Chapter 233 - 261: Myriad Lights, Slaying the Dragon While the Wine Is Still Warm
"It seems even the heavens have come to enjoy the show, sending down a few snowflakes."
Zhang Wei glanced at the snowflakes in the sky and laughed heartily at Su Bai, who stood beside him.
"Perhaps the heavens are simply setting the perfect stage."
Su Bai replied with a smile.
As for why he said the heavens were setting the perfect stage, one had to look at several major events that had recently occurred.
The first was that the rebellion within the Great Xia Dynasty had finally been completely suppressed.
In the end, evil could not triumph over good.
With the assistance of numerous Righteous Sects, the uprisings across the land were utterly extinguished.
Even a wildfire eventually burns out.
Following this, the Ninth Prince, Jiang Guanshui, acted with lightning speed to purge the court, distribute grain and silver, and pacify the realm.
The lives of the common people finally had a glimmer of hope.
Everyone had money and grain, taxes were reduced, and they even witnessed the beheading of a batch of corrupt officials from the court’s highest ranks.
As a result, even though the year had been rife with turmoil, the lives of the common people were actually quite comfortable.
It was said that the cost of suppressing the rebels and distributing grain and silver had depleted the Great Xia National Treasury by seventy percent.
However, after purging the court, with the appropriate people imprisoned and estates seized, a vast amount of wealth was confiscated.
After this give and take, the national treasury was actually quite a bit fuller.
A year of taxes for the common folk had been waived, yet the wealth recovered from the court’s powerful elite was several times that amount.
It was a fact that was laughable and lamentable in equal measure.
In the process, a group of outstanding individuals emerged, both in the imperial court and in the Jianghu.
For example, the Captain of the Guard whom Su Bai had praised in the city during the Dual Sacred Artifacts turmoil had once again distinguished himself.
In a battle to quell the chaos, he had impaled and killed four powerhouses of the same rank with his spear!
In just a few short days, he was promoted from a lowly Captain of the Guard to a Third-Grade General, commanding a portion of the army. He was bestowed the title "General of Chaos Suppression and Demon Subduing."
He was clearly a rising military star of the Martial Dao within the Great Xia Dynasty.
Another example was the Saintess of the Celestial Sound Sect, whose skill with both the zither and the sword was as peerless as her beauty.
Adored by countless peers, her fame spread far and wide.
The second major event was that Xia Imperial City had gained a new Divine Platform expert and a new Sword Saint!
The Elder National Preceptor, Xiao Rongshan, had been ambushed by the surviving remnants of the Soul-devouring Demon Sect while quelling the chaos in Yan Province.
He was gravely injured and on the verge of death.
During his recovery, he experienced some unknown fortuitous encounter and rose from the ashes, successfully breaking through the bottleneck of the Spirit Transformation Realm and ascending to the Divine Platform.
The Divine Platform he condensed was an Earth Realm Divine Platform, marking him as a prodigy of considerable aptitude. His own Fist Dao had also advanced significantly.
At just the First Level of the Divine Platform Realm, he slew several old, established masters of the same realm.
When he returned to the city, his profound Fist Intent shook the very air.
The first thing Xiao Rongshan did upon his return was not to celebrate, but to turn toward the prison.
And bow respectfully.
Although that certain someone gave no response, everyone knew who he was thanking.
In addition, the Great Xia Elder Imperial Tutor also broke through his bottleneck during a brutal battle with an expert from the Demon Sect.
His Sword Dao had achieved sainthood!
It was said that when he returned to the Imperial City from the clouds, the tyrannical Sword Intent emanating from him caused every Sword Artifact in the city to hum in alarm.
The third major event...
Was that Su Bai had been promoted again.
He was promoted from Captain to Prison Chief, in charge of a section of the B-Class Prison.
Though it was only a seventh-grade official position, for a newcomer who had been working for less than a year, it was an incredibly fast ascent.
You could say his career was taking off like a rocket.
As for the reason for his promotion...
Pasture Captain, who had delivered the news, hadn’t specified.
...
It was because of these three great happenings that Su Bai had said the heavens were setting the perfect stage.
"Brother Su Bai, you have a point."
Zhang Wei was stunned for a moment, then nodded with a smile.
He stopped paying attention to the falling snow and turned his gaze to the high stage before them.
After the two of them watched the opera troupe’s performance for a while, Zhang Wei dragged Su Bai toward a restaurant.
He claimed that at the promotion banquet the day before, he had to mind his etiquette and couldn’t drink properly.
Today, no matter what, Su Bai had to treat him to a proper feast!
Su Bai didn’t refuse, and the two made their way toward Biyun Pavilion.
BOOM! BOOM!
