Nightfall

The Eldest Brother stared at the Abbey Dean and said calmly, “Go.”

That was for Ning Que. Looking at the back of his Eldest Brother, Ning Que wanted to say something but he knew it was not the time for sensations.

He pushed hard on the horse’s belly. The big black horse growled and darted out like a black bolt. It leaped over the rocky cliffs and charged toward the Helan City not far away. The indigo lion-dog formed an indigo line while following them.

Only the two were left among the collapsed cliffs.

The Abbey Dean looked at the Eldest Brother and said, “That was not wise.”

The Eldest Brother held the cudgel horizontally in his right hand, and asked politely and prudently, “Why not?”

The Abbey Dean said, “The Academy joining hand with Haotian to challenge Taoism, it is a very unwise choice.”

The Eldest Brother said, “Even Taoism betrayed Haotian… What else could be even more unexpected now?”

The Abbey Dean said, “You can’t stop me.”

When he said so a bout of fresh Qi was spread from the Abbey Dean’s body toward the collapsed cliffs and rocky hills. Spring was revived again among the deserted fields.

There were woods around the cliffs, but nothing green previously around the chilling lake. Right now with the spread of the fresh Qi countless grass grew from the rocks in the spring breeze.

Branches among the grass were moistened and produced buds. The buds swung in the breeze and bloomed right away. Each bud opened with a dozen of petals. And the entire valley was covered with tens of thousands of flowers immediately.

If the Abbey Dean wanted to kill Sangsang, then he had to break the cudgel in front of him. He already applied much of his psyche taking the previous attack. It would be very difficult and time consuming to break it now. Therefore he decided to leave.

Each flower was a gate. He could flee via any single one.

The Eldest Brother struck with a single cudgel but created tens of thousands of shadows.

No matter how powerful his strike was, it was weakened the moment it split into tens of thousands. But it was still powerful enough. The shadows of his cudgel landed on the petals gently, like stroking rather than hitting.

The wild flowers were like mimosas or even some shy girls thile the cudgel was like the Eldest Brother’s warm fingers. The moment they touched the flowers, the petals wrapped up. The moment they touched their hair, the girls turned away.

The Abbey Dean was slightly stunned. It was not unexpected that the cudgel could be so powerful. What surprised him was that the Eldest Brother was able to locate the real flowers among the countless flowers in the valley.

It meant that he had almost reached the same level in terms of comprehending the Qi of Heaven and Earth.

The Abbey Dean stared at the Eldest Brother who still held the cudgel, and disappeared suddenly.

The Eldest Brother disappeared together.

…

…

The Abbey Dean appeared in the air above the cliffs, with his indigo gown fluttering.

The Eldest Brother also appeared there standing on a cliff, with his cotton-padded gown swinging.

The Abbey Dean appeared by the East Sea. Wind roared behind him and blocked the dazzling sun.

So did the Eldest Brother. He stood on a rock by the sea with his cotton-padded gown swinging.

The Abbey Dean appeared on the South Sea. Fishing boats scattered on the blue sea while seagulls skimmed above the water.

So did the Eldest Brother. He stood on a reef with his cotton-padded gown swinging.

Wherever the Abbey Dean went, the Eldest Brother appeared right there, standing in front of him and holding up his cudgel high. The Abbey Dean went to the remotest places in the world but could never get rid of him. Therefore he could not enter the Helan City.

Eventually the Abbey Dean returned to the no longer chilling lake. So did the Eldest Brother. They seemed to have never left. The flowers were still blooming in the valley.

“For how long can you keep me away from them?” the Abbey Dean asked while staring at the black line that was approaching the Helan City.

The Eldest Brother said, “Years ago when you were the most powerful, I stopped you for seven days. Now I am much better than I used to be. Even if you would apply the six Arcane Tomes, I could at least stop you for seven days.”

The Abbey Dean looked back calmly at him and said, “Li Manman, you are indeed confident now.”

The Eldest Brother said, “I’ve always been confident, I just never showed you. Now that I have to fight against you, I need to be more confident than ever in order to win.”

The Abbey Dean asked, “You assume that you are very powerful?”

The Eldest Brother answered, “Only the second most powerful.”

He was not talking about being the second most powerful in some small town or a private school. He was the second most powerful throughout the human world. Humble as he was, when the Eldest Brother said he was the second, he was definitely at least the second.

Yet the Abbey Dean said calmly, “Unfortunately, I’m the first.”

Indeed, that was also true. Ever since the Headmaster left the human world to fight with Haotian in the Divine Kingdom, the Abbey Dean became the most powerful one in the world. Even when he was almost ruined by Ning Que and disabled by Sangsang, he was still the number one.

The fight between the Eldest Brother and the Abbey Dean was the confrontation between the number one and number two in the human world. Sadly, the result seemed obvious since they were already the number one and number two.

“Seven days. I only need to keep you away for seven days, or even less.” The Eldest Brother said calmly to the Abbey Dean, “I don’t even care about the result.”

The Abbey Dean asked, “Why?”

The Eldest Brother said, “In seven days, the Youngest Brother will be back in Chang’an.”

