Chapter 92

Chapter 92: The Man in Blue Robes, Xiao Bai!

 

Inside the academy, the two factions were arguing more and more heatedly, with the war faction growing larger and stronger

For them, the Guanxuan Universe had lost face this time!

Even the First Minister of the Cabinet had been killed!

This was an absolute disgrace!

Since the establishment of the Guanxuan Academy, the Guanxuan Universe had never suffered such humiliation.

It absolutely cannot be tolerated!

Yang Jia was not in the great hall. He had come to stand beneath the statue of the Guanxuan Sword Master, where he remained silent for a long time, looking at his father.

Not far behind him stood Bai Ci.

After an unknown amount of time, Yang Jia withdrew his gaze and turned to walk away. Soon, he and Bai Ci arrived at a prison.

Inside the prison, An Yan, Fa Zhen, and others were being held.

Seeing Yang Jia and Bai Ci arrive, An Yan merely looked at him coldly, without standing up.

Fa Zhen and the others also wore cold expressions.

Regarding this young master before them, whether it was An Yan or Fa Zhen and the others, they were all disappointed, extremely disappointed.

Yang Jia looked at these young people, the most outstanding youth of Guanxuan. Seeing the disappointment in their eyes, after a long silence, he said: “I’m sorry.”

After speaking, he turned to leave.

“Why!”

An Yan stared hard at Yang Jia’s back.

Yang Jia stopped, remained silent for a moment, but ultimately said nothing and continued walking away.

“Why!”

An Yan roared, his eyes and tone making no attempt to hide his disappointment and anger.

Beside him, Fa Zhen and the others were the same, all glaring angrily at Yang Jia.

But Yang Jia still offered no explanation. After he left, Bai Ci walked up to An Yan and the others. He looked at them and said, “Bring someone.”

As his voice fell, a woman dressed in blue appeared.

Bai Ci said: “Read.”

The blue-robed woman opened a thick book. “In the 1000th year of the Guanxuan Era… on the fifth day… the Dao fortunes of the twelve regions of Qingzhou were all seized by the An family, Ye family, Mu family, Tuoba family, and other families… Ninety-eight percent of all the Dao fortunes in Wanzhou were taken by various major families and sects…”

A moment later, she turned to the second page. “The Guanxuan Academy and the Celestial Treasure Pavilion jointly implemented a renovation and reconstruction plan with 100 billion spirit crystals allocated. According to investigations, various academies joined with family clans and sects to embezzle from above and exploit the people below. In the end, 80 billion spirit crystals went missing… Because the Cabinet was involved, further investigation was impossible.”

After a while, she turned another page and continued: “For 800 years, 90 percent of personnel recruitment in the academy’s various departments and institutions has been controlled by major families and sects. Most positions are passed from father to son, son to grandson. In some more extreme cases, an entire family holds positions, firmly controlling departments large and small…”

“For 800 years, the national resources of the Guanxuan Universe have been seized and controlled by various major families and sects. The benefits they have extracted from the academy and the common people are conservatively estimated at over 10 trillion spirit crystals… To resist the academy, they have banded together, secretly opposing the academy. Three consecutive heads of the Supervision Department have died unnatural deaths for investigating this matter. The Fang family alone has had 39 people either killed or demoted… The Blue Robe Bureau has lost over a thousand people investigating these major sects and families…”

“Not only the academy, but the hands of various families and sects have also reached into the Celestial Treasure Pavilion. The Pavilion now has a financial hole of 30 trillion spirit crystals that cannot be investigated. Whoever investigates dies…”

“Due to renovation and reconstruction, the Zhao family of Qingzhou colluded with local Celestial Treasure Pavilion officials to force countless commoners to sell their land at low prices. As a result, 360 families died unjustly, and over 160 people mysteriously disappeared after filing complaints… In Wanzhou altogether, a total of 3.29 million people lost their lives…”

Hearing the blue-robed woman’s words, Fa Zhen, An Yan, and the others were incredulous.

Fa Zhen murmured: “I never imagined the academy had rotted to such a degree… If so, why not kill them? Kill them all!”

As he spoke, his eyes turned blood-red.

“Kill?”

Bai Ci turned to look at Fa Zhen. “Tell me how to kill them? Who will do the killing?”

Fa Zhen immediately replied: “The young master.”

“Foolish!”

Bai Ci showed rare anger. “Fa Zhen, do you think the young master can kill them all?”

Fa Zhen looked at Bai Ci in disbelief. “Why not? How is it not possible for the young master?”

