dmims Page 115
Page 115
She reached the railing without incident, her eyes darting around, and she called out loudly:
"Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty pays respects to the Celestial Mystery Immortal."
"As far as I know, Ke Haoran once roamed the world as a wandering scholar from the academy twenty years ago."
"But he returned to the academy after only five years, and never came out of seclusion again, nor was there any news of him."
“I am willing to offer three hundred boxes of foreign tribute, one million taels of gold, and ten million taels of silver as payment for the divination.”
"Please tell me, Celestial Immortal, why Ke Haoran went into seclusion, and what he has been doing all these years."
Upon hearing Wu Zetian's question, a glint of light flashed in Su Chen's eyes.
This was the Empress of the Tang Dynasty, the only female emperor in the history of the Central Plains. You can imagine how strong her fortune was.
He said without hesitation:
"Heaven and earth have mysteries, yin and yang are divided into two sides, women are judged by their bone structure, and men by their facial features."
"You should know my rules, right?"
As soon as she said this, Wu Zetian's face immediately flushed red.
She was the Empress of the Tang Dynasty, one of the four most powerful dynasties in Chinese history. Her fame spread throughout the world, like a star high above. Which man would dare to have any improper thoughts about her?
In particular, it would be impossible for her to undergo a bone reading and fortune telling in public.
But this matter is too important; it could affect the stability of the entire Tang Dynasty. As the emperor, how could she be bound by trivial matters?
Most importantly, this is an opportunity to get up close and personal with the Celestial Immortal.
Looking at the elegant Su Chen on the white jade platform, Wu Zetian's blush deepened, and she nodded slightly.
Everyone saw Wu Zetian's figure flash and she actually flew up. Her beautiful robes fluttered in the wind, and the nine-phoenix hairpin on her head made her look even more noble, like a noble phoenix.
By the time everyone came to their senses, Wu Zetian had already crossed dozens of meters and was standing steadily on the white jade platform.
She bent her knees and knelt before Su Chen like a maid.
This scene stunned everyone present.
No one expected that Wu Zetian had such high martial arts skills.
Some top experts saw through her martial arts skills and were greatly shocked.
It was truly unexpected that Wu Zetian would act so astonishingly at this moment.
If they hadn't witnessed it with their own eyes, they wouldn't have believed that Her Majesty the Empress of the Great Tang Dynasty would do such a thing.
But when they thought that the other party was the Celestial Immortal, everyone felt relieved.
Under heaven, perhaps only the Celestial Immortal could make the high and mighty Wu Zetian bow her head.
As Su Chen got up close to Wu Zetian, he felt her unique charm even more.
Although she may not be as beautiful as Li Hanyi or Ye Ruoyi, her innate temperament makes her aura incomparably noble, far beyond what others can match.
However, Su Chen was a man who had seen the world. His eyes flickered slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and reached out his hand to Wu Zetian.
The system quickly responded:
"Successfully predicted Wu Zetian's fate."
"Congratulations, host, on learning the second form of the supreme divine skill, 'Emperor's Conferment of Gods Technique'."
Upon hearing the notification tone, Su Chen's heart began to race.
The Emperor's Conferment of Divine Powers!
Wu Zetian's reward for fortune-telling was actually the second move of this peerless divine skill!
This delighted Su Chen.
"The Emperor's Conferment of Gods Technique" comes from the Dragon Talisman Great World and is a genuine Heavenly Dao-level divine skill.
Even in fantasy and martial arts worlds, it is an existence that crushes everything.
Not to mention the current martial arts world.
Although he only learned one move, its value is immeasurable.
Thinking of this, Su Chen felt increasingly relieved. He withdrew his hand and said loudly:
"To understand why Ke Haoran chose to live in seclusion, we must start with his involvement in worldly affairs."
"Twenty years ago, Ke Haoran, who was only nineteen years old, began to represent Datang Academy in his adventures."
"His first stop was naturally Chang'an, the city closest to the academy and one of the most prosperous cities in the world."
"A young man full of vigor and high spirits, Ke Haoran naturally chose the most famous brothel in Chang'an, Hongxiuzhao."
"It was there that Ke Haoran met Jian Dajia and her younger sister Jian Xiao'er."
"As the saying goes, even heroes find it hard to resist temptation. Even Ke Haoran, who had already cultivated to the terrestrial celestial realm, was completely conquered by Jian Xiao'er's tenderness."
"He was usually eccentric and even dared to yell at teachers, but he became very polite in front of Jian Xiao'er."
"But as the academy's envoy to the world, he could never stop his journey as soon as he left the academy."
"So after being entertained by Hongxiu for a while, Ke Haoran rode his little donkey and began to travel the world."
"That was the most glorious and triumphant time of his life. He would draw his sword to help those in need whenever he encountered injustice, and he killed countless evil and wicked masters along the way."
"Until he met someone, someone who completely changed his destiny."
"This person is called Lian Sheng Thirty-Two. He is an unparalleled genius who is proficient in Buddhism, Taoism and Demonism. He is a once-in-a-century talent."