Once Ning Que brought Sangsang back to Chang’an they would have the support of the God-Stunning Array. No matter what would happen the next, the Abbey Dean could no longer do any harm to them, nor would it matter whether he was the number one or not.

The Abbey Dean paused briefly then suddenly looked above toward somewhere in the sky. It was in the southeast. Then he said something that seemed to make no sense.

“If I become Haotian, you will be eternal in the Divine Kingdom.”

Far away in the depths of the clouds, in the mountains, or in the small town, from somewhere Haotian could never see, a clear whistle was heard.

The whistle was long-lasting and extremely loud. It resounded cheerfully throughout the human world.

Upon hearing the clear whistle, the Eldest Brother got slightly solemn.

The Abbey Dean stared at him calmly and said, “A just cause will gain great support. How could you and the Academy win?”

The Eldest Brother sighed. “It’s merely for your own benefit. How justified could it be?”

…

…

Many heard the clear whistle.

The Tang soldiers inside the Helan City were awakened from the previous horrifying quake and busy putting out the fire around the city. It was chaotic. But the clear whistle stiffened them for a second.

Because they all sensed the cheerfulness and resoluteness in the whistle. It was extremely cheerful and almost crazy. It was a resolution toward any creature other than himself, the absolute selfishness.

Ning Que heard it too. He got slightly pale. He looked at Sangsang who just opened her eyes, kissed her forehead and said gently, “You go first. I’ll be there soon.”

Sangsang stared at him in silence. She might be too weak to talk, or just did not want to say a word.

Ning Que turned away from her look and unbounded the two of them, then leapt away. The big black horse got his order and kept darting toward the Helan City like a real arrow.

Ning Que landed on the ground and bolted back. Deep footsteps were made on the rocks along his way. The firm boots were worn out immediately and blown away like ragged cotton. He bolted toward the cliffs like a rock thrown out by a mangonel. Rumbling sounds were heard when he passed through the air. He was incredibly fast. But not fast enough.

When he came back to the cliffs, he was merely on time for a shocking scene.

The Abbey Dean and the Eldest Brother were confronting in the sea of flowers.

An indigo figure pressed toward the Eldest Brother.

The Eldest Brother applied his cudgel like a sword and carried the Qi of Heaven and Earth. It was the most crucial moment when none of them could spare any efforts for anything else. Right then a third person showed up.

The fragrance of the flowers was replaced by a smell of strongest liquor and made people feel dizzy. A man in an indigo gown appeared behind the Eldest Brother.

There was a flagon in his left hand. And he pulled out a sword from the flagon with his right hand.

He stabbed the sword toward the Eldest Brother.

If the Abbey Dean was the number one in the world and the Eldest Brother being the second, he would be third.

He was also the third person in this fight.

It was impossible for the Eldest Brother to escape from a joint attack by the Abbey Dean and him, especially from such an insidious sneak attack.

Blood gushed out, shed on the flowers, and stained the yellow petals. That was what Ning Que witnessed.

He turned even paler. Instead of cursing aloud, he just cursed silently to himself.

He silenced himself like a real rock, hid the rumbling sounds when dashing through the air, and turned away from the Eldest Brother’s wound and blood. He seemed chillingly brutal.

The petals were not even smashed when he stepped onto them with bared feet.

He came right behind the man in the indigo gown.

He did not pull out the iron blade because he did not want to alert the enemy. He could not apply the iron arrow because the enemy was right behind his Eldest Brother. He could only make a sneak attack.

But the man in the indigo gown still sensed something.

He was after all a mighty cultivator who had gone through countless generations of vicissitudes. No matter how fast, sudden and unexpected Ning Que could be, it touched a string in his psyche.

The man in the indigo gown sensed the danger. He turned pale. He tried to pull out the sword and was about to leave.

Being one of the two most long lived people in the world, he was hence one of the two most afraid of death. Even if the person was not able to kill him with the sneak attack, he had to leave once he sensed the danger.

But the Eldest Brother would never let him go. That was their tacit understanding among the students of the Academy. He knew that since Ning Que was back. Therefore they had to finish some business.

The Eldest Brother slightly bent his body to stop the Drunkard’s sword from being pulled out. He held the cudgel in the right hand against the Abbey Dean, while his left hand was slightly lifted and pointed toward the Drunkard’s eyebrows.

It was the Natural Stream Magical Finger. which was Chen Pipi’s technique.

The man in the indigo gown yelled a weird groan and took one step back.

That was a very wise stepping back. He warded off the the Natural Stream Magical Finger, and delivered himself into Ning Que’s arms.

There was a world of difference between being active and being passive.

By stepping back it could at least weaken one third of the power of Ning Que’s attack.

Ning Que looked at the bending sword stabbed into the Eldest Brother, felt the pain and could no longer held his anger.

He bombed at the back of the man in the indigo gown.

He clinched thim, leaped into the sky then pounded onto the cliff!

The cliff was approaching, right in front of them.

It seemed they were dying together.

Ning Que no longer cared. His eyes turned red.

They were stained by the Eldest Brother’s blood.

He was driven by the blood.

He yelled at the person in the indigo gown, “Drunkard, fuck you!”