Chapter 42: The Wordless Book

After tonight, the name Su Chen will shake the world; even the distant Great Zhou will come to know it.

Su Chen left.

Wrapped in the aura of a great victory, he walked toward the Imperial Study. He wanted to ask this little Emperor one thing.

What did human life mean to him?

How many unfortunate souls would have to die this winter before he would stop?

He might not be able to care for the common people of the world, but he could not turn a blind eye to these suffering people right before his eyes.

"Eunuch Su is heading toward the Imperial Study. Should we stop him?"

The commander of the Sha Wu Guards felt a sense of trepidation as he looked toward the commanders of the Imperial Guards and the Hidden Guards, as well as the five Great Managers in the distance.

"Who can stop him?"

"A First-Rank expert has already suffered two defeats and one death! And the one who died was Manager Fugui, who appeared by His Majesty's side. You try stopping him if you dare!"

"But what if Eunuch Su wants to overthrow the dynasty? He and the rebel Zhang Gui are brothers..."

"If that happens..."

"Let us light some incense for His Majesty."

The five Great Managers and the three commanders—the current pinnacle of power in the Great Liang's inner palace—silently watched Su Chen depart.

Did they dare to move?

They did not dare.

The doors to the Imperial Study were wide open.

Outside, there were no Hidden Guards on patrol; instead, the ground was covered in terrifying craters, and palaces and walls lay in ruins.

The traces of battle were heavy; it was likely that powerful First-Rank experts had clashed here.

"Perhaps..."

"It wouldn't be bad to come back another day."

"If he stops killing people, I might forgive him."

In front of the Imperial Study, Su Chen was hesitating whether to turn around and run.

After all, the vitality of this Great Liang was far too tenacious.

Heaven knew that even a Grandmaster-level demon like the Liang Taizu could be locked in a coffin; what other trump cards did this little Emperor have hidden away?

"Cough, cough."

From within the Imperial Study came a violent coughing fit, as if someone were trying to cough up their very lungs.

An aged figure in purple robes appeared before Su Chen.

He looked even older.

Su Chen wouldn't have been surprised if the old man died in the next second.

"Come in."

The aged man in purple beckoned.

But Su Chen did not move. After a moment of thought, he instead stepped backward, increasing the distance between himself and the old man.

"A thousand-year precious herb has the effect of extending life. I thought you would be attracted to it as well," Su Chen said.

"Cough, cough."

"I don't have much time left."

"To strike out and seize it would be a net loss for me. Unless your thousand-year herb is a Thousand-Year Ginseng King, it cannot possibly replenish the essence I would expend in the struggle..."

Three years ago, when Su Chen first met this aged man in purple, the light of his lifespan could not have lasted a year. Yet, for some unknown reason, he had managed to endure for eleven years.

Even Human Blood Longevity Pills could not add eleven years to one's life.

Speaking of which, this old man was already over a hundred and ten years old.

A First-Rank expert in their eighties or nineties would find their body, blood, and true qi in decay; their remaining lifespan could not withstand many more battles.

Fortunately, there were secret arts in the world.

By consuming exotic herbs and precious medicines, one could nurture vitality within the body. When a battle was imminent, it would not affect their lifespan, allowing them to burst forth with this life force and briefly return to their peak state.

That was exactly what the old man in purple had done back then.

With a single sword strike amidst the wind and snow, he had slain the Ziwei Daoist—an equal peak First-Rank expert who could borrow the intent of Heaven and Earth!

Because of that, Su Chen had caught a glimpse of the threshold of Heaven and Earth's intent, grasping the superficial essence of the Wind and Snow True Intent.

"Where is the little Emperor?"

Su Chen looked into the Imperial Study, seeing only a scene of devastation. The fluctuations of battle inside were even greater than outside.

Even the ice cellar beneath the Imperial Study was likely destroyed.

"He's gone."

"You are too late."

"I am old after all. Even with my remaining strength, I could not hold him back..."

The aged man in purple, the number one First-Rank expert of the Heavenly Martial Tower, did not force Su Chen to enter. He simply sat on the threshold and chatted with him.

Most of the time, Su Chen merely listened in silence without responding.

"Come to think of it..."

"I have traversed the world my entire life. At one hundred and seventeen, I have no children and have taken no disciples. The only person who could arguably be called half a disciple is a brat like you, whom I've only met once or twice."

