NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 148-152
Chapter 148: How Embarassing
Lu Yusheng and the seven youths looked at the words floating in the air dazedly. They knew that the only possible explanation was that Fang Zhengzhi was already in the Heavenly Reflection State. However, they did not dare to believe it.
“He… is really in the Heavenly Reflection State?!”
“How is that possible?”
“He is only 15 years old. If I recall correctly, other than Chi Guyan, he is the only person who managed to attain this state below 15 years old…”
The seven youths looked at each other. They remembered the scene at the banquet the previous night, the deal between Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan in two years time.
If Fang Zhengzhi was really in the Heavenly Reflection State?!
Then, the deal would not be as hopeless as it looked!
A notion flashed by the minds of the eight of them. Before this, no one believed that Fang Zhengzhi could defeat Chi Guyan.
But now…
Their confidence was wavering.
The difference between the Star Conglomerate State and the Heavenly Reflection State was too great. So many youths were stuck at this door, unable to breakthrough.
But…
Once the breakthrough was successful, the transition from elementary to advanced Heavenly Reflection State was a smooth one. The probability of attaining the pinnacle of the Heavenly Reflection State in two years was at least 20%!
Even so, no one would seriously think that Fang Zhengzhi could defeat Chi Guyan in two years. After all, Chi Guyan was the ‘Xuan Heavenly Dao Body’. She had special abilities that would allow her to easily defeat people of the same level as her.
However, this battle was not as hopeless as it seemed before.
Even if it was just a shred…
It was still hope!
“Now, you all have two choices, one is death, one is life, which do you choose?” Fang Zhengzhi spoke, breaking the train of thought of the eight of them.
“Of course we choose to live!” One of the youths shouted. As a disciple of a renowned clan, he was used to a cultured life. He did not have much experience with blood and battle.
As such, he had a natural fear of death.
“But you all have been pursuing us from the Spring Garden, don’t you all think you should pay a price?” Fang Zhengzhi looked at them sinisterly.
“Price? What price?”
“I would like to rob!” Fang Zhengzhi said calmly.
“Rob?!”
Lu Yusheng and the seven youths stiffened when they heard Fang Zhengzhi. They had thought of many possibilities, but they did not expect that Fang Zhengzhi wanted to rob them.
What a low price to pay?
As long as they could live…
Money was a peripheral item!
“Of course you can! Master Fang is such a great person, I will give you all of my silver!”
“I do not have much silver with me, but I can give you all of my equipment. I also have a head dress. Don’t look down on it, the pearl is one of the best pearls harvested from the deep ocean!”
“Master Fang, my bracelet is not bad. When you wear it, you can smell a faint aroma when you study and it will help you concentrate!”
The youths immediately took out everything valuable from their bodies and obediently handed them over. They also thanked Fang Zhengzhi.
Fang Zhengzhi sneered.
He loved robbing people and having them thank him!
“Then, what about Master Lu?” Fang Zhengzhi looked at Lu Yusheng.
“You really won’t kill me?” Lu Yusheng could not believe it. Just like he had said, Fang Zhengzhi
“I didn’t say that, all I said was I will rob you first, but if you have nothing valuable, then…”
“I… I do!” Lu Yusheng grit his teeth. He retrieved a purple gold box, then opened it. A strong aroma wafted out of the box.
“The Hundred Battle Pill of the Battle Constabulary!” Yan Xiu’s eyes flashed with awe when he saw the pills inside.
Fang Zhengzhi did not think much of the broken box. However, Yan Xiu was clearly the most discerning. When the other youths took out their items, his expression did not even chance.
However, when Lu Yusheng retrieved this box, his jaw dropped.
What did this mean?
The Hundred Battle Pill was an exceptional item!
Who cares? Take it first.
Fang Zhengzhi snatched the purple gold box over and stuffed it in his pocket.
“There are three inside, I spent many years… please leave one for me…” Lu Yusheng painfully stretched out a hand as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi snatch the box away.
“Go go go, say any more and I will kill you first before I rob!” Fang Zhengzhi snorted icily.
Lu Yusheng shut up immediately. Yet, his expression was incredibly pained, almost as if he had suffered a huge blow.
…
After robbing everyone, Fang Zhengzhi spoke once again.
“All of you, strip and tie him… to that pillar!” Fang Zhengzhi pointed at Lu Yusheng, then at a meter thick ice pillar nearby.
The seven youths raised their guards once again. They wanted to resist, but now that their lives were in his hands, they had to do as they were told.
After a brief hesitation, the seven youths got to work.
“If you don’t get him completely naked, I will make sure you all are completely naked first!” Fang Zhengzhi said calmly as he saw the seven youths scurrying about.
In an instant, the seven youths turned from meek sheep to ferocious wolves.
Four youths grabbed Lu Yusheng’s arms and legs. The other three ripped away at his clothes. This was too barbaric to be seen.
All that could be heard was the shredding. They clearly ignored the instruction of ‘take off’, they simply ripped.
