Chapter 126: Ascending to Heaven

“Little Mirror, Little Mirror—you bear the surname Tian!”

The old man’s eyes began turning red as his hands slowly spread apart.

“The Tian Clan raised you, gave birth to you, provided for you. How dare you? How could you!”

“Granduncle, rest assured.

“In this life, if Wujing is fortunate, then after our cavalry tramples the lands south of the Yangtze, I will return to the Tian estate and take my own life.

“If I am unfortunate, then I will die on the battlefield.

“Either way, after today, Wujing will have no old age.”

“Who told you to do this? Was it the Emperor of the Ji Clan?

“Who is Emperor now?

“Who?”

“The current Emperor is named Runhao.”

“Ji Runhao?”

“Yes.”

“Hahahaha!

“Why?

“On what grounds?

“This old man has ignored worldly affairs for decades, but I only want to ask why!

“Why should my Tian Clan—no.

“No, that’s not right.

“Not only my Tian Clan, is it?”

“Of the Four Great Aristocratic Clans— not one will remain.”

“You…

“You intend to make the blood of Great Yan’s aristocratic clans run like rivers.

“Rivers of blood!

“Aren’t you afraid Great Yan will fall into chaos?

“Aren’t you afraid the barbarians, Qian, and Jin will seize the opportunity?”

“Reporting to Granduncle:

“The Barbarian Royal Court has declined.

“Qian’s frontier army has rotted.

“Jin is trapped in internal conflict.

“This is an opportunity Great Yan has not seen in a century.

“Wujing does not wish to miss it.

“Nor do I wish Great Yan to miss it.”

“So you are thinking for Great Yan’s future— and this old man is merely thinking for one clan and one surname?”

“Precisely.”

“Governing a great state is like cooking a small fish.

“You use methods this brutal and truly believe the realm will move according to your wishes?

“Will the people under Heaven submit?”

“Reporting to Granduncle:

“The three strongest armies of Great Yan are all in our hands.

“The three hundred thousand iron cavalry of the Zhenbei Army.

“The Jingnan Army—fifty thousand in the front army and fifty thousand in the Rear Camp.

“And two hundred thousand Imperial Guards.

“The majority of the aristocratic clans’ private soldiers have already gathered in Tiancheng Commandery.

“With Great Yan’s strongest armies in our hands, with the righteousness of Great Yan’s imperial clan in our hands, with this once-in-a-century opportunity in our hands—

“Wujing is untalented.

“I cannot think of any reason we would lose.”

“Little Mirror…

“You underestimate Great Yan’s aristocratic clans.”

“Granduncle.

“You overestimate them.

“You overestimate these parasites clinging to the bones of the state.

“You overestimate these petty villains gnawing at the realm.”

“Since that is so—

Little Mirror now that you stand before this old man, is there still something you wish to instruct me on?”

Tian Wujing bent forward and bowed once more.

With absolute sincerity, he said, “Wujing asks Granduncle— to ascend to Heaven.”

“Good!

“Then today this old man will see whether my Tian Clan’s fine son truly possesses the foundation to speak such arrogant words!”

Two beams of light shot from the old man’s blood-red eyes.

But they did not strike Tian Wujing directly.

They scattered halfway.

In the next instant one green phantom after another appeared around Tian Wujing.

Every figure bore the old man’s appearance.

But each represented a different stage of his life.

Some laughed.

Some cursed in rage.

Some swaggered.

Some looked wronged.

Every expression was different.

Gradually those phantoms no longer resembled only the old man.

One became Tian Wujing’s mother.

Another Tian Bokai.

Others became various members of the Tian Clan.

There were even images of Ji Runhao, Li Liangting, and Du Juan.

Their words.

Their expressions.

They were like threads wrapping around the heart, hooking into a person’s emotions, trying to tear open crack after crack until the entire mind finally split apart.

To cultivate the Dao was to cultivate Heaven’s Dao and also one’s own Dao.

To question the Dao was to question Heaven and also oneself.

Those whose wills were weak had no affinity with Daoist arts.

The old man had abandoned the position of Tian Clan patriarch for the sake of cultivating the Dao and imprisoned himself inside a tiny Daoist temple for decades.

His heart toward the Dao could be called iron-hard.

This was a contest of state of mind.

“Granduncle.

“Such arts are useless against Wujing.”

Tian Wujing did not throw a punch.

He did not even make any particular gesture.

He merely continued walking calmly toward the Daoist temple.

Everything around him meant nothing to Tian Wujing.

Whether those things existed or not made no difference.

It was like a man walking across waves while the storm around him became nothing more than backdrop.

The old man watched Tian Wujing draw nearer and nearer.

Then cursed, “You unfilial beast who destroyed your own entire clan!

“Your heart is truly harder than stone!”

