Ze Tian Ji

Edited by: Michyrr

According to the rules of the White Emperor clan and the tradition of the Demi-human race, one did not have the right to inherit the throne unless they had cultivated the Imperial clan’s technique to its highest level.

No exception had existed over the countless years, and there had never been a demi-human princess able to cultivate the Imperial clan’s techniques to the pinnacle.

If there were no princes, the Imperial clan would have to invite a groom. The son-in-law would be inducted as a prince by blood, and once they cultivated the Imperial clan’s techniques to the peak, they would become the heir to the imperial throne of the Demi-human race.

Princess Luoluo being married was completely understandable to many demi-human subjects. The true question was who she was being married off to.

Because the man she chose was highly likely to be the next White Emperor.

Xuanyuan Po didn’t see it this way.

Just like Princess Luoluo, he was also a student of the Orthodox Academy, also one of Chen Changsheng’s patients.

He knew more than anyone else that the problem with Princess Luoluo’s meridians had been cured by Chen Changsheng ages ago. As long as she was given sufficient time, she could assuredly cultivate the Imperial clan’s techniques to the peak. When that time came, she would unquestionably be the next White Emperor, so why was there a need to invite a groom?

Fine, even if Princess Luoluo did become the next White Emperor, she still needed to marry.

Xuanyuan Po sat on a rock by the Red River. Suddenly, he felt a little moisture on his face.

Drops of rain had come with the morning wind.

Rain was falling from the sky and the princess was going to be married off. These were all matters of nature. (TN: ’Rain will fall from the sky, the mother/girl will be married off’ is a common saying in Chinese that is used to indicate that some events are inevitable and cannot be stopped.)

So why was he so sad?

It naturally wasn’t because he had some hidden love for the princess.

He was a member of the Orthodox Academy and the princess was the Vice Principal of the Orthodox Academy. He had the duty of protecting her.

He knew that the princess had no desire to be married off to someone else.

If something happened to her, how could he face Chen Changsheng?

Just how badly would Zhexiu would look down on him?

Would Su Moyu cross his name off the register?

And there was also... Tang Thirty-Six’s mouth.

Xuanyuan Po felt a shiver of fear, his face turning pale.

"Your Highness, I won’t let you be married off!"

He smashed his fist on the rock beside him.

His right arm was severely withered and seemingly devoid of strength. The only effect was a thump from the moss-covered rock.

Only careful observation would reveal that, beneath his sleeve, countless tiny arcs of lightning were curling around his arm.

Xuanyuan Po left the Red River.

One hour later...

A boom of thunder exploded over the Red River.

A downpour suddenly intensified.

The rock on the shore split down the middle and rumbled into the river.

The moss on the rock had all been charred to death.

......

......

It had already been four years since she had returned from the capital to White Emperor City.

Luoluo lived a very normal life.

Just like when she was small, she lived a life of luxury, spent in studying, cultivating, the four arts of zither, chess, calligraphy and painting, climbing high and gazing far.

Other than her concern for Chen Changsheng and her old friends in the Orthodox Academy, nothing else disturbed her mood.

Her smile was still sweet, her eyes so quick-witted that they seemed like they could speak.

Today, Princess Luoluo was studying the Law Sword of the Mount Li Sword Style.

In the last several years, Chen Changsheng had only written her one letter, but it had been a very long one, dense with words.

In that letter, Chen Changsheng had arranged in detail her homework for the next five years.

In this aspect, although Chen Changsheng could not be considered a particularly well-qualified teacher, he also could not be said to have put no thought into it.

As for why he had chosen the Mount Li Sword Style, it was because this was the sword style he knew best, and the manual for this sword style just so happened to be in Luoluo’s hands.

Morning wind, speckled with drops of rain, fell on the window. Luoluo shifted her gaze from the sword manual to the window, into the rain-soaked distance.

In the last four years, she had studied very diligently, not letting a single second go to waste.

As long as she could master the Law Sword of the Mount Li Sword Sect, the homework Chen Changsheng had arranged for her would be finished.

She had finished the lesson plan in that letter an entire year in advance.

If I finish learning this, will Teacher come to see me? At the very least... he should write me another, arranging for me a new lesson plan.

Luoluo silently thought, then tidied her thoughts and continued to study the sword manual.

Guardian Li gave her an affectionate gaze, tinged with both pride and heartache.

The raindrops lightly beat against the window, and the sounds of kneeling and footsteps could be heard.

Luoluo froze for a second, glanced up, then let out a happy shout as she ran over.

She hugged Madam Mu’s leg, lightly shaking her head and sweetly smiling. It appeared a little like she was whining, but her attitude was more one of yearning and intimacy.

Madam Mu faintly smiled as she caressed her daughter’s face and asked if she was doing well.

After some idle chatter, Luoluo began to ask for assistance on a few questions concerning cultivation, which Madam Mu earnestly answered.

Time slowly passed.

Madam Mu left.

Luoluo gazed in the direction she had vanished, her smile slowly fading, supplanted by an inexplicable grief.

"It’s truly been confirmed?"

"Yes, the news has already spread through the city... The source should be the Imperial Guard of the Abyssal Pearl Pavilion."

Luoluo’s grief originated from the fact that Madam Mu had said nothing of this.

She looked to Guardian Li and asked in slight anticipation, "Is there any chance that Father will come out of his seclusion within half a year?"

Guardian Li whispered, "Probably not."

In the heaven-shaking battle between the White Emperor and the Demon Lord north of Mount Han, both sides had walked away critically wounded.

The Demon Lord had been forced off the throne by Black Robe and the Demon Commander, struck into the abyss. In the end, his own son killed him in the snowy mountains using the Astral Executioner.

The White Emperor had received similarly serious injuries, and he had also become enlightened by that battle. Upon returning to White Emperor City, he entered seclusion to cultivate, hoping to both heal his injuries and advance another step.

It had now been five years since this most exalted and tyrannical demi-human had appeared.

Luoluo gazed at the bold and forceful strokes of the sword manual in silence, then asked, "What of Guardian Jin?"

"He’s still being heavily guarded. It will be difficult to get in touch with him without being discovered."

Guardian Li hesitated for a moment, then added, "Even if we did communicate with Guardian Jin, he wouldn’t be able to do anything."

"Reasonable."

Luoluo asked, "Is Xuanyuan Po still in that small tavern?"

Upon hearing Xuanyuan Po’s name, Guardian Li couldn’t help but show a faint smile. "And he still goes to the palace every day to look at the food list."

Luoluo smiled and ordered, "Send someone to keep an eye on him. If he plans to do anything, knock him out and send him back to the capital."

Guardian Li assented but couldn’t restrain a sigh.

Luoluo had a most revered status, but now, when her mother intended to control her, she could not find a single helper.

The only person that could help her was that bear youth, but she could not stand to see him die because of her.

"Does Madam know what I am most afraid of?" Luoluo said in a soft voice.

Guardian Li appeared slightly startled.

Luoluo fell quiet, then said, "What I’m most afraid of is that Mother is seemingly not afraid that she will anger Father with her actions."

This was a question that had also confused Guardian Li.

"If Mother is not worried, there are only two possibilities. One possibility is that their several centuries of love was faked and that Mother means to harm Father. The other, more terrifying, conjecture is that Father also knows of this matter."

As she said this, Luoluo had a rather perplexed expression, appearing extremely small and helpless.

Guardian Li finally couldn’t help but ask, "Your Highness, why don’t we send a letter to the humans?"