Chapter 90

"Spirit King's Palace..."

Gangmidai Shi Tan's complexion looked somewhat grim; the hand that gripped his Zanpo Blade kept trembling, his gaze flickered, as if he were pondering whether he should go to the Spirit King's Palace.

"What are you thinking?!"

Just as Shi Tan was contemplating, a pair of large hands clasped his shoulder, and Araki's low, resonant voice slowly sounded in his ear.

"Hehe..."

Shi Tan let out a self‑deprecating laugh at the words.

"Araki‑sensei, you should know, I am a born 'evil' member of the Gangmidai family!"

"Someone as evil as me can think of nothing except acts of gross disrespect toward His Highness the Spirit King..."

It was still Shi Tan's first time calling himself a 'born‑evil' member of the Gangmidai family; centuries of honing had matured him greatly and clarified many things, and now he finally understood that after Araki first saw him, he would call him the 'born‑evil' brat...

If the hidden scriptures in their family archive are indeed factual, then not only the Gangmidai house but also the other four of the Five Great Noble Houses—Four Maple Court, Decayed Wood, Zhibo, and the clan that guards the Hell—are all implicated! Anyone with the blood of the Five Great Noble Houses flowing in their veins is born sinful!

"Araki‑sensei, if it's you, you should know what our Gangmidai ancestors did to His Highness the Spirit King, right? With that, do I truly have the right to cultivate in the Spirit King's Palace?"

Immediately, Shi Tan turned to Araki and asked.

"Bang~"

At that moment, Shi Tan's eyes were dim, his gloomy aura spilling outward, as if he were living in an unfathomable abyss, when Araki's sword sheath struck heavily against Shi Tan's head.

"It hurts..."

Shi Tan winced, baring his teeth for a moment; the gloomy aura that had surrounded him vanished the instant the sheath hit his head.

"In this world there is no such thing as 'qualified' or 'unqualified', only action or inaction."

"Will the Three Realms collapse just because you visit the Spirit King's Palace? Or will the Three Realms revert to the origin because you feel no shame for your ancestors' deeds?"

"Whether it's the Spirit King or the ancestors of the Five Great Noble Houses, in that era of 'chaos unformed', 'Three Realms undivided', 'life and death not yet fully separated', and thus 'no progress', they only did what was within their power and could be achieved."

"Even if the one now lying there is not the Spirit Prince, someone else will take his place! Even if the ancestors who chose the path of slaying gods were not from your five houses, others will still walk that same road for 'various' and 'different' reasons!"

"Rather than saying the ancestors of the Five Great Noble Houses betrayed the Spirit King, it's more accurate to say they fulfilled the Spirit King; it was not an individual's choice but the 'world's' choice..."

Because Araki has reached his current 'realm', his perspective differs from before; how could a 'god' not see the outcome of being betrayed? It is simply that the 'god' chose the path of being 'betrayed', bearing the Three Realms alone...

"This..."

After hearing Araki, Shi Tan's eyes filled with endless shock; it was his first time encountering such a 'heretical' theory, as if a new world had opened before him.

"The reason I called you a 'born‑evil' scoundrel the first time we met was due to other matters, unrelated to your ancestors! In any era, a mere mortal daring to swing a blade like a god possesses boundless courage!"

"Even that monk, deep down, admires those five; even now he keeps the pact made back then, constantly guarding his... Spirit King!"

Araki emphasized the words 'Spirit King', and the monk's thinking was even more forward; whoever is the Spirit King, he kneels to them, and it doesn't matter who the Spirit King actually is...

Then Araki continued: "Shi Tan, think carefully—have you ever heard me say that members of Four Maple Court, Decayed Wood, or the Zhibo family are born scoundrels? No, right?! Honestly, among the Five Great Noble Houses I despise the Gangmidai family the most, not because of what your ancestors did, but because of what you have done! Saying you have committed every possible evil wouldn't be an exaggeration..."

"I still stand by that: the road lies at each of your feet; the path you wish to walk, the person you wish to become, are your own choices! No matter which road you take, I, your master, will support you unconditionally, but remember, if you stray or err, my sword sheath will fall on your heads 'anytime, anywhere'..."

