Chapter 758: Not Seeing Chang'an

Chapter 758: Chang'an Lost to Sight

The Blind was not merely pondering how to phrase it; she was uncertain whether she should even report this at all.

Matters that did not involve changes to the rankings were generally not reported. Precisely because the Dao Venerable was not on the list, and Jade Void had not died, this incident truly did not affect the rankings.

Yet such momentous events—including the earlier battles of Bo'e and the battle of Papiyan, and now this battle with the Dao Venerable—all at a level that could shake the world, went entirely unreported. Would the Heavenly Book's broadcasts then become utterly meaningless?

The Blind attempted to let the Heavenly Book act passively, without her intervention. It would coldly remove Ye Wuzong and Jade Void from the Heavenly Ranking, deeming them unworthy, and replace them with Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling, the couple, both ascending the list.

But the difference with human oversight of the AI lay in the capacity for long-term analysis.

If Ye Wuzong were removed from the list, it would not be a major issue. The Thief Saint had yet to break through to the Imperial Realm and had lost all confidence in doing so, wishing only to spend his remaining days idly wandering the Cangshan and Erhai under his disciple's care. In this era where the world's strong were beginning to universally break into the Imperial Realm, Ye Wuzong could hardly hold onto the tenth position anyway, and he cared little about being on the list or not.

But Jade Void's situation was different. Jade Void himself was a top-tier figure in the mid-to-late Imperial Realm, untroubled by the headache of being stuck at the threshold. Reversing the transmission of his power did not equate to dispersing his cultivation; he still retained his foundation, his roots intact. With the help of Li Shentong, it was still possible to hope for a restoration of his cultivation.

So if they removed him from the list now, and he recovered in a couple of months, what then? Put him back, and demote Zhao Changhe or Yue Hongling again? Or make him challenge another member of the Heavenly Ranking anew to prove his recovery?

Wasn't that absurd?

If a human were to think it over, the best course was to stay put and wait. If you did nothing, no one would question you; doing more only invited mistakes.

If the Blind followed her heretical impulses, then right or wrong mattered little. The Heavenly Book had long been accused of being the "First He River Booster"—could they bite her? She could rank as she pleased; who could stop her? But if she adhered to her rule-abiding nature, that was enough to torment her.

So what good was following rules? They were nothing but shackles.

Just as she was fuming, Zhao Changhe's request came through. The Blind hesitated for a moment, then realized it was perfect: vacate the Thief Saint's position and continue boosting the River.

At dawn, the world was having breakfast. The people of Chang'an were amusing themselves with a bald-headed top, all discussing the explosion from the Louguan Terrace the previous night. It was said that the terrace had been utterly destroyed, and the disciples had been sent by the divine wind of the gods and buddhas to protect Chang'an. Now they were digging through the ruins, everyone's belongings buried inside.

As for what had actually happened, people ate their breakfasts, occasionally glancing up at the sky, muttering to themselves: the Heavenly Book was becoming more useless by the day. It hadn't reported the battles of Bo'e and Papiyan yesterday, and now it wouldn't even give them the gossip from the Louguan Terrace. What good was it?

Just as they were grumbling, the sky finally flashed with the long-awaited golden light, proving that the Heavenly Book was still the gossip book the common folk desired:

"On the twenty-eighth day of the year, Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling arrived in Chang'an."

"That day, the Heavenly Demon Papiyan, disguised as the abbot of the Dayan Temple, Kongshi, challenged Jade Void, intending to harm the surrounding crowd and frame Jade Void for a mistake. Changhe saw through it, intervened, and stopped him."

"On the twenty-ninth day, the Vermilion Bird arrived in Chang'an as an envoy, and the winds and clouds gathered."

"Yue Hongling stabbed the Hu envoy at the Court of State Ceremonial, falling into a Hu ambush. The Vermilion Bird, passing nearby, sensed the aura and struck, breaking the ambush instantly. Bo'e's concealment in Chang'an was exposed. Zhao Changhe drew his bow and fought alongside Hongling and the Vermilion Bird against Bo'e. In the stalemate, Kongshi struck at the Vermilion Bird, and Bo'e took the chance to flee."

"Zhao Changhe fought Kongshi in fury, shattering his illusions. The Vermilion Bird and Hongling struck together, and Kongshi's true form was revealed—he was none other than the Heavenly Demon Papiyan. Jade Void pursued Papiyan to the outskirts, but was blocked by the Dao Venerable. Zhao Changhe shot an arrow ten li, and Papiyan was gravely wounded and vanished, his fate unknown."

