Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Chen Changsheng, his body covered in starlight, walked towards the shattered sea of blood.

It penetrated through his clothes like several hundred flickering stars.

Zhou Tong lay collapsed in the ruins of the courtyard, incessantly vomiting blood, already unable to stand up.

From the moment the battle began, Cheng Jun had hidden himself in the shadows. But now, the entire courtyard was destroyed, so there were naturally no shadows either, thus his body was revealed.

As the sole eyewitness to this battle, the leader of the Great Zhou Dynasty's redcoated cavalry stood in a daze for a very long time.

Chen Changsheng had actually won? A heavily wounded youth actually took on peak Star Condensation expert Lord Zhou Tong directly in head-to-head battle and actually won!

The fighting ability that Chen Changsheng had displayed in this battle had completely exceeded his imagination, no, the entire world's imagination.

At this moment, Chen Changsheng had already walked to the ruins. His face was pale and his body swayed as if wanting to fall.

In this life-or-death battle, he had obtained the final victory, but he had also paid a nigh unimaginable price, with almost no true essence left in his body. Even more terrifying was the price paid for forcefully breaking into Star Condensation. With the meridians in his body ruptured once more, his blood containing limitless vitality and danger was currently seeping and flowing in his internal organs.

A harsh light suddenly flashed through Cheng Jun's eyes.

Chen Changsheng had displayed an unimaginable strength in this battle, and even now, he still could not comprehend what that final breathtaking and fierce blade glow was. However, it was very obvious that Chen Changsheng was on the verge of collapse and probably could no longer fight, so he wished to seize the moment.

He raised his right hand in the night wind, hanging it over his waist, preparing at any moment to take out a magical artifact and launch a sneak attack.

Just then, Chen Changsheng turned his head and glanced at him.

His gaze descended, his spiritual sense descended, his thoughts moved.

In the night sky above the ruined courtyard came the shrill howls of countless swords. Soon after, innumerable sword glows descended from the sky.

Those several thousand sword glows that had previously exited the sheath to destroy Zhou Tong's Star Domain of blood now obeyed Chen Changsheng's intention and returned to the world.

An awe-inspiring sword intent enveloped the ruins, and the whistling of the swords ceased. What followed was a light piercing sound, like a cloth being broken through.

Cheng Jun lowered his head and saw only a bloody hole in his stomach.

Soon after, more sword glows pierced through his body.

More and more bloody holes appeared on his body.

Several thousand sword glows, several thousand holes. They were so densely packed that this body ended up as a dense profusion of holes, all them spurting blood.

Because there were too many holes, his blood was instantly emptied out and the dusky light from behind the courtyard shone through the holes in his body. His body looked just like a particularly unique lampshade.

Cheng Jun raised his head and gave a perplexed glance towards Chen Changsheng, then his body immediately collapsed, turning into a pile of blood and flesh on the floor. Only his head was kept in relatively good condition.

Several thousand sword glows passed through his body and swept around the courtyard before finally returning to Chen Changsheng's sheath.

The two crabapple trees, with the gentle caress of the breeze, became piles of sawdust and minced leaves. The several dozen houses of which the courtyard was the center were completely slashed into ruins.

Cheng Jun's shock and confusion were because even if Chen Changsheng had forcefully broken into Star Condensation, logically speaking, he still should not have been able to defeat a grand expert on Zhou Tong's level.

But in reality, no one had ever seen Chen Changsheng's true strength, no one knew how powerful he was if he displayed his full might.

Xu Yourong probably knew, but she had never personally witnessed it.

Zhou Tong only knew that he possessed many ancient swords of renown, that he had learned the sword from Su Li, but he did not know that he had practiced Wang Po's blade intent, even less the fact that he had learned Zhou Dufu's Halving Blade Style. Zhou Tong knew that he was carrying the Orthodoxy's Divine Staff, yet he had no idea of Su Li's letter in his bosom or the five Heavenly Tome Monoliths on his wrist.

Tonight's battle was the first time Chen Changsheng had displayed his full might.

No, even at the end, he still had not used all his methods, because there was no need.

Chen Changsheng had used what Zhou Tong knew and did not know to perfectly design tonight's battle, obtaining the final victory.

On the journey back south from the snowy plains, Su Li had taught him many things—how to march troops and fight wars, how to lay plans and design strategies—and all of it had been used tonight.

This was the true Intellectual Sword. From the beginning to end, all the particulars had been under his control.

Of course, he was ultimately able to win over Zhou Tong primarily because of that final blade.

That blade had used Zhou Dufu's blade style, but it had borrowed Wang Po's blade intent.

Wang Po's blade intent rested on the word 'straight'.

The 'straight' of 'come straight to the point'.

(TN: 单刀直入 means 'to enter with only a single blade', which in turn means to go straight to the issue without beating around the bush.)

How one should live out one's life, Chen Changsheng did not know, but he knew what he wanted to do the most before he died: kill Zhou Tong.

So he came to the alley of the Northern Military Department, entering with a single blade. He wanted to kill Zhou Tong, so he had the ability to kill Zhou Tong.

Gazing at Zhou Tong, collapsed in a pool of blood amidst the ruin, Chen Changsheng was currently not thinking of those important ministers, great generals, or innocent commoners that had died miserable deaths in Zhou Prison, nor of the fact that Zhexiu had once suffered hideous tortures here. He was not thinking of anything. He dropped the kitchen knife in his hands to the ground, gripped the Stainless Sword as the wind blew about him, and walked forward.

