Transcending the Nine Heavens

Chu Yang didn't expect Cheng Zi-ang and Chen Yutong to have actually been promoted to Pavilion Masters after his departure!

Pavilion Master… It can't be that when this fellow was sitting on a stool… His ass bumped hard onto the <anno data-annotation-id="c6bd1185-1a0f-4101-b97d-d08a132d041b">stool</anno>?

A knowing smile crossed Chu Yang's lips.

"You want to see our Pavilion Masters?" The two guards eyed him up and down. Their noses high up in the air, they snorted condescendingly at him and nodded toward the side. "Go over and join the queue!"

"Queue?" Chu Yang was startled.

What, even throwing out his name didn't work? Is this a rebellion!

"Of course! You want to see our Pavilion Master without even queuing?" The guard looked at Chu Yang as though he was looking at a country bumpkin. "Did you just come out of the mountains?"

"Huh?" A dazed Chu Yang stared at him with wide eyes.

What the f*ck, I actually have to… queue up? Just to see Cheng Zi-ang?

"You look exactly like you did!" The two guards laughed arrogantly. "Do you think you can see our Pavilion Master anytime you want? Do you see that over there?"

As he spoke, he signaled to the side with his lips.

Astounded, Chu Yang turned to look, only to see that there was indeed a public square at the side. A huge human statue as tall as thirty meters stood in the middle, golden light glittering all over.

The statue was truly majestic-looking and full of bloodlust!

It was obviously made out of gold but had been turned into a black gold color. There was a sword in its hand which shone gold, as if wanting to split these blue skies in half! A black cape fluttered at its back; one foot was on the ground while the other foot was lifted in a forward-walking stance, brave and courageous as though he would step without hesitance even into the most dangerous of places!

A sinister and frightening mask was perched on the face, as if the king of hell had personally come out from hell itself. It was truly terrifying just how foreboding it was!

Underneath the statue were quite a few people standing around and waiting. Most of them were dressed in court official robes; from the looks of it, their court ranks weren't low.

"Do you see that?" The guard lectured him, "All these imperial court officials wish to see our Pavilion Masters but they also need to queue here! And you? Actually want to see them the moment you're here?"

Rubbing his nose, Chu Yang curiously asked, "Whose statue is this? He looks so imposing!"

The guard's eyes widened dramatically. Even his voice was stammering. "You, you… Are you still someone of this earth? You actually don't know our Minister Chu?"

"Minister Chu?" Chu Yang was astounded.

"Yes! Minister Chu!" That bearded guard continued, "This is the statue of the world-famous King of Hell Chu; Bu Tian Pavilion's one and only minister, Minister Chu; and Iron Cloud Empire's Lord whose status is on par with the Emperor, Lord Chu!"

Chu Yang was stupefied. "So it's King of Hell Chu, Minister Chu, Lord Chu…"

"On account of how you're a pretty honest fellow and that your family name is also Chu, I shall tell you all about the greatness of Minister Chu! You country bumpkin had better listen well!" The bearded guard was obviously bored from standing guard and was rather long-winded. Since it was a rare occasion to actually bump into a dimwit who didn't even know of Minister Chu, he had better fill him in on this knowledge common among all. "Back then, when Minister Chu was helming the Bu Tian Pavilion, he caught several tens of thousands of spies and traitors in Iron Cloud within a day, and cleaned out several thousand court officials, solidifying the Iron Cloud Empire's unshakable foundation!"

"At that time, our current Emperor was still the crown prince. He became sworn brothers with Minister Chu. After that, Minister Chu headed to the Great State of Zhao and with just the power of one, annihilated the Golden Horse Rider Department of Zhao! He carved out a bloody path and broke through Great Zhao's heavy siege of three million soldiers! This bloody path went on for 9,300 kilometers and he killed over a million of our enemies! Only when the skies had turned bloody red did he return safe and sound to Iron Cloud. Then, he immediately arranged for the final showdown with the number one villain back then, Diwu Qingrou, on the battlefield."