To celebrate the victory, fireworks were lit on schedule throughout the city.
Brilliant flares of light shot into the sky, their momentary bloom illuminating the entire night.
It was a radiant spectacle.
The city’s joy spread like ripples, filling every heart.
At this moment, fireworks bloomed across the heavens, suonas blared in unison, lanterns stretched for miles, and every home celebrated.
This, surely, was a golden age.
Before long, the two had entered Biyun Pavilion, found a table by the window, and sat down to chat.
"You two masters! What can I get for you?"
Not long after, a sharp-eyed waiter spotted them, hurried over, and asked with a deferential smile.
"Bring us all the best food and wine Biyun Pavilion has to offer!"
"Tonight, I’m not going home until I’m drunk!"
Zhang Wei, ever the impatient one, boomed with a laugh.
"Right away! Please wait just a moment, masters."
The waiter replied with a grin and turned to leave.
In less than the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, their table was laden with delicacies.
"Haha! Brother Su Bai, come, let’s drink!"
Zhang Wei picked up the Jade Pot, poured a large bowl of wine for both himself and Su Bai, then stood and declared with a hearty laugh.
CLINK!
The two Jade Bowls collided, splashing crystalline droplets of wine.
Their laughter filled the room.
Su Bai glanced at the wine in his hand, smiled, and was about to say something.
Just then, the roar of a dragon suddenly echoed from the distant sky.
The sound grew louder and louder, accompanied by a terrifying Demon Qi that coalesced into thick, demonic clouds, rushing rapidly in their direction.
"A Dragon!"
Zhang Wei froze and quickly looked up.
An instant later, he cried out in shock, "A Dragon!"
"Two of them! One black and one white!"
The figures of the two True Dragons soaring through the sky were immense, their bodies radiating an absolutely terrifying Demon Qi!
The two massive Dragons were unbelievably fast, arriving before Xia Imperial City in the blink of an eye.
Compared to their colossal bodies, even the grandest buildings in the city looked like children’s toys.
One of the great Dragons exhaled, and its breath blew away the wind and snow.
Its roar rumbled like thunder.
"Is the Lord of Heavenly Punishment present?"
An unimaginably powerful pressure radiated from the Dragons’ bodies, blanketing the entire Imperial City like a boundless, dark cloud.
Zhang Wei was completely stunned, the wine in his hand spilling all over the floor.
Below, within Xia Imperial City, Martial Arts Strongmen shot into the air one after another, but their expressions changed drastically as they faced the twin black and white Dragons in the sky.
A profound sense of crisis and terror churned within their hearts.
While Zhang Wei was still staring in a daze,
Su Bai, beside him, stood up and set down his still-warm wine.
He spoke slowly.
"They’re looking for me."
Before Zhang Wei could even react to his words,
Su Bai, with a flicker of his Divine Thoughts, rendered him unconscious.
Then he turned to face the Dragons, now practically on top of them,
And stepped out into the empty air.
The terrified people in the city suddenly witnessed a scene they would never forget—
Beneath the fireworks that filled the sky,
The heavy snow began to fall again.
A tall, slender figure slowly raised a hand, grasping an ordinary Iron Sword that appeared from thin air.
The two giant Dragons, one black and one white, looked down on him, their eyes filled with endless coldness and killing intent.
"So you are the Lord of Heavenly Punish—"
The Black Dragon’s maw gaped open, but it never finished its sentence.
The white-robed figure gently swung his sword.
In an instant, a flash of light burst forth from the blade, ten thousand times more brilliant than the fireworks blooming in the sky.
Beneath this sword light, the two giant Dragons seemed to freeze.
A silent, formless law enveloped them.
They were like two flies trapped in amber.
All they could do was watch as the light of the sword descended.
The Sword Aura bloomed for an instant within the Dragons’ eyes, then just as quickly faded.
The light in their pupils rapidly dimmed.
SHIIING—
The sound of the Iron Sword returning to its sheath echoed.
High in the clouds, the tall, slender, white-robed figure slowly turned around.
In the Imperial City below, the young Martial Artists stood dumbfounded, staring blankly at the sheathed sword.
At that exact moment, a firework blossomed above the white-robed youth’s head, its light as brilliant as before.
And behind him, the two giant Dragons were silently split in two.
Dragon Blood sprayed across the night sky.
By the time he returned to the restaurant, Su Bai picked up his Jade Bowl.
The wine was still warm.
The city’s fireworks continued unabated, and snow danced through the air.
The lights of countless homes stretched for miles.
But the giant Dragons in the sky had, at some unknown point, completely vanished.
The entire city remained in a daze.
It was as if they had all shared the same incredible dream.