With a state of mind like this no matter how profound the Daoist art, it could no longer shake his core.

Tian Wujing raised his head.

He looked at the old man standing on the roof.

Then bowed once more.

“Granduncle.

“Please ascend to Heaven.”

“Then let us see whether you, unfilial beast, truly possess that ability!”

The old man flipped one palm.

The peachwood sword that had rested upon the Daoist altar for decades instantly flew out, pierced through the roof, and dropped into his hand.

“Today, this old man will act on behalf of the Tian ancestors— and eliminate a wicked man like you who has neither father nor mother!”

The old man leaped downward.

The peachwood sword stabbed directly toward Tian Wujing.

Tian Wujing clenched both fists.

A wave of force suddenly exploded around him.

For a moment, sand and stones flew throughout the Daoist temple.

Even a crooked tree was ripped from the ground by the blast.

The peachwood sword in the old man’s hand looked completely ordinary.

But he had refined it with Daoist arts for decades.

Countless mysteries had accumulated within it.

This sword possessed the power to transform the rotten into the miraculous.

Even a Martial Artist’s hardened body it could pierce.

That was the subtlety of Daoist arts.

The mysteries of the Dao were difficult for outsiders to comprehend.

The old man knew perfectly well that this grandnephew followed the path of the Martial Artist.

And Tian Wujing’s will was exceptionally firm.

Ordinary arts of the mind had already become useless against him.

So the old man could only turn toward using finesse to break force first destroying the foundation of Tian Wujing’s Martial Artist body.

Yet the old man’s figure remained blocked by the enormous wave of qi.

The sword tip stayed more than ten feet from Tian Wujing’s brow.

No matter how the old man urged it forward it could not advance another inch.

Such dense blood qi like mountains rising high.

Like an endless sea.

Tian Wujing simply raised his head and looked at the peachwood sword.

As though saying:

Let us see whether you can strike me.

A Martial Artist’s realm ultimately depended upon the rise and decline of blood qi.

Outside Mianzhou City, Zheng Fan had encountered an old man who wielded a double-headed spear.

That old man had originally been an Eighth Grade Martial Artist.

But old age had weakened his body.

His strength was no longer what it had once been.

After fighting several barbarian soldiers, he had already begun to run out of strength.

Then after being locked into a stalemate by Liang Cheng, he had immediately lost his head.

Tian Wujing, however, stood in the prime of life.

The blood qi in his body surged like a roaring river.

Endless.

Unless someone used a method like the three thousand cavalrymen who had taken turns exhausting Shatuo Queshi outside the Marquis of Zhenbei’s estate it would be extraordinarily difficult to wear down that blood qi.

And the old man before him stood alone.

The old man’s Daoist arts were certainly genuine.

But when facing a man whose heart was harder than rock a man who had literally just ordered the extermination of his own clan all those arts could find no crack in his mind to exploit.

At the same time, everything had happened far too suddenly.

Cultivators of the Dao emphasized gaining initiative beforehand.

Slowly arranging the situation.

Gradually taking control of Heaven’s timing and Earth’s advantages.

Then closing the net.

They did not normally stand face-to-face like drummers in opposing armies and start killing one another directly.

More importantly what Daoists sought was proof of the Dao and long life.

They did not train like Martial Artists whose bodies existed specifically for battlefield slaughter.

Once his Daoist techniques failed, the old man turned to using the peachwood sword to break force through finesse.

That itself was a desperate inferior choice.

A dying old man trying to fight a peak Martial Artist in close quarters.

“Third Grade Martial Artist!

“Third Grade!

“Little Mirror— you are already a Third Grade Martial Artist!”

Tian Wujing answered, “Wujing would not dare disappoint Granduncle.”

“Good!

“Good!

“Good!”

The old man’s chest rose violently.

He spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the peachwood sword.

In the next instant the crooked tree that had been uprooted by the blast suddenly stood upright again.

The shattered roof tiles of the Daoist temple returned to their original places.

Everything seemed as though time itself had been restored.

But none of it was real.

And when something false became convincing enough to confuse reality its effect was nearly indistinguishable from truth.

Somewhere unseen, it felt as though an enormous hand suddenly pressed downward.

Even Tian Wujing’s Third Grade Martial Artist body began to look like a lone boat inside a storm.

“This old man has imprisoned himself within this Daoist temple for decades!

“Every blade of grass.

“Every tree.

“Every brick and tile.

“All of it has been branded into my heart!

“This Daoist temple— is this old man’s Dao Field!

“Inside this Dao Field— this old man is Heaven!

“This old man is Earth!

“This old man— is the Dao!”

At this moment, what the Marquis of Jingnan faced was no longer merely an old man near death.

It was suppression and rejection from an entire tiny world.

The gilded armor on Tian Wujing’s body began making cracking noises.

The armor itself was starting to fail under the pressure.

