Lord Shadow

In a Golden Palace surrounded by clouds and flying cranes on the backyard of the Golden Palace, someone wearing a grey robe with a wooden scepter on his right hand gripped it tight as he looked at the sky above. 

He sees the cloudless skies and he sighed. Then he saw the sword coming down from the Heavens and he sighed once again.

Then he loosened the grip on his scepter but his eyes are shining brightly

This man is not old but there is wrinkles on his face. 

He stands straight but there is a feeling of tiredness that emanates out of him feeling like he is an old person of the world that have weathered many storms and vicissitudes of life. 

The more he sees and look at the sky, the more he seems dispirited.

‘Ah’ he said and then he laughs a bit. The crane on the floating clouds on top of the roof of the veranda of this pavilion made some noise. 

That was when the sky opened up. But when the sword shows its edge, the crane shut itself up. It just stands with its leg on the clouds.

Beside him, stands another person. This person wears a black dragon robe and stand tall. His height is nearly reaching seven feet.

He is tall. He is very tall. That is how tall he is. His height covered all of China and his shadow blanketed the entire Empire.

He could be considered influential and important. 

And his entire body is emanating Disk Formation fluctuations, trying to alleviate the pressure from the sky. He did not want to contend with that all-encompassing Will. 

He just did not want to kneel to it.

And since that Will did not want to kneel, so he could endure it and not kneel.

He is none other than Feng Jing Emperor of Wei. His contemporary is none other than the Martial Lord, Yue Xing, the Emperor of Yue. 

But unlike Yue Xing he is one of the highest member of Lotus Order and after the terrible defeat of Yue Xing last year all of China is almost pacified. 

But, is China the whole world? Is it the entire Asian continent?

He is not the only hero under the heavens and he is certainly not the most amazing. So, he did not feel proud even though his officials praised him all day

Those titans that is in the Three Great Powers deters all creation.

How could he claim himself a great hero in such an era of Gods and Deities? How could then he could be prideful all the time?

He did not sigh but his face shows he is not entirely pleased either.

The reason why he keeps winning is because of that man with the scepter.

To be more accurate, it is not because of the man with the scepter that he would win battles, but it is because of the man with the scepter that he did not worry if he lost. 

Without such worries, he could go all out. Because he lives inside the Lotus Palace, the shining golden palace that one third of Beijing

Beside him is none other than the Arrayist Sage Lee Sangmin. Even some of the formation on the walls of Pandemonium was constructed by this Sage of Array Formation.

They both looked at the sky and they both see what each other see. They do not only see the skies and the stars and the sword. 

They also see people flying from many corners of the world. 

A Will was stirred. And as such a new will sprouted. Like birds those people fly freely across the clouds.

Yue Xing frowned and ask

‘Between me and him, which person is taller? ‘he asks. Lee Sangmin chuckles a bit. He looks at the Emperor of Wei. Almost reaching seven feet tall.

‘That is tall’ he thought to himself and he answered

‘You are tall. But “that person” is of course the tallest. He is so tall that his shadow blanketed the world. Since the sun only shines on him, we are all hidden in the darkness.’ He said and he bitterly smiles

‘But the sun is so bright and hot.’ The Emperor said.

‘Hmm. It is true’ Lee Sangmin said. 

The sword could no longer be seen in the distance. 

The sword seems quite slow. It took many words to come out from their mouth to be spoken before that sword finally sliced down

But Sangmin don’t think it would seem slow to those people who were targeted by that sword

To them that sword probably seem very fast. And they probably would have died. Since “that person” had swung the sword, how could anyone that he wanted to die would not die?

Since he swung it, then they have died. It is not a conjecture or some deduction. It is the fact.

Sangmin then answer the Emperor

‘Since he could endure the brightness and the heat, of course his shadow blanketed all over the world. Because he is the tallest’

Lee Sangmin nodded again

‘That sword’ The Emperor said but Sangmin know it is a beginning to a question.

‘Hmm?’ Sangmin asked back, his gaze is still looking at that sky. 

The cranes sitting on the clouds finally flaps it wings and fly to some other patches of clouds over the roof of the Pavilion.

‘This Lotus Palace and the sword? Which one would be sturdier? The Emperor asked 

But deep frown on the Emperor face shows his concern. The Arrayist Sage then said

‘Swords are sharp. But the roof is sturdier.’

‘Even under that attack? It seems like a very sharp sword. Maybe it could down the roof too?’ The Emperor asked again.

The Arrayist Sage laughed

‘I build the roof not using steel beams or the Earth and Heaven. The Heaven might be able to embrace all things but they could not embrace this Roof. Even Void could not enter. What else Gods and Deities? As long as I am here, this Palace could not be breached’ 

Then after a silence he reply by saying

‘If he wanted to kill me, he still has to wait like that time in the Forest Region. He still has to wait for me to come out from Beijing’

‘Are you stronger than him?’ Lee Sangmin said.

‘I knew my weakness. Kill me? I could not even stand one glance from him. But why should we fight him? And why should I kill him and he kills me?’

And the Emperor finally smiles. 

‘Since that is the case, we should not fear him’ Lee Sangmin shook his head and said

‘That is not wise. The Lotus Palace is a place where even Heaven will not be able to see. But the rest of the world is still under heaven. If one is not afraid, then one should have the power to break that Heaven first’ 

Sighing, he looks at the Emperor beside him and said

‘When one is blocked by a mountain, there is a few ways to solve such predicament. First, to try to climb over it. But this mountain is too tall. It could not be climbed and there is only few lunatics in the world that dares to try to climb it. But these lunatics at least have the power to at least begin the climb. But, we are not’

When he thinks of these lunatics, he remembers that spiraling eye in the cave inside a forest in Japan.

The other lunatic that desire to climb such mountain is a person sitting cross legged inside thunderclouds.

He thought of those two that desires to climb such a tall mountain. Even though they not have succeeded, but at least they have the qualification to climb it.

‘Second way, is to go around it. But this mountain is too wide. Other than the Trickster, I see no one that could go around that mountain’

To him, the only few people that could go around this mountain is also only two people. 

There is the trickster and the Alchemist. They could go around it. Since the mountain would not care. So, his wideness is contained.

‘The other method is to break the mountain’ Then smiling he ask

‘But who could break this mountain? Do not make enemies with him and remind to fears him unless you would rather be a prisoner inside the Lotus Palace as long as he is alive. If even I need to be afraid of him, what else you?’

The Emperor frowned but he nodded

Sangmin warned the Emperor about trying to contend with that person. But Sangmin does have a few candidates in his mind that desire to break that mountain. 

But of all the candidates, his mind could only imagine only two people that could break that mountain. There is a red sword in the white snow and a bow below the peach tree

Probably there are some people in the world that could borrow the red sword surround by the white snow. But he could not borrow it. And as for the bow? 

He did not believe that bow could be used. Even if the bow is in hand, he could not pull its string.

Maybe he himself would die under that bow first before he could pluck it.

At least it could not be used by him. 

Since he could not borrow the red sword and could not use the bow, why would he try to goad the Emperor to his death and why would he himself walk the path of death when there is a path of life

When he thought of red sword, he thought of Katarina. 

When he thought of a bow underneath the peach tree, he thought of Sofia.