Nightfall

West-Hill’s Divine Skill was the most sacred and highest Taoist Law of Haotian Taoism. It was even called the source of all Taoist Law.

Unlike the Divine Skill used by the deacons of the Judicial Department, this Divine Skill was not specifically a kind of magic. It was a divine weapon given to the cultivators from Haotian.

The disciples on Peach Mountain who could use the Divine Skill were not necessarily the most gifted ones, but they did need to have the purest Taoist Heart and the strongest faith in Haotian.

Ye Hongyu, the Tao Addict, could use the Divine Skill because she satisfied both requirements. Though Prince Longqing’s faith in Haotian was firm enough, because of his worldly responsibilities to the royal family of the Yan Kingdom, he couldn’t keep his heart clear. So even though he was gifted, he could not practice the real Divine Skill.

For some reason, Cheng Lixue could not use the Divine Skill either.

So he could not understand why Ning Que was capable of using it.

That is, until he remembered the young girl who had been quietly standing under the big tree.

He knew the little girl, because that little girl was the very reason why the Great Divine Priest had led the West-Hill mission to Chang’an City. So he thought he had guessed the truth.

…

…

There was a house in the middle of the wetlands of the Academy.

Ning Que and Chen Pipi stood on the banks of the wetlands outside the house.

Maybe because Tang Xiaotang had been called away by Senior Sister Yu Lian to practice her skills, Chen Pipi was quite silent and looked at the floating grass in a daze. Suddenly he lifted his head, looked at Ning Que and said, “That Divine Light came from the knife.”

Ning Que knew what he wanted to say. After a moment of silence, he suggested, “A special Taoist skill?”

Chen Pipi shook his head and said, “The West-Hill Divine Skill is fundamentally different from that.”

Ning Que lowered and suggested once again, “I used the Divine Talisman in advance to pour Haotian Divine Light into the knife, so when I wielded the knife, Divine Light shone out of the knife. Is this explanation ok?”

“Not so good,”

Chen Pipi said seriously, “Your knife was surrounded by the Qi of Heaven and Earth at the start.”

“It was my first time. I had no experience,”

Ning Que said sincerely, “There will be no more such mistakes.”

Chen Pipi mockingly asked, “Do you think you can deceive the world forever?”

Ning Que retorted back, “Even if someone sensed the problem, who could find any proof?”

Chen Pipi thought for a moment, then shook his head and replied, “No one, so far.”

Ning Que said in relief, “Then don’t worry.”

Suddenly, a fearful howl came from the courtyard, then no more sound came. It was silent again. The two fellow disciples looked at each other, then turned and walked into the house.

Within a secluded room of the house.

The old lady wearing a blue coat looked at Liu Yiqing, who was rolling on the bed in great pain. She shook her head, then took the medical equipment back into her pocket. She said, “There’s nothing more I can do.”

Second Brother nodded slightly and said, “Thank you.”

Ning Que and Chen Pipi opened the door and came in.

Liu Yiqing bit his teeth to resist the pain in his eyes. He clutched the wooden bar near the bed tightly. He yelled as he said, “What do you want to do?”

His wounded eyes were covered with a strip of white cloth.

Ning Que looked at him and said, “You should already know what we want.”

Hearing Ning Que’s voice, Liu Yiqing showed a grim expression on the part of his face outside the white tape. He said in a deep and dry voice, “You blinded my eyes today, and you will pay for that later.”

Whether in a swordfight or a verbal battle, Ning Que was never a person who would accept defeat. He calmly listened to Liu Yiqing’s threat, and then said, “If you really want revenge, why wait? You can kill me right now, because you should know very well that I really want to kill you.”

Liu Yiqing was shocked by how Ning Que had so blatantly expressed his desire to kill him. He slightly stiffened in fear before saying, “My eldest brother is Liu Bai, the Sage of Sword. How dare you!”

Cultivators were always concerned about their state of mind, so anyone, except for a barbarous person like Ning Que, who started to brag about his background was likely to either be desperate or was showing signs of a mental breakdown.

However, Liu Yiqing did have some hope and confidence.

The reputation of Liu Bai, the Sage of Sword, was far too great. Although the Academy didn’t fear this person, it didn’t seem like there was any need to infuriate the greatest legend in the world.

At this time, Second Brother, who had been standing at the side quietly, suddenly said, “Since you are the younger brother of Liu Bai, please rest assured that the Academy naturally will treat you well.”

Liu Yiqing knew that the one who spoke must be someone of a high status in the Academy, and he might even be the rumored Mr. First or Mr. Second of the Academy’s back mountain. He said sincerely, “Thank you.”

“You are welcome.”

This was not out of courtesy. It was because Second Brother was a decent gentleman who did not want to lie. He didn’t feel that doing something right was worthy of thanks.

Second Brother continued, “I plan to let you stay in the Academy to heal.”

Liu Yiqing was stunned, then he asked with a final shred of hope, “When will you let me leave?”

After thinking for a moment, Second Brother replied honestly, “When Liu Bai sets Chao Xiaoshu free, I will let you leave. If he dies, then you will never leave.”

