Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

The Prince of Xiang prepared to leave.

Xu Yourong said, "Your Highness, please wait a moment."

The Prince of Xiang stopped and looked to her. "Is there a sacred decree?"

Xu Yourong said, "When I was young, I gave a very poor assessment of Your Highness. Now that I think about it, it was because I was not experienced enough."

The Prince of Xiang calmly replied, "The Holy Maiden's praise is too great. I do not deserve it."

The Imperial Court's diplomatic mission left the summit, so there was no need for Wang Po to remain.

"I will have to rest for a while. Please take care of yourselves."

He said these words to Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong.

Experts of the Divine Domain had a complete grasp over the laws of the world. Even if they lost to experts of the same level, they would still be very difficult to kill.

Today, he had joined with Bie Yanghong to kill the blue-clothed visitor. In order to not leave their opponent a single opportunity, they had also paid a great price.

Xu Yourong suggested, "It is fine to just recuperate here, at South Stream Temple."

"Scholartree Manor is not far, and moreover, there are still matters that need attending to, so it would be best if I did not trouble you."

When Wang Po said this, he glanced at the three martial grandaunts of South Stream Temple.

Everyone present knew what he meant. Huai Ren remained indifferent, Huai Shu appeared slightly angry, and Huai Bi's expression flickered.

Huai Bi was well aware that her actions today would draw censure. She had originally intended to leave with the Imperial Court's diplomatic mission, but to her surprise, the Prince of Xiang had not said anything.

The Vice Principal of Scholartree Manor led Zhong Hui and the other disciples forward. After bowing to Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong, they surrounded Wang Po and escorted him down the mountain.

The next to leave were the Old Lady of the Mutuo clan and the head of the Wu clan.

When the heads of these two great clans bid farewell to Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong, they had very humble expressions and acted very properly.

In the last several thousand years, these great clans had never stood on the wrong side.

So it was with the Liangs versus the Chens, Emperor Taizong versus the Prince of Chu, and the Tianhai Divine Empress versus the Imperial clan.

Before today, they had naturally been standing on the side of the venerable Shang Xingzhou and the Imperial Court, but the events of today inevitably had an effect on their stance.

The unification of the continent with the Great Western Continent, the rejoining of east and west, was the greatest undertaking after the confluence of humanity's north and south, and it had the full support of Shang Xingzhou and the Imperial Court.

However, the combination of Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong had rendered the unification of east and west into naught.

The Great Western Continent's scheme was exposed and the blue-clothed visitor was dead, but everyone knew that the Imperial Court's figure was assuredly at the back of this scheme.

Otherwise, Bie Yanghong would not have left those words brimming with murder.

The sudden return of three of South Stream Temple's martial grandaunts and their strenuous insistence on closing the temple was assuredly related to the Imperial Court as well.

It was now apparent that in these two matters, the Imperial Court had lost.

This was certain to change the thinking of the great clans.

If the rumors were true and the Tang clan really had decided to maintain a neutral position in the following days, they also needed to make a new choice.

"I'll send off these two elders."

Tang Thirty-Six glanced at Chen Changsheng, then he grinned and took the Old Lady of the Mutuo clan by the arm, escorting her to her carriage. He also didn't forget to make some idle chatter with the head of the Wu clan, asking him how his grandaunt was doing or if his cousin Mei was still like when she was little, losing her appetite whenever the weather got just a tad too hot.

Afterward, the various sects also came up, bowing to Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong, then bidding farewell.

Everyone had come to Holy Maiden Peak today to preside over the ceremony of the closing of South Stream Temple, but who would dare mention this matter now?

The three martial grandaunts had rather gloomy expressions, especially Huai Bi, whose expression was so dark that it was quite ugly.

From the moment she had broken out of seclusion to now, Xu Yourong had not said a single word to them, or even glanced at them.

The last to bid farewell were the disciples of the Mount Li Sword Sect. Gou Hanshi bowed to Xu Yourong and said, "I originally planned to see if there was anything that we could assist with, but… Eldest Brother might already be here. To be on the safe side, I still need to seek him out."

Since Bie Yanghong had received Qiushan Jun's message while coming up the mountain, Qiushan Jun had naturally come today.

As for why he had never appeared, different people had different guesses, but it probably had to do with Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng.

Xu Yourong thought for a while, then replied, "Take care on the road, Senior Brother. When you meet him, give him my thanks."

Gou Hanshi answered, "Senior Brother might not want to hear your thanks."

Xu Yourong replied, "Then ask him why he doesn't want to see me."

While she said this, she did not look at Chen Changsheng.

Ye Xiaolian and the other disciples of South Stream Temple, on the other hand, subconsciously gazed at Chen Changsheng, somewhat nervous.

In their view, given that the Pope was here, why was the Holy Maiden saying this?

Chen Changsheng did not notice these gazes. He was currently conversing with Zhexiu beneath a tree.

Though no one knew what exactly the two were talking about, Chen Changsheng had a rather grave expression while Zhexiu appeared silent and taciturn.

Gou Hanshi had originally planned to personally say 'goodbye' to them, but after thoughtfully looking at this sight, he did not step forward, instead leading the Mount Li Sword Sect disciples down the plateau.

The Imperial Court's diplomatic mission had departed and the cultivators from the various sects and great clans had retreated. The stone path was very quiet and the somewhat intimidating forests were abnormally quiet. Presumably the birds and beasts in the forest had long since been frightened away by the world-shaking battles on the plateau.

As the disciples of the Mount Li Sword Sect walked down the mountain, they enthusiastically discussed the events of today.

"Who could have expected for the situation to change so quickly! I was listening to Senior Brother's words and was just preparing myself to charge forward with my sword, but I didn't even have time to unsheathe my sword."

Bai Cai recalled those hair-raising sights and excitedly said, "Five experts of the Divine Domain, with four of them stepping onto stage, and a fierce individual like the White Tiger Divine General died just like that. When we go back, I'll definitely relay it all to Junior Sister. Once she knows that it was Zhexiu that made the final move, she'll definitely be happy."

Gou Hanshi chuckled.

Bai Cai continued, "As expected, Chen Changsheng is formidable. Junior Sis… I mean, Holy Maiden Xu Yourong is also formidable, and their Unity Sword Art is even more formidable, but the most formidable is still Eldest Brother. Today, if not for him, how could the Great Western Continent's scheme be so easily exposed? How could Senior Bie Yanghong and Wang Po set up a trap to kill the blue-clothed visitor?"

In his view, his eldest brother who had not appeared today was the most important person, and he spoke with a very proud expression.

The other disciples nodded in agreement, commenting that if not for their eldest brother, Chen Changsheng would have found it impossible to escape today's trap. Even with Wang Po's help, he still might have ended up dead. Even if the Mount Li Sword Sect disciples wielded their swords and came to assist, though Chen Changsheng wouldn't have died, he still might have ended up in a rather miserable state.

At this moment, a voice, clear and bright yet also rather lazy, arose from the depths of the forest.

"Where did this nonsense come from?"

Bai Cai's expression instantly chilled. Just when he was planning to ask for an explanation, he suddenly realized that this voice was very familiar, and his expression changed again.