Chapter 141: I Don’t Accept This Kind Of Victory Or Defeat!
Ming Zhaoshuang asked, “Why is the Heavenly Dao doing this?”
Even if Feng He’s battle with him back then had stimulated him, there was no need for him to obliterate all the heavenly prodigies of the cultivation world out of anger.
The most important point is that the Heavenly Dao had no reason to not acknowledge Feng He.
Before Feng He’s ascension, there were not a few ascenders. The Heavenly Dao deliberately targeting Feng He naturally caused this arrogant and self-righteous Beast Taming Saint to smash his head and bleed, causing him to lose a significant portion of his prestige in the cultivation world.
Now, most people in the cultivation world, regarding the battle tens of thousands of years ago, respect Feng He and despise the Heavenly Dao.
Bai Bai said, “Because he harbored prejudice he shouldn’t have. This prejudice gradually made him go against heaven and earth, and the power he controlled was gradually stripped away by heaven and earth.”
Ming Zhaoshuang frowned, “What prejudice?”
Bai Bai’s tail twitched, as if recalling something.
He said in a low voice, “As for what prejudice, someone will tell you. I can only tell you that the Heavenly Dao isn’t trying to destroy all heavenly prodigies; it’s just that the heavenly prodigies who have appeared now happen to be you all.”
Ming Zhaoshuang understood. The Heavenly Dao wasn’t preventing everyone from ascending, it just wouldn’t allow them to ascend.
But why? They hadn’t offended the Heavenly Dao!
As she was speaking, Cheng Zhaoyang’s illusion had already shifted a few times, and in the blink of an eye, it arrived at the day of her coming-of-age ceremony.
Facing Cheng Zhaoyang, whose hair was adorned with jade and flowers, Empress Dowager Cheng personally performed the hair-pinning ceremony for her and asked her three questions:
Empress Dowager Cheng asked, “I intend to undertake a great endeavor, what are your thoughts?”
Cheng Zhaoyang replied, “I have my wishes, and I would not shrink from death.”
Empress Dowager Cheng asked, “What is your body, where is your heart, and where are your aspirations?”
Cheng Zhaoyang replied, “My body is that of a woman, my heart is that of a heroic woman, and my aspiration is the pursuit of the Dao.”
Empress Dowager Cheng smiled and finally asked, “Do you dare to be Yan Shan Yue, to guard against a hundred thousand demon troops, to spread the prestige of Great Sui, and to protect the peace of Great Sui?”
Cheng Zhaoyang replied, “I wish to be the Morning Sun, not the moon; I wish to spread the prestige of the new dynasty and protect the peace of the new dynasty, not to spread the prestige of the old dynasty and protect the peace of the old dynasty.”
Empress Dowager Cheng laughed heartily and waved her hand, sending Cheng Zhaoyang to Demon Quelling Pass.
Ming Zhaoshuang understood the meaning behind Empress Dowager Cheng and Cheng Zhaoyang’s conversation, and could not help but be surprised. She had not expected that in the cultivation world where cultivators were revered, Empress Dowager Cheng, a mere mortal, could harbor such ambitions.
No wonder in their eyes, Cheng Zhaoyang respected Empress Dowager Cheng so much, while in the eyes of the noble families of Great Sui, Empress Dowager Cheng was directly disassociated from the Cheng Family, making it impossible to grasp even a hint of her intentions.
Truly, her ambition was higher than the heavens, and her schemes deeper than the sea.
After that came Cheng Zhaoyang’s nearly five years of growth at Demon Quelling Pass.
In the first two years, she walked through flashing swords and crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, finally breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage and becoming the General guarding Demon Quelling Pass.
In the following three years, she and Feng Jinsui almost turned Demon Quelling Pass into their arena, ensuring that Great Sui behind Demon Quelling Pass was as stable as a mountain, peaceful, and joyful.
Finally, Ming Zhaoshuang saw herself, and saw Qin Feilong and the others.
She also saw today’s scene—Qin Feilong had lost control, and the power within him erupted, nearly killing Cheng Zhaoyang.
