Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Chen Changsheng thought of a possibility. Earlier, he had rejected his master's proposal of equal wives… so were these two magical artifacts forged from shards of the Clear Sky Mirror meant to be out of praise for him?

Yes, apparently his master had always admired Yourong. He seemed to have mentioned this ten years ago at White Emperor City.

And based on what Yuren said, during his stays in Luoyang during the new-year holidays, Shang Xingzhou would rarely mention Chen Changsheng, but he had mentioned several times that Mount Li was someone else's sect, so Xu Yourong as Holy Maiden shouldn't keep on disturbing them.

If she shouldn't go to Mount Li, where should she go? The Li Palace, or Luoyang?

When he thought about how Xu Yourong was always able to easily gain the love of her elders, Chen Changsheng couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

Shang Xingzhou had thought that it was inconvenient for the two of them to live in different places and made these small devices, but he was not aware that they had resolved this problem long ago.

He and Xu Yourong had a special method of communicating with each other. This was how he had able to inform Xu Yourong at Holy Maiden Peak as quickly as possible when the White Crane flew into White Emperor City.

The glowing stone pearl on his wrist was a Heavenly Tome Monolith.

The Heavenly Tome Monoliths had always been a sort of spatial tunnel. Both the laws of the Mausoleum of Books and the method to enter the Garden of Zhou were proof of this.

In these ten years, he and Xu Yourong had been incessantly researching and comprehending the Heavenly Tome Monoliths, finally grasping a part of their mysteries.

Their voices could travel through the Heavenly Tome Monolith to the other side, but even slightly condensed spiritual sense or real objects still could not.

At this moment, the other gray stone pearl on Chen Changsheng's wrist lit up.

"Luoluo pays respects to Teacher!"

A crisp and melodious voice came out from the stone pearl.

Yes, she also had a Heavenly Tome Monolith, and she had also learned how to communicate with Chen Changsheng.

There was a light clap from somewhere. The stone pearl communicating with Xu Yourong dimmed.

Chen Changsheng's mouth was agape. He didn't know what to say.

On the other side, Luoluo couldn't help but be anxious at the lack of reply and called, "Teacher! Teacher! Teacher, are you okay?"

Chen Changsheng replied, "I'm fine, just a bit absentminded."

"That's great!"

Even though they were separated by tens of thousands of li, Chen Changsheng still felt like he could see Luoluo's cute appearance as she patted her chest in relief.

Suddenly, he finally understood why Xu Yourong had been so unhappy these last few days, be it in the grassland of the Elf race or in Xunyang City.

It was all because of the matter from that day.

That day was truly very similar to today.

When the White Crane flew in from the Mount Song Army headquarters, he and Xu Yourong had been communicating as he rode a boat on the Red River.

The Jings had been singing in the river at the time and Luoluo was at his side, using her small hands to feed him fruit.

Luoluo had no idea Xu Yourong could hear what she was saying.

He also had not thought of this at the time.

……

……

"Just what did Princess Luoluo say?"

Tang Thirty-Six's face was filled with curiosity. Not even his long beard blown by wind all over his face could conceal it.

Chen Changsheng used his peripheral vision to confirm that no one was looking at him. He also confirmed that no one was listening behind Tang Thirty-Six, so he whispered, "She said… 'Teacher, be good and open your mouth.'"

Tang Thirty-Six stared blankly, wanting to laugh but not daring, his entire face turning red.

The people on the wall finally noticed what was happening.

The Prince of Zhongshan raised his brows in displeasure. On the side, the Prime Minister smiled and spoke in a soothing voice.

Linghai Zhiwang and Daoist Siyuan glanced at each other and pretended not to see.

Just returned from the Bear tribe and taking up her new post, Archbishop An Lin gave a bitter laugh and said no more.

This place was Xunyang City.

All the prestigious figures were standing on the city wall.

As the spring deepened, the plants also flourished. The snowy plains of the north were warming, so that grand undertaking was finally set to begin.

After several centuries, the Human race was about to set out on another northern expedition.

The emperor personally offered a libation and escorted the army from the Imperial Palace to the boundary of the capital.