The situation reversed in an instant.

The wave of force surrounding the Marquis of Jingnan was constantly being compressed back toward his body.

The old man’s peachwood sword its tip now drew closer and closer.

The old man’s face flushed crimson.

His momentum.

His art.

His entire Dao rose another level.

One may hear the Dao in the morning and die that evening without regret.

The cultivation of a Daoist was difficult to measure through the ordinary grading system.

First, because they seldom practiced killing arts and were not skilled at slaughter.

Second, because the strength of their realm fluctuated enormously depending upon circumstance.

The crimson on the old man’s face was the final glow produced by forcibly dissolving his own life.

He had already severed his own vitality.

All for the sake of driving this one sword through.

The wave of qi surrounding the Marquis of Jingnan was compressed again.

The peachwood sword finally reached him.

The Marquis’s eyes met the old man’s.

This sword was about to fall.

But both men understood it could not kill a Third Grade Martial Artist.

Yet through the old man’s Daoist mysteries this sword could still tear open a wound in Tian Wujing’s foundation.

It would be like forcibly breaking a dam.

From this day onward, Tian Wujing’s Martial Dao would find it extremely difficult to progress further.

Perhaps his blood qi would even begin declining at least seven years earlier than it otherwise should.

Tian Wujing showed no fear.

Even now his eyes remained calm as an ancient well.

“Buzz!”

The sword tip finally touched Tian Wujing.

This was the first sword thrust in decades by a Daoist who had imprisoned himself for decades.

And also his last.

People often said there was no sense of time in the mountains.

The old man had never imagined that on the first day he truly emerged after decades of seclusion he would discover his entire clan being slaughtered.

Nor could he have imagined the target of his one and only sword would be the junior he had once valued most.

At the final instant the old man’s hand trembled.

The sword tip did not strike Tian Wujing between the brows.

Instead it slipped to the side.

The blade flexed faintly and tapped Tian Wujing’s left cheek.

……

“Elder Sister.

“Elder Sister.

“Who lives inside that Daoist temple?”

“I heard the aunties say an old madman lives there.

“Little Brother, you absolutely cannot run there alone in the future.

“They say that old madman never eats— but somehow he never starves to death.”

“Then what does he eat?”

“Children.”

“Elder Sister!

“You’re scaring me!”

“Oh?

“Didn’t my little brother say he wants to become a great general when he grows up and fight Qian people and barbarians?

“How can your courage be so small?

“A coward can’t become a great general.”

“I’m not a coward!

“I’m not!

“I’m not afraid!”

“Fine, fine.

“My little brother isn’t afraid.

“In the future, you’ll definitely become a great general.”

“Mm!

“I’ll definitely become a great general.”

“Ah!

“The temple door opened!”

“AAAAAAAH!”

“Hahahaha!

“I lied.

“Look how scared you got.

“How are you going to become a great general like this?”

……

“Thud!”

“Oh?

“How did a little doll secretly climb over the wall?

“Do you know what sort of person lives inside this Daoist temple?”

“A madman who eats children.”

“Oh.

“That’s right.

“This old man loves eating children most.

“Children are excellent.

“Tender skin.

“Not greasy.

“Tsk, tsk.

“Roll one in flour, toss him into hot oil and fry him— aiyoyo the flavor is beautiful enough to make a man drool.”

“I’m not afraid of you!”

“You truly aren’t afraid of me?”

“I’m not!”

“Why aren’t you afraid?”

“I, Tian Wujing, will become a great general in the future!

“I cannot fear anyone!

“I cannot be afraid!”

“Oh?

“Whose child are you?”

“My father is patriarch of the Tian Clan.”

“Tian Bokai’s son?”

“You’re not allowed to say my father’s name directly!

“I’ll kill you!”

“Hahahaha!

“Then come.”

“Hey!

“Let go of me!

“Let go!

“Let go!”

“Tsk, tsk.

“So young, and you already have this much strength.

“Hmm?

“Innate blood qi fully formed?

“Hiss…

“Little doll, let this old man ask you something.

“Tian Bokai never invited anyone to teach you martial arts?”

“You’re not allowed to say my father’s name!”

“Heh.

“At least you’re filial.”

“Ah!”

“This old man’s generation is higher than your father’s!

“You dare talk to me like that?

“Watch this old man beat you!”

“Ah!”

“Ah!”

“Ah!”

“Tell me.

“Your father never hired someone to teach you martial arts?”

“My father had someone examine me.

“That man said I’m still too young.

“My bones haven’t grown enough.

“When I’m older, then I’ll be suited for martial training.”

“That isn’t wrong.

“How about this?

“Cultivate the Dao with your Granduncle instead.”

“I don’t want to become a Daoist.”

“Then what do you want to become?”

“A general.

“A great general.”

