Chapter 2002: How Outrageous

The young Water Lord from the Qingjiang Water Palace had already left. In the great hall, all was desolate. The Dragon Lord of the Long River sat in silence, his face impossible to discern, his expression likewise unreadable. In this world, there were few who knew that Zhuang Gaoxian and Jiang Wang would eventually have to fight to the death. Ao Shuyi was one of them. Although he had long surrendered the authority of the Long River's waters and never truly commanded the world's water veins—unable to view the world as lines on his palm—he was even reluctant to grasp the intelligence above and below the Long River. But when Ku Jue had blocked Zhuang Gaoxian at the Long River, the battle of two true beings blocking the river—how could it not alarm the Dragon Palace of the Long River? Though he remained stationed at the Dragon Palace, often not moving for centuries or millennia, he was no prisoner. At that time, Zhuang Gaoxian had been pursuing the youth named Jiang Wang, and he had known. Or rather, he had known of Jiang Wang before Zhuang Gaoxian. Later, at the River-Watching Platform, he had witnessed Jiang Wang's triumph firsthand, and witnessed how Lin Zhengren feared death and dared not step onto the stage. The conflict between Jiang Wang and the State of Zhuang was practically laid bare on the table. Anyone who made an enemy of a peerless genius like Jiang Wang, as long as they weren't stupid, would certainly choose to eliminate him early, cutting off the future. Zhuang Gaoxian had been doing exactly that. Du Ruhui had slandered Jiang Wang for consorting with demons, receiving a scourging naked atop Mount Yujing. Though this wasn't widely known, it wasn't a secret matter at the Dragon Palace of the Long River. But to think that Zhuang Gaoxian was focused solely on Jiang Wang, plotting only against Jiang Wang—that would be underestimating Zhuang Gaoxian, underestimating this hero who had revitalized the State of Zhuang! Under the circumstances of two Buddhist true beings sealing the gates, at the moment when Jiang Wang was forging his golden body as a human hero, advancing toward Cave Truth at terrifying speed... Zhuang Gaoxian was still full of ambition, pushing forward the State of Zhuang's expansion. For the ruler of a nation, there was no method better than increasing national power to enhance one's cultivation. The Dragon Lord of the Long River saw Zhuang Gaoxian's ambition and didn't mind making a deal. But before that, Zhuang Gaoxian still needed to cross the Dragon Gate. As for the yellow silk scroll in his hand... Ao Shuyi casually tossed it aside. This letter need not be read again. The information Zhuang Gaoxian wanted to convey had already been transmitted through the act of sending the letter. He couldn't trust Song Qingyue, nor could he trust the journey from the Qingjiang Water Palace to the Long River, nor the time spent traveling. So the letter couldn't contain any substantive content. If one truly opened it, it would be nothing more than some polite, ceremonial greetings about domestic affairs. The great hall had been cold and silent for a long time before the Dragon Lord's voice rang out— "I too have not received guests for a long while. You shall choose a time, prepare well, and send an invitation to the Star Moon Plains—invite the previous champion of the Yellow River, Jiang Wang, to attend the Dragon Palace banquet." A voice from outside the hall replied, "Only invite Jiang Wang?" "Of course not." The Dragon Lord of the Long River said slowly, "Invite all the geniuses from the main competition of the last Yellow River Assembly. After several years, how are the current world's geniuses faring? I carry the legacy of the ancient Human Emperors here. I shall host them at my expense, and also test their true quality." "And the true inheritors of the great sects under heaven?" the voice outside asked again. The Dragon Lord of the Long River said, "Invite those with sufficient weight as well. I rarely have such interest—why not make it lively." "As you wish." The voice outside rippled outward like waves on water, spreading ring by ring. And this quite weighty piece of news would spread in the same manner— After many years, the Dragon Palace banquet was reopening! ... ... Walking upon the Ninth Bridge was like a dragon's spine bearing mosquitoes. One could particularly feel one's own insignificance. It was hard to imagine how powerful Chiwen must have been in those days. To refine its blood directly into a bridge—the Emperor of Lieshan must have possessed such divine power! King Qinguang had been walking for a long time. It had been ages since he'd walked such a wide road, and ages since he'd walked so slowly. With the majesty of the Long River and the length of the Chiwen Bridge, an ordinary person would need three days and three nights to walk across on foot. He hadn't been able to verify this claim. Because halfway across, he'd been stopped by an unruly customer demanding an explanation, and only after properly providing after-sales service was he able to extricate himself. Doing business these days was truly difficult. After deducting organizational operating costs and employee appearance fees, the profit was only a few dozen times over—practically no profit at all—plus he was constantly being troubled by customers. Sigh, he often advised other assassin organizations to change professions, but good deeds went unrewarded. What was good about this line of work? He had crossed from