Chapter 40: This Was the Letter He Left for the World
Upon hearing the sound, the old Taoist nun’s expression shifted dramatically. She looked up toward the direction of the Sweet Dew Terrace, opening her mouth as if to say something.
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress stood at the edge of the Sweet Dew Terrace, her gaze fixed on the mansion in the southern part of the city. Her eyes were majestic, as if they were a tangible beam of light.
From the very moment the old Taoist nun had entered the capital, she had sensed it.
The old Taoist nun had slaughtered a dog in an alley and severed the sword hand of Guan Bai, and that alone had already offended her.
To many, perhaps, neither the stray dog nor Guan Bai amounted to anything compared to the old Taoist nun.
But the Holy Empress did not see it that way, because this was her domain.
Beneath the clear sky, even a mangy stray dog covered in sores was still her dog, and even the most insignificant person was still her subject.
Of course, if the old Taoist nun had been driven back by Su Li’s sword intent earlier and had wisely retreated, she would have let it slide out of respect for the old Taoist nun’s husband.
But the old Taoist nun should not have remained in the capital.
That was a disrespect to her.
And the old Taoist nun especially should not have stayed in that mansion.
That was an exploitation of her prestige.
The Holy Empress did not like it, so she had no desire to hear the old Taoist nun’s explanations.
“Get lost,” she said expressionlessly.
With that single word, the jade ruyi at her waist suddenly transformed into a streak of flowing light, speeding toward the distant southern part of the city.
The jade ruyi turned into a black dragon, carrying the power of wind and thunder, yet moving silently, as if merging with the night itself.
Only two or three people in the entire capital could sense the appearance of that black dragon.
Deep beneath the North New Bridge, the little girl with fierce brows and a murderous aura was eating the roast chicken that Chen Changsheng had brought her a few days earlier. She muttered softly, complaining that he hadn’t come to see her in days, while secretly hoping she could learn the Lishan Sword Style from him. If she could one day cultivate to Su Li’s level, how could the chains behind her still hold her?
Suddenly, she looked up, frowning, and gazed above. A trace of fear appeared on her small face.
Under the cover of night, the jade ruyi, now a black dragon, arrived in the southern part of the city.
The word “get lost” exploded like thunder in the old Taoist nun’s ears.
Her expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, she turned and fled, while her horsetail whisk swept down, laying down layers of azure seas behind her.
With a whoosh, the jade ruyi plunged into the secluded garden, breaking through the horsetail whisk and entering!
The black dragon entered the sea, stirring up countless storms!
With a boom, the old Taoist nun’s back was struck. Her robes shattered instantly, and she spat out a mouthful of true blood.
How could she dare to stay any longer? Gritting her teeth, she forced her severely injured body to use a secret technique, leaping into the night and vanishing from sight.
A moment later, torches were lit in the quiet garden.
Tianhai Chengwu and several of his most important nephews stood beneath the garden wall, their expressions grim to the extreme.
On the wall and bamboo there, remnants of the old Taoist nun’s true blood stained the surfaces, mottled and shimmering with golden light.
“Aunt is angry.”
“We weren’t trying to kill Chen Changsheng; we just wanted to curb the National Academy’s arrogance… If Her Majesty won’t even allow that, what does she want us to do?”
…
…
The Pope sat in his chair, gazing at the increasingly robust green leaves in the pot. Thinking about the events of the night, he was lost in thought for a moment before muttering to himself, “Senior Brother, your judgment back then was correct. She is indeed stronger than anyone imagined… and I think this is not yet her strongest form.”
…
…
Aside from major figures like the Pope and the old Taoist nun, the most significant event for many in the capital’s battle that night—beyond Su Li’s display of his astonishing sword cultivation—was witnessing the appearance of the domineering and unmatched black phoenix. Only then did people finally confirm that the Holy Empress truly possessed the noble bloodline of the Heavenly Phoenix, as the rumors had speculated. No wonder she doted so much on Xu Yourong; from the perspective of talent and bloodline, she could indeed treat Xu Yourong as her own daughter.
Only a very few knew that before and after the earth-shattering battle between the Holy Empress and Su Li, two other battles had taken place in the capital. Under normal circumstances, those battles, belonging to the sacred domain, would have sparked endless discussion across the world. Yet tonight, they could only become insignificant footnotes.
No one knew that Infinite Green, one of the Eight Winds and Rains, had secretly infiltrated the capital, intending to seek revenge for her beloved only son at the National Academy. Instead, she had been successively suppressed by two legends, Su Li and the Holy Empress. Not only did she fail to gain any face, but she also suffered severe injuries and retreated in utter disgrace.
