Ze Tian Ji

Edited by: Michyrr

Shang Xingzhou was not able to walk out of the Imperial Palace.

His will was like a torrential flood on the verge of overflowing out of the capital and drowning the entire world, wanting to swallow up Chen Changsheng and leave nothing behind.

Right now, someone stood before him.

The Pope was still in the Li Palace, Wang Po was still sitting by the table, Xu Yourong was at South Stream Temple, the young women of South Stream Temple had been barred within the Orthodox Academy by Priest Xin, Tang Thirty-Six was in Wenshui, and Zhexiu had vanished.

The person who stood up was completely unexpected, but when carefully considered, also someone who should have been expected to stand up.

Yu Ren stood in the wind and snow, the eunuchs and maids around him kneeling on the ground.

For the first time, the young emperor defied the wishes of his teachers and ministers and appeared at a certain place.

It was a place that he had chosen for himself.

The wind blew his cloak about, but it could not blow about his eyes and face. His appearance was naturally as quiet and tranquil as usual.

The fury of the wind and snow was also a thing of nature.

He calmly gazed at his teacher.

Shang Xingzhou calmly gazed at him.

Unlike Chen Changsheng, Yu Ren was Shang Xingzhou’s true successor, the one to which Shang Xingzhou had entrusted all his dreams.

Shang Xingzhou truly cherished him and was willing to sacrifice everything for his sake, to do everything for his benefit.

Yu Ren knew all this, so he was moved, then uneasy, then fearful.

In the past few days, he had been in the Imperial Palace learning how to become a wise sovereign, silently, fearfully.

He knew that his teacher was assuredly going to kill his junior brother.

In order to become a monarch hailed throughout the ages, his spirit could not have a single weakness. To put it another way, there could not be a single existence in the world that could sway his will.

This was exactly what Shang Xingzhou wanted to ensure. He would not even permit himself to have such influence.

Chen Changsheng was able to do this, so he had to die.

Nobody understood.

The Great Western Continent did not understand, White Emperor City did not understand, the south did not understand, the Pope did not understand.

Only that old temple near Xining Village understood.

That morning on the Mausoleum of Books, Yu Ren saw his junior brother carry the Tianhai Divine Empress’s body down from the mountain, saw his teacher come up the mountain, saw the two of them brush past each other like strangers, and he understood.

Thus, in the past few days within the Imperial Palace, he had been very obediently, diligently studying how to become a wise sovereign.

The more uneasy and fearful he felt, the more obedient and quiet he was, just like at Xining Village’s old temple.

And yet his master still wanted to kill his junior brother.

Then his only recourse was to stand up and tell his master that this was not acceptable.

As he gazed at Yu Ren in the snow, Shang Xingzhou became increasingly stern and grave, his will to kill Chen Changsheng growing all the more resolute.

He wanted Chen Changsheng to die precisely because of this, and Yu Ren’s standing here now was all the proof he needed. In his view, Chen Changsheng’s death was even more necessary.

How could all this be stopped? How could one change the intentions of a person like Shang Xingzhou?

Yu Ren’s hand gripped a jade pendant tied to his waist.

This jade pendant was made of green jade. It was completely transparent without the slightest impurity, and thus extremely rare and expensive.

There were no ripples of Qi emanating from this jade ornament, as it was not a magical artifact. It was just a gift offered by the Qiushan clan head to the new emperor when he had entered the palace a few days ago to seek an audience.

This gift almost perfectly symbolized the new emperor’s mind.

At the time, in the palace, when Yu Ren took this jade pendant, he did not show any strange expressions, but his mind was perturbed.

He had not expected that someone in the world would actually be able to guess at his worries and unease, and even give him a way of resolving them.

He clearly understood that during Mount Li’s internal strife, the person called Qiushan Jun who was equally as famous as his junior brother had once done something similar when confronting his father.

So when he confronted his master, perhaps he could do the same.

Shang Xingzhou’s gaze pierced through the snow and fell upon the jade pendant in Yu Ren’s hand.

He knew everything that went on in the palace, so he naturally knew the origins of this jade pendant.

He understood the intentions that Yu Ren wished to convey and thus fell silent.

The wind and snow blew without end, the snow gradually piling up in the plazas of the Imperial Palace. The eunuchs and maids kneeling on the floor and also the ten-some Daoists looked just like black dots.

After some time, Shang Xingzhou finally spoke.

"Just once," he said to Yu Ren. "Just this once."

Yu Ren very seriously nodded.

Shang Xingzhou followed, "But Your Majesty must understand—this is the capital, not Xining Village’s old temple. This is a matter concerning the world, not just between teacher and disciples. He didn’t forget to boil the water, cook a meal, or clean. If you want to suffer in his place, you can, and I don’t need to punish him, but other people will carry out this matter for the heavens, and he will die all the same."

