Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 981 – Who Else Is There?

Luoluo’s appearance was so cute that even she felt rather embarrassed, causing her to laugh.

Her laugh was crisp and bright, luoluoluoluo.

In her words just now, she had also used the word ‘咯’. Though the pronunciations were different, the word was written the same1.

She had developed this habit as a child.

But once she returned to White Emperor City from the capital, especially most recently, she no longer spoke like this, no longer happily laughed.

She became calm and composed, as if she had truly matured.

Only today, when Chen Changsheng arrived on a crane, did she suddenly transform into the little girl of yesteryear.

This sight and this laughter was soothing to several demi-human personages, but it caused the moods of even more of them to take a downturn.

They knew why Luoluo was so happy. She trusted that Chen Changsheng would involve himself in this matter. This was something that they were absolutely sure of as well.

As the Pope of the Human race, Chen Changsheng would not allow his student to be married off to the Demon Lord, much less stand on the sidelines as the Demi-human race became allies with the Demon race.

What would Madam Mu do next?

A gale abruptly howled out from the mountains behind the Imperial City, smelling of salt and damp.

This was a sea breeze, though it was hard to say if it had come from the distant Great Western Continent.

The pear blossoms scattered about the floor were gradually swept up, beginning to drift about in the room. But they did not fly too far, choosing to linger around in the air.

Both the sea breeze and the pear blossoms’ dance had arisen from Madam Mu’s deep glance at Chen Changsheng.

It was the deep of darkness, of the abyss, imbued with a chilling aura.

But before Madam Mu could speak or do anything more, another change took place.

The Bear tribe leader and his heavy metal staff stepped forth.

The Shi clan leader stuck his hand in the air to feel the warmth of the sea breeze. Shaking his head, he also stepped forth.

The Prime Minister and ten-some ministers and generals also stepped forth.

They walked out from the crowd around the observation platform, standing out.

Even though they were confronting the majesty and power contained within the sea breeze.

They had chosen their side.

The Prime Minister, the tribal leaders, the ministers, and the generals represented a large proportion of power within the Demi-human race.

They had originally had very close relationships with the humans and been staunchly opposed to the demon alliance.

They had already made their stances known in the hall. The reason they had not persisted, but had remained passive as Luoluo was forced into marriage, was that they knew that with their strength and in unprepared circumstances, it was difficult to face the collective will of Madam Mu and the Council of Elders, much less the White Emperor’s will.

But now, Chen Changsheng had arrived.

He was the Pope, qualified to represent the entirety of the Human race.

With the arrival of such a powerful external ally, if they did not take this chance to make their stances known, what right did they have to stand here?

……

……

The sea breeze contained a terrifying will and a clear meaning.

Chen Changsheng clearly perceived it, but he had no intention of retreating.

At this moment, he still did not have a grasp of what exactly had happened, only a rough picture of the general situation.

But he was confident that even if this was the will of the White Emperor and Madam Mu, many factions in the Demi-human race would still be willing to support him, support the Human race.

More importantly, he firmly believed that Madam Mu would not attack him, at least not in front of so many people.

Every matter had a limit.

If the demi-humans wanted to ally with the demons, they could use Xuanyuan Po’s death to establish trust between the two sides, but they could not use Chen Changsheng.

His status and identity were different.

If he died in White Emperor City, died at the hands of the demi-humans, a massive wave would assuredly drown out the continent.

No matter how secretly happy his teacher Shang Xingzhou would be, the Great Zhou Imperial Court would still form a grand army to launch a furious assault on the land of the demi-humans, or else the rage of millions of believers would burn the palaces and estates of the capital to the ground.

As for how intense, perhaps crazed, the Li Palace’s reaction would be, one did not even need to think about it to know the answer.

The alliance between the Demi-human and Demon races was for the sake of safety and the future, so how could they pay such a horrifying price?

The sea breeze gradually dissipated, the pure white pear blossoms once more dropping to the ground.

