Transcending the Nine Heavens

Dawn. In front of Zhuge Clan’s gate.

Zhuge Clan had been holding funerals these few days. White flowers were tied to their doors. Outside the gate, the whole street was filled with baskets of white flowers. At a glance, it actually looked pretty impressive.

Heavy snow had been falling for a whole month, and it finally stopped today. There were still sporadic crumbs of snowflakes falling from the sky, the sky was still grim and gray.

The guards were dressed all in sackcloth, with hemp ropes tied at their waists. White flowers decorated their chests. Their looks were sorrowful.

Heaven and earth were all quiet.

In the inner courtyard, there was the sound of crying everywhere!

Today was the day of the funeral for those dozen or so Supreme Martial Artists who died.

Right at this moment, a guard’s eyes moved, and a surprised look revealed in them.

At the distance, in the sea of white flowers, a man in black walked over gracefully and relaxed. He was all alone, yet he stood out so much. Amidst the white snow and the white sea of flowers, it was all white between heaven and earth, yet a shade of black suddenly appeared.

The two guards were both shocked: for the people going in and out these days, even if they were from other clans, all were dressed in white. It was as though white was the only color left in the world.

At this time, why would someone come in black?

The man in black walked over casually, his hands behind his back, his footsteps light. He looked over the words written on the two sides of the road, from one side to another, and then back.

His expression was relaxed and graceful, yet his actions showed the curiosity and excitement of a countryman who suddenly came into a big city.

Yet right now, was the saddest moment of their funeral.

Such a person actually appeared. He must have come on purpose to provoke anger.

The anger in the hearts of the two guards started burning bit by bit as well.

From the distance, several more people in white came to attend the funeral. Those were people from the other clans. They were dressed in white and walked very rapidly. In no time, they walked past the man in black in front. One of them turned back to look, and started to say something, yet his mouth was covered by another, who dragged the former over. With a hasty greeting, they walked into the gate, and actually didn’t look back.

The man in back reached the gate. His gaze wandered around.

The two guards contained their anger and asked, “Who are you, Sir? What did you come for?”

The man in black tilted his neck and replied with an “oh”. Then, he nodded, laughed a little, and then looked at the white flowers which extended towards the horizon and commented, “So many white flowers, it looks so nice… Holy shit, how many people must have died… Oh my dear… So, so pitiful, there is one more batch of orphans and widows in this world.”

The guard raged. “So Sir is actually here to make trouble?”

The man in black rolled his eyes and also raged, “What kind of talk is this? What do you mean by ‘make trouble’? I’m a kind-hearted person and care about the poor and wretched all over the world. Today, I’m expressing my feelings, how does that make me a trouble-maker? Can these dead people not have left orphans and widows? Are these orphans and widows not pitiful?”

The two guards were so angry that they shivered. Both drew their swords. “Who are you?”

Without even looking at them properly, the man in black said, “Please report to the head of Zhuge Clan that Chu Yang is here to mourn, and by the way, discuss some matters with the head of Zhuge Clan.”

Once they heard the name “Chu Yang”, the two guards were stunned, as if lightning had struck them!

Who did Zhuge Clan fear the most right now? Chu Yang! Or rather, the forces on Chu Yang’s side!

Because more than fifty Supreme Martial Artists died in the hands of Chu Yang’s forces! In the war for Slaying of Tao, their own forces were annihilated, while the enemy achieved total victory!

For the enemy to achieve such an impressive result when faced with the combined forces of Eight Great Clans, their strength was amazing and terrifying!

“Please wait a minute, Sir, I’ll go inside to report.” One of the guards cupped his fists in salute. He gave Chu Yang a complicated look, with both fear and anger, before turning around and walking in.

Chu Yang walked in circles at the gate, his hands behind his back. He laughed and said constantly, “Spectacular! So Spectacular! So f*cking spectacular!”

The other guard was so angry that his whole body trembled, yet he dared not say anything.

Finally, that guard who went inside came out hurriedly. “The head of the clan invites you to meet him at the mourning hall, Sir.”

Immediately, a person walked out rapidly and bowed in salute. “Thank you so much for coming to mourn. The whole Zhuge Clan is very grateful.”

Chu Yang cupped his fists, smiling. “It’s alright. Enemy or friends, we’ve fought together. The surface-level work still has to be done.”

Everyone else came to mourning with a heavy face, even if they were happy inside, they pretended to be sorrowful. Yet this guy not only showed a face full of smiles, his talking made people want to punch him on the spot!”

Muscles on the person who came out to greet the guest’s face cramped. Deep hatred displayed in his eyes. He forcefully restrained himself and said, “In any case, since you are here, it still shows your goodwill.”

Chu Yang laughed and walked forward, mumbling, “Good will… Good will… Hahaha…”

The person behind almost broke his teeth by biting too hard.

But after all, he brought Chu Yang all the way to the mourning hall.

It actually took quite a long to walk all that way. As they walked, Chu Yang expressed surprise constantly, as though he was viewing good scenery. “So good! This house is really good. These flowers and trees are so stylish, must be more than ten thousand years old… This place is so big… I can’t imagine how many ordinary people’s houses were forcefully occupied… It’s so pretty here… Hey, if I just pick a brick, it must be able to pay for an ordinary family’s food and drinks for a lifetime…”

His speech was weird, his voice was weird, his gestures were weird, and his tone was also weird.

