Chapter 89: The Rain Curtain Breaks
After uttering that "curse," Chen Changsheng felt a weight lifted, only to find the atmosphere at the academy gate growing even heavier—and this heaviness came from Tang Thirty-Six and Xuanyuan Po. The expressions on their faces were peculiar, especially Tang Thirty-Six, who stared at him in shock, as if he truly thought Chen Changsheng was an idiot.
The young nobleman was also utterly stunned. He thought that in the capital, someone might dare to curse him, but who would dare to insult his grand-aunt? The knights were equally taken aback by what had happened, so shocked they forgot to be angry or even shout. The gate of the National Academy fell into an eerie silence.
"Do you know who he is?" Tang Thirty-Six walked over to Chen Changsheng and lowered his voice.
Chen Changsheng replied, "Who else could it be? He must be from the Tianhai family."
"You know he's from the Tianhai family, and you still dared to curse like that?" Tang Thirty-Six gasped.
Chen Changsheng said, "Aren't you not afraid of the Tianhai family? And you also said that Her Holiness the Saint Empress and the Tianhai family are not the same thing."
Tang Thirty-Six stared at him for a long time, confirming that he truly didn't know. Thinking about how coincidental—or rather, unfortunate—his words were, he couldn't help but laugh, though he stifled it, his face turning red from the effort, looking terribly strained.
"What's going on?" Chen Changsheng asked, puzzled.
Tang Thirty-Six patted him on the shoulder and said in a comforting tone, "The Tianhai family indeed isn't Her Holiness the Saint Empress, but this man's grand-aunt... is Her Holiness the Saint Empress."
Chen Changsheng froze, completely at a loss for words. He knew, of course, that Her Holiness the Saint Empress's surname was Tianhai, but he never imagined that casually cursing someone—or rather, the first time in his life he'd ever cursed, the first time he'd used the word "grand-aunt" in a curse—would land on Her Holiness the Saint Empress herself.
His expression turned strange, as if he wished time could reverse itself, but that was impossible, and words once spoken couldn't be taken back. So he could only lower his head to look at the rain splashing at his boots, pretending nothing had happened.
The young nobleman finally came to his senses, staring at Chen Changsheng with a bizarre look. Whether from anger or shock reaching its peak, a faint smile curled at the corner of his lips, but his voice was colder than the autumn rain falling from the sky as he praised, "What an extraordinary youth."
To dare insult Her Holiness the Saint Empress on the streets of the Great Zhou capital was indeed extraordinary. Extraordinary people, naturally, die easily.
This young nobleman was called Tianhai Shengxue. His grandfather was Tianhai Youguo, and his father was Tianhai Chengwu.
Tianhai Youguo was Her Holiness the Saint Empress's elder brother.
Her Holiness the Saint Empress was his grand-aunt.
The Tianhai family's third generation had over a dozen members, the most famous being the four brothers of the main branch, known as the Four Sons of Tianhai. Among them, one served in the court, one in the military, one in commerce, and the last... played. Tianhai Shengxue served in the military. His cultivation level was the highest among the Tianhai family's third generation; he had once ranked twelfth on the Azure Cloud List and was now a ranked expert on the Golden List. He was also a strong contender for the top spot in next year's Grand Examination.
He had just returned from the northern front with his retinue the day before. After learning what had happened in the capital, especially the news that his cousin Tianhai Yae was crippled, he waited quietly through the night. When he confirmed that Princess Luoluo had left the National Academy for the attached palace of the Li Palace, the first thing he did after getting up was come to the National Academy.
He had broken the academy's gate, and now he intended to shut it down. Today, he was here to throw his weight around.
But he hadn't expected that his repeated outbursts would be interrupted by the academy's youths. They completely disregarded the rules—without a word, without even washing their faces, they charged forward with swords and door planks, severely injuring four of his retinue. And then that last youth... had directly cursed his grand-aunt to his face.
Tianhai Shengxue had a handsome face and extremely fair skin, having charmed countless girls in the capital and the northern grasslands. Now, with the morning rain falling on his face, it looked even whiter, like jade. But only those who truly knew him understood that this meant his anger had reached its peak.
Princess Luoluo had gone to the attached palace of the Li Palace—this was the first step by certain forces in the capital against the National Academy. Chen Changsheng and the others were certain they would face great trouble. Yesterday, standing under the banyan tree, watching the storm brewing over the capital's streets, they had already prepared themselves mentally. But they hadn't expected the first storm to be so fierce.
In the stories from novels, things usually didn't develop this way. In those tales, the first to appear were always some insignificant lackeys, who, after being beaten away by the righteous protagonist, would summon a stronger master. But in their story, the enemy's general had appeared from the start.
"The finale came too early... but this makes it more exciting."
Tang Thirty-Six, holding the Wenshui Sword, stood on the rain-soaked stone steps. Suddenly, he whispered a single word to Chen Changsheng beside him.
"Run."
What was about to begin was a real battle, completely different from the Green Vine Banquet at the palace the night before. There was no point in Chen Changsheng staying on the scene. Could he still guide them like he had that night? This fight, even if not to the death, would certainly result in severe injuries. With Chen Changsheng's frail body, how could he withstand it?
