Chapter 799: Point Out Any Errors I’ve Made, Exalted Lieutenant Governor
Perhaps there were some people who knew the true identity of the God-Merging schoolmaster. But ninety-nine percent of people in the imperial capital had no clue who he was. After all, the rules of the Imperial University were specifically designed to hide the identity of its students.
What was more, Torchlight wasn’t something people in the Imperial Region discussed a lot, at least until the events in Sea-Sealing County swept through humankind like a storm. After that, the emperor issued a decree listing all members of Torchlight as wanted. From then on, just about everyone knew who Torchlight was.
To the vast majority of cultivators, Torchlight represented chaos, evil, and destruction. What was more, their Blood-Soaked Performances were viewed as appalling and horrid. The main character in Sea-Sealing County’s big coup was Bai Xiaozhuo. A lot of stories had spread about him. Thanks to everything he had done, people had come to think of him as the poster child for Torchlight.
As a result, when Xu Qing’s words echoed out, they crashed like thunder, shaking the entire imperial capital.
“Torchlight?”
“That’s not possible!”
“The God-Merging schoolmaster is that Bai Xiaozhuo fellow?”
The astonished students in the university couldn’t help but chatter. And the students from the God-Merging School were all shaken to the core.
In fact, they didn’t believe what they were hearing. Their first reaction was to judge Xu Qing’s words as absolutely absurd. If it weren’t for everything he had just done, including executing an imperial prince with The Emperor’s Sword, then someone would already have stood up to start berating him viciously.
But in the end, there was nothing the God-Merging students could do to prevent Xu Qing’s words from striking them to the core. The leaders of their school of thought were all arrayed on the black dao altar, and beneath their masks, their expressions were flickering wildly. Even as they reeled in disbelief, countless gazes from the numerous organizations in the imperial capital all came to focus on the God-Merging schoolmaster.
The schoolmaster looked calmly at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing stood in place looking back at him. “Years ago in Sea-Sealing County, I bowed in gratitude to you, Exalted Lieutenant Governor, for the grace you showed in teaching one of my classes, and dispelling certain doubts I had. For that, I’m grateful.” Xu Qing was describing a scene in which he was a very different person with a very different status. “The situation back then was the same as this situation, Exalted Lieutenant Governor. Here, we meet again.
“Torchlight cultivators disdain lying. They value rationality. I said something similar back in Sea-Sealing County, but back then, you were untrue to your convictions.” [1]
Xu Qing seemed completely and utterly calm as he spoke.
Meanwhile, a complicated look could be seen in the eyes of the God-Merging schoolmaster. Inside, he was sighing. Outside, he held his tongue.
Xu Qing shook his head. “Do you remember what I said to you back then, Exalted Lieutenant Governor? If this God-Merging situation is your Blood-Soaked Performance, then I feel the same as before. Sadly, this whole thing has been quite disappointing.
“To be specific, what’s disappointing isn’t the performance. It’s you. Someone who violates their own standards like you doesn’t deserve to be a member of Torchlight. And so I ask: are you going to be untrue to your convictions on this day as well? Please point out any errors I’ve made, Exalted Lieutenant Governor.”
Xu Qing’s words echoed out for everyone to hear.
The God-Merging schoolmaster closed his eyes, reached up, and put his hand on his mask. He paused for a second, then removed the mask to reveal his facial features. He was the same Bai Xiaozhuo that Xu Qing remembered.
Numerous gazes were locked onto him. The entire Imperial University was silent.
When it came to cultivators, physical appearance often wasn’t enough to prove anything. One’s aura was the most important. And Bai Xiaozhuo’s aura was completely different than it had been back in Sea-Sealing County.
Because of that, he could have tried to deny Xu Qing’s accusation. But, just like back then, Xu Qing’s words were a death sentence.
“We meet again, Xu Qing,” Bai Xiaozhuo said, his voice calm and his facial expression placid. “I won’t disappoint you this time around. Yes, I am indeed the governor of the Sovereign Kingdom of Violet and Cyan’s Sea-Sealing County! I am Bai Xiaozhuo!”
His voice seemed to contain utmost confidence, and his words lead to an immediate tempest in the university. A frenzy of discussion broke out among the shocked students. The members of the God-Merging School were now starting to tremble. All of their trust crumbled as a result of the open confession they had just heard. They were now confused, shaken, and angry.
The God-Merging schoolmaster was actually a despicable Torchlight rat that was universally hated. He was Bai Xiaozhuo, who had instigated the coup in Sea-Sealing County, and had led countless humans to their deaths!
The monumentally shocking news struck all Imperial University students deeply. The leaders of the God-Merging School on the black dao altar felt like their hearts and minds were being completely overturned. They couldn’t believe it. They didn’t want to believe it. Yet the facts were right there in front of them.
Meanwhile, an even bigger tempest was brewing outside in the imperial capital. Many organizations were starting to stir anxiously. After all, Torchlight and Bai Xiaozhuo were things that shouldn’t be allowed to exist in the world.
Numerous streams of energy locked onto the dao altar. The Imperial University began to tremble. Countless gazes and streams of divine will locked onto the canopy of heaven. Killing intent abounded.
The chancellor of the university stood there just like before. But his gaze had sharpened. As the university trembled, defensive formations activated, covering the dao altars to protect the students.
