Chapter 1791: A Spiritual Symbol
Fang Yue brought Fang Chen to a residence. The moment they stepped through the gates, groups of servants bowed respectfully toward Fang Yue. Beautiful maidservants occasionally hurried past with lowered heads, leaving behind faint trails of fragrance in the air.
From afar, they had already noticed Fang Chen walking beside Fang Yue, and curiosity inevitably surfaced in their eyes as they secretly stole glances at him.
"Brother Fang, this is my residence. The clan leader told me to arrange a place for you to stay. If you don't mind, why not stay here temporarily?"
Fang Yue looked at Fang Chen expectantly, as though he hoped the other party would say he disliked it.
"This place is quite good. I'll stay here." Fang Chen nodded. His gaze shifted toward a six-story bamboo tower in the distance. "I'll stay over there."
Fang Yue frowned. "That place is..."
He wanted to say something but then recalled Fang Longshan's instructions and his own assumptions about Fang Chen and could only nod helplessly. "Fine."
He personally led Fang Chen to the courtyard where the bamboo tower stood. The place was quiet and elegant, and the air itself carried a refreshing floral fragrance.
At that moment, a young man dressed in black robes hurried over. The moment he saw Fang Yue, he immediately stepped forward and bowed. "Master."
"This is the steward of my residence, Fang Dan. Though he isn't a member of the Fang Clan by blood, I adopted him when he was young. He's reliable in handling matters, so I granted him our name." Fang Yue smiled at Fang Chen before turning to Fang Dan. "This is Brother Fang. He'll be staying here temporarily. You'll be responsible for all aspects of his daily life. If anything goes wrong, you'll answer for it."
Fang Dan was startled. He cast an odd glance toward the small courtyard before looking at Fang Chen, hesitating as though he wanted to say something but held himself back.
Fang Yue waved his hand. "Alright, I won't accompany you any longer. If I stay away too long, those brats will start slacking off again."
After saying that, he prepared to leave.
"Wait. Let me ask you something," Fang Chen called out suddenly.
A puzzled look appeared on Fang Yue's face. "What is it?"
"Does the Fang Clan have someone named Fang Zhentian?" Fang Chen asked.
Fang Yue's expression shifted slightly as he looked at Fang Chen in surprise. "Fang Zhentian? Hm... I think there is one. Why?"
A faint smile appeared on Fang Chen's face. He had only asked casually, yet unexpectedly, such a person actually existed.
"Can you bring him here?" asked Fang Chen.
"Then wait here. I'll send someone to bring him over," replied Fang Yue, nodding before quickly leaving.
Seeing this, Fang Dan carefully glanced at Fang Chen. "Lord Fang... how long do you plan to stay here?"
"Hm? Is there a problem?"
"No, no problem at all." Fang Dan laughed awkwardly. "Then I'll arrange a few maidservants for you. If there are any miscellaneous tasks, just leave them to them. If they can't handle it, they'll come find me, and I'll personally take care of it for you."
Fang Chen smiled and nodded. "Alright, you may go."
After Fang Dan left, Fang Chen entered the bamboo tower.
Inside were bookshelves, a qin stand, and a tea table. At a glance, it was obvious that it was not a place Fang Yue frequented. It was likely a place where one of the women of the residence enjoyed cultivating her temperament. No wonder Fang Yue and Fang Dan had behaved so strangely earlier.
Fang Chen sat down by the tea table. His soul emerged from his body and, in an instant, arrived atop the tower, gazing toward the heavens.
Ever since arriving at the martial grounds, he had vaguely sensed something unusual in the sky. It felt as though a pair of eyes had always been looking down upon all living beings.
Even if this place falls under the rule of the Supreme Qingming Alliance, it's definitely a tiny place among tiny places. If even somewhere like this is being watched by the Supreme Qingming Alliance, then Gu Yueling's description of it as the greatest overlord in the universe may not be false after all.
