Chapter 123 - 86: Destined Showdown
Chapter 123: Chapter 86: Destined Showdown
Watching him wolf down the food, Su Chen was once again silent.
’Is this guy really an Ancient Immortal?’
Aside from his flickering Longevity Fire, he looked just like a common beggar from the streets, without a trace of Immortal Qi.
"Get me some wine."
After speaking, the Great Yu Magic Immortal didn’t stand on ceremony, helping himself to the White Confucian Wine from the medicine cabinet and drinking it down.
"This is good wine. Must be twenty years old."
He had eaten and drunk his fill.
He opened his Dharma Eye to observe Su Chen, only to find a man with no trace of cultivation or Qi Cultivation. His Qi and blood were mundane; he was, in every sense, the most insignificant of mortals.
’This makes things easy.’
The Great Yu Magic Immortal smiled confidently, then looked at Su Chen, his expression turning serious as he spoke.
"I don’t like owing favors."
"So, speak."
"What do you want? Power, authority, wealth, or beautiful women..."
"I am one of the Three Immortals who reached the peak in Great Yu, the Magic Immortal Yu Le. As long as you serve me well, when the Immortal Arrival comes, I will surely grant you, a mere mortal, a lifetime of power and wealth..."
Yu Le placed his hands on his hips, arrogant and conceited.
Inside the apothecary.
Su Chen was huddled by the stove, reading the latest edition of the Martial Arts List. The number of names on the Celestial List had grown from thirty-nine to seventy-two.
The growth rate was terrifying.
The top spot on the Celestial List was no longer held by a Grandmaster at the Perfection realm, but was now shared by two Sub-Innate experts. Even the Heavenly Secret Pavilion dared not offend these two and could only rank them as tied for first place.
Previously, reaching the Second Realm of Grandmaster would guarantee a spot in the top ten of the Celestial List. Now, it wasn’t even enough to break into the top fifteen.
The list was now filled with nothing but Third Realm experts, those of the Self as Dragon level.
The Ancient Grandmasters were reawakening.
Su Chen placed the Martial Arts List on the table, looked at this Great Yu Magic Immortal, and asked.
"I have but one wish: for the world to be unified, for all people to live in peace and stability, in joy and good health. What say you to that?"
At these words.
It was as if heaven and earth themselves took notice.
And fell silent.
Yu Le was horrified. He shot back as if his fur had been raised, retreating again and again until his back hit the wall. As if trying to escape a flood or a ferocious beast, he cried out in panic.
"Pick another one! Pick another one! The Wish Power of the masses has been accumulating since the Heavenly Fall. Even if I reached the peak of Qi Cultivation, I couldn’t bear that burden! Quickly, pick another one!"
"No one in this world can bear the Wish Power of the masses without going mad! Quickly, pick another one!"
This Great Yu Magic Immortal was panicking.
He never imagined that a mere, insignificant mortal, a physician in some clinic, would voice such a terrifying wish with his first request.
At this moment, he even regretted knocking on the clinic’s door and eating that bowl of rice.
’I’d rather have starved!’
"Then there’s nothing more to be said."
"When you leave."
"Remember to close the door."
After speaking.
Su Chen tapped the little turtle’s head, told it to watch the house, and went out again.
The little turtle poked its head out, looked at the Great Yu Magic Immortal, then quickly retracted its head in fear, though a trickle of drool escaped the corner of its mouth.
’This person smells so good.’
’I want to eat him.’
「Today, the Imperial City was bustling.」
Seven years ago.
From the Imperial Mausoleum, which had claimed more than half of the Great Zhou’s foundation, two First Grade experts had returned alive.
The Court Seal Master, Yum Zhong, who hadn’t involved himself in worldly affairs for many years, personally came out of seclusion and went outside the Imperial City to greet them.
The reason was simple: one of them was named Ye Xuan.
"Master Xu... was Lord Su?"
Before the city gate.
Xuan—who had killed countless people and stolen immeasurable lifespan, his white hair now black as he regained his youthful appearance—stood in a dreamlike trance. After hearing the news from Yum Zhong’s lips, he remained stunned in place for a long time.
In an instant.
Tears streamed down his face.
’It all made sense now.’
’Why...’
’All those years ago.’
’Why, when he was trapped in prison, would that lofty, red-robed dignitary who stood at the apex of Great Liang travel a thousand miles for him?’
’Why would he, a lowly eunuch from a common, insignificant background, earn the special favor of that prominent red-robed figure and experience such a meteoric rise?’
’So, Master Xu was Lord Su all along!’
"Jie killed Cyan Sparrow, one of Master Su’s people."
"The one who ordered it."
"Was that Governor you once revered."
"So, what will you choose?"
Yum Zhong finished his account.
He stared at Ye Xuan, waiting for his response.
The Imperial Guard lined the road, flanked by a clamoring crowd of commoners and eager officials hoping to curry favor.
The scene was boisterous, noisy, and chaotic.
But between Yum Zhong and Ye Xuan, there was a deathly silence. A barrier had formed between them.
After a long silence.
Ye Xuan finally spoke.
"Jie is Old Liang’s choice, the hope for peace and stability for all people. The Governor is also a good man who thinks of the masses."
"I think... I think Master Xu would understand..."
After speaking.
Ye Xuan avoided Yum Zhong’s incredulous gaze. As if he had forsaken something sacred, he turned and fled in haste, like a stray dog that had lost its home.
Behind him, Yum Zhong’s tear-filled roar echoed.
"Ye Xuan, is this your choice?!"
"You choose Emperor Jie, you choose the Governor, you choose the masses, but you won’t choose Lord Su? You’ve betrayed the hopes Lord Xu had for you on his deathbed! Lord Xu asked you to watch over Lord Su for him, and this is how you do it...?"
Yum Zhong seemed to have aged a great deal in that moment.
In the crowd.
A figure in a Profound Robe silently watched it all unfold. He watched Ye Xuan’s pathetic retreat, his own expression tinged with sorrow.
The world turns, and people change. An old acquaintance, dead for many years, had returned alive. He never thought that when they met again, though the person was the same, he would no longer be the familiar figure he once knew.
In a daze.
Su Chen recalled.
He remembered the young Xuan back at the apothecary. At their parting, the boy’s heart was full of spirit, the fire in his eyes not yet extinguished.
He had said he would travel the world and shatter the injustice of the Human World!
He had said he would become the second Governor and try to change the world!
He had said he never wanted to become numb and heartless...
In Su Chen’s robes.
There was a brocade box that he had not managed to give away.
Inside it was a Thousand-year-old Ginseng King.
"So be it."
"Since this is your choice, then go your own way, Xuan..."
Su Chen sighed. He passed through the Imperial Guard and onto the main street, moving as if he had merged with the world itself. He patted the teary-eyed Yum Zhong on the shoulder, stuffed the brocade box into his arms, and spoke.