"In the latter half of my life, in pursuit of longevity, I served the Liang Taizu, passing on his legacy and protecting his path. I committed too many evil deeds, so I dared not have children or take disciples."

"What a pity."

"Three years ago, if you had stayed and taken me as your master, how wonderful that would have been! In three years, I could have taught you the Path of Qi up to the Second-Rank Angry Astral realm. With your talent, you would have had a much better chance of breaking through to Grandmaster as a dual First-Rank..."

"What a pity."

Leaning against the door, the old man's voice grew lower and lower until it finally faded into silence.

In Su Chen's eyes, this old man was like a candle in the wind. The flame of his lifespan, which should have been extinguished ten years ago on the Night of Chaos, had finally gone out tonight.

The true strongest First-Rank expert of Great Liang...

He had died of old age!

"Since you recognize me as half a disciple, I shall recognize you as half a master. You have wronged the little Emperor; I do not know if he will even send a funeral procession or collect your body..."

"Very well."

"I shall bury you next to Old Chen. On the road to the Yellow Springs, you will at least have someone to talk to."

"Sigh!"

Su Chen sighed, hoisted the old man up, and retreated secretly back to the pharmacy.

Xiao Xuanzi was still fast asleep.

Su Chen took one thousand taels of silver notes, his roots surged, and he transformed into a different appearance. He arrived outside the palace and knocked on the door of a funeral shop.

Everything was kept simple.

When it came time to take the coffin for burial, the owner of the funeral shop handed a wordless book to Su Chen.

"This is a personal heirloom from your master. Please keep it safe..."

Flipping through it, Su Chen didn't think much of it and tucked it into his robes.

Once everything was finished, Su Chen returned to the palace.

By now, the sky was beginning to dawn.

Yawning, Su Chen reverted to being Xu Ge of the pharmacy. He opened the pharmacy doors, woke Xiao Xuanzi, and began another day of labor.

As for himself, he remained the same—leaning against the door, waiting for customers to arrive.

Having experienced a great battle last night, the organs within Su Chen's body were still slowly digesting the medicinal power to stabilize his Second-Rank threshold.

The Viscera Realm had three stages: the first was cleansing the organs, the second was refining the viscera, and the third was the integration of the nurtured life force with one's Qi.

At this moment, Su Chen was still in the cleansing stage.

In a daze, he ended up falling into a deep sleep against the doorframe.

In his dream, the wordless book in his robes began to glow and grow hot. In the dream, Su Chen felt as if he were sitting across from a white-robed Sword Immortal.

The immortal asked him

"Do you wish to cultivate the sword?"

*Boom!*

Suddenly, Su Chen jolted awake.

"A strange dream."

Su Chen rubbed his head just as Xiao Xuanzi came running back from outside the pharmacy, holding a booklet and recounting the news with great excitement.

"Master, do you know what happened last night?"

"A battle between First-Ranks!"

"Legend says that the incredibly noble Master of the Library, who had been away seeking the Dao for three years, returned and killed three minor Grandmasters in a single move—one died and two were heavily injured!"

"The whole world is shocked! The entire palace—no, the entire Imperial City—no, even the entire six prefectures of Great Liang are in an uproar! The Great Liang Martial Pavilion has directly listed the Master of the Library as number one on the Great Liang Martial Rankings! The Mysterious Black-Robed Guest under the Moon, the Wind and Snow Sword Minor Grandmaster!"

Xiao Xuanzi was beaming, his eyes filled with admiration for the "Su Chen of the Library." He clenched his fists.

"I... in the future, I will also cultivate and become a figure like the Mysterious Black-Robed Guest or the Wind and Snow Minor Grandmaster!"

Su Chen patted Xiao Xuanzi's head, feeling the urge to smack him awake.

"We are just ordinary eunuchs. Stop dreaming such big dreams and get back to work."

Outside the pharmacy, the sound of galloping horses approached. A figure in fiery red robes led a procession of East Depot agents past.

Su Chen felt a moment of trance.

For a second, he thought an old friend had been resurrected.

But the leader in the red robes, the official of the Depot, was Xu Xiaohan.

No.

He should be called Xu Han.

The current Director of the West Depot.

The East Depot had long since become a thing of the past.

"Time flows on, and everything has changed."