Chapter 156 Ending (Part 1) Fire from the sky rises, and the sword of the year appears. …
The martial arts examination was in full swing. Swordsman Li Zhou had a rare moment of free time, so he accepted the invitation of the chief examiner Gu Sheng and came to the examination room.
Since no one dared to ask what the swordsman was busy with, no one knew. Li Zhou just ate and slept, and almost forgot about finding a master for the magic sword.
"There is a young lady named Wei Yuan, who is very good at martial arts." After Gu Sheng invited the swordsman Li Zhou to take a seat, he pointed at the candidates who were checking their names in the examination room and said, "It is said that she once waited for several months at the foot of Xili Mountain, hoping to become a disciple of the swordsman."
Swordsman Li Zhou had no idea about this. After hearing it, he just casually nodded and didn't express any opinion.
Gu Sheng specifically pointed this out, firstly because she valued talent, and secondly because Wei Yuan, like her, came from a poor family.
Seeing the nonchalant reaction of the swordsman Li Zhou, she sighed in her heart. For a moment she felt that her efforts were in vain, and for a moment she was worried that she would make things worse and make the swordsman mistakenly think that Wei Yuan had followed her path and was not a down-to-earth person.
Gu Sheng naturally thought that the swordsman Li Zhou came to the examination room to see the character of the candidates.
But in reality, Li Zhou was using her excellent sense of smell to carefully distinguish the fillings of the buns that were wafting from the direction of the county town.
Li Zhou thought seriously about what kind of genius could research so many delicious foods. His intelligence was only slightly lower than hers.
Gu Sheng and the other examiners saw that she looked thoughtful, looked at each other, and perked up their spirits. They were secretly alert in their hearts that since the lady attached so much importance to this martial arts examination, they must not let down in front of her.
In the examination venue, the candidates signed in and started today's competition.
This round of competition was a group test, and Wei Yuan, Zhang Da, and Wang Sili were assigned to the same group.
The competition is about "picking the moon". The person who first picks the "full moon" hanging on the top of Baizhang Mountain will win.
This moon was forged by Mozhe and consecrated by the master of Ciyu Temple. Only those who are purely good can approach it.
Therefore, this competition is a test of both martial arts and character.
The road leading to the top of the mountain is rugged and winding. People in the same group are both teammates and opponents. From time to time, you can see that someone pushes someone in the same group off the cliff in order to get ahead, and then is judged by Yuanyue to lose the qualification for the competition.
Seeing this, another candidate pretended to care about each other, but wasted time and could only watch the third person get ahead of him.
The examiners used the telescope forged by the Mohists to see these things clearly. The Minister of War sighed: "If it is on the battlefield, as long as you can win, why bother to consider what means to use, but this competition is different after all."
As for what the difference is... everyone quietly looked at the swordsman Li Zhou in the middle. Because of her presence, even a dignified Shangshu could not sit in the position of chief examiner in this martial arts examination.
Seeing everyone's wandering eyes, Gu Sheng knew that everyone was confused. When discussing the rules of the competition, he had invited the swordsman three times, but the swordsman never showed up. Now he didn't know whether these rules were in line with the adults' wishes.
"Master Swordsman," Gu Sheng spoke carefully, speaking for everyone, "What do you think?"
Li Zhou shifted his attention back from the mutton buns, glanced at the candidates on the mountainside, and then looked at the "full moon" at the top of the mountain.
"Not bad." Li Qingtian said, "The moon is good."
Gu Sheng was stunned and looked at the Minister of War and others. He first looked at the artificial moon, then raised his head and looked at the pale full moon whose outline could be vaguely seen even in the daytime.
Lord Swordsman's words are concise and to the point, but who would think that these three words are just superficial meanings?
Is this telling them that among all the gods, the Moon God is the one who can be trusted?
The well-read examiners pondered over the legends related to the moon, such as fox demons worshipping the moon, heavenly dogs eating the moon, and even the fox fairy of Duotian Sect expelling the devil under the moon...
Everyone was thinking hard about whether they could get any inspiration from these stories.
In addition, a clerk solemnly wrote down these three words and sent them to the capital city at an express speed of 800 miles.
When they arrived in the capital, the right prime minister took the lead and led all the officials to read the classics and think about the profound meaning of the swordsman.
In Ciyu Temple, Abbot Yuanzhen looked towards the room where the little fox fairy lived, with a hesitant look on his face.
For some reason, he had a premonition that today might be the day to say goodbye to the little fox fairy.