“You all…” Lu Yusheng wanted to struggle. However, he was afraid that Fang Zhengzhi had other ideas. As such, he could only weep silently.
After Lu Yusheng was stripped, the seven youths used the ripped fabric as rope and tied him tightly to the pillar.
Throughout the entire process, Lu Yusheng grit his teeth. Only when his body touched the ice pillar did he grunt.
Because…
The ice was too cold.
“Now it’s your turn!” Fang Zhengzhi looked at Lu Yusheng, then at the seven youths.
“Master Fang, didn’t you tell us to tie one person only?” One of the youths retreated in fear.
“Did I say so?”
“…” The seven youths looked at each other and thought carefully. He really didn’t say so.
“Do you want to do it yourselves or do you want me to do it for you?”
“We will do it ourselves!”
The seven youths stripped quickly. Then, they ‘helped’ tie each other up to the ice pillar with their clothes.
Before long, all seven of them were moaning and grunting…
…
After the eight of them were tied to the ice pillar, Yan Xiu spoke once again.
“Actually, I always knew that you could attain the Heavenly Reflection State, but I never expected you to attain it so quickly!” Yan Xiu said with surprise. As a friend, he was naturally happy for Fang Zhengzhi.
“Fast? I don’t think so.” Fang Zhengzhi shook his head.
“Is it not fast?” Yan Xiu asked curiously.
“If you attained Star Conglomerate at eight, would you still think this is fast?” Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu calmly.
“Conglomerate Star at eight, I am 16 this year. So I had eight years, naturally… hold up, you mean you attained Conglomerate Star at eight?!” Yan Xiu exclaimed just as he was about to answer Fang Zhengzhi’s question.
Not only did Yan Xiu gasp at that revelation, the eight men on the pillars were also stunned by this fact.
“Conglomerate Star at eight?!”
“Humph, how is this possible?”
“Based on my knowledge, even though Chi Guyan accessed Dao at four, she was also Conglomerate Star at eight! He says he attained Conglomerate Star at eight? Is he lying?!”
Lu Yusheng and the seven youths could not believe their ears. If Fang Zhengzhi was really Conglomerate Star at eight, why did it take so long for him to breakthrough to Heavenly Reflection?
They felt that something was amiss…
No matter what, Fang Zhengzhi was already in the Heavenly Reflection State, at 15 no less!
Fang Zhengzhi saw the shock on Yan Xiu’s face and sighed in exasperation, “Aish… Star Conglomerate at eight, but it took me seven years to get to Heavenly Reflection, how embarrassing!”
“Star Conglomerate at eight, Heavenly Reflection seven years later, embarrassing?”
“If this is embarrassing…”
The eight people tied to the ice pillar ‘enjoying’ the chill felt like they had just swallowed a fly when they heard Fang Zhengzhi’s sighs.
Even though they were being tortured by the cold, their faces flushed.
Can you not be like that? Can’t you let us retain some dignity? Yes, you may think that waiting seven years for Heavenly Reflection after attaining Star Conglomerate at eight is a disgrace…
But then…
What would that make us?
What would that make the talents of the various powerful clans in the empire?
Conglomerate Star at eight.
Heavenly Reflection at 15.
?
Yet, he was still sighing here, looking depressed. Could he possibly be more arrogant?
Lu Yusheng and the seven youths thought of the same thing. They would much rather hear Fang Zhengzhi shouting and laughing that he is a talent and a genius. They did not want to hear him sigh.
“Haish… I was Conglomerate Star at eight and waited seven years for my Heavenly Reflection, what a disgrace!”
How disgraceful could you be?
Chapter 149: Revealing the Secret
Yan Xiu looked at Fang Zhengzhi’s depressed look. As a friend, he felt like he should comfort Fang Zhengzhi. For example, You may have taken seven years to reach Heavenly Reflection, but you made it.
However, it did not seem very appropriate. After all, he was still stuck at Star Conglomerate.
As such…
After some thought, Yan Xiu changed his technique.
“Shall we go see what treasures there are here?” Yan Xiu decided to change the subject and distract Fang Zhengzhi.
“Sure! You’re more knowledgeable than me in this field, can you introduce the treasures to me?” Fang Zhengzhi’s depression was immediately wiped off his face.
“Of course!” Yan Xiu nodded, then, his gaze darted around the room and he picked out a few special treasures to introduce to Fang Zhengzhi.
Fang Zhengzhi followed silently behind, listening intently to the introduction Yan Xiu was giving him like an obedient student.
After Yan Xiu introduced all of the treasures, the two of them began walking towards the depth of the treasure hall. The Divine Constabulary had been managing the Heavenly Treasure Hall for so many generations and there were much more treasure.
Lu Yusheng and the seven youths stared intently at Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu. Their eyes were filled with anticipation. However, as Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were walking too slowly, the eight of them had to suppress their movements.
Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi savored every step as they sauntered. They then stopped at a place about 500m out.
The two groups could see each other, but hearing the conversation was near impossible.
