Chapter 1314: Can I Become a Martial Emperor?
"Hehe! Elder Brother White Robes, do you want to take a look at the future? See if you can become a Martial Emperor or not?!" Little Three asked suddenly. It appeared that there was more to what she said since she seemed to brim with antic.i.p.ation.
Xiao Chen found her behavior strange. He countered, "Didn"t you say that I can only choose between the past and the future and can choose only once?"
Little Three smiled and said, "That"s right. However, Elder Brother White Robes did not get to finish seeing the past, right? Naturally, Little Three has to make up for this."
Xiao Chen smiled faintly. "Originally, I wanted to complain about you. Unexpectedly, you are so meticulous."
"Haha! Little Three is good and honest. How about it? Do you want to or not?"
Xiao Chen shook his head decisively and replied, "Thank you. However, I do not want to see what the future is like. Without even having to see it, I already know that I will either live with a bang or die with a bang. No matter the result, I will not feel regrets."
That was right. After seeing the scenes of the past, Xiao Chen knew his nature at a deeper level, understood himself better.
He did not live an ordinary life in the first place. Willing or not, the Azure Dragon King Xiao Chen would live an exciting life. Either he would be eternal and inextinguishable like the sun, or he would disappear in a flash like a meteor.
However, so what if he became a meteor? It would be enough if he could fulfill the phrase "as long as it is without regrets."
When Little Three heard Xiao Chen"s reply, her expression changed. "Elder Brother White Robes, please help me out here, alright? Just for a little bit."
"What do you mean?"
"Since Little Three was made, I have been in this Ancient Desolate Tower. One thousand years…ten thousand years…one hundred thousand years…one million years…I have always been here. In the past, when my master was still around, he mentioned that if one day, I met a person whose past I could not finish seeing and could not make out his future, then Little Three could leave."
The liveliness of the pretty, little Item Spirit girl"s face vanished. Her eyes turned wet as she spoke, looking at Xiao Chen with antic.i.p.ation.
"It has been so, so many years. Little Three has been waiting all the while. However, there has not been a single person whose past I could not finish seeing nor a single person"s future I could not make out. Elder Brother White Robes, please help me out. Let"s take a look at your future, alright?"
A past that could not be seen entirely. Xiao Chen happened to match this. As long as Little Three could not make out his future, he would fulfill the conditions.
Xiao Chen took in his surroundings. It might be possible that not a single person could make it up here once every few thousand years. The person who made this Three Life Mirror was really cruel, locking up a little girl here for millions of years and not letting her out.
"You want to leave?" Xiao Chen asked calmly.
Little Three revealed loneliness on her face. "I saw so many people"s pasts and futures. However, Little Three does not have a past or future…"
Xiao Chen felt somewhat distressed. He reached into the Three Life Mirror and looked at the pretty, little Item Spirit girl. He said, "Grab my hand. I"ll bring you away."
Little Three smiled happily and said, "Great. I"ll bring Elder Brother White Robes to see the future now."
"There"s no need. I"ll just bring you away."
Right when the pretty, little Item Spirit girl was about to pull Xiao Chen in, he suddenly grabbed hold of her hand instead and yanked. Before her shocked gaze, he forcefully pulled her out.
"Whoos.h.!.+"
Little Three"s body went through the water-like mirror surface, walking out—something she found incredible. She looked around, her cute face filled with shock.
After a while, Little Three asked in both surprise and joy, "Elder Brother White Robes, why?"
Xiao Chen smiled calmly. "One must live for oneself. Why should you be trapped here for countless years just because of a sentence of that person? Why should I be forced to see my future, which I do not want to see, just because of that person"s sentence?"
Xiao Chen"s words shocked the pretty, little Item Spirit girl, rendering her somewhat at a loss and vexed.
Suddenly, Little Three laughed happily, "Hahaha! That"s right. It can"t be wrong. Elder Brother White Robes, it is you. The one with the past that cannot be completely seen and the future that cannot be made out. If you do not let me show you, then how can I make it out?"
