"Father, are you alright?"
Yuchi Hongbo raised his hand, instantly using his Inner Strength to evaporate the liquid on the old man's hand, then ordered the servants to fetch a change of clothes. However, he saw the old man's body stiffen like a puppet, his gaze fixed on his own fingers.
The old man did not want to damage the wine and hadn't used his Inner Strength. He wasn't a Martial Artist reliant on External Cultivation, so when the wine jar's fragments grazed his fingers, they left a minor wound. The crimson liquid seeped from his well-maintained palm, striking a rather unsettling sight.
Yuchi Hongbo hesitated, "Father?"
The old man lifted his head slightly. Though it was a simple action, Yuchi Hongbo, head of the family and a Pillar of the State, felt his breath catch again, sensing that overwhelming pressure from the old man once more.
The old man took a deep breath.
"Go investigate, check what's going on with the Divine Martial Mansion?!"
Yuchi Hongbo's expression was hesitant, "Father..."
"Go investigate immediately!"
"...Yes, your son will go right away, please don't be upset."
The old man watched as Yuchi Hongbo hurried away, closed his eyes briefly. As a Pillar of the State, he received information and messages very swiftly. He quickly learned what he needed to know. Reading the words on the paper, the old man's hand trembled slightly.
In Heaven Capital City—
Today, all the ministers, not just the usual officials,
The close aides, eunuchs, even the Minister of the Ministry and the Central Secretariat, were blocked outside. Li Sheng, clad in his Python Robe, stood at the entrance, while the Emperor of Great Qin, known for his diligent and wise reputation since his ascension, did not open the doors all day long.
Memorials were piled high outside, rustling in the wind.
Yu Zhiming yawned, used the moment when the Master wasn't paying attention to rub his eyes, took out a piece of jerky, placed it in his mouth, let it slowly soak so that his teeth wouldn't make a sound when chewing it, then bit it bit by bit, savoring the unique flavor of air-dried meat, and squinted in satisfaction.
This is the Academy of Heaven Capital City, the world's premier holy place.
In this place, even techniques dismissed as trivial tricks by the Confucian Sect can find their soil and reason for existence. Great Qin has enough tolerance to accommodate these things, even if they originate from the mortal enemy, the Xiongnu Tribe. Good is good, and if something surpasses one's own, it will be placed above one's family.
Then, think about how to topple it over.
Yu Zhiming thought for the seventeenth time about why the bell hadn't rung yet. Of course, he already knew that there was still at least a quarter of an hour until the bell would ring and classes would be dismissed.
Yawning lazily, he decided what to eat for lunch later.
At that moment, the bell suddenly rang, and Yu Zhiming was startled, then from that ominous bell sound, he guessed it was the Military Family's bell. Every school within the Bai Family has its own ceremonial instrument in the Academy.
For example, the Confucian Sect's is called 'Observing Timelessness,' a large bronze bell engraved with Confucian classics. Its sound is dignified and broad, like a gentleman, gentle and smooth as jade.
The Military Family's, however, rings with the vigor of a battlefield.
The Military Family's bell rang twenty-four times.
Immediately, the bells of all the Bai Families responded in unison.
Yu Zhiming was so frightened that the jerky fell out of his mouth, and he couldn't care less about it. He saw someone leap into the air above the Academy's totem pole and erase a line from the side that had the top ten armies engraved.
The Dichi Iron Guard dropped from the fifth in the world, suddenly plummeting out of the top ten.
Yu Zhiming was stunned.
Where...where has a large-scale war erupted?!
His gaze continued upward, where he saw a name that existed only in taboos, and his breath stopped. The young Master, dressed in a blue robe, with gentle brows, also quietly watched.
On this day, the Divine Martial King Anfeng appeared in the Western Regions Loulan, one sword breaking through three thousand armors.
The ancient state of Loulan, more than half destroyed.
The Academy reviewed the armies of the world.
The Divine Martial Mansion re-entered the top ten in the world.
"Great Qin's Divine Martial, with this battle, reclaims the Military Family's dominance!" Thɪs chapter is updated by novel·fire.net
Li Qidao sat on the rooftop, his hair snow-white, clad in blue robes. Beside him was another aged elder, Ghost Strategist, Valiant General, who belonged to the previous generation. They silently raised their arms, lifting their blue ceramic bowls towards the crescent moon.
The two wine bowls did not clink together, yet the wine within rippled, and the clattering of ice felt like a toast with someone.
Then, they tilted their heads back and drained the fiery liquor in one gulp.
Yuchi Hongbo found the two elders in this state at last, usually prodigal in their drinking, drunk on the rooftop, resting on each other.
He saw the wine jars beside them, only half-consumed, sighed softly, not wanting to disrupt the scene, quietly turned away, but heard the murmured words behind him.
"—To the illustrious Divine Martial."
PS: Today's update is up...forty-eight hundred words
It's time to wrap up, the Western Regions arc will end in the next few days.
Must be careful in writing—