At this point, Yan Xiu turned around and looked at Lu Yusheng.
“Are you really not going to kill them?”
“Mm, haven’t you already realized it?” Fang Zhengzhi was not surprised by Yan Xiu’s question.
“If you want to kill them, this is your last chance. Even though killing Lu Yusheng may cause some trouble, this is the Heavenly Treasure Hall. If something happens to Lu Yusheng here, the Divine Constabulary would have to take some responsibility too. As long as we have sufficient reason, Chi Hou will definitely take our side. Furthermore, the Battle Constabulary would not make enemies with the Divine Constabulary over someone like Lu Yusheng.
“The reason why I’m not killing Lu Yusheng is because there’s something I need him to do, and he’s the only one who can do it.”
“What is it?”
“Do you remember when we hurt Lu Yusheng with our joint attack back at the Spring Garden. Back then, I was slightly surprised. However, when I battled him just now, I could feel that he did not have complete control over his surroundings.”
“What do you mean?”
“I believe that there are problems with his Heavenly Reflection. If you consider the fact that he just broke through yesterday, these two are way too uncanny to be a coincidence.”
“You think that there is someone behind Lu Yusheng?”
“Mm.”
“Is it Chi Hou?”
“No, just like Chi Hou said so blatantly just now, my existence is of no consequence to him.”
“Then who do you think it is?”
“I don’t know, but these are the facts. Firstly, the link will not break as long as Lu Yusheng is alive. Secondly, the Dao of All Creation is about natural progression. Lu Yusheng’s forced breakthrough goes against the will of Heaven. Even if he survives, it would be a difficult life. Thirdly, if someone wants him dead, why should we be in a hurry to take this responsibility? This is why Lu Yusheng is more valuable alive than dead.”
“I understand now! Then, let’s walk deeper. I heard that there is an extremely important item in the treasure hall, do you want to go take a look?”
“If even you think it’s important, then naturally, we must go.”
“Mm, then let’s go!”
“Great!”
…
To Lu Yusheng and the seven youths, fabric could not restrain them.
As such, upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu leave, Lu Yusheng finally moved.
“Mater Lu, we had no other choice just now…”
“Humph! Leave the treasure hall first. We won’t know what will happen if Fang Zhengzhi returns!” Lu Yusheng’s eyes flashed with an icy glow. He grabbed another youth’s clothes and put it on.
“My clothes…” the youth who had his clothes taken felt like crying.
But, did he dare to deny Lu Yusheng? Of course not…
…
When Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were still admiring the treasures and sauntering about, Lu Yusheng and the seven youths escaped from the Heavenly Treasure Hall.
Coming out before the time is up?
This was something never before seen, and the Divine Constabulary’s interest was piqued.
Then…
News of Fang Zhengzhi’s breakthrough to the Heavenly Reflection Realm exploded outwards like a rock into water.
“Fang Zhengzhi is in the Heavenly Reflection State?!”
“How can this be? He is only 15, how is that possible…”
“Demon? If that is the case, the duel in two years…”
Just like how Lu Yusheng and the others were, everyone who heard the news were in disbelief that Fang Zhengzhi was in the Heavenly Reflection State.
When Chi Hou heard this, his jaw dropped, “What the heck? He’s in the Heavenly Reflection State! That doesn’t make sense, Heavenly Reflection is not that easy?!”
He remembered that he attained Heavenly Reflection at 20. All of sudden, he felt old.
As for the officials from the Constabularies who had not left, as well as those young talents, they were all wide eyed when they heard the news.
None of them were willing to believe this.
But…
If this was told from the horse’s mouth, what other choice did they have?!
…
In a isolated courtyard in the Divine Constabulary, a lady in a green dress was slightly nervous. She could not understand why there was someone like her master, able to breakthrough to the Heavenly Reflection State at 15?
There were only two in the empire!
The instrumental music from the pavilion stopped.
Chi Guyan, who donned a pink dress and a white fur coat, kept her instrument. Her exquisite eyes glittered like stars, but she exuded an aura of calm, almost like a lake in autumn.
“Is he finally in the Heavenly Reflection State?” Chi Guyan looked to the pale blue sky. She was not surprised, she expected this…
…
In the ancient building, King Duan Lin Xinjue was rather solemn, looking out at the pavilion in the distance. He smashed the white jade cup into the ground once again.
With a smash, it turned into powder.
“Heavenly Reflection… a 15 year old Heavenly Reflection. I guess this news is going to spread throughout the empire? I suspect even father knows about this!”
“Kind Duan please calm down. Once Fang Zhengzhi attains Heavenly Reflection, then his marriage with Chi Guyan cannot be hidden anymore. You need to quickly return to Yan Jing!” A black robed elder looked at King Duan and advised.
“Return to Yan Jing? Why? Do you think I am afraid of a Heavenly Reflection?” Lin Xinjue’s rage seemed to increase.
“You are definitely not scared of Heavenly Reflection. However, he did not kill Lu Yusheng, and this intellect on his part shocks me. My lord, that’s why you must return to Yan Jing quickly!”
