Against the Gods

Chapter 154 - The Truth

“Blue Moon Princess.... She’s actually... the Blue Moon Princess....” Yun Che muttered somewhat listlessly. As a citizen of the Blue Wind Empire, Yun Che naturally wouldn’t have not known the name Blue Moon Princess. The current Blue Wind Emperor Cang Wanhe had a total of seven sons and one daughter, The crown prince was “Blue Dragon Crown Prince” Cang Lin, and the only daughter, was “Blue Moon Princess” Cang Yue. When he was young, both the Emperor and the Princess were existences in legends. Even though he and Xiao Lingxi had occasionally fantasized about how the emperor and princess would look like, he had never expected to meet them one day.

As a boy, there would always be a special type of fantasy toward the “Princess”. It was because the title “Princess” symbolized nobility, elegance, and beauty; the most flawless and grandeur of females in the world. Yun Che had never at all expected, that Lan Xueruo was actually the Blue Moon Princess he had longed for and fantasized about countless times when he was young, just like many other men did.

He ascertained that Lan Xueruo’s identity must be incomparably dignified, but had never thought about her toward the identity of “Princess”. It was because the Princess originated from the imperial family, and was also the only daughter of the emperor; naturally she would carry a thick pampered aura and imperiousness. But he couldn’t find the slightest of those within Lan Xueruo; there was only gentleness and kindness. She was so kind to any and everyone, never possessed a conceited attitude, and would never look down upon or discriminate against any single person. When seeing others in trouble, her first thoughts would be to help them.... These dispositions were completely different from the Blue Moon Princess’ image in his mind. She was even more approachable and gentle than a woman from an ordinary official’s family.

She’s the Blue Moon Princess.... But I, am only a vagabond without any background, influences nor family who came from the insignificant Floating Cloud City. Why did she treat me like that in the first place?

“Since she is the Blue Moon Princess, why would she be in the New Moon City during that time?” Yun Che asked absentmindedly.

Qin Wuyou did not directly answer him, and questioned back: “Yun Che, do you know the current condition of the Blue Wind Imperial Family?”

Yun Che thought for a bit, and lightly nodded: “I know a little, Senior Brother Sikong had briefly mentioned it to me before. It seems as if the Emperor is very sick, and Crown Prince Cang Lin as well as the third prince Cang Shuo, is secretly preparing to scramble for the next seat of the Emperor. They have also respectively hooked up with the Xiao Sect and the Burning Heaven Clan.”

As he said till here, Yun Che’s heart stifled. The Emperor was gravely ill.... No wonder why the depth of her eyes had always hid such a deep melancholy; so that was the reason.

“That’s right.” Qin Wuyou nodded, then started to narrate in detail.

“It was around three years ago. The Emperor suddenly fell ill and could not recover, and none of the doctors in the palace had any curing methods. I invited the publically accepted number one genius doctor Gu Qiuhong afterwards to diagnose and treat the Emperor. The conclusion he arrived at was that the Emperor had overworked himself these years, and already had hidden ailments in his entire body. With the wind chill that time, all of the hidden ailments broke out and damaged his Life Vein, making his vitality extremely feeble. Damages to the Life Vein can’t be cured by any medicine; there is no other way but to be nourished throughout day and night with extremely nourishing items.”

“How many years of hidden ailments? To damage the Life Vein?” Yun Che’s brows locked together immediately. These sort of symptoms exist?

“Several tens of famous doctors throughout the land were also invited afterwards, and they all concluded that the Emperor didn’t have any ailment at all, only that his body is inexplicably feeble. And these conclusions all directly prove the genius doctor Gu Qiuhong’s words to be true. And Gu Qiuhong had also said before, damages to the life vein can’t be healed by any medicine. If the Emperor is well nourished, he could live for five years at most. As the number one genius doctor in the Blue Wind Empire, Gu Qiuhong had never spoke baseless words in medicinal arts. It’s already been three years now, which also means that the current lifespan of the Emperor is at most two more years. Last month, my elder brother had even entered the palace and met the Emperor. When he came back, he said the Emperor’s complexion was extremely poor, and his breath was weak; Let alone two years, it’s difficult to say whether he can last one year or not.”

Yun Che “...”

