Chapter 1099 – Before the Fight (2/2)
”Your Majesty, use a hot towel to warm your eyes.”
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The area outside the Orthodox Academy was packed with people.
Such a scene had taken place many times before.
After the Ivy Festival, all the idlers of the capital had besieged the Orthodox Academy.
Daoist Siyuan and Linghai Zhiwang used the All-School Martial Exhibition to send an unending stream of experts to challenge the Orthodox Academy.
After the coup of the Mausoleum of Books, the Orthodox Academy was surrounded by the cavalry of the Imperial Court for three days.
But today was different from those other times, because it was extremely quiet outside the Orthodox Academy.
Let alone cursing and arguing, not even the sound of chatting could be heard today.
The entire capital was similarly quiet.
From the nobles to the cultivators to the ordinary citizens, everyone's attention was on the coming fight between master and disciple.
This fight had not yet begun, but it had already been recorded in the annals of history.
One could even say that this was the most important fight since Zhou Dufu's battle with the Demon Lord.
The Grand Examination which would so often attract the attention of the entire continent had long since been forgotten.
The examinees and priests from the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education were still in the Green Leaf World. It was impossible to say if they had noticed anything strange.
The potted Green Leaf had been placed in a room within a restaurant outside the Orthodox Academy.
Tang Thirty-Six did not even glance at it.
He was standing outside the restaurant.
All the streets around the Imperial Palace had already been placed under heavy guard.
Many people were in Hundred Flowers Lane.
He saw Wang Po, the Prince of Xiang, the Prince of Zhongshan, and even the Old Lady of the Mutuo clan, who had at some point reinserted herself into the crowd. He saw Linghai Zhiwang, who had just hurried back from the Heavenly Dao Academy, and he saw Daoist Siyuan rushing over from the Road of Peace. But he did not see Xu Yourong.
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Xu Yourong had gone to the Orange Garden.
The Prince of Louyang paced back and forth across the room, his face pale as he muttered, ”What do I do, what do I do…”
Mo Yu was also very worried, her husband's appearance putting her in a foul mood. She asked, ”Just what is he thinking?”
Xu Yourong softly said, ”I don't know.”
Mo Yu angrily said, ”Then you should go over there and watch! What do you mean by coming here!”
Xu Yourong looked at her and said, ”I came to remind you that based on my agreement with His Majesty, you should be doing some things.”
Mo Yu slightly frowned and asked, ”Even if you know that there's an extremely high chance that he'll lose?”
Xu Yourong calmly answered, ”If he loses, then we will strike directly.”
Mo Yu froze as she realized, you truly are the Empress's only rightful successor.
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The house was no home to spring, summer, or autumn.
The temperature in the room was the harsh cold of midwinter.
Chen Changsheng sat by the window, his eyes closed.
A bamboo dragonfly had been placed on the table, as had the Divine Staff.
The little Black Dragon stood behind him, shrouding him in her dragon breath.
No frost formed on the floorboards, because all the chill was accurately falling on Chen Changsheng's body.
Low temperatures could repair the finest of wounds, ensure the toughness of one's body, and pacify one's sea of consciousness.
In the Li Palace's stone chamber, he had calmed his mind and comprehended the sword for many days. He had already made a great many preparations.
But he knew that no preparations could be enough to defeat someone like his master.
After some time, he opened his eyes, took up the Divine Staff, and walked out of his room and to a room on the first floor.
He put away the Divine Robe and exchanged it for that thin attire in the wardrobe.
The room was Zhexiu's, and the set of clothes was also Zhexiu's.
The front lapel of these clothes was very short, and the sleeves were even shorter. It was extremely suitable for fighting, and even more suitable for putting everything on the line.
This done, he walked out of the house.
Shang Xingzhou was already standing by the lake.
Wang Zhice was nearby.
Chen Changsheng threw an object at him.
Wang Zhice stretched out a hand and caught it. Glancing at it, he sighed.
As expected, it was that black stone.