a rare feeling for her. She was not sure if it's because the little Taoist priest didn't know how to protect himself or...

Fine, that little Taoist priest was truly irritating.

Fine, no matter how much the little Taoist priest has changed, the engagement must be canceled.

Yet...there was no need to hurt him.

—————————————————

With a sharp scream, the white crane carried the girl's two letters and flew away into the cloud. With the morning gale and sunlight, it flew to the distant Capital.

The girl placed her brush into the water and stood up. She walked on the cliff wearing a cotton shirt and placed her hands behind her back.

Her eyes were young but they were filled with an extraordinary attitude.

She is the world's sole existing young phoenix.

She is the next Holy Maiden of the Southern Faith.

She is first upon the Proclamation of Azure Clouds.

She is Xu You Rong.

She was still innocent. She had a kind of innocence that was not mischievous but naive.

She smiled brilliantly. The kind of brilliance she showed was not of emotion, but of spring wind.

She did not wish to care about the world and its people. What people considered to be related to her, were actually not related to her at all. Such as the engagement she was about to leave behind in her memories, and perhaps, even Qiu Shan Jun.

She had to admit that senior Qiu Shan Jun was very strong, to a nearly perfect extent. He was the best husband to have in everyone's eyes, but why did that matter to her?

This was all very, very good, but this was not what she wanted.

Of course, the little Taoist priest was even less of what she wanted.

What she wanted to do now was to sit on the cliff and enjoy watching the snow, hearing the rain, reading, reading, and more reading.

Within books, there contained a grand Dao. One scroll already surpassed countless lovers.

She solely concentrated on revering The Way. Who could stop her?

...

Chen Chang Sheng left the inn, walking to the second to last school on the roster his Master gave him.

He really wanted to know what Miss Xu would do today to make him fail.

Of course, even if he failed again, he wouldn't change his mind.

What he had done ever since he was young was to watch the temple, sweep the snow, eat medicine, read, read, and more reading.

Within books, there contained a grand Dao. One scroll already surpassed a thousand mountains and seas.

He solely concentrated on seeking The Way. Who could stop him?

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Chen Chang Sheng walks in a very peculiar fashion. Its uniqueness was due to the fact that his walking manner was very robot-like. He always did things systematically which included walking. He would always raise his legs a certain height, bend at a constant angle, and walk the same distance with each step. He looked straight forward and only looked at the places near him. He kept his chest up not too pretentiously straighten up but to naturally look like a green pine tree. His dark hair was tied up tightly, which was no longer tied with a Taoist hair clasp, but instead casually tied with a fabric cloth, which showed meticulosity. His cloths were also very common. Because they were probably washed many times, they had turned white and were extremely clean. Even on the surface of his shoes, there wasn't any dirt which was very cultured of him. As he walked, a short sword tied on his waist moved slightly back and forward. This sword, like him, was also very common.

A few days ago, he kept this short sword in the inn. Today was his first time taking it with him. The common sword symbolized an uncommon meaning. During his conversation with the mid-aged lady, he learned that if Dong Yu General's Mansion really wanted to continue to do anything, this short sword was his preparation. Yet this short sword was like his personality, very regular and common, extremely unnoticable. It could not be compared to the legendary "Frozen", "Two Ends," "Thorn". It wouldn't even compare to the weapons possessed by people walking on the sidewalk. So how could it help him?

Outside of the inn, he unsurprisingly saw the carriage from the Dong Yu General's Mansion. Under the sunny sunshine, the bloody phoenix label on the wheel became much clearer as if it were burning. The warhorse that possessed noble bloodline of unicorn, headed up arrogantly and looked down on him.

Walking pass that carriage, he held the handle of his short sword but after a while he loosened his hand. After a long time, he finally arrived at the destination. He was somewhat surprised that his destination was actually so close to the Royal Palace. Standing by the street corner, he could clearly see the lofty royal buildings, and it seemed that he could even smell the scent of the palaces' history.

Walking into the Hundred Blossom Street, his confusion intensified. Would a place so close to the Royal Palace actually hide a school? Then why was it so deserted? Finally at the end of street, he saw the entrance door to the school. The walls on two sides were covered by ivies and sunlight passed through leaving an extremely diluted and mottled shadow. There wasn't a name sign.

Was the school here? He wanted to ask someone but the street was very quiet. Unlike the crowded streets outside of the Heavenly Academy and Startaker Academy, the street had no one around. He stood for a long while but still no one passed by. The only thing he could see around him was the broken school entrance door. This place was close to the Royal Palace, but it looked like a wasteland that no one would bother to ask.

He walked to the wall beside the entrance door and pulled the dense ivy branches away. He eventually saw a word carved on the wall. That word was "Guo"(nation). The previously vivid paint in the deeply carved word had already faded away due to years of erosion. Even the wall's surface itself had a signal of exfoliation.

Thinking about the name of the school, Chen Chang Sheng was slightly surprised. The words carved on the wall confirmed that the school he was looking for was really here. He couldn't help but feel even more confused. The previous schools his master chose for him were the most famous and excellent schools in the continent, why was this school so deserted and quiet?

When he was thinking, his hands still held the ivy. He then pulled it down again and saw the second word. It was the word "jiao"(teach). He did not have time to feel depressed. He pulled the ivy that no one had taken care of for many years and slided down quickly. He then shook the dirt to fly up from the ground.

Chen Chang Sheng walked back a several steps to prevent himself from touching the dirt.

The ivies fell and the dirt gradually settled. Shortly the wall that had not seen the sky for many years had finally appeared in front of people again.

On the old wall four words were carved.

"The Traditional Academy."(name unsettled)

The words deeply carved into the stone did not have much paint on it. Instead there were only stacked dirts and the dead leaves that fell from the ivies last year. The corners of the words were even eroded harshly by wind and rain. If people didn't look carefully enough, they wouldn't have seen the words that were carved.

Staring at the wall, Chen Chang Sheng remained silent for a long time. He felt somewhat sad and frustrated. He who solely concentrated on the way of xiu xing would rarely show any emotions like now. Yes, now he just wanted to turn around and leave — such a shabby school, even if he got in, how would it help his life?

He looked up at the sky, ascertaining that there was still some time. He decided to take a look at this shabby school. If it was not good, then he would go to the last school on the roster

His hand touched the door and lightly pushed.

"Zhi Ya."

After many years, the Traditional Academy's entrance door was finally opened up again.

...

The carriage from Dong Yu General's mansion stopped by outside of the Hundred Blossom Street. The arrogant white horse slightly lifted up his head and felt really bored. Inside the wagon, the mid aged lady's feeling was not as calm as the horse's. She felt heavily confused. She whispered to herself, "Why did he come here?"

She understood clearly that the school located at the end of the Hundred Blossom Street had already fallen, but she also knew that this youngster seemed to be very good at bringing people surprises. She didn't dare to neglect his actions. She pointed her finger lightly toward a direction indicating to the white horse to pull the wagon in, but at that moment, another carriage was driven across from the sideway blocking the front.

The Hundred Blossom Street was very narrow. It could only fit one carriage at a time. Now that the carriage brutally blocked in the front, the carriage from the General's Mansion obviously couldn't enter. The mid aged lady frowned slightly and felt somewhat unhappy. But because she knew that this place was really close to the Royal Palace so she did not yell at the opponent to move away immediately.

However, while the mid-aged lady didn't even get angry, the white horse could no longer bare it. It possessed unicorn's bloodline, how could it permit a little black donkey to block its way? He trotted up angrily and was about to shout and scare the other off, but the animal in front of the wagon slowly turned its head and gave it a glance.

(TL: I swore I thought the horse wasn't that arrogant or maybe i read it wrong but whoa that one arrogant ass horse bc of his blood O.o)

It was not a black donkey, but a black goat. Its hair was as slippery as silk and apparently it was not a regular animal.

The most surprising thing was its look, so deep and cold, like some legendary being above the cloud.

If the white horse was noble because of its unicorn bloodline, then this black goat's elegance was entirely originated from itself. In front of the black goat, the white horse was like an easily irritated mischievous child and the goat was like one of the royal family standing high above the masses.

That black goat turned around and gave him a glance.

The white horse was about to shout angrily but after seeing the black goat's cold and indifferent look, it immediately became quiet. Its eyes showed fear. His front hoof suddenly lost energy and could no longer support its heavy body. The white horse heavily fell on the ground. Its entire body was shaking and it did not dare to stand up. It was as if the white horse was submitting itself to the rule of the black goat.

The mid-aged lady rushed out of the wagon. Seeing the white horse kneeling on the ground, she felt dumbfounded and could not say a word. This horse was the only son of the General's mount and was extremely arrogant all the time but now it had become a coward. When she turned and saw the black goat, she suddenly remembered something. When she looked towards the green carriage again, she felt extremely horrified.

She kneeled down as fast as she could and made a salute to the green carriage. Her face was pale and she didn't dare to speak at all.

An old voice came out of the green carriage.

"I want to go in first, Does Hua Nanny have any problem?"

Hearing this sound, the mid-aged lady felt slightly calmer. The person who came was not that girl, but the girl's nanny. As to why the nanny knew her last name was Hua, she did not have to think at all. Of course, she would know everything.

Inside the green carriage was also a nanny, but compared to her, a nanny in the General's Mansion, that nanny must be the most famous one in the capital. Even Zhou Tong, who scared off the royal family members, officials, and the Generals, had to smile to this nanny if he met her, so why did she matter so much?

"Nanny must be joking. I did not recognize you before, so I did not show enough respect. I hope nanny will accept my apology."

The mid-aged lady spoke with a slightly shaken voice. She felt lucky that she did not criticize the carriage before, but even so she still did not dare to hide her previous disrespectful thoughts. Because according to legend in front of that black goat, any concealment was seeking death. Moreover she knew that only if she apologized would the nanny feel satisfied.

If Dong Yu General's Mansion had not been closely related to that girl, she wouldn't even dare to explain right now, but instead chop off her hand as an apology.

The nanny inside the green carriage asked, "Are you stalking that youngster?"

The mid-aged lady did not dare to look up and carefully replied "yes." Until now she was sure that the girl in the palace had always known about these things.

That nanny said, "You don't have to today."

The mid-aged lady felt a bit surprised. With her head down, she asked with a shaking voice, "Can nanny explain please?"

The nanny's voice contained no emotion: "Do I have to explain everything to you?"

The mid-aged lady bowed down as an apology and did not dare to say a word.

That black goal glanced at her before it turned back and pulled that green carriage to the end of the Hundred Blossom Street.

It wasn't until after a really long time did the mid-aged lady dare to look up. Although she lifted her face off the ground, her face still looked pale.

The nanny in the green carriage, indeed did not have to explain anything to others. Even if the opponent was the General's Mansion.

Because she was Mo Yu's nanny.

...

Glory from the distant past can be seen faintly from the construction that the school had but it lacked traces of humans and was all broken down.

Chen Chang Sheng stood by the lake. He looked at the extremely long wild grasses under his feet and had nothing to say. The reason why he decided to come in and take a look previously was because he remembered reading the records of this school in the Scrolls of Way. It could be named using "the Tradition" as its prefix. The school had a long history. It used to be an extremely strong and cultivated countless outstanding students. However...why would it become so rundown now?

The water in the lake was flowing silently. The buildings were old and no one was here.

He had many questions to ask but he did not know who to ask.

At this moment, a sound came from behind him.

He turned back and saw a black goat.

The black goat gave people a weird feeling.

If common people were in his situation inside a quiet environment and saw such a black goat, most would subconsciously feel scared or at least they would jump away, but Chen Chang Sheng didn't. He really like this black goat. This black goat was very clean just like him. He picked some grass from the side of the lake, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe the water on the grass, and delivered it to the black goat.

The black goat looked at him silently. It turned its head and appeared confused. It was as if it didn't know what Chen Chang Sheng wanted to do.

No one had fed this black goat grass before.

Even people like prince Chen Liu or the Prince didn't dare to feed it grass.

Everyone in the palace knew that it only ate the fruits Mo Yu picked by hand.

"Eat. It doesn't have water so you won't get diarrhea."

Chen Chang Sheng looked at this black goat and shook the grass in hand and said seriously.

The black goat understood what this youngster meant. Its look changed a bit as if it just saw an idiot.

How would Chen Chang Sheng know? So he continued to put the green grass up.

The black goat felt a bit annoyed but for no reason, it kind of liked this youngster's smell.

It hesitated for a while but eventually stepped up and bent down its head a bit. It took several grass from Chen Chang Sheng's hand and slowly began to eat.

Under the tree not so far away, an old lady who had a yellow poplar cane in her hand was looking at the scene. The wrinkles on her face were slightly shaking just like the grass touched by the wind.

Even when she saw the previous queen smother the prince, she had not felt this much shock.

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The reason why the elder woman was shocked was because she knew how prideful and indifferent the black goat was. It was raised by Lady Mo Yan herself. It liked cleanliness so much that it became a strange habit that only the unique Unicorns could rival. Not to mention that the wild grass was grown around the lake. The goat wouldn't even look at the food that royal relatives carefully prepare for it much less this type of grass. But at this moment, it just accepted the wild grass from the newly met youngster and ate it!

What the old woman saw next was even more shocking to her. After the black goat finished the wild grass, it didn't leave but instead it rubbed its head against the palm of the youngster. It seemed to like the touch of the young boy.

Why is this? The elder woman wrinkled her eyebrows slightly and walked to the lake with the aid of her wooden cane. Looking at the youngster sitting in front of the black goat, she noticed the naturally friendly aura around him. Her mood settled a little, but immediately became insecure. A person who could calm her down like this could be of danger. She had to be alert around him.

Chen Chang Sheng stood up and looked at the elder woman "Madam, is this your goat?"

The elder lady squinted her eyes slightly, "Do you know who I am?"

Chen Chang Sheng was a little surprised, "No, I do not."

The elder lady asked indifferently, "Then why did you call me Madam?"

Chen Chang Sheng was confused. he thought 'How else can I address a lady of her age? The woman in the carriage of General's Mansion was a madam. The dish washer in the tavern was a madam. Even the chief on the boat was madam. There are countless madams in the world, what is the difference?'

The elder woman saw his confused expression and realized that she thought too much. She realized that her alertness toward the youngster was unnecessary. She couldn't resist but wrinkle her eyebrows again and felt that something was wrong. She knew that the alertness and indifference present in the few exchanges of lines were originated from her liking of the youngster.

This young boy was so ordinary but it was easy for people to be attracted to him. The black goat and herself were both attracted to him easily. Why was this?

The elder woman looked at the ruined buildings and thought back to the glorious days of this place. She also thought of the bloody and horrific stories behind it. When she thought of the specialty of this youngster, the insecurity in her heart grew stronger. She decided not to waste anymore time and said directly, "You can call me Madam Ning."

Chen Chang Sheng bowed and greeted, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Madam Ning."

Madam Ning said, "If you knew that the reason Starseeker Academy didn't accept you was me, do you still think it is still a pleasure?"

The cold air of early spring spread when the wind blew across the dense grass. All was silent.

Chen Chang Sheng straightened his back and looked at the elder lady. He was surprised. Yesterday, Tang Thirty Six said in the tavern that the General Mansion had no power to influence the Starseeker Academy and his result was the command of someone in the royal palace. And this Madam Ning...Was she the one?

"You dare to hold that marriage vow and walk around the capital. I don't know if you are truly brave or just an idiot." Madam Ning said expressionlessly.

Chen Chang Sheng remained silent for a while, "No one cares about me besides the General's Mansion."

Madam Ning said "If people knew that you are the fiance of the Phoenix girl, millions of people will come to murder you."

Chen Chang Sheng said, "I'm still alive, which proves that the General's Mansion doesn't want others to know about the existence of this marriage vow."

Madam Ning looked at this at asked, "What if the General's Mansion wants to kill you?"

Chen Chang Sheng was silent once again but replied shortly afterward, "Since the Divine Queen is in power, they must care about the entire plot."

Madam Ning raised her eyebrows slightly. She didn't expect that this fourteen years old youngster could see through the true reason for the careful actions of the General's mansion. "As time goes on, the pressure on them will increase. There will be a day that the General's Mansion wouldn't want to be caution anymore."

"Then I will resist." Chen Chang Sheng held the sword handle around his waist tightly.

Madam Ning looked at the ordinary short sword around his waist and mocked, "You don't know how to xiuxing and want to use a single short sword to defend against the xiuxingist in the General's Mansion? What do you think this short sword is? A legendary weapon? Can it compare to the Frozen of the First emperor or the Thorn in the hand of the family of Qiu Shan?"

Chen Chang Sheng didn't speak.

"Even if you don't hand back the marriage vow, you can still live."

Madam Ning said, "But you can't tell anymore about the marriage vow. Even if the Demon Emperor came here himself, your life will perish."

This sentence wasn't exactly threatening him because it wasn't a threat. It was just stating a true fact – if the Demon Emperor couldn't save his life, then no one in the world will be able to protect him. Madam Ning represented the command of the Zhou Royal Palace.

Chen Chang Sheng must admit it but he felt wronged in that he had no other options. But what Madam Ning said was also good news to him. He just didn't understand. Why did she harshly crush his future in the Starseeker Academy the day before but now changed her idea?

"Someone wants you to live and want you to be undisturbed. My lady doesn't like to see a changing variable. Because of this she didn't like you to have a future of possibilities. This used to be a messy situation..."

Madam Ning looked at the buildings of the Classical Teaching, which were in ruins. She suddenly smiled and said. "Who could've thought that you would jumped into this exhausted well yourself. Now I can solve this problem..."

Chen Chang Sheng's attention was attracted by the latter information of her sentence, therefore he missed the previous words.

Future? possibilities? exhausted well? problem?

He suddenly grew insecure. From the words of Madam Ning, he felt that walking into Classical Teaching might be a big mistake.

He said without hesitation, "I haven't decide to enter the Classical Teaching."

Madam Ning looked at him "You must enter the Classical Teaching."

"Why?"

"You walked here yourself, therefore it's your choice."

"I changed my idea."

"Sorry, but I'm not Madam Xu."

Madam Ning looked at him expressionlessly, "I can care less if I kill you."

Chen Chang Sheng was silent for a long time. He knew he couldn't reject, but he was still unsatisfied.

"I didn't take a test or receive an acceptance letter."

"The Classical Teaching has no principal or teacher, therefore there is no test. But it can still accept students."

Madam Ning took out a thin piece of paper and handed it to him. "This is a recommendation letter from the Pope himself. You are able to enter any academy."

Without waiting for a reply from Chen Chang Sheng, she said without emotion "But you can only enter the Classical Teaching.

Chen Chang Sheng took the paper and looked at the sloppy signature and the fancy yet difficult stamp on the signature. He didn't know what to say.

He didn't know that he had the chance to see the signature of the Pope during his life. He should be excited, but it was hard for him to be excited due to the situation he was in. Looking at the color of the signature and the stamp, it wasn't made recently. But the name of the academy was recently filled and should be the work of this Madam Ning.

"First, don't tell anymore about the marriage vow. Second, you will live. Third, no one will disturb your future."

Madam Ning looked at him expressionlessly and he responded, "Deal."

After saying all this, she turned around and walked out of the Classical Teaching. Although the wild grass growing around the lake was tall, it couldn't touch her simple dress.

For a person of her status, it's an impossible and meaningless thing for herself to talk to a youngster of fourteen years old.

The words she previously spoke were true. If a person is dead, what's the point of a marriage vow? Although she thought nicely of the youngster, how many nice youngsters die in the capital every year? If it wasn't for the letter from last night, maybe he would be dead already. If he is a smart person, then he would be able to guess who let him live, and he would know what to do next.

It was the best choice for everyone. Maybe except for him, but who cares?

Thinking about this, Madam Ning walked further and further away.

The black goat followed her. But before they walked out of the door, it turned its head and looked at Chen Chang Sheng for a moment.

Chen Chang Sheng stood around the lake. He held the piece of paper in his hand and remained silent.

Even now he still didn't know the true identity of that Madam Ning, but he was forced to accept a trade.

He didn't know the truth behind his trade, but he knew that if he accepted it, it would be beneficial for everyone – he knew more than anything else that maybe others thought he would not benefit from this trade, but in reality he obtained the benefit the moment he held the paper.

Therefore he wasn't angry, he was just a little sad.

