Chapter 163: Chapter 19: I Don the Supreme Daoist Robe

“My lord, you asked me to keep an eye out for news of Zhang Ling. A related report was just delivered to the Divine Bird Pavilion, and I have brought it.”

Lu Xuan beckoned, and the scroll of bamboo slips flew into his hand. The attendant quietly withdrew.

His hands trembled slightly as he unrolled the bamboo slips and read them, word by word.

*Zhang Ling, a great general of the Qi Region, has rebelled against the Qi Kingdom. Alongside Duke Mu of Qin, he fought Duke Huan of Qi for three days. An Immortal God descended from the heavens, joined Duke Huan of Qi, and slew Zhang Ling at Linzi.*

Linzi was the capital of the Qi Kingdom.

Carefully rolling up the bamboo slips, Lu Xuan silently stroked the Jade Box. It was as if he were speaking to Duke Mu of Qin, yet also to himself:

“Teacher once said that after my senior brother’s departure, he would undergo the tribulations of Reincarnation and only return after a hundred lifetimes.”

Duke Mu of Qin was slightly taken aback.

But Lu Xuan continued:

“One can enter Reincarnation willingly, or one can enter it after death. I had thought Senior Brother Zhang would enter Reincarnation himself after his name became known throughout the world. I never expected him to meet such an end…”

“Although the outcome was destined, and Senior Brother Zhang was fated to enter Reincarnation, as his junior brother, I cannot let this enmity go unavenged.”

Duke Mu of Qin opened his mouth, about to say something, when a sudden chill ran down his spine. He whipped his head to the side.

Inside the Guardian Storage Room, an old man was now standing. No one knew when he had appeared.

“Teacher.”

Duke Mu of Qin saw Lu Zi rise and bow deeply to the old man, his heart filling with even more shock and uncertainty.

’Teacher… Is he the master of Lu Zi and Brother Zhang?’

He cautiously studied the old man. He had no memory of an elder who could teach two such disciples. He had never even heard of him…

The old man had an aura of pure tranquility and wore a long robe, but other than that, he seemed to have no other special qualities…

Just as a thousand thoughts raced through Duke Mu of Qin’s mind, the old man sat down on a prayer mat. He did not look at Ying Renhao beside him, only at the youth, and said:

“When you first became my disciple, I told you. My lineage meets tribulations head-on. We do not avoid hardship, nor do we flee from disaster. The elders of the sect will not intervene to protect you when you face calamities.”

“But…” The youth lifted his head and asked softly, “An Immortal God intervened. Doesn’t that count as the strong bullying the weak?”

“It does not.”

The old man said calmly:

“The Immortal who intervened is merely at the Immortal Level. Your Senior Brother Zhang had already reached the Grand Grade and was using his service to Qi as a grand ritual to ascend to the Immortal Level himself. To be blocked and killed by one at the Immortal Level cannot be considered the strong bullying the weak. And since his Soul and True Spirit have not been extinguished, I will not take revenge.”

From the side, Duke Mu of Qin swallowed hard. ’Merely at the Immortal Level… *Merely*?’

He shrank back slightly, his gaze toward the old man filling with awe.

At that moment, Lu Xuan raised his head and said calmly:

“Then may I seek revenge, Teacher?”

“This is your Senior Brother Zhang’s own tribulation. Do you intend to interfere?” the old man asked. “After he returns from his tribulation, he should be the one to claim his vengeance…”

“He is my senior brother.”

For the first time, Lu Xuan went against his teacher’s wishes. He bowed deeply and said:

“A junior brother must naturally bear the burden of his senior brother’s vengeance.”

“You cannot defeat Duke Huan of Qi, much less that Immortal. You don’t even know who that Immortal is,” the old man said slowly.

Lu Xuan remained prostrated on the ground, speaking one word at a time:

“Correct. Therefore, this is also your student’s tribulation. As you said, one must meet tribulations head-on and never retreat.”

The old man was silent for a long moment before rising to his feet. “Then go,” he said.

“Thank you, Teacher.”

Lu Xuan rose and bowed deeply once more.

Supreme then added:

“Vengeance need not be rushed. You should understand this principle.”

“I understand. I should have waited until my Cultivation reached Great Success, but…” Lu Xuan looked up. His expression was calm, but the rims of his eyes were still red.

“But I cannot stand by and watch Senior Brother Zhang’s head hang from a banner, exposed to the searing Great Sun.”

The old man fell silent for a moment, then nodded slowly.

After a while, his form grew faint in the empty air, slowly dissolving.

Before he left, the old man dropped a few parting words.

“Child, since you have entered the realm of Celestial Human, you may take the token and leave this Guardian Storage Room.”

“The journey ahead is long; it cannot be completed in a few days. After you retrieve your senior brother’s head, I will not care what you do.”

“I will not tell you where that Immortal God from the West Pole Celestial Court who interfered came from.”

