Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

"I said I was going to drown them, and this is precisely the 'Drowning of Seven Armies'." At some point, the folding fan in Tang Thirty-Six's hand had been exchanged for a green apple. He used the apple to gesture at the lights of library and the silhouettes left by the new students as he said, "The Orthodox Academy now has so many people that it won't be so easy for our opponent to waste us to death. On the contrary, we can waste them to death."

Chen Changsheng shook his head. "I don't believe you."

After a moment of silence, Tang Thirty-Six replied, "This is the beginning."

"The beginning?" Chen Changsheng was truly confused.

"Your beginning is also the Orthodox Academy's beginning, and this place will always have to get new students…" Tang Thirty-Six looked over the academy in the night and said, "One person's Orthodox Academy sounds very cool, but in reality, that's not the Orthodox Academy. It's just one person. In the future, if it becomes two people, three people, three or four people…none of these is the Orthodox Academy. Only the current academy is the Orthodox Academy."

As the night deepened, the lanterns remained brightly lit. Chen Changsheng followed his gaze and muttered, "But what do we need all these people for?"

"There is strength in numbers," Tang Thirty-Six explained, turning to him. "At the moment, they're still very weak, very young, but in the future?"

"The future huh…" Chen Changsheng had a rough idea. It was just that he really had not considered matters of the future, because he was accustomed to placing his gaze on the time before he reached the age of twenty. But when he looked at the brightly lit Orthodox Academy, at those new students sitting by the window quietly reading their books, at the backs of those young men and women by the lake, he recalled those old scenes that had come to mind when he had just entered the Orthodox Academy, those scenes from several decades ago of those young men and women in this academy studying and gazing at the lake. As he thought of all this, a smile gradually revealed itself on his face. He thought to himself, no matter what happens in the future, this is also rather nice. And doesn’t it seem like those trees that had only seen silence for so many years have woken up?

Tang Thirty-Six spoke, "Don't forget, in the future, you will be the Pope."

The entire continent knew that Chen Changsheng would become the Pope in the future. Only he himself was not so sure about it, thinking it far too remote. He had not thought that he was already the Principal of the Orthodox Academy, only several steps away from ascending to the endlessly radiant throne of the Pope. Of course, his true power was far from the likes of Prefects such as Mao Qiuyu and Daoist Siyuan, but purely based off the divine hierarchy, he was already their complete equal. As Archbishop Mei Lisha had said back then, Chen Changsheng only needed to bow to the Pope. To do so for others was not necessary.

"The Pope…it's not that great."

"Of course it's not that great." Tang Thirty-Six explained, "If His Holiness were not standing behind you, a powerful figure like Daoist Siyuan or Linghai Zhiwang would be able to render you into dust with a single finger! In fact, amongst the reasons they so stubbornly persist in standing by the Tianhai clan, I believe the most important is that His Holiness chose you as his successor. In the future, if you plan to become Pope, it won't be a simple affair."

Chen Changsheng recalled the undercurrent that been running within the Orthodoxy in these past few days and the All-School Martial Exhibition proposal that had clearly been targeted at the Orthodox Academy, and he knew that Tang Thirty-Six's conjecture was correct. Compared to the true powers of the Orthodox Academy like Linghai Zhiwang, he had no foundation in the Orthodoxy other than the Pope's support and the favor Archbishop Mei Lisha had bequeathed upon him. If he wished to become the next Pope, he would inevitably suffer countless complications and challenges in the coming years. How could he respond to them?

"Orthodox Academy is precisely your foundation. In the coming decades, the students and teachers that emerge from the Orthodox Academy will all be regarded as your people, whether they want to or not."

Tang Thirty-Six turned to him and said, "The Tianhai clan and those two archbishops definitely have many contingency plans. There's even a chance that they want to borrow this matter of challenging the Orthodox Academy to directly revolt against his Holiness. But now, our messing around has confined their efforts to the gate of the Orthodox Academy, so all the pressure will necessarily also be borne by only the Orthodox Academy. You must become used to this fact, because in the coming decades, you could confront similar difficulties at any time."

It was only upon hearing this explanation that Chen Changsheng realized how complex the matter was. Ashamedly, he said, "I really don't understand these things. If this is the case, was it lucky that I didn't go to the Li Palace?"

"Even if you did go the Li Palace and seek the aid of His Holiness, if his elderly self decided that the Orthodox Academy was still able to endure, he wouldn't say anything."

Tang Thirty-Six stared him in the eyes. "Because His Holiness thinks the same as the rest of us. We all hope that you can grow accustomed to this pressure as quickly as possible and then quickly mature."

"All of this…it's too complicated." Chen Changsheng said from the bottom of his heart, "I could never think of all these things. How are you all able to understand this?"

To make painstaking investigations and ascertain the minds of others, these were things that people like the Demon Commander, Black Robe, and Zhou Tong were most skilled at.

Chen Changsheng had always felt that these were the most difficult matters of the human world, innumerable times more difficult than the Intellectual Sword.

It just so happened that Tang Thirty-Six was also thinking of the sword Su Li had taught Chen Changsheng. "You're even able to learn the Intellectual Sword, so how can you not understand these things? It's just that you're too lazy to think about them."

Chen Changsheng shook his head.

"I'm not comforting you," Tang Thirty-Six said, and stared at him. "The other day, you said that I and Su Li are very similar. In fact, I also remembered that there's a person very similar to you."

