Chapter 117 – Starlight Between the Fingers (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The archbishop said no more. Supported by Priest Xin, he slowly departed. In the twilight, the elder"s stooped body seemed somewhat lonely. Unlike those three youths that had been running under the evening light, this elder was a true setting sun, and no one knew if he would be able to climb back up once he had set behind the mountains.
After a very long time, the priests, teachers, and students finally dared to rise. Gazing at the archbishop"s figure in the twilight, the crowd ran the gamut of emotions through their faces, yet none of them dared to show the slightest disrespect.
In the late spring, the wrinkles on the archbishop"s face had seemed to multiply, as had his liver spots. He had rapidly turned elderly. Humans remained middle-aged for a very long time, especially those masters who had met with success in their cultivation of the Dao. For them, it would last several hundred years. For the archbishop, it seemed like he had experienced these several hundred years in just a few months.
Why had the archbishop turned old so quickly? It was naturally because he had too many things to worry about. In the view of some people, this was also a notice to the many people within the Orthodoxy and the continent that he was a member of the same generation as the Pope. He was the only priest with enough seniority to oppose the Pope.
In the past, everyone had always felt that Archbishop Mei Lisha was the aide that the Pope could absolutely trust. Although his status as leader of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education was very high, the bureau was only one of the Orthodoxy"s six Sacred Halls. As a result, he was not a very prominent figure, such that normal people didn"t even know he existed. However, now, all of this had changed.
The Orthodox Academy had once more appeared in the capital, and several elders and factions within the Orthodoxy had begun to voice their disagreement towards the Pope. And there was also the autumn rain that fell in front of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education, the crowd dispersed by charging horses, the blood flying into the air, the countless casualties—behind all these matters was the stooped figure of the archbishop.
Only now did people suddenly realize that countless people within the Orthodoxy were supporting him. He could now use the strength and resources allocated to him, and was quietly on the verge of threatening the Pope!
Today, he had even appeared in the Li Palace, stunning Priest Huo and the other priests of the Li Palace. Yes, the archbishop was the real driving force behind the Orthodox Academy"s revival, the greatest backer of Chen Changsheng"s group. He viewed the Orthodox Academy optimistically, was optimistic on Chen Changsheng"s chances of taking first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination, even announcing the matter for him. Presumably, he had his reasons, but were the radiance of the Ivy Festival and Xu Yourong"s engagement not enough to bring attention on Chen Changsheng? To announce that Chen Changsheng was going to take first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination, the archbishop had placed a ma.s.sive pressure on Chen Changsheng"s shoulders, but why?
"Pressure is force."
A carriage was parked outside the Li Palace, illuminated in the sunset. Within the carriage, the archbishop sat across from Priest Xin and slowly explained, "The Proclamation of Azure Sky was just the appetizer while the Grand Examination is the main feast. Everyone will gather from all around, all eyes will be focused upon it. Only this way can we a.s.sist him in maturing quickly."
Priest Xin muttered to himself for a few moments, then replied, "I am just worried that if the pressure is too great, Chen Changsheng will not be able to bear it."
The archbishop did not give any further explanation, nor did he tell this subordinate he considered loyal that, contrary to popular belief, Chen Changsheng and the Orthodox Academy had never been some weapon used by him and some elders in the Orthodox Academy to oppose the Pope. Indeed, everything concerning Chen Changsheng had been personally decided by him and the Pope.
Only this way could they have him mature as quickly as possible. Only this way could the entire continent know of his existence and some people would find it impossible to tear their gazes away from him. As for the pressure that this would bring to Chen Changsheng, he and the Pope were not too worried. They were both well aware that in the past few years, this youth had been constantly living under the most terrifying pressure, or perhaps shadow, in the world.
The stone wall placed at the gate of the Heavenly Dao Academy was surrounded by people. A military instructor of Star Seizer Academy was holding a sculpting knife and attentively engraving upon their own stone wall. With the changing of the Proclamation of Azure Sky, the stone walls placed before the gates of the great academies had to be remade. The very top did not need to be changed, as it was still Xu Yourong"s name, but still many changes had occurred. The greatest winner of the impromptu autumn revision of the Proclamation of Azure Sky was of course the Orthodox Academy. The Orthodox Academy had only four students, but three of them had ranked on the Proclamation of Azure Sky, Baidi Luoheng even taking second place. How great this glory was!
At the gates of the capital"s academies, the crowd looked up at the names on the wall with all sorts of emotions, especially the young students who had partic.i.p.ated in the besieging of the Orthodox Academy. Soon after the new rankings for the Proclamation of Azure Sky were carved on the stone walls, another piece of shocking news quickly spread through the capital, precisely that declaration the archbishop had made to the entire world on the Orthodox Academy"s and Chen Changsheng"s behalf!
In the Grand Examination, Chen Changsheng wanted to take first rank of the first banner.
When people first heard this news, they first felt that it was a joke and didn"t believe it. However, after people began testifying to this incident, the vast majority of people were rendered speechless from shock. Of course, they still couldn"t believe it.
