In the Garden of Zhou, when she was heavily injured, she had leaned on his shoulder. Later on, she had never been this close to him, not even on those snowy nights in the capital.
This was a true leaning. She had placed her body and weight on his shoulder.
What passed over was not only the girl's Qi and warmth, but also comfort and intentions.
Chen Changsheng accepted it and his mood became less heavy. "Relax, I'm fine."
Xu Yourong softly said, "But since Heavenly Secrets thinks this way, the Empress will assuredly think the same."
Chen Changsheng was quiet for a while, then said, "I have no way of stopping what other people think."
Xu Yourong knew that this was a matter that could not be helped. She also had no way of stopping what the Empress thought.
Just as Chen Changsheng had said that night, the Empress had never been a good person in the ordinary sense of the word, and it was very difficult to use the ethics and morals of an ordinary person to view her.
"The rumors say that after the Empress was banished to the Hundred Herb Garden by Emperor Taizong, she met my master and His Holiness the Pope, and only then did she grasp the method to defy the heavens and change fate … in this way, they should have been two people of the same path that deeply trusted each other, so why … did they later become mortal enemies?"
"No one knows what exactly happened before the bloody incident of the Orthodox Academy. I only vaguely heard that the Empress and Principal Shang made some sort of agreement, but the Empress did not follow through on the agreement, so the two became enemies."
"That agreement … presumably was about the imperial throne."
"It should be."
"Why was the Empress not willing to return the imperial throne to a member of the Imperial clan?"
"I asked her this question many years ago. The Empress said that it was because the Chen Imperial clan did not have a single descendant capable of shouldering the imperial throne."
"There are several hundred descendants of the Imperial clan scattered throughout the provinces and counties. Is there not a single person capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility of the country?"
Chen Chang Sheng didn't finish this sentence.
Xu Yourong understood what he meant and said, "There isn't."
Chen Changsheng said, "I hear that the Prince of Xiang of Prince Chen Liu's bloodline has a rather decent reputation."
"That's just a superficial reputation." When the Prince of Xiang was mentioned, a hint of derision appeared on Xu Yourong's face. "In truth, this prince has been licentious since he was a child. He was originally extremely talented in cultivation, reaching the great accomplishment of his sun wheel at the age of ten. But in the end, because of his own character, he never had any hope of stepping into the Divine Domain."
"Is stepping into the Divine Domain very important to inheriting the throne?"
"Yes, very important."
"Why?"
"If you want to become the sovereign of the human race, the first thing you need is not virtue, but power."
…
…
If he wanted to become the sovereign of the human race, he would need great power.
This was not difficult to understand, because the demons were in the north, and their evil intentions had not died. This world could be flooded at any time, and the flames of war would spread.
By the same logic, if one wanted to live a better life, free from anxiety and fear, one would need greater strength.
Any external things could only improve one's mood, boost one's confidence, and enrich one's life, but they couldn't solve the root of the problem.
Friendship and love are beautiful, and can sometimes save your life and soul, but the most reliable thing is still your own strength.
Entering Mount Han, encountering the Demon Lord, learning many secrets from the Elder of Heavenly Secrets, Chen Changsheng faced an unimaginable pressure, but it was also a motivation.
He had to increase his strength as quickly as possible. At the very least, he could not be like he was when he encountered the Demon Lord on the mountain path, where he did not even have a chance to retaliate. Even though he had countless magical artifacts and treasures, he could not display their full power and could only wait for death to come.
He decided to find an opportunity during the Boiling Stone Summit to break into Star Condensation.
When he received the Yellow Paper Umbrella from the Tang Old Master in Wenshui, he was only at the upper level of Ethereal Opening, but he was able to endure the full-powered attack of a peak Star Condensation expert. If he really could successfully break into Star Condensation, the Yellow Paper Umbrella might be able to survive under the gaze of the Demon Lord … and the Divine Empress for a little longer.
That period of time would not be too long, perhaps only a few breaths, but it was still extremely important to him.
Because besides the Yellow Paper Umbrella, he still had the myriad swords in the sheath, and the Heavenly Tome Monoliths that had transformed into stone pearls. Most importantly, he still had the Garden of Zhou.
After breaking into Star Condensation, even someone as powerful as the Demon Lord or the Divine Empress would find it very difficult to directly sever his connection to space.
Then he only needed to buy a very short amount of time to hide in the Garden of Zhou.
These were external pressures and needs.
His decision to break into Star Condensation was more for his internal mental needs.
Only by becoming stronger could he be calmer in the face of the unforeseeable road ahead.
The dual mental pressures from both external and internal were so intense and direct.
As for the words the Elder of Heavenly Secrets had said in the garden, he had already intentionally forgotten them.
If he did not continue cultivating, or even scattered the true essence in his body, would he be able to delay the eruption of the injuries to his meridians for a period of time? How long was a period of time? One year? Two years? What was the difference between twenty and twenty-two?
More importantly, even if he wanted to struggle at death's door, would he, who had lost his strength, be allowed to continue living?
