Chapter 2005: Heart-Shaking
Ximen Boyun continued, "In the Linyuan Realm, there should never have been a precedent for using a Bone-Measuring Mysterious Monument to determine dragon bone age. So how much deviation there is cannot be definitively determined. Sect Master Lie, do you accept this result? Or do you have a method to measure dragon bone age?"
Lie Qianhong naturally would not behave as presumptuously as Yun Che had earlier. He quickly bowed his head and said, "My Liesha Sect has a deep friendship with the Worship Qilin Sect, and I have the utmost admiration for Alliance Master Ximen's character. Moreover, with the Abyss Knight overseeing matters... I have never truly doubted the Worship Qilin Sect from the very beginning. The only person I doubted was Yun Che."
When a matter became impossible, a few fine-sounding words were naturally the best choice.
A cold sneer stirred in Ximen Boyun's heart, but his expression remained calm and indifferent. "Very well then... Yun Che, come up and clear your name and that of the Helian Imperial Clan."
Yun Che raised an eyebrow slightly and silently exhaled.
He could foresee what was about to happen with even his nostrils.
He rose and stepped into the arena, facing a crowd of looks—some expectant, some anxious, some waiting for a good show. With a helpless expression, he pressed his palm onto the Bone-Measuring Mysterious Monument. The monument glowed, and a thread of dim light crept upward... But under everyone's instantly frozen gazes, the dim light only extended about half a Jiazi before it suddenly slowed. Then, when it was still about three-tenths short of a full Jiazi, it came to a halt.
It was as if a great cauldron had been lowered over the Qilin God Domain. In an instant, a deathly silence fell, so still one could hear a pin drop.
The shock brought by Long Jiang earlier had just been soothed when it now erupted several times more intensely in this single moment, shaking eyes, hearts, and the very crowns of heads.
"Half... half... half... half a Jiazi?!"
The Mysterious Light had stopped at around the two-thirds mark of a Jiazi... which fell within the range of half a Jiazi.
This sight, this result, struck everyone so hard that their vision blurred and their minds roared.
Ximen Boyun, who had been steady and composed all along, suddenly widened his eyes. His Mysterious Energy became disordered, and he nearly plummeted straight down from midair.
Lie Qianhong, who had been waiting for hope to appear, went dark before his eyes, as if falling into an absurd illusion.
"Half... a Jiazi?"
"Half-half-half... hss!"
"Half a Jiazi... this, this, this, this..."
...
The same three words spilled chaotically from countless mouths, but all came out stammering and incoherent.
Helian Lingzhu covered her lips with both hands, letting out a stifled cry of surprise. Mo Cangying even leaned sideways onto Ku Xian without realizing it.
A half-Jiazi peak-stage Divine Sovereign was already shocking enough to the world. But unleashing the power of an upper-rank Divine Lord at half a Jiazi of age... what kind of concept was that?
"?" High above the distant skies, Hua Qingying cast a deep glance at Yun Che.
"...? His age is actually that young? He's even much younger than my youngest royal brother."
Hua Caili, who had reached the Half-step Divine Destruction Realm at seventeen, did not have a particularly clear understanding of the scene before her.
"The Mysterious Monument has been unused for a long time and is damaged."
In the midst of the chaotic exclamations, Lie Qianhong's roar rang out. He pushed Lie Zhuoyang forward: "Yang'er, you go!"
For Long Jiang's bone age, they could convince themselves with the excuse that "dragon bone" was difficult to measure. But as for Yun Che... the only reason they could think of—oh no, the only explanation—was that the Bone-Measuring Mysterious Monument was broken.
"That's right, the Mysterious Monument must be broken. Long Jiang's abnormality must be due to the same reason."
"Indeed, half a Jiazi... no matter how you look at it, it's impossible."
"No wonder. I remember this Mysterious Monument hasn't been used in several hundred years. It really should be broken by now."
Voices of agreement arose from all sides. No one believed that Yun Che was only half a Jiazi old... not even Helian Lingzhu and Mo Cangying. Even they were more inclined to believe that the Mysterious Monument was damaged.
Lie Zhuoyang, who had been pushed forward, had already landed beside Yun Che. He reached out his arm without hesitation and pressed it onto the Bone-Measuring Mysterious Monument.
The Mysterious Light flared up and in an instant settled at the eight-Jiazi mark, coming to a steady halt.
"This..." Lie Zhuoyang was stunned. Lie Qianhong was even more frozen in place.
