Chapter 282
Chapter 282
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Translator: Ace
Chapter:
Chapter Title: Probing the Father's Depths
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Chen Tang landed, tossing the two chopsticks out. They fell back into the chopstick holder on the table in the main hall.
He still had spare energy and hadn't injured Chen Shi. Instead, he had severed all of Chen Shi's senses, sending him into a deep slumber.
Chen Tang carried Chen Shi back to his room to rest, tucking him in properly. He sat by the bed, gazing at the sleeping Chen Shi, his eyes softening a touch. The Chen Shi lying on the bed overlapped in his mind with the tiny Chen Shi from his memories.
He still remembered how, after Old Lady Wuzhu delivered the baby, she had smiled and told him it was a boy and that he could come in to see them. He had carefully lifted the door curtain, afraid that the wind from outside might blow on his wife and child.
He held the swaddled, tiny Chen Shi, looking at this newborn infant. Suddenly, joy surged within him, and his eyes brimmed with tears.
He felt as if his own bloodline was flowing through this little baby's body, like his life had extended into this child. From that moment on, he no longer feared death. He could do anything for this family, for this child—even give his life.
Because he knew this child would carry a part of him, surviving and continuing in this world.
Moreover, this child would one day have his own children, passing down this bloodline endlessly. In that sense, Chen Tang would achieve a form of immortality. He stepped out of the room and said to Blackie Pot,
"He's quite something. He always manages to surprise me."
Blackie Pot wagged its tail contentedly.
"You're not bad either. You've taught him well," Chen Tang said.
Blackie Pot paused slightly, looking up at him. In its heart, it thought,
"This battle has shaken the master quite a bit."
The father-son clash between the Chen family duo had caused an even greater stir in the Western Capital.
The various Heavenly Listeners monitoring the Chen residence were perched in all sorts of places—some squatting outside the Chen manor walls or on neighbors' rooftops, some on eaves, others hanging upside down from trees. They rapidly recorded the destruction caused by Chen Shi's sword qi, as well as the exquisite finesse of Chen Tang's Mysterious Subtlety Sword Scripture.
One unlucky Heavenly Listener had been pierced through the body by Chen Shi's sword qi and was now plummeting from the branch he hung from, crashing to the ground with a thud.
Immediately, yamen runners from the Respect Heaven Mansion emerged from the shadows, dragging the corpse away. Then three or five more hauled over buckets of water to clean the ground. Once done, they quietly melted back into the darkness, continuing to watch the Chen residence.
Meanwhile, inside the Chen manor, four maids, three servants—including the official Chen Fu—each slipped out hurriedly under cover of night, heading to nearby alleys. There, contacts awaited them. The maids and servants vividly recounted the details of the father-son battle to these contacts.
The contacts departed in haste.
At the same time, the Bureau of Celestial Phenomena had its lesser clerks frantically monitoring the sight of sword qi piercing the long skies, while other clerks flew out to trace the sword qi to its endpoint, rapidly jotting down notes. Numerous junior officials buried their heads in writing, compiling all sorts of data.
Before long, a detailed report on Chen Shi and Chen Tang's strengths landed on the desks of the heads of the Thirteen Great Families in the Western Capital. Yan Xizhi, Zhang Fuzheng, Gao Quan, and others flipped it open at once, reading carefully.
A copy also reached the desks of major figures in the East Factory, Five Armies, Divine Mechanism, Divine Pivot, Three Dukes, and more. Finally, a report on Chen Shi and Chen Tang appeared on the desk of Fuzheng Pavilion's Chamberlain Qin Su.
Qin Su rose from bed, threw on his robes, and read through it overnight. His expression grew grave. He swiftly adjusted his attire and left the Xiusiu Pavilion. Outside, a junior clerk from the Bureau of Celestial Phenomena had been waiting. Upon seeing him, the clerk bowed in greeting.
Qin Su waved it off without returning the courtesy. He stomped his foot, summoning wind and clouds beneath them, which carried the two swiftly toward the city outskirts. The Bureau clerk said,
"Sir, this action will draw attention from outsiders. It will be recorded."
"No time to worry," Qin Su replied.
The clerk could only point out the direction. Qin Su rode the wind and clouds out of the city at top speed, arriving before long at a spot over a hundred li away. They were now far from the Western Capital, in its rear mountains.
The Western Capital was ringed by mountains on three sides, with steep and treacherous peaks. The Five Armies guarded the mountains, holding the strategic high ground.
Few ventured into the mountains at night, given the dangers, but Qin Su was bold in his mastery. He arrived that very night at a certain cliffside. The Bureau clerk said,
"It's right here, sir. Look up."
Qin Su looked up and saw a sword mark on the cliff face, piercing into the rock. The mark was no wider than two fingers, exceedingly slender.
