Nightfall

Ning Que flew towards the light, hugging Sangsang. They had already flown for a long time; the people on the Wilderness were looking like little black spots and he could barely make out the Big Black Horse.

They were already very far off the ground, and logically speaking, nothing else, other than flying swords or arrows would be able to reach where they were. Unless the person was very tall, he would not be able to reach out all the way into the sky and grab hold of his leg.

Ning Que and Sangsang crossed the cloud of golden dragon’s breath and landed softly on the surface of the Wilderness. He hugged Sangsang closely and looked up, realizing that the figure in front of him was very tall indeed.

The person looked at Ning Que and Sangsang, his back against the sky and the Giant Golden Dragon. His face was shrouded by darkness, and could not be made out clearly. The edges of his body seemed to be plated with golden light as if he were on fire.

The person stood on the Wilderness, his tall figure seeming as if it were about to touch the sky.

The person smiled and said, “Choices might seem meaningless, but sometimes, our choices might affect those of others. This will make things interesting.”

In the mirage he faced during the entrance test to the Second floor of the Academy, Ning Que had had a conversation with the tall man. He had not seen the face of the man clearly then.

“Which side would you choose between light and darkness?”

“Why do I have to make a choice?”

“How did you make a choice in the past?”

“I am in the dark, but my heart yearns for the light.”

“I never thought that I would still be able to see any strand of wild grass that would bend with the wind after so many years.”

“Look, I’ve told you that making a choice wasn’t necessary.”

“But what if the sky collapses?”

“Why would the sky fall?”

“What if?”

“Then there will be someone tall to support it… someone like you.”

Ning Que found out who the tall man was some time after he had ascended the Academy’s mountain. The dream became a reality many years later in the Wilderness. He realized that what he had said was just as accurate. So what if the sky fell? There would always be a tall person like his teacher who would hold it up.

Ning Que knelt before the tall figure and said respectfully, “Teacher, you’re here.”

“Yes, I thought about it and still could not understand. So I came.”

The Headmaster looked up at the bright light and the fading night in the sky, using his body to create a shade in the Wilderness for Ning Que and Sangsang. His black coat swung in the air as if it was going to burst into flames.

“I thought for more than a millennium on which side I should stand on in the battle between light and darkness. However, the problem is that I have never seen Yama and have never crossed paths with him. I don’t like the cold, but I don’t like the quiet boring world Buddha saw. I don’t like Haotian either, I even hate it.”

The Headmaster said, “So I have always wanted to be a grass on the wall, leaning on whichever side the wind blows. Over the past years, I asked you which side you would walk on, but in fact, I was also asking myself the same question. When I asked you in your dream then, you said you wanted to be a grass on the wall, and it comforted me a lot. It is more important not to choose. Unfortunately, being a grass on the wall isn’t that easy. The wind might be able to find out which grass is the strongest in the gale, and tear it off.”

Ning Que looked at the Headmaster worriedly and said, “But you still made a choice.”

The Headmaster glanced at Sangsang and said calmly, “Perhaps my choice might prove to be wrong. But at least, right now, I want to make this choice, so I choose this.”

Ning Que did not know what to say, but he was very touched and a little sad. He was fortunate because he had his teacher and that he and Sangsang were both alive. However, he worried for his teacher and how he would face Haotian’s wrath.

The Headmaster looked at him and smiled. He continued, “Not making a choice is indeed a form of freedom. However, if you do not make a choice out of fear, then that isn’t considered freedom. Making a choice doesn’t have to have any meaning, but it might have some. We live on Earth, not for any meaning, but to be meaningful.”

The statement was simple but profound.

Ning Que did not have to think much to understand what his teacher was saying. That was because he was a student of the Academy. Meaning was the goal while being meaningful emphasized the process. The Academy did not care about the goal but the process.

When Youngest Uncle had wanted to wage war against the sky with a sword, he must have considered that it was something very meaningful.

The light bore down on the world and many knelt on the ground, not daring to look directly at the sky as they prayed silently, filled with respect and fear. Those who dared to stand died, or were about to die. However, on one spot of the Wilderness where the light shone the brightest stood a tall man who shielded the Daughter of Yama with his body.

This was a provocation against the majesty of Haotian and was an unforgivable act of blasphemy.

The Giant Golden Dragon’s lake-like silent eyes burned with the divine fire of wrath. Its solemn roar reverberated through the Earth once more, followed by a powerful dragon’s breath.

Countless rays of burning Divine Light mixed with clear golden gravel sprang forth from the dragon’s head in the sky to the Wilderness. The power behind the dragon’s breath this time was much stronger than before, burning up the air where it passed. A golden-white projection appeared on the surface of the Wilderness.

Ning Que looked over the Headmaster’s shoulders and saw the shocking image in the sky. He saw the smoldering dragon’s breath heading towards them and paled, yelling, “Teacher, watch out!”

The Headmaster did not turn around, showing his back to the sky.

