Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1152: A Different Path

Li Mengtu’s heart was pounding, and his eyes were narrowed as he looked up into the air at Li the Chosen, who had just shouted out his surrender.

This was not what happened historically speaking! In real life, Young Lord Aurora did win, and did win the fox maiden. But Li the Chosen didn’t bend the knee. Instead, he returned to the university and went into seclusion, hoping to use what he had learned in the fight to achieve a cultivation breakthrough. Unfortunately, he never succeeded, because he died with everyone else a month later.

But in this version of history, something different happened. At least, that was what Li Mengtu initially thought. He couldn’t be completely sure. Maybe this did happen, but the historical record was altered later. That said, there was one thing he knew with certainty.

Young Lord Aurora only had one study partner. And that meant that the most salient aspect of the situation now was how the young lord responded. If he agreed to the offer, it would mean history had changed. If he refused, then things would continue on as they had in real life.

Li Mengtu’s thoughts were completely astir.

I bet this Li the Chosen is actually like me. An outsider. It doesn’t really matter who it is. The important thing is that this is a good opportunity to see how this person leverages history. It’ll give me a good point of reference!

Li Mengtu quickly looked over at Young Lord Aurora. He wasn’t the only one. Everyone in the arena was doing the same thing. For one thing, each of the fighters had used some very gruish techniques, and were astonishingly powerful. Beyond that, it was unusual that the arrogant Li the Chosen was choosing to submit to his opponent.

Thus, everyone was waiting to see what decision Young Lord Aurora would make.

***

Xu Qing didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he studied Li the Chosen, his eyes narrowed as he analyzed the situation.

If changing history was this simple, there would be no point to this whole thing. My guess is that this is actually a mere reflection of real history. But… even just being a reflection, we’re talking about an Immortal Lord here. Changing things should be extremely difficult. So, where exactly does that difficulty lie?

Xu Qing looked Li the Chosen up and down. Whether it was his physical presence or his actions, he seemed like the perfect test subject to use to find out if there would be resistance to a historical change.

***

Li the Chosen could tell that he was being observed closely, and he was starting to get nervous. The reason was that, as Li Mengtu had guessed, he was an outsider occupying Li the Chosen as his host.

It was no accident that he had mentioned becoming the young lord’s study partner before they started fighting. He knew that it didn’t conform to history. But it was related to his canon, which was an obscuring mist.

It was no ordinary mist. It came from nowhere, from somewhere mysterious, from ancient time. Put precisely, it came from history. The obscuring mist of history was the source of his canon. Therefore, the way to develop his canon was to perceive history.

The more comprehensive his perception, the more he was able to part the obscuring mist. As the mist parted, he was able to control, and push his canon further toward completion. He knew full well that this path would end in full omniscience related to true history.

Therefore, this fight with Young Lord Aurora was partly real, but also partly staged. He had taken advantage of the situation to intentionally surrender!

The entire point was to get close to Young Lord Aurora! In order to guarantee success, he made his actions completely logical, and also brought a large number of cultivators to bear witness. He did everything so that it would seem completely reasonable for him to surrender. After all, his host was a person who valued commitments.

And this was the only historical instance in which his host had actually interacted with Young Lord Aurora. In other words, this was a very important moment.

This part of history features two important people. The first is Immortal Lord Aurora himself. The other is the young lord. It’s only by getting close to them that I can completely understand everything that happened, including the things that were kept secret later on.

This whole thing relates to the Immortal Paragon. Years later, it was said that he was putting down a rebellion when he crushed the Aurora Immortal Palace. But I’m already seeing clues pointing to something else!

Otherwise, why would the Aurora Immortal Palace’s fourth world suddenly lead to this very specific point in history? It seems obvious that the purpose is to reveal some secret…. I just wonder if I can figure out what it is. If I want to understand all history, if I want to get a sufficient perspective, then I need to get close to one of the two most important people.

And thus, he looked at Young Lord Aurora and waited for an answer.

***

Before Xu Qing could respond, a bright beam of light shot out of the sky. It looked like a magnificent brushstroke, painting a line of color that could never fade. It came with a boundless majesty and power, like the most primordial howl of a heavenly dao. It also seemed to contain a deep sigh. It got closer and closer, causing all things to tremble. Inside the immortal palace, rivers and lakes lost their color.

Eventually, the beam of light disappeared, leaving a person on the dueling stage, standing there tall and straight. As soon as the crowd saw who it was, they got to their feet and bowed respectfully.

“Well met, True Monarch!”

He was none other than Immortal Lord Aurora’s fourth apprentice. Fourth True Monarch was very famous. He had lived a very colorful life in his youth, being extremely intelligent and very capable at playing Go.

On one random occasion, he caught the attention of Immortal Lord Aurora. The two of them played five games of Go, and while the Immortal Lord won four times, he lost once. Recognizing how incredible the youngster was, he took him as a successor apprentice.

Fourth True Monarch had not disappointed the Immortal Lord. As he advanced his cultivation, he showed incredible wisdom and capability. His talents surpassed that of ordinary people, and he was a very hard worker. Everyone in the immortal palace knew that he was keenly insightful, as well as creative. At the same time, he had a kindly disposition and was always warm and welcoming. It didn’t take long before everyone in the immortal palace liked him.

Everyone present was offering respectful greetings.

