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Translator: Fate
Proofreader: Silavin
The Palace was dead silent, and the leftover aura hanging in the air felt as heavy as a mountain. No one dared to speak or even breathe, knowing that they could have easily become specks of dust thanks to Gu Changge’s technique.
The moment he had struck, a horrifying aura had spread through the atmosphere. The power of the Immortal had made everyone quiver in fear; even the Celestial Archbishop and his Elders were pale and sweating. Soon, the crowd turned their attention to a cold, furious Jiang Yang, who had fallen to the floor and was now spitting blood. They scrutinised him as if he was insane or foolish. What other excuse did he have other than insanity for his arrogant words towards the Immortal?
[If he weren’t Yao Yao’s brother, he would have been killed, just like that,] everyone thought.
[Was I mistaken in my observations? Was Jiang Yang’s behaviour all just a facade?] Zhao Yi, the Supreme Elder of the Celestia Holy Land studied him with suspicion and confusion. She had considered him calm and indifferent, with the confidence of someone who had control over everything. Even when he spoke arrogantly, his opinions were all logical and based on fact. But then, why did he publicly challenge the Immortal? What gave him the confidence?
“Brother…” Yao Yao wore a complicated expression on her face. Under normal circumstances, she would be sad when she saw her brother injured, but instead, she felt more disappointed than anything because of everything he had done. Her master had done this to defend her honour since Gu Changge had been angry at Jiang Yang for how he had treated her.
“Master, stop being angry. I shouldn’t have asked you to accompany me here, or else…”
Hearing her words, Gu Changge’s frigid expression melted back into his usual warm countenance.
“This had nothing to do with you. He’d bitten off more than he can chew by being disrespectful; it’s my responsibility to punish him.” He smiled at her, the dismissal of Jiang Yang clear in his tone. He even ignored the notification tone from the System.
[Jiang Yang had failed to live up to his act, and this humiliation is enough to make him lose a lot of Fortuity. And, the embarrassment he marked today will be difficult for him to swallow.] Gu Changge knew but did not care about it at all.
Instead, he intended to take full advantage of Jiang Yang, who possessed great potential and power. He already knew of the boldness and technique Jiang Yang had shown, harnessing the energy of the land under them while using the Fortuity of the Heavenly Star Realm to counter-attack.
Jiang Yang was the Mortal One’s reincarnation after all, and while only some of his memories had awakened, he could carry out techniques and defensive measures used by the Mortal One. His cultivation level was only at the Transcendent Realm, and using this against any powerful Immortal might fail. Not to mention the ghostly figure of the Prime Ancestor he had evoked; while Gu Changge did not know how much power it still had, it would still make Jiang Yang win against any other normal person.
Gu Changge was a little suspicious that there was some kind of relationship between the Prime Ancestor and the Mortal One. Why else would a Sacred Emperor come all the way to such a remote area to set up a faction? [Just what does he want?]
He might have known in advance that the Mortal One would be born in this Realm and so set up a faction to protect him and guard his journey. Otherwise, Jiang Yang wouldn’t have the boldness to speak to him that way. Well, it was something he had expected, which made his contingency plans much easier.
Everyone thought Jiang Yang was acting pretentious, that he did not know his own limits and ability. All the Immortal had to do was one attack to humiliate him and rub his face on the floor.
That was a natural outcome. After all, the process of harnessing the energy of the heavens and earth as well as Fortuity took time, and Gu Changge had struck too quickly for Jiang Yang to react, the technique had moved so fast it broke the laws of space and time.
[I must say, humiliating the Mortal One has made me gain a lot of Fortuity.] These thoughts flashed through Gu Changge’s mind as he made a strange expression.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yang had risen slowly after Gu Changge’s strike, looking worse for wear with his bloody clothes and broken bones. His face, which had gone purple, slowly smoothed over into an emotionless expression. There was no trace of anger on his features; to everyone else, it seemed as if he had calmed down and became less arrogant after the thorough beating. However, Gu Changge could still spot the frigid look in his gaze, which soon faded away.
