Chapter 197 | The Galgame Martial Saint

When the Master walked into the courtyard with his hands behind his back, several quite subtle thoughts indeed flashed through his mind.

The so-called path of reincarnation was actually a concept that existed in this cultivation world.

Some Dao Thrones could reverse life and death or separate yin and yang, but if there was no medium after death, the reversal of life and death would become a paradox with nothing to attach to.

Therefore, in this world, most people went to another place after they died, and that place was the reincarnation spoken of among cultivators. As for what this reincarnation actually looked like and how it differed from legend, the Master did not know.

After all, the Dao Throne he had attained was not on that main branch.

If one were to discuss this matter, there were only one or two people in the entire cultivation world who could truly explain it clearly. One of them was True Monarch Wangyue, who had already transformed into the capital’s earth veins.

After all, the main branch of the Dao Throne that senior had attained was inextricably linked to reincarnation.

Thinking of this, the Master’s thoughts shifted.

Wait, True Monarch Wangyue?

The Master looked at Gu Chengming in front of him, then at the white-haired phantom behind him, and his expression became somewhat strange.

Could this be one of True Monarch Wangyue’s moves?

Logically, True Monarch Wangyue had left quite decisively back then, and his own physical body had already been refined into an artifact and buried in the capital’s earth veins. All remaining thoughts should have been tightly gathered by the Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Array.

Yet, the first thing this Jiahao said was that one would attain eternal life on the path of reincarnation.

Was this something a normal cultivator—or rather, a cultivator below the Seventh Realm—dared to say?

Thoughts raced through the Master’s mind.

He even began to wonder if his previous conclusion that little Gu was the key to breaking the situation was merely a single move within a much deeper game.

Could Senior Wangyue have calculated this far ahead? Senior Jiahao’s act of borrowing a vessel that time—was it more than just bringing the remains into the capital?

Gu Chengming naturally didn't know how many turns the Master’s mind was taking. He simply gave the Master a respectful bow, his tone quite polite. “I am truly sorry for disturbing you, Master.”

The Master waved his hand and wiped away some cold sweat. “I only felt the fluctuations of a Dao Throne and came to investigate. I didn't expect—” He paused for a moment, seemingly weighing his words. “Little friend’s Jiahao is also quite astonishing.”

Gu Chengming’s heart stirred. This was the perfect opportunity to ask the questions he hadn't figured out when condensing the Jiahao just now.

Seeing the boy ask for guidance, the Master was puzzled.

Was this kid intentionally pretending to be ignorant to make him lower his guard?

But on second thought, if it really was Senior Wangyue’s move, why bother putting on a show for him? They even let the phantom shout keywords like “He who recites my true name shall attain eternal life” right in front of him.

If little Gu really knew what was behind this phantom, then he wasn't just playing dumb.

The Master was, after all, an old scholar who had lived through long ages; his mind worked extremely fast.

He suppressed his speculations about True Monarch Wangyue’s layout, his face returning to a state of calm. He decided to first explain the origins and development of the Jiahao to this junior.

As for whether there was a deeper scheme hidden behind that “path of reincarnation,” there was no point in pressing the issue now. It was better to watch and see how things changed.

The old man gave a light cough and spoke slowly, “Then I shall explain the characteristics of this Jiahao to you, little friend.”

The Master explained it thoroughly. This Jiahao was essentially a manifestation of the rules of a Dao Throne. The Jiahao of a Sixth Realm True Monarch was usually transformed from their own attained Dao Throne, so the phantom—from its appearance to its lines to its moves—was inextricably linked to the True Monarch’s own Dao Throne.

But the Fifth Realm was different. Those in the Fifth Realm had not attained a Dao Throne themselves, so the Jiahao they condensed actually borrowed a portion of the Dao Throne rules left by True Monarch Wangyue.

In other words, the Jiahao abilities of the Fifth Realm were usually linked to True Monarch Wangyue’s Dao Throne.