Half-demon Li Zhou has been eating and drinking for free in Ciyu Temple for a long time. Of course, he has also thought about going out to explore the world, but every time he was about to pack his luggage, it was time for dinner.
Although they were all vegetarian, the monk's cooking skills were really good. Half-demon Li Zhou could only say in his heart that he would eat for another day and go out tomorrow.
Tomorrow after tomorrow, Zhou'er is a loyal and good baby who never gets tired of eating him.
My good friend Tan Yin has been worried lately and has been less talkative, but fortunately, he has made a new friend with Half-Demon Li Zhou.
The new friend is called Zhongli Sui, and his name is the same as the half-demon Li Zhou’s alias “Hushan Sui”, which contains the character “Sui”. He is also a little half-demon fox.
Although Li Zhou knew that Hu Shansui's mother was Taoist Zhongli, he had never thought about any connection between Zhongli Sui and Hu Shansui.
She only happily agreed to her new friend's request after she found out that she was the only one who could see her new friend. She kept this secret and only sought out her new friend to play with when no one was around.
On this day, Tan Yin went to meditate in front of the Buddha statue enshrined in Yehe Temple again. The half-demon Li Zhou took the opportunity to stuff some snacks into his arms, quietly ran to the Sutra Library of Ciyu Temple, and called out Zhongli Sui who was hiding in the attic.
The little fox was not very experienced. He sat on the ground in a listless manner, with fox ears and a big fluffy tail, looking like a half-human, half-demon.
As soon as Li Zhou handed her the snack, she couldn't wait to gobble it up.
"Do you know what your mother's name is now?" Li Zhou sat down next to Zhong Li Sui and unconsciously imitated the movements of the little fox, correcting the parts of himself that did not look like a half-demon.
The little fox told Li Zhou that she was looking for her mother, but she only knew that her mother's surname was Zhongli and she knew nothing else.
She swallowed the snack residue in her mouth and shook her head: "There is no record of Taoist Zhongli in the history books I can find."
Li Zhou pinched his chin, thought for a while, and then showed an expression of sudden enlightenment: "Historical books only record powerful people. Your mother may be just an ordinary person."
"Nonsense." Zhong Lisui clenched his fists, "My mother is the best."
Li Zhou nodded: "I also think my mother is the best."
Zhong Lisui glanced at her and said hesitantly, "But I'm serious."
Although she could hardly remember what her mother looked like, she could still recall her mother's superb swordsmanship. Everyone who had seen that swordsmanship praised it, saying that Taoist Zhongli could be called the best in the world.
Li Zhou frowned and said, "I am serious too."
Zhong Lisui said, "You said yesterday that you were worried that your mother was not in good health and could not go on a long journey with you."
Li Zhou: “That’s also the most powerful one!”
Zhong Li Sui: "Obviously my mother is the most powerful."
The two little foxes glared at each other angrily. Zhongli Sui was suddenly startled when he saw the fox ears popping out of the half-demon Li Zhou's head and the tail popping out behind him.
Why did she feel as if she was looking in a mirror?
What is her relationship with this person?
Just as she was about to think in this direction, Zhong Li Sui's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Then, a ray of moonlight poured in from the attic window, enveloping her and making her dazed for a moment.
...What did I just think of?
Zhongli Sui touched his head in confusion, but he couldn't remember anything.
Li Zhou showed an expression of "I won again" and stood up triumphantly. He said generously: "Since you admit that my mother is the best, then I will help you find out what your mother's name is."
Although Zhongli Sui's mother was not as powerful as her own mother, the second most powerful one should also be recorded in history books.
Half-demon Li Zhou stood in front of the bookshelf and searched row by row.
Zhong Lisui muttered behind her: "I have read all the books here. How can these monks record the affairs of people who practice Taoism? Don't waste your energy..."
"Found it!" Li Zhou stopped in front of a row of bookshelves, pulled out a book called "The Legend of Zhongli Yan", opened it and saw that the first page read "Zhongli Yan and a fox demon had a daughter named Zhongli Sui".
Zhongli Sui: “???”
Zhongli Sui really couldn't believe his eyes. He rubbed his eyes again and again, but neither the title nor the content of the book had changed.
The book is really a biography of her mother.
"How could it be..." She said in great confusion while reading the book quickly, "Why have I never seen this book after searching for it for so long..."
Half-demon Li Zhou puffed out his chest proudly: "Because the most powerful mother can give birth to the most powerful daughter."
Whatever Zhuer wants, Zhuer gets. Zhuer is the best.
Zhongli Sui has been wandering in the human world for so many years, all because of her obsession with finding her mother's identity. Now that Li Zhou has helped her find her, she will nod and agree even if he wants her to be her stepmother.
