Ze Tian Ji Chapter 177

Chapter 177 – A Secret Sword

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

If this was not a favor from the heavens and also not a sudden shift in fate, but a reward for one’s own efforts, then one naturally would have confidence, but this confidence belonged to only Chen Changsheng himself.

Mo Yu would not think this way. She still had no confidence in him.

Chen Changsheng had already given her too many surprises, had created too many miracles in this year’s Grand Examination, even entering Ethereal Opening in the blink of an eye in the middle of this intense battle. And yet she still did not believe that Chen Changsheng could defeat Gou Hanshi, because she had seen far too many miracles in the last twenty-some years, like Zhou Tong’s miraculous rise in power or Prince Chen Liu’s insistence on attempting Ethereal Opening despite the fierce opposition from the Imperial clan and the ministers of court. She was keenly aware that though miracles could resolve a few problems, they could not address all of them.

There was a difference in one who had cultivated for a long time and one who had cultivated for a short time, a difference in ability. Even if Chen Changsheng had already caught up to Gou Hanshi in terms of cultivation level, he still could not catch up to Gou Hanshi in this aspect.

Since the start of the Grand Examination, the three representatives of the southern sect had maintained their silence. This sort of silence might have been a sort of courtesy, but it also could have symbolized confidence in the southern examinees, especially towards Gou Hanshi. Chen Changsheng’s unexpected breakthrough into Ethereal Opening had brought a hint of anxiety to their faces, but they soon returned to serenity. They thought the same as Mo Yu, still believing that Chen Changsheng did not have much of a chance. They had not lost the slightest confidence in Gou Hanshi.

Chen Changsheng, who had suddenly reached Ethereal Opening, could be said to be the strongest amongst his peers, and could even be considered as surpassing Xu Yourong, number one on the Proclamation of Azure Sky. However, it was not possible for him to be put on the level of Gou Hanshi and Qiushan Jun. They were all at Ethereal Opening, and even if they looked equal in terms of attainments in the path of the sword and cultivation knowledge on paper, the disciples of Mount Li had arduously trained their swords. How could Chen Changsheng surpass them in this aspect?

The two Sacred Hall archbishops were also very quiet. They were shocked, but their silence was mainly due to that autumn rain from earlier. After that bout of autumn rain, these two Prefects of the Orthodoxy had become very taciturn. Even the arrival of Archbishop Mei Lisha of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education had not caused much of a change in their expressions.

The autumn rain had come from outside the Green Leaf World and symbolized the Pope’s will.

They were trusted aides to the Pope and in the eyes of the believers and the ministers of the Imperial Court, they were also the representatives of the Orthodoxy’s new faction. As a result, they had spared no effort to suppress Chen Changsheng, yet who could have imagined that the Pope would use these several bouts of autumn rain to express his stance on Chen Changsheng? How could they not be shocked? As for the match between Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi taking place below, they did not know which side to stand on. They only felt that since Chen Changsheng had already created so many miracles, perhaps he really did have some hope of pulling it off.

The important personages on the second floor all felt differently. All were silent. Only Archbishop Mei Lisha, who had arrived not too long ago, remained calm. The elder had also been rather shocked, his mind slightly stimulated, at Chen Changsheng’s sudden breakthrough into Ethereal Opening, but he was not visibly moved, as nothing had yet come to an end.

Xue Xingchuan’s eyebrows rose higher and higher, as if he had discovered something rather interesting. Xu Shiji’s brow creased tighter and tighter, as if he had seen something particularly abrupt and uninteresting.

Regardless of what the people on the second floor thought, the battle still had to continue.

Chen Changsheng charged for a third time towards Gou Hanshi, his movements erratic and difficult to fathom. The Yeshi Step broke through the curtain of rain, guided by the stars. Without a single noise, Chen Changsheng appeared in front of Gou Hanshi.

He slashed down, his dagger carrying an enormous amount of true essence. The cicadas outside the Hall of Washing Away Dust suddenly began to chirp even louder while the thunder in the raincloud high up in the blue sky descended with boundless might.

Since he had entered Ethereal Opening, Chen Changsheng’s strength had truly undergone a massive improvement.

In front of this attack, Gou Hanshi remained calm. None of the earlier shock from Chen Changsheng’s Ethereal Opening could be found on Gou Hanshi’s plain and ordinary face.

He gripped his sword of unknown worth, flipped his wrist, and lightly raised the sword to meet the dagger. Suddenly, a sun burst from the tip of the sword, illuminating the entire building!

It was like a sun truly had risen from the edge of the sword.

This was not the bloody setting sun, nor the fresh and clean morning sun. Instead, it was the most intense sun, the hottest sun, the brightest sun, the sun of high noon that was impossible to look at directly!

Gou Hanshi’s strongest move was the Three Songs of the Fisherman? No, as a disciple of the Mount Li Sword Sect, how could he travel the vast sea that was the art of the sword with only one boat? This attack was his truly most powerful move!

Upon seeing the sun rise from the tip of the sword, Chen Changsheng’s expression turned grave, but his steps did not slow. On the contrary, it was from the second floor that gasps could be heard. These gasps were brimming with shock and doubt.

“Golden Crow! How is this possible!”

“The Golden Crow has returned to Mount Li! Could it be that that person has returned?”

This attack of Gou Hanshi’s was the Secret Sword of the Golden Crow, a sword style that had not been passed down in the Mount Li Sword Sect for several centuries now. It was rumored that only the legendary Junior Martial Uncle of Mount Li knew this sword style. No one had expected that this mighty sword style which could burn everything around it into nothing would make its return to the world in this year’s Grand Examination!

As the sun burst from the tip of Gou Hanshi’s sword, the world instantly changed colors. The interior of the Hall of Washing Away Dust was lit as brightly as day while the rain falling from the sky transformed into threads of jade. The evening clouds on the distant horizon of the blue sky dissipated in a flash and that sun that had hung angled in the sky seemed to return to its zenith, unleashing blazing rays of light. All of the Hall of Washing Away Dust, including the trees outside and the rain inside, seemed to simultaneously be set ablaze or plated with a layer of gold.

Without question, this attack was a supreme teaching of the Mount Li Sword Sect, one of its strongest moves.

On the same cultivation level, just how could one find a method to break it?

Even in the Orthodox Academy’s golden age, its erudite and powerful principal and teachers would have not been able to find a single way to break this secret sword style of Mount Li’s Junior Martial Uncle, so how could Chen Changsheng?

No one believed that Chen Changsheng could defeat Gou Hanshi’s strike.

But he still gripped his dagger and continued, silent and focused. It was like he had not even seen that sun in the sky or the sun on Gou Hanshi’s sword, nor had he seen the entirety of the Hall of Washing Away Dust plated in gold.

His childish face contained an unquestionable determination and certainty. Those important personages who saw this expression had the inexplicable feeling that he really did have a way of breaking this attack.

And he apparently felt like he could very easily break this technique.

Gou Hanshi had also seen his expression, had seen the resolve on his face, seen the youth floating towards him through the air, dagger in hand. He even felt like he had seen the daring spirit of a sovereign descending upon the world.

In normal circumstances, he should have deeply admired Chen Changsheng’s powerful will and mental fortitude.

But at this moment, he was furious.

Because it was impossible for Chen Changsheng to break this attack.

Chen Changsheng’s attitude was more like a humiliation towards the Mount Li Sword Sect and that legendary Junior Martial Uncle.