After speaking, Araki gave Shi Tan a firm pat on the shoulder: "Remember today's 'pain'! It will constantly remind you... when you next consider doing evil, think carefully whether you can defeat your master now. If you can defeat your master, all your misdeeds will appear righteous to others, because you are stronger than everyone!"

"But if you can't... then today's suffering is enough to remind you for a lifetime! Remember, if you anger your master, you'll get beaten."

Araki finished speaking, crossed his arms and strode forward.

"..."

Shi Tan stared at Araki's retreating figure, speechless for a long while. Araki's words today will accompany him for life, ever by his side, constantly echoing in his ears, reminding him, as a member of the Gangmidai family, what he should and should not do.

"Hehe, a fool just got lectured~"

"As for who that fool is, I'll give him a few thin credits and won't name him~"

Jing Le then sidled up to Shi Tan, speaking with a smug grin.

"Jing Le, cut it short!"

Fu Zhu, hearing that, couldn't help but remind Jing Le.

"Tsk tsk tsk~"

In response, Jing Le smacked his lips, shook his head at Shi Tan, then followed Araki's silhouette, gradually fading away.

"Shi Tan, let's go too!"

Fu Zhu glanced at Jing Le's figure, sighed helplessly, then called out to the motionless Shi Tan.

"Sure enough, I still dislike Jing Le Chunshui..."

Shi Tan stared at the departing Jing Le, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"..."

Araki walked ahead of the group, his mind seemingly deep in thought.

In fact, Araki had observed Shi Tan's changes over the past hundred years, and the real reason Araki believed his instruction had taken effect was Shi Tan's awakened Zanpo Blade, named 'Capture Wind, Seize Shadow'...

Shi Tan, Fu Zhu, and Jing Le all thought they were well hidden, but before the 'Final Examination' began, Araki knew nothing of the three of their Zanpo Blade abilities!

In reality, each time Jing Le, Fu Zhu, or Shi Tan reached for the 'Final Assessment', even a brief touch, the covert Zanpo Blade liberation training was always witnessed by Araki...

Regarding the three's Zanpo Blade abilities, Araki perhaps understood them better than Shi Tan and the others themselves...

Shi Tan's Zanpo Blade 'Capture Wind, Seize Shadow' primarily possesses two abilities: one manipulates atmospheric spirits, gathering them onto the blade to deliver a powerful slash!

The other links surrounding shadows together, allowing one to hide within shadows to evade attacks or advance swiftly through them for a short time...

Used individually, these are merely the traits of an exceptionally capable Zanpo Blade...

However, when coordinated with Fu Zhu and Jing Le, the power becomes astonishing! The spirit‑gathering ability can charge Fu Zhu's Pisces Theory, while the shadow‑manipulation aids Jing Le in unleashing Shadow Specter! Caught off guard, even foes far stronger than the trio fall to their combined assault.

Shi Tan's awakening of such a Zanpo Blade stems from him heeding Araki's words; realizing his solitary strength has limits, he began to trust those around him.

"I hope everything will move toward a better direction..."

Araki sighed, a century having fostered a certain affection for Jing Le, Fu Zhu, and even Shi Tan; he does not wish for a day when their relationship devolves into a boring master‑apprentice duel, nor for a day when he must personally swing his blade to cut down a wayward disciple, which would be a cruel act for anyone.

At that thought, Shi Tan had already led Fu Zhu, Jing Le, and himself to the Zhibo family's ancestral lands...

"You've finally arrived!"

The current head of the Zhibo Clan looked at Huangmu and his party arriving, and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead.

"Too slow! Too slow…"

Just as the Zhibo Clan head was waiting for Huangmu and his companions as if waiting for stars and the moon, a mischievous, willful voice suddenly rang out before them! A willful princess lady with short purple hair, dark skin, and a height under one‑meter‑fifty made a dazzling entrance.

"Master Huangmu! Take this…"

Without giving anyone a chance to think, the willful princess lady let out a shout and charged toward Huangmu.

