Chapter 654: Father and Son Meet Again
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Zhu Hongwu respected position and status. He stood behind Liang Yuan because he respected Liang Yuan’s position as the Crown Prince. That was why he was willing to be behind him and let him take the limelight.
But everyone present knew that Zhu Hongwu was the main character as the Great Zhou Empire came to Mount Kunlun.
Zhu Hongwu was the Grand Advisor and was Liang Yuan’s Master. When the both of them met under normal circumstances, Zhu Hongwu did not need to greet Liang Yuan. On the other hand, Liang Yuan greeted Zhu Hongwu.
But now that they came here together, they represented the Great Zhou Empire. Since Liang Yuan was the Crown Prince, Zhu Hongwu allowed him to steal the limelight.
As to why Liang Yuan was said to have become a changed person, one reason was because while he was now standing in front of Zhu Hongwu, he still remained calm and stable. His expression was stable enough to handle the pressure of the situation. But he did express sufficient respect for Zhu Hongwu. Although he was in front of Zhu Hongwu, he tilted his body slightly in the direction of Zhu Hongwu.
Only when the bunch of them were about to land on Yun Peak and in front of Shi Yu did Liang Yuan straighten his standing position. Right now, he was representing the entire Great Zhou Empire.
Besides Liang Yuan, the other Great Zhou Empire cultivators followed behind Zhu Hongwu respectfully. The Immortal Soul Stage Elders did the same too.
What seemed a little off was that the other streak of golden rainbow that contained another bunch of people seemed to be completely independent of Zhu Hongwu and Liang Yuan.
The leader on that streak of golden rainbow was a youth. He wore a purplish-gold robe and wore a golden crown on his head. Around his waist, there was a yellow waist belt.
His body was very proportionate and he kept short hair on his head. He looked charming and blessed. Around both of his temples, there was the circulation of dim golden blood, as if they were the Sun.
This guy was the Marquis of Jinghuan. He looked at Zhu Hongwu and Liang Yuan. The way he looked at Zhu Hongwu seemed to be more peaceful, whereas the way he looked at Liang Yuan seemed to contain a hint of disdain.
Liang Yuan seemed to despise the Marquis of Jinghuan. He looked at Shi Yu, "Elder Shi, I have come to Mount Kunlun to participate in the Sect-Opening Ceremony of the Celestial Sect of Wonders. Please accept my greetings."
He greeted Shi Yu with the formalities between cultivators, rather than one between countries.
Shi Yu nodded his head in return, "You are too kind."
Zhu Hongwu was sizing up Shi Yu and he said calmly, "So it’s just an avatar."
After receiving Lin Feng’s invitation, Shi Yu had matters to attend to and could not free himself up. Thus, he sent his avatar. With his power and position, although this was only his avatar, it was as if he was personally there. He was not being rude.
Similarly, Liang Pan couldn’t come as he was busy. He did not send his avatar, but at least he sent Zhu Hongwu over. Otherwise, just by sending Liang Yuan would not be polite enough.
Shi Yu looked at Zhu Hongwu, "Oh? From your words, it seems like if my actual body was here, you will try to carry out your assassination plan?"
His words were very sudden and caused the cultivators from the Great Qin Empire to change their expressions.
Zhu Hongwu maintained his expression and said in a calm voice, "The Great Zhou and the Great Qin are still on the same side, thus I won’t do that."
"If that’s not the case, if your actual body came, I will love to try it out."
As he said this, the Vivant Joy Holy Man’s expression changed immediately. The Great Qin Empire cultivators were furious too.
The Sun Radiance Swordmaster and the Starry Swordmaster raised their brows. Huo Xiu remained expressionless, but he turned his head around. He looked at Zhu Hongwu.
Zhu Hongwu was very relaxed still and his palms were by his sides. His fingers were opened and he only made light actions.
But beneath these light actions, there seemed to be a terrifying power. This caused everyone to feel terrified.
Zhu Hongwu did not even look at the Vivant Joy Holy Man, Sun Radiance Swordmaster and the Starry Swordmaster. He looked at Huo Xiu briefly, "After forming the Immortal Soul Second Level, you have sharpened a good blade out. In the past, the top cultivator from the Four Great Aristocratic Families in the Great Qin Empire was Shi Wu, but now, it’s you."
Huo Xiu remained expressionless.
During the Spiritual Conference of Huanghai, he had reached the peak of the Immortal Soul First Level. He was only a step away from reaching the next realm.
After that, Shi Tianhao fought Song Qingyuan and Huo Xiu also joined in the wager. After winning Cao Wei’s Dark Polar Blaze Stone, he used that as a grindstone to sharpen his blade and perfected his own blade cultivation. Eventually, he reached the next realm, the Immortal Soul Second Level.
His powers were immense and abhijnas were powerful. Among the same realm of cultivators, there were hardly anyone who could challenge himself. Just like Zhu Hongwu said, Huo Xiu was now capable of winning Shi Wu.
Zhu Hongwu looked at him and said, "Among the Immortal Soul Stage Elders in the Great Qin Empire, apart from the royal family, you are the first person that I need to break a sweat in order to defeat."
