Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 588 – Letting Go

The uproar was the culmination of many voices.

Voices of discussion, sighs of emotion.

The relationship between the Mount Li Sword Sect and the Orthodox Academy was no longer as antagonistic as it had been in the very beginning, just as Gou Hanshi had said to his junior brothers before entering Mount Han.

They weren’t enemies, but they were still rivals.

Even if they had no hostility against each other, they would still have to meet, to meet once more.

The Mount Li Sword Sect had effortlessly repelled the experts of Tianliang County that had been brimming with hostility. Gou Hanshi had displayed his Star Condensation cultivation and forced Zhong Hui to withdraw without a single word.

The situation had very naturally developed to this point, until finally, it was time for him and Chen Changsheng to meet.

It had been almost two years since that final match of the Grand Examination. In these two years, many things had happened, so would the result of this battle change?

In this world, only Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi were well-versed in the Daoist Canon. They possessed a cultivation and talent that their peers would find it hard to strive for. The crowd deeply desired to know just which of them was stronger.

Gou Hanshi had already succeeded at Star Condensation while Chen Changsheng had not. Logically, it was impossible for him to be a match for Gou Hanshi, but everyone knew of those events that occurred in front of the Orthodox Academy’s gate in the summer of last year. To ordinary cultivators, surpassing cultivation levels to defeat Star Condensation experts was an unimaginable feat, but this was not at all difficult for Chen Changsheng. But the crowd was still not completely supportive of Chen Changsheng because even though it had not been long since Gou Hanshi had entered Star Condensation, he was still Gou Hanshi. Solely from his name, one could affirm that he was assuredly no ordinary initial level Star Condensation cultivator.

Chen Changsheng stood up and began to walk towards the stone platform, countless gazes tracking him as he moved.

Gou Hanshi was also watching him, very calm and very serious.

Just at this moment, a clear sound came from a room of the pavilion by the lake.

This clear sound was the plucking of a zither, like the crashing of the waves against the shore.

Soon after came the second note from the zither, and then it continued without pause.

This tune was extremely refined. It was obvious from its sound that the zither player was a person who had deeply studied music, each finger lightly pressing on the zither strings rich with emotion. It was just that for some reason, at certain shifts in the music, the zither player would make mistakes that not even a beginner would make—a distinct transition and pause.

“Who is playing the zither?”

Many people turned to the building from which the zither sound was emerging as they thought this question, and there were even a few people that added a few words to this question.

Which person would dare to play the zither at this time?

This building’s door was closed. Some people recalled that ever since a few days ago, that building’s door had been closed and never opened. As it turned out, someone was actually in there.

The Elder of Heavenly Secrets turned to the building and shook his head. He naturally knew who the person inside was, but he had not expected that the person would not be dissuaded by his advice and still insisted on fighting.

“It seems that we can only leave our match for the future.”

Gou Hanshi gazed at Chen Changsheng on the platform and said. At this point, he had already figured out through the music who the zither player was.

Chen Changsheng had as well and replied, “Hopefully not too long.”

There were many people that could recognize who the zither player was. The sounds of discussion rose up and then quieted down as countless gazes were cast upon the building, faintly growing excited.

The zither player was Guan Bai.

The true leader of the Heavenly Dao Academy’s young generation, Famous Name Guan Bai.

Gou Hanshi truly did want to exchange a few pointers with Chen Changsheng, but upon hearing the zither, he was forced to yield.

The crowd had truly anticipated Gou Hanshi and Chen Changsheng’s match, but they wanted to see Chen Changsheng and Guan Bai’s match even more.

Because the people of the continent had already been waiting for this match for an entire year.

In the summer of last year, the gate of the Orthodox Academy had been incomparably lively, but Guan Bai had not taken the stage. He had only quietly stood on a street and glanced at Chen Changsheng.

He had not said anything.

But many people in the capital knew.

He had given Chen Changsheng one year to mature.

After that glance, no trace of Guan Bai could be found. It seemed like this expert of the sword belonging to the Heavenly Dao Academy had disappeared.

It now seemed that Guan Bai had secluded himself to secretly cultivate precisely in preparation for today’s battle.

With a light creak, the door of the distant building was slowly pushed open.

