Chapter 488: Two Wildflowers on the Cliffside (Part 2)
"I said I would drown them, and this is the flood that drowns the seven armies." Tang Thirty-Six's folding fan had somehow been replaced by a green apple. Pointing with the apple at the lights in the library and the silhouettes of the new students, he said, "With so many people in the National Academy, it won't be so easy for the other side to wear us down. On the contrary, I can wear them down."
Chen Changsheng shook his head and said, "I don't believe you."
Tang Thirty-Six was silent for a moment, then said, "This is the beginning."
"The beginning?" Chen Changsheng truly didn't understand.
"Your beginning, and also the beginning of the National Academy. This place always has to recruit students..." Tang Thirty-Six looked at the academy under the night sky and said, "A one-man National Academy sounds cool, but in truth, that wasn't the National Academy—it was just you alone. Later it became two people, three people, three or four... none of those were the National Academy. Only now is it the National Academy."
The night had grown deep, yet the lights still blazed brightly. Following his gaze, Chen Changsheng murmured, "But... what's the point of having so many people?"
"Many hands make light work." Tang Thirty-Six looked at him and said, "They're weak and young now, but what about later?"
"Later..." Chen Changsheng vaguely understood, but he truly had never considered the future, because he was used to only looking ahead to before the age of twenty. But now, looking at the brightly lit National Academy, at the new students by the windows quietly reading books, at the silhouettes of boys and girls by the lake, he remembered the old scenes he had imagined when he first entered the academy—those young men and women from decades ago who had once studied and gazed at the lake in this very school. A smile gradually spread across his face. He thought, no matter what happens in the future, this is pretty good too. Hadn't the forest, silent for so many years, seemed to have woken up now?
Tang Thirty-Six said, "Don't forget, you're going to be the Pope in the future."
The entire continent knew that Chen Changsheng would one day become the Pope, but he himself had no real sense of it. It felt too distant, and he hadn't thought about it. He was already the Dean of the National Academy, only a few steps away from the throne of infinite light. His actual power was, of course, far inferior to giants like Mao Qiuyu or Master Siyuan, but in terms of the sacred sequence, he was already their equal. As Archbishop Merisa had once said, Chen Changsheng now only needed to bow to His Holiness the Pope—no one else.
"The Pope... isn't an easy job, is it?"
"Of course it's not easy," Tang Thirty-Six said. "If His Holiness the Pope weren't backing you, people like Master Siyuan and the King of Linghai could crush you with a single finger... In fact, the main reason they've so firmly sided with the Tianhai family is precisely because His Holiness chose you as his successor. If you want to become the Pope in the future, it won't be simple."
Chen Changsheng thought about the undercurrents within the National Religion in recent days, and the proposal for the Academy Tournament that was clearly targeting the National Academy. He knew Tang Thirty-Six's speculation was correct. Compared to true giants of the National Religion like the King of Linghai, he had no foundation within the religion except for the Pope's support and Archbishop Merisa's legacy. To become the next Pope, he would inevitably face countless difficulties and challenges in the years to come. How could he handle them?
"The National Academy is your foundation. In the decades to come, the teachers and students who walk out of this academy—whether they want to or not—will be seen as your people."
Tang Thirty-Six looked at him and said, "The Tianhai family and those two archbishops definitely have many backup plans. They might even be using the challenge to the National Academy to directly confront His Holiness the Pope. But now, because of our antics, all the pressure has been pinned right at the gates of the National Academy. So all that pressure must be borne by the National Academy alone. You have to get used to this, because in the decades ahead, you might face these problems at any time."
After hearing this, Chen Changsheng realized how complicated the matter truly was. Ashamed, he said, "I really can't figure these things out. So, it's a good thing I didn't go to the Lishu Palace?"
"Even if you went to the Lishu Palace to ask His Holiness for help, if he was sure the National Academy could still hold on, he wouldn't say a word."
Tang Thirty-Six looked into his eyes and said, "Because His Holiness and all of us think the same way. We hope you can get used to this pressure as soon as possible and then grow up quickly."
"These things... are too complicated." Chen Changsheng said sincerely, "I would never think of this on my own. How do you all manage to figure it out?"
Unraveling threads and guessing people's hearts—that was what the Demon Army strategist Black Robe and people like Zhou Tong were best at.
Chen Changsheng had always felt this was the hardest thing in the world, countless times harder than the Sword of Wisdom.
Coincidentally, Tang Thirty-Six also thought of the sword move Su Li had taught Chen Changsheng. He said, "You could even learn the Sword of Wisdom, so how could you not figure these things out? You just don't want to think about them."
Chen Changsheng shook his head.
"I'm not trying to comfort you." Tang Thirty-Six looked at him and said, "That day you said Su Li and I were alike. Actually, later I thought of someone you're alike with."