The bearded guard's spit flew everywhere as he spoke.

Chu Yang was flabbergasted at what he heard. With his mouth agape, he remarked, "Ah~ Ah~ Ah~ So amazing!"

"Of course! Damn it, don't interrupt me, I'm not done yet." The bearded guard went on, "During the final showdown, our Iron Cloud was originally on the losing end. However, the moment Minister Chu arrived, the situation was overturned in no time at all. He appeared dressed in robes of black and with a mask on his face. In his hand, he held a 90 meters-long Thunder and Lightning Saber and beneath him, he rode a horse that chased the winds as swift as lightning. In just the time it took to take a breath, he charged into the enemy's formation! The enemies were shocked and they shouted, 'King of Hell Chu is here! Run, everyone…' But it was already too late; since Minister Chu was already there, how would he allow them to escape?"

"And so, with a slash of Minister Chu's great saber, the entire mountain was rendered in two! According to the warfare department's calculations, that one slash of his saber beheaded a total of 7,687 people and severed at the waist a total of 13,495 people! One slash, it was just one slash! More than 26,000 died… Yes, you didn't count wrongly; 20,000 people were directly killed by Minister Chu, while over 6,000 people were scared to death by that one slash…"

"After the great war, the eight million-strong troops of the Great State of Zhao were wiped out! Our Iron Cloud Empire gained victory in one battle! Minister Chu's efforts in this are higher than the heavens and deeper than the oceans!"

Chu Yang was filled with trepidation as he listened.

This… doesn't seem to be about me? Why is it getting more and more ridiculous as he goes on? Let's not talk about back then; even now, if I want to kill 20,000 people with one slash… it seems like I still have a long way to go…

"It's a pity that such an unparalleled hero was struck by divine punishment because of his overwhelming sins of murder. Not long after the war, he contracted a serious illness and died. Before he left, he sighed and said, 'This old man has taken over seven million lives in this life. Today, I accept divine punishment and die with no regrets.' When he finished, he closed his eyes and died in peace."

Goosebumps rose all over Chu Yang. He couldn't help but shiver. "Over seven million?"

Then, he suddenly realized something strange. "'This old man'? This Minister Chu is an old man?"

The bearded guard glared at him. "What did you think?"

Chu Yang felt a little faint. He pressed his temples and moaned, "What happened after that?"

"Later on, the Emperor, grateful for what he had done for the empire, conferred upon him the title of a lord on equal status with the Emperor. With 100,000 pieces of gold, he erected this statue of the Minister outside the Bu Tian Pavilion for the world to worship!"

"His Majesty said, 'Bu Tian Pavilion was formed because of Minister Chu and he has died for my Iron Cloud Empire. Bu Tian Pavilion has only had one Minister ever since it was founded and from now on, in the thousands and tens of thousands of years to come, there shall be no second Minister in Bu Tian Pavilion!' As such, the leaders of our Bu Tian Pavilion became Pavilion Masters instead."

With Big-beard's spit flying everywhere, he finally finished.

Chu Yang was rather dizzy listening to him; he felt like claps of thunder were roaring above his head. He finally understood the meaning of 'hearsay' and just how terrifying gossip could be.

Then, a pushing force appeared on his back; he was being pushed toward the statue of 'Minister Chu'. "Go, go. Go over and wait."

Right at this moment, shouts of people and neighing of horses resounded. A troop with guards of honor was walking over with their blinding sabers and spears and their dazzling armor.

They were truly imposing and majestic. What a valiant troop of soldiers!

The man right at the front rode valiantly and spiritedly atop a horse, his eyes narrowed and his countenance cold and distant. A long goat-like beard hung before his chest; he rode the horse just like that, his hands not even holding on to the reins but wrapped within his sleeves. There was an unapproachable aura all around him!

As he came over, someone among the court officials shouted, "Pavilion Master Cheng! Pavilion Master, Lord Pavilion Master, I have something to report to you…"

"Pavilion Master Cheng, I have a matter of importance which I must meet with you about…"

…

Cheng Zi-ang's face was a deep ruddy color. He kept his eyes down, not glancing to the sides one bit, and rode forward on his horse, completely unmoving.