A past that could not be seen in entirety and a future that could not be made out. The white-clad Xiao Chen was the person destined to bring Little Three away.
This conclusion stunned Xiao Chen. How could this be? By doing the very opposite, he ended up fulfilling the conditions set by the Three Life Mirror"s original master.
Little Three extended her hand and shrank the Three Life Mirror until it looked like an ordinary hand mirror. Then, she held it and said with a smile, "Come, let"s leave this place."
Xiao Chen prepared to do what he did earlier—tearing s.p.a.ce and breaking the various restrictions—to leave this place.
"There is no need to go to all that trouble. I"ll just directly bring you out."
Little Three held Xiao Chen"s hand, and her figure flashed, easily taking him away from this place.
Xiao Chen felt startled in his heart. This instantaneous movement technique was truly incredible. It was much more exquisite than him tearing open s.p.a.ce. s.p.a.ce was not damaged at all with just a straightforward flickering.
It felt similar to a transportation formation. Or perhaps this was the true state of s.p.a.ce. It was much stronger than the coa.r.s.e method of tearing open s.p.a.ce.
However, this was not too strange.
The Three Life Mirror could see the past and the future. Clearly, its creator possessed a deep comprehension of the s.p.a.ce-Time Dao. Since he was already so skilled at the Time Dao, the s.p.a.ce Dao went without saying.
Little Three explained, "Hehe! This is the Minor Universe Movement, a Magic Skill. It requires extremely high comprehension of the state of s.p.a.ce before one can succeed in it. While it looks very incredible, nearly all the Immortals of the past knew it. The difficult one is the Major Universe Movement."
Xiao Chen nodded to indicate his understanding.
Ao Jiao had been waiting for very long already and was very anxious. When she saw Little Three beside Xiao Chen, she exclaimed in shock, "Xiao Chen, why did you bring this chatterbox out?"
Little Three"s eyes lit up in a smile. "Little Ao Jiao. Hehe! It actually is you. It has been a very, very long time. Elder Sister Little Three really missed you."
Ao Jiao showed a blank expression and ignored her. She looked at Xiao Chen and asked, "Did you see the future? What was it like?"
Xiao Chen smiled and replied, "Don"t worry. I chose to see the past and did not see the future."
After hearing this, Ao Jiao heaved a clear sigh of relief. Then, Xiao Chen explained what happened with Little Three in detail.
When Ao Jiao heard that Little Three would be following them for now, her lips twitched as she said, "Little Three, Little Three, you truly are a mistress."
[TL Note: Little Three is slang for a mistress in Chinese. This is why I decided to translate her name literally to Little Three rather than Xiao San.]
"Haha! Little Ao Jiao, you are actually jealous. It looks like Little Three is still rather attractive." Little Three laughed while covering her mouth, appearing very pleased.
Seeing the two of them arguing with each other, Xiao Chen smiled bitterly and could not be bothered to intervene. He stepped forward, preparing to return to Qingyun Peak.
He had remained in the Sky Dome Realm for long enough already. In another month, he would have only half a year left to his five-year deadline. It looked like his current peaceful days were coming to an end. He had no choice but to go back to the Kunlun Realm.
When Ao Jiao and Little Three saw Xiao Chen leaving, they quickly followed. Upon seeing Ao Jiao enter the Immortal Spirit Ring, Little Three turned into a beam of light and entered it as well.
For the past year or so, Xiao Chen had spent most of his time on a scenic tour, going to the places he had been to before.
This trip to the Ancient Desolate Tower drew this segment to a conclusion and gave him a final benefit to ponder over. His so-called gain was only one word—peace.
The time that Xiao Chen spent in the Sky Dome Realm was a rare relaxed time for him. In another month, he would return to the Kunlun Realm.
To him, peace was an extravagant luxury.