The golden gravel descended from the sky and disappeared without a trace when it arrived near the Headmaster’s back. The heat and light in the golden sand disappeared as well as if nothing had happened.

It was as if there was a lake behind the Headmaster. When the volcano was about to erupt, there was a sea. It was the Hot Sea before the Cold Region in the Far North froze over. The dragon’s breath was like countless pieces of ice that fell into the Hot Sea, melting without leaving a trace behind.

The golden dragon’s breath that attacked the Headmaster was turned into the smallest atoms of the world by an invisible force. These atoms dissolved into the world and were cleansed.

It looked simple but was very strange. No one could understand it because it was the purest form of Haotian Divine Light. It was the dragon’s breath that could cleanse everything in this world and was being cleansed by the man.

Even though cultivators beyond the Five States could create his own rules in Haotian’s world and have a world of their own, they cannot ignore the rules of Haotian in this world.

How did the Headmaster do it?

The people on the Wilderness were all kneeling, not daring to look up at the bright sky. However, they could see what was happening. They saw the arrival of the Headmaster and the Giant Golden Dragon breathing fire at the Headmaster. They saw the powerful, suppressive power that no one on earth could defeat disappearing.

Everyone was extremely shocked when they saw this. They could not believe their eyes. And those who believed that they had not seen wrongly began to doubt the world.

The Divine Hall Hierarch knelt on the ground holding his scepter. He was still tall, but he began to tremble violently. Compared with the tall figure in the Wilderness, he seemed short, weak and despicable.

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation looked on at what was happening in the Wilderness. His deep wrinkles were distorted by shock and the blood and gold powder between them flaked off. He muttered, “What state is that?”

The dragon’s breath was futile and was even purified. Complex emotions appeared in the Giant Golden Dragon’s eyes. It suddenly tightened its body and roared fiercely. This was not the majestic roar as before, but was one filled with anger and violence!

A strong hurricane descended upon the Wilderness. Black dirt and grass clippings were swept up; dust and smoke flew, gradually obscuring one’s vision. It was darker than the previous night in the north.

The Giant Golden Dragon roared, struggling to push through the cloud angrily. There were several feet of golden ropes tightly binding the dragon’s body, and behind it, dragged a heavy object.

Moments later, a war chariot made of pure gold appeared in the sky, pulled out of the clouds by the Giant Golden Dragon.

The golden chariot was enormous. If it were to descend on earth, not even the entirety of Chang’an could accommodate it, and the gold was not from this world. It was pure and seemed transparent and bright!

The sky shone brightly and the dust on the Wilderness settled. As the light shone on it, the Wilderness grew snow white, looking as if it was covered in days of snow. The area began to shake uneasily and the earth shook.

There was a divine guard standing on the golden chariot.

The divine guard was wearing armor condensed by Haotian Divine Light. He was towering and large like a mountain. In contrast, the stone statue of the Buddha that once stood on the mountain was like a small stone man.

The divine guard looked perfect and flawless. In contrast, Prince Long Qing who used to be known as the most handsome man in West-Hill looked like a beggar.

The divine guard looked indifferent while his eyes blazed with Divine Light. He watched the world emotionlessly from the war chariot, and where his gaze landed, things crumbled into nothingness.

Other than the Xuankong Temple’s Chief Preaching Monk, the Taoist in indigo on the south seas, and a few people in the ant caves behind Zhishou Abbey, there were not many people who could see the golden chariot and the divine guard riding on it.

Ning Que hugged Sangsang as they sat in the shadow that the Headmaster cast. He was wearing his makeshift sunglasses, so he could still see the image in the sky even though his eyes stung. He was shocked speechless.

He knew that his teacher was very tall, but in the face of Haotian’s wrath and the divine general who was tall and whose eyes blazed with Haotian Divine Light, what could his teacher do?

The Headmaster turned to look at the golden chariot that the Giant Golden Dragon pulled. He looked at the perfect Divine Guard of Light on the chariot and at his perfect face. Then, he suddenly shook his head.

“There is nothing perfect in the world. There are only things that we think are perfect.”

The Headmaster clasped his hands together and looked at the Divine Guard of Light in the sky. He said, “Your perfection comes from thousands of people. So you are not human; you are made up of those people.”

The Divine Guard of Light was indifferent and had the Giant Golden Dragon pull the golden chariot down onto earth. Suddenly, a sword of light that spanned over ten miles appeared in his hand and he brought it down onto the Wilderness.

“You come from Haotian’s holy land and use the divine sword of light. It is simply light, so it is not real, just like your existence. I’m going to show you the sword of the world today.”

The Headmaster said. Then, he reached his right hand into the sky and spread his palm open toward the south.

The clouds tore through, and the dark sky showed up once more. A sword flew over tens of thousands of miles from the south.

The sword was ancient and burning hot. It tore through the clouds and landed in the Headmaster’s meaty palm. It whistled slightly, showing its awe, submission and pride for it had been called upon by the Headmaster.