Gu Chengming was thoughtful.

This meant that those in the Fifth Realm were essentially using “trial characters,” and they were all the weekly free rotation characters prepared in advance by True Monarch Wangyue.

【Hundred Bones Resonating sticks out its chest: This Heavenly Emperor is an SSR!】

—Yes, yes, you’re an SSR.

Gu Chengming felt amused. After humoring Hundred Bones Resonating for a bit, he continued to listen to the Master.

The Master added that True Monarch Wangyue’s main branch of the Dao Throne originally contained many large and small Dao Thrones.

Under normal circumstances, the Dao Thrones on the same branch varied in strength, each having its own rank. However, due to the unique nature of the current rules, the boundaries between these Dao Thrones had been intentionally blurred.

In other words, the Jiahao condensed by those in the Fifth Realm was actually a nightmare-stitched monstrosity of dozens or even hundreds of Dao Thrones from the main branch attained by True Monarch Wangyue. The larger the proportion of high-level Dao Thrones, the higher the authority that Jiahao could exercise.

As for how this “proportion” was allocated, it was mostly related to the cultivator’s own realm, traits, and nature.

Hearing this, Gu Chengming followed up, “So what you mean, Master, is that there is a suppression effect between the Jiahao of those in the Fifth Realm, similar to Dao Thrones?”

It was well known that among Dao Thrones on the same branch, a higher rank could, in a sense, completely counter a lower rank.

Following this line of reasoning, the “projected” Jiahao naturally followed the same rule.

The Master nodded. “Precisely.”

So, this so-called battle for Dao Thrones in the capital mostly depends on the ‘Jiahao’?

It has a bit of a winner-takes-all flavor to it.

As Gu Chengming thought this, the Master stayed with him to go over a few more minor details.

At the end, he seemed to hesitate, as if he had a few more questions. But after circling the point twice, he eventually suppressed them.

The old man cupped his hands to bid Gu Chengming farewell. With a step that shrunk the earth, he returned to the Imperial Academy in an instant.

Gu Chengming watched him leave, his gaze sweeping over the night outside the gate before he turned back into the courtyard.

...

Under the corridor, a figure in a moon-white robe stood by a potted osmanthus tree. Her posture was quite relaxed, but the way she was pretending to read while actually straining her ears to eavesdrop exposed her thoughts.

She had originally intended to come over with the Master, but thinking that there was always some professional distance between her and that old scholar, she simply stood under the corridor, waiting for the Master to leave before approaching.

Hearing Gu Chengming’s footsteps coming out, she unobtrusively moved a bit closer to the potted osmanthus, pretending she had been admiring the flowers all along.

Gu Chengming didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He didn't expose her, walking straight over. “Did Senior hear that just now?”

“Mm.” True Monarch Liuyun Suyu maintained a look that said “I was just passing by,” but she naturally picked up where the Master had left off. “What that man said is true.”

She paused, her tone leisurely. “However, the advantage of a Sixth Realm True Monarch in the capital lies precisely in this matter of the Jiahao.”

Gu Chengming was thoughtful upon hearing this.

According to what the Master had just said, the Jiahao rules had, in a sense, narrowed the gap between the Sixth and Fifth Realms. Yet True Monarch Liuyun Suyu was now saying that the capital was still favorable for True Monarchs.

Seeing Gu Chengming’s confusion, she patiently explained.

A True Monarch’s Dao Throne originally came from other main branches and had a complete set of rules and systems. Therefore, the Jiahao condensed by a True Monarch was logically self-consistent. Even if it wasn't “Jiahao” enough, it was supported by their own Dao Throne and would not be countered by high-level Dao Thrones on Wangyue’s main branch.

In other words, the Jiahao of a Sixth Realm True Monarch was like a complete character with interconnected skills, mechanisms, and stats.

But what about the Jiahao of a Fifth Realm cultivator? It had stats but no skill synergy or subsequent derivatives. No matter how high the realm stats were, when facing a complete True Monarch Jiahao head-on, their only option was to run for their lives.

