In that instant, lightning rose from the ground and the turbulent aether tornado was packed into a single thread. Under the influence of the New Testament sword, the incarnation of the Holy Spirit controlled lightning and thunder above the vault of heaven. Iron was breaking apart and, in the emptiness, the roar of thunder burst forth. It was the tremendous sound of the New Testament sword clashing against the Great Wall, thereby tearing away layers of shackles.
As the vault of heaven trembled while breaking apart, the aether thunder whipped at the layers of clouds, violently exposing the fog and enchantment that had been hidden. Wherever they passed, the broken music theory and the mortal world stimulated each other, revealing a scarlet color that resembled blood. It was like an unfortunate spreading doom, and wherever they passed, the vault of heaven would be split open. Storms would be raining blood onto the mortal world.
“Sun cross, comet attacks the moon, goshawk swoops onto the temple…” Below the temple, the teenage girl, that was trapped in the cage, looked up at the vault of heaven. “Upon reaching the domain of catastrophe, would simply spreading the desire to murder be sufficient to turn the world upside down. When I see how powerful my cousin has become, I can’t help but feel happy.” With that, she tilted her head to look at the Emperor. “What about you?”
The Emperor did not say a word, except to look down and mourn the passing of the hero.
“Is this considered as shedding crocodile tears?” Bai Xi teased, “From the day when you sent that last hero to the frontline, shouldn’t you already have expected this to happen?”
Aurora was ruled by the Emperor and the Prince, while the Emperor alone possessed 40 percent of the authority over the Great Wall and the City in the Sky. This was a law that had never changed over the past thousands of years. Based on the strategic location of Heaven’s Gate, Mr. Hu’s attainment and the boost provided by 40 percent of Great Wall should be sufficient to deal with the attack from the Lords of the Bloodline of the Dragon. Besides, Ye Qingxuan would also render his aid.
With Tai Changqing’s inheritance and legacy in hand, if Mr. Hu decided to try to salvage anything from such a dangerous situation, he would still hold the upper hand against the attack of Princes of the bloodline of the dragon. Regardless of whether Mr. Hu was alive or dead, the situation would still be within control.
What she did not expect was that Mr. Hu never did seek help from Ye Qingxuan. Mr. Hu even proactively pushed Ye Qingxuan out of this whirlpool and forced the latter to leave Heaven’s Gate. Then, he completed his mission.
This was where the Emperor had miscalculated. Fortunately, everything would fall back in place once again due to fate, so that Mr. Hu would still die as a result of Bai Heng’s plotting. The brave and heroic ending that a hero deserved was snatched away and in its place was a shameless attack out of nowhere. This left Ye Qingxuan completely infuriated.
In the end, he still became Bai Heng’s enemy. A plan, that had gone out of control, had unexpectedly been diverted back onto its original path, except that the process seemed mocking in nature.
In the dead silence, the Emperor did not say a word and only kept quiet.
…
A distance, requiring traveling for two full days and nights, was covered within three minutes. Outside of the capital, Ye Qingxuan had already arrived at the broken Heaven’s Gate. Amidst the roars, chaotic streaks of lightning fell at the front of Heaven’s Gate. He looked up and through the dust, saw the Lords of Deva above the battlefield.
“Bai Heng, come out!”
No one responded. Yuan Changqing would have been the only person who would be pleased to see Ye Qingxuan and his murderous intent, but he was already dead. After losing an opponent like Mr. Hu, the last elemental sword had already fallen onto the ground and had now been kept by the Lord. The rest looked like they did not even hear a sound. Even if eye contact was made, they pretended not to see or feel anything, as if they were looking at an invisible person. Something that should not be here.
The look in Ye Qingxuan’s eyes turned cold. He gripped the New Testament sword tightly and nodded slightly. “Very well. I understand now.”
“Hang on.” A blue-eyed middle-aged man propped himself up. He ignored the injuries on his body and stood in front of Ye Qingxuan. “Lord Ye, the battle here does not concern you. We have never stood in your way, so we hope that you will not stand in ours too.” He continued very solemnly, “Besides, it is inevitable for deaths to occur on the battlefield and it can happen to anyone, including Mr. Hu. Please do not do anything that will leave us with no other choice.”
Ye Qingxuan laughed. He was laughing because he was so furious. “Or else?”
“Or else, everyone will regret it.” Zhangsun Jigui looked at him. There was no hint of fear in his eyes. “This place is Aurora, not your Anglo. Back then, you did not choose to return here, so please do not interfere with the matters of this place now. You are a rare talent who is way better than me. You should not get yourself into this mess that doesn’t concern you.”
