Nightfall

If you did not obey the rules, you will be beaten until you obey. Actually, this was not the Second Brother’s rule, but rather the Academy’s. It sounded unreasonable, but it wasn’t always seen that way.

Ye Su wasn’t angered by this. He calmly said, “Reason has nothing to do with force. Even if you can surpass me, you can’t force me to agree with you. The truth comes from Haotian. Reason comes from the evaluation of reality and the teaching of wise men. Mr. First can teach me, but you cannot.”

Since it did not make sense, there was no need to say more. When people on Jun Mo and Ye Su’s level talk, they merely talk. They are confined to the words themselves, lacking any type of psychological attack. This rendered their words meaningless.

One stood in the Verdant Canyon. One stood in the rice field. Both kept silent.

Hundreds of thousands of people who watched the battle in the wilderness looked nervously at the direction of Verdant Canyon. They did not know how the battle would begin, when they would make their move, and who would make the first move.

No one knew exactly when, but Ye Su made the first move.

The Haotian Taoism genius fought the Academy genius. It was different from what everyone had thought it would be. It wasn’t earth-shattering. Boulders didn’t fall from the mountains. There were no horrific displays of power. Instead, it seemed extremely ordinary.

The thin wooden sword calmly and quietly went from Ye Su’s front toward the Verdant Canyon. The rice field divided in front of the force of the passing sword, just like the lake gradually parted, and the willow branches rose and fell forward in the lake.

Countless eyes stared at the wooden sword. Some looked surprised, some looked confused, others were even disappointed.

However, in the next moment, a shocking scene took place.

As the wooden sword was flying, a layer of clouds suddenly appeared in front of Verdant Canyon.

The layer of clouds was dozen of feet thick and extremely dark. There was a faint hint of thunder and lightning in it as it stayed about 100 feet off the ground. From afar, it looked as though it would touch the ground.

The cloud blocked the entrance of the Verdant Canyon.

Between the clouds and the ground there was an iron shelter and Jun Mo, who was outside of it.

Fourth Brother took some medicine. His spirits rose a little. However, when he looked at the clouds in the sky, he felt an aura of heaven and earth. His arms trembled again while holding the Sandbox.

He was shocked. What horrifying level has a cultivator achieved, having the ability to use methods to understand the origins and rules of the heaven and earth’s aura?

“This is the real peak of the five cultivation states. Ye Su really is deserving of the Haotian Taoism’s genius title.”

Fourth Brother looked at the sword flying through the rice paddy and said despondently, “Second Brother used the iron sword to cut people down through the power of heaven and earth. Now, Ye Su also uses the power of heaven and earth. Both states seem…”

Seventh Sister, Mu You, said concerningly, “Who’s stronger?”

Fourth Brother replied, “I don’t know. For now, only Liu Bai can tell.”

The cloud blocked the Verdant Canyon.

In the West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army, there were many priests, cultivators, and Papal Cavalrymen. In the Spring, they joined the war in the Wilderness and saw that cloud. Seeing that Tang, the Desolate Men’s most powerful warrior, was dejected at the sight of this cloud, they became shocked and excited.

In the divine chariot, Ye Hongyu slowly looked up and looked at the cloud. A very complicated emotion loomed deep in her eyes. Then all these emotions turned into indifference on her face.

When she hunted Long Qing in the North of Yan Kingdom frontier fortress, she had seen this cloud on the side of the blue sea that was as thin as a waist. Therefore, the meaning of this cloud was different to her than to other people in the West-Hill Divine Palace.

Liu Bai looked at the clouds above the Verdant Canyon, not saying a word.

The clouds above the Verdant Canyon were white. Given that they were so close to the ground and so thick, it made them appear gloomy and dark. They were just like dark clouds in the summer that bring forth heavy rain.

The wooden sword was a light white, just like Ye Su’s clothes. The sword flew down into the wilderness with dark clouds overhead. Suddenly, the wooden sword became easy to spot as it looked like a slow flash of lightning.

Then, a bright light flashed through the dark clouds, followed by immeasurable brightness coming from their depths. This brightness turned into countless bolts of lightning. They all looked like thousands of horrifying swords.

Lightning flashed through the clouds for more than a moment, striking the wilderness 100 feet below. Countless terrifying rumbles of thunder soon followed, crashing into the Verdant Canyon.

Second Brother’s armor, charred by the fireworks from Ye Hongyu’s Taoist Sword in the battle the day before, reflected the bright flashes of lightning. It looked like several bright snakes crawling on black soil.

He held an iron sword. He stood tall and straight, his face serious.

The high crown was tied onto his helmet. It stood still amid the thunder and lightning.

His eyebrows didn’t flinch.

He looked very proper.

Dark clouds hung overhead. Lightning continued to flash along with the rolls of thunder.

He appeared as though he was going to a banquet.

No observing. No squinting.

Not looking at the clouds. Not looking at the sword.

He just looked at Ye Su in the distant rice field.

He held up the iron sword, level with his eyebrows, showing the ancient Etiquette.

As he extended his sword, the autumn wind that was blowing in his face fell silent.

The thunder and lightning finally came down.

Countless horrible rumbles were heard in front of the Verdant Canyon. Countless bolts of lightning, with their frightening power, fell to the ground almost instantaneously.

The dark clouds twisted restlessly. Bolts of lightning like snakes struck the mountains, causing large boulders to fall.

Second Brother extended his sword and the autumn wind stopped. Even the space in front of him seemed like thousands of cubes had been drawn by the broad and straight iron sword. Then the cubes turned into frames, and finally turned into thin strips.

Countless rumbles of thunder and bolts of lightning entered these empty spaces and came towards his body. What was supposed to be zigzagging bolts of lightning suddenly straightened out into bright strips.

The lightning and thunder continued.

The charred surface of his armor reflected the lightning, becoming hotter and brighter.

The officers and soldiers watching the war in the southern coalition army felt as if they had seen the sun. Their eyes were stung with great pain. They quickly covered their eyes. Those who reacted slower cried out in pain.

The cultivators also closed their eyes and sensed the change in the Verdant Canyon. They could feel the pure aura of heaven and earth that the thunder and lightning held, and were rendered speechless by the wooden sword.

Maybe it lasted just a split second, but it felt like millions of years to those watching.

The white clouds at the Verdant Canyon finally dissipated. As the thunder stopped, the lightning also disappeared.

The smoke gradually gathered and Second Brother slowly appeared.

He stood in front of the Verdant Canyon.

His armor was just as charred as before. His expression was just as serious as before. The iron sword was held level with his eyebrows, just as before. He stood with perfect posture. Even the most strict Etiquette professor could find no fault in him.

Many black holes as thick as a finger appeared on the ground in front of him. Each black hole was produced by the thunder and lightning summoned by Ye Su’s wooden sword. The black holes were so deep, one couldn’t see the bottom. One could imagine the power that sword held.

The surprising thing was that these black holes were all in front of Second Brother. But the ground behind him had not changed.

Of all the thunder and lightning, none of them hit him. None of them hit the iron shelter behind him, either.

The black holes were arranged in front of him so perfectly, they looked like a straight line.

Thunder and lightning have supreme power that comes from heaven and earth. They only obey the laws of nature.

However, they could not cross the line in front of Second Brother.

The Academy’s Etiquette was the rule.

That line was Second Brother’s rule, guarded by his iron sword. That line was his Etiquette.

There was a rule one that must follow. No matter who owns the sword, or if there’s wind and rain or thunder and lightning, it must be obeyed.

Clouds should stay in the sky. In the mountains, they cannot be this low.

How can lightning bother me?