the south bank to the north bank of the Long River. Not far past the Chiwen Bridge was the southern frontier of Great Qi. Of course, after crossing, one could also divert to the Sword Pavilion, the State of Liang, or the Suspended Temple. The other small states squeezed between Qi and the old Xia territories would sooner or later be swallowed, so there was nothing worth visiting. He decided to retreat from the bridge and head toward the State of Li instead. The State of Li was also a small state—historically weak and militarily feeble, subject to the whims of powerful nations. It had once been destroyed by the State of Xia, and after the first Qi-Xia War, was restored with Chu's help. After restoration, it still maintained a deferential diplomacy with Xia, acknowledging it as the "Superior State." Likewise invaded and swallowed by Xia, the State of Liang had been successfully restored, and its presence in the current world was much more formidable. For after Emperor Kangshao of Liang raised his banner to restore the state, he had always openly opposed Xia, treating it as an enemy, with a fierce national character. Fortunately, the State of Li produced a genius named Fan Wushu, who made it to the top eight in the External Building division of the Yellow River Assembly, but unfortunately lost to Zhongshan Weisun of the State of Jing. This achievement earned them the qualification to enter the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons and open up territory and compete for resources. The State of Li knew it was too weak to support the battlefield beyond the Gate of Ten Thousand Demons, so it traded this qualification to the State of Xia. However, Xia didn't have time to make much use of it before being devastated in the second Qi-Xia War. And the State of Li genuinely obtained a large batch of resources, enriching its national foundation. As for the future, perhaps it would depend on how far Fan Wushu could go. Small states had always been objects of exploitation by powerful nations, and also the best hiding places for unorthodox paths. In fact, in the State of Li's capital of Yining City, there was a Ghost Lodge that was managed quite well. However, the leader of Hell's Gate hadn't come today to inspect. He wore his hair loose, strolling leisurely down the long street, savoring the unique charm of this country. In all of the State of Li, there wasn't a single opponent. Even the so-called strongest fighter of Li, Duan Sigu of the Divine Descent realm, couldn't last more than a few exchanges. He could walk all the way to the royal palace without issue. But he wasn't arrogant. Walking in Yining City was no different from walking in Taiping City or Nanwei City. He would even buy a few boxes of snacks—the special Chan Mian pastries of Yining—eating as he walked. Until a certain moment, when the long street suddenly fell silent. He too stopped, turning amid the crowd that should have been bustling, and saw at the other end of the long street a figure wearing a tiger-head mask, slowly walking over. The posture was completely different from before. But he knew this was You Que. "You're not exactly punctual." He greeted, holding out the pastry box. "Want some?" The tiger-masked figure said, "You may call me—" "Stop!" King Qinguang immediately cut in. "Whatever you do, don't tell me your current identity. I'm not interested, and I don't dare hear it." "Sun Yin." The tiger-masked figure said. "You already know my identity. Self-deception is pointless." King Qinguang sucked his teeth. "You're really stubborn!" Sun Yin, wearing a pair of black gloves, calmly drew out a wisp of green light from his robes. The green light writhed between his fingers like a worm before being crushed to nothing. "After killing me, you kept using curses to probe. Guessing my identity was only a matter of time." "I can explain." King Qinguang said. "This is merely professional standards, not a reflection of my personal attitude toward you. In fact, I respect you greatly." As he spoke, he glanced left and right. "...You're not going to start fighting in a crowded market, are you?" Sun Yin simply walked forward at a leisurely pace. "Everything has a price. Once you choose to be a blade, you must accept the possibility of being broken." "No." King Qinguang sensed something was very wrong. "You don't care at all who found me before you, or what they said to me?" "Nothing but those people from the Yizhen Dao. I could have found you first, but you chose to let them find you first." Sun Yin said without emotion. "If you told them I wasn't dead, then killing you is perfectly fine. If you said nothing, then killing you means no one will ever know I'm alive." King Qinguang's entire repertoire of words was choked off. This Sun Yin was a lunatic who didn't follow any script at all. How outrageous! The Yizhen Dao people could talk, but you couldn't? He took a deep breath, spreading his arms wide. His hair instantly surged wildly, and his eyes turned emerald green. "Either way, you're going to kill me?" Sun Yin smiled. "You actually want to resist—" He suddenly took a step forward—just one step—and was standing before King Qinguang. That black-gloved palm pressed forward with impossible lightness— Dense, dense curses were crushed into streams of green light scattering across the sky. King Qinguang's feet sank into the flagstones, vomiting blood as he retreated, carving a deep trench through the long street! And the bustling crowd on the street, only now discovering the