“He did not kill Lu Yusheng? What has this got to do with me returning to Yan Jing?” Lin Xinjue was slightly confused.
“My Lord, why do you think he didn’t kill Lu Yusheng?”
“It must be because of Lu Yusheng’s standing. As a hillbilly, where will he find the courage to go up against the Battle Constabulary?”
“My Lord, what you’re saying is reasonable, but you must not forget that he bargained with Chi Hou in front of everybody at the banquet yesterday. Would someone like that be scared of a status? Furthermore, Yan Xiu of the Yan Family was in the Heavenly Treasure Hall with him. Someone like Yan Xiu is even less likey to be scared of Lu Yusheng’s status.”
“Then what does Elder Wen think?”
“If he had killed Lu Yusheng, this would have been over. We can prod the Battle Constabulary in the right direction. But, he didn’t kill Lu Yusheng. This can only mean that he knows the truth.”
“You’re saying that Fang Zhengzhi knows Lu Yusheng was under our command? Did Lu Yusheng reveal that secret?”
“No! If he knew that we were behind Lu Yusheng, then Lu Yusheng would be dead by now! The fact that Lu Yusheng is alive means that he knows the situation, but he doesn’t know who is behind it… then, he let Lu Yusheng live, hoping for us to kill him, giving him exactly what he wants.”
“Elder Wen is wise, but, how did he manage to find out?”
“This was a miscalculation on my part. I thought that he was only Star Conglomerate. If that was true, it would be impossible for him to realize the secret of Lu Yusheng’s Heavenly Reflection. But, if he too was Heavenly Reflection, then the secret was all too easy to find out.”
“Elder Wen, please don’t blame yourself. Fang Zhengzhi’s Heavenly Reflection breakthrough took us all by surprise. However, I still do not understand what is the link between him not killing Lu Yusheng and us returning to Yan Jing?”
“My Lord, you are wise and smart, I am sure you understand that Fang Zhengzhi’s greatest wish is for us to kill Lu Yusheng. And on this, Lu Yusheng would be worried about this too! As such, if we continue to stay in the Divine Constabulary, we. Any keep this secret for much longer! The secret is at risk of being exposed whether we kill Lu Yusheng or not. But, if we return to Yan Jing, then things will be different. First, we can dodge the spear, secondly, we can let Lu Yusheng relax and this will stop him from revealing the secret!”
“Elder Wen is planning a… tactical retreat?”
“My Lord, do you want to continue charging on?!”
“What’s done is done, we can’t undo it, neither should we try to!”
“Aish…” Elder Wen sighed as he stared out at the branches swaying in the breeze. A faint, resigned smile broke out on his face.
Chapter 150: Ice Wall
After a while, Elder Wen finally spoke again.
“If that is the case, my lord, you can only afford to risk it one last time. You must host the wisdom component of the imperial examination. However, this has traditionally been hosted by the crown prince. By doing so, you will cause some havoc, so please think carefully!”
At this point, Elder Wen really wanted to say something, If no one knows who is behind this, then why does it matter?
However, he could not say it. He was a strategist, and he was not in a position to say this…
Lin Xinjue knew what Elder Wen was getting at. However, understanding was a separate issue. He always saw things to the end and he would not give up halfway.
This was a weakness, but it was also a great strength.
“If I arrange for someone else to be the host, then the crown prince will not agree. However, if I personally request to host it, then the chances are much higher. Then, if I cede the supervising role of the military exercise to the crown prince, this would be easily resolved!” Lin Xinjue was determined, but he also understood Elder Wen’s intentions.
“This is the best way to do things. But if the Crown Prince finds out about Fang Zhengzhi being in their Heavenly Reflection state, then more issues would com up. If my lord wishes to be the host, then you must strike while the iron is hot!”
“Mm, then I will return to Yan Jing now, then go to the Eastern Palace!”
“The choice not to report higher and go straight to the Eastern Palace is a wise and humble one. I respect it!” Elder Wen nodded. Even though Lord Duan, who commanded the armies, could be brash at times, he was no barbarian. At the crucial moments, he could still display extraordinary wit. This was the reason why Elder Wen chose to stay with him…
…
Inside the HEavenly Treasure Hall, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu were looking at the treasure as they walked. Yan Xiu only stopped after more than two hours.
Fang Zhengzhi sensed the temperature around him.
This place was even colder than the outskirts of the hall. Furthermore, there was no sign of any win. It was almost like a sealed freezer.
“It should be just up ahead!’ Yan Xiu pointed in front.
“Fang Zhengzhi’s gaze followed Yan Xiu’s finger. He was slightly confused. Yan Xiu seemed to be pointing at a wall, a wall made of ice.
It was thick, and it glowed with an icy blue light.
“Here?” Fang Zhengzhi looked at Yan Xiu.
“Mm.” Yan Xiu nodded.