"On the thirtieth day, New Year's Eve, at the beginning of the Zi hour. The Dao Venerable sought to suppress Jade Void. Li Shentong rushed a thousand li to aid, colliding with the Dao Venerable's Yin Spirit, forcing it out of Jade Void's body. Jade Void condensed it with blood, revealing its true form. Zhao Changhe, wielding the power of the wind, moved the disciples of the Louguan Terrace to Chang'an. Zhao Changhe sundered day and night, Yue Hongling opened the Gate of Heaven with her sword, Jade Void turned emptiness into reality, the Vermilion Bird controlled life and death, Li Shentong was an iron wall of bronze—the heroes rose together, their swords pointed at the Demon God."

"In that battle, Jade Void temporarily lost his power, and Yue Hongling's fate was unknown. Yet the ancient Dao Venerable, who called himself the Way, finally fell in the mortal world of this age."

"The Chaotic Era Ranking changes."

"First, the Thief Saint Ye Wuzong was wounded by the Divine Axe of the Eternal Heavenly God, and has languished on his sickbed ever since, still unhealed. Unable to break through the Imperial Realm, his position is hard to retain."

"Heavenly Ranking, Tenth: Zhao Changhe, the Asura King."

"Three days in Chang'an, heaven and earth overturned."

"Your bodies and names shall perish together, but the rivers flow on forever."

Zhao Changhe looked up at the sky for a long while before remembering that today was New Year's Eve.

New Year's Eve... the day to eliminate the ancient Demon God.

If the Blind hadn't been indulging in literary sentiment, deliberately twisting the threads of fate, Zhao Changhe wouldn't have believed in such a coincidence.

But whether the Blind had twisted them or not, the battle they had fought was real. The heroes of this age had surrounded the Dao Venerable, and at the cost of no one's death, his body and name had vanished forever into the long river of time.

The Demon God's body and name perished, but the world continued to turn.

Zhao Changhe focused on this meaning, but most of the world could not grasp the Blind's deeper intent. What they cared about was that Zhao Changhe had finally made it onto the Heavenly Ranking.

You should have been on it long ago, you freak. Why were you still stuck on the Earthly Ranking, pretending to be an ordinary person? Did you really think you were on the same level as Wang Daozhong?

As the Blind had predicted, Ye Wuzong's removal from the list did not provoke much doubt. Especially when his replacement was Zhao Changhe, it seemed even more natural. And since Jade Void did not leave the list, Yue Hongling could not ascend it. One major reason Yue Hongling did not make the list was her own severe injury.

"Her fate unknown"—these four words were exactly what Zhao Changhe had asked her to do: announce Yue Hongling's grave injury to the world, but gloss over the fact that she had been healed. This conveniently spared the Blind from her dilemma. Since Yue Hongling was too injured to be on the list, there was no need to agonize over whether Jade Void should be removed. This man was truly considerate now, hmm.

In the eyes of most of the world, the Chaotic Era Book would not report falsely. If she had been healed, or if there was even a high probability of recovery, it would hardly say "her fate unknown." For instance, Jade Void's condition was described as "temporarily lost his power," not "lost his power forever." Such a grave phrasing likely meant she could not be healed.

Was Yue Hongling about to fall?

The world's hearts trembled, but even more shocking was Chang'an itself. The city was in an uproar.

Yue Hongling was a local, the pride of the Guanzhong people, their own daughter! Even though everyone knew she had an ambiguous relationship with Zhao Changhe, as long as she hadn't publicly acknowledged it, no one in Guanzhong dared to treat her as an enemy, to drive her out or spy on her. They turned a blind eye and let her visit her hometown. If you truly treated Yue Hongling as an enemy, half the people of Guanzhong would treat you as an enemy instead.

But now, she might actually fall!

It made sense. To kill an ancient Demon God of the second Imperial Realm, their side had to pay a price, didn't it? The price was Yue Hongling's life—very reasonable.

Li Boping's distant cousin, Li Bozhong, went to find Wei Changming early in the morning but couldn't locate him. He personally rode to Mount Hua. As soon as he entered the Luoxia Manor, his first words were: "Sect Leader Yue, about the previous marriage proposal—we didn't think it through. My daughter is unwell, so let's put this matter aside for now."

Yue Fenghua's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

The so-called marriage proposal between his son and the Li family was, of course, not for Li Boping's own daughter. Marrying a distant branch was already quite generous, at least not a maidservant. To Yue Fenghua, this was practically an honor to his ancestors. But even that distant branch had never truly respected Yue Fenghua. Once Yue Hongling was no longer of use, even the distant branch wanted to break off the engagement.