"So narrow?"
Qin Su's face changed. He flew up to the mark and compared it with two fingers held together.
He was gauging it against sword fingers—index and middle fingers pressed together—the width of two fingers matching the sword qi's breadth. After a quick comparison, Qin Su found the mark slightly narrower than his own two fingers. Clearly, the one who wielded this sword qi was a youth.
"The straight-line distance from the Chen residence is one hundred seventeen li," the Bureau clerk said.
Qin Su's voice grew hoarse.
"Sword qi reaching over a hundred li unerringly—that's Soul Transformation realm cultivation. One hundred seventeen li, and the sword qi remains condensed without any dispersion, just as when it left the fingertip. Such control is beyond ordinary Soul Transformation experts!"
He felt only terror.
Even a beam of light, shot from over a hundred li away, would spread many times wider by the time it arrived!
Yet Chen Shi's sword qi was nearly unchanged in width from when it launched from his finger. That was the truly terrifying part.
This was monstrous-level control. In the history of West Ox New Continent, no one in Nascent Soul realm could achieve this—probably only Chen Shi ever could. Qin Su steadied himself, sending his primordial spirit out to delve into the cliff along the sword mark, probing how deeply Chen Shi's sword qi had penetrated.
His primordial spirit entered over a zhang into the mountain before stopping. That was where Chen Shi's sword qi had exhausted its power. Qin Su withdrew his spirit, his face grave.
"Young Master, you have a rival now... Let's head back!"
He hurried back to the Western Capital with the Bureau clerk, not telling the Young Master about it. Instead, he summoned the Fuzheng Pavilion members overnight and recounted his findings from tracing Chen Shi's sword qi.
Everyone's faces shifted slightly upon hearing this.
Qin Su passed around the reports compiled by various factions on the father-son battle. After Mai Qi, Cao Yun Ning, and the others had read through them, their expressions all turned solemn.
"Will Chen Shi be a match for the Young Master?" Registrar Tang Balin asked.
Qin Su said,
"I don't know exactly how far the Young Master's strength has progressed. He slew Zhen Province's Chief Investigator Du Wanshu, who was also Soul Transformation realm. Though it was in one move, we can't extrapolate the Young Master's strength from Du Wanshu's."
Everyone frowned.
Though they served the Young Master, he was their liege, and they knew little of his true power.
Sometimes, a master needed to maintain a necessary air of mystery to rule effectively.
"The Young Master is still cultivating in Chief Secretary's Void Great Realm. Can't we just ask the Chief Secretary?" Dou Qi said. Qin Su hesitated, then slowly nodded.
They went to see the Chief Secretary.
The Fuzheng Pavilion's Chief Secretary was named Shui, given name Xuanzhi—a Great Ascension realm existence of mysterious origins.
He appeared no older than forty or fifty, but such a Great Ascension expert was the most terrifying kind.
Achieving Great Ascension at forty or fifty meant he had spent at most a decade in Refining Emptiness before breaking through to Great Ascension! The group paid their respects to Shui Xuanzhi and explained their purpose.
Shui Xuanzhi was silent for a moment, then said,
"The Young Master's strength surpasses Chen Shi's."
Everyone felt a weight lift from their hearts and breathed a sigh of relief.
If Chief Secretary Shui Xuanzhi said the Young Master surpassed Chen Shi, then he certainly did—no mistake about it.
"But Chen Shi's cultivation speed is faster than the Young Master's," Shui Xuanzhi added.
Everyone tensed up.
Qin Su declared firmly,
"Impossible! Chief Secretary, this can't be! The Young Master cultivates an ancestral technique—no one surpasses it! His aptitude isn't peerless, but it's still first-grade Divine Embryo. Plus, he's training in your Void Great Realm, brimming with heaven-earth righteous qi. His speed leaves others in the dust! What does Chen Shi have?
Dou Qi and the others nodded vigorously.
Though surnamed Ren, the Young Master was truly surnamed Zhu, inheriting the Zhu clan's supreme technique. Even the Thirteen Great Families' secret arts paled in comparison.
With the best technique, best Divine Embryo, and best environment—what could Chen Shi use to compete? Shui Xuanzhi said,
"Chen Shi's cultivation speed is faster than the Young Master's—much faster. His strength grows even quicker."
Everyone was deeply shaken.
No matter their disbelief, they had to accept it now.
Doubting a Great Ascension realm judgment meant something was wrong with their heads. Shui Xuanzhi continued,
"Chen Shi has a Divine Embryo, far superior to first-grade."
This news stunned the Fuzheng Pavilion group. Had the severed innate Dao Embryo returned?
What else in the world could surpass first-grade Divine Embryo? Shui Xuanzhi went on,
"Chen Tang has hidden his strength. He claims peak Refining Emptiness publicly, but he may well have reached Refining Divinity realm."
