Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
It was an extremely faint sword glow, the trail left behind by a falling leaf in the wind. Without staring, one wouldnât even be able to see it.
With a light swish, an extremely thin sword slash was drawn in the night sky.
This sword slash was on the other side of the mirror of light.
When a hole was cut in a wine bag, wine would begin spilling out.
Golden liquid gushed like a waterfall onto the other side of the mirror of light, and the mirror began to shrink.
This meant that the crystal wall was beginning to restabilize, that the path was disappearing.
The pillar of light was still connecting the two worlds.
The Archangel floated into the distance, its thin lips slightly parting as it noiselessly spoke.
With a clack, the distant end of the pillar of light was suddenly cut in the middle. Like an iceberg, it slowly slid down the smooth cut.
Half of the pillar of light dropped into the void, gradually drifting away, disappearing into space.
It was hard to say if that Archangel and the several dozen fastest Angels with it would be able to survive the turbulent flow of space.
It was the two-hundred-some Angels behind them who were the worst off.
Since part of the pillar of light had been cut off and was now drifting away, the Angels would suffer spatial displacement.
Even Angels, with their incredibly tough bodies, were hard-pressed to resist spatial displacement, and their bodies were cut open.
Golden blood splashed all over that distant space, blazing flowers of gold.
The people on the ground could not hear what those Angels were shouting, but their twisted expressions clearly communicated their pain.
A thunderous hum droned through the sky.
This hum was bursting with majesty, anger, and cool indifference.
A lightning bolt seared through the night sky, accurately striking that massive sword.
With a whoosh, the massive sword broke apart, transforming back into three thousand swords that rained down to the ground.
Chen Changsheng raised his sheath.
The three thousand swords swiftly returned to the sheath, many of the swords still bearing marks from that white lightning bolt.
Chen Changshengâs complexion turned paler and paler until finally, he vomited out a mouthful of blood.
Fortunately, there was no second lightning bolt, and that low hum did not continue.
The spatial path in the night sky had already vanished, as had the pillar of light.
Not even God was omnipotent.
All was still.
The golden mirror of light had shattered into countless shards that now drifted to the ground like fireworks.
With how slowly those flecks of light were drifting, Xuelao City could be as bright as day for the rest of the night.
Other than these flecks of light, nothing remained of that battle. It was like that pillar of light and army of Angels had all been fake.
Everyone had just been experiencing the same dream.
"Look, stars on that side are burning."
A young voice suddenly spoke.
The young Daoist boy in Ye Xiaolianâs embrace pointed at a place in the night sky.
The pillar of light had caused the positions of the stars to subtly shift, but that star was still located in the Southern Cross and was easy to see.
But there was no star burning there.
Wang Zhice and the Tang Old Master glanced at each other and saw what the other was thinking.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Shang Xingzhouâs skill in choosing students was truly the best in the world.
Wang Po and Xiao Zhang sensed it, and soon after, Chen Changsheng also sensed it.
In the incomparably distant other side, in that other sea of stars, stars were burning.
An elusive sword intent flickered around those blazing stars.
More and more people began to sense that sword intent, even though they couldnât see those burning stars.
Not even God could pass through those millions of li, so why were they able to so clearly sense that sword intent?
Because that sword intent belonged to this place.
It was by the same principle that the Sacred Light Continent could sense the Sacred Light in Chen Changshengâs body.
"This is quite the arrogant sword. No wonder everyone says Iâm similar to him."
Tang Thirty-Sixâs brows flew upward in pride.
"Whatâs going on here? How could the Heaven Shrouding Sword be there!"
Black Robe stared at the night sky, shrilly shouting as she sensed that distant elusive sword intent, verging on hysteria.
"You believed that you could calculate all things, predict everything that could happen in the world, but you did not predict that His Holiness the Pope would break into the Divine, and you didnât predict that someone had already ventured above the starry sky many years ago. He might have been arrogantly living a life on the Sacred Light Continent, or he might have been silently watching, waiting to deliver the crucial strike at the crucial moment."
The Tang Old Master looked at Black Robe and finished, "And that person was someone I spent money raising."