A man walked out of the building, his posture tall and straight, his expression gentle and serene, his temples unstained by dust.

He was Guan Bai, but he was different from the Guan Bai of the past, a Guan Bai different from the impressions he had left in a few people that knew Guan Bai.

The Guan Bai of the past had always been traveling, his body covered in dust, his sharpness threatening.

Anyone that looked at Guan Bai would feel that a sword glow was flashing in their eyes, even cry tears of pain from the sword intent exuded by his body.

The present Guan Bai still had a longsword hanging from his waist, but it remained safely sheathed, not revealing a hint of its edge.

The sunlight of high noon drenched the stone platform, seeming exceptionally fiery and particularly bright.

Guan Bai slowly walked over.

It was absolutely quiet, several hundred gazes following him as he walked, the crowd gradually parting to open a path.

Suddenly, the crowd seemed to grow restless and gradually began to let out cries of surprise. They seemed to have seen something that they found particularly shocking.

Tang Thirty-Six stood up and looked over, his expression instantly turning solemn.

Chen Changsheng had already seen it and his expression was very grave.

With the gentle caress of the lake wind, the sleeve drifted in the air.

Guan Bai’s sleeve gently drifted in the air, at times curling up.

His right arm…had actually been severed!

……

……

There was an uproar, a true uproar, cries of alarm continuously being heard. Everyone had believed that Guan Bai had been living this year like he had the past few, continuing his travels or concealing his identity to kill demons in the battlefields of the north, or even secretly cultivating in preparation for this match. Who could have imagined that when he once more appeared before the masses, he would actually be missing an arm!

Even more shocking was that his right arm had been severed.

In the past, many people viewed Guan Bai as the genius in the path of the sword most likely to enter the top ten of the Proclamation of Liberation. He was much younger than the experts of Wang Po’s generation.

Now, he didn’t even have the right hand which he used to hold his sword…would this once-genius of the sword really sink down into the mundane world?

Under these stunned gazes, Guan Bai reached the stage. After bowing to the Elder of Heavenly Secrets and Xu Yourong, he very naturally arrived at the platform upon which the people of the Orthodoxy were seated.

No matter what, he was still a person of the Heavenly Dao Academy and also a person of the Orthodoxy.

He bowed to Linghai Zhiwang and Mao Qiuyu.

It was plain to see that Linghai Zhiwang and Mao Qiuyu knew that his arm was severed. Linghai Zhiwang said, “Just try your best.”

As the previous Principal of the Heavenly Dao Academy, Mao Qiuyu naturally felt rather complex. He wanted to speak but then stopped, finally just sighing, “You came.”

Guan Bai replied, “In the end, I had to come.”

He then turned to Chen Changsheng, very calmly and precisely bowing.

Chen Changsheng did not avoid him. After receiving the bow, he bowed back.

Guan Bai quietly looked back and also did not avoid him, receiving the bow.

A nearly indiscernible light gleamed in his eyes, clear and somber like the autumn sun high in the sky.

“Everyone is waiting for you, come,” he said to Chen Changsheng.

After saying this, that sword glow vanished into the depths of his pupils, no longer visible.

Chen Changsheng looked at his empty sleeve and said, “I don’t think it’s proper.”

Guan Bai replied, “In this year, no other miracles occurred on your body and I also had to learn how to use the sword with my left hand. It’s very fair, we can fight without our hands tied.”

After a moment of silence, Chen Changsheng replied, “Why can’t you let go?”

“There’s no person who has let their hand go more thoroughly than me,” Guan Bai smiled and replied.

His hand was already gone; did he still need to put down his hands? It was just that there were some matters that he still could not put down.

His smile faded and he calmly said to Chen Changsheng, “No matter how unbearable Huanyu was, in the end, he was still my junior brother.”

Yes, there were many matters that could not be put down.

Although Liang Xiaoxiao had colluded with the demons, his crimes unpardonable, Gou Hanshi and the other disciples of the Mount Li Sword Sect would still cherish his memory.

Just like Zhexiu had said, if Tang Thirty-Six really did something in the future that would enrage both god and man, Chen Changsheng would still find it impossible to detest and reject him.

These things called grudges had always been insoluble, incomprehensible.