She paused and added, “This rule left by True Monarch Wangyue merely grants Fifth Realm cultivators the ‘power to fight.’ It is enough for them to clash with a wild Jiahao and seek an opportunity, but it is not enough for them to go head-to-head with a true True Monarch.”

Gu Chengming silently noted this. After interacting for a while, True Monarch Liuyun Suyu suddenly spoke.

“By the way, little Gu.”

“Yes?”

Her gaze landed on the crimson-gold phantom behind him, and she leisurely picked an osmanthus petal.

“Didn't little Gu just see mine?”

When she said this, there was a bit of a coquettish tone in her voice.

“I am also very curious what little Gu’s Jiahao is like...”

As those words fell, the “you saw mine, so I want to see yours” girlish attitude in her tone couldn't be hidden.

【Flowing Cloud Following Moon can't help but sigh: This old woman is too affected.】

Gu Chengming thought to himself, Miss Flowing Cloud, she is your founder and the compiler of your technique after all. She’s practically your mother; your evaluation is a bit too vicious.

True Monarch Liuyun Suyu naturally couldn't hear Flowing Cloud Following Moon’s “affected” comment in the dialogue box.

Seeing little Gu’s expression turn a bit strange, she hesitated, thinking her coquettish remark had been over the top. She was about to fix it when she saw Gu Chengming raise his hand, and the phantom behind him slowly materialized once more.

This time, the phantom’s lines changed again.

“At the pinnacle of immortality, looking down upon the world—”

“With me, Chengming, there is heaven!”

A question mark appeared over True Monarch Liuyun Suyu’s head.

“?”

...

Aside from being too Jiahao, it didn't really have any flaws.

Gu Chengming tested the phantom’s abilities in his courtyard and soon discovered that the Dao Throne rules it carried were quite fragmented.

Just as the Master had said, the Jiahao condensed by the Fifth Realm was merely empty form, which was only reasonable. If merely condensing a Jiahao was equivalent to truly occupying a Dao Throne, it would be far too outrageous.

Gu Chengming didn't think this fragmentation was a bad thing.

For him, the strength boost provided by this Jiahao was limited, but limited also meant it was equally limited for others. This meant he could use his own means to gain an advantage in the upcoming battle for Dao Thrones.

In other words, the advantages Gu Chengming already possessed were not weakened.

Thinking of it this way, he even felt as if this Dao Throne game in the capital had been specifically set up for him.

Under these almost universally favorable conditions, the Longevity Sect shouldn't be coming to ruin things, right?

But then again, after all this time, the Longevity Sect was still just the fixed villain. Couldn't they bring in a couple of newcomers?

As the thought flashed by, Gu Chengming shook his head again.

Forget it, no need to look for trouble. Bullying that group of noobs from the Longevity Sect was just fine.

With that thought, Gu Chengming began to study the two new abilities brought by his Jiahao.

Although the rules were fragmented, there were actually two usable skills.

The first was Lethal. Under this effect, Gu Chengming could see health bars over others' heads. After emptying their health bar, he could ignore all conditions to kill them. In a sense, it was a rule-based skill.

This was also the most powerful skill provided by Gu Chengming’s Jiahao.

As for the other skill, it was rather useless.

Gu Chengming tried pointing a finger at a half-withered osmanthus tree in the corner of the courtyard. In the next instant, the osmanthus went from withered to flourishing, blooming all over its branches overnight.

【Huiyuan Sword Manual is quite surprised: So pretty!】

【Qingxin Art: Huh?】

Just as Gu Chengming had demonstrated, the ability was to make flowers bloom.

Gu Chengming thought to himself that he had finally learned the magic of making flower fields bloom; he just didn't know if he needed to pay some copyright fees.

But a little borrowing was fine. He didn't like those theories about lifespan... Honestly, he preferred the direction of “the power of love is infinite.”

