423 You Are Chen Changsheng?

Zhu Luo's voice was very angry and very severe. It was very difficult toprefix the word 'severe', but if one were to discuss the most fitting term,then nothing would be better than the word 'blood', just like how the cuckoocalled so much that it began to cry blood.[Note] It was just that thisdescription did not match with his identity. Of course, if one associated thiswith his current enemy, that the target of his denouncement was the Holy Maidenof the south, then perhaps they would understand a bit more. "In any case, you have violated the oath made by the Saints back then!" Zhu Luo's enraged accusation echoed through the deathly silence of XunyangCity. This silence was completely different from that of Guan Xingke. When thepeople heard this accusation, the vast majority of them had no idea what thisoath of the Saints was. They could only think of a statement enshrined in thehighest laws of every country. The rough meaning of this statement was this: heaven makes no distinctionbetween north and south, the earth pays no regard to east and west. As long asthey were within the united realm consisting of the human world and the landalong the two shores of the Red River, those experts that had stepped into theDivine Domain were not allowed to argue with each other, much less engage inbattle. Only if that Divine Domain expert had done something completely againstthe general interest of the alliance would conflict be allowed—this was theso-called oath of the Saints. Considering it from the perspective of the humans and demi-humans unitingagainst the demons, this oath was undoubtedly very reasonable and also mostnecessary. The Holy Maiden's attacks against Zhu Luo and Guan Xingke were thefirmest violation of this oath. "Then what about you two? The entire world knows that although my seniorbrother is not one of the Saints nor one of the Eight Storms, his cultivationhas long since stepped into the Divine Domain. For what reason can you attackhim?" The Holy Maiden gazed in the direction of the city gate and said, "Wang Po isone of the five young people that is most likely to step into the DivineDomain, and you would actually selfishly wish to kill him? Could this not be aviolation of the oath we Saints made that year?" Her expression and tone were both very serene, yet they naturally emitted adignified and holy aura. Zhu Luo furiously shouted back, "Wang Po is unaware of the big picture. As hissenior, how is it selfish that I discipline him?" The Holy Maiden calmly continued, "The Zhu clan of Tianliang County wants toendure throughout the ages, so how could you let Wang Po of Tianliang continueto mature? If you insist on concealing your own selfish motives, then perhapsit means you aren't even willing to face your true self." Zhu Luo was exceedingly angry and was preparing to refute this, when the HolyMaiden continued, "All oaths are words from the heart. For the Pope and SeniorBrother Mei's sake, I will not kill you today. Go." Hearing these words, Zhu Luo's anger assaulted his heart and his injuriessuddenly broke out, causing blood to flow out of him at an even faster rate.Guan Xingke, who had remained silent the entire time, saw this miserable scene,and then suddenly aimed a supercilious look at the dark clouds above XunyangCity.  This supercilious look was not friendly. It was loathing, it was disdain, andit was especially anger. Those low-hanging clouds suddenly seemed ready topart, and one could even make out the distant radiance of a few stars in thenight sky!  The starlight erupted, shrouding all of Xunyang City, descending upon thesoaked streets like the frost of an autumn day. A somber atmosphere pervadedthe city. Separated by ten-odd li, the Holy Maiden gazed at Guan Xingke over by the citygate, lifted her right hand, and pointed. There was a shattering sound followed by countless more shattering sounds. It was like the sound of some expert specializing in area attacks using astaff to break tens of thousands of porcelain vases at once. It was also like the sound of the seas of consciousness of countlesscultivators snapping— Incomparably crisp, purifying the heart and moving the soul. Crackcrackcrackcrack! The snowflakes descending from the sky broke. The frost just congealing on thesurface of the puddles broke. In the ten-odd li between the Holy Maiden and the city gate, everything broke. Guan Xingke's bamboo hat also broke into shreds. His lips, too, broke andbegan to bleed. His heart, brimming with hostility and pride, in this instant, also finallybroke. He no longer had any hesitation. Supporting Zhu Luo, he turned and beganrunning out of the city towards that plain seemingly covered in the night,though no one knew what time of day it actually was. In a few seconds, he hadvanished without a trace. Xunyang City was incomparably quiet, as if there wasn't a single person within. Those normal people that didn't have the ability to participate in this battlewere all hiding in their own houses, on top of or within their kangs, behindtheir windows or in front of their fences. They were still frightened andanxious, even attempting to suppress their breaths. Those cultivators that did have the ability to participate in this battle,those cultivators that wanted to kill Su Li, could also only follow in Zhu Luoand Guan Xingke's footsteps and depart, including such experts as Liang Wangsunand Xue He. Hua Jiefu took the priests in Xunyang City and began to isolate the streetsravaged by the storm, leaving a silent and deserted space for a conversation totake place—the people worthy of remaining at the scene, besides Su Li and theHoly Maiden of the south, were naturally those three who used their lives andunimaginable will to protect Su Li so that he could live up to this point. This plan had its origins in the events of the Garden of Zhou, the brush wasput to the paper on the snowy plains with the encirclement of the demons, andthen it persisted from the military fort down to this cold-blooded killing inXunyang City, where it all finally came to an end. This assassination of Su Lifinally had its conclusion—Su Li had not died and those people that wanted tokill him had all failed. From the military fort to Xunyang City, he had been accompanied by ChenChangsheng all the way. However, he was keenly aware that the person that wasultimately able to resolve this problem was that friend of his which the entirecontinent was unaware of. Of course, the word 'friend' here was open to question. Perhaps truly because this status was open to question, Su Li was somewhatembarrassed. He gazed at the Holy Maiden, giving off a low-key yet very naturalfeeling, and said, "How come you came so late?" Anyone who had just rescued another and then heard such accusing words wouldget very angry, but not the Holy Maiden. On the contrary, she very serenelyreplied, "I was delayed by someone for a while." Serenity truly was a sort of strength, representing sincerity. Su Li had felt this sort of strength many years ago, yet he still had no ideahow to confront it. The so-called traveling the four seas and disregarding theaffairs of the world was for the most part because he wanted to avoid thisstrength. Even now, he still had no idea how to directly face it, but he had atleast learned how to change the subject. "Who delayed you?" The Holy Maiden did not directly answer his question, saying, "My disciple washeavily injured." It was then that a rather uncertain but certainly concerned and shocked voicerang out. "Xu Yourong was injured? She...is she okay?" The person who asked this question was naturally Chen Changsheng. The Holy Maiden's gaze rested on the youth's body. She did not smile, not even the lightest of smiles. She was very calm, and thus very dignified, solemn, and terrifying. She asked, "You are Chen Changsheng?" Chen Changsheng suddenly understood where the problem lay. He had a very hostile relationship with Xu Yourong, hostile in every way. Hehad once thought that if he were a relative of Xu Yourong's, he woulddefinitely have a very poor opinion of that youth called Chen Changsheng. The Holy Maiden was Xu Yourong's teacher, the person that most cherished anddoted upon Xu Yourong. However, he had just experienced a grand battle and asked himself about hisown life and death. At this point, he absolutely could not back down. He looked at the Holy Maiden and said very sincerely, "Yes, I am ChenChangsheng."