… …
… …
After making his decision, Chen Changsheng used an unimaginable willpower to shake off that frightening pressure and regain his calm.
Only Xu Yourong, Tang Thirty-Six, and Zhexiu, the people closest to him, were still unable to relax, and were even more worried.
Because this sort of calm was somewhat unreasonable, somewhat frightening, just like the ocean before the arrival of a storm.
The storm had not arrived, but the people participating in the Boiling Stone Summit had arrived one after another.
Logically speaking, the cultivators participating in the summit should have all arrived several days ago, but because of that great incident, the Heavenstone array had sealed off all of Mount Han for a period of time. As a result, some of the unlucky or extremely lucky cultivators had been stopped outside the mountain for a period of time.
With Chen Changsheng's current status, he naturally did not need to welcome anyone. He calmly rested in his house, preparing for his breakthrough. Naturally, there would be people reporting to him.
After Zhong Hui, Scholartree Manor sent two more teachers. To his regret, Wang Po did not come. It seemed that the Heavenstones of Mount Han, to an expert of his level, truly did not have much value in comprehending them.
The people from the Mount Li Sword Sect arrived. Qiushan Jun, who had not appeared in public for a very long time, still did not appear. For some reason, Chen Changsheng sighed in relief. It was probably because he also did not know how he should react if he saw Xu Yourong and that proud son of heaven conversing intimately.
The people that came were all old friends, or acquaintances.
Gou Hanshi, Guan Feibai, and Liang Banhu had all arrived.
Upon hearing this news, Chen Changsheng was rather happy. "It really is like the Ivy Festival or the Grand Examination from two years ago. It's still the same people."
Zhexiu replied, "One person is missing."
Chen Changsheng stared blankly. He realized that Zhexiu's face was rather cold, and then he remembered that Qi Jian had not appeared …
Tang Thirty-Six patted Zhexiu on the shoulder to comfort him.
Chen Changsheng stood by the railing, looking at the bustling scene in the distance. Hearing the faint voice of Guan Feibai, he wanted to go over, but there was no way. It was still the same words. His current status was different. As the successor to the Pope, it was not convenient for him to visit any elder of any sect or young geniuses like the Divine State's Seven Laws.
"It's fine. Gou Hanshi has always done things prudently. He will definitely immediately pay you a visit."
Tang Thirty-Six said, then glanced at Zhexiu. "I know how you feel, and I also don't like those guys, but in a little while, can you not be too disgruntled? After all, we are currently representing the Orthodox Academy, so we have to maintain Chen Changsheng's dignity. "
Just as Tang Thirty-Six predicted, Gou Hanshi and the other disciples of the Mount Li Sword Sect had just been welcomed to the lakeshore by the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets. Without resting, they simply washed up and came to pay a visit.
Just as Tang Thirty-Six predicted, Zhexiu's complexion was truly very unsightly.
Guan Feibai's complexion was also very unsightly, because he had to follow Gou Hanshi in bowing to Chen Changsheng.
Liang Banhu's expression was rather complex, because although Liang Xiaoxiao had been proven to have committed suicide in the Garden of Zhou, it was still related to Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng could sit in a chair and accept the bows of the Mount Li Sword Sect disciples.
In this year, many changes had occurred.
But on the mountain path, when Zhong Hui bowed to him, he had responded with the courtesy of someone of the same generation, let alone now.
Seeing Chen Changsheng very seriously return the greeting without any reluctance, Liang Banhu's expression became somewhat gentler, and Guan Feibai's complexion finally improved. However, when he saw that Zhexiu's complexion was still so unsightly, his complexion became even more unsightly, and his words also became unpleasant.
"I'm warning you, don't have any improper thoughts about my Junior Sister!"
Tang Thirty-Six had previously advised Zhexiu to calm down, but now that he heard Guan Feibai's words, he had long since forgotten the word 'calm'. He looked at Guan Feibai and sneered, "What do you mean improper thoughts? Is your Junior Sister a princess? Even if she's the Demon Lord's granddaughter, no one in Xuelao City would recognize her! "
When it came to quarreling, there were truly very few people who were Tang Thirty-Six's match.
Firstly, it was because he was the young master of a noble clan, with a deep background, yet he did not have the demeanor of a young master, not caring about the word 'reputation' in the slightest.
Secondly, it was because his words were sharp and focused on attacking his opponent's vitals, making them extremely difficult to defend against.
Just like this short sentence of his. It had clearly been a spur of the moment idea, but it had taken a few turns in the middle, and then his sword had stabbed straight at the Mount Li Sword Sect's greatest secret and greatest problem.
Even someone as good-tempered as Gou Hanshi could not help but frown and glance behind him.
Even Chen Changsheng, who had long since grown accustomed to his conduct, could not help but shake his head and glance outside the hall.
The priests of the Orthodoxy and the accompanying disciples of the Mount Li Sword Sect that had followed Gou Hanshi and the other two into the house understood and hurriedly retreated.
The two sides had only just met and there were already signs of a falling out. Who knew what would happen in the house next?
The people involved might not care, but they did not dare to participate, or even listen.
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