[V6C92 – Sorrow of a Silent Parting]
The imperial camp at Giant’s Repose gradually calmed down as time went on. It looked like so on the surface, but the battle-ready state in the base was never lifted. It seemed the empire wasn’t about to bring in more troops, but they had no plans to withdraw the current army and nobility, either. Additionally, no one knew that Zhang Boqian and the Pointer Monarch had secretly returned to Giant’s Repose.
The two entered Giant’s Repose directly. That pressure capable of throwing one onto a distant continent was nothing before the heavenly monarchs. The pervasive white mist couldn’t obstruct them, either.
After traversing the white mist for a while, the Pointer Monarch pointed toward a certain direction and said, “I think what we’re looking for is in that direction.”
“Good, let’s go and take a look.”
The two turned and flew along the mountain peaks in the middle of the ravine at a steady pace. With their strength, they shouldn’t be that slow even with the void colossus’ suppression.
The Pointer Monarch apparently had the strength to spare. He was flying slowly as though he were strolling through the garden and enjoying the scenery. Zhang Boqian’s impatience was already evident in his expression. His attitude didn’t change in the least because of the Pointer Monarch’s status.
The Pointer Monarch didn’t turn back, but hardly anything could escape his perception at his level of strength. Zhang Boqian’s expression was no exception.
Seeing the marshal’s deepening impatience, the Pointer Monarch broke into a laugh. “Boqian, Noxus wouldn’t have escaped if you weren’t in such a rush.”
The vampire monarchs were the most difficult to kill, hence, the Pointer Monarch and Zhang Boqian had actually planned to surround and kill Noxus first. But that thousand-year-old arachne somehow discovered it, and in spite of his status, he actually ran away even before the winner was evident.
Zhang Boqian used his special ability to chase him into the depths of the void but came back empty-handed in the end.
Zhang Boqian didn’t react very strongly after hearing the Pointer Monarch’s words. “That’s nothing important. He won’t escape so easily next time.” His words were extremely arrogant, but those who really knew Zhang Boqian would understand that they weren’t just baseless claims.
Zhang Boqian had shown astonishing talent on the martial path since he was just a champion. Those who had fought with him frequently found that he would always find ways to restrain them in subsequent rematches. It was just that the more powerful he became, the fewer enemies there were around him. Most times, he would only need to suppress his enemies with origin power.
The Pointer Monarch said with a smile, “Boqian, I’m not blaming you. I was also the same when I was young. I favored using the quickest, most direct methods to finish off the enemy. Only at this age did I realize that there are too many things in this world that are worth observing and too many profundities worth exploring. Even in enemies, there are many things we should learn and ponder on.”
Zhang Boqian said calmly, “Thank you for your guidance, but this is my temperament and I can’t seem to change even after so many years. I guess things are different for each phase of life. Right now, I like finishing opponents off on the spot and can’t force myself to do otherwise.”
The Pointer Monarch nodded. “It’s indeed difficult to force a change.”
The two finally stopped before a steep cliff with a deep crevice running along the precipice. Upon closer inspection, the peak beneath their feet was actually the fossilized remains of a colossal beast. One could barely make out the silhouette of its skeleton from between the gap.
Wave after wave of the void colossus’ consciousness was flowing out from this skeleton. It would seem that the power pervading the entire Giant’s Repose originated here.
“Thank you, Your Excellency.” Zhang Boqian knew that their easy journey was actually due to the Pointer Monarch’s efforts. Not to mention any other person, even Zhang Boqian himself wouldn’t be able to find the true source of the colossus’ will with such ease.
The Pointer Monarch said with a smile, “It was a small effort. It was both easy and difficult at the same time.”
Zhang Boqian frowned as he studied the skeleton that was hundreds of meters long. “Is this the skeleton of the void colossus? It certainly doesn’t look like it.”
It was common knowledge that the strength of a void colossi was proportional to its size. Even though the consciousness was unmistakably coming from this skeleton, Zhang Boqian found it hard to believe that a small void colossus would possess such a terrifying power capable of blanketing the entire continent.
The Pointer Monarch smiled in silence. He merely stretched a finger out and shot a wisp of unassuming white energy which duly struck the skeletal cliff.
This energy was only as thick as a finger, but the struck precipice fell apart like an avalanche along with several hundred meters of the skeleton. Everything turned into flowing sand and trickled down to the earth. In the blink of an eye, the entire bony frame had turned into a pile of sand flowing down into the ravine below.
A round stone covered in blueish-grey lines emerged from the midst of the shifting dirt. It was from within that the void colossus’ consciousness arose.
Even someone of Zhang Boqian’s courage and insight couldn’t help but draw in a breath of cold air. He flew over to the stone and reached out to touch it. “Is this the void colossus’ eye?”
The Pointer Monarch’s smile was gone. “I would assume so, but according to legends, the void colossus Chaos possessed hundreds of them.”