Everyone had already guessed whose handiwork that sword intent was, and Black Robeâs shouts and the Tang Old Masterâs words confirmed it.
It had to be Su Li.
Wang Po faintly smiled, saying nothing.
Based on what the Tang Old Master had just said, if the Tang clan had spent money raising Su Li, he probably counted as well, given all the years he had spent as an accountant in Wenshui City.
This probably wasnât the truth, or at least not the whole truth. One just needed to think about the long-deceased Tang Second Master to know this.
The Tang Old Master knew, but he knew that given Wang Poâs personality, he wouldnât deny it.
Su Li would definitely deny it and might even follow up with a stream of curses, but whose fault was it that he wasnât here?
Tang Thirty-Sixâs face felt a little hot, and he wondered if he had piled too many blankets onto the wheelchair.
If even his face felt a little hot, one could imagine just how shameless the Tang Old Master was being in his attempt to freeload off Su Liâs merit.
But given how important this moment in history was, once this conversation began to spread, the Tang clan would probably be secure for the next one thousand years.
To the Tang Old Master, this was a chance that could not be missed. After all, he was still fundamentally a merchant.
Besides Chen Changshengâs breaking into the Divine, Su Liâs sword, and the Tang Old Masterâs shamelessness, there was one other thing that Black Robe had not predicted.
The spatial path formed tonight had been particularly unstable.
It was not Su Liâs sword that had caused the Angel army from the Sacred Light Continent to be almost completely destroyed.
Su Liâs sword at its strongest could not possibly be this strong, but his sword had succeeded in severing the pillar of light and causing spatial displacement.
The power of space was equal to timeâs and almost impossible to resist. One by one, those Angels died miserable deaths.
In her calculations, the spatial path should have been very sturdy. Even if Chen Changsheng broke into the Divine and Su Liâs sword came from the heavens, it should have been impossible to break the path.
The reason for the spatial pathâs weakness was that Chen Changshengâs body had lost a large quantity of Sacred Light.
In the last ten years, Chen Changsheng had constantly been using his blood to refine Cinnabar Pills, even if this was extremely taxing on him and prevented him from advancing in cultivation.
Nobody had expected it to lead to this result.
It seemed that good people truly were rewarded with good.
Many gazes, filled with respect, fell on Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changshengâs gaze was on the small carriage standing at the edge of the crowd.
"Master, did you already predict all these things?
"Did you already make that medicine long before, but still let me constantly make Cinnabar Pills?
âAnd also, did you always want to kill me because of what happened tonight?"
Chen Changsheng knew that he might be thinking too much, that these conjectures might only serve to embellish the reputation of the deceased, but he still couldnât help himself.
In this way, he could more easily convince himself that his master liked him but had been compelled by more important concerns into his actions.
These questions had no answer. No one knew what Shang Xingzhou had actually been thinking.
Similarly, no one knew what Black Robe was thinking right now.
All her schemes had failed, her lifelong desires been destroyed in one night. Anyone would crumble in the face of such an onslaught.
She stood there, long since numb from despair. She even seemed to be devoid of life.
Wang Zhice walked up to her and took her hand. "Donât be like this in the future."
After saying this, he nodded to the Tang Old Master and Chen Changsheng, and made to take Black Robe with him out of the hall.
Black Robeâs head was bowed and she was incredibly obedient. She was now a naughty child being brought home by her parents.
The Demon Hall was abnormally quiet.
Linghai Zhiwang and the others looked to Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng stood on the stone steps in deep thought.
The white paper on Xiao Zhangâs face flapped, though it was hard to say if this was because of heavy breathing or something else.
Wang Po looked at his feet, his thoughts inscrutable.
The Tang Old Masterâs eyes were closed as if he was asleep.
A voice finally broke the silence.
"Hold on."
Tang Thirty-Six looked at Wang Zhice and calmly asked, "Lord Wang, what do you mean by this?"
Chen Changshengâs eyes focused.
Xiao Zhang let out a strange shout.
Wang Po raised his head.
The Tang Old Master opened his eyes.