“It can’t be done.”

Nearby, An Yan suddenly said softly: “The academy is rotten to the core. The young master’s prestige is insufficient. If he acts now, it will immediately throw the Guanxuan Universe into chaos.”

Fa Zhen was stunned. “This…”

Bai Ci glanced at An Yan, then looked at Fa Zhen and the others. “The young master is not the Guanxuan Sword Master. He doesn’t have invincible strength. He cannot intimidate these families and sects. Moreover, today’s families and sects, after a thousand years of development, are far stronger than during the Guanxuan Sword Master’s time. One could say that a first-class family is like a super feudal state, not to mention many forces with high internal governance, such as the Tianxing Civilization, the Great Zhou, the Far Shore Civilization…”

Speaking thus, he sighed softly. “Fa Zhen, An Yan, it’s not that we and the young master don’t see these problems in the academy, but that many things simply cannot be touched for now. Think about it: if the young master moves against the families before he fully takes power, how will other families and sects view this? What will they do?”

Fa Zhen challenged: “So we just don’t govern at all?”

Bai Ci stared at Fa Zhen. “Do you really think the Guanxuan Law can govern? Fa Zhen, without absolute power, the Guanxuan Law is just a piece of waste paper.”

Fa Zhen was speechless.

Bai Ci continued: “Governing a state cannot be achieved with passion alone. The young master’s foundation is unstable. If he shows dissatisfaction with the families and sects, the result will be that those families, sects, and various star region civilizations will immediately band together to oppose the academy. They won’t rebel, but as long as they pay lip service while secretly resisting, the entire Guanxuan Universe will be paralyzed. Do you want to kill all the families and sects? Even if you wanted to, no one in the Guanxuan Universe has the power to do so now.”

Fa Zhen fell silent, his face grim.

Bai Ci continued: “Ye Tianming said the young master and those families and sects are making exchanges. He’s right, they are indeed exchanging, but this is a necessary compromise. If there’s no exchange, then we must confront them directly. And right now, the young master simply doesn’t have the ability to confront these families and sects. You may not believe it, but in the entire Guanxuan Universe, the only sect absolutely loyal to the young master, and whom he trusts, is the Sword Sect alone.”

An Yan slowly raised his head to look at Bai Ci. “The young master participated in the Wanzhou Grand Competition to establish his authority.”

Bai Ci nodded. “Yes. The young master’s prestige is insufficient now. He participated in the Wanzhou Grand Competition to establish authority, and this is just his first step. With prestige, he can gradually build his own power base, slowly replacing people in the Outer and Inner Cabinets with our people… And the young master’s call to unify the entire universe was only meant to lull those families and sects, because right now, only through such methods can we divert the contradictions in the Guanxuan Universe…”

He shook his head slightly. “But we didn’t expect that Ye Tianming would disrupt all of the young master’s plans.”

An Yan stared at Bai Ci. “Tianming did nothing wrong.”

Bai Ci said: “I know he did nothing wrong, but does that mean the young master is wrong?”

An Yan met Bai Ci’s gaze unflinchingly. “No matter what difficulties the young master faces, if those below suffer hardship, then he is at fault. It is his responsibility to ensure those below don’t suffer unfair treatment.”

Bai Ci fell silent.

Fa Zhen suddenly snarled: “We should kill them all!”

An Yan shook his head. “We can’t kill them now.”

Fa Zhen turned to look at An Yan. An Yan’s expression darkened. “Even if the young master ordered the Sword Sect to clean house, new problems would arise, such as those civilizations and eras outside, and the True World… These forces are now eyeing the Guanxuan Universe like tigers watching their prey. If the young master ordered the Sword Sect to purge these families and sects, internal troubles and external threats would appear simultaneously. The entire Guanxuan Universe would fall into chaos, and many, many people would die in a chaotic Guanxuan Universe.”

Bai Ci nodded. “The young master’s approach is the most feasible. He must first establish authority, then gradually replace people in the Outer and Inner Cabinets with his own. Besides this, he needs time. He must reach the Circle-Breaking realm, or even the Circle-Drawing realm, because only then will he have absolute power. Only then can he truly control the entire Guanxuan Universe…”

Saying this, he looked at An Yan and Fa Zhen. “I know you have high expectations for the young master, but don’t forget, he’s the same age as you.”

Fa Zhen said: “But there’s still the Guanxuan Sword Master and Pavilion Master Qin!”