From start to finish, everyone's respect for him had been because of Yue Hongling. Being on good terms with him meant having the goodwill of an Imperial Realm—or at least a Secret Realm—expert. Now what? Besides, according to rumors, this fellow had even sold out his disciple... Even if Yue Hongling could recover, it seemed she wouldn't be close to him.

Without Yue Hongling, why would he marry his daughter to your family? He could easily form a marriage alliance with the Wei or Dai families and get far more resources.

Yue Fenghua, faced with a public rejection of the marriage, couldn't even muster a word of opposition. He could only pretend to be magnanimous, cupping his hands: "It seems our two families were not fated to be in-laws. We can still be friends."

"Well said, well said." Li Bozhong didn't even bother with pleasantries and strode away.

Not long after Li Bozhong left, Wei Changming arrived.

Looking at his old friend of many years, Yue Fenghua finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother Wei, this Li Bozhong..."

"Oh, it's not really your fault, Brother Yue. He's just short-sighted." Wei Changming looked around, then suddenly waved: "Ah Xiong, Ah Xiong, come here."

Several senior martial arts instructors from the Luoxia Manor came over: "Master."

"You've been at Luoxia Manor for years, haven't you? Want to go back?"

"Ah, we've been homesick for a while."

"Then go back. Oh, and take back the fine swords and blades I lent Brother Yue, as well as the body-tempering herbs. Also, please ask Brother Yue to settle their wages."

Yue Fenghua: "..."

Before he could finish, several disciples crept up to him, trembling: "Master..."

Yue Fenghua's face darkened: "What is it?"

Someone forced a smile: "My family member is ill... I'm afraid I won't be able to train full-time anymore. I need to take care of them. I've come to take my leave, Master."

Yue Fenghua asked darkly: "Are your family members ill too?"

"I, my wife gave birth."

"My mother gave birth..."

Still in chaos, many servants and maids came cowering: "Master, our family..."

Yue Fenghua flew into a rage: "Get out! All of you, get out!"

Wei Changming stood by, arms folded, a faint, mocking smile on his face.

A very small number of these people knew vaguely about Yue Fenghua selling out his disciple; most did not. People were simply realistic. They had come here because of Yue Hongling. If Yue Hongling died, what were they doing here? Did you really think the Luoxia Manor was worth staying in? You yourself were nothing special. Several disciples who had studied under you for ten years were still only at the third level of the Mystic Gate. Even a small sect like the Blood God Cult required their local branch instructors to be at the fourth level. What was this? After studying under you for ten years, they could only go out and do odd jobs?

If Yue Hongling had stayed with you back then, she wouldn't have achieved anything either. Why should we stay here and rot?

Wei Changming had foreseen this outcome, but even he hadn't expected everyone to be so ruthlessly pragmatic—no sooner had the Chaos Chronicle broadcast than it all began here... Perhaps one could only say that after so many years, the Chaos Chronicle's credibility was too solid; a few vague phrases from it, and everyone took them as gospel.

He couldn't be bothered to pay it much mind. Others might not know, but he was well aware just how deeply Yue Fenghua had offended his own disciple and the Asura backing her this time—the sooner he cut ties, the sooner it was over.

In an instant, the once bustling and lively Sunset Villa became as deserted as a sparrow trap, the vast estate left with only a handful of cats and dogs. Even the peddler at the gate, whom Yue Hongling had seen when she arrived, had vanished—where there was bound to be no crowd, no peddler would waste time.

Yue Fenghua stared at the desolate manor during the New Year, his hands trembling.

Above the clouds.

Zhao Changhe and Huangfu Qing sat cross-legged, eating steamed buns, peering down at the upheaval below as if watching a play, thoroughly amused.

Yue Hongling had long since awakened, her body brimming with vitality, not a single scratch in sight—where was the "life or death unknown" about her? Yet the two beside her were munching on buns, and she had no appetite at all. Standing on the clouds, she looked down, a sigh of lament in her heart: "So this is your revenge?"

"Mm-hmm." Zhao Changhe chewed noisily. "Isn't it only natural? He raised you for a few years, after all. We couldn't just strike directly, but he still needed to learn a lesson."

"...Mm." Yue Hongling said, "The question is, how did you manage it? Did you write the Chaos Chronicle?"

Zhao Changhe nearly choked on a mouthful of bun: "No, no, I was just blowing smoke. That was a coincidence. Well, if the one who writes the Chaos Chronicle is a woman, she must be as beautiful as a celestial; if a man, he must be dashing and handsome beyond compare, not like me with this scar on my face."

Blind: "..."

"I think you've got a screw loose instead." Yue Hongling shot him a glare, but had no heart to dig deeper. She gazed at the manor below, a touch of melancholy in her eyes.