“Well said. How I wish you would be able to accept everything so justifiably if I had been the one to attack out of nowhere just now.” Ye Qingxuan’s tone was mocking and filled with evil intent. “Or did all of you feel that it was perfectly justified and reasonable to clinch victory with a sneak attack despite already outnumbering your opponent? If that’s the case, I’m afraid that today is the day when I teach all of you how to differentiate between right and wrong.”
He raised the sword in his hands and pointed it at Zhangsun Jigui. A hundred steps away, the terrifying element, that enshrouded the sword blade, formed a pressure that was equivalent to that of the deep sea within the aether. A hurricane blew and the Lord of Zhangsun family looked pale.
“Finally, just a correction. It is not I who is standing in your way; it is you who are standing in mine.” The look in his eyes was icy cold. “Now, I’m going to ask one last time. Where is Bai Heng?”
In the suffocating dead silence, Zhangsun Jigui lowered his head and sighed. When he looked up once again, there was a look of determination in his eyes. He had decided to welcome Ye Qingxuan and his murderous intent. Just as he was about to speak, he was suddenly disrupted by another voice.
“I’m here, I’m here!” It was a familiar voice, “Please wait, I’m almost here…” It was Bai Heng. He had traveled a thousand miles non-stop in order to rush back to Heaven’s Gate. Without even stopping for a sip of tea or to mount his horse, he had run all the way here after passing through the military formation. He did not seem to sense the icy murderous intent exuded by Ye Qingxuan. Instead, his tone sounded more like he was here to bring everyone to a relaxing and leisurely meal together.
Just like that, he passed through his army and stepped onto the battlefield. For some reason, he was not wearing the ceremonial dress that represented his status as a Prince. Instead, he was wearing a plain undercoat that almost looked embarrassing. Besides… besides…
Ye Qingxuan stared at Bai Heng as if the former was in a daze. Bai Heng’s hair was unkempt and he was barefoot. There was a set of heavy shackles on his hands and neck as he made his way closer, one step at a time.
In that instant, Ye Qingxuan almost began to suspect that there were still illusion musicians hiding in the East that were more than ten times more powerful than him in their illusion attainments. As a result, he might have fallen into an illusion unknowingly. But he was not the only one who was taken aback. Even the guards of Heaven’s Gate, the soldiers, and horses behind Bai Heng, and even all of the Lords of the bloodline of the dragon…
At this moment, there was a silence that could not be broken with words as everyone seemed to be in a daze.
In the dead silence, Bai Heng walked all the way to the gate of Heaven’s Gate, one step at a time. Next, he positioned himself to face the back of Ye Qingxuan, which was also in the direction of the capital. Then, Bai Heng… knelt down!
Even as dust was blowing everywhere, the old man lowered his head. There was a white piece of paper in his hands and with all seriousness, he began to read out loud from it, “Criminal Bai Heng has let down the previous Emperor in the task that was entrusted to him and in the generosity that he has been shown. He falsified orders in order to gain control, recklessly caused military disasters, spied on artifacts, harmed those that were loyal. Criminal Bai Heng knows that his crimes cannot be pardoned and he would never be able to redeem himself even if he died tens of thousands of times. Now, he can only wait to be executed and dares not show defiance. May the Emperor gain the utmost wisdom and rule from the throne for the longest time…”
Silence. There was complete silence for a long time. At this moment, all the musicians of Aurora were watching what was happening, and they were completely shocked. They even began to doubt their own intelligence and senses. This was including the capital and the main hall. Even the water mirror began to tremble as the musicians, that were maintaining the water mirror, found their jaws dropping and their chins almost reaching the ground.
Surrendered? Surrendered… just like that? For decades, Regent Bai Heng had controlled the affairs of the state and called to power in Aurora. He had started this war and rebellion, and now that he had fought all the way to Heaven’s Gate and killed the Emperor’s most powerful right-hand man… he surrendered?
In the dead silence, Bai Xi was trying her hardest to control her laughter. She turned around and looked at the Emperor. “Was this within your expectations too?”
The Emperor did not say a word and only kept quiet.
But Bai Xi had spied upon the Emperor’s shock and rage that was concealed behind indifference. She could not help but chuckle, and the sound reverberated in the silence.
…
Over at Heaven’s Gate, after a long silence, Ye Qingxuan turned his head around with difficulty. He looked at Zhangsun Jigui while pointing at Bai Heng. “What is he saying?”
