"I'm destroying the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?" Fang Zhengzhi replied flatly.
"If you're destroying the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet, why... why are you undressing?" Ping Yang looked at Fang Zhengzhi's beast hide t-shirt on the floor, her face flushed.
"Don't you need to take of your clothes when you shower?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Ping Yang as he continued to strip. His Heart Protection Mirror was quickly came into view. It was held to his chest by a leather strap.
Other than this, he only wore a pair of black undergarments.
"Ba... bathe!" Ping Yang was completely stunned. Just as she was about to accuse him of being shameless and barbaric, she saw the Heart Protection Mirror on Fang Zhengzhi's chest.
That was a silver colored Heart Protection Mirror, and it shone faintly in the light.
"This Heart Protection Mirror looks familiar... why does it look just like Sister Yan's "Watertight Mirror"? Could it be..."
Ping Yang immediately thought of something, but dismissed it just as quickly. The Watertight Mirror is one of the Divine Constabulary's seven greatest treasures. Why would it be in this shameless fella's possessions.
"Plonk!"
Before Ping Yang could think of anything else, Fang Zhengzhi leapt into the lake. He began swimming around like a fish taking to water.
Wen Dabao was wide-eyed with awe as he looked at Fang Zhengzhi. "The Sword Envoy is really a hero. You are bathing in the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet and in front of the princess? No one else in this world has your courage!"
After swimming around in the lake, Fang Zhengzhi found that the temperature was perfect. It was not where as good as a hot spring, but it was quite comfortable.
He found it rather calming and enjoyable.
He called out to Wen Dabao to join him.
Wen Dabao paled when he heard it. Stripping in front of Ping Yang was unimaginable. Furthermore, he could not take the responsibility of breaking the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet.
He refused to go into the lake.
Without any other option, Fang Zhengzhi asked Ping Yang to join him.
"Ew! Shameless!" Ping Yang rolled her eyes at Fang Zhengzhi, then ran off into the woods to enjoy the 'scenery'.
After being rejected by both people, Fang Zhengzhi could only smile resignedly. The view was great and the water was comfortable. It was a pity they didn't know how to enjoy it.
"I shall wash off all the dust from this trip!" After swimming around happily, he began to scrub his back, humming as he did so.
It was just the tune that he was humming when he met Chi Guyan in the woods.
"Hit the drums and the gongs, stop the beat and hear me sing. All gossip can be made into song, hear me sing the 18..."
His emotions began to go a little out of control. He was being hugged by the water, soothed by the warmth, and his voice grew louder and louder.
His voice reverberated throughout the entire Heaven Dao Sage Tablet
Ping Yang kept humming to herself, "Shameless, shameless, shameless..."
Wen Dabao's eyes were glimmering. He wanted to kneel down to Fang Zhengzhi. He had always thought of himself as a lawless rebel. However, now that he had seen Fang Zhengzhi, he knew that he was still a far cry from Fang Zhengzhi.
This man was peerlessly shameless.
There was a saying, shameless people would be dealt with by heaven!
Fang Zhengzhi was humming away happily, scrubbing and splashing around in the lake. He caused ripples in the otherwise calm lake...
But he forgot...
He forgot that this was the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. It represented the Dao of Heaven and was incredibly powerful. The heavens were closest to humans here.
Fang Zhengzhi never believed any of this.
He had always dismissed talk of ghosts and gods. However, today... at this moment! He had no other choice but to believe it.
He felt the water beginning to act strangely.
None of this was the result of his own actions. It had happened autonomously. In an instant, the tiny ripples on the surface became a terrifying whirlpool.
With the lake as its epicenter, the waves picked up the humming Fang Zhengzhi, still in his underpants.
"Boom!"
Fang Zhengzhi was in shock. He did not even have a chance to react.
He had never expected that the initially calm Heaven Dao Sage Tablet would become so ferocious in the blink of an eye. It was going for his life!
Lightning!
Ordinarily, lightning was simply static discharge. However, this lightning was different. It looked like a black crack, and it was headed straight for Fang Zhengzhi's head.
"What the f*ck?!"
Fang Zhengzhi only managed to say these three words before being sucked into the crack by an immense force.
"Could it be that I solved the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet?"
Fang Zhengzhi was not a pessimist. Even if he was, he could not be right now. If he was pessimistic, being dragged into a different space could only mean one thing - death...
His only option was to remain optimistic.
"I am going to become a sage!"
Wen Dabao, who was standing on the banks of the lake, saw Fang Zhengzhi being sucked in by the black crack. However, he did not move.
Firstly, he was too far away.
Secondly, he did not have a death wish.
"Sword Envoy, your honor!" Wen Dabao knelt to the ground, tears flowing from his eyes as he pounded the ground with his fists.
Ping Yang, who was enjoying the 'scenery', also saw the scene unfold before her eyes.
Her crystal clear eyes filled with shock, then fear, complete, spirit sucking fear. She experienced it all within the blink of an eye.
"Shameless... b*stard... don't... don't die!"
Inside the throne room, the battle was almost white hot.
Xing Yuanguo had stopped attacking as ferociously. However, the purple glow continued to flicker around his body, almost as if it was locking his life within him.
Bai Xing had paled considerably. If not for the fact that he had used the silver thread to protect himself constantly, he would have lost his life by now.
The Stabilisation Constabulary rose to its position through its battle spirit. Their people had boundless battle spirit, and Xing Yuanguo was the living embodiment of that.
Xing Yuanguo was by far the most powerful leader of any of the 13 constabularies.
