1044 Sages Never Get Lonely (1/2)

More and more drifting clouds gathered together in the blue sky above the city, totally covering the sun and darkening the world, just like what the people on the square were reciting at this moment.

With the flame on Ye Su's body getting stronger and stronger, his voice could no longer be heard and his face was disappearing. His whole body was burning, like a bright light.

The light that scattered on the human world suddenly disappeared. Then a holy beam of light, coming from his body, went to the sky above the woodpile and fell in the deepest part of the distant sky.

There was a bright area appearing in the dark sky, which was not as bright as the sun but more real. Tens of thousands of people who were kneeling on the ground could see clearly what was there.

There were a blue sky, gray clouds, darkness, and the true light.

All of a sudden, the bright area dimmed again, but then quickly reverted to the way it was.

The raging fire on the woodpile had risen to the air, as if to burn the sky. The figure of Ye Su could no longer be seen. But the strange thing was that there was no horrible smell but a faint aroma in the air, making people feel extraordinarily peaceful.

Did the beam of light, the bright area in the dark sky, and the faint aroma mean that Ye Su had become a sage?

Nobody knew the answer. Long Qing didn't know, neither did tens of thousands of people kneeling on the ground and the cavalrymen, Xiaoyu and the divine priests standing outside the small courtyard.

The images of sanctification recorded in West-Hill literary canon had nothing to do with today's story. It was impossible for anyone to know what was going on at this moment, including the Abbey Dean. But it was not important.

Ye Su was sanctified, which had nothing to do with religion or the Divine Kingdom in the sky. His sanctification took place in the human world and also in the hearts of the followers. He had become a sage.

No matter whether the Great Tang and the Academy could win the war or not, the New Stream would inevitably spread in the human world. No one could stop this. Countless people would see Ye Su as a sage.

Therefore he was a sage.

Suddenly it began to snow. The drifting clouds gathered into thick clouds covering the sky. Then ice crystals coagulated in the depths of the clouds and fell to the earth as the form of snow.

The snow fell on the streets of the city, fell on the people who knelt on the square and kept chanting, fell in the small courtyard, and fell on the burning woodpile. Falling into the flame, the snow melted into water, gradually soaking the woodpile. The flame was getting smaller and smaller, and finally extinguished after a long time.

The chanting gradually stopped too. People looked into the small courtyard hopefully and wished that a miracle would happen. But they sadly found that there was no miracle at all.

The cross had been burned and collapsed, and the man whom people wished to see was already gone. Even the rope that was tied to him had been burned to ashes.

The snowflakes kept falling, some falling on people's shoulders and some on people's lips. The flakes melt into water due to the people's body temperature, moistening people's lips, which were dry due to anxiety and sorrow. The crowd started to cry, and the sound of sobbing remain unbroken.

Time passed slowly. The clouds in the sky did not clear away, but the people on the square gradually dispersed. Thousands of followers of the New Stream walked out of the square while carrying each other. There was no conflict, killing nor arresting, for Long Qing remained silent this whole time.

Standing in front of the woodpile, he revealed no expression.

After a long time, the snow still kept falling, putting out the last sparks left on the woodpile. The woodpile was gradually covered with thick snow, and the ashes could no longer be seen.

The square was all white and clean.

...

...

A thunder suddenly burst in the sky. Then a second one. The two thunder were chasing each other between heaven and earth.

On the square, the cavalrymen of the Divine Halls and the powerhouses from Taoism all looked up to the sky and seemed to be vigilant, frightened and unsettled, like they heard the anger of the god.

The two thunder kept changing their locations. It was impossible for these mortals to identify the exact locations and resist the power of the god. Then what were the thunder?

Long Qing looked up at the sky and the snowflakes which were disturbed by the invisible power hidden in the two thunder. He figured out what the thunders represented but still was as calm as before.

A storm suddenly appeared on the sea outside the Song Kingdom and soon landed. The sea water kept hitting the well-known breakwater, and the storm finally came to the square, turning into a roar.

The clouds above the city gently trembled. A strong power spread from the center of the roar, turning into a horrible wind. Countless cavalrymen fell off the horses, and even the powerhouses from Taoism had to use their full strength to barely keep standing straight in the fierce wind.

Then the fierce wind gradually smoothed and dispersed into the streets and houses like water. A circle which was about ten feet long appeared in the square. There was no snow or blood in that circle, just two people.

One person wore an old cotton jacket and held a short wooden stick. He was the Eldest Brother of the Academy. The other wore a gown giving out the smell of alcohol and had a flagon tie to his waist. He was the Drunkard.

The Eldest Brother's cotton jacket was tattered, and blood kept coming out, soaking the cotton. He seemed to be quite distressed.

The Drunkard was no better than him. His clothes had stains everywhere, and his left shoulder seemed to be hurt. He wanted to take out the flagon but found that his hand shook heavily.

It turned out that the two thunder which were wandering between Heaven and Earth previously were actually these two chasing each other. They kept fighting against each other even in the Distanceless State.

That was the highest level of battle in the cultivation world, and also the hardest to fight against. But in fact, the battle could have been avoided.

Yesterday, the Drunkard returned to the town, said nothing to the Butcher, and just waited for the future silently. The Eldest Brother stayed at a small building outside Linkang City and waited for the result of the negotiation between the Academy and Taoism. Both the Drunkard and the Eldest Brother felt unsettled.

The Drunkard was still unsettled when he sensed that something unusual happened on Peach Mountain last night and Ye Su was sanctified this morning even though he was happy to see that the Abbey Dean was not persuaded by Ning Que.

He thought that the Academy was the source of his unsettlement, and that the Academy would try to save Ye Su at all costs. So he left the town in a hurry and returned to the small building outside Linkang City, encountering Li Manman again.