Seeing this, Huangmu instinctively grasped his sword sheath and swung it forward.

"Hehe, Master, you've been fooled!"

At the instant the sheath in Huangmu's hand touched the girl's soft body, amid a puff of smoke the girl's body turned into a life‑size doll, while the girl herself appeared behind Huangmu, using her knee to strike at his neck.

"The Four Maple Hall family's magical battle gear, huh?!"

As Huangmu murmured, he calmly thrust the sheath he held toward the rear.

"Swish!"

Huangmu's speed was swift; although he struck later, he was still faster than the girl behind him…

The sheath quickly protruded from Huangmu's shoulder, lunging straight at the girl…

The girl descended from the sky, seemingly with no way to evade Huangmu's sheath.

"Four Maple's Third: Empty Cicada!"

Facing the unavoidable sheath, the girl's lips curled slightly; with a soft whisper, only a thin black veil remained on Huangmu's sheath, and the girl had somehow appeared beneath Huangmu.

"Petty trick!"

Huangmu, seeing this, kicked out his leg at the girl; a wind blade flashed, and the girl was sliced in two by the kick.

"Eh?!"

This scene made Jingle, Fuzhu, and Shitan behind Huangmu all tremble inside.

"Master, you fell for it again; this is a clone~"

Before the three could think further, a dozen more identical girls, just like the one Huangmu had 'slashed', appeared in the sky.

"It's an afterimage!"

Fuzhu instantly realized.

"Huh? Are kids nowadays all monsters? How fast must one be to leave a trail in the air? I thought my quickstep was already fast…"

Jingle scratched his cheek, feeling powerless against the girl's speed.

"Is it the Four Maple Hall family's body technique manual?"

Only Shitan, after seeing moves like 'clone', 'afterimage', 'Empty Cicada', 'substitute', instantly understood; especially when he noticed the girl's skin tone and purple short hair, he concluded her identity—one of the Five Great Nobles, the little princess of the Four Maple Hall family, Si Feng Yuan Ye Yi.

On the other side.

"Hehe…"

Huangmu, watching the countless clones in the sky, curled his lip slightly, lifted his Zanpo Blade, and swung it fiercely toward the heavens.

At once a massive wind blade devoured everything ahead, and the myriad afterimages vanished instantly.

"Eyo~"

As for the naughty Si Feng Yuan Ye Yi, the gale blew her away, and she landed hard on the ground, letting out a painful grunt.

"This mischievous little girl is Si Feng Yuan Ye Yi, considered your little senior sister…?"

After defeating Ye Yi, Huangmu introduced her identity to Jingle, Fuzhu, and Shitan behind him.

Because earlier, when Huangmu trained Ye Yi and Jingle's group, the sessions were separate; Ye Yi was so young that Huangmu trained her during the day and sent her home to rest around noon!

As for Jingle's group, they mostly trained from afternoon until dawn; when they woke up it was nearly noon, so the four had not formally met before today. They only bumped into each other in the Fourth Squad, and due to their ranks, exchanged little.

So today they finally recognized each other as senior brothers.

"Hello! Junior sister Ye Yi."

Jingle was the first to approach Ye Yi, greeting her.

"It's senior sister."

Ye Yi rose from the ground, brushed dust off her backside, and lifted her neck to emphasize to Jingle.

"Alright, junior sister Ye Yi!"

Jingle, hearing that, seemed as if he couldn't hear, stubbornly called her junior sister Ye Yi.

"Junior sister, have some candy~"

Immediately, without waiting for Ye Yi to get angry, Jingle pulled a milk candy from his pocket.

"I already said… ah! It's a milk candy~"

Ye Yi snatched the milk candy from Jingle's hand, peeled its wrapper, and shoved it into her mouth.

"So sweet~"

Ye Yi felt the rich milky flavor and showed a blissful expression.

"So well‑behaved, junior sister Ye Yi~"

Jingle, looking at Ye Yi, instinctively reached out and patted her little head.

"Huh?!"

After Ye Yi swallowed the candy, she realized she had been taken advantage of.

"I already said, call… senior sister!"