Even Chi Hou of the Divine Constabulary would not dare face off against Xing Yuanguo.
Even though Xing Yuanguo was holding back now, that maniacal battle spirit continued to crash towards Bai Xing like a wave. It caused Bai Xing to sweat profusely, drenching his clothes. His arms were injured in no less than five different places, and each gash was deep.
The worst wound was at the back of his waist.
That wound had injured his internal organs. A strike that could injure the organs from the back of the waist had to be incredibly deep and vicious.
The nine black robed men were also thoroughly exhausted.
They were all Supernatural State cultivators and could heal themselves every time they got injured. However, the energy required to do so was an astronomical amount.
The deeper wounds required both effort and time.
All the nine of them made a unified decision. Each of their green demon eyes turned black.
They absorbed all the energy from their demon eye, determined to fight to the bitter end.
In actual fact, from the moment the masked black robed men appeared in the throne room, everyone's fate was decided.
The throne room was the final path of retreat from The Vast World. As long as it wasn't affected by The Vast World, they could still escape.
The initial plan was to have the army of beasts destroy the Stabilisation Constabulary if they ever entered the throne room.
When Bai Xing absorbed the energy of The Vast World into the throne room, the masked black robed men descended. This represented the demons will to massacre the Red Pinion Squad and Mountain Breaking Army.
This also represented them sealing the only escape path.
Everyone would die.
Since there was no way out, they saw no point in preserving the energy in their demon eyes. They would go down fighting!
"Uncle Xing!" A ray of light appeared beside Xing Yuanguo just as a crisp voice rang out.
"Guyan, what are you doing here? Our only hope is if you solve the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet! You... should go find it, quickly!"
"Uncle Xing, I know what you're thinking. You want to kill as many of them as possible, leaving a few of us to find the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet." Chi Guyan looked at Xing Yuanguo.
As compared to Bai Xing, Xing Yuanguo looked a lot healthier. However, he was still injured in many places. Bai Xing's techniques were strange and unpredictable.
It was impossible for Xing Yuanguo to dodge them all. He too had no less than five wounds on his body. Each wound was thin, but they cut to the bone.
"..." Xing Yuanguo did not speak. Silence was his admittance.
"But how can I watch on as you battle yourself to death? Furthermore, you know that even I am not guaranteed to solve the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet!"
"The future of the Great Xia Dynasty cannot end here!"
"What if it's not me?"
"Guyan, don't be silly! I knew you would say this. However, whether it is you or not is not up to you to decide. This is heaven's will. If you have such thoughts, you are going against heaven's will! You are showing complete and utter disregard for the future of the Great Xia Dynasty and the human race!"
"Uncle Xing!"
"Enough, I know about what happened in the Heaven Dao Pavillion. I also know what you're going to do after you descend the mountain. Furthermore, I know that you've been suppressing your powers. Since I am about to die, why don't you let me see your powers?"
"Your niece... will obey your orders!" Chi Guyan did not say anything else. She nodded lightly. The Divine Constabulary and the Stabilisation Constabulary had the closest relationship amongst the 13.
This was something known to everyone.
However, even though they were incredibly close, there was never a marriage between the two constabularies.
No one knew why.
The truth was, even without a marriage, the two constabularies remained incredibly close, never once clashing with one another.
On the square of the Northern Mountain Village.
The four men rode leisurely into the village. Dust was kicked up by their stallions as they moved. The man on point glared, his face dark as charcoal.
"General, it seems like they are waiting for us?" One of the deputies was shocked to see the gathered villagers.
"Mm, I guess our mission will be easily completed!" The leading middle aged man nodded slightly, his gaze icy.
"When you say mission, you mean?" The deputy was slightly confused.
"Do you think that killing two soldiers is a grave crime?"
"About that..."
"Just tell me the truth!"
"Yes, killing two soldiers in an audacious act. However, according to my investigations, these soldiers took money from the army's coffers but never paid it out to the villagers. They forced the villagers to provide them food and alcohol. Fang Zhengzhi's actions are borderline martial law, but, Fang Zhengzhi is not in the army, so his actions..."
"What if the soldiers had insulted Fang Zhengzhi's parents?"
"According to martial law, bullying and abuse of one's power are punishable by death!"
"It's good that you know that. I have no feud with Fang Zhengzhi. Why would I antagonize him over two useless b*stards who deserved to die anyways?"
"I understand now!"
"If my guess is correct, Fang Zhengzhi should be in hiding!"
"Do you want to search the village?"
"If I did, would I only bring three of you along?"
"Sir, are you going to..."
"He can hide, but there's someone who cannot hide!" The general's glare settled on Zhang Yangping.
There were two figures behind Zhang Yangping. One was Fang Houde, the other was Qin Xuelian.
"Fang Zhengzhi, you can only blame yourself for antagonizing someone you shouldn't have. Now, you have destroyed your bright future!"
The general looked in the direction of the capital, his right hand gripping the black military token. His expression turned icy.
The morning breeze released a few dead leaves from their branches, sending them tossing and turning as they fell to the ground.
Zhang Yangping stood quietly on the square. His gaze scanned the four riding men, then he shivered.
He had been hunting for dozens of years.
Even though Zhang Yangping was not extremely adept at reading expressions, he knew what a killing aura felt like. In his dealings with beasts, this feeling was no stranger to him.
He felt that aura from the four men.
Even though they were only four strong, Zhang Yangping felt that they were even more scary than a thousand men. Four of them meant that whatever they did here would not be known by anyone else..