Celestial Palace.
"A saint has appeared in the Human World?"
Thousand-Mile Eye shivered, his gaze sweeping across the vast rivers and mountains below. He then let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, not a saint, but he already shows signs of the Saintly Dao of the Sages..."
Beside him, Shunfeng Ear perked up his ears, listening intently. Then, he spoke:
"It's that Lu Zi from the Human World."
"Lu Zi?" Thousand-Mile Eye blinked, muttering to himself in curiosity. 'The last ti I saw him was thirty years ago, wasn't it? How has he aged so much in just thirty years... Should I report this?'
"What's there to report?"
Shunfeng Ear let out a yawn.
"The man is indeed impressive. If I rember correctly, last ti was when he was Invading Qi, right? He killed that Duke Huan of Qi... Did you see what exactly happened back then?"
Thousand-Mile Eye spread his hands and chuckled.
"The Human Dao Fortune was like a canopy back then, I couldn't see a thing... But you're right, there's probably no need to report it. Let's just leave it."
Thirty years ago, Lu Zi's campaign of Invading Qi was a monuntal event for the Human World, but to the Celestial Court...
Let's put it this way: aside from a certain Upper Celestial Venerable who was slapped to death and a certain Tai Sui God currently sealed in a bronze statue, not a single one of the Immortal Gods paid any attention to the matter. Not a single one of them deigned to look down and observe.
The countless Immortals and Buddhas in the heavens weren't even sure what this so-called Lu Zi looked like...
Thousand-Mile Eye had gotten a clear look, but during the most critical battle at Linzi, his vision was completely obscured by the great canopy of fortune. He hadn't seen a thing.
Besides, his attention was later drawn to the hand that had swept down from the Thirty-Three Celestial Realms and the shattered remains of the West Pole Celestial Court, so he paid it even less mind.
Shunfeng Ear yawned again.
"It's a sign of the Saintly Dao, but he is not yet a master of the Saintly Dao. We'll just have to see how things develop..."
Thousand-Mile Eye also nodded nonchalantly and said with a smile,
"Mm, but I have to say, the aura on this Lu Zi is extraordinary. As expected of a philosopher who killed a Grand Grade expert... Huh?"
He glanced again, rubbing his eyes in surprise and muttering to himself in confusion,
'Why does that Cyan Bull Lu Zi is riding look so familiar... Hmm, I probably just glimpsed it sowhere before.'
The two Immortal Capitals responsible for observing the Human World both yawned in unison, then resud their ga of chess to pass the Ti. They no longer paid any mind to the affairs of the Human World, nor did they report Lu Zi's situation.
There was no need.
They could talk about it again if he truly entered the Saintly Dao... In all the years since the Hundred Schools of Philosophers ca to be, there had been no shortage of Great Sages and Great Virtues, but not one of them had ever stepped into the Saintly Dao.
Before, only that Confucius had co close to this grand position; now, there was just one more, Lu Zi.
Besides, so what if he really did enter the Saintly Dao?
According to the Immortal Gods' deductions, the Dao of the Philosophers that had risen in the Human World over the past few thousand years, even if one reached the highest level of "Saint," they would at most be equivalent to a Celestial Venerable or a Buddha.
What kind of trouble could they possibly cause?
Under the rule of the Celestial Court, they would still have to bow their heads in submission...
...
「Yong City, within the Qin Palace.」
Duke Mu of Qin rubbed his brow, sighed softly, and asked,
"What is the situation with the disasters in the various regions?"
To the side, Shang Yang sighed.
"It is utterly devastating... Your Majesty, ever since we followed the Celestial Son's example and stopped sacrificing to the West Pole Celestial Court, these disasters have been Unending, year after year. Sotis great floods, sotis heavy snows, sotis severe droughts..."
After a pause, he continued,
"Now a Drought Demon has appeared, carrying the decree of the West Pole Celestial Court. It proclaims that as long as Your Majesty refuses to worship the West Pole Celestial Court, the disasters will be Unending. The people's livelihood is in peril. Perhaps we should..."
Duke Mu of Qin looked bitter. Before he could speak, a young man who had been listening quietly spoke up.
"How can we give in like this? My father and grandfather told that thirty years ago, the West Pole Celestial Court ordered the Qi Kingdom to carry out a massacre, and they even hard Elder Brother Lu Zi. Why should we worship such Immortal Gods?"
"Young Master Zheng, you are mistaken." Shang Yang shook his head. "Immortals are great, and Gods are supre. How can we not worship them? We have failed to pay respects to one of the Five Directions Celestial Court for three years now, and we have suffered three years of disaster..."
He paused, sighing deeply.
"Take that Drought Demon, for example. It spreads drought wantonly, harming millions and ruining the land. Who dares to stop it?"
"Lu Zi would dare!" the young man declared loudly. "My father and grandfather told that Lu Zi is a man of Great Virtue! He fears no Immortal, dreads no Buddha, and he was the one who slew Duke Huan of Qi!"
Shang Yang shook his head and asked,
"But where is this Lu Zi now? It's been thirty years since he disappeared..."
The young man fell silent. Duke Mu of Qin sighed again, his voice filled with uncertainty.
"Perhaps... we should just forget it?"
The young man opened his mouth, wanting to say sothing, but in the end, he said nothing at all.
He just clenched his fists, his eyes turning red as hatred burned in his heart.
'The ruler disrespects the heavens, so the people are punished... What kind of Immortals and Buddhas are these??'
'This Celestial Court, what good does it do for the Human World??'
But these were words the young man only dared to think, not speak aloud.
He sighed.
Suddenly, a soldier rushed in to report,
"Your Majesty, the Drought Demon has sped a thousand miles, raising raging fires that have scorched three cities! The people of those three cities... are all dead!"
"The Drought Demon has declared that if Your Majesty continues to refuse to worship the heavens, it will scorch a hundred cities and burn for ten thousand miles..."
Duke Mu of Qin slamd his fist on the low table, shattering it. His eyes were bloodshot.
A long mont passed.
Duke Mu of Qin closed his eyes and let out a desolate sigh.
"Set up the sacrificial altar."
"Prepare... to worship the heavens."
He slumped back in his chair, dejected. He thought absently, 'If only Lu Zi were here, things would be fine.'
...
The old man rode the Cyan Bull, the principles of the Dao flowing around his Physique. Faint Qingyun and auspicious ons swirled around him as well, though the thirty-thousand-mile-long stream of purple qi above his head was gradually fading.
The Eighty-One Armors followed steadily behind the old man on the bull. With every step, their Armor plates clanked together, the sound ringing out, Unending.
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