She agreed with Li Zhou and saw in the book the life story of Zhongli Yan, who fought for Qingqiu until the last moment and risked his life to spread the news of the invasion of the gods and save the world.
She also saw that Zhongli Yan did everything he could for the world, and used the last bit of his spiritual power to protect his beloved daughter and send her out of Qingqiu.
However, the daughter still had the contamination of Qingqiu on her body, and she only lived a few more years before passing away.
"My mother's name is Zhongli Yan." The little fox's obsession was resolved by this biography. Not only did she find her mother, but she also knew how much her mother loved her.
Zhongli Sui closed the book, looked at Li Zhou, and said solemnly: "Thank you."
An invisible red light flew out from her body and fell on the Book of Life and Death in the underworld, revealing the three words "Zhongli Sui".
The next moment, death appeared beside her, and Yuan Jirui showed up with a soul-catching rope. Without saying a word, he threw out the chain and was about to hook Zhongli Sui away.
The Young Lord of the Underworld will naturally show no mercy to the resentful souls stranded in the human world.
She walked around the human world, catching ghosts that refused to reincarnate, but she didn't expect that there was such a big fish that slipped through the net here.
"Huh?" The half-demon Li Zhou felt that Yuan Jirui looked a little familiar.
The latter thought she was going to stop him, so he turned around with a cold face and saw the half-demon Li Zhou, and also saw that her face was exactly the same as Zhong Li Sui's.
"clang!"
The midnight bell of Ciyu Temple rang at the right time, the moonlight in the attic suddenly became brighter, and a full moon appeared in Yuan Jirui's mind.
"Don't ask, don't think, just take Zhongli Sui to the afterlife."
Yuan Jirui was greatly shocked.
The Night-Dividing Bell is the national treasure of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The Moon God even went so far as to borrow this treasure and use his divine power just to convey this oracle.
Realizing that the matter was of great importance, Yuan Jirui quickly turned around, grabbed the soul-catching rope, and shouted, "Let's go!" He then took Zhong Li Sui, who wanted to say goodbye to the half-demon Li Zhou, with him and sank into the ground without looking back.
At the same time, in the Wenchang Star God Temple, Wenchang Star God, who was holding incense and candles to drive away maggots, also heard the bell.
He stopped and carefully distinguished the message conveyed by the bell. Suddenly, he became alert and shook off the maggots on his sleeves.
Zhongli Yan's plan was successful.
Zhongli Yan also concealed his name from his closest relatives, in order to make "Zhongli Sui" and "Hushan Sui" appear to be the same person and yet not the same person.
After "Hushan Sui" became His anchor point, it should have completely disappeared from history like Tan Zhao, Xie Lingwei, and Gongsun Ying, and there would be no possibility of any afterlife.
However, now, it is "Hushan Sui", the daughter of "Master Zhongli", who has disappeared. What does this have to do with "Zhongli Sui", the daughter of "Zhongli Yan"?
It is clearly written in the Book of Life and Death that Zhongli Sui died at the age of seventeen. She stayed in the world of the living because she missed her deceased mother. The underworld was sent to capture her and send her to the River of Oblivion to enter the cycle of reincarnation.
Zhongli Yan put a lot of thought into planning an opportunity for his daughter to be reincarnated.
How could she know that her love for her daughter not only gave her daughter an afterlife, but also contributed to the birth of a new Heavenly Dao.
Just like Xue Jingzhen's mother, she also opened up a path to death in Zhongli Sui's world which should have returned to nothingness, allowing her daughter to escape from nothingness and return to reality.
This force that supports reality has also become the source of the new heavenly way.
Not only that, she and her daughter also successfully pleased Him in the game.
Pleasing Him is the most important thing in the entire universe, nothing less.
Opportunities always appear at His own pleasure, and we must do our utmost to seize them.
However, the birth of new things is bound to be accompanied by the destruction of old things. Whether the world can survive the coming changes is still unknown...
The half-demon Li Zhou glanced in the direction where the little fox and Yuan Jirui left, said nothing, and ran down the attic alone.
With no one around, she didn't need to cry over the departure of her good friend.
She walked to the entrance of the Sutra Repository and bumped into the abbot Yuan Zhen who was in a hurry.
Yuan Zhen originally wanted to go to the side room to find her, but unexpectedly met her here. He paused and slowed down his breathing calmly in the lingering sound of the bell.
The half-human, half-demon temperament of the fox fairy turned into a subtle and profound aura at this moment. The shadows lurking behind her were dense and strange, leaping carelessly, filling the entire scripture pavilion.