“It’s my fault for being reckless today. I hope you don’t blame me, for Yao Yao’s sake,” Jiang Yang murmured, even bowing to Gu Changge of his own volition. There was no trace of his past fury.
Under the crowd’s shocked gazes, he explained once again, “I challenged you because I felt jealous as well. This is the first time I’ve seen Yao Yao so close to a male stranger, and so I got possessive. I’m not a good brother, am I? I understand everything now, thanks to your technique. I should be happy for her since there’s someone else treating her well. She’s not only my little sister, and I’m happy that you’re good to her.”
After that, Jiang Yang turned to Yao Yao and gave her a familiar smile filled with guilt. “I’m sorry, Yao Yao. I was too cold towards you because I thought you would abandon me after you had a master. Will you forgive me and accept my apology?”
As he spoke, his expression became more and more regretful. He was being sincere with her now, and even his eyes had reddened. His apology made many Elders in the Palace touched. It was understandable that he would act like this because of his age, and his explanations were reasonable and made sense. It was obvious from his words that Jiang Yang was extremely possessive of his sister and had gotten jealous when he knew she had a Master.
His honesty made many of those who had considered him crazy and stupid change their minds; now they were impressed with his courage in making that shameful admission.
After finishing his speech, Jiang Yang remained still, looking regretfully at Yao Yao and desiring her forgiveness. Gu Changge had gone easy on him for Yao Yao’s sake, but it had given him some serious internal injuries and shattered bones. If not for his strong physical resilience, he would have had some leftover injuries after recovery too. This made him realise that Gu Changge was different from all the other cultivators he had met in the past.
Gu Changge looked to be on the righteous side, but his techniques contained both righteous and evil elements. On the surface, he looked like he had relented for Yao Yao’s sake, but the truth was that he had secretly done something to cripple Jiang Yang. After all, it was clear that his power could hurt Jiang Yang. The speed of that technique was so fast it had transcended the space between them, forcing him down before he could counter with the energy of the land.
This was something Jiang Yang had not expected. He had thought he could just harness the Fortuity of the Celestia Holy Land and the energy of the mountains to return the attack, so Gu Changge would know his power and be wary of him. Reality had proved him wrong, and his loss had left him publicly humiliated.
However, thanks to Gu Changge, he could now recall more memories. His sister wasn’t what he thought her to be.
[So, that’s why the Immortal is so good to her! He has ulterior motives from the start!] Thus, Jiang Yang decided to switch strategies and start with his sister. He didn’t know Gu Changge’s motivations or background, but he had a grudge against the Immortal now and there would be plenty of chances to take his revenge.
[Smart boy. He must have decided to admit his weaknesses first.] Gu Changge smiled at Jiang Yang with an intrigued expression.
“Jiang Yang is so…” Grandma Yin Hua, who had a kind heart, sighed at Jiang Yang’s words. In her view, Jiang Yang would never do what he had done, which was why she sighed. However, it wasn’t her decision to make, but Yao Yao’s.
“Brother, is it true?” Yao Yao was stunned by the admission, and she looked confused and puzzled. She hadn’t expected that, and Jiang Yang didn’t look like he was faking his sincere expression either. But was it true that he had treated her that way because he was scared of losing her?
Under normal circumstances, she would have been happy with that explanation, but now? She felt conflicted at that thought. She wasn’t so easily fooled by words, especially as Jiang Yang’s attitude had switched up so suddenly. But then, why had he challenged Gu Changge as soon as he arrived?
She looked involuntarily at her Master for his opinion, who smiled back at her. “Your brother has apologised to you. Why don’t you forgive him? Everyone makes mistakes in their youth, and he seems sincere enough. Besides, his explanations make sense as well. He’s your brother, remember?”
As he spoke, he shot a meaningful glance at Jiang Yang. The man had learned from his mistake by starting with Yao Yao, no longer putting on the high-and-mighty act. Besides, Gu Changge was curious as to what Jiang Yang was planning to do. Jiang Yang was no longer the brother Yao Yao knew, he was just someone who had not fully regained his memories as the Mortal One.