Madam Mu remained serene. She had not struck.

Chen Changsheng had not thought wrongly, except in one aspect.

Madam Mu truly would not personally kill him, but in her eyes, Chen Changsheng was still a dead man.

Because someone else wanted Chen Changsheng dead more than her.

A calm voice spoke.

“The teacher’s order is difficult to defy? If the teacher is dead, there naturally won’t be any order, so what will the teacher’s order be then?”

Chen Changsheng silently turned his eyes to the person beneath the pear tree.

He had met this person before in the snowy mountains and knew of his identity.

The most powerful Demon Lord had come alone to White Emperor City. He knew very well what this meant.

The matter Shang Xingzhou had brought up in the letter truly had become reality.

This was the worst situation.

Chen Changsheng’s heart was heavy, but his eyes were indifferent.

The Demon Lord smiled at him and said, “It has been many days since we bid farewell at the snowy mountains. I don’t know if you will be able to survive today.”

The demi-human experts would not attack Chen Changsheng, but he assuredly would.

The demi-humans could choose, but there was no hope of reconciliation between human and demon. It would probably be another few centuries before even a sliver of a chance would emerge.

The hatred between the Demon and Human races was too deep.

The siege of Luoyang and the northern expedition to exterminate demons had left the cruelest and most indelible marks on the collective psyches of the two races.

Anyone who brought up peace negotiations between the two races, even if they were people of such status as the Demon Lord and Chen Changsheng, would immediately be killed, their body exposed to the elements.

The most loyal of subordinates and followers would abandon them, all believers and subjects would spit on their path.

Shang Xingzhou and the Tang Old Master would have Chen Changsheng exterminated in both body and soul.

The Council of Elders in Xuelao City and the several dozen Demon Generals led by the Demon Commander would rip the Demon Lord from his throne and cast him into the abyss.

So it was said that no peace was possible between the Demon and Human races.

The Demon Lord would undoubtedly kill Chen Changsheng.

The story of that night in the mountains had proved that he had this sort of capability.

No matter how talented in cultivation he was, Chen Changsheng was still no match.

The Bear tribe leader wanted to step forward, but he was stopped by the Grand Duke from the Deer tribe.

The Xiang clan leader shot a profound glance at the Shi clan leader.

The Red River Beast Guard kept a vigilant eye on everyone.

The situation on the observation platform was somewhat chaotic, the air tense, and a few conflicts appeared here and there.

Madam Mu had an indifferent visage, caring not for these matters.

As it had been for countless years, White Emperor City was still under her control. No one could assist Chen Changsheng.

Even if Chen Changsheng died here, it would have nothing to do with the Demi-human race. Would this not be the most perfect conclusion?

The Demon Lord said to Chen Changsheng, “I’m rather curious to see if Shang Xingzhou will cross tens of thousands of li to save you.”

Chen Changsheng pondered this question, then replied, “Given Teacher’s style and conduct, probably not.”

The Demon Lord gave him a pitiful gaze, then said, “For the youngest Pope of the Human race to die like this truly makes one sigh in sorrow.”

Chen Changsheng answered, “There’s no need to sigh yet, because since Teacher is not coming, Black Robe and the Demon Commander probably won’t be coming either.”

There was another level of meaning to these words.

If Black Robe and the Demon Commander came to White Emperor City, Shang Xingzhou would absolutely come, as would the Prince of Xiang, and perhaps even the still-injured Wang Po would come as well.

Both Black Robe and the Demon Commander believed that as long as the opponent was not an expert of the Divine Domain, no one was a match for the Demon Lord, so they definitely would not come.

Arching his brows, the Demon Lord asked, “What do you want to say?”

Chen Changsheng declared, “What I want to say is, then who can stop me from killing you?”

1. Luoluo has a tendency to add the word 咯 to the end of her sentences, a practice which does not translate well into English. 咯 can be pronounced as ‘ge’ or ‘luo’.