Just because the half-demon Li Zhou did not play his disguise seriously, his true self was slightly revealed, and a terror beyond the imagination of mortals descended.
Yuan Zhen's feet were nailed to the spot.
The moment he faced the great terror, countless secrets that he should not have known filled his mind. Relying on the rich experience accumulated from years of practice, he immediately closed his five senses and stopped thinking.
However, his back still made a bending sound, and his ten fingers became thin and long.
The old monk, who had already closed his eyes, made a prompt decision. He sat down cross-legged, put his hands together, cut open his dantian, took out the relics, and cut off his own arms.
The next moment after he did all these things, his back broke in two with a snap, and the relic hanging in the air plunged into the back of Li Zhou and sank into the deep swamp-like shadow, emitting a circle of vague light, trying to contain it slightly.
However, in just a moment, the light of the relic disappeared, and the next moment, it was like a drop in the ocean, completely lost to the trace.
The old monk did everything he could, but so what? He neither saved himself nor hindered Li Zhou in the slightest.
Li Zhou just felt that there was a bitter taste in his mouth.
Who put a lotus seed in my mouth?
The half-demon Li Zhou spat angrily, then raised his eyes and looked at the old monk who was broken into two halves not far away.
Realizing that there were people around, the half-demon Li Zhou quickly perked up and conscientiously played the role of a little fox.
Whether it was abnormal for this man to be broken into two pieces was not something she considered.
As an outsider who broke into the Sutra Repository secretly, Li Zhou felt guilty and tucked his tail between his legs. He ran back to the room where he was staying, trying to cover up his mistake.
The huge shadow quickly shrank behind her and turned back into that ordinary, obedient shadow.
The half-demon Li Zhou made up his mind, had one last vegetarian meal and then hit the road to continue his adventure in the world.
She didn't know that the old monk who cooked for her every day was no longer in this world.
…
Swordsman Li Zhou was sitting in the examiner's seat and heard the noise coming from afar. Many people cried out, "Don't pull out my rice" and "I'll fight you to death." Some people also shouted, "Nowadays, cotton fabrics are exported in large quantities, worth a million silver coins. The court wants to share the profits with the common people by asking you to abandon rice and plant cotton. You are so ignorant. Are you going to rebel against the people?"
Hey, the government and the people started arguing.
Swordsman Li Zhou glanced at the examiners on both sides with his peripheral vision, and seeing that they all looked normal, he thought that it should be nothing, and did not take it to heart.
She didn't even think about the fact that no one else had her hearing ability to hear sounds thousands of miles away.
Not knowing that officials in some areas had already begun trampling on the rice that was about to mature in order to complete overseas orders, Gu Sheng, the imperial envoy who was ordered by the emperor to inspect the four directions, was still discussing the performance of the candidates in this competition with other examiners.
Wei Yuan, who was favored by her, indeed performed outstandingly. Although he did not have a harmonious relationship with the candidates in the same group, he took the initiative to propose cooperation between three people to Wang Sili and Zhang Da when he encountered a difficult situation. After passing the dangerous situation, he was able to pick the "full moon" on the top of the mountain with extraordinary skills.
When Wei Yuan returned to the foot of the mountain in high spirits, waiting for the final exam list to be announced, Gu Sheng's eyes were full of unconcealable admiration.
Even though the other examiners each had their own favorite candidates, they couldn't help but smile with satisfaction when they saw such a young talent.
At this moment, the young men who entered the final test were full of vigor and vitality. The examiners on the stage had in their minds a scene in which the champion of this martial arts examination obtained the magic sword and led warriors all over the world to be loyal to the country and benefit the people.
Everyone feels that the future is bright and that the destiny of the Great Zhou will surely reach a new peak.
However--
“Ding! Ding! Ding!”
When the gong for the final exam sounded, a bloodstained horse rushed into the examination room before anyone could react.
The guard first shouted and tried to stop the intruder, then rushed forward and saw the beaten postman on horseback.
"What happened?!"
The guard caught the postman who fell off the horse, but he only took a letter with a bloody handprint from the latter. Then, the postman, who had completed his task, closed his eyes tiredly and never opened them again.
The examination room was quiet for a moment, then suddenly became noisy.
"Is there another evil spirit causing trouble?"
"I heard that pirates have been gathering recently. Could it be that the thieves are attacking us?"
"quiet!"