However, Xiao Chen already understood long ago that his situation was extraordinary. He could not truly be ordinary. The peace this time was merely the calm before a greater storm—the Great Tribulation of wind and fire.
In the Great Tribulation of wind and fire, one would either live with a bang or die with a bang.
At Qingyun Peak"s back mountain, Xiao Chen practiced his various Martial Techniques, digesting everything he learned in the past year.
Within the Taiji force field, his body moved while alternating between fast and slow. Occasionally, he was like an Azure Dragon leaping out of the sea as clouds churned in every direction. Occasionally, he was like an Immortal fish wagging its tail, nimble with many changes.
Suddenly, Xiao Chen drew his saber and spread out his Saber Domain.
Within one kilometer of him, the Saber Domain and the Taiji force field merged, forming a strange and unpredictable Taiji Saber Domain. The saber intent split into two and turned into dragons—one Yin and one Yang.
One light and one dark, one left and one right, they formed a Taiji diagram on the ground, a simple depiction of the Great Dao. As Xiao Chen stood in the center, his saber light became unpredictable. The Yang energy was tyrannical and ferocious, roaring loudly. The Yin energy was gentle and countered hardness, incorporeal and traceless.
He used the Fish Dragon Art, his figure disappearing and appearing within the Taiji Saber Domain. Sometimes, he would be boundlessly ferocious with a flouris.h.i.+ng aura. Sometimes, he would be as still as water, moving without a trace.
Yin and Yang merge. Taiji Saber Domain, form!
With a thought, the two dragons const.i.tuting the Taiji Saber Domain intertwined with each other like snakes and entered Xiao Chen"s body.
Instantly, the saber released a simple and plain light. Xiao Chen"s eyes were as clear as water as he thrust his saber forward with his hand.
His body slid forward. Everywhere the saber tip pa.s.sed, s.p.a.ce silently split into two. The tip of the saber was only one point. However, the attack of this one point opened a great door to another world.
"Taiji Saber Domain, burst!"
Xiao Chen withdrew his saber and sheathed it back in its scabbard. The peaceful and serene aura within one kilometer of him suddenly turned extremely dangerous and entirely unpredictable.
This Taiji Burst was different from the ones before. This time, this Taiji Burst made everyone hear only one sound—the roar of the saber. This was the eruption of a saber from the saber"s rage, the saber"s ferocity!
In the air, the saber buzzed like the wind. The world resonated with it.
Seeing the results of his training over the past year, Xiao Chen revealed a satisfied expression. Without raising his cultivation, he managed to increase his acc.u.mulations.
While in that peaceful and serene mental state, Xiao Chen"s cultivation of the Taiji Dao improved further.
It was not that Xiao Chen needed to torture himself half-dead to raise his strength. The improvement of his mental state would always bring unimagined pleasant surprises.
"With my current strength, I need not fear a Third Heaven Martial Emperor." Xiao Chen said calmly, "I am even confident of defeating a peak Third Heaven Martial Emperor."
After Third Heaven was a hurdle. Third Heaven Martial Emperors and below were all Minor Heavenly Martial Emperors.
Many old seniors did not dare to take the lightning tribulation and would often stop at Third Heaven for one or two thousand years. If Xiao Chen met with such an old monster, he did not dare to guarantee that he could defeat them. He was still not unrivaled among Third Heaven Martial Emperors yet.
Xiao Chen looked up. In the sky, there was a vague Emperor"s Door, which was not a hallucination. Every quasi-Emperor that would soon undergo the Great Tribulation of wind and fire could see this door.
When the Great Tribulation of wind and fire descended, this door would truly appear in the world, sending down a varying number of steps of different colors.
This staircase was known as the Emperor"s Road. Each step was a hurdle, each step a tribulation. If one managed to walk to the top of the staircase, clearing the Great Tribulation of wind and fire, one could push open that Emperor"s Door.