"Wang Po?" Chen Changsheng looked at him expectantly.
"That gloomy-faced guy... how are you alike?" Tang Thirty-Six said. "I'm talking about His Holiness the Pope."
Chen Changsheng was momentarily stunned, unable to see any similarity between himself and the Pope.
"When I was a child, my grandfather told me that back then, the orthodox line of the National Religion had only two disciples: His Holiness the Pope and your master. In terms of both cultivation talent and strategy, His Holiness couldn't match your master. Later, they went to study at the Heavenly Dao Academy and the National Academy respectively, and the gap between them grew wider and wider. But in less than ten years, His Holiness caught up. Because unlike your master, who was a social butterfly with close ties to the court, His Holiness just read books at the Heavenly Dao Academy, with no distractions. So his realm improved very quickly."
Tang Thirty-Six said, "I say you're like His Holiness because you're both very focused and cherish time very much."
Chen Changsheng thought for a moment and said, "It does seem that way."
Because of that shadow, he had always lived very seriously, cultivated very intently, and cherished time very much. He just hadn't expected that the Pope had been the same way back then.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at him and said, "I've always wanted to know—you cherish time so much, in other words, you're always in such a hurry... What are you in such a hurry for? What exactly do you want to do?"
Chen Changsheng was silent and didn't speak.
"If you don't want to say it, fine. I'm guessing it'll be another crazy declaration, like when you said you wanted to be first in the Grand Examination. Want to become the second Zhou Du|fu?"
Tang Thirty-Six didn't wait for his answer. Looking at him with a smile, he said, "Whatever it is, it's bound to be interesting. I'll watch you accomplish it in the future."
Chen Changsheng thought for a moment but still didn't say thank you. Instead, he asked, "What about you? What do you want to do? Why have you been so serious lately... Why are you helping me?"
Often, the question "Why are you helping me?" can make the atmosphere awkward. But he and Tang Thirty-Six were too familiar now. He didn't mind, and neither did Tang Thirty-Six.
"Before I came to the capital, I never thought about what I wanted to do in the future." Tang Thirty-Six walked to the big banyan tree, looked at the starlight reflected on the lake, paused for a moment, and said, "Or rather, what I would do in the future was already decided long ago, so I didn't need to think about it."
Chen Changsheng stood beside him, glanced at him, and noticed that his expression was unusually calm.
"When the Azure Cloud Rankings were updated, do you remember what the Heavenly Mechanism Old Man said about me? He said I was lazy, otherwise I would have been in the top ten long ago."
"Yes, I remember clearly. So that day outside the Mausoleum of Books, seeing you like that really surprised me."
"Lazy... means not wanting to do things. Because since I was a child, I truly never had to do anything."
The night wind gradually died down, the lake surface grew calm, and the starlight on the water became clearer.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at it and said, "No matter who becomes the Emperor or the Pope, as long as humans aren't enslaved by the demons, my family will live well. And I'm destined to become the master of the Tang clan. I don't need to do anything to enjoy a lifetime of wealth and power. I'll live in the most luxurious manor in the world, marry the most virtuous and quiet wife, drink the most expensive wine, ride the fiercest horse, hire the best opera troupe, and my friends will be the most powerful people in the world. Since all of this is already decided, why should I be diligent?"
Chen Changsheng thought for a moment and asked, "Then... what about cultivation?"
Tang Thirty-Six said, "The Heavenly Mechanism Old Man said that if I got diligent, I could enter the top ten of the Azure Cloud Rankings. But... that's still not as good as Xu Yourong, Zheshou, or you."
Chen Changsheng remembered that Tang Thirty-Six had mentioned this before at the Plum Orchard Inn.
Back then, Tang Thirty-Six's words were: that woman who leaves you speechless, and that wolf cub.
He looked at Tang Thirty-Six and tried to console him, "Being in the top ten of the Azure Cloud Rankings is already pretty good."
"It's not bad, but it's still worse than you freaks. Even if it's just a little worse, it's still worse." Tang Thirty-Six paused and said, "If you can't be the best, what's the point?"
Chen Changsheng didn't know how to respond, so he changed the subject. "Then why aren't you lazy anymore now?"
Tang Thirty-Six said, "In his comment on the Azure Cloud Rankings, the Heavenly Mechanism Old Man said it was because I encountered an opportunity."
"What opportunity? I don't know about it."
"Idiot, isn't it obvious? He meant I met you."
"What's so special about me?" Chen Changsheng truly didn't think he was anything remarkable.
But as Tang Thirty-Six had said a few days ago, being a genius without knowing it was truly something that angered and frustrated one's peers.
He looked at Chen Changsheng and shook his head, saying, "I've never met anyone like you. People like you in this world are probably rarer than pure white unicorns. Because you live... too seriously, too uprightly. Even though I still don't know what you're pursuing, that feeling... is very interesting."