Liu Yiqing sensed the seriousness in Second Brother’s words. The pain from his eyes and the fear of being confined forever in Academy made him even more panicked. He said anxiously, “Chao Xiaoshu is really not in the Sword Garret, and he isn’t dead either. My brother let him retreat. He could only snatch Chao Xiaoshu’s sword and wound him. Then he let him run.”

Ning Que finally knew for certain that Chao Xiaoshu had encounter Liu Bai. Naturally, he was beaten and lost his sword, but how badly he was injured?

Second Brother asked, “How can you prove this?”

…

…

The room was quiet.

Liu Yiqing said, “Isn’t it enough that Chao Xiaoshu is not in the Sword Garret?”

Second Brother asked, “How can you prove that Chao Xiaoshu is not in the Sword Garret? How can you prove that he is still alive?”

Liu Yiqing thought about how no one knew where Chao Xiaoshu was, so how could he prove that? He became more anxious as he said, “How can the Academy be unreasonable like this?”

Second Brother said calmly, “Pay if you owe; get killed if you murder; get imprisoned if your brother kept hostages of ours. This is the law of God. You will not leave until Liu Bai can prove that Chao Xiaoshu was not captured by him, and is still alive.”

The old woman wearing a blue coat said, “I will write a letter to Liu Bai.”

Second Brother was surprised by this, and said, “Thank you.”

…

…

Ning Que walked out of the courtyard and came to the banks of the wetlands. He couldn’t curb the curiosity in his heart, and had wanted to ask that what kind of relationship this honorary professor who likes cleaning had with Liu Bai. Unexpectedly, Second Brother did not give him the chance to ask. He patted Ning Que’s shoulder and said, “Not bad.”

Second Brother was always a serious person. He paid great attention to courtesy. He treated the master warmly like spring, treated the Eldest Brother with passion like summer, treated the Younger Brothers and Sisters harshly like fall, and treated his enemies as the freezing winter. When he faced people like Ning Que, he seldom smiled, and praised them even less.

That was why Ning Que nearly fell to the ground in glee when he saw the smile on Second Brother’s face, heard the words “Not bad”, and felt the weight on his shoulder.

Chen Pipi pursed his lips enviously.

Second Brother turned to Chen Pipi. The smile on his face was long gone as he said, “Although you came earlier than Youngest Brother, and have a higher state, yet you are still not as good as him in some respects. There is an old saying that goes, ‘You may hear the truth early, but you may not understand early’. You should forget your identity as a senior brother and learn from him.”

Chen Pipi thought of Ning Que, “When did you forget my identity as your Senior Brother that you would teach me? I’m a genius. What still needs to be learnt from Ning Que?”

Though in his heart he disagreed, his expression remained respectful. He said several “Yes” repeatedly.

Ning Que asked unconfidently, “Senior Brother, what am I good at?”

Second Brother looked at him with great satisfaction and said, “In the end, you had said to that man that one day, I will kick Liu Bai’s ass. Your vision and courage were very good.”

After a moment.

Chen Pipi looked at Second Brother’s receding back and said, “I wondered what I was asked to learn from you. It turns to be flattery.”

Ning Que patted Chen Pipi on his shoulder. He comforted him and said, “This is also knowledge.”

…

…

In Chang’an City.

The Southern Gate Temple in front of the Imperial City was quiet as usual.

Only, in comparison with the past, today’s silence contained a bit of tension and a stifling atmosphere. No one could be found in these beautiful Taoist buildings, though in several streets outside the temple, countless great warriors from the Tang military and the Imperial Center Administration remained in hiding.

Recently, the defenses of the Southern Gate Temple had become even more rigorous than that of the imperial palace. The Tang imperial court could not be blamed for their nervousness. It was because the bigwig living in the Southern Gate Temple was too highly respected. If an accident were to occur, the whole world would be pulled into a war.

The Great Divine Priest of Revelations of the West-Hill Divine Palace was living here.

In a hall of the Taoist temple, an old man dressed in a gorgeous robe sat quietly in the darkness on the dark wooden floor. Around his eyes, the wrinkles looked like scorched earth.

Cheng Lixue, the Priest of the Revelation Department, respectfully kneeled before him.

“When Younger Brother Long Qing was ruined by him, the priests in the Divine Hall thought it was because of the horrible holy object given to him by the Academy. Even when the monk Guan Hai and Dao Shi were beaten by him, no one thought Ning Que was very powerful.”

Cheng Lixue organized the words in his heart. He paused for a second, then continued to speak respectfully, “Today, I watched him fight against Liu Yiqing, and I can confirm that he has already progressed to the upper Seethrough State. Compared to his state in the Wilderness, his progress is terrifying.”

The only person who could make Cheng Lixue so respectful was naturally the Great Divine Priest of Revelations.

The Great Divine Priest slowly opened his eyes. Those wrinkles spread with the opening of his eyes like a drought-plagued earth which was nourished by the spring rain for a whole night.

“The Headmaster of the Academy returned to the Academy and was able to personally direct him. If his speed of advancement still remained like that of a normal person, that would be truly strange.”

The Great Divine Priest looked at the disciple in front of him and asked, “Why was he able to practice the Divine Skill?”

Cheng Lixue said, “I wonder if it is related to junior sister, Sangsang.”

The Great Divine Priest looked at him and asked, “How can you prove it?”

…