For some reason, when Chen Changsheng thought about how Xu You Rong had come to challenge the Orthodox Academy as soon as she returned to the capital, not even wasting a single day, Chen Changsheng felt rather gloomy.
The three people from the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green and South Stream Temple saw that he had received the letter and bid farewell.
It was rumored that Chen Changsheng had requested the Pope to forcefully annul the engagement. Although it had not been proven, he had never denied it.
To South Stream Temple, this was unquestionably the greatest humiliation, so that senior sister had never been kind to Chen Changsheng, even though he was now the Principal of the Orthodox Academy. On the contrary, the younger junior sister didn't show any hostility towards Chen Chang Sheng. Before leaving, she even looked at Chen Chang Sheng and nodded, as if she had something to say.
"That girl is rather strange," Tang Thirty-Six said.
Chen Changsheng put away the letter and asked, "A rather clean girl, what's strange about her?"
Tang Thirty-Six said with a grave expression, "From start to finish, that girl didn't even glance at me. She only stared at you."
"She's called Ye Xiao Lian. She probably just entered the outer sect of South Stream Temple this year."
Chen Changsheng reminded, "Last year, on the Divine Avenue of the Li Palace, you made her cry in front of so many people. Of course she doesn't have a good impression of you."
Tang Thirty-Six finally remembered who that girl called Ye Xiao Lian was. He shook his head and said, "So what? The more it is like this, the deeper her impression of me is. It's said that from hatred comes love … "
Chen Changsheng couldn't listen any longer. He turned around and walked back into the house.
Tang Thirty-Six followed behind him and said with some dissatisfaction, "In addition, why did I curse her back then? Wasn't it because I wanted to help you vent your anger? What happened just now? She didn't look at me, but at you. She looked as if she was in love. How could it not be strange? "
Chen Changsheng did not turn his head. He said, "Let's not talk about this. Help me think of a plan for what to do next."
"Didn't we already discuss it last night? We just have to fight."
Tang Thirty-Six quickened his steps and walked to his side. He turned his head and said uneasily, "You're not really thinking of admitting defeat, are you?"
Chen Changsheng thought for a while, then shook his head.
Tang Thirty Six reminded, "Seven days later on the Bridge of Helplessness, don't hold yourself back just because she's pretty … … Even though I know it's hard, seeing how unromantic you were last night, it's still possible."
Chen Chang Sheng didn't understand why everyone, whether it was Xu Shi Ji or Tang Thirty Six, were so sure that he would change his mind when he looked at Xu You Rong.
He had asked Tang Thirty Six about this before. At that time, Tang Thirty Six's answer was quite simple, but today he seemed to be slightly more serious.
"I've never seen Xu You Rong, but I've seen many people lose their lives after seeing her."
He looked at Chen Changsheng and said, "Just like your Stainless Sword, as long as it is sharp enough, sharp to the extreme, it can enter the Tier of Legendary Weapons. A person, whether man or woman, as long as they are beautiful enough, beautiful to the extreme, is very frightening. The Zhou Yuren of the past, the young Divine Empress of the past, and the current Xu Yourong are all such people."
Chen Chang Sheng couldn't understand this statement.
Tang Thirty Six said, "Just like a painting, a vase of plum blossoms, a lake of water in autumn, a mountain in the distance … … If you think about destroying these, you will feel that it is a sin."
Chen Changsheng thought about the scenery and people he had seen on his journey from Xining to the capital and then to Hanqiu City, the Plains of the Unsetting Sun and the rain in Xunyang City, the maiden on the plains and Wang Po in the rain, and he had a rough idea.
…
…
This highly anticipated battle was about to begin in seven days. After hearing the news, the water under the Bridge of Helplessness seemed to have become a lot more turbulent.
The fastest to react was still the Four Great Markets. The influence of this battle was far too great. Many powerful figures would assuredly be present to spectate. Perhaps even the Divine Empress and the Pope would be present. The streets on the east and west sides of the Bridge of Helplessness began to be cleaned ahead of time. Presumably, when the time came, the Imperial Court and the Li Palace would have their own arrangements, so it would not be the Four Great Markets' turn to build their awnings. However, the Four Great Markets would definitely not miss out on the opening for this battle.
There were still seven days before the battle would officially begin. However, it already had an official name — Battle of the Bridge of Helplessness.
It seemed like everyone was extremely certain that this battle would be recorded in the annals of history.
This had nothing to do with the strength of Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng. No matter how inconceivable their cultivation talents were, even if they could be said to be the youngest upper level Ethereal Opening cultivators in all of history, they were still only sixteen.
Let alone the battle between Zhou Dufu and Emperor Taizong in Luoyang, not even the battle in the rain in Xunyang City not long ago could compare.
But the two sides of this battle were Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng, and this was enough.
There was no need to mention the identities of the Holy Maiden of the south and the Principal of the Orthodox Academy, no need to mention the marriage contract, and certainly no need to mention the confrontation between the Tianhai clan and the Li Palace, because no one had ever forgotten these things. As long as these two names were mentioned, the events that had occurred in the past year would once more surface in everyone's minds. The entire world would become excited because of this.