"Wang Po?" Chen Changsheng looked back expectantly.

"That guy with his constantly worried look…just where is he similar to you? I'm speaking about His Holiness," Tang Thirty-Six declared.

Chen Changsheng was a little taken aback at these words, not able to see just where he and the Pope were similar.

"When I was small, my grandfather told me that back then, the Orthodoxy's old school had only two successors: the Pope and your teacher. In terms of both cultivation and intelligence, the Pope was inferior to your teacher. Later on, when the two went their separate ways to study at the Heavenly Dao Academy and the Orthodox Academy respectively, the gap between them grew greater and greater. However, after another ten years, His Holiness caught up. He wasn't like your teacher, who believed in money and power and developed an extremely deep relationship with the Imperial Court. He only studied in the Heavenly Dao Academy, his mind free of distracting thoughts. As a result, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds."

Tang Thirty-Six clarified, "I said that you and His Holiness are very similar precisely because the both of you are extremely focused and extremely treasure time."

Chen Changsheng contemplated this, then replied, "It seems that it really is this way."

Because of that shadow, he always lived extremely seriously, cultivating with extreme focus and valuing his time to the extreme. It was just that he had not imagined that the Pope had also been this sort of person.

Tang Thirty-Six stared at him again and said, "In truth, I've always wanted to know, you value your time so much and are always in a rush…just why are you in such a rush? Just what do you need to do?"

Chen Changsheng was silent, saying nothing.

"You don't need to say it. I'm guessing it'll once again sound like some insane declaration like when you said that you wanted to take first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination. Do you want to become the second Zhou Dufu?"

Tang Thirty-Six didn't wait for him to answer. Smiling, he said, "Whatever, but I think it will definitely be very interesting. In the future, I will watch as you succeed in this endeavor."

Chen Changsheng thought it over, but he didn't say the two words of 'thank you'. Instead, he returned a question, "And you? What do you want to do? Why have you become so serious recently…why do you want to help me?"

On many occasions, a question like 'why do you want to help me' could very easily make the mood turn disastrous, but he and Tang Thirty-Six were already too familiar with each other. He didn't care and Tang Thirty-Six was similar.

"Before I entered the capital, I never thought about what I wanted to do in the future." Tang Thirty-Six walked under the great banyan tree and gazed down at the specks of starlight in the lake. After a pause, he continued, "Or perhaps, what I was to do in the future had already been decided, so I didn't need to think about it."

Chen Changsheng stood at his side. Glancing over, he realized that Tang Thirty-Six was abnormally calm.

"When the changes to the Proclamation of Azure Sky were announced, do you remember the Divination Elder's commentary? He said I was lazy, or else I would have long since entered the top ten of the Proclamation of Azure Sky."

"Yes, I remember it very clearly, so that then when I saw you come out of the Mausoleum of Books, I really was caught by surprise."

"Laziness…is because I didn't want to do anything, because I've never been required to do a single thing since I was small."

The wind gradually died down and the surface of the lake regained its smoothness. Those specks of starlight on the water also grew much clearer.

As Tang Thirty-Six gazed at them, he said, "No matter who is the Emperor, no matter who is the Pope, as long as the humans are not enslaved by the demons, my clan can live very well, and I am destined to be the head of the Tang clan. Without needing to do anything, I would live a life of glory, splendor, wealth, and rank. With my powerful authority and high status, I would live in the world's most extravagant manor, marry the most virtuous and quiet wife. I would drink the most expensive wine, ride the fiercest horses, organize the finest theatrical groups, and all those that would come would be the world's most powerful individuals. Since all this was foreordained, what need was there for me to be diligent?"

Chen Changsheng thought it over, then asked, "What about cultivating?"

Tang Thirty-Six replied, "The Divination Elder said that if I were to work hard, I would be able to enter the Proclamation of Azure Sky's top ten, but…that still wouldn't match up to Xu Yourong, Zhexiu, and also you."

Chen Changsheng recalled that when they met at Plum Garden Inn, he had mentioned this matter.

At the time, Tang Thirty-Six had called them 'that woman who makes one speechless and that wolf cub'.

He looked at Tang Thirty-Six and pointed out, "To be able to enter the top ten of the Proclamation of Azure Sky is already quite excellent."

"It truly is excellent, but it's still a bit less than you freaks. Even if it's lacking by just a point, it's still lacking." Tang Thirty-Six paused, then continued, "Since I can't be the very best, what's the point?"

Chen Changsheng didn't know how to respond to this, so he changed the subject, "Then why are you no longer lazy?"

Tang Thirty-Six replied, "The Divination Elder's commentary on the Proclamation of Azure Sky said it was because I met a lucky chance."

"What lucky chance? How come I don't know of it?"

"Idiot, aren't these words precisely speaking about me meeting you?"

"What about me?" Chen Changsheng truly did not recognize anything extraordinary about himself.

And just like Tang Thirty-Six had said a few days ago, a person unaware of their own genius was truly something that made people in the same field both angry and depressed.

He looked at Chen Changsheng and shook his head, saying, "I've never met a person like you. The people like you in the world are probably even rarer than pure white Unicorns, because you live…too seriously, too properly. I still don't know what you're chasing after, but that sort of feeling…is very interesting."