two fighting, lost all composure, screaming and fleeing in every direction. "If not for avoiding harm to innocents, you'd already be dead." Sun Yin walked forward calmly, using part of his power to push the crowd aside as he approached King Qinguang. King Qinguang simply looked at him steadily. "No one should casually sentence me with the word 'death'." Blood stained the corners of his mouth a vivid crimson, and the green light in his eyes was eerie and mad. "I curse you—" He began walking back, moving voluntarily toward Sun Yin. With each step, the green light on his body grew more intense. "I curse you: no food when born! No clothes when dressed! No path when walking! No roof when sleeping..." The voice was eerie and evil, manifesting terror, as if it had undone some seal of the great thousand world, releasing ghosts that could not roam under sunlight. Each word struck like a clay vessel, becoming the source of darkness, the terminus of chaos, the essence of terror! The sky-full green light whirled, and infinite negativity grew madly everywhere it could take hold. Beauty was smeared with yellow mud, human hearts grew green moss. All things thus fell, eternally into evil! Sun Yin was unmoved, merely extending his hand forward, placing his palm parallel to his own face, then gently flipping it—as if overturning this very world— BOOM! BANG! Just as they fought fiercely and the battle escalated once more, a figure suddenly plummeted from above. Face up, back down, sprawled four limbs akimbo as it crashed to the ground! At the far end of the long street it made such a tremendous sound that it smashed a deep human-shaped凹口 into the stone pavement. A dogskin hat floated weakly through the air. His black mask was intact, but it was being firmly pressed down by a single hand. It was this hand that had saved his mask, pressed his face, driven his head into the ground, and pinned him entirely into the stone street! And the owner of this hand was a black-robed figure who had landed on the long street at the same moment, crouching. This man's aura was极其cold, his gaze like iron. On his face he wore a mask that was entirely black, showing only eyes and mouth, with a pale white portal painted on the forehead. Within the pale portal was stamped a blood character—"Biancheng"! He was thus holding down Chu Xu, the Protector of the Equal State, crouching at the end of the long street, raising his eyes to look this way, saying coldly, "I trust I'm not interrupting anything?" King Qinguang's curse had not ceased; if anything, it had intensified. He strode forward, but between him and Sun Yin, there seemed to always be an abyss. And Sun Yin maintained his palm-flipping posture toward King Qinguang, turning to look at Biancheng Wang who had appeared suddenly, a hint of surprise in his tone. "You actually dare to come closer?" Not only did he come closer on his own initiative, he even brought Chu Xu, who had been keeping watch outside the State of Li. Truly worthy of being an organization that dared to accept assassination contracts from the State of Jing—these people of Hell's Gate, one couldn't tell if it was blind confidence or sheer audacity. Facing such a powerful true being of the current era, Biancheng Wang's posture remained cold, merely saying, "After killing a Cave Truth with a single sword stroke, I did indeed become somewhat overconfident." Chu Xu's voice struggled from beneath the mask. "Sir, we have no past grievances nor recent enmity. Why must you press my face to show off?" The fact that he could still speak meant his life was in no danger. The very reason he spoke was precisely a demonstration of his intelligence—he understood perfectly why Biancheng Wang hadn't killed him, and had even considerately refrained from lifting his mask, protecting his desire to remain hidden. He also wanted Biancheng Wang to know that this considerateness was useful. "My apologies." Biancheng Wang replied coldly, in a tone that contained absolutely no apology. "It was merely convenient." Sun Yin asked calmly, "You don't think threats are useful against me? We Protectors—who fears sacrifice for an ideal? After he dies, you can accompany him in death." "Cough!" Chu Xu, pressed into the pit, hastily said, "But then again, if it's an unnecessary sacrifice, we prefer to avoid it when possible." The previous Chu Xu had died rather carelessly—he should at least accomplish something before dying! Only at this moment did the State of Li's city guard emergency rally, and the experts from all paths arrive late. But seeing the green light filling the sky and the terrifying might of the tiger-masked figure raising his palms to overturn heaven—who would dare approach? Only one figure, in wide robes with broad sleeves, a jade belt with a folding fan tucked diagonally, strode forward rapidly, closing in on the battlefield at great speed! The genius of the State of Li—Fan Wushu! He was still only at the peak of the External Building realm, his cultivation even inferior to Chu Xu's who was pressed into the rubble-filled pit, and had absolutely no qualification to intervene in such a battlefield. But his robes billowed like banners, his momentum unyielding. "Young Master, please stop!" someone cried out to block him. "You are a body worth a thousand gold, the hope of the nation—you must not risk yourself lightly!" Fan Wushu didn't even look back. "Others wage battle in our capital. Though the people of Li may lack the strength to intervene, how can we have no spectators?!"