“After the Emperor’s Life Veins were damaged and he could not get up from bed, troubles started everywhere in the palace. The Crown Prince Cang Lin started to knock from the side for the Emperor to let him succeed, and the Third Prince Cang Shuo had already eyed the Emperor’s throne for even longer. The two of them only secretly fought at first, but along with the escalation of the battle, it became a open war that everyone in the Blue Wind Imperial City knew about. The Crown Prince has the support of the Second and Seventh Prince; the Third Prince on the other hand, is being supported by the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Prince. The two used various methods to win over the power within the palace, even to the point of devouring the Emperor’s core power bit by bit. The two sides had always been evenly matched, and neither could completely suppress the other side.”

“Originally, this kind of battle for the throne is perfectly normal in the imperial palace. Virtually before every succession of a new emperor, this kind of prelude will always happen. The Emperor had always let it happen and didn’t mind it. However, no one had ever expected that to suppress the Third Prince Cang Shuo’s camp, the First Prince Cang Lin actually borrowed the power of Xiao Sect. To contend against that, The Third Prince Cang Shuo also went along and borrowed the power of Burning Heaven Clan.”

“Sigh.” Qin Wuyou made a long sigh, and said: “The Xiao Sect and Burning Heaven Clan secretly had ambitions all along, eyeing the privilege that could control the world. The Imperial Family had always been careful when dealing with them, and the Imperial Family also had good relations with the Heavenly Sword Villa; with the Heavenly Sword Villa restricting them, the Xiao Sect and Burning Heaven Clan didn’t truly dare seize the Imperial Family’s power either. However, them directly seizing and the Imperial Family voluntarily borrowing their influences are two entirely different concepts. The latter, they can let their influence slowly penetrate into the Imperial Family bit by bit via Cang Lin or Cang Shuo. When the time comes, even though the surname of the Imperial Family would still be Cang, the main power will be in the control of Xiao Sect or Burning Heaven Clan. Even the Heavenly Sword Villa wouldn’t be able to say anything.”

“If that’s the case, then there’s a higher chance that Xiao Sect and Burning Heaven Clan are the ones who took the initiative in luring Cang Lin and Cang Shuo.” Yun Che said calmly.

“That’s right.” Qin Wuyou nodded: “The emperor was extremely furious upon finding out about these, but it was already too late. Because at that time, no matter the Crown Prince Cang Lin or the Third Prince Cang Shuo, their influences had already spread throughout the imperial palace; even if he was their father and the emperor, he could already no longer forcefully affect them, not to mention that Xiao Sect and Burning Heaven Clan are also secretly helping them from their respective sides. It was to the extent where, if the emperor didn’t possess a fragment of deeply rooted core power, as well as the Heavenly Sword Villa’s protection, Crown Prince Cang Lin and Third Prince Cang Shuo may have already forced him off his throne long ago.”

As he spoke to here, Qin Wuyou’s face was brimming with anger. After he calmed his state of mind, a pained expression emerged on his face: “These years, Crown Prince Cang Lin and Third Prince Cang Shuo became the main characters of the Imperial Family; yet the Emperor laid in the bedchamber all year long, and is almost forgotten by the people. Out of the Emperor’s seven sons and one daughter, the only one left who truly cared for and accompanied him in the end, is his only daughter, which is also Princess Cang Yue. Sigh... These three years, it was really tough for her. It’s also fortunate that she’s only a girl, and didn’t have any power and threat. Otherwise, she perhaps would have already received the Crown Prince and Third Prince’s secret persecutions, sigh.”

“She wants to prevent the Crown Prince and the Third Prince from inviting wolves into the palace?” Yun Che said with a frown.

“She tried before, but gave up. Because it’s simply impossible for her to prevent it at all.” Qin Wuyou sentimentally shook his head: “In this battle, we, the Blue Wind Profound Palace stands in a neutral position and is only devoted to the Emperor; at the same time, we also became Princess Cang Yue’s only backing. However, the will of the disciples can not be controlled by us. Out of the one hundred disciples in the Inner Palace, more than half have already been roped in under the flag of Crown Prince Cang Lin and Third Prince Cang Shuo, including the Heavenly Profound Ranking’s second place Feng Bufan and third Place Fang Feilong.”

