Chapter 162 : Chapter 162
Chapter 162: Impossible! Absolutely Impossible!
Looking at Qi Han, a dignified Elder Grand Secretary of the current court, frightened like a dog, Zhao Yi revealed a mocking smile and continued to kick him while he was down.
“Elder Grand Secretary Qi does not dare to go? Then what should be done? Do we need to invite a Grandmaster to act? That would not be entirely impossible…”
Impossible!
An intense refusal flashed across Qi Han’s face once more.
The Grandmasters of the Great Qian Court had absolutely no need to involve themselves in petty struggles like theirs.
For example, the imperial clan’s Grandmasters were the foundation of the state. There was no way they would bother with such unreasonable demands from them.
As for Old Commander Lu of the Jinyiwei and the few generals in the army, although they did not clearly express their stances, as Grandmasters, how could they possibly submit beneath the Jianghu?
If they dared to make those people touch a meritorious subject of Great Qian just to curry favor with members of the Jianghu, would those people interpret it as, “Even a meritorious subject can be killed whenever the court wishes”?
That would be hard to say.
Qi Han had to face one fact.
At present, they simply could not take Cheng Yu down. They did not have that ability!
Xiao Wuji saw Elder Grand Secretary Qi’s embarrassment and revealed a faint, smug smile.
“Elder Grand Secretary Qi, in that case, what is your opinion?”
Qi Han’s face was dark, but he could only say helplessly, “Then let us follow what Old Lord Zhao said. Since it is a great victory, a meritorious subject should naturally be rewarded.”
Cheng Yu had grown too quickly. They had no choice at all!
Even if they offended people of the Jianghu, there was nothing they could do.
He continued, “However, rewards are rewards. Your Majesty must still treat Cheng Yu with caution.”
Cheng Yu absolutely had disloyal ambitions!
The Great Qian Emperor nodded noncommittally.
“Then we shall follow what Minister Zhao and Minister Qi have said. Reward Cheng Yu with one thousand-year spiritual medicine, one Demon-Sinew Gold-Thread Belt, and one residence in the capital. Promote him to the Jinyiwei Command Office as a Commandant!”
“As for the matter of Army-Breaking Sect intercepting and killing my Great Qian Jinyiwei, there must be an explanation. The specific arrangements will be discussed later.”
Hearing Xiao Wuji reward Cheng Yu so generously, everyone’s hearts trembled.
These rewards might not necessarily be especially valuable to a martial artist.
However, as imperially bestowed treasures, they were absolutely full of sincerity.
Not long ago, Cheng Yu had only been a mere Banner Captain in Qinghe County, Jiangnan.
Now, throughout all of Great Qian, he could already be considered an important figure whose weight could sway matters!
More importantly, with Cheng Yu’s record receiving Xiao Wuji’s reward, did this indicate some inclination from His Majesty?
Did he intend to change Great Qian’s posture of showing weakness and suppress the Moderate Faction?
What attitude would the people of the Jianghu take?
How would the general trend of the world change?
All of this fell into uncertainty.
…
Under the starry night, on the outskirts of the Great Qian Capital.
A heaven-piercing pavilion tower glittered with golden brilliance—the Tianji Tower.
On the top floor.
Zhu Xuanji frowned as she looked at the mysterious gold, silver, and bronze Three Rankings before her.
Upon the Three Rankings, human names were constantly changing.
At this moment, a certain rumor of the Jianghu had been confirmed.
The Heaven, Earth, and Human Rankings of the Tianji Tower overlooked nothing. They could even record the result of a private sparring match between two people.
This had already far surpassed the level of manpower gathering information.
Now, the facts had proven it.
Although the Tianji Tower’s intelligence-gathering was indeed powerful, the arrangement of the Heaven, Earth, and Human Rankings was controlled by a power that surpassed human ability.
Rather than saying the Tianji Tower’s main trade was intelligence-gathering and secret-art exploration, it was more like seeking heavenly secrets, asking after the Dao, and pursuing the Dao.
Its competitor had become the mystical and eccentric Taiyi Sect.
Zhu Xuanji raised her head helplessly and looked toward the bronze-yellow Human Ranking.
The name that had been listed at the very top had disappeared.
Cheng Yu!
The moment he killed Tie Ke, his name had reached the very top of the Human Ranking.
And now, he had appeared at thirty-first on the Earth Ranking.
Twenty years old, and already in the middle ranks of the Earth Ranking!
Those above and below him were all famous experts who had long since made their names.