Ye Yi, angry, waved her hand, slapped the palm that was pressing Jingle's head down, then placed both hands on her hips and shouted furiously.

"Alright, alright~"

Jingle heard that and gave a gentle smile.

"Damn! I was underestimated!"

Night One was furious inside, but for the sake of the candy, she decided to give this junior brother who looked not too smart a 'dog' life!

Hello, Night One Senior Sister!

Floating Bamboo was quite polite, calling Night One 'Senior Sister'.

You little brat, your mouth is so sweet! I've decided: from today on, you're under my care! Whenever you encounter something you can't settle, just call out my name, Night One of the Four Maple Court!

Upon hearing Floating Bamboo's words, Night One of the Four Maple Court showed a happy smile.

Really? Thanks a lot for the trouble, Senior Sister!

Have to say, Floating Bamboo really has a knack for coaxing children.

Finally, the one who walked over to Night One of the Four Maple Court was Kōmídài Shítān...

Huh?!

As Shítān approached, Night One was instantly drawn to his dark green hair.

Thus, Shítān and Night One locked eyes deeply, then almost simultaneously turned their heads, uttering sounds of disdain:

Tch~ You stinking brat of the Four Maple Court!

Tsk~ You little troublemaker of the Kōmídài family!

Just seeing this guy makes me feel nauseous and sick... ×2

Shítān and Night One, after only a brief glance, immediately identified each other, and then felt mutual disgust and hatred.

Yo! Huāngmù Brother, you finally came~

At the moment when Huāngmù's four disciples were getting to know each other, the Kirin Temple's Tiānshìláng, shouldering his own Soul-Cutting Sword, walked over to Huāngmù.

Yes, the Kirin Temple's Tiānshìláng will also go to the 'Spirit King Palace', but unlike the 'Jinglè', 'Floating Bamboo', 'Shítān', and 'Night One' who go there to train, the Kirin Temple is going to report to the 'Zero Division'!

Yes, after spending a full hundred years, Huāngmù finally teamed up with the Kirin Temple to complete the development of the 'White Bone Hell' and the 'Blood Pool Hell'!

Furthermore, they went on to develop the 'Bleaching Hell', used to cleanse positive or negative states of spirits, and the 'Staining Hell', used to impart positive or negative states to spirits!

Well, from the original mandarin duck pot, it evolved into a four‑grid! Even on Huāngmù's sketches there was a plan to improve it to a nine‑grid, but due to time constraints it wasn't developed; for the future development of the 'Hot Spring', Huāngmù decided to leave it to one person from the Kirin Temple to slowly work on in the Zero Division……

Meanwhile, given the Kirin Temple's Tiānshìláng's contributions to the 'Spirit World', he certainly qualifies to report to the Zero Division of the Spirit King Palace; moreover, Huāngmù has already corresponded with the heavenly 'Sword God', confirming the Kirin Temple's qualification for the Zero Division……

So the question arises……

Has the Heavenly Pillar Palanquin come down?!

Huāngmù asked the Kirin Temple and the head of the Zhibō family beside him.

There's no trace of the Heavenly Pillar Palanquin at all……

The current head of the Zhibō family, hearing Huāngmù's words, shook his head helplessly.

Tsk~

Upon hearing the Kirin Temple's words, Huāngmù frowned slightly.

Huāngmù, can you hear me?!

Just as Huāngmù was unclear about what was happening inside the heavenly 'Spirit King Palace', causing the 'Heavenly Pillar Palanquin' to delay its descent, the voice of the 'Sword God' Wang Yuè suddenly echoed in his mind.

Is it the Heaven's Net?!

Huāngmù's expression paused slightly, then he immediately reacted.

Wang Yuè, what's the situation with the Heavenly Pillar Palanquin? Why hasn't it come down yet?

Huāngmù directed his question to Wang Yuè.

Huāngmù, listen to me first……

It's not that I don't want to put down the 'Heavenly Pillar Palanquin'! It's that this thing has been hidden by the monk; we've searched everywhere in 'Biǎocāndào' and still found no trace of it!

Wang Yuè felt utterly helpless about the heavenly affairs.