“Oh, and on this trip to the Qi Region, you may wear a Daoist Robe, don a Daoist Crown, and go by the name of Lu Zi… and by the name… Profound Clarity.”

The old man’s figure vanished completely, but his voice echoed within the Guardian Storage Room.

’West Pole Celestial Court?’ Lu Xuan committed these four words to memory and performed a grand bow in the direction the old man had disappeared.

“Thank you, Teacher, for dispelling my confusion!”

From the void came a chagrined voice:

“Getting old, getting old… I let it slip.”

Then, there was only silence.

Lu Xuan bowed again.

Beside him, Duke Mu of Qin watched this scene blankly, his mind struggling to process what had just happened.

After straightening up, the youth calmly sat back down on the prayer mat. He performed the Mediation of Creation, and to Duke Mu of Qin’s horrified gaze, a jar of wine materialized.

This was not something the current Lu Xuan could have created. However, it had not consumed his own Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

“Thank you, Teacher,” Lu Xuan said again, before drinking the wine.

The Innate Liquor was incredibly potent and fierce. It burned the youth’s face beet red and even brought tears to his eyes.

“Senior Brother…”

He poured a bowl of wine for Duke Mu of Qin and muttered to himself:

“It’s a shame… I never got to hear your name thunder across Luoyang City.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do it for you.”

As he spoke,

Lu Xuan opened his palm. A Daoist Robe and a Daoist Crown materialized before him.

The Daoist Robe was called the Supreme Daoist Robe, and the Daoist Crown was called the Supreme Crown.

Duke Mu of Qin silently downed the bowl of wine. The terrifying potency of the liquor made even him, a Grand Grade Immortal, dizzy and light-headed.

He let out a drunken hiccup and said groggily:

“If Lu Zi wishes to retrieve Brother Zhang’s head, I shall accompany you. However, the journey is long and will take more than a few days…”

“Thank you,” the youth said softly.

Duke Mu of Qin hiccuped again, raising his head with hazy, drunken eyes.

“It is no trouble. If not for Brother Zhang’s help, I would have died in the Qi Region. Therefore…”

His voice stopped abruptly.

He stared blankly at the youth before him, at the Daoist before him.

With the Daoist Robe on his body and the Daoist Crown on his head, the Daoist’s aura was profound, like the vast Celestial Vault, like the great Floating World, like all the realms and all the heavens.

It was as if he wore not a Daoist Robe and Hat, but the entire Great Heaven and Earth.

The youth straightened his collar, breathed out the scent of alcohol, and opened the great door of the Guardian Storage Room. Before the astonished eyes of Duke Mu of Qin, the Eighty-One Armors, and the others, he ascended into the sky, step by step.

Reaching the highest point in the sky, he proclaimed:

“My name is Lu Xuan! My title is Supreme Profound Clarity!”

Empowered by the Daoist Robe and Hat, his powerful voice transformed into the subtle sound of the Great Dao. It shook the three-thousand-mile expanse of Luoyang City and summoned a million phantasmal visions—from the pioneering of the heavens and earth to the collapse of all things, from layer upon layer of cosmoses to the vast, endless universe—all of which ebbed and flowed around the Daoist.

“It’s Lu Zi!” Some commoners prostrated themselves on the ground.

The Celestial Son of Zhou also walked out of the Ming Hall, followed by all his civil and military officials, staring in bewilderment at the Daoist standing in the sky above Luoyang City.

The next moment, the Daoist spoke again:

“The Ruler of the State of Qi has acted perversely, slaughtering the people of over a hundred cities! There was a Great Sage, Zhang Ling, who could not bear to see rivers of blood flow, could not bear the wails of the masses. He drew his sword and went alone to the capital of Qi, his blade aimed at Duke Huan of Qi!”

“The Great Sage Zhang Ling fought and died in the Qi Region for the sake of the countless masses! What a sorrow, what a tragedy!”

“What a sorrow, what a tragedy!”

Under the vibration of the Great Dao’s sound, for ten thousand miles in every direction, countless people seemed to witness the scene of a hundred desolate cities in the Sui Region. They saw a man named Zhang Ling, crying out for justice for the millions of slaughtered commoners, breaking through the Qi Army alone with his sword.

Amidst the silence, someone looked up and cried out hoarsely:

“Great Sage Zhang Ling! What a sorrow, what a tragedy!”

Then, countless people were moved by the images presented by the sound of the Great Dao. Tears fell from their eyes—from the foot soldiers and merchants to the ragged beggars, and even the Celestial Son of Zhou and all his civil and military officials.

At this moment, they all could not help but chant in unison.

“Great Sage Zhang Ling! What a sorrow, what a tragedy!!”

The name of Zhang Ling thundered throughout Luoyang, then swept across the world like a great wind.

From that day forward, the entire world knew of a Great Sage named Zhang Ling.

“Senior Brother, look.” The youth stood upon the clouds and whispered, “Your name is now renowned throughout the world.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep