Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 950 – No One Knows of This Youth

The young man in the bamboo hat asked, “Does the Heavenly Selection require one to give their identity?”

His voice was very flat, like water, a calm and rippleless pool of water. However, if someone of truly powerful cultivation were present, they might be able to hear that this was not water, but ice—an ice that had been frozen for ten thousand years.

The distant crowd was in an uproar, no one having expected this person’s response to be so cold and unswerving.

The Heavenly Selection seemed to refer to the heavens making a choice, but from its rules, one could see that it was really about one’s strength. Whether one won through the protection of the ancestral spirits or through one’s own strength, one’s identity or background were not required. All Heavenly Selection ceremonies since time immemorial had never required such a thing.

The member of the Council of Elders found himself momentarily at a loss for words. He angrily looked at the young man and said, “Then I hope that you can keep on this bamboo hat until the end.”

……

……

The sun gradually brightened. Even in the deep winter, it still had some warmth.

The red sun over the distant mountains rose higher and higher. The moist fog that had shrouded the two shores of the Red River was completely swept away, leaving a clear and bright scene of breathtaking beauty.

The matches on the fighting platforms in White Emperor City were also in full swing. The fights were incomparably splendid, with dangerous moments constantly taking place.

In the streets, on the stone walls, by the meadows, and in front of the Imperial City, the demi-human commoners loudly and constantly cheered, occasionally punctuated by a burst of gasps.

Many famous young demi-human experts defeated their opponents, but there were also many dark horses.

A few of the people nominated by the tribes that lived deep in the mountains displayed a surprising level of strength.

The several fighting platforms closest to the Imperial Palace and Heavensguard Pavilion were naturally the center of everyone’s attention. Though somewhat quieter, the gazes were even more focused.

As the Heavenly Selection ceremony proceeded, the vast majority of gazes fell on three fighting platforms.

Three people stood on their respective platforms.

Xiaode, the Great Western Continent’s Second Prince, and a young man in a bamboo hat.

As the strongest of the Demi-human race’s middle generation and the Empress’s nephew, Xiaode and the Great Western Continent’s Second Prince should have been the focus of the crowd. However, at this moment, even more gazes, especially the gazes of the important personages standing on the Imperial City’s observation platform, were aimed at that young man in the bamboo hat.

This young man was far too mysterious.

Up until now, other than his registered name of doubtful veracity, no one knew a single thing about his background. The young man seemed to have some sort of magical power. Before any of his opponents had a chance to attack, right when they stepped onto the fighting platform, they would bizarrely collapse into unconsciousness.

The young man had won four matches by this point, and neither the Carp tribe enforcer in charge of judging victory nor the member of the Council of Elders supervising the matches had been able to see what sort of technique he had used. Not even the great general of the Demi-human Court, Chong Xinghe, had been able to detect anything when he came especially to watch the third match.

Just who was he? What tribe did he come from?

……

……

When the vast majority of gazes were watching the Imperial City and Heavensguard Pavilion, when an extremely small number of important personages who knew the truth were looking with mixed expressions at the young man in the bamboo hat, a few events also took place on a remote fighting platform. It was just that they did not attract anybody’s attention at the time.

This fighting platform was set up in the impoverished Pine Paths district of White Emperor City. It was far from the center and very close to the river, and as the Jings jumped and splashed in the Red River, they raised countless stenches from the sludge of the river bottom which assailed the shore with the wind. With such a vomit-inducing smell, just what expert would be willing to come here?

In the early morning, when the war drums were just beginning to sound in the upper city and spread to Pine Paths, the sand covering the fighting platform that had been built of stone overnight began to tremble. But besides the judge from the Carp tribe, two supervisors, and other related officials, the area was deserted.

Although the entire world celebrated the Heavenly Selection ceremony, life still had to continue, and those lower-class people living in the Pine Paths still had to go to work, or else they would have to go hungry tonight. Compared to an empty stomach, the matches of the fighting platform, though interesting, would have to be put aside for later.

Before heading off to work, they naturally had to fill their bellies first. All sorts of crude stone stoves began to let off smoke. In the deep fryers, in which the oil was going black after being used for quite a few days, various sorts of floury foods were beginning to swell and then throw up bubbles. Meanwhile, the demi-human commoners who had not even washed their faces yet yawned as they stood in line.

Xuanyuan Po had not slept much last night, so he woke earlier than the rest. As a result, he managed to buy breakfast ahead of the morning rush.

The courtyard in the depths of the alley was a little misty, a consequence of the pot of water on the stove.

The area behind the paper door was also a little misty, a consequence of the sacred aura released by the piping hot steamed buns and meat buns coming from the opened paper bag.

Bie Yanghong and Wuqiong Bi were eating steamed buns.

Xuanyuan Po was eating a meat bun. This bun was not much smaller than his face, and when he took a bite, fragrance and meat juices began to drip out.

Wuqiong Bi had a nasty complexion as she asked, “Why is it that you’re eating meat buns while we’re eating steamed buns?”

Xuanyuan Po couldn’t be bothered to answer. He continued to eat his meat bun, occasionally sucking the dripping meat juices from his fingers. It looked delicious.

Wuqiong Bi’s complexion turned even nastier, her voice shriller. “You’re doing this for us to watch, aren’t you! Scram!”

Xuanyuan Po continued to ignore her.

After a night of adjustment, Bie Yanghong had recovered a little of his energy, but that aura of death about his face was still impossible to disperse.

He looked at Xuanyuan Po and asked, “What sort of filling is in this meat bun?”

“Beef and scallion,” Xuanyuan Po mumbled out.

Bie Yanghong sighed. “It truly smells nice.”

Xuanyuan Po finally reacted, hurriedly swallowing his food. He then seriously explained, “Sir, I was not intentionally inciting your cravings. It’s just that Principal said that after being seriously injured, you should not eat oily foods. Sir should finish drinking the porridge, but there’s no need to eat the steamed bun.”

By ‘Principal’, he naturally meant Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng had always emphasized his health, so all the people of the Orthodox Academy, Xuanyuan Po included, had been deeply affected.

Bie Yanghong chuckled.

Wuqiong Bi loathingly said, “Eat your meat bun and stuff yourself to death!”

Xuanyuan Po ignored her, continuing to explain to Bie Yanghong, “I have to use a lot of strength today, so I need to eat a little more.”

Although heavily injured, Bie Yanghong still had a very sharp spiritual sense, so he could clearly hear the drumbeats and chatter outside. Upon hearing Xuanyuan Po’s words, coupled with how he had said last night that he needed to do some things in the next few days, he had an inkling of what was happening. He asked, “You are going to participate in the Heavenly Selection ceremony?”

Wuqiong Bi had an eccentric personality, but also a vast store of experience. She knew the significance of the Heavenly Selection ceremony to the Demi-human race and slightly froze. Immediately after, a jeering smile appeared on her face as she taunted Xuanyuan Po, “Even a simple bear like you has the crazy wish of marrying the White Emperor’s daughter?”

Despite Xuanyuan Po’s excellent temper, he still found this statement somewhat difficult to take. He said in a muffled voice, “And what do you know?”

Wuqiong Bi’s gaze fell on his clearly withered and strengthless right arm as she sneered, “I only know that you’re a cripple.”

Bie Yanghong had also noticed the strange appearance of Xuanyuan Po’s right arm, but his response was different from Wuqiong Bi’s. Surprise on his face, he asked, “You cultivate the Heavenly Thunder Bringer?”