He did not attempt to probe the other party. Here, many of his trump cards could not be used. In terms of strength, he was nowhere near capable of probing the Supreme Qingming Alliance. He did not wish for an accident to occur because of unnecessary testing before he achieved his objective. Whether he could enter this place again in the future, and whether it would even be during this same era, remained unknown. Furthermore, he was unsure whether going all out within the History Immortal Book would affect his ability to leave this place. Without the guidance of the seniors from the Reincarnation Immortal Sect, he had to explore everything on his own. For now, caution remained the best course.
An hour later, Fang Yue truly sent people over with "Fang Zhentian."
More than a dozen people of varying ages stood before Fang Chen, all wearing strange expressions. Some were only four or five years old, while others were already seventy or eighty.
Fang Chen sized them up, while they curiously observed the blind man before them.
Fang Dan glanced at Fang Chen and spoke softly. "Lord Fang, these are all the people the master ordered brought here. They're all named Fang Zhentian. Is any one of them the person you're looking for?"
Fang Chen smiled helplessly. "No. Let them return."
He truly hadn't considered this issue. Though the Fang Clan had declined, it was still a major clan. Even if they didn't have a hundred thousand members, they still had thirty to fifty thousand. Among so many people, it wasn't strange for several to share the name Fang Zhentian. He estimated that even finding several people named Fang Chen wouldn't be difficult.
Fang Dan felt extremely curious. How could a blind man know that none of these Fang Zhentians was the one he sought? But he didn't dare ask. Before understanding Fang Chen's origins and identity, he intended to remain extremely cautious around him.
After dismissing all the people named Fang Zhentian, Fang Dan said, "Lord Fang, then this servant shall take his leave as well. If you need anything, just inform the maidservants."
"Mm."
After Fang Dan departed, Fang Chen walked out of the courtyard. Following the sound of loud recitations, he arrived at another small courtyard.
Earlier, Fang Longshan had mentioned that children in the Great Zhou first had to study. Only after their academic performance reached the required standard would they qualify to cultivate foundational boxing arts, such as the Fang Clan's Blazing Fist. Those unable to study didn't even possess the qualifications to practice martial arts.
This courtyard was the classroom of enlightenment within Fang Yue's residence. The children studying inside were all very young, and even the teacher himself looked no older than twenty.
"Teacher, you said the Supreme Qingming Alliance is the heavens themselves, even greater than the Emperor of Great Zhou. Since we're citizens of Great Zhou, are we citizens of Great Zhou or citizens of the Supreme Qingming Alliance?"
"We are citizens of Great Zhou... and Great Zhou should probably be a citizen of the Supreme Qingming Alliance."
Even the young teacher sounded uncertain.
"Teacher, does that mean as long as we can establish our foundation and awaken divine abilities, we can become citizens of the Supreme Qingming Alliance?"
"Then you must first study properly. If you can't even study well, you won't qualify to practice foundational fist arts."
Fang Chen listened nearby for a while. More than half of these foundational lessons revolved around the Supreme Qingming Alliance.
Yet even the teacher couldn't explain it clearly. It was as though the Supreme Qingming Alliance represented some sort of spiritual symbol, like when parents told their children not to do bad things because Heaven was watching. The role of the Supreme Qingming Alliance was somewhat similar to "Heaven."
"Alright, time's up. Class dismissed."
"Class dismissed!"
A group of children excitedly rushed out of the classroom.
The young teacher smiled as he watched the scene, occasionally waving farewell to his students. When he noticed Fang Chen, he paused briefly, nodded politely, and quickly departed.
Fang Chen slowly walked back toward the bamboo tower as though taking a leisurely stroll, feeling the vivid sense of reality around him. The more he experienced it, the more he marveled at the power of the History Immortal Book.
"The Path of the History Immortal now appears far superior to ordinary immortal paths. I wonder if there are still ninth-transformation immortals hidden somewhere within this path."
With those thoughts in mind, Fang Chen returned to the bamboo tower courtyard.
However, a group of people now stood inside the courtyard. The moment Fang Chen appeared, all of their gazes turned toward him.