Chapter 60: Two Wildflowers on the Cliffside (Part 1)
Before Autumn Mountain Jun, Mo Yu was the youngest Star Condensation realm cultivator in the world, so she certainly had the right to express her disdain and mockery toward so-called cultivation prodigies.
The Holy Empress glanced at her and said, “Do you truly believe Chen Changsheng is just fooling around?”
Mo Yu’s fingers stiffened slightly. Like many important figures, she had secretly gone to the front of the National Academy before. Those battles naturally couldn’t catch her eye, but she had to admit that the talent and brilliance Chen Changsheng had displayed through the swords of those new National Academy students—whether compared to herself at his age or even her current self—were somewhat beyond her reach.
This was the Holy Empress’s question, so she couldn’t lie. She bit her lower lip lightly and said, “I was talking about Tang Tang.”
“Everyone’s eyes are on Chen Changsheng, thinking Tang Thirty-Six is just messing around… Do you think the same?”
Although the Holy Empress knew she was speaking casually, she still wasn’t satisfied with her view. She said, “Chengwu and the two Archbishops spent three months preparing. Who knows how many contingency plans they had, intricate as silk threads. No matter how the Papal Palace responded, they had ways to blow things up. Yet up to now, have you ever seen the Papal Palace make a single statement or take a single action?”
Mo Yu naturally understood the intentions of the Tianhai family and those two Holy Church Archbishops.
Tianhai Chengwu had told Xu Shiji that he wanted to go with the flow, waiting for Xu Yourong to return to the capital to settle things in one decisive battle. Of course, that wasn’t the truth—at least not the whole truth.
For a figure like him, working together with the two Holy Church Archbishops, the matter couldn’t possibly be so petty.
The challenges from the Ivy Academy branches to the National Academy were merely the prelude to a major event.
Mo Yu had originally thought that His Holiness the Pope would directly suppress this matter before it erupted, but she hadn’t expected that even now, His Holiness remained silent.
This surprised her greatly.
Now, reminded by the Holy Empress, she finally understood why the Papal Palace had never taken a stance. Why the matter of the National Academy had always been confined within the National Academy itself, rather than spreading to the Papal Palace as the Tianhai family and those two Archbishops had initially designed—turning the academy tournament into a full-scale confrontation between the old and new factions of the national religion.
Because of a very simple reason.
The National Academy… had handled this matter on its own.
Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six didn’t need the Papal Palace to make a statement, didn’t need the Pope to say anything, and they had already finished this matter beautifully.
When the Tianhai family and those two Archbishops first decided to push this matter forward, they must never have imagined that what they saw as a mere formality would, because of these two young men, seem destined to remain a formality forever.
That major event had only just begun, yet it seemed unable to proceed any further.
“As long as the National Academy can hold on, the Pope won’t speak a word.”
The Holy Empress walked to the edge of the platform, gazing at the National Academy not far away, where the lights were growing brighter. She said, “Countless backup plans were cut off by Tang Tang alone. If the Pope had any designs on Chen Changsheng, those were cut off too. Do you still think he’s just fooling around?”
Mo Yu was speechless. She truly hadn’t expected that this seemingly frivolous and incompetent fellow, Tang Thirty-Six, could see through the cunning schemes of so many major figures.
“Truly, it’s an era of wildflowers in bloom.”
The Holy Empress said, “Tang Tang is good. Chen Changsheng is even better. If they’re given enough time and opportunity, why would there be any need to worry about the future of Great Zhou and humanity?”
If there were only one wildflower, blooming alone on the cliffside, how could it be called beautiful?
Only when many wildflowers bloom together could it be called a full bloom, a beauty that stirs the heart.
Thinking about the changes over this past year, Mo Yu had to admit that the reason the National Academy had shown signs of revival so quickly—besides Chen Changsheng—was the crucial turning point when Tang Thirty-Six left the Heavenly Dao Academy and entered the National Academy. If the Empress’s judgment was correct, and Tang Thirty-Six’s seemingly reckless methods were actually calm responses, then it could be said that what the National Academy needed most right now was someone like him.
She knew the circumstances of Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six’s first meeting. At that time, Tang Thirty-Six was a famous young prodigy, while Chen Changsheng was an unknown country Daoist. They met and got to know each other when applying to the Heavenly Dao Academy, and it was Tang Thirty-Six who first struck up a conversation with Chen Changsheng. Thinking back now, you had to admit that their meeting carried a certain flavor of fate.
“What is the most remarkable thing about the Wenshui Tang family? It’s not wealth or strategy, but vision.”
The Holy Empress looked at the brightly lit National Academy and said, “Old Master Tang was the first to recognize Su Li’s abilities back then. For the next several hundred years, who dared to show any disrespect to the Tang family? Even the Eight Winds and Rains were the same. Later, the Tang family, under pressure from the court, let Wang Po be their accountant for ten years, believing it would buy them decades more of peace. Now, with Tang Tang and Chen Changsheng forming such a bond, if Chen Changsheng truly becomes the Pope in the future, the Wenshui Tang family’s position will be unshakable.”
Mo Yu said for some reason, “If that’s the case, then Chen Changsheng is actually inferior to Tang Tang.”
“Girls really do lean outward,” the Holy Empress said, glancing at her with deep meaning.
Mo Yu felt a bit wronged but dared not say anything.
The Holy Empress said, “The Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion has sent someone to inspect the swords. Since you know Chen Changsheng, you’ll take them. Otherwise, with Chen Changsheng’s temperament, they might not even get to see them.”
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Unlike the past year, unlike the past twenty years, tonight the National Academy was brightly lit.
Even though it was very late, figures could still be seen everywhere by the lakeside, in the groves, and beside the fountains, and voices could still be heard.
Chen Changsheng wasn’t used to this change. He shook his head, recalling the matter they had discussed that morning, and looked at Tang Thirty-Six, saying, “The story you told the day before yesterday isn’t right. I never said I wanted to take first place in the Grand Examination. Su Moyu was on the Divine Path at the time and should remember clearly—it was the Archbishop who said that. I don’t understand why he would forget something so important.”
“That shows that in everyone’s impression, those words were yours, so don’t try to defend yourself anymore,” Tang Thirty-Six said. “And I remember very clearly that in the Plum Garden Inn, you personally said this to me.”
Because of this remark, the two of them simultaneously recalled the time they had treated each other to a meal at the inn. Back then, they had imitated adults in their greetings and interactions, but now it seemed so green and awkward.
They looked at each other and laughed.
It seemed like not much time had passed, yet so many things had already changed.
A year ago, the National Academy was still cold and dilapidated. Although it had been cleaned and repaired by the Ecclesiastical Office, aside from the area where he frequently moved about, other places were still bleak and desolate, especially after nightfall, when it felt like a graveyard. A year later, the National Academy had welcomed many energetic new students. The cold night had long been driven away by the lights in the dormitory buildings. The library, which had once had only one person for a long time, now had many people reading by lamplight.
Many people saw these changes. Whenever they thought about how Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six, so young, had already made the National Academy presentable and done this matter with such vigor and momentum, they couldn’t help but be surprised, then praise. But Chen Changsheng’s thoughts weren’t on this. He looked at Tang Thirty-Six and asked, “Why do all this?”
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(Today is the happy wedding day of sister Feng Luan Nuan Nuan from the fan club. I’ve already carefully admired the wedding photos—full of happiness! Wishing the young couple a joyful marriage, and may they not argue over washing the dishes.) (To be continued. (lwxs520.))
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