The magic to make flower fields bloom might never be used in his entire life.

...

As time passed, the news of the changes in the capital gradually spread throughout the entire cultivation world.

Countless Fifth Realm cultivators came upon hearing the news. At least ten had registered their entry at the various gates of the capital, not to mention those who had snuck in without a word.

The Night Guard Division was naturally busy as a bee, but most of these matters were handled by Zhou Qingmu. Although her current title was Vice Director, she was still personally responsible for these routine old tasks. Gu Chengming’s task as the new Director was simpler: suppress one or two who wanted to take the opportunity to cause trouble and maintain the capital’s dignity.

Gu Chengming naturally hadn't forgotten that his true purpose was to help Zhou Qingmu obtain a Dao Throne.

Unfortunately, even after all these days, not a single Dao Throne had actively peeled off from True Monarch Wangyue’s remains.

The Master had sent him a few messages, saying that the peeling of a Dao Throne had its own prerequisites—

For example, an imbalance of aura within the remains, the influence of external karma, or some “extremely accidental coincidence.” In short, this matter could not be rushed.

Until this day, news from the Imperial Observatory suddenly reached the side hall of the Night Guard Division.

The minor official sent by the Director was cautious in his expression and his words: “Reporting to the Director, the Imperial Observatory has observed that a Dao Throne named ‘Foolish Joy Gu’ on True Monarch Wangyue’s remains has begun to shake, showing signs of peeling off.”

Ah, it’s finally here.

Gu Chengming set down his teacup.

He exchanged a look with Zhou Qingmu, who had already stood up.

The peeling site of the Foolish Joy Gu was an old site in the southeast of the capital called “Le Palace.”

It was an abandoned garden from the early days of Great Qian’s founding, covering a vast area and long since uninhabited. When Gu Chengming and Zhou Qingmu arrived, no fewer than ten Fifth Realm cultivators had already gathered inside and outside Le Palace.

Every one of them was a figure from various parts of the cultivation world—a wandering swordsman from the East, a Frost Cloud Immortal Lady from the West, and the sect leader of a medium-sized sect in the Central Plains. The atmosphere was extremely tense.

Gu Chengming swept his gaze over them from a distance, casually checking everyone’s “health bars.”

Good heavens, the numbers were all quite high.

Although the old site of Le Palace had been abandoned for many years, because that spot in the earth veins was connected to the threads of Wangyue’s remains, the entire garden was faintly permeating with the fluctuations of a Dao Throne today.

The stone lions on either side of the garden gate had long been weathered until their features were blurred. Only the faded plaque of Le Palace above the main gate still vaguely showed a few hints of its past grandeur.

Hearing the commotion of Gu Chengming and Zhou Qingmu’s arrival, the cultivators who had been standing around idly all turned their gazes toward them.

Gu Chengming knew that few among this group truly took the reputation of the Night Guard Division seriously. He wasn't in a hurry to speak, simply waiting to see who among them would be the first to lose patience.

As he expected, less than fifteen minutes after arriving, the first conflict broke out. The sect leader from the Central Plains, dressed in a green robe, stood with his hands behind his back before the main gate of the Le Palace ruins. He glanced toward Gu Chengming, his tone neither hot nor cold.

“I heard that the new rules in the capital are somewhat strange. All cultivators entering the capital to fight for Dao Thrones must get the nod from the Night Guard Division?”

Gu Chengming looked up at the sound. “There is no such rule.”

“Then that means the Dao Thrones peel off, everyone uses their own means, and the strong obtain them?”

Gu Chengming was noncommittal.

The sect leader gave a light laugh, his gaze moving from Gu Chengming to Zhou Qingmu. “Since that is the case, everyone present is here for this Foolish Joy Gu. Officer Zhou, Officer Gu—”

He intentionally emphasized the word “Officer.” “If you two are also to enter the fray, you should naturally be on equal footing with us. Otherwise, if you two are only here in the name of the Director of the Night Guard Division, I’m afraid you’ll leave yourselves open to accusations of using your positions to bully others.”

