"Huang Tian! Huang Tian!"
A purple-gold voice line, resplendent, fell right beside his ear. Huang Tian's will stirred. His gaze followed the voice line into the distance, and a scene appeared clearly before his eyes.
Afternoon sunlight slanted in through the windows. Now and then a few birdcalls could be heard. The classroom was a little stuffy.
At the podium, a middle-aged woman teacher lectured from the textbook for a while, then felt her mouth go dry. She set the book down, picked up the cup on the desk, unscrewed the cap, and drank several mouthfuls of water. Only when she felt somewhat refreshed did she set the cup down and let her gaze sweep the students below the podium.
"Hm?"
Her brows suddenly drew together. She had seen, in the fifth row on the right side of the classroom, against the wall, a fair-skinned youth's head sinking little by little. After sinking for a second he jolted awake and unconsciously lifted it. The pen in his hand stirred slightly with the motion, as if he meant to tell the teacher by it that he had not been dozing—
But it lasted less than two or three seconds. His head sank again, and this time he simply laid his head down on the desk. The pen in his right hand went completely still.
Tap, tap—
Textbook in her arms, the woman teacher went on explaining what was written there as she stepped down from the podium. She walked slowly to the youth's desk and stopped, then rapped the desktop lightly with her knuckles, two dull knocks.
The youth did not wake. He only slept more soundly.
The classmates around him began to whisper. A few could no longer hold back their laughter.
The woman teacher sighed, raised her hand, and lightly patted the arm that was propping up his head. "Huang Tian."
The youth jerked his head up and met the woman teacher's eyes. Embarrassment showed at once in his gaze.
"Haha—"
Laughter burst out in the classroom all at once. There was no mockery in it, only the simple amusement of someone being caught by the teacher.
The youth's ears reddened slightly, and he lowered his head a little.
"All right, stop laughing, all of you. What's so funny?" The woman teacher walked back with the textbook and said, "Listen properly and study hard. Only about a hundred days remain before your final academic assessment. These hundred days or so are extremely important. Those with resolve and perseverance can entirely pull ahead from behind in this stretch of time, climb another level, test into a good university, find a good job later, and set their lives on the proper track.
"If you slack off, you may not even hold your present level. Then you'll end up at an ordinary college, and your prospects will be badly limited. Especially in our class—most of you should be from ordinary families, shouldn't you? For families like ours, our parents can't provide a safety net. In the end we have to rely on our own struggle.
"And even if we set such practical concerns aside and speak only of realizing the worth of one's own life, a high level of education is extremely useful to all of you—"
Back on the podium, she looked at the muddled, uncomprehending students and let out a soft sigh. She knew that what she had said would most likely do little good. After all, without being tempered by society, and without taking part in society's labor, one's thinking was hard to mature, and plans for the future were hard to make clear.
She shook her head. "Class continues. Turn to the next page—"
The sound of pages turning rose one after another. Huang Tian glanced at the page number of his deskmate Li Guanglin's textbook, turned his own to that page, and then forced himself to listen.
But a moment later his eyes would not stay open. He thought he was listening attentively, yet in fact his head was already down on the desk.
The woman teacher's gaze swept across and caught him, but she did not call out to remind him again. Drowsy as he was, waking him would be useless; he simply could not take the lesson in. Better to let him go on sleeping, so long as he did not disturb the other students—
"This seems to be a very ordinary world?"
In Zhonghuang Yuanji Heaven, amid a stretch of lush flowers and trees, Huang Tian carefully observed the scene at the far end of the voice line.
It was a very ordinary classroom, much like the high school life he had once lived on Blue Star. The teachers earnestly urged the students to study hard, some of the students diligent, some dispirited, some idle—
His will moved slightly as he tried to raise the view. At once the scene opened out, expanding from the classroom to the whole school. He looked all around. It was still utterly normal.
Several somewhat old classroom buildings, a large cafeteria, a reasonably broad sports field, a residence where parents stayed with their children, a small campus shop, thinly scattered trees, and a few teachers and security guards walking about the grounds here and there.
Far too ordinary.
He tried to raise the view still higher. A city came into sight: high-rises, large factories, cars racing along the streets, crowds busy everywhere, secluded parks—
"From what I can see now, there is no power of the extraordinary, and the level of technology is much like Blue Star's of some years past."
He pondered, then raised the view once more. The general aspect of a nation lay revealed before his eyes. Sure enough, it was not far from Blue Star. Whether in its peoples or in its level of technology, there was no great difference.
He tried to raise the view yet again, but failed. Clearly he could only see this much.
"A very normal, ordinary world. Very peaceful, very calm."