If Princess Luoluo were not the White Emperor"s daughter, or perhaps if her ident.i.ty were still undiscovered, then she could represent the Orthodox Academy in the Grand Examination, and perhaps she would have the ability to fight a single battle with Gou Hanshi and the experts of the other sects. However, the archbishop had specifically stated that the one to obtain first rank of the first banner was not the Orthodox Academy, but…Chen Changsheng.
That Chen Changsheng that the entire capital knew had still not succeeded at Purification?
The Orthodox Academy"s performance on the Proclamation of Azure Sky and the commentaries of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets meant no one dared to believe that Chen Changsheng was trash, but still…he did not know how to cultivate. Even if fortune were to suddenly fall from the sky and he immediately succeeded at Purification, there were only around three months until the Grand Examination. How could he possibly surpa.s.s his strong peers who had equally astonishing talent but had cultivated for so many more years?
No, even if he were Xu Yourong or Qiushan Jun and blessed with such talent, he would not be able to do it. Such a feat would completely violate the laws of this world.
Different people had different responses towards the brilliance of the Orthodox Academy on the Proclamation of Azure Sky and Chen Changsheng"s intent to take first rank of the first banner.
In a remote courtyard within the Heavenly Dao Academy, Zhuang Huanyu sat by an abandoned well. His entire body had been drenched in the cold and icy well water and his black hair was draped over his shoulders, dripping water onto the ground. The reason he was like this was that he had earlier been very hot, and he had been very hot because he had been very angry. He had fallen from tenth to eleventh on the Proclamation of Azure Sky, overtaken by Qi Jian. He found this very unfair. Qi Jian had lost at his hand, and his own goal was Qiushan Jun. Thus, after entering the top ten of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, he had not challenged a single person. Why did this happen? Didn"t the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets always take the outcomes of battles between experts as the direct standard of judgment for making the rankings?
His soaked black hair drooped over his eyes, cutting off his sharp gaze. When he thought of how his junior sister…no, of how Princess Luoluo was ranked second on the Proclamation of Azure Sky, he had a maddening impulse. However, he cooled back down in an instant, the only remaining sign being the slight reddening of his eyes. He had once believed that there was no need to prove his power to anyone else, but only today did he understand that he was wrong. That youth called Chen Changsheng wants to take first rank of the first banner? Junior Sister calls him Teacher? Very good… Zhuang Huanyu raised his head and realized that he had an overpowering desire for the Grand Examination to quickly come.
In the mansion of the Tianhai clan, the current clan head, Tianhai Chenwu, and his son, Tianhai Shengxue, had carried out a most simple conversation with regards to the Proclamation of Azure Sky and that declaration.
"If Chen Changsheng really can take first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination, then perhaps he really might have a chance of marrying Xu Yourong…but he won"t have a chance."
"Yes, it"s impossible."
Tianhai Shengxue calmly replied to his father"s words, his face seemingly carved from white jade showing no emotion. He simply didn"t care about whether Chen Changsheng could succeed in Purification or not, or even if he encountered successive miracles. He knew that Chen Changsheng could never succeed—he had returned to the capital from the distant Snowhold Pa.s.s for only one goal, and that was the first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination.
In the complex of palace halls at the front of the Li Palace, behind the forest of white pines to the side of the Divine Avenue, the guest courtyard where the southern diplomatic mission resided was as quiet as it had been during the day.
Gou Hanshi sat on a bench on a porch, gazing out at the night sky cut out by the sky well of the courtyard. He remained quiet for a very long time, as if he wanted to see some sort of principle amongst the uncountable stars.
Liang Banhu, Guan Feibai, and Qi Jian sat close by him in chairs, carrying out a whispered conversation between them. Elder Xiao Songgong had left, as had the Qiushan clan head. Those elders who had come for the sake of the engagement had all begun the journey back south. As partic.i.p.ants in the Grand Examination, they had remained. Without their elders at their side, these youths of the Mount Li Sword Sect were clearly much more relaxed.
"Is there a chance?" Liang Banhu asked, his brow creased.
After a long period of silence, Guan Feibai concluded, "No matter how I see it, there"s no chance."
Qi Jian somewhat cautiously shifted about, then asked, "Has anything like this happened in the past?"
These three youths of the Mount Li Sword Sect were naturally discussing the matter of whether Chen Changsheng had a chance or not of taking first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination.
As members of the Divine Kingdom"s Seven Laws who could be said to have swept away all opposition on the rankings with a crushing momentum in the past few years, they were actually so seriously and prudently discussing a youth who had not even succeeded at Purification. If others were to see this, they would be flabbergasted. From this sight, one could see how much pressure Chen Changsheng had given to these proud and self-confident youths through the Ivy Festival and the commentaries of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets.
Qi Jian asked about the past in search of stories, so these three martial brothers very naturally cast their gazes toward Gou Hanshi.
Gou Hanshi drew back his gaze from the stars and smiled at his juniors. Shaking his head, he replied, "It"s never happened before."
