Chapter 392: The Ancient and Modern Recorder (3)

"Yue Anping left me a sum of resources and asked me to come here after his death to deliver a message."

The young man seemed to notice Su Chen's surprise and openly explained everything. "I never expected him to take on such a dangerous mission. If I had known at the time, I might have stopped him, and he would not have died for nothing."

There was a note of regret in the young man's voice, yet his face showed none.

Su Chen thought to himself that if the young man had known Yue Anping was heading out on a mission certain to end in death, he would not only have failed to stop him but would likely have wished for Yue Anping to die sooner so that he could claim the leftover resources for himself.

Fortunately, the young man still possessed a measure of integrity and had come here after Yue Anping's death.

"Yue Anping said there was nothing noteworthy in his life worth recording. The only thing he felt fortunate about was meeting Junior Sister Hua Caidie. After his death, simply note that he was a disciple of the Heavenly Origin Sect. There is no need to waste too much ink. Just place him together with Junior Sister Hua."

The young man handed over a spiritual stone.

Clearly, the wealth Yue Anping had left him after death was not small; otherwise, he would not have been so generous as to give Su Chen an entire lower-grade spiritual stone.

Su Chen did not refuse. After accepting the stone, he asked, "How did Yue Anping die?"

The young man replied, "He insisted on taking the mission to hunt down the Blood Skin Daoist. That Blood Skin Daoist was already a powerful expert of the Spirit Vein Realm long ago. His methods were extremely vicious. He loved to peel the skins of young women. In a short time, hundreds of girls within the sect's territory died at his hands. It is said he was a wanted criminal who fled here from the outside world. Even ordinary Spirit Sea Realm elders could do nothing against him."

When Yue Anping's body was discovered, his death had been horrific. Yet his face still wore a smile that left people astonished.

Listening to the young man's description, Su Chen understood why Yue Anping had smiled in his final moments.

Yue Anping had joined the Heavenly Origin Sect in his youth. Later, he met the outer disciple Hua Caidie, and the two became dao companions.

He later failed in the attempt to kill the demonic cultivator known as the Blood Skin Daoist and died at his hands.

Su Chen placed Yue Anping's record together with Hua Caidie's. Perhaps little figures like them would never have anyone come to look at their records. Most disciples who came to read the sect's histories did so to remember the genius disciples and the sect elders.

Su Chen gazed at the many bamboo slips covered in dust and sighed softly in his heart. The slips higher up were free of dust, some even warm and smooth as fine jade.

After finishing Yue Anping's commission, the young man left without looking back.

Before long, the name Yue Anping would gradually fade within the Heavenly Origin Sect until it disappeared completely.

Su Chen shook his head.

Most ordinary people were like this. They could not live splendid lives or make their names known throughout the world. Only a very few people would remember them. Yet once those few who remembered them were gone, or once they themselves forgot, those ordinary people would vanish as if they had never left the slightest trace upon this world. Born without a mark, they died without a mark as well.

"Whether one's name is remembered for a thousand ages or stinks for ten thousand years, it is still better than leaving no trace at all."

Su Chen murmured to himself. He thought of the Reverse Fate Scripture. If he died completely, this world would no longer hold any trace of him either.

He had once lived in mediocrity. He had also left a name that stank for ages. He had once stood supreme for a lifetime, his fame enduring through the ages. Now... he had returned to ordinary life once more.

...

In less than a month, Su Chen heard the news that the Blood Skin Daoist had died.

The Blood Skin Daoist had killed a disciple of the Heavenly Origin Sect. Even the most ordinary disciple represented a provocation against the sect, not to mention that Yue Anping had been tortured to death in an extremely brutal manner. This enraged the entire Heavenly Origin Sect. If they failed to kill the Blood Skin Daoist, the reputation the sect had painstakingly built would plummet.

Upon learning all this, Su Chen smiled.

"So that was it... Yue Anping, this was the result you wanted?"

Even little people had their own ambitions.

Su Chen understood.

Yue Anping had not died in vain. He knew he was no match for the Blood Skin Daoist. He also knew that if the Blood Skin Daoist did not commit a fundamental error, even the Heavenly Origin Sect would not easily pay a heavy price to kill him.

Yue Anping had resolved to die and willingly went to his death, using himself as bait to force the sect elders to act.

Su Chen felt a touch of regret. He had underestimated ordinary people like Yue Anping too much. Now he could no longer revise Yue Anping's life record. Altering the recorded lives of the dead was a great taboo.

Thinking of all this, Su Chen clapped his hands and laughed aloud.

"Brilliant!"

This time, he developed a strong interest in the profession of Recorder. In the past, he had walked his path too quickly and had never truly understood the common masses. Now it was time for him to settle his heart. Even if this was his final journey, he would still take in the most beautiful scenery.

...

Within the Heavenly Origin Sect.

Another autumn and winter arrived. It had been a long time since anyone came looking for Su Chen. Fortunately, he had long grown accustomed to the dull passage of time and no longer found it tedious.

Yet Su Chen noticed that the entire Heavenly Origin Sect had become quite busy of late. After making some inquiries, he learned that the once-in-a-decade sect ranking of the Wooden Scenery Dynasty was approaching.

For the Heavenly Origin Sect, this was a major event. The sect ranking represented the sect's reputation! The sect's reputation determined whether it could recruit more talented disciples. More talented disciples meant the sect's prospects and future!

In short, the matter was of great importance!

Throughout the Heavenly Origin Sect, the first step was to determine who would participate in the competition.

Mm...

"I yield, I yield!"

Su Chen watched a black-haired young man with hair standing tall smile mischievously at another young man holding a large sword.

"Senior Brother Sun is mighty! Senior Brother Sun has won! This time there will surely be a place for Senior Brother Sun among the ten great geniuses of the Wooden Scenery Dynasty!"

"Hahahaha!"

The Senior Brother Sun in question was none other than the mischievous black-haired youth. At this moment, he was full of high spirits and accepted the praise of the crowd without any humility.

"I, Sun Ao, will certainly not disappoint the expectations of the Sect Master, the elders, and all my senior and junior brothers and sisters! This time, the name of our Heavenly Origin Sect will surely appear among the ten great geniuses of the Wooden Scenery Dynasty!"

The elder on the stage looked at the confident Sun Ao and scolded him with a laugh. "You stinking brat, the competition has not even started, and you are already this arrogant!"

The young man with the large sword whom Sun Ao had defeated also called out loudly, "Sun Ao, remember what you said! You must become one of the ten great geniuses of the Wooden Scenery Dynasty!"

Sun Ao laughed heartily. "That is certain!"

The young man named Sun Ao was not weak. At the age of twenty, he had already reached the peak of the Spirit Vein Realm.

Filled with ambition, securing a good ranking in the dynasty's grand competition would not be difficult.

Watching this scene, Su Chen laughed along with the crowd.

...