It's not that he doesn't want to help Huāngmù; he truly is powerless!

That monk……

Upon hearing Wang Yuè's words, Huāngmù's eyelid twitched slightly.

Huāngmù, are you even listening to me?!

Just as Huāngmù's brows were tightly knit, Wang Yuè's voice echoed once again in his mind.

Mm, I heard……

Upon hearing that, Huāngmù nodded slightly.

I'm really sorry about not being able to find the Heavenly Pillar Palanquin……

So now that the Heavenly Pillar Palanquin has disappeared, Huāngmù, you can only figure it out yourself and bring the Kirin Temple folks to the Spirit King Palace!

Wang Yuè first expressed his apology to Huāngmù, then spoke softly.

Okay, I got it!

Upon hearing that, Huāngmù merely gave a light smile.

Zhibō family head! Do you still have any shells for the Zhibō cannon?!

Upon learning that the Heavenly Pillar Palanquin had been hidden by the monk and that they could only climb the Spirit King Palace step by step themselves, Huāngmù instantly made a decision.

Um……

Captain Huāngmù, you should know as well, our Zhibō family's 'cannon' hasn't been used in war for many years! Even the hereditary gunpowder craft has now been switched to making fireworks!

The current head of the Zhibō family, upon hearing Huāngmù's words, spoke with some difficulty.

Just tell me whether you have any or not.

Huāngmù's attitude was extremely firm.

"If it's just 'one shot'……" Upon hearing that, the Zhibō family head fell into thought; after a moment, he looked at Huāngmù and said: "I could actually take all the gunpowder out of the fireworks in the warehouse, add the fresh gunpowder I just made, and it should barely be enough for one shot! But any more than that, I really wouldn't have any."

Immediately after, the Zhibō family head again asked Huāngmù: "By the way, Captain Huāngmù, forgive my frankness, I don't know why you're asking me whether we have shells for the Zhibō cannon—what's it for? I think the 'Spirit World' nowadays should have no need for such massive destructive weapons, right?!"

Having said that, this current head of the Zhibō family stared solemnly at Huāngmù; to be honest, he had a grim premonition……

Do we even need to say it? Obviously we're going to smash the Spirit King Palace down from the heavens!

Upon hearing that, Huangmu gave a faint smile to the Zhibo family head before him.

Huh?!

As Huangmu's words fell, everyone in the Zhibo family, including the head, was dumbstruck.

Hehe, knocking the Spirit King Palace down from the heavens? Teacher, you must be joking.

Ye Yi and Jing Le laughed awkwardly, then asked.

Has the teacher ever joked?!

Fuzhu, meanwhile, wore a solemn expression, his eyes filled with worry.

Eh?! Knock the Spirit King Palace down from the heavens?

Shitan froze upon hearing Huangmu's words...

No, he hasn't even gone dark yet—how did his teacher get ahead of him and go dark first?

Wait, if he goes dark, Teacher Huangmu will stop him! But if one day Teacher Huangmu himself goes dark, what will become of the Three Realms?! Can they really stop a rampaging Teacher Huangmu?

Um...

Thinking of this, Shitan couldn't help but shiver.

Hahaha, this kid Huangmu just loves to joke!

The monk of the Spirit King Palace, looking at Huangmu on the ground, gave an embarrassed smile—but the cold sweat continually beading on his forehead proved just how hollow his heart was at that moment.

Huangmu has already started loading the gunpowder...

Upon hearing that, Wang Yue stood beside the monk and couldn't help but remind him.

I bet he doesn't dare aim at the Spirit King Palace!

The monk stroked his thick beard, decided to make one last gamble, becoming an elegant 'bettor'.

Already aimed!

In response, Wang Yue had no choice but to spoil the fun.

Oh, Huangmu is already preparing to ignite the cannon!

Immediately, Wang Yue added to the monk.

Damn, this kid actually means it! Quick, quickly stop him!

At this moment, the monk finally panicked.

Sigh~

Upon hearing that, Wang Yue shrugged helplessly, an expression of being unable to help.

(End of chapter)