Chapter 510 - 305: Setting Out for Celestial Treasure Continent, A True Gentleman Watches in Silence, The 4 Sages of the Confucian Temple

The second man was taciturn, with dark skin. He stood two meters tall and looked imposingly powerful. When he knelt, the very ground seemed to tremble.

"Yang Cunxiao greets Your Majesty!"

The third man was far more composed, with a handsome and masculine face. He spoke with a calm and confident demeanor, "Marquis Zhaowu, Yang Zhaoyuan, greets Your Majesty."

Of the three, Yang Zhaoyuan’s cultivation was the highest.

’So that’s Yang Zhaoyuan?’

Lu Mingyuan studied the handsome, masculine young man, who stood one-point-nine meters tall.

There had long been rumors in the Northwest.

Yang Zhaoyuan had been groomed as the successor to Prince Zhenbei, Yang Xiao, and was the eldest among his many adopted sons.

Looking at him now, he was indeed a dragon among men.

He had reached the Vajra Realm before the age of thirty.

This level of talent surpassed even that of Huo Hongling.

Lu Mingyuan had heard about this in private from Yang Yingchan before.

Lu Mingyuan helped them up one by one. "Thank you for your hard work, Generals," he said softly. "From here on, I will be relying on you all."

Yang Zhaoyuan smiled faintly. He studied the new, world-renowned Emperor of Great Yan before him for a moment, then cupped his fist respectfully. "It was no trouble, Your Majesty. This general and my one hundred thousand troops await your command."

Lu Mingyuan nodded. He glanced back at the ancient, mottled walls of the Imperial Capital City, then toward the Nine Dragon Carriage in the Central Army where Qi Muxue, Sui Yuqing, and the other women were seated. In a deep voice, he commanded:

"Set out for the Celestial Treasure Continent."

The Emperor had given the order, and the army of several hundred thousand slowly began to move out.

Champion Marquis Huo Qing led the vanguard, riding out first.

But among his troops, he discovered a petite woman dressed in red.

"Hong Ling, what are you doing here?"

Huo Qing never imagined that Huo Hongling would actually disguise herself as a common soldier to sneak into the army.

"Get back there, now! This journey is far too dangerous. We are going to war with the Demon Race thrones. This is no place for you!"

Huo Hongling pouted and lifted her chin. Wielding King Chu’s Thousand Mountains and Ten Thousand Ridges Spear, she looked valiant and heroic. "Father," she said, her voice frosty, "I may not be a man, but I can still annihilate the enemy and slay them on the battlefield!"

Huo Qing looked displeased. "This is utter nonsense!" he scolded. "You are my only daughter! Your status is now exalted—you are a Noble Consort of Great Yan! Why aren’t you staying safe in the Imperial Palace? What are you doing on a battlefield?"

Huo Hongling retorted, "Qi Muxue herself has taken to the field, accompanying His Majesty on this campaign. What’s the point of me staying alone in the Capital City?"

Huo Qing frowned. "The Empress is an Eleventh Realm Great Scholar, at least. She has the ability to protect herself. Your cultivation is only at the Dragon Gate Realm, and you’ve never set foot on a battlefield. How can you possibly compare?"

"If a Martial Artist only knows how to live a pampered life, her future on the Martial Dao will be bleak!"

With that said, Huo Hongling spoke no more. She cracked her whip and galloped forward.

Huo Qing sighed. There was nothing he could do but spur his horse and follow her.

...

「Several days passed.」

The Great Yan army marched into the western territories. Ahead, they could see an endless grassland and, beyond it, snow-capped mountains towering over ten thousand meters high.

"Legend has it that if you cross these snow-capped mountains and travel three thousand li to the north, you will reach the Haoran Continent. There, you will be met by five colossal statues as tall as the heavens. They are the five Confucian Saints with the most profound scholarship in all of history. The Confucian Temple itself is located behind the Celestial Mountains."

Inside the carriage, Qi Muxue gazed at the snow-capped mountains outside the window and spoke softly.

Though she was a Confucian Cultivator, she had never in her life been to the Celestial Mountain Confucian Temple.

"We’ll have the chance to go one day."

Lu Mingyuan heard the wistfulness in her tone and offered a word of comfort.

"We are about to enter the territory of the Song Dynasty. Your Majesty, which side do you intend to help first?"

Yun Qinghe, who had been silent for the entire journey, finally spoke.

"Dragon Peak Mountain is the main battlefield in the war between the Human and Demon Races. According to the Dao Alliance, a new Grotto Heaven has opened up there and become a new battleground. If we go to the Song Dynasty, I’m afraid it will be a wasted trip."

Sui Yuqing quietly reminded them.

Yun Qinghe, however, said nothing, turning her head to the side in a huff.

It seemed she was deliberately slighting her Senior Sister.

In reality, with the three women sitting in the carriage beside Lu Mingyuan, the atmosphere was extremely delicate. This had been the case for some time now.

Lu Mingyuan had long since noticed the tension, but there was nothing he could do about it. He gave an awkward smile.

"Let’s head to the Nanli Dynasty first. The people from the Dao Alliance will be heading there as well, so we should be able to rendezvous with them."

Just then, a sacred radiance, like a dazzling sun, appeared in the sky. Opposite it, a ghostly moon hung inverted. As phantoms of both sun and moon scattered a rain of brilliant petals, a great storm of wind and rain kicked up. Amidst it all, a Golden Palace streaked across the heavens.

Seeing this, Lu Mingyuan exclaimed, "Such a powerful phenomenon! Which Saint is passing by?"

Qi Muxue saw it and recognized it almost immediately.

"The sun and moon for chess, the wind and rain for a palace."

"It is the Chess Saint, one of the four great Saints of the Confucian Temple."

"The Chess Saint?" Lu Mingyuan murmured. He had rarely heard the name.

"It’s normal that you wouldn’t know, my husband. As the saying goes, ’A true gentleman watches a game of chess in silence.’ This Chess Saint lives in seclusion and does not seek fame or fortune. He achieved Sainthood through miscellaneous studies, not through the classical path to holiness. However, the Heaven and Earth Chessboard was his creation. You should know of that."

"So he’s that great a figure."

Lu Mingyuan nodded.

He watched the Golden Palace fly off in the direction of the Nanli Dynasty, understanding in his heart that this must be one of the powers rushing to reinforce Dragon Peak Mountain.

If he could make the Saint’s acquaintance, he would have a much better chance of seizing the Ascension Platform.

Thus, he could not help but call out:

"I have long admired your great name, Elder Qisheng! Might you spare a moment to speak?"

...