Light from the Glazed Lamps spilled over the golden, dragon-carved hall. Inside the main hall of Changle Palace, over a hundred desks lined both sides. Numerous Confucian Scholars in their literary robes sat writing with furious intensity, while the Great Scholar, the Grand Sacrificial Officer of the Imperial College, surveyed the scene.
In the center of the hall, songstresses played instruments and danced. The ethereal, magnificent ancient melodies plucked from phoenix-headed harps and mandarin-duck lutes were a divine sound from Great Yan.
From time to time, someone would hand a finished poem to a eunuch for submission. If the work was exceptional, one of the Great Scholars would read it aloud on the spot.
The vast majority, however, sat properly and chatted amongst themselves. They discussed topics such as which promising talents the academies had produced this year, and whether any had the potential to become the top scholar. They wondered who might be recruited into the Confucian Temple to serve the Saint, or how many peerless Sword Cultivators the Taoist Sect had fostered. Who were the new masters among the Three Religions this year? And among the younger generation, who was fit to bear great responsibility?
The poetry contest was merely a diversion for the banquet, not its true purpose.
Lu Yunqing earnestly lifted his brush and wrote a poem on the rice paper. The words flowed without resistance or thought, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Lu Guangyao came closer for a look and couldn't help but marvel. 'Such neat and powerful calligraphy, as upright as a pine!'
He glanced back at his own work. 'My characters look like they're fighting each other, a complete chicken scratch!'
With a placid expression, Lu Yunqing placed his brush back on the inkstone and handed the poem to a nearby eunuch. He then raised his cup, took a sip of tea, and began to wait.
His gaze swept the hall, taking in the many foreign envoys: representatives from the Great Frost Dynasty, Goryeo, the Golden Crow Country, Boluo Country, and the small countries of Nan Zhou...
Only the Great Frost Dynasty was worthy of a second glance. On the surface, it was a major power capable of contending with Great Yan, situated in the southwest of the Central Plains World. In reality, the nation was fractured from within. Beneath the Emperor of Great Frost were three vassal lords: the Junior Frost King, the Golden Frost King, and the Silver Frost King.
'Their visit this time, supposedly to pay tribute, is surely to borrow troops. They want to use foreign soldiers to restore the Great Frost Dynasty.'
You could tell just by the worried looks on their faces. Emperor Yong'an, however, remained perfectly composed and made no rash moves. He clearly held all the power in this negotiation.
"I have long heard that the Hundred Jia Arhats of Ten Thousand Buddha Temple are the most distinguished Zen Masters in the Buddhist Sect. Would you do me the honor of visiting my Boluo Country to preach the sutras?"
The speaker was the envoy from Boluo Country, a middle-aged man with olive skin, a jeweled scarf wrapped around his head, and a parted mustache. From his seat, he bowed toward a young monk in a red kasaya whose hands were pressed together in prayer.
The young monk replied with a serene expression, "If I recall correctly, the Brahma Goddess is also a Divine Spirit under Shakyamuni, one of the Seven Patriarchs of Buddhism. Why fuss over status? We originate from the same source. There is no need for such ceremony."
'In truth, he still looked down on a small place like Boluo Country.'
"Envoy, do not be disheartened. Why not allow our Mountain Celestial Master to visit Boluo to discuss the scriptures and preach the Dao? What do you say?"
Master Yunxu of the Five Elements Temple suggested with a smile from the side.
Hearing this, the envoy from Boluo Country stiffened. He forced a smile and said, "Thank you for the kind offer, Master Daoist, but let's forget it..."
Lu Yunqing watched the exchange, sensing the envoy's embarrassment.
'Boluo Country was founded on Buddhism, and its royal family has always sought the recognition of the Buddhist Sect in Great Yan. The one who secures the full support of the Buddhist Heaven will gain the right of succession to the throne.'
'This is not a precedent to be set lightly.'
'It involves diplomacy between two nations, touching on matters of sovereignty and the succession of kings. Such things must be discussed with the Emperor of Great Yan.'
Great Yan was founded by the sword but ruled by the brush, governing the world in concert with the Three Religions. Together, they had achieved a perfect balance.
The Three Religions needed the Great Yan Court to maintain peace and stability in the Mortal World, securing the flow of Destiny. They couldn't afford to lose even a single stick of incense offered by the common folk.
Likewise, Great Yan needed the supreme power of the Three Ancestors of the Three Religions to maintain stability on all four borders and to repel invasions from Demon Barriers and the Demon Race.
'The Taoist Ancestor Celestial Venerable, the Buddha Bodhisattvas, and the Confucian Temple Saint... they must be the most powerful people in this world.'
Lu Yunqing glanced at the representatives of the Three Academies, knowing full well what they represented.
These were the leaders of the various Immortal Influences. Each one possessed a Cultivation in the Middle Five Realms, and any single one of them could annihilate an entire city.
'They could exert tremendous influence over a small nation.'
