Chapter 294
Chapter 294
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 294
Chapter Title: Chapter 294 Chen Tang's box
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Just now, the Young Master's single flame spell had been incredibly eye-catching, incinerating twelve targets in a row and drawing cheers from the crowd outside the field—"Young Master! Young Master!"—the clamor gradually building into a grand roar.
Meanwhile, when Chen Shi unleashed his technique, the entire eastern hill was covered in yellow flags. Every single target on the mountain had been struck, instantly silencing the shouts from the sidelines. The arena fell deathly quiet.
Because Chen Shi's display was even more difficult, even more dazzling than the Young Master's flame spell!
Compared to it, the Young Master's spell was like a firefly trying to compete with the sun and moon—utterly unworthy of mention.
Suddenly, a juren shouted at the top of his lungs, "Instructor Chen!"
Soon, voices echoed from within the drill grounds: "Instructor Chen!" "Instructor Chen!" "Instructor Chen!"
The hubbub grew louder and louder, with three or four hundred juren roaring in unison, gradually drawing in spectators from outside the field. Their voices merged into a torrent that even the Divine Mechanism Battalion soldiers holding up "Silence" signs couldn't quell.
The Left and Right Vice Ministers of Rites, who were overseeing this martial examination, heard the shouts and saw the yellow flags blanketing the hills. They couldn't help but furrow their brows.
Chen Shi had used the gravel from the drill grounds to hit every target on the mountain. Each juren had six targets; testing twelve at a time meant seventy-two in total!
This level of precise control outshone the Young Master's feat by far, completely stealing his thunder! They had been ordered to build momentum for the Young Master, but now they had no way to do so.
Instead, Chen Shi's momentum only surged higher. "We must report this to Minister Fei!"
The Right Vice Minister of Rites had just spoken when he spotted Minister Fei standing not far off, frowning at the scene. Clearly, even he found it tricky. Chen Shi had completely overshadowed the Young Master. Even if the Young Master took first place, it probably wouldn't stir much excitement.
The Young Master's expression remained unchanged as he left the drill grounds and returned to the Xiexiu Pavilion.
Inside the pavilion, Advisor Shui Xuanzhi, Centurion Qin Su, Fan Peng, Libationer Dou Qi, Huang Yue, and the others were all present, their faces grave. Clearly, the events at the Divine Mechanism Battalion's drill grounds hadn't escaped them.
The glory that should have belonged to the Young Master had been snatched by Chen Shi—a not-insignificant blow to everyone in the Auxiliary Upright Pavilion.
"No need to worry."
The Young Master sat down and said calmly, "What Chen Shi used was the Xu family's Thousand-Mile Flying Sword Technique. The Xu family passed it on to me as well. Everything he knows, I know too. He just had the advantage of going second, so he shone a bit brighter this round."
Qin Su said gravely, "Young Master, even a lion uses full force against a rabbit. Your cultivation and strength may be superior, but don't let your guard down."
The Young Master nodded lightly. "I'll go cultivate first." With that, he entered Shui Xuanzhi's Void Great Realm.
Everyone's gazes turned to Shui Xuanzhi.
Qin Su asked, "What do you make of Chen Shi's technique, Dao Brother?"
Shui Xuanzhi replied, "His cultivation progress is faster than I estimated. Within three months, his realm will surely catch up to the Young Master's! But in terms of actual strength, it might happen even sooner!"
Everyone furrowed their brows.
"Now, Creation Little Five has left the capital."
Fan Peng suddenly said, "With the corpse cloud gone, Chen Tang alone won't be enough to protect Chen Shi."
Everyone furrowed their brows again. Meritorious Officer Wei Xize said, "If we kill Chen Shi, Creation Little Five will come for revenge."
"Not killing him. Just cripple him badly enough that he can't compete with the Young Master."
Fan Peng continued, "As long as he's injured and can't perform at full strength, it won't alert the demon hidden in his sea of consciousness, nor provoke Creation Little Five."
Everyone exchanged glances and nodded. "Feasible."
Qin Su said, "Chen Shi sleeps at the Chen residence at night. A night raid on the Chen residence means dealing with Chen Tang. Possibly even Supervisor Feng Tianhuan and Magistrate Zhang Fuzheng. To be safe, just our Auxiliary Upright Pavilion might not be enough to break in!"
Shui Xuanzhi opened his eyes. "Then we'll need to mobilize the forces supporting the Young Master. We make our move—they'll assist on their own."
"When do we strike?"
"Tonight at midnight!"
Chen Shi had just left the Divine Mechanism Battalion's drill grounds when a familiar voice called out to him. "Hey, Big Brother Chen!"