He drew a preliminary conclusion and moved his gaze back to the youth in the classroom. The youth was still sleeping soundly, while the woman teacher in the classroom was still lecturing. Below the podium, some students listened attentively, some let their minds wander, and some whispered among themselves—
"This is probably all the information I can get. Anything else, I'll have to go to that world to learn."
After watching a while longer and still finding nothing, Huang Tian withdrew his gaze and turned it beyond Zhonghuang Yuanji Heaven.
He could see that, outside the heaven, quite a few people were quietly sizing him up and peering at him: Yuanshi Heavenly King, Taishang Dao Lord, Empress Wa, Emperor Xi, Daoist Kunpeng, Jieyin, Duobao, Grand Master Xuandu—
Besides the Daluo Supreme Saints of the Honghuang Realm, in the Chaos quite far from the Honghuang Realm a few Daluo beings were also employing divine abilities to observe this place from afar.
Their gazes were not the same: curiosity, appraisal, envy, covetousness, jealousy—
Patriarch Minghe, for one, was hidden with several Daluo in a great world. Across the vast void, they cast burning gazes toward Huang Tian.
"We all know that the fusion of the Honghuang Realm's eighty-one heavens was bound to give rise to an immense great fortune. That Fellow Daoist Huang could ascend in a single step and overpower the Three Pure Ones by himself is because he gained the merit of this great fortune."
Patriarch Minghe said, "Yet just how great this fortune is, none of us knows but him. We only guess that it holds profundities above Daluo. Now his aura has suddenly swelled, unfathomably profound—heh. For his strength to advance again in so short a time might confirm that guess."
The several beside him all looked thoughtful. A Daluo whose whole body was shrouded in black mist said, "Daoist brother Minghe, are you preparing to make a move against him?"
"Of course." Patriarch Minghe nodded. "We have toiled anxiously for countless yuanhui and still cannot touch even the edge of what lies above Daluo. Now that the chance is before us, how can we miss it?"
The black-mist Daluo shook his head. "Fellow Daoist Huang is formidable. He will not be easy to deal with."
Another, a red-robed Daoist, spoke. "We and Fellow Daoist Huang are all Supreme Saints of the Honghuang Realm. If we sought him out of our own accord and treated him well, he might be willing to share the profundity with us."
Patriarch Minghe snorted. "If I were him, I would never tell others what I had comprehended, unless you could offer me benefits weighty enough. But this concerns the Great Dao. What could be more important than that? What rare treasure could you offer me?"
The red-robed Daoist said nothing more. It was not that he thought Patriarch Minghe was right. He felt the man was only judging others by himself. If no one in the world were willing to share knowledge with others, then teachers and students would not exist.
Patriarch Minghe then looked toward the black-mist Daoist. "As for what you said, Fellow Daoist Huang's strength is formidable, and that is indeed worth worrying over. Especially now, when he seems to have comprehended something more and grown still stronger, he will be very hard to deal with. But if we strike at the same time, many against few, we can still seize some advantage.
"Even if that fails, don't forget: those who covet his great fortune are not only the few of us. Many fellow Daoists are quietly watching how things stand.
"Once we move, they may not be able to sit still. When they join in as well, however strong Fellow Daoist Huang may be, can he still withstand a dozen, or even several dozen, Daluo head-on?"
At these words, everyone was somewhat stirred. They did not necessarily have to fight Huang Tian to the death. So long as they struck first and muddied the waters, they could then join forces to coerce Huang Tian into sharing the great fortune, or slip quietly away and wait for another chance to move.
Only the red-robed Daoist spoke uneasily. "What if Fellow Daoist Huang has already ascended above Daluo? I look at his aura, and it is truly unfathomable, mystery within mystery—"
Patriarch Minghe laughed. "Fellow Daoist must be joking. Even if that great fortune has to do with what lies above Daluo, he could not possibly comprehend it so quickly, let alone break through to a higher realm."
The several around him nodded as well. Breakthroughs were hardly so easy. This time Huang Tian's aura had climbed, but in their view he had only gained considerable insight. Even if he had grown somewhat stronger, he was still only at the Daluo realm.
And all of them were Daluo. Who feared whom? In any case, none of them truly perished or were destroyed. Even if the body died, after hundreds of millions of yuanhui they could still revive and return.
The only thing they worried over was being suppressed and sealed. Death was something they never considered.
"What do you all think, fellow Daoists? Will you strike with me?" Patriarch Minghe asked.
The black-mist Daluo and the others pondered for a moment, then all agreed. Only the red-robed Daoist had misgivings and politely declined. "This poor Daoist has no wish to offend Fellow Daoist Huang, and will not take part. Everyone, I take my leave."
