Free Web NovelChapter 729: Chapter 286: Breaking the Cocoon, Becoming the Butterfly—Soaring Across the Vast Sea (Part 2)
"You won."
Fan Wubing shook his head, "This is not a battle between enemies, there is no concept of winning or losing. If you must say it... Your Majesty, it’s we who have won."
Li Qian squinted, "Why do you say that?"
Fan Wubing smiled and asked, "Bringing us here to judge us separately doesn’t follow protocol, does it? Isn’t this a form of protection for us? Perhaps I can think of it as a test from Your Majesty. Or maybe you’re very curious about what kind of existence a Celestial Slayer who rebels against the Heavenly Dao truly is."
Li Qian’s gaze sharpened, "What makes you say that?"
"I wasn’t sure before. But when Senior Li Yuan appeared, your eyes told me everything." Fan Wubing raised his right hand, silencing the surrounding aura and Dao together, "Your Majesty, you’ve known for a long time that your grandfather Li Yuan was a man who rebelled against the Heavenly Dao. And you’ve long since had the suspicion that the current Heavenly Dao cannot represent all sentient beings. But since the imperial mandate is granted by the heavens, you need to uphold the Heavenly Dao. You’re conflicted, unable to discern right from wrong. So, when you knew we broke through the Sun-shooting Pass, you couldn’t wait to bring us here, eager to understand what a person like me, who rebels against the Heavenly Dao, is thinking."
Li Qian looked at Fan Wubing, holding her breath, before slowly exhaling.
She laughed, appearing even more delicate,
"You guessed only a small part of it."
Fan Wubing was taken aback, "Oh, I thought I saw through you completely."
Li Qian’s gaze was invasive,
"Want to see through me? Why not stay by my side and take your time?"
Fan Wubing paused, then laughed, "I’ll take it as Your Majesty eagerly seeking capable people."
Li Qian shook her head, said nothing more, and got up to walk out of the hall. As she passed by Li Yuan, she stopped slightly, speaking with a staggered tone,
"I... I’ll come back later to... to talk with you."
After speaking, she didn’t dare to look at anyone else and quickly left.
Soon after, the Phoenix Emperor Palace lifted its state of alert, and everything returned to normal.
Fan Wubing looked at Li Yuan and laughed,
"Thank you, Senior, for coming to the rescue."
Li Yuan patted Fan Wubing on the shoulder, "You’re the first person to earn my granddaughter’s respect."
Fan Wubing asked, "Has Senior visited her before?"
Li Yuan sighed, "No matter how worthless I am, I wouldn’t forget her birthday. I come back every year."
"Why not meet her then?"
"The world thinks I’m dead. So let me be dead."
"I think it’s not that the world thinks you’re dead, but that they hope you’re dead. Just like me before."
Li Yuan said, "Young man, this path isn’t easy. Even figures like the Dao Ancestor and Confucian Ancestor have fallen."
Fan Wubing laughed, "Maybe it’s because the seniors had too grand aspirations? I don’t have such grand goals. For me, facing the Heavenly Dao, the most direct goal is to find my senior sister."
Li Yuan laughed heartily, "True, true. Why think so much? Walk if you can, push yourself if you can’t, and at worst, give your life for it."
Fan Wubing touched his nose, "I still cherish my life very much."
Li Yuan was astonished, "You brat, not following the usual path, huh? Shouldn’t you be more passionate now?"
"The passionate age has passed." Fan Wubing feigned maturity.
Li Yuan smiled, shook his head, and said nothing.
Before long, a group of palace maids arrived outside, saying they were ordered by Your Majesty to properly accommodate the guests.
Transforming from criminals to guests, the treatment was naturally worlds apart.
Li Yuan and Li Qian, grandfather and granddaughter, meeting for the first time, had much to talk about, ensuring a sleepless night.
Zhuge Hong, as the host of White Emperor City, wanted to get to know her two senior sisters well, so she organized a "women’s gathering" in this bustling Imperial Capital, banning Fan Wubing, the sole man, from attending.
In this back-and-forth, the central character of this play was left alone.
Which was just as well, giving him time to pause and reflect.
Fan Wubing stood on the balcony outside the temporary palace residence, gazing up at the night sky of White Emperor City. The terrain of Sword Continent was flat, with smooth aura flow, without clouds or fog, perfect for stargazing.
He pondered over Li Qian’s words, thinking, "So there are quite a few people in this world who feel the injustice of the Heavenly Dao. Not everyone is willing to be a defender of it."
He closed his eyes, gathering his mind, feeling the Seven Luminaries Star Formation Skill representing the gold luminary.
While operating the Star Formation Skill, he could feel the position of every star in the sky. At the same time, he had quite a detailed awareness of every inch of space in this world. Although he couldn’t be a master of space like the Cosmic Dao, he could perceive the subtle disturbances and changes in each space.
"Cooperating with the Circulation Dao should yield good results."
He also realized why he couldn’t find the position of the gold luminary before.
The gold luminary exists within the extreme of Sword Dao.
And in this world, previously, there was no extreme Sword Dao.
Luo Qingyao, possessing the Immaculate Sword Body, was the last hope to achieve the extreme of Sword Dao. That’s why Zhuge Hong felt the gold luminary in her heart. When she fully completed herself, achieving true immaculate, the gold luminary emerged.
He couldn’t help but think of Zhuge Hong’s perception of the moon luminary.
Moon in dreams.
"The moon luminary is in Jiang Sha’s dream." Fan Wubing felt a bit complicated. He didn’t really want to find Jiang Sha, nor did he want Jiang Sha to know he was searching for the Seven Luminaries. If she knew, she might interfere again.
He was tired of living a life where he couldn’t see through her, but she could see through him.
"Forget it, let’s not consider the moon luminary for now... unless she comes to find me herself! And apologizes to me!"
