Chapter 10: When Will I Soar to the Azure Clouds
“It seems I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Chen Changsheng looked at the middle-aged woman and said, “Since I haven’t done anything wrong, why should I change anything?”
As he spoke these words, his expression didn’t change much, only his breathing became slightly heavier in a way that was hard to notice.
Only his senior brother would know that this detail indicated he was already very angry.
The middle-aged woman’s expression turned serious. “Aren’t you afraid of death?”
“I… am very afraid of dying.” Chen Changsheng’s voice was as hard as iron. “…That’s why the first thing I did upon arriving in the capital was go to the Divine General’s Mansion to call off the engagement. Just yesterday, I was also planning to enter the Heavenly Dao Academy or the Star Picking Academy, and then choose a day to break off the engagement… But I’m sorry, I’ve really changed my mind now.”
The middle-aged woman stared at him, her gaze turning cold.
Chen Changsheng calmly met her eyes and said, “Unless you realize what you’ve done wrong and remember my name.”
The middle-aged woman was silent for a long time.
“Actually, I admire you quite a bit.”
She looked at Chen Changsheng, a complex emotion in her eyes. “I’ve been watching your daily life these past few days. I’ve never seen a young man so self-disciplined at your age. And in these four entrance exams, the things you’ve shown are rare and worthy of praise… I’ve even thought sometimes that if I had a daughter, marrying her to you wouldn’t be a bad choice.”
Chen Changsheng didn’t know what to say, but being praised required some response. After thinking for a moment, he said two words: “Thank you.”
Saying thank you at a time like this was somewhat ridiculous, somewhat endearing, and very admirable.
The middle-aged woman looked toward the stone wall behind the courtyard gate and said, “But unfortunately, no one in the world would think the young lady should marry you.”
Chen Changsheng followed her gaze and saw that the green stone wall was densely carved with many names. This was behind the main gate of the academy. This wasn’t the entrance exam ranking list, so what list was it? He suddenly remembered that two days ago, behind the gates of the Heavenly Dao Academy and the Star Picking Academy, he had seen similar stone walls, also covered with many names.
At the very top of the green stone wall was carved a line of text: “A favorable wind often lends its strength, carrying me up to the azure clouds.”
Seeing this line, Chen Changsheng recalled records from books and realized that the names carved on the green stone wall were from the legendary Azure Cloud Ranking.
The continent had countless strong individuals, but geniuses always started from youth—the Azure Cloud Ranking was a ranking of those under twenty years old. Every name that made it onto the Azure Cloud Ranking was, without exception, a core inner disciple carefully cultivated by various nations and sects, or a prodigy with extraordinary talent. As long as they didn’t fall halfway, these names would eventually become true experts.
All academies in the capital and elsewhere had the Azure Cloud Ranking at their gates. The academies hoped that these dazzling names would inspire students to strive forward and increase cohesion among classmates, but the effect wasn’t very good—students knew very well that they had no chance of making the Azure Cloud Ranking. Those names inspired admiration and awe, even leading to despair.
The Azure Cloud Ranking didn’t consider knowledge, cultivation realm, or sect affiliation, nor did it distinguish between male and female. It only judged strength. The only restriction was that those on the ranking could not exceed twenty years old. There had been several instances where someone of a relatively lower realm occasionally defeated a higher-realm expert and jumped to the front of the ranking—this had drawn much criticism.
When the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion first established the ranking, this evaluation standard had been questioned many times, but the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion’s answer was simple and forceful—regardless of knowledge, realm, or even spiritual temperament, when all were combined, they formed comprehensive strength. The Azure Cloud Ranking evaluated comprehensive strength, and the best way to judge it was, and could only be, victory and defeat.
Chen Changsheng’s gaze moved over the names on the Azure Cloud Ranking. Those names were unfamiliar to him. Occasionally, he saw some strange surnames, possibly young experts from the demon domain or geniuses from the southern forest’s native tribes. Suddenly, he saw the name Tang Tang at the thirty-sixth position. Remembering how in the Heavenly Dao Academy, that young man in blue had explained the origin of his name Tang Thirty-Six, he couldn’t help but smile happily, feeling proud and honored for him.
Finally, his gaze reached the highest point of the stone wall, where he saw the name hanging alone, lofty and somewhat lonely, lonely and thus even more cold and proud—the name he knew, the name he should be very familiar with—Xu Yourong.
“The Azure Cloud Ranking records all the young geniuses of the world. Our Great Zhou Dynasty is full of talents. In the divine capital alone, there are over a dozen people on the ranking. The Heavenly Dao Academy has four, the Star Picking Academy has three. But compared to the Southern Longevity Sect, the Locust Tree Academy, and other places, this isn’t particularly outstanding. It wasn’t until our young lady entered the ranking that the balance between north and south was decided…”
The middle-aged woman looked at the stone wall, unable to hide her pride, and she didn’t need to. She said calmly, “…Two years ago, when the young lady first entered the ranking, she was placed directly at the top. From that day on, she never came down. The young geniuses behind her couldn’t even get close, let alone catch up.”
Chen Changsheng stared silently at the name at the top of the stone wall. For the past four years, he had kept the marriage contract himself. He had read it many times. He knew her private name very well, and he also knew how old she was. By this calculation, this young lady of the Xu Mansion had been unrivaled at the top of the Azure Cloud Ranking at the age of twelve… The blood of the true phoenix was truly remarkable.
