Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 1017 – I Have Come to My City

In the distance was the sea.

On the sea was a ship.

The Second Prince of the Great Western Continent stood at the bow of the ship, his clothes drifting in the wind, his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

Mu Jiushi sat in a cabin, occasionally turning her head to look at where they had come from, sorrow on her face.

……

……

To a small stream, the Red River was extremely wide while the sea was beyond comparison.

But as the stream flowed down from the Starfall Mountains to White Emperor City, it became the Red River.

From the pier to the streets to the plaza to the meadow of Heavensguard Pavilion, people prostrated like a tide.

The White Emperor had returned to White Emperor City.

He had not returned directly to the Imperial City, but had decided to take a boat.

The path from the shore to the Imperial City was broad and open.

He slowly walked past the kneeling populace, with his hands held behind his back and no impatience on his visage. It was like he wanted to see if anything had changed about his city in the last few years.

As he casually strolled through White Emperor City, those ministers still loyal to Madam Mu either committed suicide or were beheaded by their relatives.

After a few intense conflicts, the elite Red River Beast Guard also kneeled in front of the Imperial City, their lower legs covered with the blood of their once-closest comrades.

There was nothing that could be considered a true battle, and the situation was pacified even faster than it took for the order of surrender to spread.

Without a word from him, everything was resolved.

Because this had always been his city.

Every street of this city, every old and mottled stone of its walls, still contained his Qi.

This Qi was now returning to his body.

His body grew larger and larger, his Qi growing more and more powerful.

The massive Jings in the river droned, expressing their servitude and welcome.

The black vultures in the high towers buried their heads in their wings, their bodies trembling in fear.

He had always been the strongest existence in the world, and the Qi he silently exuded had an aura of unequalled tyranny.

All of White Emperor City, all the living beings inside and outside its walls, could only shiver in fear of this aura, not daring to make a single noise.

In front of the Imperial City, a figure finally appeared that was not kneeling.

This figure had always been gigantic, like a mountain.

The Xiang clan leader stood in front of the gate. As he watched the White Emperor, the emotions in his eyes were somewhat complex.

He was the Chief Elder of the Council of Elders, and his Xiang clan was the largest clan in the Demi-human race. He himself was the strongest demi-human expert outside of the White Emperor couple.

It was now apparent that he must have been a participant in Madam Mu’s plan to imprison the injured White Emperor, a true betrayer.

In every aspect, he had the right to not kneel, a reason to not kneel.

The White Emperor walked up to the Xiang clan leader.

The Xiang clan leader looked at the White Emperor’s somewhat thin face and his expression subtly changed. He opened his mouth, ready to say something.

The White Emperor leaned his body forward as if wanting to see him more clearly.

This extremely simple action had an unstoppable momentum.

If the Xiang clan leader was a mountain, the White Emperor was world’s tallest snowcapped peak.

His body leaning forward was this peak pressing forward.

He looked down upon the Xiang clan leader.

Like a god peering his head over a snowy mountain.

There was no emotion in his eyes, only a vast white plain of snow.

The traveler in the snow gradually drew further away, just like all the past memories, kindness, and pity. Only apathy and bitter cold were left.

A bolt of lightning illuminated the snow, shone upon the traveler’s figure.

It was a streak of light flashing past those cruel, black pupils.

It was a hand descending from the sky.

The look in the Xiang clan leader’s eyes suddenly changed. With a roar, he threw his hands forth, two thick pillars of stone ascending to meet the hand.

There was no fear or regret in his eyes, only shock and confusion, an extremely strange expression.

A gale howled across the snowy plains.

It stirred up countless piles of snow.

Those piles of snow began to collapse, one by one.

With a light crack, those two stone pillars were covered in a fine network of fractures, and then they gradually began to crumble.

With a boom, the stone walls by the gate of the Imperial City began to collapse, stone chunks flying in every direction.

Dust plumed, obscuring all gazes. Furious Qi clashed with that terrifying pressure, cutting off all spiritual senses and preventing any noise from leaking out.

Blood poured out from the Xiang clan leader’s ears, nose, and mouth in a horrifying spectacle.

Strangely, not a single drop of blood flowed out from his shattered arms.

In his final moments, he finally understood the reason for all this, and his eyes revealed an expression of disbelief and anguish.

“After several centuries, you still were not willing to trust in my loyalty!”

The Xiang clan leader’s shout of despair, grief, and indignation failed to evoke a single change in the White Emperor’s expression.

“‘Trust’ has always been the most useless of words.”

……

……

The dust settled, the rocks ceased to fall.

A few coughs came from deep within the Imperial City. The White Emperor had already gone inside.

The Demi-human Prime Minister, the Shi clan leader, and the other personages hurriedly followed inside.

Xiaode stopped and looked at the Xiang clan leader’s corpse.

There naturally had to be someone to tidy up this mess in front of the gate, but it could not be him.

He had stopped because the look in the Xiang clan leader’s eyes was somewhat strange.

The Xiang clan leader had died, but he had not died content.

His eyes were filled with shock and fury.

This was what confused Xiaode. Before the Heavenly Selection ceremony, the Xiang clan leader had pretended that he had received the White Emperor’s decree, and he had also conspired with Madam Mu. He should have died ten thousand deaths, something he should have been well aware of, so why did he hold such emotions as he died?

……

……

At a certain moment before the White Emperor returned to his city…

Many other events were taking place within it.

For example, some people had left the Starfall Mountains early, using a secret passage to return to White Emperor City before everyone else.

For example, some people had made plans in advance, like the now-deceased Xiang clan leader.

He had gone straight to the Imperial City, bringing no experts of the Xiang clan with him, nor any of his loyal subordinates.

He had even sent his most cherished youngest son Xiang Qiu to that large courtyard near his estate.

Because he knew that this was the safest place. Whether the Empress or the White Emperor won in today’s battle, none of the effects would reach this place.

Xiang Qiu was the strongest in the young generation of the Demi-human race. He had spent his childhood cultivating secret techniques deep within the mountains and possessed a cruel temperament rarely seen in the Xiang clan. However, he had little experience in worldly matters.

He had no understanding of the reasoning behind his father’s plans. He was prepared to leave and go to the Imperial City to assist his father, and he wanted the Demon Lord to come with him.

The Demon Lord knew what the Xiang clan leader was thinking. His deep admiration for this plan led him to think that Xiang Qiu was incredibly stupid.

If the White Emperor really was still alive, White Emperor City would undoubtedly face a heaven-shaking battle.

In truth, the Demon Lord believed that the White Emperor was assuredly alive.

But he would not participate in this battle.

Just like the Xiang clan leader thought, neither the White Emperor nor Madam Mu would touch him, regardless of which won.

Not even the derisive look in the Demon Lord’s eyes could make Xiang Qiu understand. He angrily spat and then led his most loyal subordinates out of the courtyard.

He was somewhat concerned for his father’s safety, but he also didn’t want to miss out on this event that was sure to be recorded in the history books, so he had decided to hurry to the Imperial City.

But he was not able to leave, because the courtyard had been surrounded.

A blind zither player, hugging an ancient zither, stood apart from the crowd.

He looked somewhat tired, his shoulders sagging a little.

Perhaps it was because he had just returned from the Starfall Mountains.