“What is this?” Fang Zhengzhi’s gaze swept over the wall. He could not see any special treasure! The wall did not even have so much as a strand of fur?
Is it an engraving?
But where was the engraving?
“Look inside the ice!” Yan Xiu pointed to the ice wall and his expression turned solemn.
“Inside?” Fang Zhengzhi looked at the wall again.
Then, he realized that there seemed to be nothing inside. However, there was a few small white dots. These dots were melded with the ice, and would look like snow on first glance.
Of course, these dots were truly formed by snow.
However, the more Fang Zhengzhi looked at the position of the dots, the more he felt like these dots were placed there on purpose. This looks like…
The Illustration of All Creation!
No, this was not the Illustration of All Creation!
Fang Zhengzhi remembered that the Illustration of All Creation had lines and irregular shapes over and above the dots. However, the ice wall only had dots.
“I heard that this wall records a battle, but, it doesn’t look like it…”
“Battle?”
Fang Zhengzhi’s curiosity was piqued. How can one record a battle using these white dots?
Yan Xiu did not say anymore, and Fang Zhengzhi did not continue to probe.
The two of them sat down at different spots and began to stare at the wall.
Two hours.
Four hours.
Nightfall.
…
The two of them continued to look at it.
It had been a two days since they had entered the treasure hall. They spent a day squatting in front of the ice wall, but they did not see anything special.
Yan Xiu had no intention to leave. He examined the wall closely, scribbling drawings on the ground sporadically.
Fang Zhengzhi really wanted to emulate Yan Xiu’s concentration, but he was already blurry eyed. He didn’t manage to figure anything out. Guess? He must have some leads at least?
Okay then….
Why put so much effort into understanding a war? The rewards did not warrant the effort. Fang Zhengzhi decided to take a nap. Even though this place was slightly cold, it did not mean he could not catch some shut eye.
Then, he lay out his clothes and found a comfortable place to lie down.
“The peaks of the mountain look like jade, the dense forest looks like millions of silver…” Fang Zhengzhi recited a poem as he serenely closed his eyes.
He did not fall asleep immediately, his leg shaking listlessly..
He kept thinking where to go after he got out.
In three months, the imperial examinations were beginning. Just the journey from Golden Scale City to Yan Capital took two months.
Without planes in this world, everything was so inconvenient.
Then, should he go straight to Yan Capital? Or should he stay in the Golden Scale City and relax? Forget it, he had better go to Yan Capital. If he stayed in the Divine Constabulary, he would be constantly reminded that Chi Guyan was his neighbor.
He would not be able sleep well.
When he thought of Chi Guyan, Fang Zhengzhi felt a sense of familiarity. He had seen that nose and lips somewhere before.
In my dreams?
Bleh!
Fang Zhengzhi would never dream of Chi Guyan unless it was a nightmare.
If he really beat her in two years, what was he going to do? Marry her? Haha… Chi Guyan… you are to naive!
You want me to marry you?
Dream on!
Mm…
An eye for an eye, he must humiliate her, then, he will call off the marriage in front of everyone. Then, when everyone doesn’t want her, he will act like the nice guy and make her one of his servants?
But, Chi Guyan was quite pretty, making her someone who poured his tea and cut timber would be a waste.
What if she was a ‘bed warmer’…
That was more like it!
“Master, the bed is warmed, please rest well!”
Thinking about Chi Guyan’s bright eyes and chirpy voice after warming his bed, calling out to him, Fang Zhengzhi’s mouth broke out in a lusty smile. He quite liked the thought of it.
At this point, Fang Zhengzhi remembered someone with similarly bright eyes.
“Gu(3) Yan!” [1]
Hold on…
Something is not right!
A person’s eyes was the window to the soul. If a male and a female had the same kind of window, what did that mean?
Gu(3) Yan…
Gu Yan!
“F*ck… me!” Two faces appeared in Fang Zhengzhi’s mind all of a sudden. These two faces quickly joined together.
Most importantly, they fit perfectly!
“If Gu(3) Yan is Chi Guyan, then why did she go to the Northern Mountain Village? To find me?” Fang Zhengzhi shook his head vigorously. He did not think this was possible.
Then, he thought about the books that Gu(3) Yan had left on his table.
Were they to teach him techniques?
Without considering the fact that Chi Guyan was unlikely to be that nice, those things, were not really techniques. They were just a combination of weird swords, spears, poles, blades…
If not for the fact that he was quite desperate, he may not have looked at them.
Those things were quite useless.
Hang on!
Those techniques may seem messy, but they had a special order to them. He did not really realize it then, but thinking about it now, it looked like…
The Illustration of All Creation!
“The ice wall!”
“And the messy techniques!”
“Could it be…”
“I understand now!” Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes all of a sudden.
[1] This is a different Gu Yan
Chapter 151: Investigation
The ice wall was still the same, but in Fang Zhengzhi’s eyes, he had already begun to treat the white dots as the constellations in the Illustration of All Creation.
He began to link up the messy techniques like they were constellations.
Then..
