Chapter 211 - Give Heaven Half a Move

In the deathly silent secret chamber, Xu Xinyao stared in astonishment at the solemn-faced Xu Yuan. What did he mean by that?

Under her gaze, Xu Yuan’s expression did not change in the slightest.

Outside, the bustling streets of the Imperial Capital had fallen strangely quiet as carriages rolled along the roadway.

Inside the black dragon carriage, Xu Changge frowned, his voice turning stern. “Changtian! What exactly do you—”

Xu Yinhe’s expression remained unchanged. He did not answer, either. His finger merely twitched, and Xu Changge’s voice was cut off before he could finish. He had used qi. Even with Xu Changge’s cultivation, he instantly felt a pressure as heavy as a mountain descend upon him.

Xu Changge struggled against it, trying to speak, only to meet Xu Yinhe’s hawk-like gaze, cold enough to make the blood run thin.

His words died in his throat.

A long silence followed.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan understood that his father was giving him a chance to explain. He continued calmly. “Father, there are very few records concerning Sages. However, Luo Daofan once told me that if a Sage dies naturally of old age, then although their lifespan varies from person to person, most can live for roughly three jiazi, about 180 years. Can you still live that long?”

“Heh.” Xu Yinhe laughed, but there was a chill in it. “Your father still has many years left. There’s no need for you to be so impatient.”

Xu Yuan said nothing.

Those words carried weight. Had this been the imperial Li clan, it would have been the equivalent of the court privately deciding the succession that morning, only for the crown prince to rush straight to the sick emperor and ask, Father, with your cultivation being so high and all, could you perhaps give me a definite date for when you’re planning to die?

Even if the Emperor did not slap him dead on the spot, the third candidate for exile to Sky Island would certainly have been decided.

Xu Changge hesitated, then tried to smooth things over. “Father, Changtian only meant—”

“Shut up.” Xu Yinhe glanced at his eldest son.

“Get out.”

Xu Changge’s azure robes stirred faintly, but he obediently climbed out of the carriage.

The carriage door shut behind him.

After a brief pause, Xu Yinhe’s voice softened slightly. “Xinyao, you as well. There are certain things I need to discuss properly with your third brother.”

Xu Xinyao opened her mouth, then bit her lip. She gently tugged at the corner of Xu Yuan’s robe.

Xu Yuan met her eyes. His gaze was perfectly calm.

Xu Xinyao left as well. She knew their father was angry.

Once the siblings were gone, silence settled between father and son.

After a long while, Xu Yuan lowered his eyes. His breathing remained as steady as ever. “Father, I told you from the beginning to send Xu Changge and Xinyao away.”

After saying that, he hoped his father would curse him out, perhaps even give him a beating. Unfortunately, neither happened. Instead came a long exhale, followed by laughter. It began as a low chuckle, then swelled into something open and hearty.

Xu Yinhe could no longer remember the last time he had laughed like this. He was genuinely delighted. When his laughter finally subsided, a faint smile still lingered in his voice. “How did you figure it out?”

Xu Yuan lowered his gaze, his heart sinking to the bottom of a cold abyss. He had guessed correctly after all. Something truly was wrong with his father’s body.

“You’re in too much of a hurry.”

Xu Yinhe tapped a finger against the tea table before him. “In a hurry about what?”

“Everything. Everything you’re doing now is rushed. You’re rushing to groom me, and you’re rushing to move against the sects.”

“Go on,” Xu Yinhe said thoughtfully.

Xu Yuan drew a deep breath, then continued in an even, measured voice. “You never denied having plans to strike the Sword Sect. That means the Heavenwatch Pavilion’s projections of the future are most likely genuine. A Sage can live for 180 years, and you are still in your prime. With you at its helm, the Chancellor's Manor is only growing stronger. Thanks to the policies you have deliberately pursued over the years, the sects have also become less wary of us by the day. There should be no need whatsoever to act this quickly.”

Silence lingered for a moment.

When Xu Yinhe showed no intention of replying, Xu Yuan continued.

“Second, you have been doing everything possible to cultivate a successor. First, there was Second Brother. He is capable of commanding Auntie Lou Ji and the others, but his cultivation is too weak. Eldest Brother’s temperament means he was never suited to shoulder such a burden. He is a fine general, but not a commander-in-chief. You saw that yourself. If the Chancellor's Manor were handed to him, it would most likely decline after reaching its peak.

“Third, you were far too eager to test my abilities. A force of 40,000 Blackscale troops may be a defensible stake for my first real trial, but it is still far too valuable. Had there been enough time, you should have started me on something smaller.”

He paused, then asked the question again, directly and without evasion. “So, Father, how much longer do you have?”

“Heh.” Xu Yinhe gave a soft laugh, his tone light and casual. “Don’t worry. I will live long enough to see you marry and have children, and to watch those children grow up.”

Xu Yuan showed not the slightest trace of relief at those words. How long would it take him to marry, have children, and watch those children grow up? 30 years?

And how long would it take to pacify every sect beneath Heaven, then leave behind a peaceful world for future generations?

Xu Yuan did not know. What he did know was that many of the timelines in Azure Point spanned well over a decade. The longest stretched across a full 30 years.

His father had included the time needed to end the chaos beneath Heaven in the years he had left.

At that thought, Xu Yuan murmured, “That still isn’t enough time.”

“Perhaps it is now,” Xu Yinhe replied.

Xu Yuan immediately fell silent. He might have spoken with great confidence before, but much of what he knew had been pieced together backward from the information and various endings in Azure Point.

How capable he truly was, whether his shoulders were broad enough to bear the entire Chancellor's Manor, remained unknown.

And this conversation alone could completely alter the course of the future. From the sound of it, his father intended to remain patient and continue quietly building his strength.

“Haah...” Xu Yuan let out a long breath, then asked softly, “Is there something wrong with your body because someone poisoned you? Or is it an old injury?”

He was beginning to feel the pressure. Rather than forcing him to carry the load, it would be much better to let his old man keep shouldering it.

Azure Point had never mentioned Xu Yinhe having any physical problems. But if it was some rare poison or hidden injury, then perhaps others could not cure it, but Xu Yuan might be able to.

Across all those timelines, the protagonist and the important people around him had suffered every bizarre poison and inexplicable wound imaginable.

Surely there had to be one that suited his father’s condition.

After all, there were plenty of secret realms and dungeons out there.

Xu Yinhe smiled faintly upon hearing the question. “I was born with it. There is no cure.”

Xu Yuan fell silent. “Can you explain more specifically?”

Xu Yinhe seemed to hear the pressure in his voice. Instead of answering, he gave a soft laugh. “Changtian, there is no need to burden yourself so heavily. There is still some time before the limit of what I can tolerate. I will watch what you do and judge for myself.”

Seeing this, Xu Yuan knew his father probably had no intention of explaining further anytime soon. He sighed. “What is the final deadline?”

ᯓ➤

The carriage arrived.

The Chancellor's Manor stood before them in all its towering grandeur.

The middle-aged man with graying temples stepped down from the carriage and walked forward at an unhurried pace.

As he went, he said quietly, “The next Celeste Assembly.”

Xu Yuan drew a deep breath. “And if, by then, I still prove unfit? Your body—”

“Then your father will give Heaven half a move.”