Gu Sheng exchanged a glance with the Minister of War and others, then quickly walked down from the examiner's seat, took the letter from the guard, and saw a line of scribbled words:
[The Xizhou mob burned looms, beat and killed officials, and gathered tens of thousands of people! Xizhou is in urgent need of help, please send troops to rescue it! ]
Gu Sheng suddenly clenched the letter and was about to speak when he heard a loud bang. The sky, which had been cloudless just a moment ago, suddenly exploded with a loud thunder, as if marking the beginning of a sudden downturn in the situation.
An elderly examiner looked panic-stricken. Unable to bear the sudden stimulation, his eyes rolled back and he fainted.
The Minister of War also had a pale face and his breathing was disordered, and it seemed that he would faint at any time.
However, at this time, no one had the mind to pay attention to the physical condition of the two adults.
Led by Gu Sheng, everyone subconsciously turned their heads and looked at the swordsman sitting on the main seat.
Every move of Lord Swordsman has a deep meaning. Could it be that he came out to choose a master for the sword because he had anticipated this civil uprising?
Could it be that a person who has been recognized by the divine sword can fight against an army of one million and capture tens of thousands of rioters with ease?
People didn't dare to blink and stared at the swordsman Li Zhou closely, for fear of missing any of her hints.
However, the swordsman only frowned slightly and said calmly: "The competition continues."
Li Zhou was very serious in every simulation and was diligent and conscientious in completing the tasks. Naturally, he did not want his tasks to be interrupted by other people's affairs.
Even if everyone was horrified by the people's rebellion, she would not take the trouble to understand their expressions, let alone care about what terrible consequences the rebellion would lead to.
Outside the examination room, there was a clear and tender nursery rhyme:
"Emperor Yang draws blood, the heaven and earth are the furnace, and nature is the great smelter, changing with each passing day."
Except for Li Zhou, everyone's face changed instantly when they heard the word "Emperor Yang".
The one who is good at internal affairs and far from propriety is called Yang, and the one who goes against heaven and oppresses the people is called Yang. The singing of this nursery rhyme at this time is simply implying that the luck of the Great Zhou Dynasty has come to an end, and the current emperor will become a tyrant who will be judged as such.
The tall Wei Dutong strode out of the examination room and looked in the direction where the nursery rhyme came from, but found that there was no one there.
In the Purple Palace in the capital, the emperor received an urgent report from the governor of Xizhou, who had traveled eight hundred miles. He said to the right prime minister who had hurried over: "No need to pacify them, send troops to suppress them."
The right prime minister's face tensed, and he bowed down and said, "Your Majesty, this cannot be done! The fault lies entirely with the Xizhou governor. This thief deceived the superiors and deceived the subordinates, forcing the people to rebel. As long as Your Majesty sends more people to appease them, the rioters will fall apart on their own. There is absolutely no point in adding fuel to the fire."
She spoke every word sincerely, but she didn't know that a new line of prophecy had already appeared in the closed "Great Zhou Treasure Scroll" on the emperor's desk:
[The fake Sui Sword is really a regicide. If you want to kill the gods, you must first kill the king. The blood of the emperor will burn the heavenly fire. When the heavenly fire rises, the Sui Sword will appear.]
The fire used to forge the God-Slaying Sword was the blood of the Son of Heaven. Duotian Sect chose a master for the Fake Sui Sword in order to kill the king and draw blood.
The Great Zhou Baojuan informed the emperor of this matter in advance.
The emperor can choose to be a wise ruler who will be remembered for generations to come, or he can choose to be a mad emperor who will lead the dynasty to its doom.
However, how could the sword of regicide be pointed at a wise ruler?
The wisdom of a wise ruler lies only in the emperor himself, but it may not be beneficial to this era.
If the old era continues, the plan of countless people to destroy the gods may fail.
Only by extinction of mystery can those decaying things stop being resurrected and the future can be truly new.
The emperor had already made up his mind.
The Right Prime Minister, who failed in his persuasion, stumbled out of the Purple Palace. The Great Zhou Taizu came out from behind the screen and looked at the emperor with a strange expression: "How could I not know that you are such a good person who is willing to sacrifice yourself for the benefit of the world?"
The emperor looked up at him, a smile on his calm face: "Since the resurrection of the gods, how long has it been since I was able to control my own destiny like this?"
Her smile gradually widened, and she looked extremely happy and arrogant: "So what if he is a god? I am the final winner."
"History books are written in a meticulous way, and the world will only think that you are extremely stupid and will suffer the consequences of your own actions."
"Oh?" The emperor raised his eyebrows slightly, "So what?"
As long as she can take revenge on the gods who bullied and humiliated her, she doesn't care how future generations will judge her.
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