Chen Chang Sheng's intention of coming to the capital wasn't for the marriage to the girl named Xu You Rong. It had no connection with General Mansion, the Royal Palace, or other names that had no relation with him. He didn't want anything to do with these places either. The only thing he desired were books, xiuxing, and the championship of the Great Trail.

Before the Great Trail was the Semi Trial, and it will be open next month. He didn't know how to xiuxing and didn't reach Purification yet. He would have no chance to pass and obtain the permission to enter the Great Trail. How then will he obtain the championship? Because of this, he had to enter one of the six academies on the list.

Those six academies were the oldest and best academies in the history of the capital. Since there were ivies growing outside of the walls of these academies, they were referred to as the Ivy League – only the students of the Ivy League were able to enter the Great Trial without going through the Semi Trail.

Now, he finally became a student of one of the Ivy League. It seemed that his wish was fulfilled, but...there was too much ivy growing on the walls of this academy.

This was the road his master and senior planned for him before Chen Chang Sheng left Xi Ning Village.

But it was clear that they didn't know that the once glorious and historical Classical Teaching was now in ruins.

Chen Chang Sheng stood around the lake and watched the academy which was not much different from a graveyard. He couldn't resist but to question his future.

After a long time, he woke up in a breeze of spring. After breathing deeply five times and pushing out the last bit of discomfort in his body, he folded the thin paper neatly and stored it within his shirt. Chen Chang Sheng followed the old path in the grassfield and walked towards the depths of the academy.

(TL Note Bing: I just wonder who the person being nice to him is in the chapter O.o The one that didn't want him to die and the words that the MC just ignored... Any guesses guys? I take my pick to be Xu You Rong.)

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Chen Chang Sheng deeply cared about time.

Realizing that the one he had to marry was a phoenix, he continuously suffered humiliation and suppression from people with high positions. Even the royal palace appeared...If he was a normal youngster, he probably already would feel extremely depressed or have some mental traumas, but he did not have time to feel upset. He did not have time to get angry because the thing he lacked the most was time.

When he sees a goal, Chen Chang Sheng is the type to go for it without hesitation. He would not think back and forth and he did not need to shout out, but he simply stayed determined and insisted on competing for time.

His current goal right now was to obtain the first place on the Great Trial in a year.

To him who still did not successfully purify, this goal was truly too far away. Yesterday after he announced his goal in inn, even the most arrogant and narcissistic Tang Thirty Six was completely wordless. Although others would think the goal to be a dream, Chen Chang Sheng did not change his mind at all, but instead cherished every second because he knew that this goal was very far away.

The Tradition Academy was broken and declined but so what? The buildings are conquered by green ivies and the stones from them are about to fall off but so what? Chen Chang Sheng didn't care and he didn't have time to care. He determinedly and dedicatedly walked on his own path. He left the lakeside and walked deeper into the school. He was prepared to find people inside and start his school life immediately...

After half an hour, he stood in the court alone. The entire ground was filled with wild grasses. He could faintly hear insects humming, but there was only him looking around blankly.

He did not find a single soul in the academy. Previously he thought that no matter how broken and deserted The Tradition Academy was, it had at least some teachers or even a janitor. But how could one anticipate that after he searched the entire school, not to talk about man's shadow, he could not even see any traces proving that people had came here recently.

There used to be a majestic teaching building behind the center garden of the Classical Teaching, but now it was all in ruins. Any structures above second floor were destroyed. Only half of the fountain and stone lion was left. A few green plants were growing out of the leftover of the stone lion and blossomed purple flowers, both beautiful and melancholic .

It clear to him that the ruin of the academy wasn't due to the erosion of wind and rain nor the doing of time. There should've been a terrible battle ten or twenty years ago and the teaching building was in the radius of the fight. Chen Chang Sheng thought silently and shook his head. He headed for the relatively persevered building to the right.

That building was built with stone and wood and was about several yards tall. The stone wall was full of ivies and moss. The paint on the walls and windows were all gone. It looked extremely poor. There was a label on top of the stone stairs and it took him quite a while to recognize the words on it. He later determined that the building was probably a library.

He walked towards the window and looked into the building. Although the light was a little dim, he still observed the inside clearly. There were shelves upon shelves of books inside. Chen Chang Sheng was a little surprised because he didn't expect that after years of neglect the Classical Teaching still had this many books. Even if the Tradition didn't confiscated them, did the government not care as well?

Book was the first thing he touched in this world and the object that he was most familiar with. Books are just like milk to a baby for normal person as they are for him. He was naturally close to books because it could offer him spiritual comfort. – As he was looking at countless books through the window, mysteriously his negative mood turned a little upbeat.

He walked to the front door and was about to push in until he saw a bronze lock on the knob. The locket was grey and dull and it was some old relic. It was hard to tell how long the door was left undisturbed but the most important thing was that there was a powerful presence inside the locket.

Chen Chang Sheng thought there was a strong enchant in the locket.

No wonder after the Classical Teaching was left neglected for so many years, its storage of literature was still perfectly safe from thieves and bandits. After realizing this, his mood got even better. But he didn't know how to open the locket because he didn't have the key. He also didn't know if there was still a key. Even if there was a key, where is it? Whose hand was it in?

He didn't even know who to ask because there was no one in the academy to ask.

But he wasn't bothered because even though he couldn't enter no one could either. Following his previous path he walked towards the dorms of the academy. The dorms were consisted of dozens of small buildings and they were a big part of the campus. Everywhere tall greens and ivies were growing. Perhaps it was a nice environment back in the days, but now it's kind of gloomy and dark.

He randomly chose a door and opened it. The first thing he experienced was the musty smell. He saw the dust and spider web and decided to break the window inside the room. He realized that it will be hard to clean and will take a long to organize. He shook his head and left. Chen Chang Sheng thought it would be a long time before he could to move from the tavern to here.

Standing on the stone path outside of the small building and looking at the dense forest covering the sun and sky, he heard the chirping of the insects and birds. He felt the gloomy setting of the dark forest and felt that the truth was lost in time. Chen Chang Sheng slowly closed his eyes.

Ten or twenty years ago, countless talented young students were walking on the stone path shoulder to shoulder or sitting on the chairs together. Sometimes there would be clashing of swords in the forest. Everywhere was filled with the chanting of the Scroll of the Way. Sometimes laughter could be heard from the small buildings behind him. From far away, the sound of the bell from the royal palace could be heard and the students were running happily with bowls in their hands.

He opened his eyes and all of these scenes vanished. The only things left were the lonely forest and the small buildings that had been destroyed.

The Classical Teaching was located in the very center of the capital and was the neighbor of the royal palace but it had been forgotten by the entire world.

The once happy and glorious place was gone. The laughter and chatting was no where to be found. There was only him standing alone in the forest.

He suddenly felt sad but it was only for a short duration. This feeling quickly vanished from within him.

He felt nice here, if he could see those images once again.

——————————————————–

Chen Chang Sheng was able to see the peak of the Classical Teachings. He was able to see the talented young students and the images from the past. It's not because he had some special abilities or because he was daydreaming, it was because he read literatures and stories about this academy.

He pulled down the ivies from the stone walls of the academy and saw the label "Classical Teaching". Many records of the Scroll of the Way flashed into his head and transformed into actual information. These information became images which were carved into his brain. Chen Chang Sheng suddenly realized he actually knew a lot about the history and events of this school.

It was not complicated or hard for Chen Chang Sheng. If he could remember the most insignificant note in the Law of the Heavenly Academy and the complex military rule of the Starseeker Academy, then it's only natural that he also remembered some history and legacy of the Classical Teaching. The Three Thousand Scroll of the Way contained too many information.

Maybe he was the only student of the Classical Teaching and maybe, as Madam Ning mentioned, it didn't even have a teacher. But since he was going to start studying in the Classical Teaching, then he must start working. For example, he needs to obtain the key to the library. He needs to request for fundings. – He remembered very clearly, the Zhou government gave every school educational fundings. If the academy exist, then the funding will be given yearly. The Starseeker obtain their share through the military while the Classical Teaching receive their share from the Department of Traditional Education.

The lucky thing was, the key and name list of the Classical Teaching should also be stored and saved there.

Chen Chang Sheng left the Classical Teaching and followed the instruction on the map. Not for long, he arrived at the Department of the Traditional Education – it was a relatively unnoticeable building. There were only thirty steps of stone stairs in front of it. Although the columns were very tall, they were still very unnoticeable because there were dozens of evergreen planted outside of the building and covered the whole scene up.

No matter how bright the daylight was, it was hard to light up everything inside.

The department of traditional education's entrance had very little people. After a long time, a priest wearing black robe would occasionally pass by. Chen Chang Sheng walked up the staircase and felt a bit strange. Then he noticed that behind the building there was a very crowded place. Many people were chatting about something there.

Walking into the department of traditional education, he found the related officers and said "I want to get student roster and key."

"What student roster and key?"

That officer murmured with his eyes slightly narrowed. His face was chubby and contemptuous, but not to look down instead simply because he almost fell asleep in the spring wind dreaming about something fantastic.

Chen Chang Sheng increased his volume and said, "The Tradition Academy's student roster and key."

The officer slowly opened up his eyes, yawned, walked to the window, and washed his face. Finally having a clearer mind, he walked back to the desk and looked at Chen Chang Sheng irritated. He took out files from the drawer and said "Say your school's name again."

This time, Chen Chang Sheng paid more attention on pronunciation and said with a clear articulation and a mellow and full tone, "The Tradition Academy."

That officer did not even think. He felt that this name was completely strange. He stopped looking in the file, looked up at Chen Chang Sheng, frowned and said, "Since when does the capital have such school? Is it registered? Did it pay all the taxes? Who authorized it?"

"It's not a new school, it's The Tradition Academy."

The...Tradition...Academy.

That officer frowned and thought for a while, feeling that he had heard this name before but couldn't remember. In the past ten years, he had made countless contacts with various school in the capital, but he never heard a school named The Tradition Academy...Suddenly, he remembered.

Chen Chang Sheng did not know what happened.

That officer said with a slightly cold voice "Are you joking?"

Chen Chang Sheng felt a bit strange, thinking that what kind of jokes are you trying to make?

That officer stood up suddenly, heavily pat the desk and shouted, "Do you think this is a place for jokes??!!!"

Chen Chang Sheng wanted to say something but didn't get a chance.

That officer angrily scolded: "Which school are you from! How dare you make fun of teachers!"

Chen Chang Sheng said innocently: "I am really a student of The Tradition Academy."

That officer looked at him as if he was staring at an idiot and said, "Lie, keep lying."

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Let's not talk about the Southern sect yet, but only the northern one. The Tradition was located in the capital. There are six Holy Churches and the Talented Church is the one responsible for educating the youth. It included the regulation of Heavenly Academy, Classical Teaching, Priest Academy, and dozens of other schools. The Talented Church was actually in the same department as the Zhou Educational system. The Holy Educational Department was the common title that citizens called the department. Since the department represented power, religion, and knowledge, no one bothered to offend it and it worked in peace.

Chen Chang Sheng stood in the empty hallway and was covered in the shade of the giant stone column. He turned his head back towards the room and remembered the yelling of the officer. He thought to himself, the quality of the building of the Holy Church was for sure exquisite. Its soundproof system was so perfect that no one outside of the room heard the yelling of the officer.

There were more than ten thousand of students in the capital and they were all under the regulation of officers and officials in this building. It's easy to say that they were extremely busy most of the time. Above the shiny malphite floor, countless feet wore all kinds of boots and moved around the building. Although the crowd was like waves in the sea, there were no noise besides the footsteps.

No one took noticed of the youngster under the shade of the stone column and no one voluntarily went to talk to him. A long time had passed and the sun had moved from the east to the west. The shade finally moved from his body to an eastern position. It wasn't until afternoon that someone noticed his presence.

Maybe because the Holy Church was almost closing, people's mind got a little bit loose. Different kind of voices started to appear in the building and wasn't as quiet as it was in the morning. A whisper was heard behind Chen Chang Sheng. The whisper was so low that it sounded like rats were biting on something and made his ear itchy. Instinctively Chen Chang Sheng lowered his head even more.

"What is that youngster doing standing there? I think he stood there for almost the entire day."

"Oh, you talking about that kid? I asked around during lunch and heard he got yelled at by Officer Xin... They say he was here to request of this year's educational funding and wanted to pick up some stuff?"

"Funding? Wasn't it already released by February? Which of the academies didn't get their share? It's impossible! Judging from the aggressive style of those academy principals, if we actually owed them money, they definitely can't endure it until today. Besides, even if we did owe them, why would they send a student to pick up the funding?"

"I agree. That's why Officer Xin didn't care what he said and told him to leave at once. But I don't know why this youngster is still unwilling to leave."

"Which academy is this kid from?"

"I heard it's the Classical Teaching."

"What?"

"The Classical Teaching."

There was a wowing in the crowd and then came laughter.

"This joke sure is meaningless. No wonder Officer Xin was so mad."

"Who doesn't know that Classical Teaching has been empty for so long? There in't even any teachers left, speak less of students. I guess it's just some pranks for the freshmen in some academies and that kid was unlucky enough to be picked by the seniors. They commanded him to pick up some stuff from us or he wouldn't be able to pass the prank."

"Well, these welcoming parties sure are becoming less and less logical and respectful."

"For sure. They even dare to come to the Holy Educational Department to pull off some pranks."

"Ugh, so which academy do you guys think this kid is really from? Aside all this, this prank seems to be interesting nonetheless."

"Should be the Starseeker Academy. That youngster has been standing there for the entire day and his posture didn't change once. What kind of academy besides Starseeker could have this kind of student?"

"I think not. The military rules in the Starseeker are extremely strict. The welcoming pranks in the past few years at most were stealing some darts from the supply camp. Why would they come to the Holy Educational Department? I think the best bet would be the Heavenly Academy. The students in that academy are familiar with this place and are not afraid of it. Even if they do get in trouble, the kids just need to call their family to help them out. The department wouldn't go into a big mess with such small things."

———————————————

In the eyes of these officers, that youngster with his head down standing in the hallway should be some sad newcomer who got bullied by his seniors. When they are discussing, they forgot to avoid Chen Chang Sheng. Even though their voices were low, they were still heard clearly by the youngster.

Chen Chang Sheng had his head down looking at the ground. His shadow constantly moved on the ground. When it was about to touch the stairs, he realized that he wasted half a day waiting and felt a little gloomy. After hearing these discussions, he realized why previously people were so mad and did not allow him to go in.

How could he make the other believe him that he was actually the first freshman of the Tradition Academy after so many years? Even if they believed in it, how could he, in the shortest time, get the keys to the library, the roster of the school staffs, the school seal and the money from them? He did not want to waste time like he did today waiting to be received.

There was a bell coming far away from the direction of the Royal Palace. Moments later music came from the direction of the Mausoleum of the Books. Chen Chang Sheng thought of something, looked up, walked to the room that he kicked him out before unhesitatingly. Such sudden actions drew many people's attention immediately.

He pushed the door and went in. He walked to the table and spoke to the person behind the table: "Hi, I want to get the Tradition Academy's roster, key, and money."

That person was the officer Xin that people previously mentioned in the discussion. Watching Chen Chang Sheng leave and return, he became angry. He slammed down on the table and yelled: "I told you to stop bothering me! How dare you to say this again! Do you really want me to get people to hit you twenty sticks and then expelled you from school?"

Chen Chang Sheng said seriously: "Then you have to let me become an official student first."

Officer Xin took a deep inhale. He suppressed his own anger and said coldly, "Which school are you from?"

Chen Chang Sheng said: "The Tradition Academy."

When he said this, his emotion was very calm. No matter what, he was going to insist on. No matter what you ask, he could always calmly repeat that answer: I am a new student from The Tradition Academy — It doesn't matter if you believe me or not, I am standing here and I will.

"No matter The Tradition Academy, or the Heavenly Academy."

Officer Xin felt that he was going to get crazy. "Even if you are Prince Chen Liu's younger brother, today I will still let you know the consequence of ignoring teachers."

"Here is my recommendation letter."

Chen Chang Sheng took out that thin sheet from his clothes and left it on the table.

Officer Xin originally wanted to grab the sheet and rub it into a cluster and then push it into this annoying youngster's mouth. But before he did, he glimpsed a familiar name on the sheet. He was dumbfounded and subconsciously took the paper to confirm that he did not hallucinate the name. This name and handwriting indeed looked somewhat familiar.

Where did I see this name and this handwriting?

Officer Xin frowned as he pondered hard, but he couldn't find the answer. Deep down in his heart he faintly felt insecure.

Then he suddenly realized whose name that was and whose handwriting it was.

Although he never saw the handwriting on the paper and never saw that name first person, he knew the name and the handwriting. The reason why it's familiar was because the name of the department of traditional education had the same handwriting as the words on the paper. While that name was known to every disciple of The Tradition, but it could not be discussed and written because that name...was already divine.

The following moment, Officer Xin saw clearly the red stamp on the paper.

He felt that his legs suddenly lost their power and they faintly twitched. He had acrophobia and such symptoms only occurred when he went to visit Moon Temple in the Palace of Intellectuals.

Officer Xin wanted to take a drink of tea but his hands were shaking so badly that he dropped the cup on the floor.

He looked towards Chen Chang Sheng and his lips slightly quivered. He could not control himself at all nor his voice.

At this point he eventually believed that Chen Chang Sheng was a freshman of The Tradition Academy because no one dared to forge the name on the paper to lie about that miracle.

"Actually...you(in respect form in Chinese) haven't taken this letter out...you are a really humorous kid."

He looked at Chen Chang Sheng and put a lot of effort to smile. He wanted to tap the youngster's shoulder, but he did not dare to.

The word "You"(in respect form) was not related to being a child at all and it was even more awkward to describe a child as humorous.

Chen Chang Sheng understood why officer Xin would act so ludicrously now. He felt somewhat helpless and explained: "I was going to take it out before, but you never gave me a chance."

"Sit please, tea will be up later. I am going to get the things ready for you.

Officer Xin took the paper and greeted him enthusiastically. He then unhesitatingly turned and walked out and began to run speedily in the empty but stern hall.

The people that followed Chen Chang Sheng did not expect to see such a scene and felt very surprised.

—————————————————-

In the depth of the Holy Educational Department, or known as the Talented Church, there located the largest room in the entire territory. Inside were diverse kinds of plants and flowers. Some were blooming while some were dying. But most of them are waiting patiently in their buds. It seemed like all of the flowers in the world were concentrated here.

In the depth of the flower forest was a huge scripture. Carved upon it was the scene of the appearance of The Books. In front of the scripture was a large writing table.

Officer Xin stood in front of the writing table. His expression showed that he was clearly nervous and sweats were running down his forehead. But it was clear that he wasn't as embarrassed as before when he was in front of Chen Chang Sheng. He said "In the name of Divine Queen...I swear to Heaven, I really didn't know...that he brought such a recommendation letter, or I would've..."

"Or you would've done what? Or you wouldn't have let that kid stand in the hallway for an entire day?"

Another officer stood up behind the writing table. It was hard to tell his age, but his eyes were full of wisdom and kindness. From the style of his dress, he should be the pope of the Talented Church. This means that he was the most powerful figure in the entire Talented Church, but it was hard to tell from his soft expression and kind speeches.

"The stamp and the signature on this letter is all real. The color of the writing and the folding of the letter are all authentic, but most importantly is this paper...The handwriting of the Pope is truly beautiful. Even after viewing it many times, I'm still impressed by it. I remember ten years ago when the Pope was invited by the Divine Queen to teach the prince and Lady Mo Yan..."

(TL Bing: So i am guessing that Mo Yan that you saw before is a Princess based on this comment.)

The Pope of the Talented Church was named Mei Li Sha. He looked at his personal officer and suddenly the smile on his face vanished. He said coldly, "Fine, these old things shouldn't be brought up again. It doesn't matter what's the background of this young student Chen Chang Sheng, nor does it matter if he's the first student of the Classical Teaching for ten years. The important thing is, what does this event represent?"

"Is the Pope planning to reopen the Classical Teaching?"

"If it's true, how should we, the subordinates, react and help him?"

"All of these you need to realize and learn."

"Learn about its meaning and spirit."