“Oh?

“Such ambition.

“And after you become a great general?”

“I’ll lead Great Yan’s iron cavalry and smash through the Barbarian Royal Court!

“I’ll go to Qian and capture the Qian Emperor!

“I’ll make the Qian people stop calling us Yan barbarians!”

“Tsk, tsk.

“Little doll.

“Your ambition truly isn’t small.

“You want to become a great general?

“Fine.

“You really are excellent material for martial training.

“Starting tomorrow, come visit your Granduncle once every night.

“Granduncle will loosen your bones and muscles.

“When you begin training later, it will save you half the effort.”

“Really?”

“Heh.

“Would your Granduncle deceive a junior as small as you?”

“Ah!

“Don’t pinch my face!”

“I’ll pinch.

“I’ll pinch.

“I’ll pinch.”

“Stop!

“I’m not a child anymore!

“Only children get their faces pinched!”

“I’ll pinch.

“I’ll pinch!”

“Let go!

“I won’t let you pinch me!

“If someone pinches your face, you can’t grow up!”

“Fine.

“If you won’t let this old man pinch you— this old man won’t teach you martial arts.”

“Then… then…”

“Then what?

“A great general speaks in such a stammer?”

“Then… you can pinch it.

“Just be gentle.”

“Good.

“Now that’s a well-behaved child.”

“Aiya!

“That hurts!”

“Hahahahaha…”

……

The old man flew backward like a kite with its string cut.

The sensation transmitted through the sword told him the truth.

The man before him had grown up.

His face had become lean.

The cheeks could no longer be pinched.

Tian Wujing raised his head.

His mouth opened.

His eyes had turned red.

His body disappeared from where he stood.

Then appeared beneath the old man.

He reached out and caught him.

Tian Wujing understood perfectly well.

That final sword could have broken his foundation.

But at the last instant the old man had withdrawn it.

The body in his arms was terribly light.

Unbelievably light.

The malice had completely faded from the old man’s face.

Only something resembling release remained.

His hand grabbed Tian Wujing’s arm.

While the flush of final vitality still remained on his face he asked urgently, “The plan to destroy aristocratic-clan rule— besides you and His Majesty the Marquis of Zhenbei’s estate is involved as well?”

“The current Marquis of Zhenbei, Li Liangting, is already in the capital.”

“You three— the three of you have already…”

Tian Wujing said nothing.

“Yes.

“Yes.

“Yes…

“Hehehehe…”

The old man suddenly began laughing.

Then immediately stopped.

He continued, “This old man may be blind, but I can still observe the celestial signs.

“Over the last year, I studied the stars twice at night.

“The first time— a comet suddenly fell near the boundary between Great Yan and the northern desert.

“That comet flickered between light and darkness.

“There were too many variables.

“This old man could not tell what it represented.

“Fortune or disaster— impossible to determine.

“A month ago, I discovered the divine statue had cracked.

“So I observed the stars a second time.

“Do you know what I found?”

As though knowing his time was short the old man did not wait for Tian Wujing to answer.

He continued, “A black dragon coiling overhead.

“The strength of Great Yan’s national fortune— terrifying.

“Hehehe…

“Yes.

“Yes…”

“What a pity.

“A physician cannot heal himself.

“A diviner cannot divine himself.

“That day this old man thought Great Yan’s fortune was about to rise— and therefore the Tian Clan would naturally enjoy endless prosperity as well.

“But I never imagined… never imagined…”

If the aristocratic clans were not removed how could Yan rise?

“Wujing.

“Your granduncle is worthless.

“I imprisoned myself for decades and cultivated only this laughable amount.

“But even I could see that Great Yan’s fortune had already begun boiling.

“Qian’s qi refiners.

“Chu’s shamans.

“Jin’s Tianji Pavilion.

“There are countless profound cultivators among them far more capable than your granduncle.

“Naturally, they can see it too.

“Great Yan’s iron cavalry is unmatched beneath Heaven.

“You bear the title Marquis of Jingnan.

“Together with the Marquis of Zhenbei and the current sovereign of the Ji Clan— if the three of you stand with one heart among the four states, who can oppose you?

“But… but you must be careful.

“Changes in national fortune do not depend only upon armies and weapons.

“If they cannot defeat you on the battlefield— be careful that they may use… other methods.

“Little Mirror.

“Tonight, this old man’s heart hurts.

“It hurts terribly.

“Truly… truly hurts terribly…”

“But this old man is happy too…

“My Little Mirror…

“Little Mirror… really became a great general!”

The instant the final word left his mouth the crimson faded from the old man’s face.

All vitality left him.

Tian Wujing lowered the old man to the ground.

Then retreated three steps.

He knelt.

And with complete sincerity said, “Granduncle—

I respectfully send you off to ascend to Heaven.”

(End of Chapter)