He only needed to walk two steps, the sword would fall, and Zhou Tong would die.

To do this, he had no hesitation, no sympathy for the evildoer. He would give no explanation or elegy to the evildoer.

But…he suddenly realized that he could not step forward.

His face became abnormally pale.

At this time, he was just like a seriously ill child.

The night breeze gently blew across the ruins of the courtyard, where both sword glows and sea of blood had vanished without a trace. Amidst the breeze, a faint principle or law appeared to hold fast his steps.

This was a principle or law that he currently could not break through, an existence that exceeded the scope of his comprehension, yet it was also an experience that he seemed to have experienced in his past.

He gazed into the depths of the night, looking to see something. Ultimately, he saw nothing, but then he heard some things. He heard the sound of the blowing breeze, the plaintive cries of the autumn insects in the distance, the sound of something howling through the air, the thunderous sound of hooves from the street, the exhaling of experts, the sound of battle, the sound of blood splashing.

The courtyard returned to silence for only a moment as the darkness was torn apart by an even deeper darkness. Ten-odd assassins of the Department for Purging Officials, transformed into ten-odd streaks of black light, arrived on the scene. They were late because of the shock over what had happened, and the first thing they did was to guard Zhou Tong. Simultaneously, several assassins with cold and sinister Qis lunged at Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng knew that he would most likely have no chance of killing Zhou Tong tonight.

This fact made the hand gripping the sword grow somewhat cold, his body growing cold with it. He did not care about those assassins of the Department for Purging Officials assaulting him but continued to peer into the depths of the darkness, hoping that the other party would appear and give a few words of explanation. But the darkness was still as before, causing his nostrils to gradually flare.

Only those closest to him knew that this meant he was very angry.

The person concealed within the darkness was also probably well aware of this point.

The black-clothed assassins of the Department for Purging Officials were like a part of the darkness. They noiselessly reached Chen Changsheng, resolutely raised metal spikes coated with poison, and stabbed at him.

Right now, Chen Changsheng's true essence was already exhausted, his internal injuries breaking out, but logically, he should still have some fighting power, at least enough to kill these assassins.

But he did not move, only gazed into the depths of the darkness. His eyelashes slightly drooped, concealing the disappointment and faint sorrow within.

Whooshwhooshwhooshwhoosh! Several dozen whooshes came in quick succession as many bright streaks appeared in the gloomy ruins of the courtyard.

These streaks of light were all crossbow bolts carrying divine energy, their origin the divine crossbows of the Orthodoxy cavalry.

Those several black-clothed assassins gave muffled groans and dodged with all their might, yet they could not escape this rain of crossbow bolts. They were cruelly struck and then disappeared in puffs of smoke.

Many hasty footsteps rang out, and a door was heard being forcefully opened, as well as eaves and old roof tiles shattering in the night. A hundred-odd Orthodoxy cavalry from the Li Palace dismounted and poured in from all sides, coming in from the main street, flipping over walls, and jumping over buildings. In the shortest time possible, they completely encircled this courtyard, at the same time placing Chen Changsheng under heavy guard.

Just when the Orthodoxy cavalry charged into the office of the Department for Purging Officials, a streak of fire suddenly appeared high in the night sky.

Xue Xingchuan had come!

His hand held a metal spear and he stood before Zhou Tong. With a grave and stern look, he stared behind the Orthodoxy cavalry at Chen Changsheng and then raised his right hand.

With this movement, from the darkness behind the ruins of the courtyard appeared the silhouettes of many Imperial Guards.

Those soldiers were carrying crossbows, the bolts suffused with a gloomy and terrifying sharpness.

There was a deathly stillness as the two sides stood off against each other. No one spoke, and no person dared to be the first to fire their crossbow. Everyone was watching Xue Xingchuan's right hand.

Everyone knew that his right hand would certainly fall, but no one knew if it would fall gently or with force. These two actions reflected two completely different intentions.

This also meant that tonight in this capital, the future of the Great Zhou Dynasty would follow these actions into two completely different situations.

"Let's stop it here." An elderly voice emerged from behind the crowd.

The crabapple trees in the courtyard had all been transformed into kindling, the houses were already ruins. Only the remains of the stone arch leading outside were still left.

Mao Qiuyu and a Daoist nun dressed in priestly robes walked in from the remains of the stone arch.

Xue Xingchuan narrowed his eyes, recognizing the Daoist nun dressed in priestly robes. It was precisely the permanent representative of the Li Palace in the south, Archbishop of the Divine Edict, An Lin, yet he did not know when she had returned to the capital.

Of the Orthodoxy's Six Prefects, two were already present.

And Mao Qiuyu was holding in his hands a pestle faintly suffused with light, an important treasure of the Li Palace.

"Chen Changsheng attempted to murder an important minister of the Imperial Court. Could it be that the Li Palace wishes for the Imperial Court to act like this matter never happened?"

Xue Xingchuan did not turn to look, but he knew of Zhou Tong's miserable situation where whether he was alive or dead was still unknown.

He said these words not because he was Zhou Tong's only true friend in this world, but because he was a Divine General of the Great Zhou, he represented the will of the Divine Empress.

Mao Qiuyu walked in front of Chen Changsheng and calmly looked back. "In these past few years, Lord Zhou Tong has murdered so many of the Imperial Court's important ministers, and the Imperial Court has always treated them like they never happened. Principal Chen is the next Pope; what does it matter if he does something like this once or twice?"

……