Hu Feifei stood prettily outside the camp, beaming with pride. "Did you see? I hit the farthest target! First place is basically mine this time! Even if I don't get it, I'll still rank in the top three!"
Chen Shi walked over and asked, "The metropolitan exam doesn't allow demon cultivators. How'd you sneak in?"
"Thanks to the clan chief, of course."
Hu Feifei laughed. "Which bigwig's household in the capital doesn't have a few fox spirits? Our fox clan might not have many high officials in the court, but we're all over their mansions. A whisper in the ear, and they let me in. I'm going to be the fox clan's first female top scholar!"
Chen Shi asked, "Still no ideal husband?"
"Nope!"
Hu Feifei looked a bit troubled, but then perked up and grinned. "I'm done thinking about that. If I can't find a top scholar husband, I'll just become one myself and go back as grandma."
Her ambition was simple: to become the "grandma" on the lips of the fox clan's little vixens, earning the reverence of all the fox spirits.
"And Nini?" Chen Shi asked.
"Your dad has her."
The two scanned around and soon spotted Chen Tang, who was indeed holding Nini.
The boatwoman and her daughter were nearby too, watching Chen Tang nervously, afraid he'd drop the little hellion.
"Young Master Chen, our wounds are mostly healed. We can head to the underworld to find your mother's soul now," the boatwoman said.
Chen Shi was overjoyed and bowed deeply. "Thank you both for your trouble."
He gave a full salute, and the two hurriedly returned it.
Chen Tang was thrilled too. He set Nini down, kowtowed to them, and said, "My wife's safety is in your hands, benefactors!"
"No need for that!"
The boatwoman and her daughter kowtowed back frantically. "You're too kind, Lord Chen! We had no choice!" The boatwoman added, "Please stop, sir! We're afraid of getting beaten again."
Chen Tang stood, his face stern as he said to Chen Shi, "Be more polite to our benefactors!"
Chen Shi bowed in acknowledgment and looked at them solemnly. The boatwoman and her daughter straightened up. "We'll go now!" With that, they turned and vanished as a gust of阴风.
Chen Tang frowned slightly. This didn't quite match what he'd experienced. Shouldn't one grovel when asking for favors? Where was the logic in beating people at the drop of a hat?
Still, he didn't pry into things he didn't understand.
Chen Tang handed Nini back to Hu Feifei. Hu Xiaoliang and Uncle Sheep walked over. Chen Tang frowned deeply and whispered, "Chen Shi, stay away from them... Chen Shi!"
Chen Shi walked over anyway, and Hu Feifei, holding Nini's hand, ran up too.
Uncle Sheep's voice rang out: "Chen Tang, you brat, get over here to your Sheep Uncle!"
Chen Tang's face darkened as he walked over and paid his respects. "Chen Tang greets Sheep Uncle and Hu Uncle. Where's Granny Sha? Why isn't she here?"
Uncle Sheep said, "She was just here, but she spotted Xiang Yunfei and ran off that way."
Chen Tang looked around and finally spotted Granny Sha's ex-husband's family—the Ministry of Personnel's Vice Minister Xiang Yunfei. In front of Xiang stood a flower-like beauty in her twenties, chatting with him while laughing flirtatiously, utterly bewitching the minister.
Xiang Yunfei was old, over sixty, but gazing at her, he seemed decades younger. "That woman looks just like Granny Sha when she was young," Chen Tang thought.
He'd seen a young Granny Sha back in his childhood.
Soon after, the woman walked over and laughed. "Old Xiang still prefers women like me." Chen Tang reminded her, "Granny, Lord Xiang has remarried."
Granny Sha snapped viciously, "Call me sis!" Chen Tang complied smoothly: "Sha Sis."
Granny Sha was very pleased and laughed. "Little Ten, you call me sis too. Dare utter a 'granny' and I'll rip both your mouths to shreds! Also, no one tells Lord Xiang the truth about me!"
Everyone nodded hurriedly.
Ministry Vice Minister Xiang Yunfei kept glancing their way. Granny Sha smiled at him, then quickly veiled half her face with a scented handkerchief, looking coy and bashful.
Chen Shi interrupted her coquettish gaze. "Sha Sis, I ran into Little Five. He taught me how to comprehend the Ghost God Domain from the Eight Trigrams Protective Charm. I don't quite get it—could you teach me, Sis?"
He then described how Creation Little Five had used the Universe Transformation from the Eight Trigrams Protective Charm. "He derived heaven and earth from two hexagrams, turning the capital into a Ghost God Domain of Universe Transformation. Yet almost everyone in the city was unaware the world had changed. Sha Sis, do you know how to comprehend the Ghost God Domain within it?"