Cheng Zhaoyang lay on the arena, lost in thought, her eyelashes lowered.
Having seen so many dreamscapes, Ming Zhaoshuang seemed to hear the voices swirling around Cheng Zhaoyang’s ears:
“How can women cultivate? Even if they cultivate, they are waste!”
“Still dreaming of defeating men, not even having the qualification to enter the finals!”
“Isn’t it better for women to stay honestly in their boudoirs! A mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator losing to a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, truly pathetic!”
……
Ming Zhaoshuang curled her fingers, feeling a bit worried for Cheng Zhaoyang.
Bai Bai said, “This is not an illusion, it’s a dreamscape. I can let you control yourself to comfort her.”
This was also Bai Bai’s concern. The reason Cheng Zhaoyang had been able to persevere all along, besides Empress Dowager Cheng, was that she had never lost when fighting cultivators of the same level, and had rarely lost when fighting higher-level cultivators.
But today, she had lost to a cultivator two levels below her.
A male cultivator two levels below her.
How could she be reconciled to that?
She, Cheng Zhaoyang, was ambitious, wanted to be stronger than everyone else, and stronger than all men.
So strong that everyone would shut up, so strong that everyone would realize she was a woman, and also a mountain that all men in the world could not surpass.
This was her Sword Heart, and also her Sword Bone.
But now, she had lost.
Bai Bai feared that Cheng Zhaoyang’s Sword Heart would waver and her Sword Bone would be worn away.
Ming Zhaoshuang looked at Cheng Zhaoyang lying in a pile of ruins, but shook her head and said, “Cheng Zhaoyang doesn’t need my comfort. She can stand up on her own.”
“Brother Qin, I lost, but I hope you can defeat me with your true strength.”
After a moment of silence, Cheng Zhaoyang opened her eyes again, crawled up from the ruins, and looked up at Qin Feilong, saying:
“I do not acknowledge this kind of victory or defeat.”
Her Sword Heart was not about being stronger than men, nor was her Sword Bone about winning against all men in this world.
Her Sword Heart was that she was Cheng Zhaoyang, and her Sword Bone was simply that she wanted to be Cheng Zhaoyang.
Cheng Zhaoyang, a woman, who was not bound.
This heart questions the sword, its long cry echoing through the world.
Bai Bai had seen too many illusions. Most illusions were silent like the one before them, yet they slowly eroded a person’s will, ultimately destroying that person completely.
Such illusions, lasting from over ten years to just two or three years, would always slowly devour a person, leaving nothing left in the end.
But he had never encountered someone like Cheng Zhaoyang. From the beginning to the end of the illusion, for over ten years, her heart had not changed in the slightest.
She remained sharp, still standing tall, like the hardest peak in the world, the most unyielding morning sun.
Before Bai Bai could finish lamenting Cheng Zhaoyang’s resilience, he saw faint warm white light emanating from Ming Zhaoshuang’s soul body, which seemed to have become clearer and more vivid.
When she said that Cheng Zhaoyang could stand up on her own, her soul power had also broken through.
The improvement of soul power mainly relied on “enlightenment.”
Bai Bai didn’t know what Ming Zhaoshuang had “enlightened” to when she said those words, which allowed her to directly break through the barrier and enter the Virtual Soul Realm in just a few days.
However, he couldn’t help but sigh that this person was truly exceptionally talented, to be able to break through just by casually watching a dreamscape.
Ming Zhaoshuang naturally also discovered the changes in her soul body. She couldn’t stop playing with her newly formed soul power, with joy evident in her eyes and brows.
“A small illusion, easily conquered. A small Virtual Soul Realm, nothing to worry about!”
Bai Bai couldn’t help but put his hand to his forehead upon hearing this.
He then easily leaped and opened up a brand new path, turning to Ming Zhaoshuang and saying, “Cheng Zhaoyang’s Sword Heart is unmoved. There’s no need to watch further.”
“Come with me. That person has already been waiting for you in your dreamscape for a long time.”