As for the possibility of victory... Tang Thirty-Six was calm, knowing it was impossible. With Tianhai Shengxue's level of cultivation, he could easily defeat three of him. So even if Chen Changsheng didn't leave, the three of them together couldn't beat one of his hands.
No footsteps sounded, no boots splashed in the rain. He turned to see Chen Changsheng still standing there, frowning slightly. He barked, "At a time like this, why pretend? Staying only makes you a burden. You can't help us; you'll only drag us down."
Xuanyuan Po nodded but said nothing.
"Don't worry about me... I know running is the best choice right now, but I just can't make my legs move," Chen Changsheng said. "And besides, you can't run either, so there's no burden."
Tang Thirty-Six thought it over, realized he couldn't convince this guy, and said no more. He carried the Wenshui Sword toward the academy gate, stepping through the rain on the stone steps, making a slapping sound. He tapped the sword against his leg a few times, producing the same crisp slapping noise.
With each tap, raindrops like pearls flew off the blade, scattering in all directions.
The rain-washed Wenshui Sword shone bright as new. The sunset glow it would later bring forth would surely be very brilliant.
Retreating was impossible to move his legs, but moving forward was easy, and his steps were light.
Chen Changsheng followed Tang Thirty-Six out of the National Academy's gate.
Xuanyuan Po looked at the door plank in his arms, thought for a moment, didn't let go, and followed them, still holding it.
Outside the National Academy, over a dozen cavalrymen returned from the north were poised to strike.
The three youths showed no fear.
"Crush them."
Tianhai Shengxue said expressionlessly, his right hand lightly pulling the reins.
To defeat these three students from the National Academy, he alone would be enough.
But he knew that, even though it was early morning, many people had already gathered in the streets and alleys outside the academy.
They all wanted to see how the Tianhai family would handle this matter with the National Academy.
He intended to crush them directly, to flatten the National Academy.
He wanted to prove to the entire continent that the Tianhai family's dignity was not to be challenged.
The morning rain suddenly intensified, the raindrops from the sky instantly growing larger, falling on the bluestone slabs of Hundred Flowers Alley and splintering into countless water blossoms.
The rain curtain grew denser, obscuring many people's vision.
Hoofbeats suddenly rang out, then thundered in succession. Over a dozen black shadows shot like arrows toward the academy gate.
Those warhorses were clearly no ordinary breeds, carrying the bloodline of demonic beasts. In such a short distance, they accelerated to such a terrifying degree.
Watching this scene, Tang Thirty-Six thought, even though he had sneaked a cup of hot tea when he went back for his sword, why did he feel so cold now?
Rain fell on Xuanyuan Po's face, wetting the youth's beard and seeping into his lips. He wondered why he still felt thirsty.
It was from tension, from fear. Even though they were proud Azure Cloud List geniuses and a brave young demon, they had never truly experienced life and death.
Chen Changsheng's expression didn't change at all. Perhaps it was because he had always been experiencing life and death?
Suddenly, a fierce wind swept through Hundred Flowers Alley, blowing the rain lines askew.
A figure appeared on the scene at an unimaginable speed, in the blink of an eye passing Chen Changsheng and the other two, charging toward Tianhai Shengxue and the dozen riders.
Several terrifying snapping sounds rang out. Over a dozen long spears broke in half, and over a dozen riders crashed heavily into the rain.
No one could clearly see what had happened.
Only after the sound of breaking iron spears faded did several footprints appear in the puddles on the bluestone slabs, and several gaps emerged in the heavy rain curtain.
Just how fast was that person's movement technique?
It was completely invisible to the naked eye, leaving only traces as it passed through the rain.
Tianhai Shengxue's pupils contracted, sensing a strong crisis.
He hadn't expected that such a powerful expert was hidden in the National Academy.
He didn't retreat, because he knew that no matter how fast he was, he couldn't be faster than the opponent.
He let out a fierce shout, gripping his iron spear with both hands and thrusting it into the rainy air before him.
The spot where the iron spear struck was precisely the foremost of the several gaps in the rain curtain filling the alley.
His true essence surged out mightily, combining with the domineering spear momentum, tearing a hole in the rainy air before his mount.
Countless raindrops turned into fine threads, spinning endlessly around the spear tip.
Suddenly, a fist appeared in the air, right in front of the iron spear's tip.
The moment that fist appeared, all the brilliance of the iron spear was utterly stolen.
The fine rain threads spinning around the spearhead shattered and dissipated.
That fist broke through the rain and smashed into the iron spear's tip.
Tianhai Shengxue's iron spear was no ordinary weapon. Its tip, forged by the court's master craftsmen from meteorite iron, was exceptionally tough, having pierced countless demon warriors with skin as hard as iron on the northern plains. Yet before this fist... the iron spear's tip was actually flattened.
An unimaginable force vibrated back along the iron spear.
Tianhai Shengxue's tiger mouth bled. He could no longer hold the spear shaft. With a buzzing sound, the iron spear vibrated violently, recoiling like an arrow.
If the iron spear struck his chest, even if he didn't die, he would be severely injured.
And at that moment, another hand appeared in the air.
It was a very withered hand.
That hand landed on Tianhai Shengxue's shoulder.
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