“Princess Cang Yue knows it herself that she cannot stop the ambition of Crown Prince and Third Prince with her insignificant power, and had always accompanied the king. Two years ago, to satisfy a leftover regret of the Emperor, she entered the Blue Wind Profound Palace with the identity “Lan Xueruo”. Leaving after one month, she then left the Imperial City and transferred throughout the big Branch Profound Palaces within the empire to look for someone to help her father, the Emperor, achieve his wish.”

As he spoke to here, Qin Wuyou looked at Yun Che with a fixed gaze.

“So I am the person she was looking for?” Yun Che spoke with a face void of expression: “What is her father’s wish? Why was I chosen? Why does she think that I can help her father realize this wish?”

“Blue Wind Ranking Tournament.” Qin Wuyou cooly spoke out four words.

These four words, shook Yun Che’s heart all of a sudden. He said: “Could it be...”

“Sigh~~” Qin Wuyou sighed once again. After bringing up the “Blue Wind Ranking Tournament, his expression also became very gloomy. He stood up, walked to the bamboo window with both hands behind his back, and spoke slowly: “Speaking of Blue Wind Profound Palace, no one does not know that it was established by our Blue Wind Imperial Family. It is the biggest Profound Palace in the entire Blue Wind Empire, and is the cultivation dreamland of inumerous young profound practitioners. However, Sects are like the trees in a forest in the Blue Wind Empire, and there are countless strong individuals. In the eyes of those great sects, us Blue Wind Profound Palace is no more than a joke.”

“The Blue Wind Ranking Tournament was originally held once every ten years, then was shortened to once every five years. One hundred years ago, it was shortened once again to be held once every three years. From the first Blue Wind Ranking Tournament until now, it has been held exactly ninety nine times. The Blue Wind Imperial Family, as the political core of the nation, will naturally be invited every time. However, after an entire ninety nine tournaments, no one of the Imperial Family was ever able to enter the top one hundred; no one ever! What kind of joke and humiliation was that. And when the current Emperor ascended the throne, his biggest wish was to see the Blue Wind Imperial Family squeeze into the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament’s top one hundred during his reign... But after near twenty years since he ascended the throne, and having gone through the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament six times, this wish of his could never be realized. Now, his lifespan is almost up, and this has become his lifetime’s regret. In order to help the Emperor realize this wish, Princess Cang Yue left the Imperial Family to search for gifted profound practitioners who can represent the Imperial Family and enter the top one hundred ranks. After two years of time, she choose you.”

“... So that’s.... how it is.”

He had finally solved the puzzle as to why Lan Xuerou was so good to him, to the point of willingly risking great dangers to save him. After knowing the truth, he couldn’t really tell how he felt in his heart either.

“The Blue Wind Imperial Family possesses a special type of Profound Art, called the ‘Monarch Heart Secret Art’. Only those with the Imperial bloodline who are also kind and pure in heart may cultivate it. Out of the seven princes and one princess, Princess Cang Yue is the only one who successfully cultivated the ‘Monarch Heart Secret Art’. With the ‘Monarch Heart Secret Art’, one can peek into a person’s fate and luck to a certain extent. Princess Cang Yue probably saw extraordinary fate and luck on you using the ‘Monarch Heart Secret Art’. That together with your shocking performance at New Moon Profound Palace, made her chose you without hesitation.”

Yun Che: “...”

“Now, do you understand what I meant by ‘conviction’?” Qin Wuyou turned around, and said meaningfully.

“I’ve basically understood. At least, I’ll need to represent the Blue Wind Imperial Family to participate in the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament for her.” Yun Che had dull expression on his face. It was unknown as to what he was thinking.

“No, just this point, can’t really be considered a conviction. After all, there is only success and failure in participating in the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament, and there’s no relation with life and death.” Qin Wuyou continued: “Two years ago, finding the appropriate person was only one of the reasons why Princess Cang Yue left the Imperial City. The more important reason is... to escape from a frightening person.”

“Who?” Yun Che slightly raised his head.

“The fourth place in the previous Blue Wind Ranking Tournament—— Burning Heaven Clan Master Fen Duanhun’s eldest son, who’s also the Young Clan Master of Burning Heaven Clan—— Fen Juecheng!

Author PS + TL note: [Three sons of Fen Duanhun: Fen Juecheng (absolute city, 22 yr), Fen Juebi (absolute wall, 19 yr), Yan Juechen (absolute dust, 17 yr, rank 1 in Blue Wind Profound Palace)]