Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 733 – So She Thought (II)

On the seventh night after her landfall, the girl had been ambushed by a treacherous silver dragon and suffered significant injuries.

In the following half-month, she was unable to transform into a dragon and could only walk on the ground. Since she had to interact with humans eventually, she could only suffer through it. If all those humans had done was wail and curse and point, perhaps she would have been able to endure, but when that rural scholar with the surname Zhou charged over with his swollen face while talking about removing the four pests1, she could no longer endure.

As a noble Black Frost Dragon, her most important trait was that she loved cleanliness, so how could she allow a man stinking with the smell of alcohol to approach her?

On that day, just like she had tonight, she had extended her hand.

Thus, that scholar surnamed Zhou died, transforming into a flower of blood.

The flower of blood that had bloomed those centuries ago had been even more beautiful than the flowers tonight, and the scholar surnamed Zhou had been shattered more thoroughly, transforming into powder that drifted away in the wind.

Perhaps it was because there had been no chains on her feet at that time.

So she thought.

In short, the scholar surnamed Zhou died. Later on, according to that thoroughly evil scholar surnamed Wang, he had even been recorded in the annals of his county, a hero praised by all the people.

Toward this, she had expressed her incomprehension and lack of interest.

The people of that county had later on formed ten-some volunteer armies to kill her, upon which she had effected a great slaughter.

The people of the county were all very disorganized, so their records were presumably also a disorganized mess.

So she thought.

But…it was truly very vexing when there were a lot of people.

Her memories in this aspect were truly unpleasant, so the moment she sensed that there were countless people around the Orthodox Academy, her first reaction was unease and then fear.

She used a hood to obscure her beautiful face and quickened the pace of her bare feet in order to hasten her entry into the Orthodox Academy, but she had been discovered at the entrance of Hundred Flowers Lane.

That assassin from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets had struck out of the snow in order to kill her.

This assassin didn’t have much of a scent when compared to that scholar surnamed Zhou from several centuries ago.

But as a noble Black Frost Dragon, such an offense naturally required her to make a response appropriate to her status.

This response had even been faster than the speed of her thoughts.

It was to have this assassin executed.

The assassin from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets shattered, an explosion of blood and flesh that splattered to the ground.

She felt much more comfortable, and the fear of crowds in the depths of her heart was greatly dulled. Paired with this, the ruthlessness in her heart gradually increased. Soon after, she killed three more human experts. The ensuing rain of blood and death caused all her fear and unease to utterly vanish, and her ruthlessness stimulated her bloodthirsty instincts.

She instinctively licked the blood around her lips. She had originally thought that it would be sweet and tasty, but who could have thought that it would taste so nasty and repulsive? Was it because the continent was lacking in vigor, making humans much more unpalatable? Or was it…that the food Chen Changsheng had brought over the past few years had been too rich and changed her appetite?

So she thought, and then she was unable to suppress her disgust and began to vomit.

This situation enraged her, making her feel a great deal of resentment for these feeble humans and that Chen Changsheng who might have had ill intentions.

She began to vent her spleen like a wronged child. She incessantly stamped her feet, startling away the wind and snow, cracking the ground, and giving the entire world a fright.

……

……

The wind and snow rose once more, and she walked towards the Orthodox Academy.

Her body was in no way large. On the contrary, it was rather petite. But as she walked, the space within Hundred Flowers Lane seemed to slightly deform as if it was unable to bear the load.

Blood slowly seeped out of the darkness, perhaps belonging to an assassin unable to escape in time or some soldiers that had been knocked out.

Those experts of the Imperial Court that had escaped into the distance felt that the terrifying Qi was growing more distinct, the formidable sense of oppression becoming real.

Xiao De’s face had become extraordinarily unsightly, his pale face utterly devoid of blood.

He was far more susceptible to this Qi than human experts.

This Qi was clearly not fully matured, yet it seemed to come from the most primordial of winds, carrying with it the aura of an ancient era. To humans, this Qi was powerful and terrifying, but to demi-humans, this Qi crushed their souls and made it simply impossible for them to gather up any resistance or courage.

Xiao De’s body was constantly trembling. Logically speaking, even if he was no match for the black-clothed girl, he should at least have attempted to halt her steps, but no matter how he attempted to move his true essence or forcefully transform, even trying a berserk metamorphosis, he could not gather enough courage. He didn’t even dare to take a single step.

The innate oppression of higher-level creatures over lower-level creatures was truly too terrifying.

That he was still able to remain in the lane, was still able to remain standing and not kneel in the snow, was proof enough of his power and pride.

But this was still far from enough.

The girl had noticed the existence of this demi-human and turned to give him an interested glance. The moment her gaze touched his body, Xiao De’s soul seemed to be scorched by some sacred flame. Fear surged out his eyes and he no longer dared to remain, instantly turning and vanishing into the darkness.

Not long after Xiao De vanished, a long sigh emerged from the darkness.

A hint of wariness appeared on the black-clothed girl’s face.

Nothing happened, and after this sigh, there was not a single noise.

On the Bridge of Helplessness, around fourteen li away from the Orthodox Academy, Madam Mu, Empress of the Demi-humans, boarded her carriage pulled by Rainbow Deer and began her journey out of the capital.

By the lake within the Orthodox Academy, Shang Xingzhou turned in the direction of the Bridge of Helplessness.

He slightly arched his brows in surprise.

The departure of Madam Mu and the demi-humans’ diplomatic mission signified that starting from this moment, White Emperor City would maintain its neutral position between the Great Zhou Imperial Court and the Orthodoxy.

Why had they shifted their positions so greatly? After all, such a shift was highly likely to affect the entire situation of the continent.

It was naturally because of that girl dressed in black making her way through the snow.

Unlike the proud and solitary Heavenly Phoenixes, the Dragon race had left many stories on the continent. To the demi-humans, the Dragon race that had not revealed itself in the world for many years was still their most deep-rooted source of faith, the object of their hopes. Moreover, the demi-humans’ being able to establish a kingdom on the two shores of the Red River was said to be closely related to the Black Frost Dragons.

The Orthodox Academy’s wall broke and the girl walked through it.

The ten-some blue-clothed Daoists stood in the snow, their arrangement seemingly disorderly but actually forming a nearly perfect array.

She could sense the power of these humans, and then she saw the middle-aged Daoist standing on the other side of the lake.

Though she had been imprisoned under the well of New North Bridge for several hundred years, she had still met quite a few of humanity’s experts, like Wang Zhice, Qin Zhong, the Tianhai Divine Empress, the Pope, and Su Li. In reality, however, she only feared Su Li and Tianhai, because only these two would have dared to kill her.

Now, she sensed that there was yet another human that she needed to fear.

She was somewhat nervous, but she did not halt her steps.

She walked across the frozen lake and up to Chen Changsheng, cleared her throat, and said, “Greetings, I am your Protector.”

1.The four pests are rats, flies, mosquitoes, and sparrows