While these words from Zhu Hongwu sounded shameless, they contained a weird power of making others convinced of it.
It was as if making him break a sweat was something very rare and something that Huo Xiu should be proud of.
Huo Xiu continued to remain expressionless and said indifferently, "If you want to fight, let’s fight. Whatever the result, we will know then. The Asura Doomsday Blade of mine has to see blood every time it’s drawn."
Zhu Hongwu picked his brow lightly and did not stand on ceremony. The ten fingers that were wide apart previously were not gathered at the center of his palms.
As he made a fist, it seemed as if he was grabbing onto the entire world in his hands.
Just as both parties made their move, the void space above Yun Peak jerked and a streak of Purple Clouds surged out, converting into a staircase. It landed in front of Shi Yu and the rest.
Yue Hongyan said, "Your Majesty, Asura Holy Man, Vivant Joy Holy Man, Sun Radiance Swordmaster, Starry Swordmaster and all fellow elders, please ascend the staircase immediately."
Shi Yu was calm throughout. He nodded his head and gathered the Great Qin Empire cultivators before ascending the stairs. The Vivant Joy Holy Man followed closely behind. The Sun Radiance Swordmaster and Starry Swordmaster followed suit and used their mana to retrieve their disciples before bringing them up the staircase.
Huo Xiu looked at Zhu Hongwu before using his own mana to retrieve his own clan members before ascending the staircase.
Zhu Hongwu did not stop him and stood at where he was calmly. Both his hands returned behind his back and he relaxed. He watched as everyone ascended the staircase and disappeared.
The Marquis of Jinghuan said, "Although it’s just an avatar, in the heart of the leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders, the importance of the Great Qin is still above Great Zhou."
"He was trying to tell us that this is his territory." Zhu Hongwu’s gaze flashed and he said, "Right now, we are still on the same page. That’s why we shall not bother with these minor things first. There’s plenty of time in the future."
The Marquis of Jinghuan laughed and did not continue with the same topic. His vision landed on Yue Hongyan and he sized her up. He complimented, "Not bad, not bad, indeed not bad! It’s only been so long, but you have reached the Advanced Stage of the Aurous Core Stage."
"You are so talented and beautiful, no wonder I have been missing you."
Yue Hongyan remained indifferent and replied, "The Great Zhou is here today for such frivolous purposes?"
The Marquis of Jinghuan shook his head, "Relax, relax, I am here today because I was sent by the Great Zhou Empire to observe the Sect-Opening Ceremony. I don’t have to woo you today. I have plenty of time in the future."
"Since it’s a joyous occasion, I will be a polite guest."
The Marquis of Jinghuan said till here and he looked at Zhu Hongwu, "Furthermore, you don’t have to treat me like an enemy. After all, the person who destroyed the Arctic State was the Marquis of Xuanji."
Yue Hongyan’s expression became colder and colder. Her crimson red pupils seemed to be raging with flames. But as others looked at the flames in her eyes, they could only feel cold, as if they were being frozen.
Zhu Hongwu looked at the Marquis of Jinghuan before looking at Yue Hongyan without changing his expression. He said calmly, "This is fate. When the time comes, the progress of history cannot be stopped. Whoever tries to do so will be lost in history."
"I know you are an immigrant of the Arctic State and was also a member of the Covenant of Liefeng. As you caused destruction and plotted assassinations, you are a heinous criminal in the eyes of the Great Zhou Empire."
"I shall not pursue this with you today. I shall advise you to know your position and not make any more mistakes." Zhu Hongwu said indifferently, "In the past, we removed the Covenant of Liefeng and the Arctic State. For you to avert these disasters, it’s part of your destiny. Since you have averted these disasters, you should cherish your life more. Don’t think of anything else. If you dare to commit any more crimes, your luck may run out."
"You are confusing things and using twisted logic again."
A crack appeared in void space and Zhu Yi walked out. He looked at his own father.
Zhu Hongwu looked at Zhu Yi and said, "You unfilial son. You have adopted some twisted logic yourself and you are spouting gibberish now. You don’t respect your elders or your father. Just through this, we can tell who’s the one with the twisted logic."
Zhu Yi said, "I treat you the same way you treat me. Am I supposed to treat you well in return for how badly you treat me? How you treat me, I shall treat you the same way back."
"Unfilial son. While you are proficient in your literary skills, your reasoning is skewed." Zhu Hongwu was not furious, instead, he laughed. It was as if he heard a funny joke, "You did well in the examination, and some people are already calling you Mencius. You are not even close. Even if you are one, sages have parents too." (Translator’s Note: Mencius is a scholar that was awarded with the title of a sage.)
Zhu Yi laughed too, "For someone who is logical, even if the king was wrong, he will correct him. What more his own father?"
He looked at Zhu Yi, "Furthermore, you have lost your sense of humanity. We don’t have to talk about anything father and son."
As Zhu Hongwu’s eyes blinked, a holy light surged, "Unfilial son, you are deviating more and more from the correct path."