Chapter 818: The Ambition of the Western Continent
The green-clad stranger hadn’t expected him to see through his origins at a single glance. After a moment of silence, he said, “I didn’t realize the caliber of experts on the mainland had risen so high. The Stargazer, back when he visited our side, was far inferior to you, and Ironwood was even less. Could it be that this place is more suited for cultivation?”
The Stargazer and Ironwood he mentioned were both powerful figures with deep ties to the Western Continent, and Ironwood was originally from there.
“Are you an old acquaintance of Ironwood’s?” Wang Po asked.
The green-clad stranger said, “Indeed, we were once acquainted.”
Wang Po looked at him calmly and asked, “Do you intend to avenge him?”
The green-clad stranger laughed, his voice still hoarse.
“Avenge him? Back then, I chased Ironwood all the way into the sea, and he was only saved by the Stargazer. He wouldn’t want me to avenge him, would he?”
Three years ago, during the battle in the capital, Ironwood had died under Wang Po’s realm-breaking blade strike, but no one would deny Ironwood’s strength. In those days on the Western Continent, Ironwood had yet to cross that threshold, yet he was already a highly talented expert. To be hunted so miserably by this man suggested that this person must hold a very high seniority and reputation on the Western Continent.
Thinking of the stranger’s earlier lament, Wang Po said, “It’s not that the Central Plains are more suited for cultivation; it’s simply that we have many cultivators here, and competition is inevitably fierce.”
The green-clad stranger pondered for a moment before saying, “Reasonable. In your view, where would my current realm and strength rank on the Central Plains?”
Wang Po replied, “You should be able to make the top ten.”
The continent was vast, with countless experts. For Wang Po, a master of the blade, to personally affirm that this man could rank in the top ten showed that he was indeed extraordinary.
Yet this statement only earned a sigh from the green-clad stranger.
“Only the top ten?”
The green-clad stranger lamented, “To be content with a corner, in peace and joy, is ultimately not the true path of cultivation. It will inevitably lead to falling behind.”
Wang Po said, “Peace and joy are also what I desire.”
“Falling behind invites attack; isolation leads to decay. We should still return.” The green-clad stranger looked into Wang Po’s eyes.
Wang Po was silent for a long time before saying, “I have no opinion on this matter.”
If the humans of the Western Continent wanted to return to the Central Plains, it would inevitably be a major event, stirring up countless troubles and conflicts. Even if only a small portion of their experts returned, they would still need territory and resources. But from Emperor Taizong to the Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden to the present, from the alliance with the demons to the unification of north and south to the merging of east and west, this was the general trend. Because to resist the demons, until they were completely eradicated, humanity had to unite all its strength.
After all, those living on the Western Continent were still humans. In the eyes of many human experts, they were more trustworthy and closer than the demons in White Emperor City. As for the demons themselves, they might have once worried that the return of the Western Continent’s power would affect their status, but now that their queen came from the Western Continent, they probably wouldn’t be too wary.
The number of people qualified to decide this matter was very small: the Great Zhou Emperor, the Pope, the Saintess, the White Emperor and his wife, and now Shang Xingzhou had to be added. Experts like Wang Po certainly had some say as well.
In the past, Wang Po had supported it, but now his thoughts had changed.
Clearly, whether it was Mu Jiushi nearly becoming the Pope’s heir back then, or this sacred-domain expert from the Western Continent leading people to try to intercept and kill Chen Changsheng now, it all showed that Shang Xingzhou had reached some kind of agreement with the Western Continent through Madam Mu.
Now, the confrontation between the Great Zhou court and the state religion was growing increasingly tense, with both sides watching each other. For the court to secretly dispatch a true expert to kill the Pope had become very difficult, but the Western Continent was a force outside the original chessboard.
If Chen Changsheng had truly followed the original plan and traveled along the river, and if Wang Po hadn’t come, the Western Continent might have actually succeeded in killing him.
Wang Po would not accept such a thing.
“Since you have no opinion on this matter, why are you here?”
The green-clad stranger looked at him and said, “The state religion must have been well prepared; they didn’t need you to step forward. Or is it that His Holiness the Pope wants to use this method to force you to take a stand?”
“Having no opinion doesn’t mean having no stance. My stance has never changed.”
Wang Po said, “Back then, between the Heavenly Sea and the imperial clan, between the court and Su Li, and now between master and student, I have always held the correct stance.”
The green-clad stranger asked, “What is correct?”
Wang Po said, “His Holiness the Pope is a good person.”
What was the correct stance? How to judge right from wrong? It turned out to be simply good versus bad. But people change, so how to judge? One couldn’t look at a whole lifetime; one had to look at the present moment. As long as he was good at this moment, that was enough. For example, Su Li, gravely wounded in the demon realm’s snowfields that year, or Chen Changsheng, severely injured by Haidi on the battlefield over a year ago—neither should have been treated so harshly by their own world.
The green-clad stranger was silent for a moment before asking, “What if it was the Tang clan who wanted to kill him?”
Wang Po recalled the snowstorm in the capital three years ago.
He and Ironwood had sat on opposite sides of a table, and the Tang clan’s Second Master had spoken four words.
A debt of kindness as heavy as a mountain.
So what?
He still struck the Second Master’s face with his sheathed blade, and he still drew his blade to cut down Ironwood.
A debt of kindness as heavy as a mountain meant repaying it; using that kindness to demand repayment was another matter entirely.
The green-clad stranger understood his silence and shook his head, saying, “Back then, it was the Tang clan’s Second Master. Now, if he wants to enter Wenshui, you’ll have to face the Old Master.”
Many years ago, Wang Po had worked as an accountant in Wenshui for several years. Old Master Tang had treated him like a son, raising and nurturing him. He hadn’t returned to Wenshui in many years. Would he go back this year? As the green-clad stranger said, the entire continent wanted to know: if he truly returned to Wenshui, how would he face that Old Master? Even if he was strong, even if his will was firm, could he really raise his blade against Old Master Tang?
Watching Wang Po’s figure disappear downstream on the snowy river, Luo Bu was silent for a long time, his fingers gently moving among the winter plum blossoms, making no sound.
If it were him, he wouldn’t know how to handle such a situation either.
That green-clad stranger also left.
Luo Bu left the riverbank and followed, always keeping a distance of about two or three li.
This mysterious visitor from the Western Continent was clearly a sacred-domain expert. Trying to tail him without being detected was extremely difficult, even suicidal. But Luo Bu didn’t stop, because he wanted to uncover the truth of the entire matter.
Just like back then, to obtain that key, he had taken great risks, maneuvering for months among the young experts of Snow Old City.
And he was confident he could avoid being discovered by that green-clad stranger.
Both banks of the snowy river were covered in long-dead winter grass, coated with frost, very similar to the grass around Ban Cliff Horse Farm. They looked like countless swords piled together.
He walked among the frosty grass, as if trying to merge with his surroundings, because he, too, was a sword.