Granny Sha had been focused on Xiang Yunfei, but as he spoke, her face grew more and more serious. She set the minister aside and probed for details on Creation Little Five's Universe Transformation. After a long pause, she said, "Little Five's impressive—deriving something better from my technique. I need time to study it carefully... Give me a few days!"
Chen Tang coughed. Granny Sha caught on and laughed. "Don't worry, it won't delay things. Little Ten, you've got the big exam tomorrow. Don't overthink—get some early rest."
Chen Shi acknowledged it.
Night fell, but Chen Shi didn't sleep. Instead, he entered the Minor Chiliocosm within the Fox Grape Mirror to cultivate and advance his realm. This time, layers of heavens unfolded behind his head, completing the nine heavens flawlessly. His cultivation speed was astonishing, his mind utterly focused.
Meanwhile, at the Chen residence, Chen Tang fetched a cinnabar brush. Under the moonlight, he meticulously repaired Talisman God Tianji's head, stroke by stroke.
This Talisman God Tianji was the deranged Tianji that Chen Shi had picked up. As a talisman creation, Chen Shi didn't know how to fix it and could only place it in the Divine Shrine, letting his own vital blood aid its self-repair. But Chen Tang repaired it with the cinnabar brush—clearly not his first time.
"Chen Tang."
Talisman God Tianji was much clearer-headed now. He said to him, "Where's the master? Where's my butt? Did Creation Little Five eat it...? Have you seen my legs?"
Chen Tang said nothing. When the ink ran out, he mixed a fresh batch.
The ink he used was special—something Chen Shi had never seen. According to the Talisman Creation Compendium, the ink for inscribing Talisman God Tianji was exceedingly rare and precious, requiring many heavenly materials and earthly treasures to refine.
Chen Shi had once planned to hunt them down, but even emptying his fortune wouldn't cover a third of them, so he'd given up.
"Being Vice Minister of Revenue, overseeing the eight treasuries and four granaries, has its perks." As Chen Tang drew, he murmured. He patched the hole in Tianji's head and drew it new legs.
Talisman God Tianji looked majestic and handsome, like a jade-faced scholar, but stood several zhang tall with eight arms, radiating overwhelming aura. It was quite conspicuous in the courtyard.
"My butt grew back." It twisted around in surprise.
Talisman God Tianji was the pinnacle talisman of Grandpa Chen Yindu's Southern Talisman school, requiring supreme mastery to inscribe and birth such a talisman god—a feat akin to creation.
Even so, its intelligence wasn't high, and it was prone to lunar influence, turning into an evil god. Plus, the materials were so costly that even Grandpa Chen Yindu hadn't made many.
"My legs weren't eaten by Little Five." Talisman God Tianji looked down at them in wonder.
The instant it looked down, Chen Tang pressed lightly on its body. Suddenly, its form shrank rapidly, becoming a fist-sized cloth doll that dropped to the ground.
Chen Tang picked up the doll and blew off the dust.
The doll had eight arms, intricate patterns etched on its body—exquisitely crafted.
Chen Tang fetched a small chest, carefully opened it, and placed the doll inside. "One more Tianji," he murmured.
Inside the chest, identical dolls lay in four rows of nine each.
The first time Creation Little Five came to the capital, he'd sought Chen Tang out—back when Chen Tang carried this chest. It was his trump card.
After so long as Right Vice Minister of Revenue, wielding immense power and sidelining the Revenue Minister, with all the clerks in the eight treasuries and four granaries as his own men—he'd tapped the ministry's vaults for materials to craft Talisman God Tianji.
Even with such massive embezzlement, he'd maintained an image of pristine integrity.
All these years, he'd been thinking of that ruthless elder brother, preparing a grand gift for Creation Little Five.
He knew he wasn't Little Five's match, but as the strongest talismancer's heir, he could triumph without lifting a finger. Control the Revenue Ministry, and you controlled the realm's wealth. Wield that wisely, and you could defeat Creation Little Five!
Creation Little Five had seen the Tianji chest but hadn't acted—instead turning to leave.
Little Five's trip to the capital had two goals: find whoever held Chen Shi's Divine Embryo, and eliminate this useless younger brother, sending him to the underworld to reunite with their father for some family piety.
If he himself couldn't go below to keep Dad company, shipping Brother Chen Tang over counted as filial too.
But this chest made him think his brother wasn't entirely worthless. Why ruin brotherly bonds and benefit outsiders?
"Tonight's not yet the time to use you."
Chen Tang straightened up, returned the chest to its place, went to the main hall, and bowed to the sword enshrined on the long table. In a low voice, he said, "Fellow Daoist, fight alongside me tonight!"