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Learn whose spirit? The pope's? What spirit? Officer Xin then thought to a deeper level and wondered why the Pope gave his approval. Even after he looked in to the deepest part of his soul, he would only understand a tiny bit of what the Pope's intentions were out of the vastness of his plans that were as vast as the Milky Wave.

When Officer Xin walked out of the Archbishop's room, his face was pale from thinking about Archbishop's comment and it didn't calm him down at all. He had a few conjectures on what the purpose of the Pope was but he wasn't sure what was correct and what was wrong. Did the Pope really decide to revitalize The Tradition Academy? Why wasn't there any sign in the capital? Why would he pick such a young student to do such thing? The most important issue was without the historical problem of The Tradition Academy resolved, who dared to touch this part?

As he got closer to Chen Chang Sheng's location, he had to make up his mind and come up with a decision. When he was about ten footsteps away from the room, he had made up his mind on his plan of actions and made a fake smile. "Here are the roster and the key, but you probably don't know, even if there are actually anyone on the roster, we can hardly find them."

Chen Chang Sheng took the roster and flipped through it. He saw that the pages were very old and that next to most names there was a word "left". He asked "Then what should I do?"

Officer Xin thought 'How is this my problem?' Although he said that to himself, he absolutely couldn't speak it out loud. He had already decided that he would not support the Traditional Academy and not get involved in the plans of super powers. He would fulfill his duties that were within his range of powers that were provided to him like giving money and giving people if Chen Chang Sheng required.

"You think...Studying in The Tradition Academy, what do you still need now?" He looked into Chen Chang Sheng's eyes and asked tentatively.

"Whatever I want?"

"If you want me to sent the teachers at the Heavenly Academy to The Tradition Academy...then I probably can't." Officer Xin laughed and said. He knew that what he just said was not humorous, but rather appeared somewhat helpless.

Chen Chang Sheng said "I want people."

Officer Xin's smile gradually faded and said seriously "How many?"

Chen Chang Sheng replied seriously, "A large amount."

Officer Xin's face didn't change, but his two hands were gradually getting cold. He thought that it was really what the Archbishop had guessed. The Pope's attempt at revitalizing The Tradition Academy must had hidden objectives. Otherwise why would the first thing this young student asked was people and asked for so many? If there was really something that violated the taboo, what should he do?

"Can I ask...why do you want so many people?"

He said each word seriously and carefully and stared into Chen Chang Sheng's eyes. Although Officer Xin's face was extremely serious, he was prepared to refute his statement and run right away quickly.

Chen Chang Sheng did not feel his nervousness. Even if he did, he could not understand. "The Tradition Academy is not small. Most buildings are too old and broken. The buildings can be fixed slowly but to study in the building it needs to be cleaned. If I don't have enough people to do the work, then it will take away a lot of time from my studying."

When Officer Xin heard this, he took a deep breath not due to fear but surprise. Worrying that Chen Chang Sheng would regret, he said unhesitatingly: "The needed revenues will be given immediately, and the needed workers will also be sent out. I will then send some miscellaneous affairs over, no, actually, I will take them myself to you."

After he said this, he friendly pat Chen Chang Sheng's shoulder, held Chen Chang Sheng's arms, and walked him out of the department of traditional education. The scene drew many attention from the surroundings because the usually serious Officer Xin was actually being so kind to such a young looking student. This scene sparked many discussions in the deparment.

...

"Chen Chang Sheng actually went in the Tradition Academy?"

"Yes...after Nanny Ning left, he shortly went to the department of traditional education."

The study room located inside the Dong Yu General's Mansion fell silent immediately after the short exchange.

Xu Shi Ji's face was indifferent and he looked at the worrisome Nanny Hua. "Since it's that side's intention, then don't worry about it for now."

Madam Xu who was worried said "Why was there such a sudden change?"

Xu Shi Ji said "I ask her to help solve the issue with Startaker Academy. It was not for that little kid. Sacrificing such a big favor, I originally wanted to tell this engagement to her. I had hoped that she would report it to the Divine Queen but she took it in her own hands and whatever she does is reasonable."

Madam Xu was still worried and said "The problem is what Nanny Ning said 'leave that kid alive?' Why would the palace care about him?"

Xu Shi Ji glanced at Nanny Hua.

Nanny Hua looked down and whispered "Last night, Shuang Er went to the palace saying that the lady sent a letter regarding him."

Madam Xu heard this and was a little unpleased. "This kid, why did she send a letter for some stranger instead of her parents?"

Xu Shi Ji wrinkled his eyebrows. He didn't want to hear this talk. "Marriage is a big thing that only parents can take part in and speak. Even the Divine Queen herself wouldn't mind this kind of business. So what are you worrying about? Let's give some way to Lady Mo Yan and let that youngster live. If he still won't stay down, then we can re discuss this matter again."

Lady Xu said, "I'm just afraid that this kid may actually be successful and powerful in the future. If he does then what happens if he wants to take revenge on the Mansion?"

Xu Shi Ji suddenly laughed. The laugh held a mystery that made the others feel like there was more to the situation and the event than what they thought it was. "Powerful and successful?"

Lady XU looked at his smile and was a little afraid. She didn't dare ask any further and waved her hand at Nanny Hua for her to leave. She said in a lower voice, "Previously Prince Chen Liu invited you to a gathering, are you going to attend or not? Although he is well liked by the Divine Queen, his status is still a bit special. I feel it would be inappropriate."

...

Many years ago, after the last rebel of the royals was put down by the Divine Queen's bloody actions, all of the people who contained royal bloodline has been expelled from the capital and were sent to different provinces for inspection and watch. Only Prince Chen Liu was allowed to stay in the Prince Mansion of the capital due to his young age.

Perhaps it was due to his young age, the Divine QUeen allowed him to enter the palace and study with the princess and Lady Mo Yan. These two lived together, drank together, and ate together. They created a strong bond between each other and the Divine Queen watched him grow up. Therefore she liked him a lot. Even after Chen Liu became an adult the Divine Queen didn't expel him from the capital but instead granted him a Prince status.

Of course, besides the long term relationship and the good reputation, many people thought the reason that the Divine Queen treated Prince Chen Liu so well was because the Prince Liu reminded her of her dead sons.

But no matter what, Prince Chen Liu was still a member of the royal family. His blood was that of a royal's. No one doubted that the Divine Queen was still suspicious of him. Because of this, it would be inappropriate for Xu Shi Ji to have supper with Prince Chen Liu when Xu Shi Ji was a general that served under the Divine Queen.

...

After listening, Xu Shi Ji stayed silent for a moment and said, "It's fine. The prince has invited me multiple times, if I still don't go due to my status, the prince will surely be unhappy and the palace may speak negatively of me. They will call me an official who doesn't interact is not a good official. Besides, the Divine Queen sees through everything. She knows that the reason Prince Chen Liu wants to contact me is to create a relationship with the Family of Qiu Shan so they can take care of his father living in the south. Since this is out of filial obedience, why would the Divine Queen care? In addition, the father of Chen Liu stayed down for his entire life. It wouldn't be unexpected for her to directly summon him back into the capital."

Lady Xu didn't speak a word but she was a little nervous. She knew Xu Shi Ji's personality more than anymore else. He always stayed quiet and never expressed his feeling about anything, but now he spoke so much to explain this. For sure it wasn't meant for her, then who is he explaining to? It was easy to understand that even himself was unsure of the meaning and liability of these words.

But even then, he still wants to attend the invite of Prince Chen Liu. What did this mean?

After Xu Shi Ji finished his sentence, he wrinkled his eyebrows and noticed he behaved unusually. After calming down a little, he looked at his wife and smiled "You don't have to worry...that kid won't have any future. The reason that Lady Mo Yan made him enter the Classical Teaching was to destroy his future."

Although the name of Classical Teaching may seem terrific. it was prefixed "Classical". It sure wouldn't be worse than the Heavenly Academy or the Starseeker Academy. In fact, in the previous several hundred years or even before that, the Classical Teaching was the best and the hardest academy to enter in the capital.

But now, the Classical Teaching is in ruins and forgotten by everyone. It had no reputation inside the educational field. If it stayed silent like the previous years it was fine, but if a little action was heard from it, it would be mocked by everyone. Why else would the teachers and students all leave the academy in such a short period of time?

The reason that the Classical Teaching had fallen into ruins was all due to an event that happened several decades ago. That year the principal of the Classical Teaching was an archbishop of the Tradition and the senior of the Pope. His status in the Tradition was only lower than that of the Pope and was respected all over the world. Even the Virgin of the Southern Sect was placed below him. It was truly an exception in the history of the Tradition.

Speaking logically, after arriving to a status like this principle of the Classical Teaching, he should be more than satisfied. But the human heart was just like the stars in the night sky, it was hard to count and understand. After trying to obtain the position of the Pope but failed to win the support of the Divine Queen, he got help from the royals and tried to rebel against the ruling of the Divine Queen and lost miserably in one night. The principal was defeated by the Pope and a massacre occurred in the Classical Teaching.

There were people who tried to restore the academy's former glory after that one night. But under the eyes of the Divine Queen and Pope, no students who graduated from the Classical Teaching could have a bright future. Only after two years, no student attended the Classical Teaching and the only thing teachers could do was to leave.

Just like this, the once glorious and prestigious became a gloomy ghost academy.

Only until several decades later, the Classical Teaching welcomed a new student.

The name of that new student was Chen Chang Sheng.

"Accepted?"

"No, that's expelled."

"New student?"

"No, that's an abyss of no return."

Xu Shi Ji concluded expressionlessly.

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Even if it's an endless abyss, it's still possible to climb out. The reason why Xu Shi Ji could make such judgement on Chen Chang Sheng's destiny was because after Chen Chang Sheng got out of The Tradition Academy abyss, there were still two words that would suppress him- the Divine Queen and Pope.

The Pope was kind, gentle, and had started to forget the past. He remembered the friendship between the Principal of the Tradition Academy and himself. He was unwilling to let the Tradition Academy became real history so he closed his eyes and ignore the problem, but what about the Divine Queen? That year the Tradition Academy was the main source of the power struggle. The old royal families had employed them as an army to fight against her. How could she permit the Tradition Academy revitalize and shine again?

Anyone would know, in the Divine Queen's dictionary there was never a word called "pardon." Countless royal family members lied in blood and Zhou Tong who could scare infants from crying were apparent evidence. The Tradition Academy wanted a rebirth? Unless the Divine Queen abdicated or died it would not happen. But would the Divine Queen abdicate? Could anyone kill her? No, that abyss would always be an abyss.

Chen Chang Sheng returned to the inn. As usual he spent fifteen minutes to wash his face and brush his teen. He washed his clothes, used towels to rub his wet hair until it dried up, wore up clean clothes, held a pot of green tea, walked to the tree in the yard, sat on a bamboo chair, and began watching the stars.

Because he is very concerned about time the most, Chen Chang Sheng would only allow himself to take a few glances at the beautiful evening sky and stars. After obtaining some spiritual power from the stars which stayed in permanent positions, he took out the recommendation letter with the Pope's signature on it. He began to replay the events that happened today and the encounters he had.

After standing in the hallway in the department of traditional education for half a day, he remembered that he received a recommendation letter. He understood what the Pope's signature meant. The change in officer Xin's attitudes toward him were too obvious. It brought him a lot of advantages but at the same time made him question many things.

Why would Nanny Ning give this recommendation letter to him? If they only wanted him to shut up or give back the engagement, he believed that these people who possessed unimaginable power had countless ways. Out of all the methods they had, this method of using the recommendation was the hardest to understand. It felt like someone was compensating him for some debts.

What was the opponent trying to compensate for? Was it for his silence regarding the

engagement? Or was the Tradition Academy really not a good place to go to? He clearly remembered that Nanny Ning had said this was the best choice for everyone but it does not apply to him. What problem was the Tradition Academy having?

He knew the glorified history the Tradition Academy had, but the event in which the Tradition Academy became a ghost school occurred in more than a decade ago. Because the event occurred far too recent, there were no recorded history when the Divine Queen is still in power. He could only make some guesses based on officer Xin's reaction – Officer Xin's enthusiastic and friendly attitude, but at the same time wanted to keep his distances from him. The Pope's recommendation only worked to some extent, suggesting that the issue regarding the Tradition Academy could even offset the Pope's influence to some extent.

He thought about the problem but he did not understand. He decided to not continue wasting his time guessing. Even if there was a problem, he wouldn't care anyway. What he wanted originally wasn't what those big figures did not want to give. He did not want this engagement. He simply wanted to obtain a permit to directly participate in the Great Trial, simultaneously, he needed to read a lot of books.

Master didn't lie about there being many books collected and stored in the Six Ivies.

Chen Chang Sheng woke up at five, cleaned up, ate, and prepared according to the same schedule he followed in the past fourteen years. He spent a bit more time on packing and moving them to the wagon, which called last night. Along with the morning sunlight shining on his right shoulder, he left the inn that he lived in for several days. He marched forward to the Tradition Academy near the royal palace North of the city.

He did not check out because he did not lack money and because he knew that he definitely would come back. On the day he comes back, he wouldn't stand on the balcony behind the inn and look in a daze at the Mausoleum of the Books far away. Instead, he would definitely walk into the Mausoleum of the Books, see those legendary tablets closely.

In the depths of the Hundred Blossom Street, unlike the quietness that was common in the past decades, noises filled the block and several hundred servants and workers were busily working. Seeing the leftover torches on the ground, it was easy to see that these workers have pulled an all nighter working and hadn't rested.

Chen Chang Sheng moved the luggage near the lake and discovered that Officer Xin never appeared. He trusted his guess more, and it was good that the things Officer Xin promised him was prosecuted without trouble. He looked as the academy that looked liked a cemetery yesterday slowly restore its former glory.

The ruined buildings weren't easy to fix in a short amount of time. But with hundreds of people working on it, the appearance of the buildings looked much better. Especially the small buildings in the woods because they were cleaned up very nicely. After the rotten smell vanish, people can start living in them right away.

The hundreds of people working busily to restore the academy were the lowest rank of servants from the Department of Holy Education. They were responsible for the cleaning of the Heavenly Academy and such tasks in the past years. Although they didn't understand the reason to clean and organize the ruined Classical Teaching, they still did their work expertly. Even working all night didn't affect their progress rate.

————————————————————

After checking the buildings around him, it was clear that the cleanup process was basically done. Chen Chang Sheng carried his luggage and walked into another building right next to the library while the servants were looking at him curiously and respectfully. As he entered, a wave of rotten smell hit him. Although it was less intense than yesterday, it was still strong enough to be detected. It seems that even with the sun and wind, it would still take a few days for the smell to vanish.

Chen Chang Sheng disliked the rotten smell, therefore he didn't stay after he set his luggage in the building and left right away. His destination was the library right next door.

Following his request from yesterday, the library wasn't cleaned by the workers. The key was in his hands so even if they wanted to help they couldn't enter. The workers were all bussy cleaning up the main buildings and there were not a single person around. The surrounding was filled with silence.

Chen Chang Sheng walked up the stairs and arrived at the front door. He took out the key that he obtained from the Department of Education and sticked it into the keyhole. After the key was stuck inside the keyhole, the green rust was scraped up and fell onto the ground.

The key was twisted slightly and smoothly. Chen Chang Sheng detected clearly that some of the system inside the bronze locket was activated and returned to its original position, The presence that he detected earlier also hid inside the deepest parts of the locket. The entire process was magical.

He pushed the door and entered. The first thing he saw was rows and rows of bookshelves. The bookshelves occupied most of the library and it was hard to see the end of it. It gave him a sense of visual stimulation. Countless books were packed upon the shelves, and Chen Chang Sheng was happy to see this image. When he noticed that the dusts weren't as much as he saw yesterday, he was even happier.

The Classical Teaching was in ruins for many years. The desks and chairs inside the other buildings were stolen and sold. There wasn't even any bed left in the dorms. Officer Xin requested the department to speed up the cleaning and repairing process last night. Since this library was closed, it was protected very nicely.

Chen Chang Sheng got some cleaning tools and cleaned around the library for a bit. Suddenly he noticed the floor and shiny and reflective, it was actually made from the expensive sandalwood. He shook his head, he thought to himself, who would've knew that this academy was so rich during its peak, but fell into the dusts for so many years?

What should he do next?

It's time for him to xiuxing.

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Chen Chang Sheng found an index in the drawer of the library and walked into the long shelves. It didn't take too long for him to find the first book he desired.

The book's title was "Purification".

The name of the book was simple, just from a single glance you know it talked about the process and instructions of the Purification Stage. But due to its simplicity, it was also common.

To defend against the Demon race which held powerful strength and enormous talents, it was forbidden to keep the basics of xiuxing and ways of Purification as a secret in the human world – of course, the large sects have their own ways – but the basics of xiuxinig was just like the stone pillars of the Mausoleum of Knowledge, everyone could see and study them.

This book of Purification was a xiuxing instruction that could be bought from any city or village.

But Chen Chang Sheng never read it, because during the past fourteen years in his life, his master always told him it was unnecessary. It won't be late for him to study when it was his time to study. When he asked when it would be his time, Chen Chang Sheng's master never answered him. Right before he left Xi Ning and said he will travel to the capital and visit the Mausoleum of Knowledge and Temple Ling Yan...

That day, his master finally said to him, "Then, you can start xiuxing."

He picked up the "Purification" and walked to the door. He sat on the mobbed floor and used the sunlight to read. He opened the first page.

Logically speaking, he should be excited or even nervous at this moment.

But he wasn't.

During this process, there was not a single change in his expression. It was very calm, it seemed like he underwent this process countless times.

If others were watching this scene, they wouldn't have guessed that it was his first time reading books about xiuxing.

In the General's Mansion and the Heavenly Academy, he said this sentence, "It's not that I can't xiuxing, it's just I haven't started to xiuxing."

He had millions of chances to start xiuxing, but it wasn't his time yet.

He waited for a long time, and this day finally arrived. Perhaps he waited too long and he was too exhausted to be excited. All that was left was calmness.

He flipped open the first page of the book.

There started out with a single line.

"The meaning will be understood after hundred times of reading."

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The first page was just an introduction. There were only a sentence in it and the rest of the page was blank. The sentence attracted every reader's eyes and no one can miss this line when they flipped open the book.

Normally when people read this line, they would first think thoroughly about the actual meaning behind this sentence. Then with their own understanding, they would continue to read. But Chen Chang Sheng was different, he didn't continue to flip to the next page. Rather he stood up and walked to a bookshelf and searched for couple of other books about Purification and skimmed through them quickly. After realizing every book's introduction contained the same opening sentence, he returned to his spot and continued reading. His mind was concentrated upon the white paper and there was no other distraction in his eyes except the book.

The wording of "Purification" was simple, but he read very carefully. Not much later he has already finished the first chapter. This chapter talked about the way to nurture one's spirit and mind. But he didn't stop after this chapter to think or try. He continued reading and quickly the following chapters' materials were all memorized in his head – they mainly talked about the way to nurture one's spirit, finding the Destined Star, and absorbing the Starlight into one's body.

He only used an hour to finish reading, and then he closed his book and started to meditate.

After taking ten deep breaths, he opened his eyes and started to flip through the pages again and re read the entire book.

This time he finished reading the book faster. It only took the amount of time to burn a few incenses.

Then he once again closed his eyes and thought about the materials in the book.

After a few breathes, he opened his eyes once again and started reading.

Even after repeating this procedure for a few times, the sunlight from outside of the window was still intense and burning.

He closed the pages of "Purification" one last time, however, this time he didn't open it again.

He took out his ink and brush, but he didn't open the book's pages. He started to record his thoughts that popped up during reading and began to memorize the entire book.

Not for long, many words were written upon the white paper.

When Chen Chang Sheng finally set his brush upon the resting stone, the entire book of "Purification" was carved into his brain.

But the most important thing is, it's not just memorization, it's understanding.

This is Chen Chang Sheng's way of reading.

This way was quite unique. His senior and him used almost ten years of continuous reading to create this precious technique. The old temple in Xi Ning Village may be unnoticeable, but the quantity and quality of the books stored in it was as deep and endless as the ocean. If they want to memorize all of them in such a short time, then they must use some special methods.

To use this method of reading, they don't need to read the book over and over and over until the cover was hanging off the pages. As a matter of fact, the books stored inside the old temple of Xi Ning Village looked just as new as when it was made. However, the contents inside the books were memorized entirely by the two apprentices.