Bai Ci shook his head. “Although the young master has the Guanxuan Sword Master and Pavilion Master Qin behind him, the Guanxuan Sword Master once said that the future Guanxuan Universe should be governed by future generations. This means the Guanxuan Sword Master and Pavilion Master Qin will no longer interfere in the affairs of the Guanxuan Universe. Under these circumstances, the young master can only proceed step by step, gradually…”

He sighed softly. “The young master once told me that the Guanxuan Sword Master seems to have made an agreement with someone not to interfere in the affairs of the Guanxuan Universe anymore…”

An Yan looked directly at Bai Ci. “Then what about Ye Tianming and the others?”

After a moment of silence, Bai Ci said: “The greater good takes precedence.”

The greater good takes precedence!

An Yan stared at Bai Ci, angry. “Do you know how many people will suffer unfair treatment because of your ‘greater good’?”

Bai Ci looked directly at An Yan. “An Yan, nothing in this world is perfect. Many times, we must make choices. You should understand this principle.”

An Yan clenched his fists, his eyes full of anger, but soon that anger turned to helplessness.

Bai Ci continued: “I know Ye Tianming has suffered injustice, but how many others in this world have suffered injustice besides him? I don’t think he did anything wrong, but the world is just like this. There has never been absolute fairness. Even the Guanxuan Sword Master couldn’t achieve it. What we can do is strive to ensure this universe doesn’t fall into chaos, allowing most people to have peace.”

An Yan remained silent.

Bai Ci glanced at An Yan and the others. “The young master has instructed that you are now free. He hopes you will stay and continue to help him. Of course, if you are unwilling, he won’t force you. Additionally, your families will not face any consequences, nor will anyone target you.”

Having said this, he turned and walked outside.

In the prison.

Fa Zhen sat on the ground, leaning against the wall, and said softly: “An Yan… what’s happened to this world?”

An Yan’s face was expressionless. “The world has always been like this. We just couldn’t see it clearly before.”

Fa Zhen turned to look at An Yan. “An Yan, what are your plans?”

An Yan looked outside. “People like us have no choice.”

No choice!

Fa Zhen began to laugh. “Indeed, if people like us don’t rise to the challenge, the future young people of the Guanxuan Universe will have an even harder time. I want to return to the academy. I want to gain more power. With power, one can do more things.”

Bai Ci’s words had made him understand that in this world, without strength and power, protesting ten thousand times is useless. But if you have power, things are different. When facing many situations, one word can change everything.

An Yan slowly stood up, his gaze unprecedentedly firm. “Power alone is not enough.”

Fa Zhen looked at An Yan. An Yan stared fixedly outside. “We also need powerful strength. With powerful strength, someday in the future, we won’t need to reason with them or talk about laws. We can make them submit simply because we command it.”

Fa Zhen nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, we must have invincible strength.”

An Yan looked at Fa Zhen and the others, saying seriously: “We can definitely change this world. Our generation of scholars cannot retreat…”

Someone suddenly said: “What if the young master doesn’t change…”Angry, An Yan said: “Then let’s have a revolution, overthrow the Yang family, and let someone else rule this world!”

Everyone: “……”

Fa Zhen suddenly raised his arm and shouted, “That’s right, if the young master isn’t capable, then let’s change the dynasty. Who says only the Yang family can rule this world?”

An Yan suddenly looked at everyone, “Ladies and gentlemen, just studying isn’t enough, we must have strong power… That Mr. Mu Guanchen could write the Law of All Beings through his studies, why can’t we? From this moment on, we must unite together, join hands to become stronger, and then eliminate those decadent sects and clans……”

Not far away, Zheng Yuan, the previously silent First Chair of the Literary Academy, suddenly said: “After gaining power, the first thing we should do is seek justice for the Ye family!”

“……”

After leaving prison, Yang Jia went to the Sword Sect. He walked up to a statue wearing a blue robe with a small white creature sitting on its shoulder.

Yang Jia slowly knelt down. He took out the shattered Qingxuan Sword and after a long silence said, “Great-grandfather, I know I was wrong.”

With that, he kowtowed heavily.

Hum!

At that moment, the sky suddenly split open, and in the next instant, a sword light fell straight down, stopping steadily in front of Yang Jia.

The blue-robed man’s sword: Sword Ancestor!

Yang Jia grasped the Sword Ancestor with his left hand and Qingxuan with his right. He took a deep breath and gazed toward the horizon, “Ye Tianming, at the Universe Competition, we shall fight once more!!”