But as she watched, her expression slowly shifted.

It wasn't just the deserted look—there seemed to be something else...

Yue Fenghua was throwing a tantrum in the manor when, outside the gate, a shadowy throng appeared—countless people, a coalition of other sects and factions from around Mount Hua: "Yo, Sect Leader Yue, spending the New Year all alone?"

Yue Fenghua's heart skipped a beat: "What do you want?"

Someone sneered darkly, "Nothing much... All these years, leaning on the Wei family's backing, you've robbed and plundered openly, crushing the sects around Mount Hua so miserably. Today, we've come to repay Sect Leader Yue's 'kindness'!"

Another gnashed their teeth: "Yue Fenghua, give back my master's life!"

"Yue Fenghua, you pretend not to remarry, crafting a gentleman's image, but you and your son have been raping and pillaging. My daughter jumped off the mountain, and you called it an accident. I couldn't beat you in court, but now let's see if your martial skills are as tough as your lawsuits!"

On the clouds, Yue Hongling gripped her sword hilt tightly. At first, she felt a impulse to go down and help, but as she listened, she grew more and more dazed, losing all desire.

"Let's go. I don't want to watch anymore." Yue Hongling turned to leave.

Zhao Changhe asked, "I think there's still something worth seeing."

Yue Hongling paused, then said softly, "I'm afraid to hear."

Afraid to hear, yet she heard it anyway...

"...Yue Fenghua, your wife tried to stop your evil deeds, and you let your wickedness take over and killed her—she was your devoted wife who shared your hardships! How could you bring yourself to do it?"

"You're slandering me!"

"Slandering you? Want to see who this is? Your wife's maid—you've had people searching for her for two years. Don't recognize her now?"

The clamor of arguments and curses gradually faded, replaced by a roar of battle cries. The clash of swords and blades rose to the clouds.

Yue Hongling stared blankly as her master struggled, barely holding his own. In her heart, she suddenly understood: her master had not been unaware that his prosperity came from her; he still sold her out, not because he was shortsighted or blinded by splendor.

But because he feared her.

From the moment she returned to her hometown, the one person in all of Chang'an who dreaded her most was Yue Fenghua himself.

It was a deadlock... If Yue Hongling didn't die, once she learned of all these details one day, Yue Fenghua would be doomed. Yet if Yue Hongling died, without her "backing," Yue Fenghua would still die, just like today's scene.

There was no room for regret or no regret, because from the start, he had no choice. But he probably never expected the backlash to come so fast, so directly.

Yue Hongling suddenly felt relieved. The gloom that had kept her silent for the past two days dissipated. She broke into a smile: "Let's go. Can't finish those buns?"

Zhao Changhe looked at her smiling face and asked cautiously, "You..."

"I actually feel my sword intent has grown sharper..." Yue Hongling chuckled. "If we're talking about the sword path, this must be what they call severing worldly ties, right?"

"Uh..." Zhao Changhe twitched his cheek. So this is what it means to be a protagonist—damn ridiculous.

Yue Hongling sighed. "Too bad my worldly ties have already fallen on you. It seems they can't be severed. Want to stick your head out so I can take a chop?"

Zhao Changhe said, "Big head or little head?"

"Get lost." Yue Hongling grabbed him by the scruff. "Let's go. You promised me: heaven as father, earth as mother, and atop Mount Langjuxu, that will be our bridal chamber."

Huangfu Qing got goosebumps and said sidelong, "No matter how touching your words are, the northern frontier can't be like when you two rode off alone back then. Both of you return to the capital with me for military arrangements."

Zhao Changhe let out a whistle. A steed neighed long, and the dark horse came galloping on the clouds.

The three didn't mount; instead, they led the dark horse, strolling leisurely eastward under the warm sun of the year's last day.

The screams from Mount Hua drifted faintly, lingering and swaying, like a farewell melody.

Looking down at the layered halls and pavilions of Chang'an below, Zhao Changhe hummed a tune softly: "These layered towers and grand halls are not what I imagined. In my heart, there was once a scroll, painted with its likeness... That year, I turned and left, the sound of water fading from the riverbank. Is the village still the same? From a thousand miles away, I look back in melancholy..."

The two women glanced at him sideways. You can sing?

Not bad, actually...

No matter whether this Chang'an matched his imagination, those three days in Chang'an had seen Bo'e flee, gods and buddhas scatter, and the hollowed-out Guanlong could no longer trouble their northern expedition.

Tomorrow, the new spring would dawn, all things would revive, and the barbarian hooves would soon arrive.

The day of the final battle in the northern frontier was already at hand.