Compared to the Buddhist Disciples and the orthodox Taoist Sect, his own Confucian Temple was more humanistic. It valued great righteousness, advocating for the support of the King and the education of the masses.
'But the disciple representing the Taoist Sect this time... she looks unfamiliar.'
Lu Yunqing's gaze shifted to a woman in a green Daoist Robe.
Not a drop of wine on her table had been touched, not a single morsel of the fine food and fruit. She simply kept her head lowered, staring at the sword scabbard in her hands.
'What is she thinking?'
'Could it be...?'
Then he saw the tip of a Flying Sword emerge from her sleeve, and his blood ran cold.
'She's attempting an assassination in the Emperor's presence!'
SWOOSH!
Amid the clinking of cups and cheerful laughter, a Flying Sword shot out with overwhelming killing intent, unleashing a shockwave of ripples.
The woman in green leaped into the air, her mid-air flip as graceful as an inverted crescent moon. She landed under the sword, caught its hilt, and with unstoppable momentum, brought it down on the Fifth Prince, Lu Mingkong.
There were no Divine Powers and Techniques involved—only pure, terrifying speed.
Lu Mingkong, who had been laughing just a moment before, was scared witless by the attack. He stared, dumbfounded, his dark face a mask of shock, confusion, and despair.
He watched the cold gleam of the blade descend upon his face and simply waited for death.
Everyone present—the scholars, the Daoist disciples, the monks and mages, the foreign envoys, the Military Generals and high ministers—had only just looked up. None of them had time to react.
They all thought the Fifth Prince was about to be sent to the Yellow Springs.
And yet, Emperor Yong'an remained seated calmly on the Dragon Throne, his expression perfectly serene. The old eunuch standing beside him, however, simply snapped his fingers.
"Why the killing?" Emperor Yong'an asked calmly. "To have reached the Daoist Ninth Realm Golden Core at such a young age, only to seek your own demise."
The woman in green didn't know when it had happened, but her sword had stopped mid-air. The shocked expressions of everyone around her were frozen in place. Time itself seemed to have stopped in Changle Palace—the flickering candlelight, the evening breeze, the glow of the full moon—all had come to a standstill!
Two words appeared in the woman's mind.
Celestial Human.
The Martial Arts Twelfth Realm: the Celestial Human Realm.
'The eunuch beside the Emperor... is actually a Martial Cultivator of the Celestial Human Realm?'
But even facing the Celestial Human Realm, the proud, cold woman in green showed not a hint of fear. She merely furrowed her delicate, willow-leaf brows and spoke in a voice of ice.
"A life for a life. Nothing more."
In the next second, the frozen moment silently shattered.
Everything returned to normal. The sword continued its descent but was met by the phantom of an earthen-yellow Talisman. A jade pendant on Lu Mingkong's neck trembled violently before being shattered by the sword's momentum as if it were made of paper. That fleeting moment, however, was all the opportunity the nearby Three Academy Cultivators needed.
A white-haired Great Scholar extended two fingers and let out a sharp cry, "Halt!"
That single word unleashed astonishing power, as if Words and Laws Follow.
The woman's blade was deflected, stopping its momentum. It fell prematurely and, by a fluke, only severed Lu Mingkong's entire arm instead of cleaving through his chest and taking his head.
Treating her as a formidable enemy, everyone nearby attacked at once. Magic and Gang Qi erupted, filling the air with an endless cascade of brilliant light.
The woman in green was sent flying backward, coughing up a mouthful of blood, her body a mangled mess.
At the critical moment, she crushed a wad of talisman paper.
Her entire body erupted into flames and burned to nothing.
The old eunuch beside Emperor Yong'an stepped forward to inspect the ashes. "Reporting to the Holy Emperor," he said, "it was the Taoist Sect's Falsehood-Breaking Rebirth Spell and Paper Cutting Technique."
Emperor Yong'an frowned at the sight.
'If not for the protective spells on her, she never would have been able to break the Time Stopping Technique.'
'And without the Paperman Life Exchange Method, she never could have escaped Changle Palace.'
'It seems she came well-prepared.'
Emperor Yong'an said coolly, "With the Paper Cutting Technique, the caster cannot be far from the Paperman. She must still be somewhere in the Imperial Palace. Find her for Us. And discover her identity."
"Holy Emperor, rest assured. The Thunder Pool Daoist Academy will give you an explanation."
Sweat beaded on the brow of Taoist Yunxu from the Five Elements Temple. He was the first to act, his Primordial Spirit emerging from his body. Like an Immortal in flowing white robes in the very pose of Ascension, his spirit left his Flesh Body and flew out of Changle Palace.
Not to be outdone, the Kasaya Mage from the Vajra Department Institute cast the Sanskrit Golden Light Spell. The spell enveloped his Flesh Body, launching him into the sky.
The Commander of the Bright Lamp Bureau and the on-duty Imperial Guard sprang into action.
All that remained was the Fifth Prince, drenched in sweat and wailing in agony as blood gushed from his wound.
...