Ze Tian Ji

Edited by: Michyrr

Chen Changsheng walked into the alley. After a few moments, he walked out again. He stood at the entrance of the alley, seeming rather lost. He had walked through the alley two times and seen many restaurants, but he had seen nothing like the ‘Fish with Tofu’ written on the slip of paper.

Then should he just wait for her to come? He stood at the entrance of the alley, then was struck by a sudden thought. Could it be that to punish his stupidity, she had deliberately played a trick on him? Yes, that must be it, or else why would she leave on this slip of paper a location that didn’t exist?

His emotions were rather complex. The snowflakes descending from the heavens gradually grew larger and the pedestrians on the street and in the alley gradually left to avoid the snow. Because of the feast today at the Li Palace, many people had gone off to the Divine Avenue to see the excitement. Business for the restaurants and taverns within Fortune Peace Road was much worse than normal, and they seemed at the moment rather cold and cheerless.

He did not leave, instead waiting in the falling snow by the alley’s entrance.

......

......

The two sides of the Li Palace’s Divine Avenue were illuminated by bright lanterns. As the snowflakes drifted down, the people of the capital that had come to watch the spectacle had decreased somewhat. Those who persisted, when seeing the line of luxurious imperial carriages of the aristocratic houses and various palaces entering the Li Palace, felt that this journey had not been made in vain. Tonight, the Great Hall of Light where the feast was being held was already filled with priests and ministers, as well as the people from the various academies and halls. However, that quiet and beautiful hall behind the Great Hall of Light was still as tranquil as usual.

The Pope was attending tonight’s feast. He had already exchanged his hempen robe for the Divine Robe. His right hand held a ladle and he was currently watering his Green Leaf. Seeing that the Green Leaf was growing stronger and sturdier, his elderly face revealed a gratified smile. He took a soft towel that had been placed by the pot and gently dried his hands.

On the previous times Chen Changsheng had come to the Li Palace, he had noticed the changes of the Green Leaf. Since the Green Leaf World and the Garden of Zhou were the same in that both were stable shards of space and were impossible to make larger, he did not understand why the Pope paid so much care for its growth. Could it just be so that the gate to enter the Green Leaf World would be more stable? Or was it because as the Green Leaf in the pot grew stronger and healthier, the gate between the Green Leaf World and the original world would get larger and larger? If this was the case, why did the Pope want the gate to the Green Leaf World to get larger?

"In the end, this matter is still too great. Does Your Holiness not wish to consider it a bit longer?"

Mao Qiuyu calmly stood behind the Pope, his attitude very reverential, his two sleeves not trembling in the slightest.

The Pope placed down the towel and smiled, "Upon hearing your narrative of the battle on the Bridge of Helplessness, I realized that this child is more reliable than I imagined. You also said before, solely in terms of potential and future prospects, it’s really quite difficult to find a better person than him. This being the case, if I pass on the Orthodoxy to him, I can be at ease."

Mao Qiuyu was quiet for a while, before replying, "Your Holiness’s words are true. It’s just that Linghai and Siyuan are both well above Chen Changsheng in terms of cultivation and qualifications, and back then, those two also received Your Holiness’s devoted care and nurturing. In my view, those two will find it very difficult to accept this affair."

The Pope walked back to the dais, took down the Divine Crown from the glazed throne, and placed it on his head. However, he did not grasp the Divine Staff which represented the power of the Orthodoxy. In an unhurried tone, he said, "Just count it as me being selfish. After all, this child is the only legitimate successor to the Orthodoxy. Moreover, in the future, he will have to confront this world’s most difficult choice, most frustrating helplessness, most penetrating sorrow. This bestowal is just my consolation to him and also the compensation the Orthodoxy should be giving to him."

Saying this, he slowly turned and began to walk towards that cold, stone wall. As he walked, the stone wall slowly opened, unleashing boundless light.

......

......

