Ou Yangming waited in his residence for three days, and during this period, he had gotten several visitors.
Strangely, however, none of the visitors were from the imperial family, and weirder still, none of the 26 Supreme Great Ancestors he gave rise to had shown themselves.
It was as if there was a mysterious force manipulating things behind the scenes.
Upon his third day, Ou Yangming finally lost his patience. A vague sense of restlessness had plagued him, as he could feel danger approaching Changlong County.
He ordered Du Gaoge to refuse all visitors.
Just as he had put on a neat set of clothes and was about to take off to visit His Majesty the Emperor, he received a surprise guest in his courtyard.
The guest was Bai Shixue, the Yi Pavilion’s Young Pavilion Master, and at that moment, she was waving at him, enticing Ou Yangming to approach her as she exuded a mesmerizing aura.
Ou Yangming’s eyelids twitched. He chuckled bitterly as he reminded himself to be on his guard when he conversed with her.
Nevertheless, since she was the master of the house, it would do him no good to reject her invitation.
Ou Yangming steeled himself, and while maintaining a neutral mindscape, he then approached her.
“Long time no see, Young Pavilion Master. How’s it been?” Ou Yangming greeted. Bai Shixue lazily stretched her body whilst on her seat and gave Ou Yangming a teasing smile. Had anyone else done the same thing, they would have looked like they were fooling around, but when Bai Shixue did it, it felt natural.
Ou Yangming’s eyelid twitched once again, as her actions had disrupted the equilibrium of his mindscape. He mentally shouted, ‘She’s a vixen!
‘It’s better to let the pros deal with her.’ Although Ou Yangming was captivated by her charm, that did not mean that he was willing to submit himself to her.
Bai Shixue pursed her lips and asked, “I’ve heard that you’re rejecting all your visitors, Brother Ou. Are you about to leave?”
Ou Yangming hesitated for a moment. After all, since he was living in her territory, it was only natural for all his actions to be monitored by her. As such, he nodded and answered, “I am.”
“Are you heading to the imperial palace?”
“Correct.”
Ou Yangming did not attempt to hide his movements, as there was no point in doing so.
Bai Shixue heaved a gentle sigh and said, “You’re wasting your time, Brother Ou.” Ou Yangming froze upon hearing those words. Despite that, he maintained the same expression as before as he asked, “And why’s that?”
“Because no one will agree to your request.” Bai Shixue lifted her head and revealed her snow-white neck as she explained, “The imperial supreme elder is the final and strongest bastion of humanity. His existence is the greatest insurance that humanity possesses. As such, no matter what price you’re willing to pay, the supreme elder will never leave the capital.”
Ou Yangming’s lips twitched slightly, and in the end, he heaved a long, frustrated sigh.
In truth, he had already predicted this would happen when he made the request to Wu Hanfeng.
There were eight Human counties in total, and throughout the generations, each county had faced issues of their own. Despite this, no matter which generation they were in, the imperial family had only possessed a single supreme powerhouse.
As a result, the eight counties had employed methods of their own to deal with these otherworldly threats, be it through Iron Blood Loyal Hearts or methods that involved sacrifices. As for the imperial family’s supreme powerhouse, he was left as humanity’s final trump card.
Should the eight counties fall, it would be Wu Yuanwei’s turn to take action.
However, unless that situation were to come true, Wu Yuanwei would never leave the capital.
After all, if Wu Yuanwei were to fall in combat, it would be a crisis that would shake humanity to its core, and if any of the eight counties were to fail in vanquishing their threats, the Humans might very well meet their demise.
While observing Ou Yangming’s enigmatic expression, Bai Shixue sighed, “Brother Ou, I’m sure they’ll accept any other request you ask of them, as long as it isn’t related to the imperial’s supreme elder.” Ou Yangming scowled and asked, “Are you representing the imperial family, Young Pavilion Master?”
Bai Shixue shook her head and answered, “I’m not. I’m just telling you what the imperial family and the various aristocratic families are thinking.” Suddenly, her eyes turned frigid as she barked, “Brother Ou, you shouldn’t risk the fate of humanity all for the sake of a single woman! You… You’re nothing like the Ou Yangming I knew!”
Ou Yangming stifled a laugh as he responded, “Young Pavilion Master, we’ve only seen each other a few times, how are you so certain of what kind of person I was?”
“I’m certain about it.” Bai Shixue stated without an ounce of hesitation. “Some people are still strangers even after an eternity of being together; but for some people, all it takes is a single conversation for them to understand the other completely.” Ou Yangming rubbed his nose. He was slightly thrown off by her statement.
“Am I really that easy to read?’
Bai Shixue’s eyes turned mellow, and she suddenly said with a smile, “Actually, even if you fail to enlist the help of the imperial family’s supreme elder, there are other ways you could deal with your situation, Brother Ou!”
Ou Yangming laughed self-deprecatingly and asked, “Who else aside from him could deal with the spirit beast?” He then looked up at the ceiling and mumbled to himself, “If the spirit beast is really as powerful as I think it is…” With that, Ou Yangming’s thoughts then drifted back to the day where he was in the secret realm.
The terrifying power that he had encountered during that stormy day was etched deep within his soul.