His tone was very serene and did not seem intentionally resolute and decisive, yet it gave off the feeling that his words could not be refuted.
For some reason, Liang Banhu and Guan Feibai both exhaled.
Yet Qi Jian"s slender face still carried an expression of concern. "That it"s never happened before doesn"t mean it can never happen."
"Junior Brother"s words are reasonable, but I think that it probably will not happen. To go from being unable to perform Purification to Ethereal Opening in the short span of three months…it"s impossible."
Gou Hanshi continued, "This is not a problem of cultivation, but a simple question of math. Without discussing Purification or Meditation, even opening the door of the Ethereal Palace requires borrowing the power of starlight for one hundred nights. Unless those divine artifacts of legend that can slow time really do exist, it will be impossible for Chen Changsheng to reach Ethereal Opening by the time of the Grand Examination."
He had studied tens of thousands of books and was well aware that only math could not lie, so he was very sure about his conclusion.
When his three juniors heard this, they understand why their senior brother was so sure.
At the Grand Examination, if Chen Changsheng was not at Ethereal Opening, he could not take first rank of the first banner.
Because their second-eldest brother was already at Ethereal Opening.
There were also a few young students at Ethereal Opening that might come to the capital for the Grand Examination.
Ethereal Opening was a pa.s.s of life or death, and also a high threshold. Before and beyond this threshold were truly two different worlds.
In the blizzards of the north, a youth turned towards the south, his fingers stained with blood.
Outside Scholartree Manor in the south, several blue-clothed scholars bid farewell to their schoolmates.
In various places on the Central Continent, the youths partic.i.p.ating in the Grand Examination, one by one, began to move.
In contrast to past years, they all shared one common goal.
It was called Chen Changsheng.
"It"s just building interest in him, but…the momentum is truly rather impressive." The Divine Empress walked along the pool to the base of the Imperial Palace"s walls. Extending a hand, she plucked a chrysanthemum and handed it to her side as she continued, "If not for Chen Changsheng"s truly being too young, even I would wonder at what those people were doing."
There was no one at her side except the Black Goat.
The Black Goat slightly tilted its head, avoiding the chrysanthemum that she offered, indicating that it was not interested in such food.
The Divine Empress shook her head and then pushed upon the door in the wall. Pa.s.sing through the long and quiet pa.s.sage, she brought the Black Goat to the Hundred Herb Garden, then said, "You also haven"t come in many years. If there"s any you want to eat, go eat it."
All sorts of extremely rare medicinal herbs and magical fruits were grown in the Hundred Herb Garden, the prices of the medicines made with them incalculable. Even the n.o.bles of the capital would find it extremely difficult to get their hands on a few such plants, but to the Divine Empress, they were all just snacks for the Black Goat, ones that she didn"t even know if it wanted to eat.
There was a tale beyond the palace walls that said that the Black Goat that pulled the small bamboo carriage had been raised by Lady Mo Yu, but this was not the case…and this Black Goat had also not been raised by the Divine Empress. On the contrary, back when she had been locked in the cold sideroom of the Hundred Herb Garden by Emperor Taizong for the first time, she would often go hungry, but luckily, the Black Goat would from time to time bring fruits in its mouth for her to eat.
Walking to the stone table, the Divine Empress began to drink tea. There was clearly no one attending upon her, but the teapot had been filled with tea, as had the teacup, and the tea was even giving off steam.
The Black Goat had wandered off to eat.
She looked past the steam and looked upon the autumn forest, looked upon that academy wall.
This academy wall was the Orthodox Academy"s.
Chen Changsheng was not in the library, but in his own room within the house. He sat by the window, one hand holding a book, one hand extended out the window, attempting to touch the starlight descending from the night sky.
The archbishop"s declaration had stirred all sorts of gossip within the capital that had transformed into a storm that overcame the walls and loomed over the Orthodox Academy. No matter how little he paid attention to external matters, the noise of this storm was too great to shut out of his ears. As a result, his mood was rather depressed. He did not know what the archbishop was thinking, nor did he know why the archbishop knew that he had to take first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination, and he knew even less what sort of meaning partic.i.p.ating in the Grand Examination would have if he could not even succeed in Purification.
The starlight fell onto his palm, vividly illuminating his veins, but nothing changed.
He could clearly sense that star in the depths of the night sky that was his own. That barely discernible connection gradually caused him to calm down.
The book in his hand was the "Four Cla.s.sics on Meditation". In the past few days, he had been researching all the various methods of the Meditation Realm so as to make preparations for when Luoluo and Tang Thirty-Six broke through the life-or-death pa.s.s that was Ethereal Opening. However, he had also not given up on his own cultivation. He had spent many nights drawing in starlight for Purification, yet still no transformation occurred with his body. This exhausted him, and even caused him some measure of despair.
However, just now, he had seen a certain pa.s.sage in the "Four Cla.s.sics on Meditation" that made him think of a certain possibility.
He slightly spread out his five fingers. The starlight fell through the cracks between his fingers and onto the window frame.