… …
… …
Everyone in the capital was waiting for the arrival of this battle. Many people in the Imperial Court and the Li Palace were also making preparations.
As the person involved, Chen Changsheng naturally had to make some preparations. Although he had already exchanged blows with many Star Condensation cultivators, and had even fought against experts on the level of Liang Wangsun and Painted Armor Xiao Zhang in Xunyang City, and his opponent, Xu Yourong, was only at the upper level of Ethereal Opening, he would definitely not underestimate or neglect her. He was extremely sure that Xu Yourong was much stronger than those initial level Star Condensation cultivators that he had defeated.
If he wanted to defeat a genius like Xu Yourong, if he wanted to obtain victory before the bloodline of the true Phoenix, he had naturally prepared his most powerful move.
From the moment the date for the duel had been set, he had unsheathed his sword, the Intellectual Sword — with the assistance of the Li Palace and the Wenshui Tangs, he had obtained countless files related to Xu You Rong. He sat in front of the window and began to earnestly read through them, attempting to find the information he needed, enough information to help him calculate and deduce how he should use his sword.
He first understood the techniques of South Stream Temple, the history of Holy Maiden Peak, the divergence in Daoist techniques between the north and the south of the Orthodoxy, and the results of the successive generations of Holy Maidens in their comprehension of the Heavenly Tome Monoliths. For these reasons, the Li Palace had sent over countless books, and they had even sent over Xu Yourong's notes from the last two years of studying the Heavenly Tome Monoliths. Afterwards, he began to understand the Divine General of the East's estate, Xu Shi Ji's usual style of leading troops into battle, Madam Xu's personality, where that maid called Shuang'er had lived before entering the Xu Estate, and how she had been brought into the estate by Xu Yourong. After he had completely understood and grasped all this information, he finally began the most important step, and that was to understand Xu Yourong as a person.
There was a lot of information about Xu Yourong. Besides the Li Palace, the Wenshui Tangs had also sent over two chests. However, if he excluded the information that everyone knew and a few actual battles, there was very little information that was truly useful. Moreover, the vast majority of it was rumors about her in the capital. After she entered Holy Maiden Peak, there were no more records.
The more Chen Changsheng read through those files, the more he felt that he could not understand Xu Yourong.
This was not to say that Xu Yourong was a very mysterious young girl.
In reality, when she was young, many people of the capital had seen her with their own eyes.
People had seen her jump into the canal from the stone bridge. After she had been rescued, people had asked her why she had jumped, and she had said it was because there was a moon in the water.
People had seen her jump into that abandoned well on New North Bridge. After she had been stopped, people had asked her why, and she had said that there was a dragon in that abandoned well.
There were many old people of the capital who had not forgotten a scene that often occurred in front of the Li Palace ten years ago.
When Xu Yourong was still a little girl, she would often climb up the stone pillars of the Li Palace to look at the sun, laughing happily. The priests of the Li Palace below were both anxious and angry, but they did not dare to do anything. Even when they called for her to come down, their voices were always so gentle.
From birth, she had been determined by the Divine Empress and the Pope to possess the blood of the true Phoenix. She was a treasure that the entire capital and the entire Great Zhou had to protect. Let alone climbing up the sacred stone pillars of the Li Palace, even when she frequently beat the Princess of Ping, who was several years older than her, until her face was swollen, the Divine Empress did not care, let alone these priests of the Li Palace.
In short, when she was young, Xu Yourong was a mischievous little muddy monkey, a daring and reckless fake boy. No one could have imagined that she would become what she would become later on.
At the age of five, Xu Yourong's true Phoenix blood awakened.
This was two years ahead of the time calculated by the Divine Empress and the Pope.
From that day onwards, Xu Yourong seemed to become a completely different person. Her white dress was no longer stained with dust, quiet and beautiful.
Her personality also became quiet and beautiful. No matter what happened, she was always indifferent and calm.
She no longer said nonsense like there was a moon in the canal or a dragon in the abandoned well. She no longer messed around.
She began to quietly read, calmly cultivate, and she was still so young.
At that time, the common people of the capital would occasionally see her enter the palace, as if they were looking at a real fairy.
The capital's fanatical love and even worship for her probably began from that time.
… …
… …
As he read the dossier and thought of those scenes, Chen Changsheng became somewhat spellbound.
It turned out that when she was young, she had been this sort of person.
But why had he not sensed this point in their correspondence, nor had he sensed the latter part of the praises of the common people of the capital?
Looking at the bamboo dragonfly on the bookshelf, he was somewhat confused.
After coming to the capital from Xining, far too many things had happened. It was impossible for him to maintain any good feelings towards Xu Yourong. Those fantasies that he might have had had long since vanished, and they were now opponents. But even so, he had to admit that Xu Yourong was truly extraordinary. He didn't understand the moon in the canal, but he knew better than anyone that under the abandoned well at New North Bridge … there really was a dragon. And at that time, she hadn't even been five?
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