Silence fell over the group.
Refining Emptiness.
Refining Divinity.
Four realms apart.
Refining Emptiness, Body Fusion, Three Corpses, Refining Divinity.
If Chen Tang was Refining Divinity, why hide three whole realms and claim Refining Emptiness? Good thing they had a powerhouse like Shui Xuanzhi to see through him.
Shui Xuanzhi said,
"I'm saying it's possible, not certain. But he definitely concealed his realm—and by a lot." Tang Balin couldn't help saying,
"But hiding that much is excessive!"
Qin Su said,
"We need to probe him, find out his exact cultivation."
The Fuzheng Pavilion members nodded.
Shui Xuanzhi continued,
"Chen Shi progresses quickly, but before and after the trials and palace exam, he won't catch up. At his current rate, it'll take him a year."
Qin Su, Mai Qi, and the others frowned. A year was too fast.
But at least they had a year. "No need to tell the Young Master about this."
Qin Su pondered briefly, then said to the group,
"Let him cultivate in peace. He's been too distracted lately." Everyone assented.
Commanding vast forces, rallying the realm's hearts, befriending heroes, gathering rare treasures, navigating the Thirteen Great Families and factions—the Young Master's progress was already remarkable.
"But we need to sound out Chen Tang's strength."
Qin Su said,
"The higher his vision from teaching Chen Shi, the faster Chen Shi improves. Best to give him a little knock."
Another Fuzheng Pavilion Chamberlain named Fan Peng, taciturn by nature, spoke flatly,
"I'll handle it."
Qin Su brightened at his words and bowed,
"Brother Fan's prowess has always impressed me. I'll leave it to you." Fan Peng said nothing, striding out.
At the third watch, court officials began departing for the Meridian Gate. Chen Tang set out at this hour too, leaving the Chen residence on foot toward the Meridian Gate.
The streets were empty, save the occasional carriage rumbling by.
He always took this route, at the same time each day, same attire, same gait—like clockwork, precise and monotonous day after day. But it put people at ease.
As he passed through Starry Alley, unlike before, a man sat in the alley, chair blocking his path exactly.
Chen Tang walked straight ahead, footsteps unwavering.
As he passed the man, their Dao fields intersected, grinding like two massive millstones clashing and shifting with terrifying momentum. Chen Tang's body swayed slightly, but he pressed on, passing by.
"About my level, both Refining Emptiness," the man in the chair chuckled lowly.
Chen Tang continued forward, exiting Starry Alley onto Central Street. The instant he stepped onto Central Street, he collided head-on with an oncoming figure. Both bodies jolted, steadying themselves.
The newcomer was burly, with a bearded, muscled frame. The impact shook his primordial spirit loose from his flesh, hovering unstably.
Chen Tang staggered too, nearly losing his footing, divine light flaring within as his primordial spirit visibly wavered. "So careless?" The bearded man growled, glaring before heading into Starry Alley.
"Definitely Body Fusion realm!" the bearded man said to the man in the chair.
"No, should be Refining Emptiness!"
The man shook his head,
"My Dao field clashed with his—equally matched. I felt his primordial spirit powering his Dao field against mine. His Dao field's force flow and distribution were crystal clear to me!"
The bearded man shook his head,
"I collided with him, trying to jar his primordial spirit loose. His was like mine—tightly fused with flesh. That's the hallmark of Body Fusion. No mistake!"
As they argued, Chen Tang reached the end of Central Street. Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder roared, bolts raining down. Chen Tang walked through unharmed, as if blessed by great fortune—no bolt touched him.
A scholar approached from the opposite direction, also walking unscathed amid the thunder.
The scholar smiled faintly at him as they passed.
The thunder ceased.
Sever the Three Corpses Gods: flesh pure yang, primordial spirit pure yang—thunder adds not to the body.
Chen Tang was about to turn from Central Street toward the Meridian Gate. The light here was blocked by the nearby Golden Threshold Archway, shrouded in shadow.
Then an old man approached him, hunched over. They met face-to-face in the archway's shadow.
This old man was none other than Fuzheng Pavilion Chamberlain Fan Peng, a renowned expert at peak Refining Divinity. The previous three had been his men, probing Chen Tang.
The Golden Threshold Archway trembled faintly. Then two figures emerged: one heading to the Meridian Gate, the other back down Central Street.
The scholar, bearded brute, and chair man hurried up to Fan Peng, asking lowly,
"Chamberlain, what realm is Chen Tang?"
Fan Peng's eye twitched, voice hoarse,
"Same as me."
The three exchanged stunned looks.
Fan Peng shivered, whispering,
"But it can't be the same! He yielded to me."