Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 1167: No Bluffing. Cards on the Table!

The wind roared through the immortal palace. As lightning flashed and thunder boomed, Xu Qing advanced through the wind. The workings of heaven were in chaos, but his heart was utterly calm. Wild colors flashed in the dome of heaven, but no expression flashed across his face.

As of tonight, it was obvious what he had to do. The game piece he had played in the form of Yuanshan Su was the clarion call marking his comeback. And to go along with that call, he needed a spear.

And thus, he appeared in the complex of buildings outside of Aurora Grand Hall in the very middle of the immortal palace. There, terrifying divine will kept watch, yet he didn’t slow down at all. He shot right through the public square to appear…. right in front of Aurora Grand Hall.

The storm grew stronger. Curtains of rain fell, and the wind scraped through the air and across the green limestone. Water splashed everywhere.

Amidst all that, Xu Qing ducked his head, clasped hands, and bowed.

“Father!” he said loudly. “There are a few things I need to do tonight. And I need to use the marriage contract!”

Thunder crashed, but it wasn’t capable of drowning out Xu Qing’s voice. After all of his observations and calculations, he was confident that his request would be granted. And that was because the marriage contract fundamentally belonged to the young lord.

Originally, he had been hesitant. But after everything that happened… he was convinced that there was no way the Immortal Lord didn’t know about everything going on in the palace, including the situation with the outsiders! This section of history was a mere space-time reflection, but… the entities inside this space-time had extremely high personhood. Xu Qing refused to believe that the old-timers in the palace hadn’t noticed the signs of what was going on!

And yet, for this entire time, they had remained silent. They had not interfered! They were not providing either assistance or obstruction to the side of order or the side of change. And that lack of interference amounted to a tacit approval! They approved of everything that was happening!

Thus, having combined the implications of all his observations and analyses, Xu Qing had come here tonight!

His voice entered the hall and reached a figure seated cross-legged there. The figure opened his eyes and looked outside. His left eye was black, while his right eye glittered like a jewel.

A moment later, the storm went still. The thunder and lightning ceased. And a golden beam of light glided out of Aurora Grand Hall toward Xu Qing.

It was a golden plaque, upon which was inscribed the marriage agreement. It was none other than the marriage contract for Young Lord Aurora and Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix. As the contract floated over, the voice of Immortal Lord Aurora emerged from the hall.

“Due to various reasons, I cannot help you with the matter you seek to handle. You’ll have to do it yourself. When it’s done, make sure to get some rest as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir,” Xu Qing said, keeping his head bowed.

After taking the marriage contract, he turned and left. Rain poured down behind him. The storm raged in front of him.

As Xu Qing left, the storm grew more intense. By the time lightning had struck three more times, Xu Qing had appeared outside the immortal palace’s university.

Thanks to the memories of his host, Xu Qing was familiar with the place. It was composed mostly of small buildings constructed from immortal timber. The roofs were made of black tiles, and the grounds were filled with immortal trees. It was a beautiful and secluded place, complete with bridges spanning flowing streams. This place was truly suited to learning.[1]

Unfortunately, it was night, and it was raining hard, so the scenery was a bit different. The trees swayed back and forth wildly, and the streams weren’t even visible. The bridges were obscured by the sheets of falling water, and the windows of the buildings glowed with soft light that seemed to separate the interior from the outside world.

Xu Qing walked right into the university. He entered the haze and the soft light without obstruction, as if the warding spells protecting this place didn’t even exist to him. He was the young lord, and thus, though a few places in the immortal palace were restricted to him, the university wasn’t one of them.

He quickly arrived at a multi-storied building with the address #317. This building served as the university’s secluded meditation facilities, as well as a place to serve sentences after being punished. Thus, it was backed by the might of the palace, and was not a place that could be easily broken into or out of.

There was currently someone seated cross-legged inside #317. He noticed Xu Qing’s arrival, and opened his eyes. When he turned and looked outside, he looked surprised.

“You—”

At that exact moment, lightning fell, casting bright light everywhere and illuminating both people. On the outside was Xu Qing. On the inside was Li the Chosen.

“Young Lord!” said Li the Chosen. He blinked a few times, looking chagrined. He had been extremely nervous in recent days, but had been too scared of Fourth True Monarch to do anything.

Thanks to how Fourth True Monarch had interfered, Li the Chosen had failed to get close to the young lord. His original plan had been to watch the young lord closely to see how history would play out. That would conform to his canon, which was that of mist and obfuscation. It was no ordinary mist, though. It came from history. The mist of history was the substructure of his canon. The more clearly he saw history, the more he could dispel the mist of history. And that dispelled mist would be absorbed by his own canon, strengthening it.

Sadly, he had been foiled before he could even take the first step down the path of his plan. All he could do was wait here, sealed, until everything ended. He could have simply left the fourth world early, but he wasn’t willing to do that.