What was in front of him was a gigantic painting!
Was he right?
.
Fang Zhengzhi did not know, neither did he want to know. A thousand people can interpret one thing a thousand ways, why must there be a right way? All he needed to know was his own interpretation.
As such, Fang Zhengzhi began to join the dots based on his own hypothesis.
Slowly, a picture began to form.
It did look like a battlefield, which was what Yan Xiu said, but…
It looked like it was following one person.
Actually, it looked like a wrecked picture. The places with other people were deliberately hidden. As such, this picture recorded one person’s actions on the battlefield, and this person was killing his way around the battlefield with the various techniques.
“These are…”
Fang Zhengzhi was rather curious, even though this looks like a battlefield, the various poses looked like patterns.
No!
This was not a battlefield!
All of a sudden, Fang Zhengzhi had an impression that this was a set of techniques. The battlefield was used to show the technique in action, and when and how to fully exploit each technique…
This was a technique manual for battle.
But, who was the person in the pictures?
Why would it be a tattered picture?
What did the complete picture look like?
Fang Zhengzhi had no idea, but he remembered everything, soaking up the information like a sponge. He would remember them first, then filter the techniques accordingly after.
As he remembered, he began to imitate and practice the techniques in his mind.
At this point, Yan Xiu also stood up. Then, he began drawing with his fan in his hand, his expression ecstatic.
“Did he realize it too?”
Fang Zhengzhi wanted to ask, but Yan Xiu was extremely absorbed. It would not be wise to break his concentration now.
Sometimes, enlightenment strikes in that moment. Furthermore, what we understand on our own is much more suited for us than something others teach us.
Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi did not know if he was right.What if I’m wrong?
As he thought about it, Fang Zhengzhi also found another place to practice.
…
The opening. Of the Heavenly Treasure Hall lasted six hours outside, but that translated to three days inside.
Chi Hou sat quietly on a wide wooden bench outside. He looked at the sky and judged that it was about time. Then, he glanced at his servants.
Some of his maids began to prepare.
Based on Chi Hou;s standing, there was no need for him to wait for Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu to come out. He could wait in his study for Fang Zhengzhi to come thank him.
But for some reason…
Chi Hou had a feeling that if he really sat in his study, then, it was likely that Fang Zhengzhi would not show up at all.
“He’s in the Heavenly Reflection State? Did he attain it some time back? Or did he breakthrough in the Heavenly Treasure Hall?” Chi Hou had countless questions.
Of course, the most important thing…
He wanted to confirm Fang Zhengzhi’s true ability.
…
Before Long, Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu sauntered out of the crack side by side. They glanced at the maids standing around, as well as the purple robed Chi Hou.
“Hmm? Are you preparing the maids for your advances?” Fang ZHengzhi hated it when Chi Hou did this. At the very least, shouldn’t he be more subtle about it?
Then, should he show his disgust? Or should he accept it?
“Fang Zhengzhi, take this!’
Whilst Fang Zhengzhi was feeling conflicted, Chi Hou had already attacked.
“…” Fang Zhengzhi was speechless, “Can I have a cup of tea first?”
In actual fact, before he had come out, he had thought about many things. He had wondered if people would lead him to Chi Hou to show his thanks, or would he be given a place to rest.
But…
Never would he expect that he would be forced to fight, and with Chi Hou no less?!
How vert exciting! Chi Hou was clearly toying with him. For f*cks sake, what level are you, and what level am I? This is a little too much, even for bullies…
So what if I can’t win?
I can’t possibly be a punching bag.
As such, Fang Zhengzhi thought of running, but, he quickly squashed this idea as it surfaced. When Chi Hou attacked, his maids attacked as well.
However, they were different from Chi Hou, they fired off steel nets, black, glossy, steel nets.
The black steel nets hovered over Fang Zhengzhi’s head. Chi Hou was trapped inside the net too as he charged towards Fang Zhengzhi.
At this point, Yan Xiu looked up at the steel nets and the charging Chi Hou. Then, he calmly retreated behind Fang Zhengzhi.
“…”
This was the first time he saw Yan Xiu retreat. Furthermore, Yan Xiu had retreated in such a decisive manner. Fang Zhengzhi was sad, but frustrated.
“Let’s go!”
Fang Zhengzhi grit his teeth. Running was out of the option, and his helper was not gonna help him. Then, the decision was simple, fight it out.
He attacked.
However…
Fang Zhengzhi’s body did not appear where Chi Hou thought it would. Instead, Fang Zhengzhi had charged towards his hands/
This action confused the maids by the side.
Is he courting death?
Just as the maids were thinking about this, Chi Hou’s eyes brightened and his lips broke out in a subtle smile.
He did not retract his slap. Instead, his palm turned to claws as he grabbed at Fang Zhengzhi’s throat. It was quick as lightning, but, there was no glow.
No accidents…
Fang Zhengzhi was caught, but, he was not grabbed by his throat. Instead, Chi Hou had gotten the shoulder.