The most important part of this method would be the last step, note taking. It didn't matter if he wrote the notes on a paper or inside his head. The meaning to it was to reorganize and accept the entire book. Only after completing this step, the reader could say he has completely transferred the wisdom in the book into his knowledge.

After reading "Purification" and closing its pages, Chen Chang Sheng didn't stop learning. Rather he continued to do so in his mind and notebook. But what is the purpose of learning? It's to practice. The reason he read "Purification" was to successfully Purify himself and begin the way of xiuxing.

The first step of the Purification stage was to concentrate one's mind. The mind is the human's core of spiritual strength. To explain it clearly, "it's the thought that counts". If one's thought was concentrated and strong enough, then it would turn into a certain power.

Although it may sound easy, in reality it's not. Even if an ordinary person struggled extremely hard and imagine that they can fly freely in the sky, they are still trapped on the ground. This is because the power of mind depends on the strength of one's soul, and the soul's strength depends solely on talent and is unrelated to one's effort. Even if an ordinary person tried his best, how would his soul's strength surpass that one of the reincarnation of the Sky Phoenix?

Chen Chang Sheng has prepared to xiuxing for many years. To be precise, it started when he was ten years old and an odd occurrence happened to his body. He kept on waiting for this day to come silently. He knew there were some problems with his veins, and that's why his master said his was ill. His nine main veins in his body weren't connected and his soul power couldn't circulate throughout his body. The result of this was that his spiritual power kept on leaking out. Although this occurrence has been suppressed by his master using medicine and herbs, it was still was a problem. Or why else would the black Sensory Stone in the Heavenly Academy's entrance test not detect any soul strength inside his body?

If his soul was not strong enough, then how could he solidify his spirit?

If there was no spirit, how would there be emission?

The first step of purification, how should he achieve it?

Chen chang Sheng did not feel disappointed like the people who found out they could not xiu xing, and of course he wouldn't feel hopeless.

He believed that years ago there must have been people with great wisdom that solved this problem beforehand already because there were so many people like him. In the scrolls of the ways he had read, there were often people who couldn't xiu xing in the beginning. Then they discovered a genius way and eventually became one of the strongest xiu xingists. One such example was Wang Zhi Ce. However he did not prepare to follow their steps because he never saw the same situation he had with in the books. Even his master said it's incurable then it's his destiny. He did not have extra time to fight against the destiny, he also didn't think he could find a new genius method in such a short amount of time he was given. He liked to follow the trend. He thought that even if he followed the existent method in the world, he would also be able to solidify his spirit and begin xiu xing. He trusted the ancients' wisdom more than anyone else.

"After reading hundreds of times, the meaning will reveal itself."

All the books related to purification, had these marked words. Obviously, these words were the key to purification, which was what the ancients were trying to tell their next generations, but which book should he read?

Chen Chang Sheng looked at a densely packed table of contents at the back of the Purification. He looked at the names showing different methods the authors wrote down and shook his head. He didn't expect that after coming to the capital, he still had to continue the life he had in Xi Ning Town.

If in the places like the Heavenly Academy or the Startaker Academy, if students needed to pass the purification stage, obviously there would be teachers telling them, the key of purification was to read massive amount of related books, so they could achieve the goal of strengthening soul, and therefore solidify their spirit at once.

Purification was simply the general principle. What one really needed to study were the forty nine books behind the cover.

Of course, this did not mean that all students had to read these forty books a hundred times in order to strengthen their soul to the extent they had solidified their spirit. Most of the time when they are reading, the readers' spirits would already be solidified and they would complete the process.

It's not true that the earlier the completion of the process the better. If one finished reading a book ten times and he solidified his spirit successfully, then this person would be the xiu xingist with the weakest spirit in history. Vice versa, the more books one read and the more times he read, his soul would became stronger and stronger and if he could still not break through that layer of thin paper after reading so much, then when he finally solidified his spirit, his spirit would truly be strong.

If there was one who could finish reading all of the forty nine books in the Purification's table of contents a hundred times, then eventually he would solidified his spirit. He would have the possibility of achieving the perfect stage of purification. Such situation was extremely rare. Besides the lucky ones who possessed gifted inborn bloodlines, there is basically no one who could achieve it.

This was a very exciting process. As time passed the amount of books read and amount of times reread increased, one would expect oneself to become a genius with strong spirit. But also most likely, eventually one could not solidify his spirit at all, and could only stay as a regular person.

Hope and disappointment would continuously enlarge as the process of reading passed. Eventually this would become an extremely big gamble. The result of the game would only appear after you finished reading these books. After reading a hundred times, the result would automatically come out.

After reading a hundred times, the meaning will reveal itself.

That's what the quote meant.

———————————————————–

After finishing "Purification" one time, Chen Chang Sheng didn't feel any change occurred in his body and didn't detect any soul power. Which means of course, he didn't sense any spiritual strength. He didn't start immediately reading the books again, but rather he started calculating.

He was confident that his rate of reading was faster than that of a regular person. Then he probably didn't need to read a hundred times, perhaps twenty or thirty times would be enough. There were forty nine books on the index and using the average reading speed, he can finish seven books at most in one day. This means that he will finish reading all of the books once in seven days. Even if his speed increases over time, to finish reading all of these books for a hundred times would be approximately half a year. Does he have the leisure to read books for half a year? No. Then what should he do? For the first time after arriving to the capital he felt irritated.

If others knew his confusion now, they would definitely have a different feeling because in his calculation it's so obvious that he would have to finish reading all of these books a hundred times. Then he would begin solidifying his spirit and if he could actually solidify his spirit, in another words, from the beginning to the end, even subconsciously, he had always consider himself on the same level or even higher than those geniuses.

It was not a wonder that the first time Tang Thirty Six had met him Tang Thirty Six had thought Chen Chang Sheng was arrogant. He may seem quiet and had good mannerism, but in fact he has complete confidence in himself in some areas. This made people feel that he was arrogant and self centered.

———————————————————–

Just when he was thinking, he felt a light breeze and a shadow covered him and the words on the book.

Chen Chang Sheng raised his head and saw a pretty young girl smiling coldly at him.

Because at this moment he was sitting on the ground, the girl was obviously looking down on him.

The young girl was Shuang Er from the General's Mansion. She glanced at the book he was reading and understood his actions. She mocked "You began to Purify yourself when you are fourteen years old, don't you think it's a little too late?"

Chen Chang Sheng replied "There are early and late comers to the Way of Xiuxing. Some started early but arrived late. Some started late but arrived early."

Shuang Er didn't expect to hear this kind of reply. She was stunned for a moment and mocked again "Forty Nine scrolls of book, one hundred times, ten days. This is the record that my lady set when she started to Purify when she was four years old. Start late but arrive early? How early can you get?"

Chen Chang Sheng thought for a moment, but he didn't know how to reply.

Editor Bing: T.T My hope be broken. I never knew that Shuang Er was so mean T.T my dreams be going bie bie.

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"After reading hundreds of times, the meaning will reveal itself," but some people only need ten days while others will require half a year. This kind of difference makes many speechless. Just like Tang Thirty Six had said, that girl often left others speechless. Chen Chang Sheng also didn't say anything either.

Secretly, Shuang Er was unhappy of Chen Chang Sheng's quiet and stiff reaction. Perhaps she thought that since he has a marriage vow with the lady, even if their status differed greatly at least he should show some sort of ambition or confidence?

Also from her point of view, if it weren't for her lady that wrote a letter from the Nan Xi Temple, Chen Chang Sheng would be dead already. How would he have the chance to enter the Classical Teaching and sit on a clean floor to read and xiuxing? Although she didn't need his appreciation, he shouldn't be silent either and treating it like nothing happened.

Shuang Er looked at him and shook her head. She took out a thin piece of letter from her pocket and handed it to him.

"Since you obtained the precious chance to xiuxing, then you should appreciate it and start from ground zero. Don't think of some strange way to boost yourself and place your hope upon others, especially women." Suddenly she thought of something and said strictly "Xiuxing, is never simple. Even if you don't have any hope, I hope you won't self destruct. Do you understand?"

Chen Chang Sheng took the paper and was stunned for a moment. He didn't understand the what she was trying to say. He thought to himself, even if he had hid in an academy as gloomy as a cemetery to read and xiuxing, the General's Mansion and that Lady Xu still think of him as an obstacle?

The sun outside of the library was hanging in the middle of the sky. The tree leaves were rocking back and forth from the breeze. The sunlight scattered under the tree and landed upon the earth. Luckily it was still early spring so the temperature wasn't too hot. The piece of letter contained a girl's fragrance but had no trace of sweat.

Chen Chang Sheng looked at the sentence upon the letter and remained silent for a long time.

"Look out for yourself."

The penmanship of the words were neat, but had nothing special. The strokes were very straight, which seemed naive and cute. Although Chen Chang Sheng guessed that this sentence was written by Lady Xu from the south, he couldn't connect the girl who has this sort of naive penmanship with the talented girl who is famous throughout the world.

He understood the sentence and it seemed as if he could faintly see the expression on Lady Xu's face when she wrote this sentence. For sure she had a cold face and wrinkled eyebrows, which expressed her impatience and irritation. But mostly, it was indifference.

She only wrote a sentence for him, but the most important word was "Yourself."

Yourself meant you.

You live.

You read.

You xiuxing.

You eat and sleep.

Chen Chang Sheng thought quietly for a moment and didn't think any further. He collected the letter and put it in his pocket. Then he stood up and walked to the bookshelf to find the forty nine books mentioned in the end of "Purification". While he was searching, he thought about the words Maid Shuang Er said previously and wrinkled his eyebrows. His fingers slowed down during his search for the books. Does it only need ten days to read all of these books a hundred times? How did she accomplish this?

"Purification" was just a summary. The forty nine books mentioned at the end of it was the actual studying material. The students need to use the knowledge and wisdom in those books to open their mind and solidify their view of the world to strengthen their souls.

It was purely a xiuxing in the spiritual field. It started when the Books landed on earth and humans started to xiuxing. The first step of solidifying their souls was always the same method. It was concluded and measured by countless pioneers and the method was proven to be the most effective and had the highest success rate. Since words were the only physical form of thoughts, then in order to use the ancestor's thoughts to help them transfer mind into strength, words were the perfect bridge to connect the two.

Since this method was used throughout the human word, the forty nine books mentioned in the "Purification" were obviously recognized by everyone as the most helpful books to solidify one's soul. It began from 1582 when The Tradition created the index and it wasn't changed since then.

Chen Chang Sheng walked around the bookshelves and searched. Although he was familiar with the order of the books it still took him an hour to find all of the forty nine books and moved them to the floor beside the window. Then he placed them in order.

He didn't start reading immediately. Instead he went to the Street of Hundred Blossom and ate at a restaurant. Then he rested around the lake's grassfield for an hour. After satisfied by his relaxation, he returned to the library once again and picked up the first book and began reading.

Previously when he was finding the books, he checked the titles and made sure he never read these books . Although he was a bit disappointed, he was curious as well. What were the content of these books that they can help humans solidify their souls.

The first books that he picked up was "Discussion of Pu Men". He was sure that he never read the book. When he opened the book and saw the familiar contents upon it, he thought he was seeing illusions similar to the entrance test of the Heavenly Academy.

Although this book was very thin, it felt heavy in his hands. He looked at the sentences in the books confused and discovered something with surprise. He had already read these materials when he was four years old, more precisely, he has already memorized this book entirely.

Except this book was named "The Scripture of Pu".

(Editor Binggo: Yo this guy.. be going against his shishou's teachings and started to xiuxing)

He was for sure a little surprised. It felt as if he returned to the testing field of the Heavenly Academy. He always thought this type of good thing won't happen again but out of chance it occurred once more. It took him a while for him to return to his senses.

After returning from his daydream, he quickly opened the second book.

This book's name was "Collection of Mausoleum of Knowledge".

He flipped through the pages as if a strong gale had blew open the book. He quickly realized that he had also read this book as well. The praises written by past poets for the Mausoleum of Knowledge were all in his head. Except when he first read these poems when he was five years old in the old temple of Xi Ning Village, this collection was named "Index of Fancy Poems".

Chen Chang Sheng remained silent for a while and flipped open the third book.

Still the same.

He read this book as well, except the title was different when he read it while he was young.

The fourth book, the fifth book... He quickly scanned through the forty nine books for once and knew that he read all of these books.

Just like this?

This is a surprise? Chen Chang Sheng picked up the "Purification" once again and fell silent. He thought silently but the corners of his lip raised a little. His closed his eyes, but happiness filled his heart.

He remembered the words that Shuang Er said when she left.

"Xiuxing, is never simple."

He raised his head and looked outside of the window. The sunlight had scattered outside of the door. Although the wind is still blowing, there was no sign of anyone around. Chen Chang Sheng was a little disappointed. If that girl was still here, he really wanted to tell her that he may have a chance to solidify his soul faster than her lady.

But he thought again, Xu You Rong finished the forty nine books a hundred times to reveal its meaning. She successfully solidified her soul when she was only four years old. The little self pride that appeared in Chen Chang Sheng's heart quickly dissolved. He thought it was really was meaningless.

The next thing that he needed to do was to use the ways recorded on the "Purification" and use the words carved in his head from the forty nine books and transform the power of the words into fertilizers that can strengthen his mind. Then once and for all he will be able to solidify his soul.

If it was anyone else in this kind of critical moment, they will continue this process until they succeed. But Chen Chang Sheng looked at the sun and noticed it has already moved westward and dawn was here. He put down "Purification" and collected the books on the floor. Then he walked out of the library.

It was time for dinner.

————————————————–

Since he needed to eat dinner, he ignored the chance to change his life. If this is self-discipline, then this self-discipline was too strict and harsh. It was almost to the point of self-harming. But it could also be viewed as self confidence because he believe that chance wouldn't slip away.

From the entrance exam of the Heavenly Academy to these forty nine books, Chen Chang Sheng already noticed some things. His master has already built the basic and the road for xiuxing. His master for sure wasn't just a regular Taoist.

The way of xiu xing was long and distant, but his senior and him read the entire Scroll of the Way when they were young and memorized countless literatures in their heads. This meant that he has already made his first step way before anyone else. He has already traveled ten thousand miles on the way of xiu xing, then of course he was able to arrive at the destination earlier than anyone else.

Chen Chang Sheng was always confident in himself, but upon realizing this he grew more confident. By now the night has slowly approached the capital and the sun was slowly setting in the horizon, but in his open heart, another red sun was slowly raising. Why would he be afraid of the darkness ahead?

After finishing his dinner, he returned once again to the library and boiled a pot of water. Then he made a cup of tea he bought in the street of Hundred Blossom. He sat on the ground and meditated for a long time. His eyes skimmed through the forty nine books that were lined up perfectly and finally stopped at the "Purification".

The words in the books slowly raised in his head. The contents returned from his childhood memory and became extremely clear. Then slowly they released a certain presence that followed the path that was mentioned in the first chapter of the "Purification" and continuously traveled in his mental world.

Many years ago in the old temple, he had already opened his mind. The only thing he needed to do now was to solidify his soul.

He closed his eyes and thought quietly but gradually he forgot to think.

To clear one's mind and see one's soul wasn't that difficult.

It just requires practice.

Time slowly went by and frogs started to make noise in the wetland outside of the library.

It was still early spring.

The night darkened and the stars brightened. The capital was still full of noise.

But the Classical Teaching was still quiet with its only resident inside.

The oil lamp inside the library was dim, but it seemed to never fade.

Suddenly, a light ring was heard in the building.

A breath of wind circled around the structure.

Chen Chang Sheng opened his eyes and confusion filled his pupils, but slowly it turned into calmness. Then finally they were filled with happiness.

He successfully solidified his soul in the time of one day and one night.

Xiu xing is just this simple.

(Editor Binggo: I lied he is too op. He be hacking. His shishou be the biggest hacker in the whole book I bet.)

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Chen Chang Sheng successfully went on the path of xiu xing and no obstacles had appeared so far. If others knew about this, they would definitely feel confused. He himself did not feel anything himself, especially after he confirmed the meaning behind his master making him reciting the three thousand scrolls of way.

Of course, after all this was a happy thing... If he could solidify his spirit, then he could choose a star. If he could choose a star, then he could absorb starlights and purify. If he could purify, then he could meditate and self observe. If he could meditate and self observe, then he could reach heart seeking and understand the rules behind the nature. If he could reach heart seeking, then he could fuse the starlights onto his body and become immune to the diseases. If he could reach starfusing, then he could become a saint and eventually deity, jumping out of fate or at that time he no longer needed to change his fate anymore?

Yes, to Chen Chang Sheng the goal to xiu xing was always clear and it never changed. Maybe on the path of xiu xing he could pursue something else such as seeing some beauties that common people couldn't see, experience some feelings that common people couldn't experience, or return the humiliations he had back to those people that humiliated him, but these were all not important. What was truly important was the final goal.

He just solidified his spirit. He did not even complete the first step to xiu xing. He already began to think about the deification stage that only existed in the legend. Even Chen Chang Sheng knew that he was dreaming of something that was so far out of reach. If he told someone his dream, he would easily get laughed at but at least he would never tell others about it.

In comparison to people his age, Chen Chang Sheng was relatively quieter. He dealt with things in a relatively calm fashion. Because of this people in Xi Ning Town often thought he was three or four years older than what he actually was. He understood clearly. He could solidify his spirit successfully in one day and night. The most important reason was his master built up a good basis for him since youth and had prepared him well, but this definitely did not mean he surpassed the true geniuses like Xu You Rong.

The second day morning he still woke up at five. He cleaned up and began eating his breakfast. What happened yesterday did not have any influence on his daily schedule. Only his slightly tired eyes showed that he was not as calm as what he appeared to be. He did not have a good sleep last night not because there were still a smell in the small building but because he was truly happy.

The Tradition Academy was still crowded. The workers were at the main building fixing and cleaning up. The library was still quiet. Because of his request, nobody came to bother him xiu xing.

Purification was the first stage of xiu xing. It could be separated into three steps. The first step was solidifying one's spirit, but also the premise of all. The second step was to find his destined star. This sounded like a very mysterious step, but Chen Chang Sheng did not really worry. What he was really worried about was the third step, absorb starlights onto his body and purify them. Until then, he would finally ascertain what impacts would the issues in his body cause.

...

The so called xiu xing was to borrow the world's power. After the Books came to the world, humans began to xiu xing. They developed countless xiu xing methods. They tried infinitive ways. Some xiu xing methods absorbed fire, some were close to nature to absorb the power of fields, and eventually the Tradition was established. Because of human's infinitive years of experiments, humans' xiu xing gradually started to absorb power from the stars.

The high temperature magma in the volcanoes could be converted to the Qi in the human body, helping xiu xingists to become really strong. The power in the fields could also be used by the xiu xingists, but all of these energy sources were not as good as stars.

The stars were in the sky. Their locations never changed, continuously shining on the continent. People who lived on the ground only needed to look up to see the infinitive starlights. Since their youth, the stars had been silently accompanying them. To the continent and people living on it, star is light, is direction, is energy, and is time : because of its permanency.

Humans eventually chose to convert starlights into Qi. It was not largely related to these literal descriptions. The main reason to use starlight was because starlights were the purest energy source in the world. It contained no impurities and they were more mild than sunlights, magma, etc.

The Yao race could also absorb starlights. Moreover, they had a different body system so they did not need any xiu xing methods. They could directly absorb the starlights into their body and convert it into their own power. Because of this, any Yao race who could transform into human form always had huge amount of power.

In comparison to Yao, humans could not directly absorb starlights. In another word, directly absorbing starlights was inefficient for them. Therefore, humans creatively created a xiu xing method and starting from that day humans began the road to dominate the world.

—- Light up the destined star.

At night there were infinitive amount of stars in the sky. It is as vast as the ocean. Its number was much bigger than the human population. If a human xiu xingist wanted to purify, he had to find the star out of the trillion stars in the sky that belong to him. That star would then be his destined star.

No one could explain the principle behind the destined star. Why was there an unbreakable connection between that star and you? Why could the star respond to humans from infinitive miles away? Even the greatest scholar in the history of the Tradition could not explain this phenomenon.

...

