Chapter 804: Lamp Lit, Flower Blooming
The chaos in the Imperial University was over. The face of the Grand Emperor on Planet Ancient Emperor sank into the clouds and disappeared. The head of the Grand Emperor’s statue slowly turned away as the statue returned to its normal position on the rainbow bridge. Light shone off the imperial palace just like before. Inside the shrine hall in the Red Dust Emotional Suppression Pavilion, the clay fox smiled faintly. Eyes closing, the clay fox went back to being a normal statue. The god domain rift in the sky above the university vanished.
The confusion and disorder that the dao debate had descended into were now over. That said, the ramifications were still spreading, among both the organizations outside the university, and the students within it. Innumerable students had been injured to varying degrees.
Silence and mixed emotions became the theme of the day in the university. That was especially true considering that the sky above the university had been severely damaged and was very weak in some spots. Some spots looked like melting ice, or corrosive black holes, or blisters on skin. And the ground was in bad shape too. Although it hadn’t been reduced completely to rubble, there were plenty of places that had collapsed. Overall, it was a scene of devastation.
As the chancellor looked out at the situation, the wrinkles on his face seemed to grow more numerous. Sighing, he pointed up to the sky.
“Reconstruct!”
The schoolmasters of the various schools of thought cooperated with the chancellor. That included the Xeno-Immortal schoolmaster. All of them raised their hands and called on their privileges as schoolmasters.
In the blink of an eye, beams of light shot out from the white towers, sending out waves of energy as they illuminated the sky. From a distance, the numerous pillars of light were shocking to observe. Next, a host of magical symbols appeared. Each was pure white and octagonal, and there were so many they filled the sky.
The magical symbols themselves assumed the shape of an eight trigrams diagram. There were concentric rings, all of which rotated according to a distinct rhythm. As they rotated, the shattered sky over the university began to recover.
It was the same with the ground. An eight trigrams diagram appeared there as well, also rotating.
Heaven and earth rumbled as, over the course of an incense stick’s worth of time... all damage to the sky and land in the Imperial University was fixed. There was no rubble visible any more. Any towers that had collapsed were back to normal. Everything was as it had been before the dao debate.
“The dao debate is hereby over. The Xeno-Immortal School comes out victorious!”
The chancellor’s gaze swept the crowd, then reached the Xeno-Immortal School’s dao altar, and Xu Qing seated atop it. There was something penetrating about his gaze, almost as if he could read hearts.
Regardless, his words brought an official conclusion to the dao debate. Then he turned to leave. Third Prince, who had been accompanying the chancellor, would normally have done no more than smile to the students and offer some encouraging words before leaving. But now, he solemnly turned to Xu Qing and bowed deeply before leaving.
As they left, the silence which had gripped the Imperial University shattered as the students from the Xeno-Immortal School all started cheering. Before the dao debate, they had been reluctant to identify themselves as students at the Xeno-Immortal School. But now they were very excited. They all knew that after this dao debate... the Xeno-Immortal School had exposed the God-Merging School in a vicious blow, and going forward, there would be nothing stopping them from reaching the highest heights.
The great potential of the Xeno-Immortal School was about to be realized. That much was obvious from the pillar of light rising from the Xeno-Immortal School’s dao altar.
After the events of this day, many students who had been on the fence before were now very interested in the Xeno-Immortal School.
In sharp contrast, the defeat of the God-Merging School had ensured its fate. The students from there, whether the chief students, the other leaders, or the ordinary students, all felt anxiety, confusion, and deep regret.
Ultimately, it turned into fury toward Bai Xiaozhuo. Next, they would have to deal with the investigation into Bai Xiaozhuo that would be carried out in the Imperial University and the capital in general. Not one of the leaders of the God-Merging School would be able to escape that. And unless they could prove their innocence, then the end result would be death for them.
The cheering swelled as black-clad university guards and city guards from the capital marched in. As all the students looked on, the leaders of the God-Merging School were arrested and taken away. The rest of the God-Merging students were prevented from leaving, meaning that they would need to stay in the university for the time being, until they were all thoroughly investigated.
Meanwhile, the God-Merging School’s white tower became just like the Xeno-Immortal School’s tower in the past: it was sealed tight!
Xu Qing stood. Together with the Xeno-Immortal schoolmaster and Chen Daoze, he left the dao altar. Xeno-Immortal students then clustered around them as they returned to their white tower. Outside the tower, the schoolmaster took a deep breath, then turned and announced that the Xeno-Immortal School would be open again tomorrow.
Amidst more loud cheering, the schoolmaster turned to Xu Qing and bowed deeply. Chen Daoze did the same.
Xu Qing knew that they must have many questions, so he turned and entered the tower. The other two followed. Once they were inside, the tower doors closed.
The students outside knew that it wouldn’t be appropriate to disturb them, so they bowed and hurried away excitedly.
***
The tower was quiet inside. Lamp light illuminated the interior as Xu Qing stood in front of a shelf of jade slips. As he looked through the various ancient records, the schoolmaster and Chen Daoze stood respectfully behind him.