“This world ultimately belongs to heaven-sent talents. For some people, their starting point is already someone else’s endpoint.”
The more one studied fate, the more one believed in fate.
Zhu Xuanji shook her head and sighed, then looked at the combat record slowly being written behind Cheng Yu’s name.
“Could he be the person from the prophecy?”
Although she had her suspicions, she did not hold too much expectation.
After too many disappointments, not having hope had become the norm.
A person of Heavenly Fate who could bear Heaven’s will could not be found even across a thousand years of Great Qian history.
After all, before the Three Rankings, even those who remained hidden from the world and even top Grandmaster experts could hardly conceal their secrets.
Yet in the next moment.
When Zhu Xuanji looked at the contents on the ranking, her red lips suddenly parted.
“Cheng Yu, twenty years old… borrowed an unknowable mighty power to slay demonic evil and defeated Xiao Teng, who possessed Dao-Entry-level strength…”
Unknowable?
Zhu Xuanji was dumbfounded. The Three Rankings, which could perceive everything, were saying “unknowable mighty power”?
Her heart began pounding wildly.
How was that possible? Such a situation was simply unheard of!
Unless there was only one possibility: the level of that power was higher than the Three Rankings, this supreme treasure of the Tianji Tower!
“Could it be…”
Zhu Xuanji’s long-dormant heart regained its brilliance at this moment.
She walked to the window, raised her fingers to calculate, and gazed toward the star-filled sky.
“The Ziwei Star shines brightly in the Central Palace. The crimson flame of the southern sky guides the path, and the restless stars also shine upon this place…”
Zhu Xuanji blinked. A great event was about to occur in the Great Qian Capital.
Before long, she would be able to see just what kind of world-ordering figure this Cheng Yu truly was.
And whether he bore Heaven’s will.
…
In the far south of Great Qian, amid a mist-shrouded mountain range.
The Taiyi Sect.
Within a grand array amid a sea of clouds, the handsome but sallow-faced Dan Qingzi had his hair disheveled, and his expression was wild.
“Why? Why? Just what kind of person is he?”
Dan Qingzi had cultivated the Heavenly Secrets and Dao Fortune for his entire life, so why had he suffered such a backlash from a young man?
He had merely repaid a favor casually, yet he had encountered such a setback.
Was his cultivation still this inadequate?
While he was tangled in near-madness, a thin old Daoist with an immortal bearing drifted over in a yellowed Daoist robe.
“My disciple, you are intelligent and gifted, and you have never encountered a great setback. Such a day should have come sooner or later.”
Dan Qingzi raised his head with bloodshot eyes. “Master, if I cannot see through a random person I happened to meet, how am I supposed to save Senior Brother?”
The old Daoist shook his head.
“My disciple, you have become too obsessive. The person you encountered is likely even more extraordinary than your Senior Brother. Heaven is vast. There are far too many things that people like us cannot fathom.”
A message floated out from his hand and drifted before Dan Qingzi’s eyes.
Dan Qingzi’s entire body trembled. “Him? He slew a Grandmaster at twenty?”
He had merely repaid a favor casually, yet he had encountered a century-rare genius like this.
And as a result, he had shattered his own Dao Heart!
What kind of luck was this?
Dan Qingzi had the pride of a genius, and he also lived by the principle of not exhausting himself with needless self-torment.
He had thought his cultivation was insufficient, but it turned out that his luck had simply been too poor!
Cheng Yu had slain an opponent with Grandmaster-level strength at twenty years old. There was no telling how many extraordinary things lay behind him.
What was there to obsess over with such a person?
Cultivating and seeking the Dao did not mean stubbornly charging into a dead end!
Dan Qingzi instantly thought things through and revealed a grateful expression to the old Daoist.
“Master, my cultivation is lacking. I cannot remain as calm and composed as you, and I am still far inferior to Senior Brother.”
He looked at the old Daoist sincerely.
As expected of his master. As expected of a Grandmaster. He would never fall into such ridiculous distress.
“If Master were to make the calculation, you would surely be able to see through the heavenly secrets!”
“Perhaps.”
The old Daoist nodded in satisfaction. His disciple had finally thought things through.
At the same time, he silently put his hand behind his back, hiding the sleeve stained with quite a bit of blood.
He was the previous Headmaster of Taiyi Sect, a dignified Grandmaster expert, and the foremost figure in the field of seeking the Dao and fate in Great Qian.
How could he possibly be like his disciple, unable to see through one young man and suffering backlash until he coughed blood?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible!