Chapter 105: Going to the Li Palace
Luoluo possessed the bloodline talent of the White Emperor clan, and her true essence was extremely abundant. In the few months at the National Academy, following his guidance in cultivation, she had effortlessly reached the upper realm of Meditation—if demonic cultivation were to be judged by human standards, then she too was facing that extremely dangerous threshold.
Thinking of this, Chen Changsheng felt a surge of regret and lingering fear. If something had gone wrong when Luoluo broke through, he truly would never forgive himself. Now that he had some understanding of breaking through to the Penetrating Obscurity realm, and more importantly, he had the medicine.
How could he sit still any longer? He got up, ran to the small wooden hut by the academy gate, and asked Jin Yulu, "When can... Her Highness Luoluo leave the Li Palace for a while?"
Jin Yulu was drinking wine, squinting as he popped a white kernel fruit into his mouth. Hearing this, he looked puzzled and asked, "What's wrong?"
Seeing his expression, Chen Changsheng thought his idea might be too simplistic. After a moment's thought, he said, "I have some things to discuss with her and want to see her. If... it's really inconvenient, could you trouble me to send her a letter, Chief Steward?"
Jin Yulu tossed the white kernel fruit into his mouth, chewing and mumbling indistinctly, "That's all?"
Chen Changsheng was confused, wondering what he meant by "that's all."
"If you want to see her, just go see her. Why do you need me to send a letter?"
Jin Yulu raised his wine cup, took a sip with a slurp, and smacked his lips at the spiciness.
Chen Changsheng was even more bewildered, his eyes wide as he asked, "I can... see her?"
"Her Highness is in the Li Palace and can't come out easily for safety's sake. You're her teacher, and you wouldn't harm her. If you want to see her, just go to the Li Palace. Who would stop you?"
"Chief Steward... why didn't you say so earlier?"
"I saw that you never left the National Academy, so I thought you were focused on cultivation."
"Chief Steward..."
"What is it?"
"Thank you very much..."
"I don't hear any gratitude in that."
...
...
At night, entering the Li Palace was impossible. The next morning, before dawn, before the fifth hour, Chen Changsheng broke his routine and got up early, then woke Tang Thirty-Six and Xuan Yuan Po. He also went to the gatehouse, held a stick of wake-up incense under Jin Yulu's nose, and roused him from his hangover.
The iron wheels rolled over the blue stone slabs of Hundred Flowers Lane, making a rumbling sound as the carriage carried two humans and two demons toward the Li Palace.
The Li Palace was the residence of His Holiness the Pope and the center of the State Religion, often spoken of in the same breath as the Great Zhou Imperial Palace. Located in the western part of the capital, it was a vast complex of palaces, magnificent and imposing. Even from over ten li away, near North New Bridge, it could be seen.
In the year 1573 of the Bright Calendar, the State Religion was first established, now eight hundred years ago. Yet since the descent of the Heavenly Book, the Way of Light had flourished across the continent, with a foundation spanning tens of thousands of years. The Li Palace, as a symbol of the State Religion, was naturally extraordinary.
This palace complex covered a vast area, seemingly boundless, with a sacred path wide enough for eight carriages to travel side by side running through it. The true Li Palace, where His Holiness the Pope resided, lay deep in the rear of this complex. In front, scattered around the white stone square, were dozens of palaces and solemn buildings belonging to several major institutions of the State Religion.
The Li Palace Affiliated Academy naturally lay within this complex. Contrary to common imagination, the Azure Ya Thirteen Departments and the Ancestral Sacrifice Institute, also among the Ivy Six Academies, were located here as well, adjacent to each other as if one entity. This place was sometimes called Academy City, for that very reason.
One of the capital's famous sights—the Li Palace Ivy—partly referred to the seemingly endless ivy covering the connected walls of these three academies. But more importantly, it referred to the greenery behind the palace complex, closest to His Holiness the Pope.
When Chen Changsheng and his three companions left the National Academy, it was still dark. By the time they arrived before the Li Palace, it was exactly the fifth hour and two quarters, just as the gates were opening. Jin Yulu, thinking how precisely the boy had calculated the time, couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.
At the outermost edge of the Li Palace stood countless stone pillars, each about ten zhang high, requiring at least several people to encircle. Between each pillar was a gap of a hundred zhang. From a distance, they didn't seem particularly special, but up close, the rows of pillars created a sense of awe.
As they approached the pillars, Xuan Yuan Po noticed there wasn't a single seam on them. He opened his mouth in shock—these pillars were carved and polished from whole rock. He wondered where people had found so many, such complete rocks when building the Li Palace, and how they had transported them to the capital.
The morning wind passed through them, morning light shone upon them. There was nothing between the pillars; above them was only the sky, empty everywhere, as if nothing could be stopped. Occasionally, early-rising birds flew by without triggering any unusual phenomena.
But these pillars were the gate of the Li Palace.
If anyone entered without permission or sneaked in after the gates were locked, they would trigger the restrictions. What exactly those restrictions were, no one knew, because for so many years, they had never been triggered. No one dared to break into the Li Palace, and the truth of the restrictions had gradually been forgotten.
These pillars did not stop Chen Changsheng and his group. He submitted his documents and passed the review easily, though the officials looked at them with somewhat strange expressions, because the documents clearly stated they were from the National Academy.
The National Academy—just by its name, one could tell how close its relationship with the State Religion had been. But that was a matter of over a decade ago. Since the former dean of the National Academy joined the Chen Imperial Clan's uprising and was suppressed by His Holiness the Pope, that relationship had long been severed.
This was the first time in over ten years that the National Academy had appeared before the Li Palace.
These three youths from the National Academy were now famous in the capital, not to mention Jin Yulu, the gatekeeper.
Morning light shone on the tops of the pillars, where faint patterns could be seen.
Chen Changsheng had once applied to the Ancestral Sacrifice Institute, but he had gone to the Wangjiang branch responsible for recruiting new students. This was his first time here.
He withdrew his gaze from that direction and followed Jin Yulu onto the wide, straight sacred path, walking forward. Countless trees were planted on both the east and west sides of the path. Even though the autumn chill brought more falling leaves, the trees were so dense that it was hard to see clearly into the woods.
At the fifth hour and two quarters, the Li Palace gates opened, coinciding with the morning cultivation time for students of the Li Palace Affiliated Academy, the Ancestral Sacrifice Institute, and the Azure Ya Thirteen Departments.
From the distant courtyards came the faint sound of reading aloud. In the woods on both sides of the sacred path, sword qi crisscrossed, startling countless birds into flight, while various cold and hot energies weaved through the trees.
Tang Thirty-Six watched those sword lights and sensed those energies, raising his eyebrows slightly with interest. Among the students cultivating in the woods were many extraordinary individuals. He even detected several auras not weaker than his own, though he couldn't tell which academy they belonged to.
Chen Changsheng valued time and loved learning, so he naturally had a favorable impression of such scenes, even feeling a vague longing. But thinking about Luoluo's matter, he didn't stop to watch. Instead, he quickened his pace, heading toward the majestic palace at the end of the sacred path.
Suddenly, he stopped.
Jin Yulu and the two youths also stopped.
Because something strange had happened.
In the woods on both sides of the sacred path, at their level, there had been many sounds of sword qi cutting through the air. Those sounds suddenly vanished, replaced by an eerie silence.
Chen Changsheng glanced toward the roadside, then continued walking forward. Jin Yulu and the others followed.
As they moved, the sounds of sword hums and qi roars in the woods on both sides gradually ceased. Wherever they walked, silence followed.
It was as if a wind was passing through the woods, carrying some message, or like a strange atmosphere spreading.
When they reached the middle of the sacred path, still some distance from the circular palace ahead, the woods on both sides had fallen completely silent. Then came a rustling sound—not like silkworms eating mulberry leaves, but the dense patter of footsteps.
Hundreds of young men and women emerged from the woods, standing on both sides of the sacred path, staring at Chen Changsheng and his group.
These were students from the Ancestral Sacrifice Institute, the Azure Ya Thirteen Departments, and the Li Palace Affiliated Academy.
This lining of the path was naturally not a welcome, but a scrutiny.
The looks in their eyes as they gazed at Chen Changsheng and the others were complex—curiosity, vigilance, contempt, disgust, all mixed together.
At the Ivy Banquet, the National Academy had actually defeated the Li Mountain Sword Sect. And because of that engagement with Xu Yourong, Chen Changsheng had become a celebrity. The students from the various academies who hadn't attended the Ivy Banquet were very curious about him.
But since the National Academy couldn't be entered, and Chen Changsheng and his group never left, they had no way to make contact. Today, hearing that people from the National Academy had come to the Li Palace, including Chen Changsheng, they couldn't miss such a rare opportunity.
They wanted to see what Chen Changsheng looked like, what kind of person he was, that he was going to marry Xu Yourong!
Many eyes also fell on Tang Thirty-Six, but unlike the complex gazes on Chen Changsheng, those looks were full of admiration, mostly from the young girls of the Azure Ya Thirteen Departments.
A prodigy on the Azure Cloud List, from a noble family, handsome in appearance, cold and proud in temperament—from every angle, Tang Thirty-Six perfectly fit the ideal of a maiden's dream lover. Add to that the Wenshui Tang family's wealth, which even the court envied, and his status in the girls' hearts was even higher than Gou Hanshi's.
Tang Thirty-Six's expression was cold, his eyes straight ahead, exuding an indescribable elegance and aloofness. This very demeanor made several girls nearly scream. Chen Changsheng and Xuan Yuan Po were surprised—they were so used to his frivolous and lazy manner that they had forgotten he was a celebrity.
The girls' adoring gazes diluted the faint hostility from the hundreds of people on both sides of the sacred path toward the National Academy. Chen Changsheng steadied himself, ignoring the unfriendly looks directed at him, and walked forward in silence. Only he could truly feel the invisible pressure.
The first area they passed was the woods outside the main courtyard of the Ancestral Sacrifice Institute. The young students here looked at Chen Changsheng and his group with the coldest eyes.
Tianhai Yazi's popularity couldn't have been good, but he was still a student of the Ancestral Sacrifice Institute. The teachers and students there had hoped he would shine at next year's Grand Examination, but now he had been crippled by Luoluo. In the discussions around the capital after the Ivy Banquet, the Ancestral Sacrifice Institute was often described as utterly pathetic, along with the Li Mountain Sword Sect, as the two biggest failures.
No one at the Ancestral Sacrifice Institute dared to do anything to Luoluo, so their resentment naturally fell on the National Academy, more specifically on Chen Changsheng and his two companions.
Chen Changsheng ignored these looks and walked past the main courtyard of the Ancestral Sacrifice Institute.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out from the crowd by the sacred path.
"So it's just a guy who hasn't even undergone marrow washing."
...
...
(First, I warmly urge everyone to cast your recommendation votes. Second, I'm struggling to save up manuscript drafts—finding it too hard. I'm about to head to Shanghai for a series of work commitments, and I'll be busy to death. I really don't know what I'll do then, but I will try my best, desperately, to keep updating! Well... if I really have to stop, I will definitely report it in advance.) (To be continued)