They had many, many questions. But right now, even as they stood in Xu Qing’s presence, they really weren’t sure where to start. Considering that the ultimate origin of the Xeno-Immortal School was Xu Qing, they couldn’t help but worry about what that meant for the future.
When a word from one person can determine the fate of what is most precious to you, it’s only natural to feel anxious and hesitant. That was how things worked with important people. That said, the term ‘important person’ wasn’t necessarily unconditional. Many times, it was subjective.
Xu Qing understood how they felt. His experiences in Seven Blood Eyes and Sea-Sealing County had facilitated his growth from a kid raised in the slums to a grown man. When he spoke, his voice filled the white tower.
“Xeno-Immortal dao seeds are actually formed from my soul seeds. The soul seeds have advantages and disadvantages, which I explained in detail in the first jade slip I sent to the schoolmaster.
“It’s true that I can take back the soul seeds with a thought, as well as all the cultivation base transformations they’ve wrought. But there’s only one circumstance in which I would do that. And that is... if human morality is violated.”
Xu Qing turned and looked at the schoolmaster and Chen Daoze with fiercely gleaming eyes.
The two of them ducked their heads, clasped hands, and bowed.
Before coming to know who Xu Qing really was, such words would have raised their suspicions, and they would have been cautious and fully on guard. Even if they ultimately submitted to him, it would only have been because of the potential benefits to them.
But... things were different now.
In addition to Xu Qing’s ordinary identity, he had an even more important identity, and that was as the bearer of The Emperor’s Sword. He was approved of by the Grand Emperor, and had been chosen to bear his sword. The Grand Emperor’s opinion was naturally very persuasive.
Because of that, both the Xeno-Immortal schoolmaster and Chen Daoze fully trusted Xu Qing and what he said.
Xu Qing waved his hand, and from his remaining 98 violet soul seeds, three flew out.
“You can select some appropriate candidates to take these violet soul seeds. You can also decide the rules that govern their usage. As for me, I’m going to make some new reference pictures and explanations here. Going forward, students can study them to help them move in the right direction.”
“Your orders shall be followed!” the schoolmaster said. After carefully collecting the violet soul seeds, he thought for a moment, then clasped hands. “Region Lord Xu, on the outside, I happen to work in the Administration Palace. If you ever need any help there, just issue the orders.”
Xu Qing hadn’t asked about who he really was. But given how important the schoolmaster was to the school of thought, the schoolmaster decided to take the initiative to reveal the information.
After a moment of silence, Chen Daoze said, “Region Lord Xu, I’ve been here in the Imperial University for 5,000 years. Thankfully, your soul seed restored my mind and gave me control of my body again. In the past, I was an operations elder in the Star Emperor Preeminence Sect. Considering how things have turned out with the Xeno-Immortal School, I plan to finally return to my sect.”
“Star Emperor Preeminence Sect?” Xu Qing murmured. Thinking about his speculation that the Captain was currently a member of one of their branch sects, he nodded.
Now that Xu Qing had started a conversation, the schoolmaster and Chen Daoze started asking him questions about the cultivation method for the Xeno-Immortal School soul threads. Xu Qing actually didn’t have much advice to give regarding the cultivation method. However, he did have information to give them about the core elements of the Xeno-Immortal techniques, as well as god states. Chen Daoze and the schoolmaster listened intently, and as they absorbed the deep meaning of his words, they were shaken.
Soul threads are actually an imitation of godsource....
Burning a godly projection can break through barriers!
The so-called Xeno-Immortal means being a god with one thought or an immortal with another....
So many thousands of thoughts were running through their heads that time seemed to slow down. Eventually, Xu Qing went back to the imperial capital. By that point, it was late at night. The sky was dark, and everything was quiet and peaceful. The stars glittered in the night sky, like mysterious eyes staring down at the world. As the wind blew down the empty street, the leaves on the trees rustled.
Xu Qing suddenly stopped in place. “The last group of people who secretly followed me around in the imperial capital ended up dead, down to the last one.”
A woman appeared behind him in the moonlight. She was wearing a mask, and her gaze was a mix of suspicion and provocation.
“You can try,” she said. It was the very same mysterious girl he had met that night outside the Star Emperor Preeminence Sect’s branch sect!
Xu Qing turned, and the moonlight grew brighter, turning violet as it filled the street.
***
At the same time, something very gruish happened on Planet Ancient Emperor. The cloud cover there began to move.
In the depths of the imperial palace, there was a pentagonal altar with five golden coffins on it, all of which emanated a terrifying imperial aura. The aura was pitch black and could decay anything it touched. It was like a host of black dragons, pulsing with death as they howled. There was a lamp in the middle of the altar.
It was the color violet. It had previously been extinguished, but right now, there was a flame dancing on its wick. The flame was golden, but it was so weak it looked like the slightest breeze might extinguish it. Just barely visible in the flame was something that seemed to have the characteristics of both a lifespan flower and a pāramitā lily.
It was the very same flower that had appeared in the end for Bai Xiaozhuo. And it was the very last thing in his life... that he had completed.