“We have heard that Officer Zhou originally had plans to charge for the Sixth Realm.” He smiled. “The rules of the cultivation world have always been thus: what Heaven gives, returns to Heaven. It is the consensus of the cultivation world that a Dao Throne is seized by others after its master’s death.”

“You two officers of Great Qian surely wouldn't want to destroy this consensus, would you?”

Gu Chengming thought to himself that this label was being pinned on them far too heavily.

Wasn't he just trying to say that he and Zhou Qingmu were using their official positions for convenience? Yet he insisted on dragging in the grand principle of “what Heaven gives, returns to Heaven.”

The eloquence of this group in the cultivation world when arguing was truly cut from the same cloth as the netizens he had seen on certain forums in his previous life—

Start with a label, then rely entirely on fabrication.

Gu Chengming was about to reply when he saw Zhou Qingmu quietly give him a hand signal.

As soon as that sect leader spoke, several other Fifth Realm cultivators nearby also began to chime in.

“If Officer Zhou truly wants to join the fray, she might as well first take off those purple-gold official robes.”

“Our cultivation world speaks of justice and means. How can we let the Night Guard Division use their official prestige to snatch things?”

For a moment, this group went back and forth, repeating the phrase “what Heaven gives, returns to Heaven” over and over.

Gu Chengming sneered in his heart.

Were these people here for fairness? They were clearly trying to sweep Zhou Qingmu—a competitor who “obviously had a better chance than them”—out of the game. As for him, the “Director of the Night Guard Division,” they probably didn't really intend to let him stand there quietly and watch; they just wanted to take the opportunity to tear down this “intimidating banner” as well.

Such a confrontation, such a setup, such a progression of emotions.

Everyone was waiting patiently to see which act this good show would play out to next, when at that moment.

From within the vermilion-lacquered gates of the Le Palace ruins, a woman dressed in a white-embroidered silver Daoist robe slowly walked out.

She stood within the peeling vermilion gates of Le Palace. As the moonlight shone obliquely, that moon-white Daoist robe emerged from the shadows. But that white was not clear like frost and untainted by dust like True Monarch Liuyun Suyu’s; it was more like someone had soaked a plain garment in water and then dropped a single drop of blood into it.

—The Babbling Branch.

The Babbling Branch was a side branch of the Longevity Sect from a long time ago, specializing in the path of “Law from the Tongue,” turning lies into truth. But later, a portion of the Babbling Branch defected from the Longevity Sect and took the title of Near Heaven. Since then, the Babbling Branch had occupied a position that was neither black nor white.

When ordinary cultivators encountered someone from the Babbling Branch, a casual word from them could make a non-existent thing a reality.

For example, if she said, “You have an unopened fake pill in your bosom,” then there truly would be one in your bosom, and all the crimes associated with that fake pill would fall on your head.

And the “Near Heaven” before them was already a top figure of this branch.

Rumors in the cultivation world said she had been in seclusion within the Babbling Branch for hundreds of years and had never appeared in any major event.

In reality, this Near Heaven of the Babbling Branch had already quietly made her moves months ago.

Months ago, when the first flicker of abnormal movement from True Monarch Wangyue’s remains in the capital’s earth veins had not yet been captured by the Imperial Observatory’s star plate, this Near Heaven, tens of thousands of miles away, had already opened her eyes.

The Babbling Branch cultivated “Law from the Tongue,” borrowing the power of reversed karma.

Others observed heavenly secrets by relying on deduction and divination; what she did was directly state a heavenly secret.

As early as that day, she had sat in a dark, quiet room, using blood from the tip of her tongue to write the character for “Gu” on a roll of blank talisman paper, whispering, “The Foolish Joy Gu shall peel off from Wangyue’s remains on the seventh day after the Start of Summer, at the old site of Le Palace in the capital.”