This was a Night Pearl that had originally sat on the edge of the Dew Platform, illuminating the capital. Due to the weathering of time, it had gradually lost its shine, so it had been taken down and placed in one of the halls of the Imperial Palace to serve as a light source. Although this Night Pearl was no longer as dazzling as it was in the very beginning, to the memorials on the desk, it was still incomparably bright.

The Divine Empress was currently perusing memorials, at the same time listening to the words echoing through the palace hall.

The elderly chief eunuch, his body bowed, stood to her right, very softly relaying to her the specific details of this morning’s battle on the Bridge of Helplessness.

Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong’s battle on the Bridge of Helplessness had taken place not long after the early morning, yet both the Pope and the Divine Empress did not have people report to them on this matter until it was almost nightfall. This indicated that, unlike the view of the entire continent, these two Saints didn’t much care about this battle. Even though Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong were their most trusted juniors and were even their successors from a certain point of view, this was still, in their eyes, a trifling matter.

"...as the temple sword came from the Sword Pool. Little Principal Chen presumably left some sort of trick. The Holy Maiden was probably clear on this beforehand and so had made her preparations. Yet for some reason, still not attacking his opponent, Chen Changsheng wounded his left arm as a price to forcefully wrest control of the temple sword. Then, once more against expectations, he blocked the Holy Maiden’s Rhino Horn Finger. If just discussing an exchange of swords, he can be considered to have won by half a technique, but if this were a real battle and it continued, he would probably have had no chance of victory. It’s just...the Holy Maiden straightforwardly left in that manner."

After saying his piece, the chief eunuch carefully raised his head up and glanced at her, then slowly retreated.

The Divine Empress’s expression had not changed. This was the case even during the vast majority of the time when the chief eunuch was not raising his head. The talent and intellect that Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong had displayed in the battle on the Bridge of Helplessness was sufficient to shock the vast majority of the people, but not her. Only when she heard that Xu Yourong had comprehended the Sword of Great Light did she arch her brows, seemingly quite surprised at this.

"Truly a stubborn girl."

She threw the memorial onto the desk, stood up and walked to the doors of the hall. Her hands clasped behind her, she gazed at the distant light in the darkness. That place was most likely the Li Palace.

Suddenly, Mo Yu rushed in, her expression incredibly grave. She reported that matter which had just occurred to the Divine Empress.

Quietly gazing at the Li Palace, the Divine Empress smirked, but her eyes were still indifferent. "It’s getting more and more interesting."

......

......

The battle on the Bridge of Helplessness had already concluded, but the discussion brought about by its aftermath could not be so easily quieted in such a short amount of time. The conversations held between the important figures in the Great Hall of Light were still mostly concerned with this matter. With the insight and cultivation of these important figures, after they had calmed down, they were able to recall the scene and understand that Xu Yourong had refrained from using her Heavenly Phoenix true blood to intentionally suppress herself to the level of a normal person. This was because she wanted to engage in a straightforward confrontation, relying on her strength, not innate talent, to obtain victory over Chen Changsheng. However, in no way did this mean that they believed Chen Changsheng had an unfair advantage, because they were also keenly aware that Chen Changsheng had also not used his most powerful techniques—for instance, that method he had used to receive Zhu Luo’s strike in that battle amidst the rain in Xunyang City and not die.

Suddenly, solemn and compassionate music began to play throughout the Great Hall of Light. The stone wall in the depths of the hall began to slowly open and emit rays of light, and stone sculptures on both sides of the great hall began to glow with light. The people in the hall hurriedly tidied their clothes and arranged themselves in order, humbly bowing towards the Pope as he emerged from the stone wall and walked into the light.

Under the escort of the head knights and several archbishops, the Pope slowly ascended the dais. Daoist Siyuan and Linghai Zhiwang were naturally amongst them, and Mao Qiuyu, Archbishop of the Hall of Illustrious Persons, was in the very back. What surprised everyone the most was that the Divine Staff, the symbol of the Orthodoxy’s authority, was clasped between his hands.