Upon seeing the young lord, he bitterly said, “Young Lord, it’s not that I didn’t want to go to your beast ranch. Someone plotted against me and got me sentenced to this place…. I—”

“Li the Chosen,” Xu Qing interrupted coolly. He had no time for chit-chat. “You were willing to cause space-time waves to get close to me, all in the hopes of slightly altering the trajectory of established history. That was the first step of your plan, right? Well, I don’t care who you really are or what your goal is. I merely want to know: do you want to succeed? Do you want to get out of there?”

Xu Qing’s calm voice hit Li the Chosen’s ears harder than heavenly lightning, shaking him to the depths of his soul. His pupils constricted, and his wry expression disappeared completely, replaced by a look of pure incredulity.

“Who are you?” Li the Chosen said, struggling to keep his cool as he looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing didn’t answer the question. He turned and started walking away. At the same time, he waved his hand, and the door that had been sealing Li the Chosen this whole time quietly swung open.

The wind blew inside, along with Xu Qing’s voice.

“I don’t care what your goal is here in the fourth world. I can help you succeed. Or I can make sure you fail. Right now, I need you to do something for me. Assassinate Fourth True Monarch. And make sure he cuts off one of your arms in the process.”

Xu Qing left.

Li the Chosen sat silently inside #317. A moment later, he looked up, his heart racing. The fact that the young lord was actually an outsider was so astonishing that he wasn’t sure how to react.

The young lord’s words had contained a threat. If anyone else had spoken those words, they would have been nothing but that: a threat. The question would have been whether there would be follow-through. But considering the threat came from Young Lord Aurora….

I have no choice but to believe he’ll do it….

Li the Chosen took a deep breath. Eyes flashing with cold light, he walked out of the open door!

***

A big wave had kicked up in space-time!

A person who was supposed to be locked in seclusion when catastrophe hit was now freed. He was now a trusted aide to the young lord. No longer locked up in seclusion, he was now plotting how to assassinate Fourth True Monarch, and have his arm cut off in the process. A wave like this was going to totally alter the course of history.

That’s just the first wave tonight. Next is Li Mengtu.

Xu Qing left the university that stormy night. Next he appeared… outside Zhong Chi’s residence.

***

Outside the Scourgebolt Palace, in the fox maiden’s residence, Starfire was trembling and eyes were bloodshot. The god-branding medallion had completely suppressed, and could sense how terrifying its power was. Given that this type of medallion was the Fifth Star Ring’s primary way of keeping gods under control, it was no wonder its power was beyond comparison.

Even who was almost an Altar God, could do nothing but tremble in the face of a god-branding medallion. In fact, even got the sense that the god-branding power could be applied to true form.

Sir Star Ring was currently seated in front of her cross-legged, looking very calm. Looking coldly at the fox maiden, he said, “We’re halfway through the night. I’m very curious to see if I’ve correctly guessed who your backer is. And… hmm?”

He suddenly looked in the direction of the university. A chaotic wave in that direction had attracted his attention. And then, almost at the exact same time that he noticed it, he looked… at the entrance of the courtyard.

Thunderous rumbling sounds echoed out as Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix’s imperial carriage raced through the storm. As soon as it arrived, Yuanshan Su stepped out in the guise of Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix. She looked very angry. Before Sir Star Ring could say a thing, she gained the upper hand.

“True Monarch, what exactly do you think you’re doing to my Elder Sister??” As the words left her mouth, a host of black-armored guards fanned out into the courtyard.

Sir Star Ring’s eyes flickered with uncharacteristic surprise. “I wasn’t expecting you to show up.”

Eyes radiating fury, Yuanshan Su spoke with decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron. “The fox maiden is the apprentice of my Master. Therefore, she’s my Elder Sister. It’s no surprise at all that I would show up when she’s in trouble!”

“When did she get that status?” Sir Star Ring asked. He had taken advantage of Sir Vilespirit’s betrayal to strip the fox maiden of her status. But now it seemed that Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix had given her a new status.

“A long time ago,” Yuanshan Su said. “If you don’t believe me, go talk to my father. But what’s more important is that I said so.”

She stepped forward to the fox maiden and waved her hand, using the power of her host’s body to negate the god-branding medallion.

Starfire breathed a sigh of relief and then laughed softly. “Milady, your humble slave girl was almost convinced you wouldn’t come to help.”

Yunashan Su ignored

Sir Star Ring watched all of this happening and laughed softly. Then he slowly rose to his feet, looking a bit absent-minded. Voice hoarse, he said, “I really could never have guessed that you would show up to save That said, your arrival has really cleared up the mystery.

“You might be the mastermind I’ve been waiting for. But if you’re not, then I think I have a good idea of who the real mastermind is. This is definitely unexpected. Very unexpected. Somebody got the identity that no one is supposed to be able to get….”

1. The black roof tiles mentioned here are a traditional type of Chinese roof. Nowadays they can be made from more modern materials like plastic or whatever. Incidentally, remember a while ago how I mentioned that the character Qing from Xu Qing’s name can mean blue, green, cyan or even black? Well, this is one case in which the character means black when used as part of this specific combination of characters. As you can see from these pictures, the tiles are indeed black, or perhaps a charcoal color. ☜

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