At the most crucial moment, he had shifted his body slightly. This was the Wind Shadow Technique taught to him by Yan Xiu. However, even with this technique, he barely managed to dodge Chi Hou’s grab on his throat.
Chi Hou was slightly stunned. He knew that Fang Zhengzhi was betting on the fact that he was not going for the kill.
However, he never expected Fang Zhengzhi to dodge his grab on the throat.
“The Yan Wind Shadow Technique?”
“Master Hou is Indeed knowledgeable and powerful. However, your win is ungentlemanly. You used a sneak attack, I did not even manage to use the Fang 13 Rod superior technique!”
“Fang 13 Rod superior technique? So… you need a rod?”
“Yes!”
“Maid, get a rod over here!” Chi Hou let go of Fang Zhengzhi and waved to his maid.
After he felt the grip on his shoulder loosen, Fang Zhengzhi smiled. Then, the smile disappeared almost immediately. His expression immediately became stern.
“Master Hou, I just came out from the treasure hall. I found a piece of treasure, but I don’t know what it is. I was hoping you could explain it to me?” Fang Zhengzhi searched himself as he asked.
“Mm, take it out for me to see!” Chi Hou listened and nodded.
This was quite the reasonable request. Many of the powerful disciples have asked him for advice. After all, the things inside there were collected by the Divine Constabulary over the years.
Then, Chi Hou saw Fang Zhengzhi retrieve a small cloth bag.
This fella does treasure his things, and he looks quite serious?
Just as he was thinking, he saw Fang Zhengzhi’s hand turn over. The small cloth bag opened and a grey black powder flew towards his face.
Chi Hou did not know what this was. However, he still managed to reach. He advanced, a ray of light flashing in front of him. The powder like substance fell to the ground.
“Nice try, how dare you attack me!” Chi Hou bellowed and grabbed at Fang Zhengzhi’s throat again.
Chapter 152: Failing at an easy task
However, this time, Fang Zhengzhi knew Chi Hou’s speed and exploited the Wind Shadow Technique to the maximum, causing Chi Hou to miss.
How could he let someone catch him twice in a row?
Fang Zhengzhi felt that it would be too humiliating to be caught again. At the very least, he must put up some resistance.
“You attacked me first, now you’re shamelessly complaining about me?” Fang Zhengzhi dodged and weaved. Then, he waved, “Take this, Heavenly Maid Scattered Flowers!”
As Fang Zhengzhi waved, an icy glow enveloped the land and shot towards Chi Hou.
Offense was the best defence.
This was fact.
Seeing the icy glow shot out by Fang Zhengzhi, the surrounding maids were all confused. They had no idea what this was. However, anyone who dared to attack Chi Hou was incredibly courageous.
Who was Chi Hou? The name Iron Blood Divine Marquis wasn’t to be said at will.
He was a master of strategy, how could a trick like this fool him? Even though the maids felt that the icy glow looked good, no one felt that it could hurt Chi Hou.
The truth reflected this…
After seeing the icy glow from Fang Zhengzhi, he did not even dodge. Rays of light radiated from his body, enveloping him.
The moment the icy glow impacted the light shield, they disappeared into the ground.
“Cling, clang, clang…”
The ring of objects falling to the ground rung out.
After the icy glow fell to the ground, the maids finally realized that the icy glow was actually countless silver needles.
“Again!” Seeing the silver needles fall to the ground, Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of giving up. He waved his hands again and an icy glow shot towards Chi Hou once again.
“Again? I would like to see how many more things you can scatter!” Chi Hou chuckled lightly as the light shield radiated outwards once again, knocking the needles out of the sky.
“Again!” Fang Zhengzhi had no intention of giving up.
With another wave of his hand, the needles took to the sky once again. This stubbornness tickled the maids. How silly, why drag it out when you know you’re not going to hit?
After all, all you can do is delay the inevitable…
Chi Hou looked at the glow in front of him, slightly confused. Fang Zhengzhi should not be this dumb, what is going on?
Having experienced hundreds of battles, Chi Hou was not one to underestimate his enemy.
Even though he knew that his opponent was much weaker and those needles could never hurt him, he would not let the needles even come close.
What if they were laced with poison?
What if Fang Zhengzhi was just trying to make him complacent?
Chi Hou had no way of confirming this. However, he was rather curious why Fang Zhengzhi would consistently use techniques that could not harm him. Fang Zhenghi was probably trying to make him lower his guard after repeated attacks.
This sounded like quite the plan. However, Fang Zhenghi could not even break his shield, what good would making him overconfident do.
Chi Hou may be thinking this way, but his servants were not able to think at such a level.
They looked on with pity and mocking as Fang Zhengzhi kept sending out futile attack after futile attack.
“This Heavenly Maid Scattered Flowers looks pretty!”
“I wonder how many more flowers he can scatter?”
“I think he’ll be out very soon!”
Just as the servants expected, Fang Zhengzhi had limited needles. He was no porcupine, so after several attacks, he had run out of needles.