Everyone had his own star. However, only the people who successfully solidified their spirit could find the star that belonged to him and form an unexplainable connection. Eventually he would use his spirit to light up the star.

There were infinitive stars in the night sky. As long as you could emit your spirit, then you could find your star. Such connection was like many other relations, absolutely repulsive to others. As long as you establish a connection with your destined star, no one could rob it.

Then a problem rose, what kind of star was most suitable to be the xiu xingist's destined star?

There was basically an agreement on the continent. The farther the destined star, the better. Because infinitive generations of scholars in the Tradition tracked countless xiu xingists and investigated them, after collecting countless data and doing infinitive analysis, they ascertained that this theory was absolutely correct.

But why?

If xiu xingists directly absorb the destined star's energy, shouldn't the star be the closer the better?

In order to explain this phenomenon, the scholars of the Tradition built a model through reverse engineering based the reality. In this model, xiu xingists did not directly absorb the destined star's energy but rather used the night sky as a wall. To light up the destined star was like hammering a snag on this wall. This would be a line tied between him and the night sky. Eventually using this line would swing back and forward. When that happens, the xiu xingist would be absorbing the starlight energy flowing in the night sky.

In this model, that shapeless line was like a wet cotton thread. The starlights in the night sky were like catkins that floated in the air during the spring. As the thread slowly swings in the spring wind, more and more catkins would stick it to. Eventually it would fall into the man who was holding the thread. If that thread was long enough, connecting from the tallest building in the royal palace to the top of the Mausoleum of the Books, then it could even wipe out all the catkins in the entire capital.

(Editor Bing: OK if you are like me who didn't understand a single thing the theory was saying i will simplify it for you guys. Basically you connect yourself to the star with a line. This line is the thing that will absorb or catch Qi in space. So if you have a longer line then that means you will be able to absorb more qi. In order to have a longer line, you have to be connected to a farther star. So this is the theory behind why a further star is better than a closer one. Don't fret guys if you didn't understand anything of that... because i didn't understand anything until i asked my friends to put it in simple english XD)

The scholar in the demon race, Tong Gu Si once proposed a harsh criticism to the theory from the Tradition. He thought this was an entirely non economical and a completely fake deduction. To this, the Pope at that time relentlessly rebutted. He said: "Only the established deduction could be the deduction closest to the truth."

Next, the demon race scholar sent a letter to the entire continent. He asked in the letter: "after all, where is that line?"

If there was truly a line between the xiu xingists and the destined star, then the Tradition's theory could be established. Because through observing the nature, it could be easily seen that the longer the line, the larger the amplitude. Therefore the energy produced was larger, like the previous catkin example.

The problem was, no one had actually seen that line.

The Pope answered concisely to this question in the capital. "Since there is connection between the destined star and xiu xingist, then there must be a line between the two. We cannot see and touch doesn't mean it's nonexistent."

The demon race scholar Tong Gu Si then sent another letter to the entire continent. "Intangible things have no impact on this objective world. Then whether or not this line exists or not has no meaning to us. Then it should be nonexistent."

To this comment the Pope pondered for several months. Then he created the most famous answer.

"The line, is fate."

Yes.

The unexplainable connection, was fate.

The stars in the night sky reflected people's fate.

...

No one had taught Chen Chang Sheng how to choose a destined star. His master must had known, but he never taught it.

Of course, he remembered the sentence that Pope said. The three thousand scrolls of way definitely had this famous story.

Since the relation between human and their destined stars was fate, he appeared to be very cautious. After all, after he was ten the word fate was what he cared about the most in the world.

From morning to sunset, he had been trying to be familiar with the emission process of the spirit. He did not know after the incident when he was ten, how much spirit he still had, but what made him content was, his emission process of spirit was not very different from what's written on the texts.

He closed his eyes. He let his spirit leave his sea of spirit and flow into the silent library. Even though he did not look, the surrounding faintly appeared in his brain. It was somewhat blurry, the lights were somewhat illusioned, and it was a completely new vision.

After night arrived, unlike other beginners who would still wallow in spirit's sensation to the environment, he did not linger for any longer. He unhesitatingly drove past the window with his spirit, flying towards the sky. He flew higher and higher, passing through the bird's thinnest feather, passing through the tiniest water particle in cloud, passing through the coldest flow of wind, and finally arrived between the infinitive bright spots.

That's the sea of stars.

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The stars filled the sky and its light emitted and shined on earth. They contained enormous amount of energy and countless thin and mysterious waves around them.

Is this the so called destiny?

Chen Chang Sheng's soul flew to a higher place and travel past countless stars. Comparing to the vast space around him and the enormous energy held in the stars, his soul was so fragile and tiny. It was like a feather in a tornado and a rain drop in a desert. It seemed like it would be torn apart in the next moment and vaporized in the next second. But interestingly, none of the stars nor its energy harmed his soul in anyway.

There appeared to be a red star directly left of him. The surface of the star was burning violently and breathed fire around it. He didn't know how far that star was, but he knew it was extremely distant. However, that star appeared to be so close to his soul, which meant that this star was gigantic and could fill up his entire sensory space.

The burning red star was breathing an unlimited amount of energy in space and gave off a terrifying feeling. It seemed that if anyone got close to it, they would be burned into the purest energy. But it also attracts them and made them want to be melted and merge with it.

Chen Chang Shang was a little insecure but it was not due to fear. He knew that nothing in the sea of star would harm human's soul. This kind of insecurity was generated from the star's characteristic and contradiction between their presence. In other words, he didn't like it.

Therefore his soul continued to travel to farther locations. After surpassing a misty object, a blue star appeared in front of him. That star seemed to be lonely and extremely cold. Its surface was covered with frost and gave him a sense of rejection. His soul floated around there for a moment and traveled further.

There obviously was a limit for xiuxingist's soul to travel outside of their body. As they proceed to stronger stages, this limit grows. But only after they light up their destined star would the limit be removed. This is one of the unsolved mystery of xiuxing.

Chen Chang Sheng's soul continued to float upward and saw different stars and views. He traveled past a few quiet stars. Whenever his soul tried to approach them, it would be pushed out by an unseen force. He realized that those were the destined stars of others.

As he went further into the depths of the universe, the number of stars increased. Gradually there appeared many weird and strange stars. Some stars floats in the space and continuous shooting out starlight. Some seemed to grow arms out of them. Others looked like a child's toy. Some stars had bright wings like a magical bird and some gave off a presence of a beast.

For an entire night, Chen Chang Sheng's soul floated in the sea of star. This situation was common in the human world, especially in the capital where countless powerful xiuxingists reside. Every night many people tried to light up their destined star, therefore no one noticed Chen Chang Sheng's soul.

Suddenly for a moment, his soul saw an extremely bright ray. It was different from the light emitted by the stars. It was more intense and thicker. He wanted to go and take a clearer look at it, but he faintly remembered something. He knew it was time to go back.

(Editor Bing: How much of a cliffhanger can you be dam it Chen Chang Sheng... and Dam it Mao Ni)

He opened his eyes and woke up. He realized that he was still sitting in the library of the Classical Teaching. Although it took him a while for his soul to travel to the depths of the sea of stars, it only took a moment for it to come back. He looked outside and noticed that the sky has brightened up. It was already morning.

...

In the past fourteen years, Chen Chang Sheng's daily schedule was disrupted for the first time. During the day he slept a little, when night came he went to the library and continued his trip to the sea of stars. On the second journey, he had more experience and was also more familiar with the sea of stars in the night sky. He did not take a close look at the beginning sections of the sea of stars, but flew directly into the deeper regions. He wanted to see where he could travel to.

When the dawn was about to come, the suddenly brightened light woke him up again.

On the third night, he repeated this process. The fourth day, the fifth day, and every night he would use his spirit to travel farther and see more stars, but he still did not have the thought to stop going farther.

The path of xiu xing was long and far. He thought he should always try his best to travel farther.

On the sixth day, his spirit traveled to a place where he never reached. What he didn't know was, extremely few people's spirits could travel this far. One part might due to the strength of spirit. Another part was because the sea of stars he previously passed was seductive enough to capture the xiu xingists. Most people couldn't suppress their desire and lit up the destined star and begin purification right away. Looking from this angle, his resistance to seduction was indeed strong.

—-That's only because he understood more clearly than anyone else what was truely seductive while living on this world.

But he quickly realized that rarely any spirit came here because his spirit traveled for a long time here. It was unlike the past five nights where most of the stars were lit up by others already.

Everywhere he looked the things he saw were new. The space was new, the stars were new. They were all waiting for him to choose any star.

Chen Chang Sheng's spirit still didn't stop. Because he felt that he could still go farther and see more, he continued on.

On the seventh night, his spirit finally encountered an interference or met a wall. That's a shapeless, invisible, or even nonexistent wall. He knew the wall was there, but he felt hesitant for the first time.

What's beyond the shapeless wall?

He didn't know about this shapeless wall. Was it the crystal wall that separates the space? Of course he also didn't know, only the strongest creature such as Golden Dragon could pass through easily but he could guess that this shapeless wall should be hard to pass.

Yet he still wanted to try.

If this was an unbreakable wall, he already came to the edge. He would be satisfied only after bumping his head with it.

He wanted to try so he tried. He didn't have any hope, but...surprisingly, his spirit easily passed through.

Over there was still a sea of stars.

However, in comparison to the sea of stars he traveled before, his spirit actually felt more familiar with the sea here. It was as if he came back to his homeland.

His spirit continued flying up. As he did he became more and more light. Even in the empty stage, he knew that the connection between his spirit and his body was getting weaker and weaker. Maybe in any moment now it would break.

Then the light became darker, the number of stars gradually decreased.

Chen Chang Sheng could feel that this was the farthest he could travel.

Father ahead there faintly lied another sea of stars, like lights of ten thousand families.

He looked there and felt a little unfortunate but he knew it was time for him to make a choice.

His spirit spread out to the surrounding, attempting to find the star belonged to him.

Choosing the destined star to every xiu xingist was a hard question because there were too many to choose from. There was no rule. You could choose because you liked the color or you could just close eyes and randomly pick one.

Chen Chang Sheng did not encounter such problem. Because when he wanted to choose, the star appeared in front of him. In one glance he began to love this star, so he decided to make him his destined star.

It was a red small star, in comparison to the one he saw in the beginning. It was obviously much smaller. On its surface there weren't any terrifying burning fire. All the lights and energy seemed to be hidden in the deepest part of the star.

That red star was very round. Its surface was very smooth. It looked like a little apple.

It was very cute, very pretty, and made people want to be close to it. It also made people want to take a bite out of it.

As Chen Chang Sheng thought so, his spirit flew there.

———————————————-

The night breezes blew softly and the frogs had already stopped making noise. Nothing but silent surrounded the library of the Classical Teaching.

Chen Chang Sheng sat on the clean ground and closed his eyes. Calmness was the only expression on his face.

Suddenly, he opened his mouth and closed it like he took a bite out of something.

Faintly it could be heard, the sound of him swallowing from his throat.

Suddenly he started sweating and moisturized the floor beneath him.

At the end of the distant star sky, a red star lit up.

He opened his eyes and looked into the depths of the sky.

He couldn't see that star, but he could feel it.

Because, that was his star.

———————————————–

Just like the great Demon Scholar Tong Gu Si said, no one could see that string.

Therefore when Chen Chang Sheng successfully light up his destined star, there were no odd phenomenon that occurred in the Classical Teaching. There was no holy light that appeared in the night sky of the capital. This continent was just like usual, quiet and peaceful.

Plus his star was so far away from the surface of the earth. Although it showed a moment of brightness, it still couldn't be seen. Yes, that star was too far. So far that the priests of the Star Observation Platform didn't even notice it.

But it was seen by someone.

Because the Divine Queen was viewing the stars.

It was entirely out of chance.

If the weather was nice, the Divine Queen herself would view the stars on her balcony.

There was a little rain today, therefore she came out a little late.

Somehow she saw the entire duration of that star been light up.

But even she couldn't have known who light up that star.

Is that person in the capital or in the south?

Or in the Xue Lao City?

The Divine Queen looked deeply into the night sky and raised her dark eyebrows. Her voice contained no emotion.

"Interesting."

Lady Mo Yu (TL A: Or Mo Yan mentioned earlier in the story, the author has officially changed her name at this point because he liked this one better) had long eyelashes. Due to the previous drizzle, tiny water drops hang from the tips of her eyelashes. This made her seemed very beautiful. Too bad after hearing the Divine Queen speak, she blinked and that rain drop fell down into darkness of the night in the Dew Platform.

The Dew Platform was right in front of the royal palace and was several hundred feet tall. It was built purely out of bronze and was surely a majestic structure. There were thousands of night pearls decorated on the platform. Their light could be seen from even dozens of miles away, but tonight these night pearls didn't emit any light.

Mo Yu glanced towards the edge of the Dew Platform. The black goat was standing there as well and raised its head to stare at a certain direction in the night sky. Mo Yan looked back at the center of the Dew Platform and reassured that the Divine Queen was also looking in the same direction in the night sky. She was fairly confused.

"Your majesty, what are you looking at?" She asked.

Lady Mo Yu was respected throughout the Zhou Dynasty or even by the entire continent. This respect was not only due to her background and her strength but also to her close relationship with the Divine Queen. There were less and less people who could talk casually with the Divine Queen in the world now.

Starlight shone upon the Dew Platform. Only the woman's back could be clearly seen.

It was just a simple back image, but it seemed like the representation of this universe.

This is because she was the first female emperor of this world. She was the master of Zhou Dynasty.

"Someone has lit up a star."

The Divine Queen turned around and said indifferently.

Lady Mo Yu was silent. Every night there were xiu xingists lighting up their destined star, but even the Divine Queen can't see them. But today she saw it and stared at it for so long. What did this represent?

"That star is extremely distant from us."

Hearing the Divine Queen's next sentence, Mo Yu thought she understood.

She thought for a while and said, "Even if it's further... it doesn't always represent a true genius."

The Divine Queen didn't speak.

Mo Yu acted like a little girl who was ignored by her elders and hummed. "The boy of the Family of Qiu Shan lit up his destined star when he was four years old. That star was the Dragon Star. Its distance could be ranked among the top ten in the recent a hundred years, but just that same night a small faction's apprentice also started Purification and his destined star was even further away from the Dragon Star. But does this mean that he could compete with the one of the Family of Qiu Shan? Purification is still determined by the strength of one's body, veins, and bones. How can a regular person match with one of the Dragon's bloodline?"

This was a valid example. Qiu Shan Jun was the champion of the Honor Roll of Green Cloud before he was eighteen years old. He was a genius recognized by the entire world. But that apprentice from the small faction was already lost in the crowd. No one remembered him except a person as knowledgeable as Mo Yu.

The Divine Queen explained. "The person who light up his destined star today was unique. The strength of his soul and the calmness of his spirit rarely exists in this world. I believe it was an elder who studied for over a century and suddenly understood the Way. He was just like Wang Zhi Ce from back then. They both endured the test of time and finally released their potential."

Mo Yu replied, "During the night when Sir Zhi Ce light up his star, the entire capital sensed his presence. How could it be compared with tonight? Plus there were no shadow of the star being projected onto the ground, which means that it wasn't the power of a special bloodline. Even if he has potential, I'm afraid it would be limited as well."

The Divine Queen didn't turn back but it was clear she was smiling. "You are just a child. What do you know about xiuxing?"

Although Mo Yu was young, she was already a great xiu xingist of Starfusion stage. Both of the Zhou Dynasty and the southern xiuxing factions viewed her with regard. Even the Pope himself liked to compliment her. However, in the eyes of the Divine Queen, she was still a child who knew nothing about xiu xing.

How many people in this entire continent has the right to say this?

The Divine Queen was obviously one of them.

Therefore Mo Yu wasn't angry. She just stuck her tongue out toward the back of the Divine Queen.

She wasn't a little kid anymore, but she could still be innocent because the person she was facing was the Divine Queen.

The Divine Queen knew she was fooling around at her back, but she smiled and stayed silent.

Mo Yu walked up beside her and looked at the vast sky and the stars. After viewing for a long time she suddenly asked. "Your majesty, the destined star...Does it truly represent each and every one of our fate? Then can we see the future of our destiny?"

The Divine Queen replied "It could be interpreted as something else besides our destiny."

Mo Yu asked curiously "What is the other interpretation?"

The Divine Queen looked deeply into the night sky and fell silent for a long time.

There used to be a distant star and it shined for a moment, but it couldn't be seen anymore.

The Divine Queen spoke, "Perhaps... they are our destined doom."

——————————————

Chen Chang Sheng had lit up his destined star.

There were only a handful of people who had the chance to witness that moment.

Due to that invisible crystal wall, those people miscalculated the distance between that star and the surface of the earth. But even then, this distance could be ranked among the top in the human history.

The Xue Lao City of the Northern Demon Race, the Mountain Virgin of the South, the Mountain Li of the Longevity Sect, and the Forgotten Valley of the Kingdom of Yao. Perhaps there were people who saw it, or perhaps they didn't. But if they did, they would treat this with great regard and try to discover the identity of the person who light up that star.

But this was unimportant. There were billions upon billions of stars in the night sky and they contained countless relationships and strings with humans. It was a world of unpredictability. No one not even Chen Chang Sheng could ever see that string. If even Chen Chang Sheng said nothing, then no one could know it was him.

But there were always accidents, or you can say exceptions.

Some people's level of xiu xing wasn't exactly high. Speaking logically, they couldn't even see the image of the destined star that was light up and talk less of following that string to tract Chen Chang Sheng down. But perhaps it was fate, the moment Chen Chang Sheng light up his destined star, that person was also looking at the night sky just like the Divine Queen. Perhaps also out of fate, she was also xiu xinging at that time and she released her soul into the ruined garden.

But the most important reason was that she had a special ability that made her close with the star. She could instinctively discover many things.

It was a talent or to be precise, it was her racial ability.

On the other side of the broken walls of the Classical Teaching was the Herb Garden.

She was in the Herb Garden that night.

She could clearly sense the calmness and endurance of the soul that light up that destined star.

She was curious of who the owner of that soul was.

She wanted to find him and ask him some questions. For this purpose, she didn't mind gifting him some precious treasures that were rarely found in the world.

Because her name was Luo Luo, and she was generous.

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If Chen Chang Sheng started to directly absorb starlight into his body and started to purify his body, the girl who was spiritually in the Herb Garden, one wall away from the Tradition Academy could have used her inborn talent to track the remaining sensation to discover Chen Chang Sheng's location. Also, if his sweat that gathered on the floor did not strangely disappear along the wind or become invisible as it permeated on the floor, she might have been able to find him.

The problem was, at this moment Chen Chang Sheng again showed a personality different from common people. He unhesitantly resisted his temptation to achieve purification and directly went back to the small building. He took a shower and then went to sleep. The floor that he sat on did not have a single drop of sweat.

On the second day, Chen Chang Sheng deeply reread the Purification, especially the last part about absorbing starlights to purify the body. He even made annotations to understand it more thoroughly. After ensuring that he understood the contents completely, he went to the grassland next to the lake and took a rest until the sun lowered beneath the city wall. When night came, he ensured that his body and mentality were in good condition. He then opened up the library and started the purification.

His spirit spread out in air, but it did not pass through the library's roof and go into the sky. He knew he had already established a connection between the distant red star and himself. But the feeling was not real. To be accurate, the connection between the star and him did not leave any trace in his body nor in his mentality. He was very certain that the star was there and no one could snatch it away.

Like what that Pope said that year: The line was actually there.

Chen Chang Sheng closed his eyes, calmed his mind, opened up his soul, and followed the method of Purification. He entered into an empty and absolutely relax state. Then he quietly waited for the starlights to solidify and come to him along that line.

Time gradually elapsed. The wind in night sometimes softened and sometimes solidified.

The forest outside of the library was completely silent. Yesterday the workers from the department of traditional education came and did some cleaning. Many branches were cut down and those broken branches were left on the ground. The scent of trees were sent far away by the night wind.

The reason why the scent of trees were strong was because of the transparent jelly like material flowing outside, which was sap. The Tradition Academy had a variety of trees including fruit trees, which made the area smell nice.