"No, impossible."
How could Lie Qianhong give up? He flew down in a rush, directly shoved his son aside, extended five fingers, and grabbed the Mysterious Monument himself.
In an instant, Mysterious Light burst forth, shooting straight upward. It broke past seventy Jiazi before quickly coming to a stop.
The entire arena fell dead silent... Every cultivator in the Linyuan Realm knew that just seven months ago, the sect master of the Liesha Sect had grandly celebrated his seventieth Jiazi birthday.
The Bone-Measuring Mysterious Monument was not off by even a fraction!
Lie Qianhong's hand jerked away from the monument as if shocked by lightning. His pupils still dilated, and he shook his head in confusion: "No, I don't believe it. I don't believe it!!"
He suddenly spun around, grabbed Yun Che's arm, and pressed it back onto the Mysterious Monument.
The Mysterious Light glimmered faintly and again stopped at the two-thirds Jiazi mark, exactly the same as before.
"..." Lie Qianhong's body swayed, and his eyes went vacant. "No... no... impossible... How can there be such a thing... How can there be such a thing!"
What he found even harder to accept was not the shattering of his final hope, but Yun Che's age, which ground his understanding into dust.
Everyone was once again stunned and at a loss. This time, they had lost even the last reason they could use to convince and console themselves. Especially the disciples of the Rock Mystery Sect and the Ten Thousand Ren Sect—their faces were all blank, as if their souls had fled... As the top geniuses of this generation in the Linyuan Realm, they had been cruelly humiliated by a junior of only half a Jiazi. How could they believe it? How could they accept it?
"Lingzhu." Ku Xian's heart was in turmoil, and he directly addressed the eldest princess by name: "You've brought back... a true monster."
"..." Helian Lingzhu's fingers were still pressed tightly against her lips. She was utterly unable to speak.
Yun Che shook off Lie Qianhong's hand, turned around, and said, "This should be enough to clear my name, right?"
"Knight, you should now announce the result of this battle. Or... you could have everyone come and take a test. I wouldn't mind."
Yun Che's voice pierced straight into Ximen Boyun's ears. Ximen Boyun suddenly snapped back to reality, realizing just how much he had lost his composure. He quickly recomposed his expression and demeanor, and the aura of an Abyss Knight spread out once more. "As determined by the Mysterious Monument, the ages of Long Jiang and Yun Che are both within ten Jiazi. Neither the Worship Qilin Sect nor the Helian Imperial Clan has violated the rules set by the Abyss Emperor. Sect Master Lie, do you have anything else to say?"
"..." Lie Qianhong closed his eyes and shook his head weakly, not uttering another word.
Ximen Boyun raised his head and declared, "In the second round of the Lin Divine Assembly, the Worship Qilin Sect and the Helian Imperial Clan have fought to a draw, both ranking first. Each may select three hundred and fifty people to enter the Lin Divine Realm."
As his voice fell, there were no cheers.
Only a cluster of gazes converged on Yun Che, their eyes swaying as if trapped in a bizarre dream, still dazed and unable to wake.
---
High above in the distant skies, Hua Qingying withdrew her gaze and her divine sense. "Caili, the excitement is over. Time to leave."
"Huh? Leave? But..." Hua Caili's first reaction was to refuse, because she wanted to continue watching this spectacle from afar, which had brought wave after wave of novelty and surprise.
Especially, she was very curious to see what this person named Yun Che would do next. Because the novelty and surprise in this spectacle had all been brought about by him.
"Restraining curiosity is a form of mental cultivation." Hua Qingying saw through her thoughts. "The Lin Divine Realm cannot be entered without authorization. This place is of no help to your cultivation. You have already stayed far too long. You should leave."
"But, but..."
"Whether to stay or leave is your own decision. I only offer advice; I will not interfere." Hua Qingying's voice carried no force at all. Instead, it gradually became ethereal, as if she was swiftly departing. "During this time, my presence beside you has been too distinct. That is absolutely not a good thing."
"From today onward, unless truly necessary, I will no longer respond to your words, nor will I give you any more advice. I only hope... that you do not let down your first life's trial."
Hua Caili's expression grew serious. She thought about it very carefully, then nodded. "Fine. I will listen to Aunt."
This time, no one answered her.
Her bright and clear eyes gave one last glance downward, then she turned around and flew far away without any further hesitation.