Since then, the hidden pieces of the Babbling Branch had entered the capital like ants.

Some posed as traveling peddlers, casually chatting in tea houses in the south of the city about how “the earth qi in that abandoned garden of Le Palace hasn't been quite right lately.” Some used the identities of destitute cultivators at the city gate registration to intentionally let slip that a certain rogue cultivator in the West had seen a glow shoot into the sky from the direction of Le Palace. Even more spread rumors in the ghost market, claiming that the Foolish Joy Gu was one of the natal Dao Thrones refined by True Monarch Wangyue himself, and obtaining it would allow one to enter the Sixth Realm directly.

These words were sometimes true, sometimes false, sometimes empty, sometimes substantial. But with the addition of the Babbling Branch’s special techniques, every rumor took root in the listeners' hearts and grew into “fact.”

She had even calculated the Night Guard Division’s reaction.

Zhou Qingmu and Gu Chengming would definitely be present, but she also predicted that these two, hindered by their official status, would surely be constrained by other rogue cultivators using the grand name of “what Heaven gives, returns to Heaven.”

The group of Fifth Realm cultivators right now was exactly as she had predicted, serving her purpose.

From releasing rumors to guide the peeling of the Dao Throne, to inciting rogue cultivators to surround the Night Guard Division, to her own appearance with a completely overwhelming Jiahao posture—everything was according to plan!

Near Heaven’s gaze shifted leisurely, landing on that Central Plains sect leader who had been shouting the loudest just now.

“Enough.” Her tone was as indifferent as if she were giving orders to a servant. “Crude martial artist, get out.”

Those words were spoken quite casually, but as soon as they fell, the Central Plains sect leader felt his shoulder sink. Half his body shook violently, his chest surged with blood and qi, and his feet uncontrollably staggered backward. Step by step, he retreated toward the gate of the Le Palace ruins, the stone tiles beneath his feet creaking and cracking.

His face first showed astonishment, then turned a deep, liver-red. A grand sect leader, unable to withstand a single sentence from the opponent, being driven out like a dog in front of all his peers?

He gritted his teeth and suddenly gripped his sword hilt. “You go too far!” The sword light flashed, his posture of drawing the sword quite sharp.

But just as the blade was halfway out of its scabbard, his wrist suddenly froze. The sword tip made a sharp turn in mid-air, pointing straight at his own throat.

His eyes widened, veins bulging on his forehead as he tried desperately to let go, but that hand was as still as if it had been taken over by another will.

The sword tip pressed against the spot just below his Adam's apple, the cold gleam causing the skin to slightly indent. Any further and blood would splatter on the spot.

Everyone present recognized this as a manifestation of Dao Throne suppression. Their hearts skipped a beat as they realized that the Jiahao condensed by this thief from the Babbling Branch was likely extremely powerful.

In the next moment, that Near Heaven of the Babbling Branch slowly raised her hand, and a phantom materialized behind her.

“If I do not speak, the world shall fall silent.”

The expressions of everyone in the field changed simultaneously.

Jiahao lines were never empty words of bluster.

Generally speaking, the crazier the Jiahao lines, the harder the authority.

If your Jiahao phantom could shout “Mountains and rivers shall overturn,” then it likely truly had the power to overturn them. If you could only mutter “Wind and rain shall be favorable,” then you’d better be sensible and withdraw from the fight early.

And what did the four words “the world shall fall silent” mean?

Just this one Jiahao line was enough to demonstrate its weight. Few people present had a Jiahao that could be more Jiahao than this.

Only then did Near Heaven’s gaze fall on Zhou Qingmu and Gu Chengming. Her lips curved slightly, as if she were announcing something mundane:

“Alright, everyone. The Dao Throne here shall be taken over by me.”

Several rogue cultivators who had just plucked up the courage to speak for justice were now breaking into a cold sweat, unable to utter a single word of rebuttal.