When he reached the gates, the horse came to a stop naturally. There was already a court official who had rushed over. He prostrated in front of the horse, his hands pressed against the ground and his back parallel to the ground. In a fawning tone, he said, "I invite the Pavilion Master to get off the horse~~"

At this point, Cheng Zi-ang raised his eyebrows and glanced at the man. He said passively, "Lord Han… This doesn't seem very appropriate?"

"It is my honor." Lord Han nodded like a dog, an extremely fawning smile on his face.

Cheng Zi-ang nodded lightly. "Just as well."

He leaned to the side, one foot already steadily stepping onto the back of this 'Lord Han'. Then, he slowly got off the horse.

Chu Yang watched with the corners of his mouth twitching.

This… This Cheng Zi-ang actually became like this? Acting like such a tyrant and flaunting his authority…

He was already a King-level cultivator now and he actually needed to step on someone to get off a horse?

Only to see Cheng Zi-ang, after getting off the horse, shout, "Men!"

Two black-robed guards ran over on command. They bowed before him and then stood at attention. "Pavilion Master!"

"Haul this Lord Han to the local authorities to remove his official headgear and throw him into prison. Investigate him at once!" Cheng Zi-ang neither raised nor widened his eyes. "In order to get something done, he actually prostrated in front of me and invited me to get off the horse… Someone like him would do anything to achieve their goals; if he's a court official, he will certainly bring disaster. We must investigate him thoroughly!"

The guards received their orders and hauled Lord Han, who was already trembling all over and his eyes rolled up, to his feet and went off. The entire way, shouts of "I'm innocent!" drifted over continuously…

Everyone knew that this Lord Han was done for.

Cheng Zi-ang stood in front of Bu Tian Pavilion's gates, his hands behind his back. His eyes swept across everyone imposingly and he asked impassively, "Is there anyone here who disagrees with my way of doing things?"

At once, the whole place was filled with praises and compliments.

"Pavilion Master Cheng handled this right!"

"Pavilion Master is so wise…"

"Pavilion Master is certainly astute, picking out a black sheep today…"

Cheng Zi-ang stroked his beard and smiled, his attitude smug.

At this point, someone commented, "Pavilion Master Cheng, how majestic of you."

Cheng Zi-ang snorted and glanced over with a side-eye. "What…" He had only spoken half a sentence when his words got stuck in his throat. His mouth was open wide, as though a catfish on the verge of death, unable to be closed.

Only to see within his line of vision, a black-robed young man standing there with his hands behind his back and looking at him with a seemingly amused smile. The expression on his face and the look in his eyes were meaningful.

Cheng Zi-ang was in a daze at once.

At this point, the crowd was already in an uproar. Everyone furiously berated this insolent fellow. "Where did this scoundrel come from!"

"Totally unaware of rules and etiquette!"

"We should beat him to death!"

"Throw his corpse into the wild!"

"Cut his corpse into a million pieces!"

"Slaughter his entire clan!"

…

However, at this point, Pavilion Master Cheng's face had already become a dyehouse. From a rosy red, it turned a ghastly white, then completely red and wax-yellow next. Subsequently, it turned white again and perspiration dripped from his forehead…

Then, among the furious voices of the crowd, Pavilion Master Cheng charged over as though his butt was being scorched by fire. He was actually bent over, taking small little steps the entire way. There was a look of pleasant surprise and fawning on his face, as well as some disbelief. He charged all the way over to Chu Yang before he paused and raised his eyes to look at him. Then, he suddenly burst into racking sobs. "Minist~~ My lord! My lord, it's really youuuuu…"

The majestic and domineering Pavilion Master dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around the leg of this black-robed man, tears and mucus streaming down his face.

Everyone was shocked into a daze at this point!

Footnotes:

The term for 'bumping hard onto a seat' is phonetically similar to the characters for 'Pavilion Master'