If the spirit beast was anywhere near as powerful as the beast he had encountered, there was no way he could deal with it on his own.
Bai Shixue shook her head and said, “Why are you asking the obvious? Didn’t you already plan for it when you helped the others ascend into Supreme Great Ancestors?”
Ou Yangming laughed bitterly, “You really have sharp attention to detail, Young Pavilion Master. I can’t hide anything from you.”
Bai Shixue stifled a laugh. “You flatter me, Brother Ou. However, I don’t think it’ll be easy for you to leave the capital now.”
Ou Yangming froze and exclaimed, “What did you just say?” Bai Shixue had a complicated expression as she answered, “If I can guess your intention, don’t you think others will as well? You’ve made a dazzling debut within the capital, and as of this moment, your presence is akin to the imperial family’s supreme elder, in the sense that you are both pillars of society. Unless the situation absolutely calls for it, I doubt the imperial family would allow you to return to such a dangerous place.” She then lowered her gaze and slowly stated, “With the hundred-year threat looming before humanity, nowhere else is safer than the capital.”
Although Ou Yangming remained silent, the corner of his lips had curled into a disdainful, frigid smile. “If I can’t obtain the help of the imperial family’s supreme elder, then so be it. However, if anyone were to restrain my movements… Hehe… HAHAHA…” Although he was laughing, the air that surrounded him was suffocatingly frigid.
Bai Shixue raised her gorgeous eyebrows and stated, “It’s for your own good, Brother Ou.”
Ou Yangming’s eyes flew open. “Young Pavilion Master, I’m not so dense that I can’t see someone’s good intentions. However, rather than holing up myself in the capital, I have more important matters to attend to.” His gaze then turned mellow as he continued, “There’s someone that I refuse to lose back there.”
A strange sense of envy washed over Bai Shixue as she turned her face to the side and asked, “Is Ni Yinghong really that beautiful? Compared to me, who do you think looks better?”
Ou Yangming was suddenly tongue-tied. He mentally cursed, ‘What’s up with this woman? Is she trying to play me? No, this is dangerous, very dangerous. I need to raise my guard!
He immediately retracted his smile and answered seriously, “You overthink, Young Pavilion Master. Although Sister Ying does indeed have good looks, compared to you, she is far inferior.” After a slight hesitance, he then continued, “However… Within my heart, she’s the most important and most beautiful woman to me!”
Bai Shixue raised her head and scrutinized Ou Yangming with her majestic eyes. A moment later, she then burst out in laughter. “Pfft! You looked really nervous back there, Brother Ou.”
Ou Yangming chuckled in response, but deep down, he cursed, ‘Damn you, you vixen! Any male would be nervous before you!’
Bai Shixue winked, and as if she was satisfied, she asked, “So, what’s next, Brother
Ou?”
Ou Yangming heaved a long sigh and answered, “Though I might fail to enlist the help of the elder, I must still accomplish my second goal.” He clenched his fist and stated, “Don’t worry, I won’t waste any more time on the imperial family.”
“Hmm? Are you going to visit the aristocratic families?”
“Yep, starting from the Woo Family, I’ll visit all of them,” Ou Yangming responded seriously.
“But, these newly ascended Supreme Great Ancestors are the future hopes of their families. They might not agree to your proposal.” Bai Shixue had already seen through Ou Yangming’s idea, and she could tell that it was unfeasible.
Despite that, Ou Yangming confidently stated, “Don’t worry, I’ll give them an offer that they can’t refuse.”
Bai Shixue’s eyes widened as she asked, “Can you really mass-produce magic tools, Brother
Ou?”
Although it had only been a few days since Ou Yangming had smithed the magic tool, the upper echelons within the capital were already aware of his feat.
Nevertheless, no one was certain whether it was just a fluke, or whether he could consistently do it.
Had it been the former, Ou Yangming would still obtain the respect and reverence of countless people. However, for the powerful aristocratic families, it was nothing useful.
Although many people had prayed for the latter case to be a reality before this, no one actually believed that it would occur.
After all, they were magic tools!
Since when in the history of humanity has anyone ever successfully produced those items en-masse?
Ou Yangming gave an earnest smile. “Just sit back and watch, Young Pavilion Master.”
Bai Shixue scrutinized him, and in the end, she finally nodded. “Alright, in that case, I wish you the best of luck, Brother Ou.” With that, she then pulled out an item and placed it on the table. She whispered, “This is a gift from a lady. Please accept it.” Once that was done, she left, as gracefully as ever.
Ou Yangming carefully approached the item. ‘What could it be?’
When he reached the table, he saw a smooth, polished jade ore.
Upon closer inspection with his Military Fire, he gasped, “A Recording Stone?”
Much to Ou Yangming’s surprise, the item Bai Shixue had left him with was a rare stone filled with endless possibilities.
Suddenly, a sound echoed out of the stone.
“Is Ni Yinghong really that beautiful? Compared to me, who do you think looks better?”
“You overthink, Young Pavilion Master. Although Sister Ying does indeed have good looks, compared to you, she is far inferior.” Ou Yangming’s eyes widened alarmingly. ‘Where’s the next line? There’s a next line, right? Where is it…’