Yu Ren did not think so.

He knew that Madam Mu had gone to the Li Palace, that the supreme expert Tie Shu was guarding Zhou Prison, and there was even Xiao De, Xiao Zhang, and the Wenshui Tang clan.

But he still believed in Chen Changsheng.

Because Chen Changsheng was not alone. He had companions.

Yu Ren clearly understood that because of his influence, his junior brother didn’t talk much or about anything very interesting. However, whether he went hunting in the mountains, to the stream to catch fish, or to the village to buy vegetables, he was always able to meet people willing to help. They were hunters or fishermen, but all of them were people with kindness in their hearts.

Perhaps because they were martial brothers, they had always held a bit of indestructible kindness towards this world?

......

......

The fighting at the end of the street suddenly ceased.

This did not mean the battle had concluded. One could clearly see that Chen Changsheng was still standing in the snowstorm.

Wang Po’s fingers were very long and steady, especially when he gripped the hilt of his blade.

The thin snow crumbled away, revealing the true appearance of the blade. It was still sheathed, still hiding its sharpness.

But there was already a massive difference.

Earlier, this blade had been quietly placed on the table, but now it was gripped in his hand.

With this movement, many things changed.

The Tang Second Master’s complexion became abnormally unsightly.

A flash of perturbation flickered across Tie Shu’s eyes.

The Wenshui Tangs had taken out their kindness as weighty as a mountain, but it was still not enough to stay this person’s blade?

"Do you dare strike me with your blade?"

The Tang Second Master stared into Wang Po’s eyes, his voice even colder than the snow.

He represented the Wenshui Tangs, represented the Old Master, represented that mountain.

Wang Po stood up and replied, "I won’t use my blade against you."

The Tang Second Master said nothing, knowing that there was more.

As expected.

"Because you are unworthy," Wang Po finished.

From Tanzhe Temple to the snowy street, from the yellow leaves to the wind and snow, Wang Po’s blade had never once left its sheath during his time in the capital.

Everyone knew that he had comprehended the Dao of the blade, and was accumulating sharpness. This single blade of his was certain to shake the heavens and earth.

Who could possibly be worthy of receiving such a blade besides an expert of the Divine Domain?

When Wang Po said that the Tang Second Master was not worthy of this blade, this was no jeer, but the truth.

And the truth hurt the most.

The Tang Second Master’s face turned nastier, but then he began to laugh.

This time, his laugh had noise. He roared with laughter that was full of derision.

The laughter suddenly vanished. He stared at Wang Po and icily said, "Whether I’m unworthy or you don’t dare, if you don’t unsheathe your blade, it’s still impossible for you to resolve today’s predicament."

This was also a truth. If Wang Po did not unsheathe his blade, how could he help Chen Changsheng?

What came next was Wang Po’s answer.

He gripped his blade and waved it at the Tang Second Master.

Like the flick of a sleeve, brushing away dust, or driving some repulsive thing from one’s sight, the action was very soft and very disdainful.

The Tang Second Master’s eyes narrowed. He had not expected that Wang Po would actually strike at him. His true essence quickly began to circulate as he stepped into the snow and transformed into several afterimages shining with a golden light that escaped in all directions.

In these past few years, he did not cultivate as diligently as he had in the past, but he still possessed a shocking talent, was still a hand-picked descendant of the Tang clan. His strength remained, and his cultivation was quite high.

He used the Myriad Golden Leaves movement technique of the Wenshui Tang clan. With it, one could cross vast distances in a flash. This was a secret technique that not even Tang Thirty-Six had been able to learn, and although it did not compare to the marvels of the Yeshi Step, it was still very difficult to see through.

Countless chunks of snow flew into the air as Wang Po’s metal blade descended.

The metal blade simply descended, yet it seemed to go through limitless changes.

Ultimately, however, nothing changed.

The metal blade drew a straight line through the wind and snow, simple and clear.

The front of this line accurately struck one of the afterimages in the golden light.

There was a clear pap, like the sound of a slap.

The Tang Second Master crashed into the snowy street.

His right cheek was completely red and blood oozed from the corner of his lips. A sense of utter disbelief filled his eyes.

Only after a few moments did he realize what had happened. He furiously roared at Wang Po, "You dared to hit me!"

Wang Po looked at him and did not speak.

The Tang Second Master spit out several teeth mixed with blood from his mouth.

He rubbed his face with a trembling hand, becoming even angrier as he practically shrieked, "You actually dared to hit my face!"

"From the first time I saw you in Wenshui, I’ve always wanted to hit you."

Wang Po paused, then added, "And I’ve especially wanted to slap you in the face."