There was a very thick pagoda tree. Its branches that were near the ground were all chopped off. One of the broken parts looked like a scar. There were already a lot of "tree jelly" and as the wind blew, the saps flowed down the branches slowly. If the people who enjoy killing saw this image, they would feel that the pagoda tree's arms was cut off and that blood was spilling out. However, under the silver starlight the flowing sap was more like sweet honey.

After a really long while, the honey-like sap finally fell to the ground upon a patch of grass. For the lack of a better word, it luckily, or rather brutally, made an insect into the primary form of amber which meant that it would eventually be another insects' food.

A similar scene happened in the library too.

Infinite amount of starlights fell on that shapeless but also insensible line. The starlights solidified the line into a slightly dense essence. It then followed along the line and slowly fell to the ground. It is unsure of how far the starlights travelled but they went through the roof of the library and landed on Chen Chang Sheng's body.

The starlights were soft and the skin of Chen Chang Sheng's face became jadelike. But one moment later, the starlights, like sand and wind passing through his fingers, penetrated his body and could no longer could be seen. Even so, his face was just like it was before as if nothing had happened.

As time passed more and more starlights continued to fall on him. These starlights seemed to have the ability to ignore all obstacles. They easily passed through his clothes, fell on the surface of his body, and went deep into his body. Their destination was unknown.

Chen Chang Sheng closed his eyes. He did not see any of these images and did not know what had happened.

Not until the sun had fully risen over the capital and the chicken had started to tweet did he finally wake up.

He was somewhat excited. In the last fourteen years, he was rarely this excited. Because if he purified successfully, then he would step on the path of xiu xing. With this, regardless of whether or not he could get first place at the Great Trial, he would get some voice to his fate.

'Such thoughts are not good for the body' he said soundlessly to himself. Because he had an extremely mature attitude for his age, he was able to calm himself down quickly. Then he looked at his hands. His feeling slightly changed and his eyes were filled with confusion and bewilderment.

His hands did not change at all and were as clean as last night.

He took out a little round mirror and looked at his face in the mirror. Then he put down his little round mirror, pulled up his collar, and look at his body. He found out that nothing had changed and he was just as clean as he was in the past years.

A successful purification, should be like this.

According to the saying in the Purification, when humans lived, ate, drank, breathed, and absorbed nutrients, they also took the dirty Qi in the world into their body. Therefore they had to absorb starlights into their body. Then they would use the stars' purest and softest power to completely expel the dirty Qi in their bodies.

However, Chen Chang Sheng's body did not have any change.

Because of his mysophobia, he loved to stay clean. But now he actually desired to see dirty and stinky black oils on his body. He felt that the oils provided him with evidence that the dirty Qi inside his body were excreted out.

Chen Chang Sheng looked at the rising sun outside and remained silent for a really long time.

Suddenly, he put the back of his hand on the floor and rubbed against it hard. Not until he felt pain and a big red mark could be seen on the back of his hand did he stop and take a glance at his hand. He could faintly see a small blood streak and he realized that he indeed did not purify successfully.

When the starlights come, it first interacted with the skin. In the beginning of the purification, his skin was strengthened.

His skin did not change at all in comparison to yesterday.

Chen Chang Sheng remained silent. Originally he thought the problem with his broken vessels would only cause his soul to easily flow out. Later on, it would be very hard for him to convert starlights into Qi and keep them inside his body. Despite this, he thought he could at least complete the purification stage. He did not know that he would not be able to purify himself.

The morning light gradually brightened up. He stood up and walked out of the library. Because he sat with his legs crossed the entire night. His body felt somewhat sore. He had to walk slowly. Looking from the back, he looked like a kid who had just recovered from a fatal disease.

Walking back to the small building, he saw that the water pot had already heated up on the stove. He felt a little upset. In accord with the Purification, he thought that when he came back, he would definitely be dirty so he got the hot water ready beforehand. Who could expect that he did not even have a single sweat.

He thought for a while and eventually decided to take a shower.

It was neither because he had sat on the floor for an entire night nor because the school was dirty.

His body had a serious problem which made him curse his body. He always thought his body was somewhat dirty.

He washed himself frequently. He loved to be clean and had a small degree of mysophobia.

He put the hot water into the big bucket by the corner of the wall, walked inside, covered his face with a wet towel, lied on the edge of the bucket, opened up his arms, and lied backward. He was exhausted.

Beneath the wet towel, he heaved an inaudible sigh.

At that moment, on the other side of the wall a faint sigh could be heard.

Chen Chang Sheng thought 'sad people were actually anywhere.'

...

No one knew that Chen Chang Sheng had attempted to purify. Even those who saw him lighting up his destined star didn't know. Because purification was more common than lighting up the destined star, it didn't matter if xiu xingists were at the purification stage or the starfusing stage. As long as he was xiu xinging, then he needed to do so night by night. Moreover, the people who could see the destined stars being light up couldn't see the line. Because of this, they wouldn't know who was on the opposite end of the line.

There was no limit to human's self strengthening.

Purification was never a one day thing.

At night, Chen Chang Sheng walked into the library again and sat on the floor to continue xiu xing.

A fourteen year old kid aroused himself again from disappointment and loss. The time taken was indeed too little. He had to appreciate all of his past experiences and the things that he would experience soon but of course the benefits that he experience won't be liked by others.

He had no time to feel disappointed, he could only keep trying.

If not succeed, then die. These five words were most prominent in his mind.

He calmed down again and began meditation. The infinitive dense yet invisible starlight essence followed its shapeless fate. It continued to fall from the high and far night sky and land onto him like spring wind coiling him up and not leaving.

The starlights, just like it had last night, soundlessly penetrated his body and became invisible.

This process continued for so long. Just before the sun rose, he woke up again.

He looked closely at his hands and did not find any change. He touched his forehead and did not find a single drop of sweat. The old clothes on him were still clean. The morning wind flew in from outside and blew on his sleeves.

He did not understand. Even though his body's vessels were broken, when his skin and hair had absorbed starlights, there were no changes.

Where did the starlight go?

He thought that the starlights had all spread into the air and transformed into nothing.

He did not know. He was confident that when he closed his eyes and meditated, the starlights had passed through his black hair and his hands, had passed through his old clothes and the little sword on his waist and had quietly entered his body. There was no loss.

It was like snow that passed through the wind and trees to fall onto the ground.

Not a single leaf carried any snow. This was an extremely rare occurrence.

Yet it actually occurred.

Now, this tree still looked green and was not white at all.

In actuality, the ground under the trees was being stacked with snow.

This was the so called accumulation.

One day, it would eventually rise.

Or explode.

Five o'clock in the morning, Chen Chang Sheng opened up his eyes. He did not wake up from sleep, rather, he had woken up from meditation. Seeing that his body still did not have any changes, he shook his head and returned to the small building to shower. He laid on the edge of the wooden bucket/tub and allowed the slightly hot water to immerse his body and with it, his state of mind. He sighed and mumbled into the wet towel, "When can I find a way?"

The bucket was about half a man's height. It was placed behind the wall, very close to the surface of the wall. One moment later, he heard a sigh and a distressed voice that spoke, "When can I find that person?"

Chen Chang Sheng remembered the sigh he heard yesterday morning. He removed the wet towel from his face, turned and looked at the wall. He first saw the green ivies. The wall was very high so he could not see the landscape beyond. He couldn't see who spoke the sentence.

He suspected that the voice came from a younger girl. Everyone's sadness was different, but ultimately, it was still sadness. Chen Chang Sheng felt pity for the girl beyond the wall but upon remembering the situation he was in, he realized that he did not have the right to feel pity for others.

The next few days were calm and peaceful. He spent every day at the library reading and he spent every night attempting to absorb starlight for purification. During the process of purification, he always closed his eyes and meditated so he obviously wouldn't be able to know if all the starlights had already penetrated through his body but from just looking from the outside, he knew that there was no change and that he still had not achieved xiu xing. Even so, he continued to diligently worked at it as if the disappointing results had not influenced his mentality at all.

Like his xiu xing endeavor, the maintenance work at the Tradition Academy progressed in a structured manner. The officer, Xin from the department of traditional education did not stand in the front and preside over. There was no shortage in pay, in fact, the workers were paid on schedule. The workers obviously did not dare to slack.

Since the old and broken wall could not even block off sound, it obviously could not block off wind.

The news of the fixing of the Tradition Academy quickly spread in capital. The fact that there was a student in the Tradition Academy gradually became known to the people. Yet because people only dared to talk privately about the actual reason for the fall of the Tradition Academy and did not dare to inquire the information, the subject offered only a little to chats at dining tables.

Chen Chang Sheng did not know the outside world was dimly accumulating wind and rain. He was silently attempting to achieve xiu xing in the school at the end of the Hundred Blossom Street. He repeated the same life over and over but did not feel bored about such a life at all.

Looking from the surface, he seemed to already be not concern about whether or not the purification was successful. But in actuality, his entire heart was focused on the task of achieving xiu xing. He had not cleaned the floor of the library for several days. To someone like him, this was very rare. This was the proof.

Just because purification was not successful, didn't mean he had not gained anything from the process.

He read many books in the library. He read most of them when he was at the Xi Ning Town. Some of the books about xiu xing was his first time reading. After comparing what he was reading now to what he read before, he was surprised to find that since his youth, most of the books he read were related to xiu xing.

When he was memorizing the Scrolls of Way, he did not know what the elusive words meant. When he asked his senior or master, he still could not get a specific answer so he perceived what he read literally instead of really thinking closely. Upon coming to the capital and seeing all the entrance books to xiu xing such as Purification at the Tradition Academy, he realized that all the xiu xing methods, all the precious experiences left by the previous elites and all the methods owned by the big sects or even some of the secret methods that belonged to the Demons were all in the three thousand Scrolls of Way at the old temple in Xi Ning.

What did this mean?

Who said he did not know how to xiu xing? He previously thought that he just didn't start xiu xing yet. Now, he knew that this sentence was also wrong. Who said he did not start xiu xing yet? No, when he learned how to speak, he was already xiu xing!

The three thousand Scrolls of Way at the old temple in Xi Ning were infinitive knowledge fragments related to xiu xing. Before, in his mental world, there was a big fog. Now the xiu xing methods he understood were extremely tiny dirt. They became the core of the fog and so, the gas particle began to liquefy to form a heavy rain.

Chen Chang Sheng entered a very strange status or trip. It could be described as comprehend by analogy or enlightenment. It was as if someone gave him a sharp warning. The most accurate way to describe this is the word: accumulation.

Like a pot of power lit up by a spark.

Inside Chen Chang Sheng's mental world, there was a big explosion. He was greedily reading all the books in the library and understanding the rules in xiu xing, so that he could reassemble the information fragments he got from the Scrolls of Way in Xi Ning. He started reviewing until he actually understood them. He was comprehending the secrets in the xiu xing world at an unimaginable speed. He also learned all the details of xiu xing methods. With respect to knowledge about xiu xing alone, there weren't many people that were more knowledgeable than him.

The fact that he was unable to successfully purify his body but was able to nevertheless learn so much was surprising and consoling to Chen Chang Sheng. After his feeling was calmed down, he developed a lot of confusions and worries. He walked to the window of the library, looked at the direction of Xi Ning and thought silently: the Scrolls of Way in that old temple were common things but obviously, his master wasn't a commoner. His master had helped him establish such a stable xiu xing basis, yet why did he not teach him how to xiu xing directly. Why did he have to first come to the capital? Was it because the disease in his body was hard to cure, so he wanted him to come here and see if there were opportunities?

Time elapsed quickly. In a blink, more than ten days had passed. People from Dong Yu General's mansion never appeared again. The little girl named Shuang Er also did not come. His calm life was not interrupted which made him very happy. However, Tang Thirty Six also did not show up, which made him very unhappy. He had left his address at the inn thinking that the opponent should be able to find him. That kid was probably xiu xinging diligently at the Heavenly Academy.

There was only Chen Chang Sheng in the Classical Teaching, the school belonged to no one but him.

He quietly read and silently attempted to achieve xiu xing. Gradually, he forgot about the outside world and the outside world also forgot about him. Sometimes he becomes envious when he remembers the chatting he heard from the Department of Education about the welcoming ceremony for the freshmen at the Heavenly Academy and the Starseeker Academy. But he didn't care much, he was used to this kind of monotonous lifestyle because when he was studying at the old temple in Xi Ning Village with his senior, he could only hear his own voice.

But his body still hasn't changed after reaching Purification for several days. Although he didn't see any hope of succeeding, Chen Chang Sheng wouldn't simply give up. However, he did become indifferent and decided that if there was still no change for the next few days, he would find some other way to achieve xiu xing in the books.

Sometimes indifference makes people lose their boldness, but it could also make people calmer – that was the current mental status of Chen Chang Sheng. It wasn't exactly his original mood, but it returned to its balance. When he looked at the dust that gathered again on the ground, his eyebrows wrinkled, he wasn't happy because he liked cleanliness.

But this unhappiness was mostly targeted to himself. He felt that he got much lazier from before.

He got some clean water from the well and started to rub the floor, slowly the dusts disappeared. Chen Chang Sheng sensed a faint fragrance after he cleaned a portion of the floor. The fragrance was very fragile and disappeared after a slight breeze blew through the window.

After finishing his chore, Chen Chang Sheng sat down freely and continued to absorb starlight to purify his body.

There was nothing but silence in the Tradition Academy. He closed his eyes and meditated quietly. Slowly he became one with the environment and disregarded the surroundings.

A butterfly flew into the building through the opened window and landed on the floor next to him. It was unwilling to leave.

That floor was the portion he had just cleaned up.

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Street of Hundred Blossom was just a common street in the capital. Of course, it used to be very famous because the Classical Teaching which was located at the end of this street was well-known. At the same time, the Herb Garden at the other end of the street was also very famous, it used to be the royal garden of the previous dynasty.

The most well known rebellion in the history of Zhou Dynasty also happened in the Herb Garden. When Emperor Tai Zong, who was still a prince at that time rode from his mansion to the royal palace in haste, he was ambushed by the rest of the princes. At that moment Emperor Tai Zong was still in his sleeping attire.

Everyone on this continent knew the ending of that rebellion. Emperor Tai Zong grasped the final victory and his siblings were persecuted on the spot. Several hundreds of the followers of these princes were also decapitalized.

Due to this bloody and shady history, Herb Garden was abandoned by the royal family and was given to the Tradition. It was used as a garden to nurture herbs and fruits. Perhaps the soils of the Herb Garden absorbed too much nutrients from the blood from that day or there were too many dead bodies underground because the herbs and fruits planted here grew very well and it was recognized by the government again and now, it's under heavy guard duty.

Only a few people knew the reason why the Herb Garden was heavily guarded. Besides the rare herbs and fruits, some important people also come to live and visit this place. For example, when the Divine Queen was exiled for the first time from the royal palace, she xiuxinged in this place. Due to this reason, the Tradition received many benefits later on.

And right now, there was another noble guest living in the Herb Garden.

Under the old wall where the ivies dwelled, there was a stone table and a stone chair. A tea bowl was on the table and within the bowl was the precious New Rain Tea.

A young girl was drinking tea.

Her complexion was young and her pupils were like stars. Her lips were as red as roses and she had long eyelashes. There were two red blushes on her white cheeks. She sure was beautiful.

It was a healthy kind of beauty, just by looking at her, you would feel refreshed and contain no dirty thoughts.

But the girl herself wasn't particularly happy. There was a troubled expression on her face because she was yet to find the person she was looking for.

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The little girl was called Luo Heng, her nickname was Luo Luo because ever since she was very young, she used to add some words that preceded her actual speech. For example, when she called for an eagle to fall on her little hand, or when she called to a crocodile to take her to the other side of the river, she would always say, "Loh Loh, quickly!"

Luo Luo was fourteen this year. She was very young and for some reason, she looked even younger than she actually was. She was immature and cute to say the least. Like her appearance, she was naive because she was borned into a high position and great wealth. She did not have to worry about anything. Even after she left her homeland and came to the capital, she still hasn't changed at all.

She lived in the herb garden in the capital for nearly a year. She barely interacted with others which left her, more or less, lonely and bored.

But this didn't bother her. She was only concerned about how to xiu xing – in the aspect of xiu xing she had some problems that she could not solve. Even her seemingly omnipotent father could not solve them which is why she travelled thousand miles to the capital.

She hid her identity and went to listen to some lectures in the Heavenly Academy and the Startaker Academy. She went as far as to privately ask famous professors about her situation and to discuss related questions with an honorable guest in the great Zhou royal palace. Even so, she unfortunately couldn't get answers to her questions.

One night, when she was at her most disappointing moment, she suddenly felt a star light up in the sky. She did not know where the star was but because she knew that the spirit was very strong, very calm and also very different from common xiu xingists' spirits – she could feel it because she had a very special talent. She was certain that what she sensed was real and she wanted to find that person.

She wanted to put the questions that bothered her for years in front of that person and hoped to get answers.

Yet after twenty days, she still couldn't find the person. Even though she sent disciples and honorable guests from the royal palace out to search, she still could not find a trace of this person. She was extremely disappointed.

Luo Luo's was feeling slightly depressed. Even the well-known and rare Cong Yu new tea in the cup could not grab any of her attention. Normally, she excelled in Teaism; how could she ignore the fragrant tea? It was very uncharacteristic of her.

Suddenly, she smelled a scent.

Luo Luo opened up her eyes wide and her body became somewhat stiff.

This scent was very light, but after it had entered her nose, it became intense and extremely clear like a good wine that lures people. There were countless rare fruits in the herb garden which would give off different smells at night but they could not hide the smell that Luo Luo picked up.

In the valley that she lived in during her youth, there was a mountain of flowers. But even if they all bloomed together under the morning sunlight in the beginning of summer, it would not be as fragrant as the scent Luo Luo sensed now.

She dared to swear on all the stars that she had never smelled such good fragrance in her life.

This fragrance was especially light.

What kind of scent was this? Where did this scent come from?

When Luo Luo was thinking, she suddenly realized the scent had disappeared. Just in a second, the fragrance went away. She could no longer find a single remaining scent. She felt lost as if she just missed a very important thing in her life.

She walked to the west along the wall for a several dozen steps. After she arrived at where the flowers were blooming in the ivies, she discovered that the fragrance was not from here. Subconsciously, she looked towards the green ivies on the wall. She thought the faint fragrance was coming from the other side of the wall.

What's on the other side? It seemed like the discarded Tradition Academy. Compared to the herb garden lived in, the other side had been soundless, like a graveyard. Yet since a few days ago, it suddenly became noisy and crowded, as if something had just happened.

Should I go to take a look?

She had a feeling that the fragrance was related to the person she was trying to find.

Luo Luo's hand in the wide sleeves slightly grabbed tighter. She became a bit nervous. Without turning, she looked into the darkness of night.

Far away, the oil lamp that was emitting lights behind the spider plant fell into the depth of the night, became distorted and disappeared.

It meant that there were people, or some kind of power existing.

She knew who they were. They were her clansmen who were responsible for protecting her. But at the same time, these people also restricted her freedom. Everyday, when she wanted to go to the Heavenly Academy and Startaker Academy, they had to prepare a long time beforehand, and so, they obviously wouldn't allow her to leave at night.

Luo Luo saw her shadow on the wall and thought that she was so useless and was such a coward.

Suddenly she laughed, shook her head, pulled out a button and then loosened her hand.

The button that was made from horns of rhinoceros, fell from her little hand to the ground.

"Pa." One light sound came out.

A fog shrouded the corner of the wall and went in and out of the green ivy.

"Soh, soh, soh, soh," around ten people came out as fast as arrows from different places in the darkness of night.

The leading middle-aged man waved his hand and dispelled the fog but he still could not see anything in the corner.

These people obviously had high xiu xing. They were probably even some of the best in the world. Yet now, their faces were all extraordinarily pale. They were extremely scared.

One said with a shaken voice, "Prin...Miss...disappeared."

The middle-aged man's face was extremely cloudy. He ordered with a low voice, "Report to the palace quickly!"

————————————————–

Luo Luo didn't go very far; she just went to the other side of the wall.

She was confident that her people wouldn't able to find her in such a short time because the seemingly ordinary button was actually the Button of Thousand Miles.

The Button of Thousand Miles was a magical item. It could teleport a person to a far distance. Even facing a powerful enemy, the owner could use this item to escape. However, this button was really rare and could be seen as having a second life. Even places like the Zhou Royal Palace or the Longevity Sect didn't have many of these buttons.