It didn’t take long for the seven letters Su Li had left for the continent to become known.
The Ten Thousand Willow Garden outside Hanqiu City had been burned to ashes. This matter could not be concealed. The Zhu Clan of Tianliang Commandery and the Heartbreak Sect suddenly became much more low-key. At the same time, Elder Liang of the Eternal Life Sect suddenly died of illness, and two other elders fell gravely ill. The first-generation experts who had survived the upheaval over a decade ago were thus wiped out. The Eternal Life Sect announced to the world that it would immediately close its doors for three years, even withdrawing from major events like the upcoming North-South Convergence, offering no further opinions.
In a very short time, so many major events had occurred in succession. Everyone knew this was definitely related to Su Li.
What truly shocked the world, of course, was the battle between Su Li and the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress in the snowy capital.
When news first spread that Su Li had secluded himself with the Saintess, many southerners thought he had fled under pressure from the Zhou people, becoming a deserter. The deeper their love had been, the sharper their hatred now. Especially those southern youths who had once idolized him spoke of him with disrespect and deep resentment.
But Su Li was, after all, Su Li. As the tallest towering tree in the south over these past centuries, how could he leave out of cowardice? How could he depart so calmly, silently, low-key, and even somewhat aggrieved? Before leaving, he had to settle all debts of gratitude and grudges.
He had cold-bloodedly killed many people in the past. The world had many reasons to hate him and resent him, but he had little to resent about the world. Looking back over the years, only the humiliations and injuries suffered during his return from the Demon Domain’s Snowy Plains remained unwashed. The shameless ones who had incited the internal strife in Lishan were still alive. So the Ten Thousand Willow Garden was burned, Zhu Luo was crippled, and the Eternal Life Sect was slowly fading into the river of history. As for the “gratitude” part of the equation, that was settled by the letter in Chen Changsheng’s arms, the gift of ten thousand acres of fertile land suddenly received by the Huaiyuan Academy, and the amnesty personally issued by the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress to a certain famous assassin.
Of course, in his final moments, he did not forget to do something he had always wanted to do but never had the chance.
—To truly compete with the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress.
Many years ago, when Su Li was still young, he had already been the world’s top assassin on the assassin rankings. Countless people had offered vast sums of money, even entire provinces or commanderies, to hire him to assassinate the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress. But he never accepted, even going so far as to part ways with his subordinates who followed him.
Years later, he became the highest-ranking grand-uncle of the Lishan Sword Sect. The Chen royal family and many southern dignitaries, including the elders of his hometown, presented countless righteous arguments, speaking earnestly and even weeping, begging him to take up his sword and enter the capital to rid the world of the demoness empress. Still, he refused.
Over a decade ago, the Eternal Life Sect and the Liang King’s Mansion joined forces to capture his pregnant wife, forcing him to kill the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress. Yet again, he did not do it.
Not because he lacked the sword cultivation he now possessed, or because he lacked the confidence to challenge a true saint. Nor was it because he was unwilling to see the political situation destabilize, leading to internal strife among humans and giving the demon army an opportunity to invade the south. Rather, it was because, in those times, others were always telling him to challenge the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress.
That was Su Li’s nature. If someone told him to do something, he would refuse to do it. Now that he was about to leave this world, no one dared to command him anymore, and no one dared to bother him. Instead, he very much wanted to try—to see who was truly stronger, himself or the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress.
In the end, there was no result. But he was likely satisfied.
When he left this world, Su Li made it quite lively for a time. In essence, he was a person who loved excitement. He worried that without him, the world would become too dull. Or perhaps he feared that after leaving, he would not be able to witness so much excitement for a long time.
When he stepped onto the stage of this world, he was incomparably glorious, stunningly brilliant, and dazzling to the extreme. When he left this world, he did so with equal grandeur and unrestrained elegance. He believed the world would never forget his name, even if he might not appear for a long time.
He had another purpose in doing this: to establish authority for Lishan and for the southerners.
The Sky-Scorching Sword illuminated the capital, shining alongside the wooden phoenix and small sword in the night sky.
This was his way of telling the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress and the Pope to uphold the agreements they had made. After the North-South Convergence, they should treat the southerners well.
At the same time, he was telling the entire continent not to try anything against Lishan while he was away.
Otherwise, you would die as horribly as that elder of the Eternal Life Sect, and your homes and mountain gates would be burned to ashes like the Ten Thousand Willow Garden.
That was all.
…
…
(One chapter tomorrow. That is all.)