Chapter 74: Hei Xuan Appears, Wagering the Human Realm Will Rot

Jiangnan lost three rounds in a row.

Rumors, assassinations, and grain riots all failed to crush Jiang Che.

That night, Hei Xuan finally appeared in person.

Not in flesh and blood.

But as a demon shadow, appearing in the bronze mirror of Wenxin Hall in Jinling.

Zhou Buqi was the first to notice.

The mirror did not show his face.

Instead, it showed pitch blackness.

In the darkness, Hei Xuan smiled at him.

"Zhou Buqi, do you still wish to Ascend?"

Zhou Buqi's face went pale, yet he did not flee.

He struck the alarm bell.

By the time Jiang Che arrived, Wenxin Hall was already surrounded by the Green Blade Camp.

In the bronze mirror, Hei Xuan clapped his hands and laughed:

"Good, you no longer hide."

Jiang Che walked to the mirror.

"You finally deign to speak."

Hei Xuan said, "I have always been speaking; it is just that you do not wish to listen."

Jiang Che said, "Listening to your nonsense indeed requires patience."

Hei Xuan paused, then burst into laughter.

"Jiang Che, you are more interesting than the Heavenly Patrol."

Jiang Che looked at him.

"What do you want?"

Hei Xuan said, "A wager."

"Wager on what?"

"Wager that the Human Realm will rot."

Silence fell within Wenxin Hall.

Hei Xuan spoke slowly:

"You advised the Hall to establish New Laws, open Wenxin Hall, speak the truth, and inspect the grain stores."

"Very well."

"But what about ten years later?"

"What about a hundred years later?"

"Gu Chongming will die, Chen Shanhe will die, Shen Wanjin will die, Xie Tingxue will die, even you will die."

"Successors will turn Wenxin Hall into a Hall of Judgment."

"They will change History Camp into a Camp of Praise."

"They will sell Council Hall seats to powerful clans."

"They will rewrite the New Laws into new shackles."

"They will enshrine you, Jiang Che, upon a divine altar, then use your name to crush others."

With every sentence Hei Xuan spoke, the expressions of everyone in Wenxin Hall grew darker.

Because these were not impossible.

In fact, they were highly likely.

Hei Xuan smiled gently.

"I do not need to win now."

"The Demon Path has the most patience."

"If one generation does not rot, we wait for two."

"If two generations do not rot, we wait for ten."

"Human hearts will tire."

"Systems will grow old."

"Heroes will be molded into clay statues."

"In the end, the Human Realm will still kneel."

Jiang Che fell silent.

Hei Xuan looked at him.

"Well?"

"Do you not love asking the heart?"

"Ask yourself: can you protect the Human Realm a hundred years from now?"

Zhou Buqi and others looked at Jiang Che.

They expected Jiang Che to give a firm answer.

To say yes.

To say the Human Realm will never kneel.

But Jiang Che did not.

He said, "I cannot hold it."

Everyone's heart sank.

Hei Xuan's smile deepened.

Jiang Che continued:

"I cannot hold the Human Realm a hundred years from now."

"Nor can I hold the New System a thousand years from now."

"I cannot even guarantee there will be no mistake tomorrow."

Hei Xuan said, "Then what are you struggling for?"

Jiang Che looked at the demonic shadow in the mirror.

"Because my inability to hold it does not mean those who come after cannot."

"Because systems grow old, we must allow those who come after to change them."

"Because heroes turn to mud statues, the History Camp must record my mistakes."

"Because human hearts rot, the Wenxin Hall must keep asking."

Hei Xuan said, "Do you trust them?"

Jiang Che said, "I trust that they will make mistakes."

Hei Xuan was stunned.

Jiang Che continued:

"And I trust that someone among them will stand up and say, 'It was wrong.'"

"Just like the old man in Luo'an."

"Just like Xiao Cheng'an."

"Just like that charcoal seller who dared to ask why the Coal Tax is heavier than the Grain Tax."

"They may not always win."

"But as long as someone still asks, you have not won."

Hei Xuan fell silent for a moment, then chuckled softly:

"A very beautiful answer."

"But beauty is useless."

"I have buried a Demon Seed in the Human Realm."

"Not some trifling thing like the Three Thousand Heart Demons."

"It will grow slowly."

"Growing within the system you trust most."

Jiang Che's eyes grew slightly cold: "Where?"

Hei Xuan smiled: "Guess."

The mirror surface began to crack.

Hei Xuan said finally:

"Jiang Che, we will meet again."

"When you discover that the New System can also devour people."

"Will you destroy it with your own hands?"

The bronze mirror shattered.

The demonic shadow vanished.

Inside the Wenxin Hall, no one spoke for a long time.

Zhou Buqi said in a low voice, "Sword Master, the Demon Seed he spoke of..."

Jiang Che said, "Find it."

Xie Tingxue said, "Where do we start looking?"

Jiang Che looked toward the direction of the Capital City in the distance.

"Start from the place we are most proud of."

Everyone's heart trembled.

Jiang Che said slowly:

"Investigate the Council Hall."