After a brief pause, there was a look of confusion and pain on the face of the Lord of Zhangsun family before it turned into indifference. “He said that he acknowledges his mistakes and will not dare resist. His only wish is that on account of their past, they can meet one more time before he dies in peace…”
“Oh.” Ye Qingxuan nodded and looked at Bai Heng. There was a look of relief in his eyes, “Now that you know that you’re in the wrong, then die!”
Boom!
In that instant, the New Testament sword struck, and wind and thunder burst forth out of nowhere. Everything happened so quickly that no one could react in time. The blade of the sword had already struck, shredding the gap that separated the Physical World and the realm of aether. After gathering a massive amount of power, the physical object almost transformed into a stream of light. Wherever the stream of light passed, everything would disintegrate.
If Bai Heng had been struck by such a devastating attack, it was unlikely that even his ashes would remain. But right before the impact of the attack, the projection of the Great Wall appeared in front of Bai Heng. Just like how reefs would split waves apart, it protected him from the stream of light that would have crushed him completely.
Bai Heng saw that Ye Qingxuan was raising his sword once again after his first failed attempt. He raised both his hands and shouted, “Ye Qingxuan, you cannot kill me!”
Ye Qingxuan frowned. Bai Heng took a deep breath and looked at him. There was a look of seriousness on his face as he analyzed rationally. “According to the rules of the east, if you wish to marry Bai Xi, then that makes me your father-in-law. Even if we disregard the legal protection between relatives, you cannot commit the crime of patricide. According to the rules of the west, I am still a Duke. Even though you are the prince of Anglo, your rank of nobility in the Sacred City is only a Marquis. Your actions are neither righteous nor reasonable. According to the rules of revenge, Mr. Hu has no affinity with the Ye family, and neither is he related to the past five generations of the Ye family. Based on the situation in Aurora, I was the one who started the rebellion. You don’t possess a single official title, not even the title of the general that has been appointed to put down the rebellion. Therefore,” he paused and tilted his head to look at Ye Qingxuan, “what right do you have to kill me?”
Ye Qingxuan laughed. “Because I want to!”
After gathering power that was tens of times more powerful than before, the New Testament sword began to burn and unleash an incredible amount of light. As thunder and lightning gathered together, the music theory of Gungnir was drawn out.
This was a weapon that was completely different from the one that Mr. Hu possessed. If what Mr. Hu had done was to bring about destruction through pure power, then Ye Qingxuan was using the gist of absolute transformation and the School of Abstinence to take the form of destruction.
Streaks of lightning struck from the sky! Amidst the roar, everyone was almost completely blinded by that burning light. But when the light dissipated, Bai Heng was still sitting there, safe and sound. Everywhere else around him had been burnt into a murky fluid, that was similar to molten lava, by the lightning attack.
He looked at Ye Qingxuan, as if he was looking at a disobedient and rebellious child, and sighed softly. “It’s useless. I am the Lord of the Bai family. I have gone through the proper inheritance of Deva, completed the path of the dragon and received the protection of the City in the Sky. Therefore, I cannot be harmed.”
He continued to explain very thoroughly, “Unless the Emperor cuts off my head, there’s not a single musician in Aurora that is capable of causing me harm. Do you understand? As for the rest, look, I am well-equipped with all sorts of defense equipment. Even if I was to be thrown into the former darkness of the universe, I would probably still be able to survive for half a year.”
With that, he showed off all the rings on his fingers. He did not seem to care about the fact that these people were all desperate to kill him. Instead, he seemed to be guiding them on purpose as to how he could be killed.
“If you want to kill me, why don’t you listen to this suggestion of mine.” He got up and stepped on the burning ground until he was right in front of Ye Qingxuan. “Right now, the easiest way is to bring me to the capital and lock me up in the dungeon. Without me leading the feudal allied army, you will be able to defeat them and put down this rebellion. Re-establishing the Ye family shouldn’t be a question, but the Emperor may even preside over your wedding and marry Bai Xi to you. You can even request for the Emperor to remove my position as the Lord of my family and to execute me. See, you would have had your revenge, gotten married, and achieved great things. You would have won the heart of the person you loved while reaching the peak of success in your life. Isn’t that incredible!”
Ye Qingxuan looked at him and did not say a word.
“Think about it.” Bai Heng smiled. He looked into the eyes of Ye Qingxuan and repeated every single word carefully, “Think about it.”