Xu Qing made sure to smile. According to his host’s memories, he had a very good relationship with Fourth True Monarch. In many cases, Fourth True Monarch was like a big brother to him, and even spoiled him sometimes.

Keeping the smile on his face, he said, “I didn’t realize you had so much free time that you would show up here, Elder Brother Fourth.”

Fourth True Monarch gave a faint nod to the crowd, then turned to look at Xu Qing, his expression that of a kindly big brother.

“Little Junior Brother, just now, Master left to acquire some betrothal gifts on your behalf. Before leaving, he told me to keep an eye on you and make sure you don’t get into any further trouble.” Fourth True Monarch grinned and shook his head helplessly. “The way I see it, no matter what trouble you get into, I can help you smooth things over. So the real message I want to pass to you is to avoid letting people get close to you who have ulterior motives or malicious intentions. For example… Li the Chosen.”

When Fourth True Monarch spoke that last sentence, his tone became as cold as ice. And then he glanced at Li the Chosen, his gaze suddenly incredibly fierce.

One look was all it took.

Li the Chosen shivered from head to toe and he backed up a few paces. He suddenly felt like his soul was vibrating, to the point where he might lose consciousness. Li the Chosen was visibly taken aback. He could clearly sense that Fourth True Monarch had the ability to strip him of all strength.

“Little Junior Brother, you were already assigned a study partner by Master. There’s no need for another.” Fourth True Monarch looked back at Xu Qing, and his expression was once again kind. “Especially one with such unclear intentions. In a month, Master will be taking over the star ring, so there will no doubt be people trying to cozy up to you for unknown reasons.

“You’ve really got some guts, Li the Chosen! Get the hell back to the university. And you’ll stay there for thirty years! Let your punishment be a warning to others!”

His gaze and words caused great pressure to weigh down on Li the Chosen, and he couldn’t stop himself from taking a few steps back. He wanted to say something, but the stifling pressure made it impossible.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing smiled in response to Fourth True Monarch, and did nothing to interfere. For one thing, it seemed to him that messing with history here wouldn’t do anything real to space-time. A second reason was that he had already benefited quite a bit. By reading between the lines, it became obvious what Fourth True Monarch was up to.

A third factor in his decision was that Li the Chosen was clearly scared and didn’t want to keep fighting. There would be no point in trying to continue the duel.

Xu Qing nodded. “That makes a lot of sense, Elder Brother Fourth. I didn’t think about that.”

Fourth True Monarch’s smile grew warmer, and he took out a jug of alcohol that he gave to Xu Qing. “I sent someone out to Skyblack City yesterday to get a jug of Heavendew from your favorite tavern. They only make one jug of it per month. I didn’t want you to miss your chance to get your hands on it while you were stuck being punished by Master. So I got it for you.”

Xu Qing’s face lit up. Accepting the alcohol, he smiled and offered thanks.

Fourth True Monarch smiled in return and was about to say something further.

Off to the side, Li Mengtu in the guise of Zhong Chi was feeling a bit disgruntled. He had been interested to see what would happen if someone altered history, and had even been wondering about getting Li the Chosen’s canon. But if Li the Chosen went into seclusion now, there would be no chance of that happening. After weighing things over, he made a snap decision.

If Fourth True Monarch isn’t an outsider, then nothing I say will do anything. But if he is an outsider, then we’ll eventually run into each other again at some point. In fact, I bet it’s possible he already knows my true identity.

Having reached this point in his train of thought, he leaned over to Xu Qing and quietly said, “Young Lord, this Li the Chosen is an interesting fellow. Before the fight he was acting all arrogant, and even said that if he lost he would be your study partner for a hundred years. But now he’s not making a peep. He looks crestfallen. He has a reputation for honoring commitments, but it seems to me that’s complete nonsense.

“In short order, I’ll make sure to spread this news through the whole palace. Before long, Li the Chosen is going to be a complete laughing stock!”

As Zhong Chi spoke those words, Xu Qing sensed ripples in space-time.

Fourth True Monarch suddenly looked over at Zhong Chi, his gaze icy.

Meanwhile, Li the Chosen also heard what had just been said, and he seemed to be struggling inwardly. In the end, he threw caution to the wind. Striding forward quickly, he dropped to his knees in front of Xu Qing.

“Young Lord, please allow me to preserve my reputation. I admitted defeat already. I couldn’t possibly just leave the arena now!”

The space-time fluctuations that no one but Xu Qing could feel were getting stronger.

Of course, Fourth True Monarch was really Sir Star Ring. At the moment, his heart was sinking, and he was preparing to open his mouth and speak.

Before he could, Xu Qing smiled and casually said, “Well, that makes sense too. But you can’t be my study partner. If you want to live up to your word, you can head over to my beast ranch and take care of my spirit beasts for a hundred years.”

Xu Qing looked at Fourth True Monarch. “What do you say, Elder Brother Fourth?”

Fourth True Monarch seemed to be somewhat at a loss for words. Smiling, he shook his head. “I guess that’s fine. In any case, I have other matters to attend to now. So… I’ll leave everything in your hands.”

After glancing at Zhong Chi, he turned and vanished into thin air.

Xu Qing kept the same smile on his face the whole time. But by the time Fourth True Monarch had left, he had reached a clear conclusion.

That guy is definitely an outsider. And he made some interesting choices…. So, he doesn’t want people changing history here. But why?