But she just used it without much regard and she only flipped over a wall.

For sure, it was a waste of such an unique item. But because of this reason, she was sure that her people would never imagine that she just used a Button of Thousand Miles to travel over a wall. She should have enough time to find the origin of that fragrance.

Compared to the cost of finding that person, the cost of the Button of Thousand Miles was nothing to her.

She was always generous.

When Luo Luo moved into the Herb Garden half a year ago, she was curious of the Tradition Academy and the event that occurred more than ten years ago. So, she climbed up the wall and took a peek. However, when she entered the school several months later, many things had changed.

It was still quiet around here, but the wildgrass around the lake was trimmed into a grass field. From the starlight, it was easy to see that the weed in the lake was also cleaned up. But the biggest change happened to the buildings. Besides the main building, which was still in ruins, other structures were mostly fixed up.

The night was dark and only the library had its lights on.

Luo Luo walked two steps towards the library. Suddenly, a light wind blew onto her face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A satisfied expression came to her face. She captured the leftover fragrance in the wind and with this, Luo Luo knew she had found the right place.

But when she opened her eyes, her satisfied expression quickly turned into one of caution. A hint of coldness showed up in her young complexion.

A person slowly walked out of the back of a tree growing around the lake

The person wore a black robe that reached up to his knees and the two sleeves were also long enough to touch his knees. His appearance was sharp, but his face was covered by the hoodie of the black robe which gave off a mysterious aura.

Luo Luo looked at the person and smiled. Her right hand slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out a button made out of bull horn.

That was another Button of Thousand Miles.

She didn't know the identity of the person in the black robe, but it was clear that he had waited for her to appear. That was the problem

Luo Luo was taught from her childhood to not place herself in danger. In addition, she detected that the person in the black robe...especially the dark item that he held tightly in his hand was dangerous to her.

Therefore she used the second Button of Thousand Miles without hesitation.

She was truly generous, but she was also wasteful. She was rich enough to do that.

She opened her palm and the button started to fall onto the earth.

But at the same moment, the man in the black robe also opened his palm.

The thing that he held in his hand seemed to be made out of iron. The two tips were sharp and the surface was smooth. It looked like a giant needle.

The dark iron piece landed on the floor faster than the button did. Its sharp tip stabbed deeply into the soft soil.

Suddenly tiny scales grew out of the smooth metal surface. The scales came off and transformed into millions of iron pieces. These pieces flew silently into the surrounding night sky.

Following the iron pieces, a powerful presence rapidly covered the entire area of the Tradition Academy.

The smoke screen was gone.

Luo Luo was still in her original spot, and a trace of blood was flowing out of the corner of her lip!

The Button of Thousand Miles couldn't help her leave!

She raised her head and glanced at the night sky. The starlight that was emitted seemed to reflect in a different direction.

The needle-like iron weapon was powerful enough to lock down such a large space!

Her smile was gone. She looked at the man dressed in the black robe and said sincerely, " A struggling Heartseeker...Oh wait, I forgot... There is no such saying at your place. But it is still a struggle to get to your level. You really want to die without a trace and your family members hunted down for all their lives until not a single one left? Is it really worth it to pay this price?"

This was not a threat, but rather an objective statement, that's why it was powerful.

Anyone who dared to bring harm to her would face the boundless rage from the Red River of Eight Hundred Miles.

"To do that, you first need to know my identity."

The man in the black robe slowly let down his hoodie and a ordinary face was under it.

It was just a middle-aged man. There was nothing special about his complexion. If he was thrown into the crowd of the capital, no one would be able to remember his face, especially when he ties up his hair.

Today, he didn't put on any camouflage. His black hair went down to his shoulder. The two black demon horns were shown clearly under the starlight.

This middle-aged man from the Demon Race said religiously without hesitation,

"...If I am able to kill you in the capital of the human world, speak less of my life, I am even willing to sacrifice my soul."

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The starlight was emitted from the night sky and was reflected when it passed an invisible barrier. It shined onto the face of this middle-aged male demon. It made his complexion seemed even paler, as if it was the unmeltable ice from the north.

Luo Luo raised her arm and wiped off the blood around the corner of her lip. She looked at him and asked, "Do you want to kidnap me or kill me?"

The male demon said calmly, "I wouldn't be able to leave the capital if I kidnapped you. Sorry, I could only kill you on the spot."

Luo Luo stared at his two demon horns and said, "It seems like you waited here for me for a while."

The male demon bowed slightly and said, "Since You left your kingdom, or more precisely, when You passed the River of Stinking Blood, I have waited for this day to arrive."

Luo Luo said, "Then it was quite a long time."

"I left my homeland several years ago, and You had started your trip for more than a year already. I hid in the capital like a rat for more than half a year. My life is to silently watch you in the darkness. It was both boring and dangerous."

The male demon revealed his life that he lived these past few years. It was told in a quiet and indifferent tone, but the actual contents were terrible or even solemn – hiding in the core of the human world for such a long time, for sure he sacrificed a lot, especially mentally.

He was silent for a moment and turned around to face the northern direction of the lake. He sighed, "I miss the wind and snow of my homeland. I also miss my wife and family. Thanks to You, I have the chance to accomplish this great task tonight."

After hearing this, Luo Luo's heart grew a hint of regret.

She didn't know that the Demon Race was after her and had followed her from her home all the way to the capital. They were so dedicated to this goal that they waited such a long time for this opportunity. Now the demon race has captured the chance, it would be hard for her to escape.

But the thing she was most regretful of was that she handed this chance to the Demon Race. If she hadn't use the Button of Thousand Miles to escape the protection of her people to find the person, then this male demon could only continue hiding and waste his time in the human world until his death.

She looked at the night sky and stared at the reflected starlights. She knew that the giant needle had successfully blocked out the outside world. Although her people were just on the other side of the wall, they still wouldn't be able to hear her scream.

Right now, no one could save her except herself.

Luo Luo assessed her current situation and grew calm. She looked at the male demon and showed a desire to fight. "A Heartseeker at his peak is strong, but not strong enough. I don't think you are good enough to kill me."

"It's hard to live in the capital. There are too many powerful human xiuxingists here. If I am too strong, then it would be easy to attract the attentions of those powerful xiuxingsts. The Zhou Royal Palace would just need to send a few honorable guests and I would be dead, therefore I must not be strong."

The male demon looked at her. "My technique is specialized in the area of hiding, and so, I am not too strong nor too weak. I'm just enough to kill You, therefore I am the most suitable person for the job which is why it is me that stands in front of You today and not another demon."

Luo Luo said "I want to know your name."

She said this sentence calmly, almost like she was talking down on him.

"My name is Mo He," the male demon answered.

Luo Luo said, "Mo He is just your last name."

The male demon smiled a little, but his expression was a bit frightening due to his pale skin. "It is meaningless for You to waste our time."

Luo Luo laughed. Her laughter was high and could be heard from far away. If that barrier didn't exist, then the people on the other side of the wall would have heard it very clearly. But the male demon didn't have any intention of stopping her.

"I thought you didn't care if I wasted time." she said seriously.

The male demon said "After killing You, it would be difficult for me to escape the capital alive. Then this short period of time would be the last moment of my one hundred years of life. If I can talk with one of royal bloodline like You, I believe my soul would rest in peace."

Luo Luo opened her wide eyes and her eyelashes winked. She asked curiously, "You are not afraid of being discovered by humans?"

The male demon pointed at the iron needle in front of him.

"The royal palace isn't far from here." She cautioned him nicely.

The male demon said expressionlessly. "I am confident that even if the Divine Queen was looking in this direction, she wouldn't be able to see what we are doing."

"Okay. I am sure no one is able to save me now."

Luo Luo sighed. Although she was worried, she still seemed cute.

"Then are you sure you can kill me?"

After finishing this sentence, her eyes got brighter like two night pearls. She took off a leather whip from her waist. The whip was extremely long and it stacked in piles under her feet. It strange how she was able to keep the entire whip around her waist.

"Is that the legendary Falling Rain Whip?"

The male demon was surprised, but it was unknown if it was due to the legendary weapon or some other reason.

Then he looked at Luo Luo and said sincerely. "No matter how many rare magical weapon you have around you, You must die tonight. Because this is the plan of the Advisor and no accident could occur."

After hearing this, Luo Luo held the whip more tightly. Her face grew paler. The Demon Advisor. It is one of the most terrifying names in this entire continent. Even her parents treated this man with extreme caution.

When the great war ended, the demon race lost terribly to the alliance formed by the humans and the Yao race. But the demons did not become extinct entirely. The demon race held their ground in the cold northern territory and seemed to prosper in the recent years. Although it had a powerful and ruthless Demon Emperor ruling the Xue Lao City, another important reason why it prospered was that an advisor was giving order to the demon race. No matter the strange yet effective schemes or the upfront economic policies, there was always a shadow of a person behind them.

Yes, the shadow belonged to the Advisor.

The Demon Advisor was a human.

No one knew why would a human voluntarily betrayed his race to work for the demons, but the entire continent knew that this human was well respected in the demon race. Just from this point, it was clear how great this person was.

The plans created by the Demon Advisor never failed. His mind seemed to have no weakness. His ability to manipulate the mind and other's power already surpassed the level of a master. It was an unspeakable ability.

For countless years, the Northern Conquest started by the humans failed due to this man's schemes and plots. Some conquests even failed before the army was gathered. The loss that this man brought to the human race was greater than the loss to the eight terrifying demon generals combined.

Millions of human xiuxingists and Yao heroes tried to find this Demon Advisor and assassinate him but no one has accomplished this goal. No one has found him besides a powerful swordsman from the Longevity Sect.

Until this day, no one knew the name of this Demon Advisor, what he looked like, where he was from, and what kind of history he had that made him willing to betray his own race and work for the demons. Some rumors said that after the Demon Race lost in the great war, this advisor didn't return to the Xue Lao City with the Demon Emperor but instead chose to hide his identity and live in the human world. He could be your neighbor, your teacher, or even a priest.

That was the most terrifying aspect of the Demon Advisor.

People only knew he liked to wear a black robe.

When many powerful demons mention of him, they respectfully call him Sir Black Robe.

————————————————————

Luo Luo was looking at the demon male wearing black robe and her heart slightly sank.

If this was the Demon Advisor's plan, then she probably had no chance of surviving. Everyone knows that the Demon Advisor's plans all seemed easy, even casual, but they never have any mistakes. Nothing unexpected happens.

The demon male next to the tree wore a black robe. He was the Advisor's direct subordinate.

The iron magic weapon directly in front of him kept all the changes outside of the world.

She came to the Tradition Academy by herself.

No other people could see her.

She obviously would die.

This set up was easy, but it made perfect logical sense.

She knew that she could only rely on herself to have a chance of survival.

But she knew that the legendary demon advisor had accurately and precisely calculated the strength of the two sides. Like what the male demon had previously said, he was not too strong but not too weak, just strong enough to kill her.

He could definitely kill her.

She could see the opponent's strength and stage because of her inborn ability, but it did not mean she could beat him

According to human's xiuxing system, she should be in the primary meditation stage now. For her age, this stage is already quite impressive but in a fight against adult elites, this stage was not enough for her to stay alive.

"At the last moment of my life, I had the pleasure to talk to such a noble princess, I feel satisfied."

The demon male slowly walked toward her and slowly lifted his right hand. You could see a white light between his fingers.

It was the light cluster solidified from Qi.

Luo Luo felt the horrifying influence coming from that light cluster. She narrowed her eyes slightly.

The demon male's feet had on a pair of broken shoes.

His shoes stepped on the grass and did not leave a trace.

At day, the green grasses were cut short and the broken branches revealed a blithe feeling.

The grasses, probably because they were cut short, actually handled the demon male's shoes.

No, that's only the image of a moment.

In fact, when the demon male moved his first step, his body had already began to become empty, then it disappeared!

Luo Luo's eyes became more bright as if they were about to light up the darkness of night.

She knew that this demon male could hide for an exceptionally long time in the human world. Like what he said himself, his xiu xing method focused on hiding, but even so, she didn't expect that the opponent would be able to disappear so easily in a fight.

The next moment, the demon male appeared behind her.

A terrifying fist hit her directly on the back.

The demon male was much stronger than her. He was using his strongest fighting technique.

He gathered all of his Qi in his fist, attack with his full power. He knew that this would cause his right hand to become useless in the future but he did not care. As long as he could kill this girl, he would give up his life and soul, why would he even care about a hand?

Luo Luo could not block the attack. In fact, she could not even trace the opponent's attack.

But her whip could.

She held the long whip in her right hand. Her whip jumped up like a snake, the whip tail, like a snake's tongue darted through the darkness to stab directly into the demon male's throat behind her.

At the same time, she loosened her hand, third button fell to the ground.

Demon male's pale face was indifferent. He did not care at all. He continued to punch down his fist.

Chi! A sound camp up.

A bloody hole appeared on his throat.

Simultaneously, his fist also fell onto Luo Luo's back.

The demons were born in mountains, their power was named out of mountain.

His fist, was a mountain.

This mountain directly crashed into the little girl's body.

The picture looked very violent.

...

The button fell on the ground.

Some fog appeared. Before it was able to spread out, Luo Luo was already turned around and was faced with a horrifying fist.

Under normal situations, she should not have enough time to turn at all in front of that male demon's strange movement, but she did.

Because she used another Button of Thousand Miles beforehand.

The Button of Thousand Miles could not help her pass through that shapeless barrier, but it could at least help her turn around.

But what could she do even if she turned around.

That horrifying fist came closer and closer. The light of Qi emitting out between the fingers became brighter and brighter.

Was it because of pride that during the last moments of her life she turned to face death directly?

No.

Luo Luo's childish face held a firm and determined manner.

She shouted and held her little fist tightly. She fearlessly swung her fist toward the fist coming toward her face.

Hong! Along with a big sound.

The floor was lifted up, dirts flew up and countless deep traces like spider's web appeared on the lawn. The forest that was just fixed was blown down when facing the wind!

The wind softly passed by.

Dirts gradually settled down to reveal bodies.

The demon male stood at his the original location but his pale face had a very complicated emotion. Several lines of blood could be seen flowing down slowly.

His black robe was already shredded into fragments to reveal a pale but robust body.

His right fist was badly mutilated. Frightening white bones were already visible.

The most horrifying wound was on his head.

The demon horn on his left side was broken from the root. Blood was coming out.

A yellow sharp tusk deeply nailed onto his forehead shook slightly.

If this sharp tusk went in a few centimeters deeper, then he would have probably died already!

The demon male wanted to pull the sharp tusk out, but for an unknown reason, he did not dare to do so.

He knew that if the advisor did not give him the magic weapon to suppress the battlefield, he would be already dead from this girl's surprise attack.

Thinking to this point, his face became even paler and somewhat scary.

"This...was the great emperor's tusk?"

He looked into Luo Luo's eyes. His voice was shaking slightly. He yelled painfully and furiously "Truly you are the legendary princess who possesses countless treasures. You actually own defensive magic weapons at such a level. After all of this, I have underestimated you."

Three Buttons of Thousand Miles, a Falling Rain whip, and a Great Emperor's dusk.

Every single item was a treasure that even the elites would have trouble getting ahold of. And these were all held by her. And all were used by her without hesitation.

If the elites of the world saw tonight's scene, they would definitely thump their chest and stamp their feet. They would definitely feel extremely unfortunate.

But she was different because she was Luo Luo. She was very generous so she had to be generous to herself first. Moreover, these things were hers anyway.

"I have to admit princess, your reaction is very good. The inborn bloodline's power is indeed strong. But unfortunately... this is a plan developed by the Advisor. He must have already calculated the items you have and ascertained that those are not enough to kill me."

The demon male used his hand to paint blood all over his pale face. Under the slightly twisted starlight, it made his face look strangely dreadful.

He eventually said, "I am still alive. So can you can please die?"

Luo Luo's situation was not good. The corner of her lip, which she previously used her sleeve to clean up, spilled out a streak of blood again.

She looked at the demon male and lightly waved the whip. The long whip reflecting the starlight as if it came to life in the darkness. It was no longer a snake but had become a dragon.

A dragon in the wind and in the rain.

The Falling Rain Whip ranked seventeenth on the Tier of Legendary Weapons.

—————————————————————

The male demon disappeared and wind started blowing harshly around the library. The light emitted from the inside was like a boat surfing on a great tide. Sometimes it was dim, sometimes it was bright, sometimes it could be seem and sometimes it was gone.

Luo Luo lowered her head and stood calmly. The Falling Rain Whip in her hands kept on lashing in the night wind.

Faintly rain drops started to fall.

The raindrops could block the cold presence from the night sky.

The wind of form a barrier to block lightning.

The Falling Rain Whip could call upon the wind and rain from all directions. It was the best weapon to protect oneself.

But she was just a little girl and she was only at the beginning stage of Meditation. The difference between the male demon and her was too great.

If she didn't use the Teeth of the Emperor to surprise attack him, the male demon could've used his strong qi and held through the power of the Falling Rain Whip to kill her forcefully. But the current situation was still not positive.

The techniques that male demon used were too strange. They followed certain paths that cannot be understood. His attacks travelled freely in the darkness of the night.

Although her whip could bring about the wind and rain from all directions and protect herself, it couldn't capture the whereabout of the enemy which meant that she couldn't attack.

If she couldn't attack, then how was she able to sustain the defense any much longer?

Even if the Falling Rain Whip was a legendary weapon, Luo Luo still needed her soul to use it. With each rain drop or gust of wind, a trace of her Qi was used.

She started to breath more rapidly and heavily. She didn't know if she could hold her ground for the weird magical weapon of the enemy expired or for her people to arrive.

She was still struggling with an unmovable determination, she waited patiently.

She was waiting for the man to truly show himself.

She used all of the magical weapons on her, yet she still couldn't escape. She still had the whip but most importantly, she was hiding her ways.

Only she knew that the weapon she held in her hands was the Falling Rain Whip, but the technique she used was that of a sword.

The sword technique also contained wind and rain.

Wind and Rain Sword of Mountain Zhong.

The most powerful point of this sword technique was that it could concentrate the wind and rain into one single point and attack the most fragile part of the enemy.

The male demon was already hurt and wasn't at his peak anymore. She was confident that if a chance showed up, she could definitely kill the enemy.

But the problem was that although the man was enraged after being wounded, he still didn't lose his conscience. He appeared to be extremely patient. Before he was entirely sure of his chance to kill her. Now he would use his strange technique and avoid the wind and rain. He didn't give her any chance to attack.

Luo Luo suddenly felt cheated.

The techniques of the demon race were always mysterious and hard to understand. But if she could master the Wind and Rain Sword of Mountain Zhong and realize the true core of the Wind and Rain of Eight Direction, how would she be in such a passive situation?

Why didn't the teachers of Heavenly Academy and the Starseeker Academy know how to teach her? If she could find the person from that night, could he teach her? Right, if it weren't for this person, how would she ambushed and be in such a bad position?

Yes, it was all that person's fault.

(Editor Bingo: Girl please stop being spoiled and it was your own fault...)

Because Luo Luo felt cheated, she didn't want to be generous. She decided that if she found that person in the future, she wouldn't give him that many presents anymore...

Perhaps, take away half of the gifts?

Although Luo Luo was thinking about this, the battle still raged on.

Danger approached with merciless steps.

A wound appear on her neck. The male demon caught a weak point of the Falling Rain Whip and gave an almost life threatening blow.

Not only did Luo Luo feel cheated, she was also sad.

She didn't want to die.

She always felt that living was the happiest thing, and the most beautiful thing — you see, the clouds in the sky are pretty and the clouds in the capital are magical. Sometimes they looked like the hair of the ladies on the street. The clouds of her homeland were also beautiful just like the face of a young bandit.

Even if she was to die, she felt that she couldn't die in the capital because many innocent people would die for her death, like the lady on the street, or the young bandit.

Luo Luo started to lose more and more blood.

The Falling Rain Whip got weaker and weaker.

The male demon was still hiding in the darkness of the night.

She felt tired and sleepy.

The Falling Rain Whip lashed through the night silently and the wind and rain was quiet as well. The demon also didn't make any sound.

Silence surrounded the Tradition Academy. It was most suitable for sleeping.

Besides playing and xiuxing, Luo Luo loved to sleep.

She knew she couldn't sleep at a time like this, but she really was sleepy.

Suddenly, a noise broke the silence.

The Tradition Academy woke up.

So did Luo Luo.

"Absorb the starlight into the chest and let the Qi flow freely. Lift your wrist to the shoulder and hold back the wind and rain."

Luo Luo didn't know who was speaking.

But she knew it was the contents of the Wind and Rain Sword of Mountain Zhong.

She instinctively held her whip and flipped her wrist. She lifted her left knee and the Qi flew upward. Ignoring the veins spoken about in the sword technique, the Qi flew straight into the body and skipped the stomach into the chest. She felt her hands holding the whip and started to heat up.

"What's next?" she thought with a confused expression.

The night was still dark.

The sound came up again.

"Dou Zhen, Kui Liu."

The two words with weird pronunciations were heard.

But if they were separated, then people living in this world would easily understand what they are.

Dou Zhen, were the two stars located respectively on the East and the West.

Kui Liu, were the two stars located respectively on the South and North.

Stars stayed still forever, especially the famous stars. People who lived on the ground regardless of age all clearly remembered the stars' positions.

Luo Luo was dazed. She didn't understand the meaning. Where were these locations?

Was she supposed to stab to where the star Dou was? How about Zhen?

Suddenly, she understood.

Between Dou and Zhen, she could draw a line.

And between Kui and Liu, she could also draw a line.

The intersection of the lines was the only point in the sky.

Luo Luo opened up her eyes widely, looking towards that place.

The Falling Rain Whip in her hand was already stabbing towards the point in the sky.

The Falling Rain Whip gathered all the rain and wind into one line. The hundreds of wind and rain became a sword.

Wind and Rain Sword of Mountain Zhong.

In the Tradition Academy, the wind and rain suddenly grew smaller but the sword spirit became much stronger.

Chi. (a sound)

Blood was blown out from the dark sky.

At the same time, the elite demon gave an angry and painful call.

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A second later, the sound came up again.

The same four words, four stars, and one position was repeated.

Then a new set of words were heard. "Su Shu, Shan Wei."

Luo Luo held the Falling Rain Whip in her hands and guided the whip to follow the directions. The raindrops and wind all solidified into one straight line. It was as if the line ignored time and accurately pierced into the one point in the sky.

The completely dark sky had nothing. Yet when the Falling Rain Whip stabbed in, it brought another streak of blood and a painful cry! Different from the previous painful call, which carried shock and anger, this call expressed more confusion and even some fear!

Luo Luo felt that her Qi was moving inside her body with tremendous speed even if it was not flowing through the all the vessels that the sword technique required. The Qi was still able to arrive at the hand that was holding the whip and reach a point where it was even stronger than when she was practicing it.

This made her very confused but even more so surprised and happy.

At the same time, the voice kept coming. Sometimes it gave her instructions about the sword technique of Wind and Rain Sword of Mountain Zhong, sometimes it told her which actions she should make, and sometimes it told her how she should channel her Qi, but the instructions were all different from what the sword technique manual said. Most of the things that she heard from was based on the stars in the sky.

Hearing the voice made Luo Luo remember a time when she was very little. Her dad was on the edge of the cliff and pointed towards the clouds to teach her fighting techniques. Thinking back made her feel more and more tranquil and calm. She didn't need to think and she simply had to let her spirit follow her mind. The Falling Rain Whip in her hand flew over like an extremely sharp sword and constantly stabbed into the darkness.

Pa pa pa pa (sounds). From the darkness came a seemingly infinite amount of blows. The sounds were came from the tough and terrifying Falling Rain Whip which had landed on the demon's body. Several dozens of fragmented fabrics could be seen flying in the wind soon after. These black fabrics fell to the ground.

Chi chi chi chi (more sounds). The first half of the Falling Rain Whip was stained with blood and became red. Blood were also splashing out of the darkness at the same time, but the wounded man was still invisible. It was as if a shapeless pen dipped with red ink was scribbling uncontrollably. The image looked very strange.

After another painful but angry yell, the Demon elite finally could no longer hide where he was and fell out of the darkness. Immediately after his feet touched the ground, he rolled along the surface a dozen loops. It was only until he was near the lake did he dare to stop.

On the Demon elite's body, wounds from the Falling Rain Whip could be seen everywhere on his body. He was constantly bleeding and the robe hanging messily on his body had already became spliced up. He looked extraordinarily miserable. Where could his previous power and influence be seen?

The first thought he had after being forced out of the darkness was to retrieve back to it and get away from the Falling Rain Whip. The farther, the better. During the process of moving back with difficulty, he did not forget to take back the magic weapon that he had placed in the lawn at the beginning of the battle because he had lost all his courage and spirit to fight.

He squatted next to the lake like a dog. His right hand held onto the magic weapon to protect his head. The sounds coming out of his mouth were like a broken air bellow. It was very hoarse and filled with shock, anger, hatred, and fear because he could not understand why was he could not hide from the whip.

"Who? Who is it! Get out!"

The Demon elite looked at the darkness surrounding the Tradition Academy. Then he looked toward the dark light outside of the library. He remembered that he seemed to have forgotten about something. His bloody face revealed extreme tension and his voice was very shaken.

The light on the lawn outside of the library became brighter because the door was opened.

Then the surrounding light became a bit darker because someone just walked out.

A youngster stood on the staircase.

He wore an old Taoist robe and held a little sword.

His face was slightly pale and somewhat nervous but his eyes looked determined and had no intention to flinch.

—————————————

Chen Chang Sheng was always in the library.

For all these nights, he has been in the library.

He was absorbing the starlight and Purifying himself.

The reason he woke up from the meditation mode wasn't because of the raging fight outside of the library, but because the magical weapon used by the demon xiuxingst interfered with the starlight that was shining down from the night sky.

He had walked to the window and found out a battle was ensuing in the Tradition Academy. He didn't know who the young girl was but after seeing the demon horns of that man, he knew immediately which side he should stand with.

And then, the male demon disappeared into the darkness of night.

The long whip in the hand of the young girl summoned the wind and rain into the field.

From the beginning he didn't think that he had the ability to help the young girl because he hasn't even reached Purification yet. Besides, the young girl and the male demon were seemingly more powerful than him.

He stood at the window's corner and observed the fight silently. He was cheering for the young girl but he didn't make any sound. Chen Chang Sheng didn't want to bring any negative variable into this fight so he didn't want his presence to distract the young girl.

The demon probably wouldn't care about a regular human's life, but that young girl might.

He didn't miss this detail because he was a careful and observant person.

But a moment later, he discovered surprisingly that he might actually be able to change this fight.

The whip in the young girl's hand was no ordinary weapon but she wasn't using the techniques of a whip but rather a sword.

The Wind and Rain sword of Mountain Zhong.

In the old temple of Xi Ning Village, Chen Chang Sheng saw this sword technique and he remembered very clearly that it was written down in the fourth chapter of Yu Hua Scroll.

Of course, the sword techniques were written in the ways of Taoist debates. Just a few days ago, he found the corresponding books in the library and realized that the techniques were hidden in those mysterious and difficult words.

He memorized the entire sword technique and after the recent reviews, it was only natural for him to see the young girl's sword technique that was hidden with her whip. But her attacks only contained the form of the technique but not the actual core. In addition, her way of using Qi was weird or the battle wouldn't have been this difficult.

Yes, although he didn't have a trace of Qi in his body, he had already started studying about ways to use Qi.

After countless days of studying in the library and comparing the information with the knowledge in his head, he tried to break the limit of his veins to use Qi. For this purpose, he has already made several assumptions – since his Nine Veins weren't connected, if he wants to xiu xing he must find an entirely new way.

He didn't know if this way was useful or if it could use the Wind and Rain Sword of Mountain Zhong. He was just an ordinary person without Qi, but at that time the young girl was heavily wounded and was about to die. He must take a step forward and gamble on this idea because he wanted to help her.

It was just a single sentence.

"Absorb the starlight into the chest and let the Qi flow freely. Lift your wrist to the shoulder and hold back the wind and rain."

Luckily, the problem of the young girl's Qi when using Wind and Rain Sword of Mountain Zhong was very similar to his problem.

But more luckily, the girl listened to his advice without knowing his identity.

But the luckiest thing was that Chen Chang Sheng's assumptions were successful and worked on the young girl.

The Wind and Rain Sword of Mountain Zhong finally showed its true power.

...

"But how did you know where I was?"

Next to the lake, the bloody demon man stared and furiously yelled at Chen Chang Sheng.

The Falling Rain Whip was powerful, especially after the little girl applied Chen Chang Sheng's teachings. If she could use Qi to use the Sword of Rain and Wind of Mountain Zhong, then as long as she knew the location of the demon elite, she could definitely wound him heavily.

The problem was, how could Chen Chang Sheng know his location so soon?

"New moon snow, plum blossom steps, approximately three thousand positions, all of these needs to be memorized."

Chen Chang Sheng walked to the little girl, placed the little sword horizontally in front of his chest, and looked at the demon elite far away. He was very cautious, but he spoke very casually "I did not know that this is the Ye Shi move, but I had memorized it before,"

Yes, this was the most mysterious movement in demon race – the Ye Shi Move. Relying on this movement technique, people could move freely in a certain range and most importantly they could hide their tracks using the technique.

Even inside the demon race, such movement technique was a secret that common people wouldn't know.

But since Chen Chang Sheng was very young, he already memorized all of the three thousand and more positions and the order in between.

Back then, he thought he was reading a propaganda type book named "Index of Mist. " Until eight days ago, in the library he read a documentation on a real battle between a senior from the Tradition and a Demon elite. After the comparison, he realized that this book, was actually about a xiu xing technique.

"Therefore you are lying. You are not one of the Mo He clan, your last name is not Mo He."

Chen Chang Sheng looked at the male demon and said seriously. "You are one of the Ye Shi clan, your last name is Ye Shi."

The demon xiu xingist was deeply surprised. He had a grave expression.

There was more things that he didn't expect.

He thought the youngster in the library wouldn't affect tonight's plan because that youngster didn't even reach the Purification stage yet.

What he didn't realize was that this youngster almost destroyed the plan that was set down by Sir Black Robe.

What he never thought of was that the youngster was more interested in the small lie he told in the beginning.

This made him melancholic and irritated.

And then he was sad. He whispered to himself, "The Advisor truly has unlimited wisdom. He knew that I didn't want to die and wished to use the legendary weapon to protect myself... Therefore, he planned the appearance of this strange youngster."

(Editor Bingo: I AM WEAK THAT LAST COMMENT.)

(Editor Edittour: You are not weak, Chen Chang Shang is.)

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Chen Chang Sheng did not really understand what he meant. He moved a bit closer to the little girl, trying his best to shield her.

The demon race man kept a sad face and continued speaking "Because you showed up, I can not kill her. My only option is to use the legendary weapon. I will die with you, but this is the Advisor's spirit. No one can stop it."

Chen Chang Sheng faintly felt worried. His hand held his sword tighter..

The demon man stood up, looked at Chen Chang Sheng and sighed. "Young man, I don't know who you are but I think in the future you will definitely become a great person. It is unfortunate that tonight you will die with me."

After saying this, he raised an iron magic weapon. Along with his action, an extremely terrifying power fell from the sky. Countless tiny iron pieces, flew back from the darkness. The shapeless barrier that separated the world disappeared.

A mountain-like black net that was extremely large fell down upon the Tradition Academy.

"Net of Fog?" Luo Luo mumbled with a noticeably paler face.

Ranked nineteenth in Tier of Legendary Weapons. Net of Fog.

The legendary weapon of the demon race.

According to legend, it was the first Demon Emperor's net for hunting.

Once it fell, the entire world would be covered.

Nothing could break it.

Even famous legendary swords could not break it.

Normally such a strong Demon race magic weapon should rank even higher on the Tier of Legendary Weapons, at least not lower than the Falling Rain Whip, but because it was the Fate Cabinet from the human world that created this tier, they ranked it lower than it should be because of bias. It was also because the weapon had been severely damaged.

It was said that in the ancient past, the real name of the Net of Fog was Fog of Hell. It was recreated by an elite who had unimaginable power but it was never restored to its original strength. Its name was then changed to Net of Fog.

If it were the Fog of Hell, upon spreading out, it could effortlessly turn the person under the net into emptiness. The current severely wounded Net of Fog could separate the world, but if it is used as an attack, then it requires the user to offer his/her life as a consecration.

This was why the demon male did not use this magic weapon to attack since the very beginning. Before Chen Chang Sheng gave Luo Luo guidance and had severely injured him, the demon had the chance to kill Luo Luo. Now, it was not possible and the only way to accomplish the mission was to use his life in exchange for Luo Luo's life.

Because he had to die, he was obviously somewhat sad.

Looking at the big black net that was falling down from the sky, Luo Luo was shocked. Her face was pale because she knew what this net was and understood that even though the Net of Fog no long had its terrifying power in the ancient time, it still couldn't be shielded by ordinary people.

Her Falling Rain Whip couldn't defend against it.

Perhaps the Frozen Spear could break through the net, but this legendary spear was in the royal palace. Who could help her?

She raised her head and looked towards the black net in the night sky. Her Falling Rain whip lashed out like lightning and brought wind and rain along with it.

A deep noise was heard.

The Falling Rain Whip was like a snake struck by lightning and broke into million of pieces. The whip was retracted reluctantly.

An unthinkable amount of strength was sent into her small body through the whip.

She spit blood from her mouth and fell onto her back.

The terrible fight tonight was extremely exhausting for a fourteen year old girl. She couldn't hold her ground anymore and her eyes were blurry. Right before she fainted, the last scene she saw was that the youngster took out his short sword and thrusted it into the dark night sky.

That sword was dim, it was normal, and it was short.

The youngster's arm raised high into the sky. It welcomed the attack of the black giant net.

His movement was a little slow. It gave a feeling of sadness to the audience.

Since the difference between them was so great, it was like he didn't know his limit. It felt hopeless.

It was like a mantis trying to stop a running horse or an egg falling down into the Dew Platform and crashing against the hard surface.

Luo Luo was sad. She was sorry. If it wasn't for her, he probably wouldn't have died.

Then, she fainted

—————————————–

A loud clash.

The seemingly indestructible giant black net was torn in the middle. The wind that was blocked outside of the barrier blew violently into the center of the net. Following the wind was the real starlight, it poured down like a waterfall into the barrier.

A burning cloud appeared in the vast sky and suddenly the cloud descended into the middle of the Tradition Academy. The grass on the field was burnt and the leaves on the trees were dried up. The temperature of the field kept on rising.

It was a Red Cloud Kirin!

The Red Cloud Kirin crashed heavily into the chest of the demon xiuxingist and the chest bones of that demon were broken into pieces. He started to spit blood involuntarily. His body slammed heavily into the grass field but his right hand was still holding onto the magical weapon tightly.

Another clashing sound!

A burning knife brightened the night sky of the Tradition Academy.

The right arm of the demon xiuxing was chopped off and it flew into the sky before finally landing into the lake.

A middle aged man was sitting on the back of the Red Cloud Kirin. He was fully armed and his armor was also blood red. His expression was deadly and serious while looking down onto the demon.

The demon xiu xingist's face was filled with hopelessness. He whispered "It's you, no wonder you could break through the Net of Fog..."

Xue Xing Chuan. The General of Zhou. He rides a Red Cloud Kirin as a mount and held the Bloody Butcher as his weapon!

He was trusted deeply by the Divine Queen and he controlled the capital army of Zhou for many years.

Out of the Thirty Eight Generals of the continent, he was ranked second!

"Ye Shi Tan Lu. Of course you are hiding in the capital."

Xue Xing Chuan looked at the person covered in blood underneath his mount and said expressionlessly. "Of course, you are not worth my time. But I really want to know if you are able to keep silent about Black Robe after being sent to the Department of Investigation."

The male demon's name was actually Ye Shi Tan Lu. He was already in a corner, but he fell into an abyss after hearing the words of Xue Xing Chuan. The Demon knew the humans wanted to use him as a source to find the Advisor. After noticing that he couldn't even commit suicide, all desire to live was gone.

What is true power? Xue Xing Chuan held true power!

Even if you want to die, you couldn't die in front of him.

Countless presence shown up in the Tradition Academy. Faintly, several flying mounts could be spotted approaching in the night sky.

This battle occurred close to the Royal Palace. After the Net of Fog was deactivated, it alarmed countless people.

The top ranked xiuxingsts like Xue Xing Chuan arrived first. Then the rest of the guards and xiu xingists came.

Many people flipped over the stone wall at night and appeared in the field. Those people that saw the scene were shocked. They didn't care about the male demon that was held down by Xue Xing Chuan and ran straight to Luo Luo. They brought her away quickly.

Xue Xing Chuan knew the identity of these people and didn't stop them. He was satisfied because he captured one of the Ye Shi clan, who were experts in hiding. Furthermore, he may be able to find out more about the mysterious Demon Advisor from this male demon.

The only thing that bothered him was the sentence Ye Shi Tan Lu whispered before he went into a coma...

Xue Xing Chuan wrinkled his eyebrows slightly. He knew clearly that when he arrived the Net of Fog had already been destroyed.

The guards locked down the male demon and dragged him away. The only thing waiting for him at night was his terrible fate.

The Red Cloud Kirin turned around slowly.

Xue Xing Chuan looked at the youngster not too far away from him and asked expressionlessly "And who are you?"

Chen Chang Sheng who still held that short sword was a bit confused of what was going on. After hearing the general's question he came back to reality. He put the short sword back into the sheath "I am a student here."

Xue Xing Chuan was a little surprised. He didn't know that this unnoticeable youngster was the rumored new student of the Tradition Academy.

Just one look he knew that this youngster was an ordinary person, that short sword was common as well. He was probably dragged into this battle by accident.

But this youngster was willing to take his short sword and stand in front of that demon. Xue Xing Chuan appreciated his bravery, but it was just a simple appreciation. No one wanted to have any connection with the Tradition Academy. This was a cursed place and he didn't want anything to do with it.

Someone went up to Chen Chang Sheng to check his identity.

The Red Cloud Kirin leaped into the sky and flew away with the clouds. Not too long after it disappeared into the royal palace.

Chen Chang Sheng was holding the name list and explaining to the person. He raised his head and looked at this scene for a moment.

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The next morning Luo Luo woke up very early. Her body was different from normal people and last night she only exhausted her strength. She wasn't heavily wounded. Her mind had already fully recovered.

But she didn't get off the bed immediately. She opened her wide eyes and looked at the fancy decoration on her bed. She thought about the events that happened last night, especially the last scene she saw right before she blacked out. Luo Luo's mind was a little stunned.

When that black giant nest came down on her, it was like the sky had fell.

When she thought she would die the next moment, she saw the youngster stand in front of her and used the short sword to defend her.

Her father always used to say, when the sky falls down there would be people taller than you to lift it. She wasn't happy about this because she thought her father was mocking her height. But right now she felt lucky that she was petite.

Although the youngster wasn't that tall, he was taller than her.

Therefore when the sky fell down, he lifted it for her.

Luo Luo didn't know why but she was happy. She smiled with a satisfaction.

Then she realized something and got up quickly. She yelled, "Where is everyone?"

Ten or more so of her people came right in like the wind.

She asked nervously, "Is he okay?"

People who were able to serve her personally, regardless of gender, were smart people. After hearing this, they knew immediately who she was asking for. A person went up and reported, "General Xue Xing Chuan arrived on time. The youngster wasn't wounded."

Luo Luo patted on her chest. She was a little scared.

"That's good."

She flipped over and got off her bed. "I'm going to see him."

Her people looked at each other, they all kneel down at the same time. Some people were even crying a little.

Luo Luo realized what she has done and became embarrassed. "I'm sorry, but I won't do anything that I have done last night."

Her people let out a sigh of relief. Was their little princess finally growing up?

"But I really need to go see him."

Luo Luo looked at her people and said sincerely "He is an important person to me."

After hearing this, silence filled the entire room.

Thinking back to last night where their princess left the Herb Garden and got caught in the ambush of the demon, was she trying to meet that youngster in the middle of the night？

Her people were terrified. Was their little princess finally growing up?

(Editor Bing: Yea definitely a lover . i bet you guys .00000001$ that it is a potential lover.)

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