They all looked toward Wang Zhice.
This was their stance.
"She is my wife, and... the Human race truly does owe these siblings too much."
Wang Zhice said to the crowd, "Iâve already crippled her cultivation. She will spend her future in Sangharama Temple, quietly cultivating and repenting for her sins. I will not allow her to meddle in the human world again."
Individuals like the Tang Old Master and Wang Po could naturally tell that when Wang Zhice took Black Robeâs hand, he had crippled her cultivation.
The crowd didnât know what to do. Wang Zhiceâs stance was clear and sincere, and he seemed to have abundant reason.
More importantly, he was Wang Zhice.
Divine General He Ming and the other generals, and even Daoist Siyuan and Archbishop An Lin, felt like this was okay.
"No."
Xu Yourongâs voice was calm and firm.
Tang Thirty-Six said, "The ones who owe these siblings are you, Emperor Taizong, and those people in the Lingyan Pavilion, but not us. Weâre still very young and havenât done too many repulsive deeds. For what reason should we have to bear your mistakes?"
Zhizhi hid behind Chen Changsheng and said, "A trickster like you with a mouth full of lies is impossible to trust. Who knows? You might let your wife go the moment you leave the city."
Wang Zhice ignored them. He looked only at Chen Changsheng and asked, "If you were in my position, what would you do?"
Chen Changsheng finally spoke.
"In White Emperor City, Senior Bie Yanghong asked me a question. We mentioned it a moment ago, and now that I think about it, this question is very appropriate for Sir."
He continued, "Weâve already given the answer, but Sir pretended to not see."
Just a moment ago, Xu Yourong had been prepared to kill him and then commit suicide.
His answer was: âIf you truly feel like you owe Zhou Dufu and his sister, you should do as we did.â
The Demon Hall became even quieter, colder.
"Who can keep someone that I want to take away?"
Wang Zhiceâs voice was still calm, his tone still gentle, but everyone felt his pressure.
After several hundred years of wind and rain, the Tang Old Master was the only one left who had witnessed Wang Zhiceâs past demeanor, but who would dare underestimate him?
There was no need for any reason. His name was enough.
He was Wang Zhice.
In Mount Han, he appeared and the Demon Lord retreated. On the snowy plains, he appeared and the Demon Commander remained silent.
And this wasnât even taking into account what had happened just now.
Even if Black Robe had been heavily wounded by the Frost God Spear, even if her mind was in shambles, just who in the world could cripple Black Robeâs cultivation by just taking her hand?
No one present was a match for him.
Xu Yourong was well aware that Wang Zhice had been holding something back tonight, so she had not moved.
She even believed that even if Chen Changsheng and Su Li had failed to sever the spatial path, Wang Zhice still had other methods.
Wang Zhiceâs strength was truly unfathomable.
It was just like he had said.
Who could keep someone that he wanted to take away?
"I want to try."
With this declaration, Wang Po stepped forward.
Ten-some years ago, a storm engulfed Xunyang City. Wang Po then had been a world-famous expert, but he was far weaker than his current self.
The him from that time had dared to wield his blade at Zhu Luo for the sake of Su Li, who he didnât even like.
Why would he be any different now?
There had been another present in that storm of Xunyang City.
Chen Changsheng declared, "I also want to try."
As the words left his mouth, clear light illuminated the dark hall. Several treasures flew into the sky, exuding a sacred and powerful Qi.
Star Core, Gloom Willow, Mountain River Map, Universe Stamp, Falling Star Stone, Light Pestle.
The array of the Li Palace was formed.
The Orthodoxyâs Divine Staff once more appeared in Tang Thirty-Sixâs hand.
"This world is formed by countless living beings. They are not cold stones that can become chess pieces or toys in your games."
He said to Wang Zhice, "Sir should show some more respect for all those living beings that died because of your wife."
Crippling her cultivation and imprisoning her in a temple for the rest of her life was not enough.
The meaning of âmore respectâ was: life for life.
Hugging the Frost God Spear, Xiao Zhang stepped forward.
The Tang Old Master impassively looked on.