Chapter 534 – An Old Daoist Nun Arrives in the Capital (2/2)

Guan Bai watched as the old Daoist nun got closer and closer, not speaking a single word.

He did not know the origins of the nun, but he knew that her cultivation level was far above his, even above his esteemed teacher Zhuang Zhihuan.

Before the Boiling Stone Summit, he didn't want to cause too much trouble, nor should he be fighting an expert of such masterly cultivation.

But he had heard very clearly that in a distant alley, a wild dog had died.

It was just when this old Daoist nun was walking past.

This old Daoist nun was very powerful and assuredly had an extraordinary background. Compared to her, a wild dog blocking the road truly wasn't worth much.

Guan Bai also thought this way. If a wild dog died, so what? Was he really taking revenge for a single wild dog?

The problem was that the dog should have died faster.

The old Daoist nun would only need a glance to decapitate the wild dog.

But that dog had yelled out thirty-some times in the alley, each more miserable and weaker than the last, until it finally reached his ears.

He found it impossible to understand why such a powerful figure as the old Daoist nun wanted to use thirty-some attacks to kill a single dog.

He also found it impossible to imagine whether or not this old Daoist nun acted this way when she normally killed people.

So he walked out from the study onto the street to ask this old Daoist nun.

The old Daoist nun halted her steps and expressionlessly gazed back at him.

Guan Bai wanted to say something, but upon seeing the old Daoist nun's eyes, he realized it was already impossible for him to speak.

His hand gripped the hilt of his sword, but he found it impossible to pull it out.

The old Daoist nun's eyes contained a sea of blue-green, filled with decay and ruthless emotion. It was like a tide filled with green seaweed charging forward.

Boundless and endless blue-green killing intent surged forward from her end of the street, enveloping his body.

(TN: This is a play on a name. Wuqiong (无穷) means ‘boundless’. 碧 is a color that might be green, blue, or blue-green.)

Squelch! A spray of blood shot out from his mouth and fell upon the snow.

……

……

He was the pride of the Heavenly Dao Academy, an expert of the sword on the Proclamation of Liberation, Famous Name Guan Bai.

Yet in front of this old Daoist nun, he couldn't even say a single word or even pull out his sword before suffering heavy injuries.

”State your teacher,” the old Daoist nun expressionlessly commanded.

Guan Bai's eyes were filled with shock. Only now did he confirm that this old Daoist nun's cultivation not only far surpassed his teachers, but had even faintly surpassed the scope of the mortal world and entered the Divine Domain. When he thought about the blue-green color in her eyes, he instantly guessed at her identity.

Wuqiong Bi of the Storms of the Eight Directions!

This was a peak expert of the human world. Why would she suddenly appear tonight in the capital?

”Heavenly Dao Academy's Guan Bai. My teacher is Zhuang Zhihuan.”

Guan Bai was shocked beyond compare by this old Daoist nun's identity, but he did not fear in the slightest, staring at her as he spoke.

”For the sake of Mao Qiuyu, I will leave you with your life tonight.”

The old Daoist nun slowly walked past and her figure gradually faded into the darkness.

After not much time had passed, Guan Bai finally realized that he could move. The right hand gripping the hilt trembled, and with a clang, half of his sword emerged from its sheath.

Then, his right arm severed at the shoulder and fell on the snow, staining a large portion of it dark-red with blood.

Tonight, in the capital, a wild dog in an alley had been cruelly chopped to pieces.

Guan Bai, the pride and hope of the Heavenly Dao Academy, the young expert of the sword with limitless prospects, had lost the right arm that he used to wield the sword.

The old Daoist nun that had done both these things felt nothing for any of this. Her expression was still indifferent, her eyes still ruthless.

In her eyes, a young man like Guan Bai and that wild dog in the alley were not too different. Even she had to respect the Pope and she did not wish to provoke the Divine Empress, but if this were not the capital of the Great Zhou, perhaps Guan Bai would already be dead.

In her view, leaving Guan Bai his life was enough to give face to Mao Qiuyu. To be more precise, she was giving face to the Orthodoxy.

This world contained people that were extremely strong, so much so that their worldviews became somewhat twisted. They believed that if they did not steal all the food out of the beggar's bowl, they were giving the beggar face, and to not kill all the people that they found displeasing to the eye was to give life face. As a result, they believed that the other party should also give them face.

The old Daoist nun had come to the capital tonight because she believed that the Pope had not given her sufficient face, so she had come to personally take some face back.

When she was very young, she married another member of the Eight Storms. From that point on, she believed that her husband was her most important face. Later on, after much suffering, she bore a son and believed that her son was actually her most important face.

The old Daoist nun stood at the back wall of the Orthodox Academy, emotionlessly looking up at those several snowy trees that peeked over the wall.

Several weeks ago, her son had been humiliated by a person.

That person was called Chen Changsheng.