The person leading the way stayed completely silent, restraining himself not to say a word, afraid that he would have offended eighteen generations of this guy’s ancestors once he opened his mouth.

The mourning hall was large.

Inside, people in white were densely packed, and it looked like snow.

All the trumpeters and drummers of Tianji City were here, playing funeral music. Once someone offered their condolences, the music would start, and then end abruptly.

The rules of the Nine Heavens was: Once a family member dies at more than a hundred years old, it’s considered having achieved longevity. Trumpeters and drummers are to be there on the day of funeral, to offer sad, sorrowful music in which the family members will be sent to Samsara.

Each one of the dead at Zhuge Clan this day was far beyond one hundred years old. They were probably more than a thousand years old…

Once he entered the funeral hall, he saw countless people crowded here, each with a heavy face. Inside the spiritual shed, the people from Zhuge Clan were dressed in sackcloth as a sign of mourning. They stood in four rows on two sides.

At the back of the funeral hall, there was a lot of sobbing from the female family members of the dead.

“First Pharmacist of Southeast law-enforcement officer, Seventh Dedicated Pharmacist of Medicine Valley, Chu Yang, is here to pay his respect!” The person who called out names took the slip of paper handed to him and called out loudly without thinking. Only after he called, did he realize what it was that he called out. He shivered in shock, his hand shook, and that slip of paper dropped to the ground.

In a second, the whole space became completely silent!

Chu Yang? Why was he here?

With only an instant of silence, trumpeters and drummers at the side started playing enthusiastically. In the total silence, the music seemed especially bright and loud, that it could almost reach the clouds.

But then, the musicians also realized that something was not right with the situation. Why did everyone stop talking after this name came out? Even the female family members inside stopped crying…

So then, they stopped.

With such a sudden start and an abrupt end, it was as though a dog being suddenly stepped on made a loud bark, before escaping hurriedly.

The person in charge of greeting guests from the Zhuge Clan approached him with a stiff face and some reluctance. “Thank you very much, Sir, for coming to pay your respect. Please enter.”

On the day of funeral, nothing was more important than the dead!

Therefore, Zhuge Clan was the most afraid of accidents happening on this day.

But most people wouldn’t make trouble at this time, because making trouble now meant that the hatred was irreconcilable! After this, the children, grandchildren and all descendants of the two sides would keep killing each other forever… Until either side went completely extinct!

And for Chu Yang to come right now, it showed his attitude: I, Chu Yang, will not reconcile with your Zhuge Clan until death!

Besides, there were deeper considerations.

Chu Yang was not a reckless person. How could he be unaware of the great inappropriateness of coming on this day? However big the hatred, respect for the dead was more important. To disturb someone on the day of their family’s funeral was always immoral.

Yet if Chu Yang didn’t come today, it would cause him endless troubles, with the possibility of him not ever being able to leave this Tianji City till the end of his life, and all the people on his side dying in there! The reasons for this were intriguing.

Chu Yang smiled politely and said, “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. At any rate, I can’t excuse myself from the responsibility for the deaths of these elders.”

With that said, the faces of those people distorted immediately.

Why do you bother? You’ve already won… These people have already died in your hands, why do you still have to do all this at the funeral? Isn’t this too much bullying?

“Please enter.” Chu Yang was led inside.

Once he stepped into the mourning hall, the person welcoming guests went to one side rapidly, leaving Chu Yang alone in the middle. From all directions, thousands of sad and angry looks went towards him.

Chu Yang made two steps forward, took the incense and candles handed over to him, and made a bow. He said loudly, “How sad it is that these men unfortunately died. All their great reputation turned into sorrows. After the storm, there is nothing more. Martial artists with iron blood are legendary. I look back to the time when you stood up to many strong men all on your own. You went across the world, who could compare themselves to you? Across the white mountains and black waters, you faced the vast oceans. The vast sky and broad earth spread your name. How many children were orphaned at your hands! How many widowed mothers mourned because of you! With one word of disagreement, you pulled your saber. Who dared speak out about it, with the great powers of your clan? The bones of those who died under your sword are enough to make a mountain. The blood from your hands flowed across the four seas. Now that you pass away, the whole world is mad about it! They sing and dance, for their grievances are answered. Who else is to dominate the world from now onwards? What a painful matter it is that I speak of.”

With that said, Chu Yang took one step forward, inserted the incense into the incense burner, then made another bow and looked up.

With these words of mourning spoken, the whole Zhuge Clan fell completely silent.

Even one of the musicians outside who heard it because he stood slightly closer got so scared that his face turned pale. With a loud bang, the trombone in his hand dropped to the ground, and he actually didn’t dare to pick it up.

The people in the mourning hall all looked enraged. Their faces were green and their eyes looked like fire could emerge from them.

The facial muscles of several people trembled. They couldn’t help but take a step forward to settle matters with this guy!

“Chu Yang, what do you mean?” One of them jumped out abruptly and glared at Chu Yang angrily.