“As I said before, Lu Zu had the talent of being ‘proficient in all methods’, so he was able to integrate the strengths of all schools of thought and reach the pinnacle of his art.”
"And Lian Sheng Thirty-Two's talent is not much inferior to that of Lu Zu; he can quickly master all kinds of divine skills in the world."
"So his early life was quite legendary."
"He is the Grand Judge of the Western Mausoleum Temple of the Haotian Dao Sect, a high monk of the Buddhist sect, and the High Priest of the Wilderness Demon Sect."
"Whether it's the Haotian Dao Sect, the Buddhist Sect, or the Wilderness Demon Sect, they are all ancient sects with a history of thousands of years. Lian Sheng Thirty-Two occupies a pivotal position in them. They can become Buddhas or demons as they please."
"And he was only in his thirties at the time."
"All the so-called young talents in the world pale in comparison to Lian Sheng Thirty-Two."
"Lian Sheng Thirty-Two believes himself to be the most outstanding genius in the world and that he will surely become the strongest in the future."
Chapter 74 Not enough
"But ever since he met Ke Haoran, he knew that he had met his match."
"Although Ke Haoran rides a little donkey, is unkempt, and loves to curse and pick his toes, his amazing talent cannot be hidden at all."
"Even in Ke Haoran's brilliance, Lian Sheng felt like a grain of sand in the ocean, insignificant."
"This made Lian Sheng jealous, and he wanted to destroy this person who was even more talented than him."
"After careful planning, Lian Sheng set up an extremely vicious trap."
"He first invited Hongxiuzhao to participate in the Ghost Festival performance in the name of Lankesi Temple, and then he went on a killing spree at the meeting."
"Ke Haoran's most beloved Jian Xiao'er was cruelly murdered by Lian Sheng Thirty-Two."
"This incident shocked the entire martial arts world at the time, but since everyone involved died, no one knows who did it."
"Especially after someone investigated and found that all the clues pointed to Haotian Dao Sect, the matter was dropped."
"After all, Haotian Dao Sect is one of the oldest sects in the world, and it has the status of a country within a country in Xiling. No one dares to provoke it easily."
"This is the insidious nature of Lian Sheng Thirty-Two. He wanted to use the Haotian Dao Sect to get rid of Ke Haoran, who was not yet fully grown."
"But what he didn't expect was that Ke Haoran, who seemed carefree on the surface, was actually very thoughtful and had keen insight."
"He quickly saw through the conspiracy and realized that the real culprit was Lian Sheng Thirty-Two."
"So Ke Haoran rode his little donkey straight to the Demon Sect where Lian Sheng Thirty-Two was hiding."
"I'm sure everyone in the martial arts world is familiar with the Wilderness Demon Sect."
"This sect has existed for over a thousand years and is one of the oldest demonic sects in the world, with an immeasurable depth of knowledge."
"But those so-called experts of the Demonic Sect are like clay chickens and earthen dogs in front of Ke Haoran, utterly vulnerable."
"Ke Haoran, alone with his sword, charged straight to the most secluded gate of the Demon Sect."
"In the end, the remaining experts of the Demon Sect could only set up the Demon-Fortifying Array in front of the mountain gate."
"This is an astonishing demonic array created by the founder of the Demonic Sect a thousand years ago. Its power is incomparably strong. Once a terrestrial immortal enters, he will surely die. Even a terrestrial celestial being will find it difficult to escape."
"But Ke Haoran never does things in a conventional way."
"He was cursing and swearing as he charged into the formation. When he saw that there were rocks blocking his way, he simply cleaved them in two with his sword."
"What can stop me? My righteous spirit is enough!"
"On that day, Ke Haoran, who was only twenty-four years old, successfully entered the Great Longevity Realm of Celestial Beings."
On that day, the Wasteland Demon Sect, which had been around for thousands of years, was completely destroyed.
Lian Sheng never expected that Ke Haoran could break through to the Celestial Longevity Realm so easily, directly blocking him inside the Demon Sect's mountain gate.
However, Ke Haoran did not kill Lian Sheng. Instead, he used Haoran Sword Qi to simulate the "Cage Formation" that Lian Sheng was most proud of in his life, trapping him inside and making him unable to live or die.
Although he had avenged his lover, Ke Haoran was not happy. Instead, he became completely despondent and never showed up again after returning to the academy.
This is the reason why Ke Haoran went into seclusion.
Fifteen years have passed, and Ke Haoran has remained in the back mountain of the academy, drowning his sorrows in alcohol every day, accomplishing nothing.
Even so, his cultivation level increased at an astonishing speed, eventually reaching the peak of the Celestial Longevity Realm.
For most people, this level is already the limit of martial arts in the human realm.
But for Ke Haoran, this is far from enough.
He was disheartened and felt that he had no rivals in the world, which is why he remained at this level.
If he regains his strength, or encounters a powerful enemy, he can break through again at any time and truly surpass the Celestial Longevity Realm.
This is Ke Haoran, the Ke Haoran who defied the heavens, the number one swordsman in the Nine Provinces, the highest peak of swordsmanship in the human world.