Bai Xiaozhuo didn’t care about any of that. Looking at Xu Qing, he spoke in a hoarse voice.
“Back in Sea-Sealing County, you stepped out alone to face me. And today, you’re also stepping out alone. Doesn’t that grieve you, Xu Qing? Do you really need a humankind like this? I bet you can’t use The Emperor’s Sword on me. What does that say? Do you understand what it implies?”
Xu Qing shook his head. “It’s too complicated. And I don’t feel like thinking about it. What I do know is that the reason I stepped forward in Sea-Sealing County is because of an old man who I respected a lot. He might have died, but he still lives in my heart. Also, you clearly misunderstand what’s happening today, Exalted Lieutenant Governor. I stepped out because I want to see you dead. Nothing more.”
Bai Xiaozhuo chuckled and said the same thing he’d said back then. “That’s it?”
“What else did you expect?” Xu Qing’s face remained expressionless as he also repeated his own words from that fateful day. [2]
“I guess I assumed you would have more to say this time.” The lieutenant governor chuckled again.
“I didn’t last time. And I don’t this time either.” Xu Qing dropped back down to the surface of the white dao altar, where he sat cross-legged. He paid no further attention to Bai Xiaozhuo. He’d already done all he needed to. He had revealed the true identity of the God-Merging schoolmaster. And thus... there wasn’t anything else left to do. When justice was on the line, it didn’t matter what your personal feelings were, you had to take action. What happened going forward was the emperor’s call. After all, this was the imperial capital, not Sea-Sealing County.
Looking over at Bai Xiaozhuo, the emperor spoke in a majestic voice that embodied law and order.
“Imperial Chancellor, arrest this fugitive Bai Xiaozhuo!”
The chancellor of the university slowly straightened his wizened frame. His white hair turned black, and the wrinkles on his face disappeared as he transformed from an old man to a middle-aged man. Cracking sounds rang out from within him as he became tall and burly. His aura erupted like a furnace, sending out powerful fluctuations in all directions. His eyes seemed to contain a thousand lineaments, and countless projections existed behind him. The sky changed colors as an illusory world appeared on his left shoulder.
This was the great circle of Void Returning!
Imperial blood coursed through his veins as a golden dragon appeared in the illusory world. Then it screamed out into the open, swirling around several times before charging toward Bai Xiaozhuo with a roar.
The chancellor strode forward, and the fall of his foot seemed to invert heaven and earth. Countless natural and magical laws swept around him. Suns, moons, stars, and heavenly bodies became visible, as if an astral redirection were taking place.
Bai Xiaozhuo’s gaze left Xu Qing and turned to the dome of heaven. There was no way anyone could tell what he was thinking, or what he was looking at. But at that moment, his aura climbed high. Mutagen spread out. Godsource raged. His battle prowess fluctuations were on the same level as that of the chancellor. That said, this battle prowess didn’t come from his cultivation base, but rather, the godliness of his body.
His left hand pushed toward the golden dragon, while his right hand swept through the air, causing mutagen to turn into the projection of a god. That projection then sent crushing pressure toward the chancellor.
A rumbling boom exploded out. In the blink of an eye, the two of them began to fight. The air in the Imperial University vibrated and the sky went dark, making it seem like the end of days had come. Each clash was like the boom of heavenly thunder. It was a conflict between natural laws and godliness. Of magical laws and godsource. Of an immortal cultivator and a god cultivator.
Xu Qing looked up and calmly observed.
Bai Xiaozhuo was stronger than he had been in Sea-Sealing County.
But he should be even stronger. I guess he hasn’t used his puppet arts yet. Nor has he revealed the core of God-Merging.
The sky shook as a majestic figure took shape and reached out with the hand of a god toward the chancellor of the university.
The chancellor’s face was expressionless as the world on his left shoulder began shining with dazzling light that combined with the countless projections.
Rumbling booms rang out. Bai Xiaozhuo’s face remained expressionless as he waved his hand, causing five vortexes to appear in the air behind him. Five puppets stepped out from them.
They didn’t look human, as their bodies were pieced together from all sorts of godly materials. They pulsed with godsource power that caused the mutagen levels to rise rapidly. Each one that emerged pulsed with fourth-stage Void Returning battle prowess. They also had illusory worlds. However, the worlds were all dead, and if you looked closely at them, you would see statues of gods inside. After they appeared, they turned toward the chancellor with astounding killing intent.
Of course, the Imperial University was located in the stronghold that was the imperial capital. The chancellor wasn’t the only powerful expert around. In the blink of an eye, eight individuals rushed forth to flank him. Shockingly, they were various schoolmasters from other schools of thought. For them to join the battlefield went to show how chaotic things were in the Imperial University right now.
Thankfully, the air in the university was stable, and the defensive spell formations were fully activated. As a result, the students weren’t injured, although in some cases, blood oozed out of the corners of their mouths beneath their masks.
Meanwhile, in the imperial palace, one of the heavenly kings looked up at the emperor. The emperor said nothing. That heavenly king looked back at the battle unfolding, and did nothing.
Xu Qing also just watched.
1. Xu Qing’s accusation regarding lying and rationality was in chapter532.2 . Incidentally, this chapter (799) shares almost exactly the same title as chapter 532. ☜
2. The interchange of "that’s it” and “what else did you expect” was inchapter 534.1 . ☜