Gu Changge was still wondering how to expose Jiang Yang’s ‘lies’ so Yao Yao would break ties with her brother, and this occasion presented plenty of opportunities that could be taken advantage of. The longer the lies went on, the worse the hatred and split-up would be when the truth was revealed, just what he wanted.
“Okay, I’ll listen to your advice.” After her master had spoken, Yao Yao didn’t feel like contributing further to the conversation. The gaze she levelled at her brother, though, was no longer filled with yearning and affection. Instead, she looked at him as if he was just a normal acquaintance.
Jiang Yang’s expression was calm, but a bitter smile lingered on his lips as if he still regretted his actions. Besides, he wasn’t planning on letting Yao Yao trust him and change her attitude towards him so quickly anyway.
“Yao Yao, it’s not that I didn’t want to visit you and Grandma back home, but I was preoccupied with my own woes. But now, I am a free man.” Jiang Yang opened his mouth once again. Many faces in the crowd immediately turned pale, including that of the Celestial Archbishop. Sweat formed on his forehead as he already knew what Jiang Yang was going to say.
It was something he didn’t want Gu Changge and his entourage to know; it was a secret regarding the Celestial Holy Land, which also involved the way they had treated Jiang Yang like a slave and thrown him towards the Soaring Mountains. If Jiang Yang revealed this secret and made Yao Yao angry, the Celestia Holy Land would be in danger. Yao Yao might be Gu Changge’s apprentice, but they felt that he treated her more like a daughter.
“Woes?” Yao Yao repeated with shock. The way Jiang Yang had mentioned it of his own volition gave her the feeling that it was true.
[What woes? Is that why he couldn’t return to visit me and Grandma?] It was something that had always troubled her, yet her expression did not change as she sighed.
[You’re going to mention this all of a sudden? There’s no use whether your claim is true or false. Now, you’re being fooled by your own wit.] From Jiang Yang’s sad expression, Gu Changge had already guessed what he was about to say. He smirked slightly. [What’s the use? Yao Yao already has a clear impression of you. During our journey, she told me that Jiang Yang was honest and humble. However, that was before. In fact, he was someone who would never defend himself in a misunderstanding, choosing to shoulder the blame instead. Now, you want to clear your actions with an excuse? It’s obvious what your intentions are. Well, it will only end like…]
“You don’t need to explain your troubles, brother. I believe you.” Yao Yao shook her head, not allowing Jiang Yang to explain further. Her small stature now seemed to command respect, making him swallow down his words.
He frowned at her reaction. His memories before possessing this body had had a great influence on him, and he didn’t know the reason Yao Yao had said that.
[Why doesn’t she want to hear what went on?] Nonetheless, on the surface, he relaxed and regained his calm demeanour.
“You and Grandma have come a long way from the village. You must be tired from the journey. Why don’t you have some rest now, and I’ll give the both of you a tour of the place tomorrow? I haven’t seen you in more than a year, and I miss you both.” He smiled at them like everything was normal, as though Gu Changge has not struck him and made him spit blood. Instead, he looked like a host about to welcome his guests from a faraway land.
The scene made many Elders frown, unsure of how to treat Jiang Yang as he had been the first to evoke the ghostly figure of the Prime Ancestor in a long time. If Gu Changge didn’t hold a grudge against him, how could they override that decision?
[Just what is he up to now?] The Celestial Archbishop was frowning deeply, as he didn’t know what Jiang Yang’s motives were.
[Hopefully, he doesn’t act foolish again.] Zhao Yi looked anxious.
Gu Changge had a curious look on his face, though. This was interesting, as Jiang Yang would probably try his best to get back into Yao Yao’s good graces. As the Mortal One, he would have noticed that there was something unique about her. However, he couldn’t have known that the person she trusted the most was now her Master, not him.
[What a great opportunity for me.] At that thought, he narrowed his eyes and devised a plan.
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Many thanks!
Many thanks
Oooh first person to really try and counter scheme against GC! This is great
The same one as the first to use karma in battle… Something tells me this one might be sticking around for a while yet