The middle-aged woman withdrew her gaze and looked solemnly at Chen Changsheng. “You are indeed excellent. Even without successful marrow washing, you have the ability to enter those academies. But the gap between you and the young lady is too great… This has nothing to do with effort, talent, or hard work. You keep climbing upward on your life’s path, and I believe you can reach very high peaks. But the young lady has long since left that place. If you stubbornly try to follow her, what awaits you will surely be thunder falling from the heavens.”
Chen Changsheng was silent, then remembered the reincarnated true dragon that the maid Shuang’er had mentioned, the genius universally acknowledged as the perfect match for Xu Yourong.
“Senior Autumn Mountain…”
The middle-aged woman hadn’t expected him to know of Senior Autumn Mountain’s existence. Expressionless, she said, “Senior Autumn Mountain was at the top of the Azure Cloud Ranking two years ago.”
Chen Changsheng asked, “Why did he leave the ranking? Because he didn’t want to lose to Miss Xu?”
The middle-aged woman said, “Senior Autumn Mountain broke through to the late stage of Sitting Meditation two years ago ahead of schedule. He is now the top of the Golden Dot Ranking.”
Chen Changsheng sighed, finding it hard to find any comfort in this matter. Those were all lofty figures, while he himself—let alone making the Azure Cloud Ranking—even trying to get onto the academy’s admission list was extremely difficult. Truly, they were two worlds apart, as different as heaven and earth.
He asked, “Earlier, you said the gap between Miss Xu and me has nothing to do with talent or effort. Then what exactly is it related to?”
The middle-aged woman said, “…Only to fate. Even if you are the best ordinary person, you are still an ordinary person. But the young lady, from the moment she was born, was not an ordinary person. You were born human; she was born a phoenix. The gap between you is like that between heaven and earth.”
“So… it’s fate again.”
Chen Changsheng sighed. After a long silence, he looked seriously at the middle-aged woman and said, “You probably won’t believe this, but I came to the capital to change my fate… Although it has nothing to do with the marriage contract, the word ‘fate’ really doesn’t hold much persuasion for me.”
The middle-aged woman was slightly stunned, not expecting that even after speaking so clearly, he still refused to let go.
The sun was setting in the west. Chen Changsheng walked toward the opposite side of the street, moving further away with the crowd.
The middle-aged woman noticed that at first, his head was slightly lowered, his body a little hunched, appearing somewhat lonely and weary. But before long, his body gradually straightened, his head slowly lifted, and he began to look levelly at the crowd on the street and the distant setting sun.
The twilight shone on the young man, as if he were burning.
…
…
“I have never seen such a self-disciplined young man. His diet and daily routine are controlled with strict perfection. He has no bad habits or entertainments. He cherishes time so much that I always feel someone is chasing him, or a whip is constantly lashing him. Yet he doesn’t give those around him a sense of anxiety. It’s clear he enjoys life, or rather, living… He just has a slight obsession with cleanliness. On the first day, I counted—he washed his hands seven times and must have used at least five handkerchiefs.”
In the Divine General’s Mansion, the middle-aged woman stood before Madam Xu, expressionless. “Madam, I must say, this child is very good. If given the chance, he will grow quickly. With some good fortune, he might have a very promising future.”
Madam Xu hadn’t expected that this woman, who had followed her for decades and was always loyal, would speak up for that child. Frowning, she said, “What are you trying to say?”
The middle-aged woman said, “Of course, the young lady cannot marry him… But rather than humiliating and suppressing him like this, it would be better to kill him outright. Otherwise, if he is given a chance to turn things around in the future, even if the mansion isn’t afraid, it will cause some trouble. Moreover… I think that young man has good character. Why treat him this way?”
This logic might be hard for ordinary people to understand, but Madam Xu understood. She hadn’t expected the woman to truly admire Chen Changsheng. Remembering what Xu Shiji had said in the study that night, she gave her a deep look and said, “Many people are watching the Divine General’s Mansion… especially those stubborn old men who refuse to give up. If the mansion becomes embroiled in a scandal, even if it doesn’t affect the big picture, Her Holiness the Saint Empress will surely be displeased. So this matter must be handled carefully. If we can obtain the marriage contract peacefully, that’s best. If, in the end, that young man insists on clinging to his pitiful self-respect or tries to seek greater benefits, then we can only let him die quietly. That will also bring some trouble, but removing the source of trouble is still a method.”
…
…
Shuang’er returned to her room and sat blankly at the table for a long time. Thinking about the conversation she had overheard outside Madam’s door earlier, she felt restless and uneasy. She picked up the cold tea pot and gulped down half of it, but it didn’t help her calm down. She knew that she had been allowed to overhear so much only because Madam wanted her to hear it… Madam knew she often corresponded with the young lady. By deliberately letting her hear these words, she naturally wanted her to inform the young lady of this matter, as a kind of notification. Of course, the young lady couldn’t marry that fellow named Chen Changsheng, but was it really necessary to go that far? Would the young lady agree?
She walked to the table, smoothed out the paper, picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, thought for a moment, and began to write a letter.