A rather entertaining "hero saving a beauty" and a "Lin Divine Assembly full of novelties" had undoubtedly made Hua Caili firmly remember the name Yun Che.
As she turned away now, she assumed everything would be like what she had experienced before—quickly fading and scattering into the dust behind her.
But...
Some encounters, some entanglements, some loves and hatreds... are as if ordained by heaven, inescapable.
And even more unpredictable is whether the end will be a sea of colorful clouds and flowers, or a demonic abyss of sorrow and hate.
---
The news that the Helian Imperial Clan had taken first place in the Lin Divine Assembly was swiftly transmitted back to the Helian Imperial City.
Helian? sat bolt upright from his sickbed in near-death, and his wild laughter blasted a new hole in the roof that had just been half-repaired.
What pretence of being severely injured and unrecovered? Helian? quickly ordered a Mysterious Ark to be prepared, hastily selected a group of imperial descendants, and directly sped toward the Qilin God Domain.
The final battle of the Lin Divine Assembly was between the Rock Mystery Sect, the Ten Thousand Ren Sect, and the Liesha Sect. However, it would not take place for another twelve hours, and the outcome was obvious at a glance.
Naturally, Yun Che had no interest whatsoever. He had already left the arena, found an opportunity to pull Helian Lingzhu aside alone, and began asking oblique questions about the Abyss Beast race.
"The Dragon Clan really is still that powerful." Yun Che sighed with feigned gravity. "That Long Jiang is utterly strange and sinister. Speaking of the Dragon Clan..."
His footsteps, along with his voice, came to a halt. He raised a hand to his forehead, a pained expression on his face.
"Huh? What... what's wrong? Did you get hurt just now?" Helian Lingzhu asked, full of concern. Her fingers even subconsciously touched Yun Che's forehead.
Yun Che naturally lowered his hand and straightened up, just barely avoiding Helian Lingzhu's fingers, and said reassuringly, "Of course not. It's just that the severe injury from a month ago seems to have left some gaps not only in my memory but also in my cognition."
"When it comes to the Dragon Clan... and the other beast clans, whenever I think of them, there is only a blank."
"It's alright." Helian Lingzhu smiled comfortingly. "Your injuries healed so quickly. The wounds in your soul will surely recover slowly as well."
"Mmm, they will definitely recover." Yun Che nodded, then said naturally, "Just now, when I thought about the beast clans... aside from the blankness and confusion, I only vaguely remember that it seems, aside from the Dragon Clan, all other beast clans have gone extinct."
"Of course." Helian Lingzhu said. "Other than the Dragon Clan and the last Qilin, all other beast clans have been completely corrupted into Abyss Beasts."
"Right... Abyss Beasts." Yun Che slowed his speech, furrowing his brows, as if he was struggling to think and recall.
"Once, I read an ancient text from an unknown origin." Helian Lingzhu said softly. "It said that many beast clans were actually stronger than the human race. Especially the Dragon Clan—they far surpassed humans by a huge margin."
"But the Abyss Dust's corruption of the beast clans is far greater than it is of humans, which led to the gradual extinction of the beast clans, until only the Dragon Clan remained. The ancient text said that if the world had no Abyss Dust, perhaps the world would be ruled by the Dragon Clan."
The ancient text was not wrong... In the Shen Realm before Yun Che's dominion, the Dragon Clan had indeed ruled, and that supremacy remained unshaken for a million years.
"The Abyss Dust's corruption of the beast clans is far greater than it is of humans" — that sentence was undoubtedly the answer to everything.
In Mo Beichen's remnant soul, there was indeed the concept of "Abyss Beasts."
They roamed the Mist Sea, completely corrupted by the Abyss's power of annihilation, so naturally they only had the instinct to destroy.
"A month ago, at the edge of the Mist Sea, I encountered one such Abyss Beast formed by corruption." Helian Lingzhu continued. "It was indeed far more terrifying than the Abyss Beasts born from Abyss Dust. If Ninth Senior Brother hadn't suddenly appeared, I might have..."
Her voice carried lingering fear, but she immediately looked at Yun Che, her bright eyes curving. "But it was precisely because of that time I ventured into the Mist Sea privately that I was able to meet Young Master Yun Che. That was definitely the most correct decision of my life."
Her gaze was like that of one looking upon a god.
Yun Che smiled, but silently engraved another piece of information in his heart. The Abyss Beasts of the Mist Sea were partly ancient beast clans that had been completely corrupted, and partly... congealed from overly dense Abyss Dust!