With that, he gave Patriarch Minghe no chance to urge him further. He turned into a streak of flowing light and departed, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
The faces of those who remained were displeased. Patriarch Minghe gave a cold snort. "Timid as a mouse. Who knows how he ever cultivated to the Daluo realm."
In his view, before one attained Daluo, it was acceptable to lie low a little. After all, there was always someone stronger, and a heaven beyond heaven. Too arrogant, and one might court disaster someday, body dead and soul extinguished.
But now they had already attained Daluo. There was no worry of dying at all. What need was there to lie low?
Whoever annoyed you, you simply went after them. Winning was best. Losing, you came again. After all, countless yuanhui later you would be a fine fellow once more!
"Hmph. Pay him no more mind. Let us first discuss how we will strike in a moment—"
Patriarch Minghe had barely finished speaking when, suddenly—
"Where did these lotuses come from?" someone cried in abrupt surprise.
Patriarch Minghe and the others started and looked all around. They saw green lotuses suddenly welling up in the void around them.
One, two, ten, a hundred—endless green lotuses were born from the void. Lotus petals unfurled, and a faint lotus fragrance drifted. Every blossom carried a wondrous Dao rhythm and held vast power.
"It's him!" Patriarch Minghe suddenly realized. He turned his head and saw, beyond the vast void, Huang Tian sitting alone amid mountains, flowers, and trees, turning his gaze toward him with a smile and a nod.
His whole body went taut. Without hesitation, Patriarch Minghe took up the Yuantu Sword and the Abi Sword in both hands and slashed at the green lotuses around him. As the two swords crossed, the Sea of Blood surged up with them. Sky-swallowing waves of blood swept the heavens. Wherever the reeking wind passed, all living beings wailed!
The black-mist Daluo and the others were likewise alarmed. Each brought out his own trump art. Palm seals spanned the void, suppressing every direction. Immortal swords slashed down, lighting the nether gloom. A treasure pagoda pressed down, fixing the eight directions. Attacks of every kind interwove. All the heavens lost their color, heaven and earth hung inverted, and Chaos heaved into great waves!
"Minghe and the others have been discovered by Fellow Daoist Huang!" In the depths of the void, quite a few Daluo watched from the sidelines, enjoying the show.
"Heh. Minghe is the most brazen of the lot, running everywhere to call on friends and gather companions. Getting found out was only a matter of time."
"Who knows which side can win?"
"Need you even think? Of course it is Fellow Daoist Huang. Before this he could already overpower the three fellow Daoists, Yuanshi and Taishang among them, all by himself. Now he can only be stronger."
"Don't be fooled by how wildly Minghe acts. His ability is not weak. With several more Daluo striking together, they may not be unable to stand against Fellow Daoist Huang. At the very least, holding out for a few hundred or a few thousand years should be no problem."
"Let us watch a little longer. Don't rush to a conclusion."
While the Daluo were whispering, they suddenly saw the boundless Sea of Blood that Patriarch Minghe had raised strike the green lotuses. Like tide meeting a reef, it fell back in disorder. The palm seals, immortal swords, and treasure pagoda of the others—every attack that fell into the sea of green lotuses was gently caught by blossom after blossom, then dissolved into nothing.
"How is this possible!" Patriarch Minghe's heart shook. He considered his own strength to be among the front ranks of the many Daluo. Though he could not compare with the mere few such as Yuanshi Heavenly King, Taishang Dao Lord, and Emperor Xi, at full strength he could still contend with them as an equal for a short time. That was precisely the backing for his unbridled conduct.
But now, facing a casual strike from Huang Tian across the void, he could not withstand it at all!
"Impossible!" He roared. The light of the twin swords in his hands blazed hotter, and the stench of the Sea of Blood grew worse. Endless blood rolled and lunged at the hundreds of millions of green lotuses.
Yet those countless green lotuses annihilated the Sea of Blood with ease. Then, one after another, they drifted toward him. In his shock he tried to dodge, but the void was locked in place. He could only raise both swords and meet them in vain. He held for only a single breath before the sea of green lotuses swallowed him.
The black-mist Daluo and the others were the same. Within only a few breaths, they too fell still.
"He is this strong?!" The Daluo watching the battle from afar were all shaken. They had guessed that Huang Tian would be very strong after his strength advanced again, but for an offhand strike to kill several Daluo, Patriarch Minghe among them, was simply too outrageous!
And just then, a thought arose unbidden in their hearts, as if the Dao in the unseen were telling them: Minghe and the others were dead!
This death was truly death, a death from which there was no revival!
Everyone was shaken. They stared at the smiling Huang Tian, and towering waves rose in their hearts. They could not believe it. "He has attained what lies above Daluo so easily?!"
Chapter 252