Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 1108 – 6666

The Orthodox Academy had a very long history; it had been founded even earlier than the Great Zhou. Many great trees grew within it, some of them even surpassing one thousand years in age.

In that bloody incident twenty-some years ago, quite a few of the ancient trees had been destroyed, but most of them had survived. The trees of the forest near the Imperial Palace had especially flourished, their rich canopies creating a quiet and serene atmosphere. Chen Changsheng had noticed this forest when he entered the Orthodox Academy for the first time, and he had spent many early mornings there, practiced his sword many times.

He knew that these trees were very tough, their bark also very tough, but he still found it rather strange.

This object he had hit was very hard, but its edge was not sharp. Instead, it was smooth, like it had been polished.

He turned his head and realized that there was a hole about a foot deep where the tree had snapped.

The tree’s leaves were already blocking out the sun, and dust and snow had accumulated in the hole, making it very difficult to see what was inside.

This had probably been a hollow in the tree before.

The object his right hand had touched was inside this hole.

To put it another way, that object had been inside this tree hollow the entire time.

Chen Changsheng could not be sure what this object was.

Shang Xingzhou’s sword had come.

The Dao sword of the Monastery of Eternal Spring was imbued with the purest and coldest aura. It cut through the chilling winds and slashed at his stomach.

……

……

When Shang Xingzhou was walking toward Chen Changsheng, Xu Yourong was walking into the Orthodox Academy.

Wang Zhice once more jabbed his finger through the air.

A gentle breeze blew about the lake shore. There was no shrill howl. Nothing seemed to have happened.

But in reality, an invisible barrier had formed between the Orthodox Academy and the Hundred Herb Garden.

At this moment, Xu Yourong made a very special move.

She raised her left hand, her finger lightly jabbing at the void.

Pop.

It was a soft sound.

It was like the most fragile of bubbles being punctured by the softest of hairs.

The invisible barrier was no more.

Xu Yourong finally stepped into the Orthodox Academy.

Her face was pale, with an extremely thin trickle of blood at the corner of her lips.

Wang Zhice had not used some finger technique, but a technique he had created while studying in his old home in Donglin Alley: the Star Seizing Hand.

He had not expected Xu Yourong to be able to deal with this move, leaving him rather astonished.

To his even greater astonishment, Xu Yourong ceased to pay him any attention upon entering the Orthodox Academy, instead aiming her gaze at that master and disciple in the forest.

The breeze ruffled her white robes as the Tong Bow appeared in her hands, the Wu Arrow notched on its string. She was prepared to strike at any time.

The situation instantly turned tense.

She was prepared to use the Wu Arrows to stop Shang Xingzhou, so did she think that Wang Zhice would not stop her? Or did she trust that someone would stop Wang Zhice?

Who was that other person?

It naturally couldn’t be Tang Thirty-Six.

He was under Wang Zhice’s control, had become a statue by the lake.

As he couldn’t turn his neck, he couldn’t see what was going on in that forest, only look at the lake and the sky.

It was no longer snowing, but the clouds had not dispersed. They still screened out the sun, leaving the capital particularly gloomy.

At the start, he had been filled with loathing, shouting that the Old Heavens were blind.

Now, he was only praying for Chen Changsheng, hoping that the heavens would open their eyes.

Suddenly, a clear cry rose from the forest.

A light flitted past his eyes.

A hole appeared in the sky.

Sunlight spilled through like a gorgeous waterfall.

Tang Thirty-Six wondered in shock, did somebody really open their eyes?

……

……

The black mountain range that was the body of a dragon slowly undulated behind the clouds, stirring powerful winds.

The little Black Dragon had not gone far after leaving the Orthodox Academy. She had hidden close by, prepared at any time to break through the clouds.

If Chen Changsheng was truly in danger, she had no mind for the rules of this fight, and as for that judge… she had wanted to put everything on the line against him for ages.

The sea of clouds began to roil as a hole was torn through it.

Flabbergasted, she turned her gaze to the ground.

She saw the streets of the capital, saw the Mausoleum of Books, saw the Imperial Palace.

Finally, she saw the Orthodox Academy.

A dark forest grew where the Orthodox Academy and the Imperial Palace connected.

The forest had suddenly become bright.

It wasn’t because of the sunlight falling through that hole in the clouds. It was because of a sword glow.

Ten-some shattered trees formed a straight line leading into the depths of the forest.

The stump of one tree had already transformed into countless shards of wood and bark floating in the sky.

These pieces of bark and shards of wood floated together with the snow from early this morning and the lake water that had been sent flying into the air.

In this bizarre picture stood two figures.

Shang Xingzhou stood in front of Chen Changsheng, looking down upon him, his Dao sword having already slashed down.

Chen Changsheng was not dead, because a sword had appeared in his hand.

It was precisely this sword that had blocked Shang Xingzhou’s sword.

Chen Changsheng was still using the Stupid Sword.

This sword style had been regarded by Su Li as the number one defensive style in the world, and had saved Chen Changsheng’s life countless times.

In the Garden of Zhou, Chen Changsheng had also relied on this sword style to escape death time after time.

This time, however, Chen Changsheng had not been sent flying.

His left foot had sunk deeply into the ground, but it was as steady as if it had taken root.

This was a sword style, so only a sword could truly display its wonder and might!

The problem was, just where had this sword come from?

There was no time to ponder this question.

A clear whistle echoed through the forest.

Shang Xingzhou’s sleeve lightly drifted upward, and then his Dao sword descended once more.

Wind and snow followed.

Shang Xingzhou’s figure vanished.

Countless sword glows appeared.

The forest was covered in the slashes of swords.

Sudden silence.

Chen Changsheng raised up his sword to confront his foe.

Clang! Clang!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Several dozen clangs rang out around him.

In that extremely brief moment of time, Shang Xingzhou had attacked several dozen times!

These swords had descended so quickly that the sound of one individual clash did not have time to differentiate itself from another!

But Chen Changsheng had blocked all these swords!

His sword was raised to line up with his brows.

His left knee was bent.

He stood at his original position.

He did not move.

No matter how profound and indescribable you are, how unfathomable your sword intent is, if I bare my sword horizontally before me and weigh down my heart, I can remain safe behind my walls and disregard everything going on outside.

This was a true Sword Domain!

But how long could he last under Shang Xingzhou’s flurry of attacks?

Even if he possessed a perfect Sword Domain and Star Domain, possessed unimaginable amounts of true essence, he could not endure forever.

And Shang Xingzhou was someone who cultivated tens of thousands of Daos. Just who knew what other terrifying moves were hidden up his drooping sleeves?

Chen Changsheng was not prepared to give his master this sort of chance.

In a moment that he could not anticipate but knew would come eventually, he struck.

A sword glow illuminated the gloomy forest.

This sword was as fast as a bolt of lightning.

This sword’s sword intent was clear and shallow, but not at all simple. It was like a fish in a stream, right before the eyes but incredibly difficult to reach out to and touch.

The trajectory of this sword was incredibly profound, so unfathomable that even the gods would find it hard to trace!

This sword pierced through three pieces of bark, cut apart several shards of wood, circled around his left hand, and then seemed to inadvertently stab into the storm.

A groan came from somewhere as the storm fell into disorder.

Shang Xingzhou appeared several zhang away in the snow with a tear in his sleeve.

Chen Changsheng straightened his body, sword in hand, and quietly watched him.

^{1. The repetition of the number 6 is Chinese internet slang. When someone types a bunch of 6’s in chat, they are basically praising you and calling you awesome.}