Even so, he was unfazed. He had other things to scatter – powder, ash, nails, daggers, dried fruits, snacks…
…
The sky was enveloped by a steel net, but what was happening underneath the net was dumbfounding.
Chi Hou looked on as Fang Zhengzhi continued to scatter items. Finally, he showed traces of surprise. How many ‘secret weapons’ does this person have?
“A lot!” Fang Zhengzhi understood Chi Hou’s expression and answered his question without any hesitation.
He was in no hurry. He was always prepared for any eventuality and had all sorts of secret weapons that would last him some time.
As such, he was extremely willful in his scattering of items. He was not scared that he would finish scattering all his items…
After absorbing the attacks for about 15 minutes, Chi Hou was getting exasperated. At the rate Fang Zhengzhi was going, the entire courtyard was going to turn into a landfill.
Within a heartbeat, Chi Hou’s footsteps increased.
He was incredibly quick. No matter how Fang Zhengzhi tried to weave and dodge, Chi Hou was within striking range in moments. He grabbed at Fang Zhengzhi with both hands.
Then…
Fang Zhengzhi smiled wryly.
Seeing the grin, Chi Hou had an ominous feeling. Fang Zhengzhi looked like a hunter after his prey had fallen for the trap.
However, he had absolutely no idea how Fang Zhengzhi planned on breaking his defences.
If he couldn’t break the defences, what use was trickery?
Just as he thought about it, Chi Hou saw a radiant ray of light. That ray of light was like an incredibly sharp needle piercing his eye.
“What the hell is that?!”
Chi Hou retreated unconsciously, the light surrounding his body shining at maximum brightness.
However, he was already blinded by the ray of light. His light shield could block all sorts of foreign matter, including poisonous gas.
However…
It could not block light, and it definitely could not block the ray of light that he was just exposed to.
The world around him suddenly became snow white. There was nothing around him, almost as if he entered an empty space. This greatly unsettled Chi Hou.
“B*stard, aren’t you afraid that I will kill your family for this deceit? Won’t you be blinded by this?” Just as Chi Hou thought about this, he heard the servants around him scream simultaneously.
“Ah, my eyes!”
“Oh oh, I can’t see…”
“What is this?”
Their screams echoed out. Just like Chi Hou, they were all consumed by this light, blinded by its radiance.
Chi Hou could not see, but he was not flustered. Experience told him that composure was required in times of emergency. As such, the moment he lost his sight, he chose to increase his defenses.
The intensity of light around his body increased.
He was quite interested to know what methods Fang Zhengzhi would use to attack him after blinding him.
However, Chi Hou was disappointed. The light around him decreased and he slowly began to regain his vision. However, throughout this time, Fang Zhengzhi did not attack.
It was almost as if Fang Zhengzhi ran away.
“He was just trying to escape?” Chi Hou was increasingly puzzled. The Divine Constabulary isn’t big, where could he have gone to?
After going through so much to numb Chi Hou and blind him, why not take the chance to attack?
At the very least, he would have gone down fighting?
Humans are curious by nature. As such, Chi Hou really wanted to find out where Fang Zhengzhi had disappeared to. His eyes widened as he slowly regained his vision.
Until…
He saw a faint glow. It was a faint blue dot.
This light stood out in the sea of white. Then, the glow became brighter and harder. When Chi Hou finally saw it clearly, he realized that it was like a sapphire. However, there were countless rays of light circling it.
Swirling, swirling, swirling…
“The Hypnotic Eye!” Chi Hou shuddered. He finally realized what he was looking at. It was one of the treasures of the Divine Constabulary.
In fact, he had brought it into the Heavenly Treasure Hall himself.
However, at that time, he did not think much of this. In order for it to take effect, it required a very strict condition.
The enemy must look at it for more than three seconds for it to take effect.
It did not seem difficult, but which enemy would look at the Hypnotic Eye for more than three seconds in a real battle? The potential for use was too low. As such, Chi Hou threw it into a corner of the hall.
After so many years, he had almost forgotten its existence.
But now…
The Hypnotic Eye was right in front of his eyes. That meant Fang Zhengzhi had managed to find it in the recesses of the Heavenly Treasure Hall.
More importantly…
He had stared at it for more than five seconds.
These thoughts flew through Chi Hou’s mind, but his eyelids were incredibly heavy. His light may be able to block all forms of attack, however, it could not defend against the hypnotism of the Hypnotic Eye.
“I have failed miserably in such an easy task! What was that ray of light?” Chi Hou sighed as his eyes closed and he fell to the ground.
“Bang!” With a loud thud, Chi Hou fell to the ground.
All of the servants stared wide eyed as their master slumped.
The fall was so crisp, almost as if he had fallen asleep instantaneously. His head cocked to one side and he crumpled.
It was so fast… Chi Hou did not even manage to protect his own face.
He fell to the ground face first. Even though he looked quite pathetic, at the very least, he was in a deep sleep. I wonder if his face would hurt after he wakes up?