Pope Chen Changsheng traveled with them all the way to Xunyang City.

The plains outside Xunyang City were covered in people, as dark and dense as the tide.

All of these people were going to meet their death, so this tide was the world's most powerful wave.

Tens of thousands of valiant spiritual senses and killing intents gathered together surpassed even the fiercest of west winds. Even if the Golden Dragon returned to the Central Continent and saw this killing aura rise to the skies from a thousand li away, it would still be startled away and not dare to approach.

Ten thousand Orthodoxy cavalry, sixty thousand black-armored cavalry and even more ordinary soldiers were gathered here. The Six Prefects of the Li Palace, the twenty-three Divine Generals of the Great Zhou, three thousand priests, and the elites of South Stream Temple were all being sent forth. All of Mount Li's Sword Hall was gathered here, as were the experts from the various sects, the Guardians and masters from the noble clans. And there was still Wang Po, Huai Ren, the Mount Li Sect Master, Mao Qiuyu, and the Prince of Xiang. With all these experts of the Divine Domain ready to move at any time, this momentum was no less than that of the northern expedition from several centuries ago.

Tens of thousands of soldiers began to march, and as they set forth, the plains grew quieter and quieter, the atmosphere more and more somber.

No one laughed, and no one paid any attention to what had happened earlier.

Tang Thirty-Six looked toward a mountain range to the west and frowned. "I didn't expect the Prince of Xiang to be willing to set off with the Army of the Left."

Xunyang City was the place from which all their arrows would be fired. Such a critical staging ground required an expert of the Divine Domain to oversee it.

Cao Yunping had excellent relationships with all sides and had an honest and amiable personality. As someone deeply trusted by everyone, he ended up being chosen.

The Prince of Xiang had spent most of the last ten years at Blue Pass, acting very low-key.

This naturally wasn't because his son Prince Chen Liu was being held hostage in the capital. It was because the situation demanded it.

Everyone thought that he would try and vie for this position, but to their consternation, he had not spoken a word.

It would be easier to understand if it were the Prince of Zhongshan. This irritable prince would assuredly charge at the very front of the army for the pride of the Chen Imperial clan.

"There are many surprising things going on. For instance, you actually grew a beard."

Chen Changsheng looked at Tang Thirty-Six's face and shook his head. He still couldn't get used to it.

Tang Thirty-Six explained, "My elegance is far too great. I grew a beard to somewhat conceal it and also to avoid attracting too many girls."

His personality truly had calmed down in the last few years, and he cursed in public far less than he used to, but his narcissism remained unchanged.

But it could not be completely attributed to narcissism. His words contained a little truth, a tinge of helplessness.

The Old Lady of the Mutuo clan had fallen seriously ill last year, and once she recovered, she seemed to see beyond secular affairs. Yet she still could not relinquish her most beloved granddaughter, so she ran off to Wenshui and stayed in the Tang clan's old estate, shamelessly staying for three months in the bid to negotiate a marriage with the Tang clan. Tang Thirty-Six didn't dare return home, and he also didn't dare to stay at the Orthodox Academy. In the end, he decided to follow Su Moyu and pass the turn of the new year at Xiling's Ten Thousand Years Pavilion.

Chen Changsheng said, "I hear that the young lady is breathtakingly beautiful?"

Tang Thirty-Six replied, "The Mutuo clan has always had many beauties, but am I really one of those superficial fellows who only pays attention to looks?"

Chen Changsheng said, "Yourong knows that lady and says she has an excellent personality. And besides, for the sake of efficiency, you should meet her."

Tang Thirty-Six sneered, "I would dare to gamble that these weren't her original words."

Chen Changsheng froze for a moment before saying, "Her original words were that you didn't match up to that lady."

Furious, Tang Thirty-Six flicked his sleeves and left.

He descended the city wall, took the reins, mounted his horse, and rode off into the north.

In this entire process, he did not even glance at Chen Changsheng.

"Come back alive!"

Chen Changsheng yelled out.

Even though countless people were looking at him, he seemed not to notice.

Tang Thirty-Six waved his hand, not even turning around.