Without any long or complicated procedures, Mao Qiuyu calmly began to read aloud the merit Chen Changsheng had performed for the Orthodox Academy. From the Grand Examination to the Mausoleum of Books, from the Garden of Zhou to this morning on the Bridge of Helplessness, and even the rebirth of the Orthodox Academy—this originally taboo matter of the Orthodoxy—had been listed as his achievements.

This had always been a celebratory feast for the Orthodoxy, and of course, what they celebrated were Chen Changsheng’s achievements. Mao Qiuyu announcing these achievements was something that everyone had expected, but what happened afterwards was something no one, with the exception of Mao Qiuyu and the Pope, had anticipated.

After Mao Qiuyu finished reading off Chen Changsheng’s merits, he did not act as people thought he would and directly announce the reward the Orthodoxy would bestow upon him. Instead, he calmly walked to the Pope’s side and then, under the shocked gazes of all, the Pope extended his hand and took up the Divine Staff, declaring, "Thereby, we grant this blessing unto him."

The Great Hall of Light was completely silent. No one spoke because they were all stupefied.

At present, Chen Changsheng was the Principal of the Orthodox Academy. From quite a long time ago, he had been the Pope’s martial nephew, it was just that nobody knew of this fact. After the events of the Mausoleum of Books, the entire continent knew of the Pope’s plans, knew that Chen Changsheng would become the next Pope. However, this had all been conjecture or inference.

Today, conjectures had been confirmed, inferences had become reality.

The Pope had turned over the Divine Staff that symbolized the authority of the Orthodoxy to Chen Changsheng. This was also a declaration to the entire world that Chen Changsheng was his successor.

The silence in the Great Hall of Light continued. It wasn’t because of some strangeness nor was it indicative that some momentous event would occur—no one would dare defy the will of the Pope in this place—it was just that nobody knew how to respond. This was something proper and expected, it had just occurred far earlier than imagined and they couldn’t help but be shocked.

Chen Changsheng was only sixteen.

Daoist Siyuan and Linghai Zhiwang, those two who were once regarded as having the highest hopes of taking up the Divine Staff and succeeding the Pope, had incredibly unsightly complexions. They had originally believed that they still had ten-some years to change the Pope’s will, but they had not expected that the Pope would not give them any time whatsoever.

They were keenly aware of just why the Pope had chosen this time to confirm Chen Changsheng’s status as successor.

If this were before, the new faction of the Orthodoxy, such as the two archbishops and their supporters, might be able to use the reason of Chen Changsheng being too young and requiring further observation as an excuse for a few years, thus delaying the Pope’s decision. But now, the continent already had a sixteen-year-old Holy Maiden; what did it matter if there was a sixteen-year-old candidate for Pope?

Let alone the fact that this candidate for Pope had just defeated that Holy Maiden today.

The silence in the great hall continued, but people gradually began to feel that something was wrong. Even if they didn’t know how to react, what of Chen Changsheng?

Even if he was also very shocked, at this point, he should still stand up and thank the Pope for this blessing, then accept the well-wishes of everyone within the hall.

Mao Qiuyu’s gaze looked over the hall. His brow deeply furrowed, he asked somewhat incredulously, "Where is Chen Changsheng?"

In a certain corner of the great hall, a hand shot up from the crowd, accompanied by a rather uneasy voice.

"He...he...he...at lunch, he was too happy and ate too much. He had some indigestion, so he entrusted me with the task...of asking for leave."

Tonight, the Orthodoxy was celebrating achievements, the Pope had come to personally bestow the Divine Staff and confirm the position of successor to the Orthodoxy...but the person in question was not even here?

The Great Hall of Light exploded with discussion and the crowd parted like water, revealing the person that had just been speaking.

Tang Thirty-Six, his head lowered, his hand raised.