Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

At the age of five, Xu Yourong’s blood awakened and she began to cultivate. She seemed to randomly pick out a star to be her Fated Star, but the brightness of that star could be ranked in the top three within the past century. After a few years, she concluded her studies at the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green. The Holy Maiden of the south personally came to the capital and took her from the hands of the Divine Empress and the Pope to South Stream Temple.

At South Stream Temple, her cultivation level remained in Meditation, but she had already begun to study the Heavenly Tome Monoliths. Moreover, one could see from those notebooks that she really had comprehended them.

He and she were the youngest upper level Ethereal Opening cultivators in history, but he had relied on lucky encounters and the true blood of the Black Dragon, while she had relied completely on her innate talent and perception.

She and Qiushan Jun were alike in that neither had encountered any sort of obstacle on their path of cultivation. As long as they wished to learn it, they would learn it.

In terms of quantity of true essence, strength of spiritual sense, or Daoist techniques, she far surpassed her peers.

She was the true Phoenix.

Chen Changsheng was quiet for a very long time. With regards to the battle seven days from now, he had no confidence whatsoever.

At present, there were many people who said he was a cultivating genius, especially with regards to the path of the sword, but only after reviewing Xu Yourong's life did he understand what being a genius truly meant.

Precisely as Tang Thirty-Six had said last year in the Plum Garden Inn, Xu Yourong was a person that made others speechless.

However, also precisely as Tang Thirty-Six had said, this battle had to be fought. He represented the Orthodox Academy and the Li Palace. Even if they weren't enemies, even if he didn't want to fight, they would still have to fight before talking about other things.

He stood up and walked over to the wardrobe, intending to take out a new towel and wash his face.

He was a person that lived a very simple life. Only in this aspect did he indulge himself. Whenever some major event occurred, he would always wash himself spotless and he would also choose to use a brand-new towel.

Upon opening the wardrobe, he was stunned on the spot: one of his towels was missing.

Several dozen towels were neatly stacked and folded. Besides him, there was probably no one else that would notice one was missing.

That night, Xu Yourong had taken one of the towels and wiped the snow off the desk.

He quietly stood in front of the wardrobe, standing there for a very long time.

For whatever reason, he ultimately did not take out a towel. He slowly closed the wardrobe door and walked back to the window, gazing at the nearby Imperial Palace.

Right now, she should be at the Imperial Palace, right?

……

……

The Imperial Palace of the Great Zhou had many palace halls, but only the elderly ones within the palace still remembered that one of these palace halls was left for Xu Yourong's personal use.

This palace's location was rather remote, very quiet and beautiful. Moreover, it possessed an exceptionally fine garden and the scenery outside the window was sublime.

This was a matter the Divine Empress had decided on ten-odd years ago. Later on, when Xu Yourong went to Holy Maiden Peak, the Princess of Ping wanted to move into this palace, but she was denied.

At this moment, Xu Yourong was sitting by the window. On the other side of the window, snowflakes were gently drifting down and the tree branches were speckled with snow, but she was in no mood for taking in the scenery.

Her gaze rested upon the Fate Compass in front of her.

Her fingers were softly gliding over the Fate Compass. As they moved, the complex lines and patterns on the Fate Compass moved with them. Like flowing water, they congregated and dispersed, as unfathomable as the drifting clouds. There were even times when they seemed just like the Heavenly Tomes.

Those lines which traveled along with different orbits represented countless factors, down to this very moment. They represented the history of the Orthodoxy, the inheritance of the Li Palace, the Orthodox Academy's past, Shang Xingzhou, the Pope, Su Li, that rumored senior brother, Tang Thirty-Six, Clear Lake Restaurant, and countless pieces of information regarding Chen Changsheng. Those sword styles which Chen Changsheng was most skilled at would naturally not be missed out.

As the night gradually deepened, she continued to calmly stare at the Fate Compass, performing her deductions and calculations.

Finally, after a very long time had passed, the snow came to a stop, the clouds scattered, and the starlight fell on the snow covering the ground of the Imperial Palace. The starlight reflected into the room and fell upon the Fate Compass.

She stood up, clasped her hands behind her back, and proceeded out of the palace hall.

The Fate Compass was still quietly sitting on the ground. Under the illumination of the stars, those lines and patterns gradually ground to a halt.

It was a star chart.

……

……

Events of this nature repeated themselves in the Orthodox Academy and the Imperial Palace for six whole days.

Papers were piled high at Chen Changsheng's side, sentences and numbers written all over them. He had even been too busy to take a bath. He was still incessantly calculating, exhausted, but growing ever more confident.

Xu Yourong was also incessantly using her Fate Compass to perform calculations and deductions. Ultimately, she obtained seventeen star charts. As expected, each one of these star charts pointed towards victory.

As the atmosphere in the capital grew increasingly excited, the atmosphere of the Imperial Palace and Orthodox Academy grew increasingly tense.

This was because many people had seen how much time Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong had taken to prepare for this battle—how much effort, mental and physical, they had put into it.

After six days was the seventh day. The seventh day was the day on which the battle would begin.

Not long after early morning, all the other places of the capital grew quiet as countless people made their way to the Luo River.

The location of Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong's match was the Bridge of Helplessness, over the Luo River. Everyone judged this to be the most fitting battlefield.

It wasn't because the Bridge of Helplessness was famed for its scenery, a fitting spot for the battle destined to be recorded in the annals of history. Instead, it was because of the Bridge of Helplessness's location.

To the west of the Bridge of Helplessness was the Li Palace, to the east was the Imperial Palace, and it was equidistant from both palaces.

The choice of this location definitely had some deeper meaning, and it was also fair.

Xu Yourong had stayed in the Imperial Palace the entire time. In a short while, she would most likely come out of the Imperial Palace. However, Chen Changsheng did not leave from the Li Palace, but from the Orthodox Academy. Just as he normally did, he woke up at five o'clock, steadied his mind for a moment, then opened his eyes. Under the earnest gaze of Xuanyuan Po, he ate two big bowls of beef noodle soup. With the assistance of Su Moyu, he put on the uniform of the Orthodox Academy. Whether it was how much of the collar was exposed, how the clothes were arranged, or the difference in the heights of the shoes, all of it was perfectly brought into line with the strictest of standards.

Tang Thirty-Six did nothing. He just sat on the side, picking at his teeth with a toothpick, at the same time grumbling nonstop about how today's braised beef was not tender enough.

The gate of the Orthodox Academy slowly opened. Accompanied by Tang Thirty-Six and the rest as well as the new students, Chen Changsheng walked through Hundred Flowers Lane and arrived on the main street. Then, under the attention of countless eyes, he began walking towards the Luo River.

At some point, a bowl of soy milk and two youtiao had appeared in Tang Thirty-Six's hands.

When Priest Xin noticed this upon reaching the main street, he helplessly shook his head, "At such a tense moment, you actually didn't forget about this matter."

Tang Thirty-Six replied, "What's there to be nervous about? In any case, it's just determining winner and loser, not life and death. That's not even mentioning the fact that good food is always above life and death."

For some reason, Chen Changsheng's mood became much calmer upon hearing these words.

But today, the entire capital was bound to find it impossible to remain calm.

The news that Chen Changsheng had departed the Orthodox Academy was carried along with the chilly north wind to every corner of the capital.

"Chen Changsheng exited Hundred Flowers Lane."

"All the students of the Orthodox Academy are following him."

"The people from the Li Palace have already caught up with him."

"They've already reached the Ink Pond."

"They've passed Tiantong Park."

"Chen Changsheng is about to reach the Monastery of the Returning Dragon."

……

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