The two fell into complete silence. Apparently, the skeleton before them was merely a clone of the void colossus which had inherited a single eye. Even so, the remnant will within was enough to lock down the entire Giant’s Repose and maintain this passage toward the void landmass. It was hard to imagine just how powerful it was alive.
At this moment, the two heavenly monarchs were puzzled. Did the void colossus Chaos really belong to this world?
“Are we bringing this back?” Zhang Boqian inquired.
The Pointer Monarch pondered for a moment. “Bringing it back might not be a good thing for the empire. Let’s just destroy it as planned and let Chaos’ will return to its main body. It’s better we don’t invite more trouble during these difficult times.”
Zhang Boqian glanced pensively at his feet.
The Pointer Monarch sighed upon seeing this. “The main skeleton of the legendary Chaos lies at the core of Evernight Continent. But judging from the result of the children’s’ investigation, just a few segments of its spine can already lock down an area the size of seven provinces. From this, we can see just how powerless we are to approach it. Old fellows like us have no hope of exploring it in our lifetime. You might have a chance of investigating it if you can progress further.”
With that, the Pointer Monarch raised his right hand, but Zhang Boqian stopped him. “Let me.”
The former’s brows rose. “Aren’t you afraid of being stained by its tyrannical karmic aura?”
The void colossus was so powerful that even its will couldn’t be erased after millions of years. There was no telling how many traces it had left behind in the depths of the void. An expert destroying its remnant-will might invoke a mysterious resonance of memory. Should this expert, while exploring the void, approach certain locations containing traces of the void colossus, he would likely encounter great danger or even suffer unexpected backlashes.
Zhang Boqian said indifferently, “I’ll be in charge of the empire’s wars during this period. It can’t do anything to me as long as I don’t venture too far into the void.”
The Pointer Monarch didn’t insist. “Since that’s the case, then do it.”
The round stone immediately turned to dust following a light slap from Zhang Boqian. The sky was suddenly filled with leaden clouds, and the atmosphere turned dark grey. Countless beams of grey light flew out from the pulverized stone accompanied by colossal roars. The beams encircled Zhang Boqian with furious growls as though they were trying to remember his aura. In the end, they shot down into the ravine and vanished into the ground.
Zhang Boqian stood calmly. He didn’t bother to employ any defensive measures against the remnant will.
The Pointer Monarch sighed upon seeing this. “They aren’t wrong about you, Boqian. You’re indeed the empire’s hope for resurgence. Your boldness alone puts us old fellows to shame.”
Zhang Boqian remained indifferent to both praise and criticism.
An entire half a day went by before the void colossus’ consciousness dispersed completely and returned to its main body in the depths of the continent. The ravine of Giant’s Repose appeared the same as before. Only those entering the mist would know that the passage toward the void landmass had disappeared. It was no longer possible to cross over from Evernight Continent and visit the strange stone formations, forests, and underground caverns.
The passage’s demise formally drew the curtains on the empire’s military affairs.
Several days later, Qianye finally received an order to appear at the command center. Marshal Zhang Boqian would personally appraise his contributions and issue the rewards.
Prince Greensun’s so-called appraisal was but a formality as the contributions had long since been audited. But the opportunity to meet the grand marshal and receive rewards was, in and of itself, indicative of his great individual contributions.
Song Zining made a rare appearance at Qianye’s tent that night. The two sat down for a moment in idle chatter before a flowing light appeared within the tent, along with numerous blades of ephemeral leaves. Song Zining had laid down his domain and isolated external perceptions.
But this time, the Three Thousand Flying Leaf Art had just taken shape when Qianye sensed a faintly discernible fluctuation penetrate the glass-dome of this domain and quietly envelope the tent. This fluctuation was extremely obscure. Had Qianye not absorbed the void colossus’ essence and made rapid progress in his sensitivity to void origin power, he very likely wouldn’t have sensed its existence.
Just from this, Qianye knew that the source of this fluctuation was at least a character at the same level as Zhao Xuanji. Only a divine champion would be able to utilize void origin power to such a degree.
Song Zining winked meaningfully at Qianye, indicating that he had also sensed the abnormality.
The former then spoke in a mysterious voice, “Qianye, what I’m going to tell you is the classified information of the highest grade that I received from a covert channel. You cannot tell anyone no matter what.”
“Rest assured.” Qianye knew that Song Zining was posturing, but that serious expression made him want to chuckle.
Song Zining rolled his eyes at him while speaking in a relaxed tone, “Very well then. I heard that the empire is about to initiate a major battle, and their target is the void landmass you just explored. Reportedly, this is the true battle of national fate.”
“Battle of national fate?” Qianye was astonished because Zhao Xuanji had mentioned this before the battle at Giant’s Repose. It seemed Song Zining wasn’t just messing with the eavesdropper after all.
