Nightfall

Ye Su slightly frowned and clearly did not understand why they defined themselves as passers-by. Ye Su looked at Eldest Brother and had something that troubled his mind. Apparently, Xia Hou did not expect this situation, either. Then, he suddenly tilted his thick brows. If the Academy people left, what was he supposed to do stuck between the Taoist sect and the Devil’s Doctrine?

Tang looked at Xia Hou and said in a low voice, "I have already said that you are old. Only an old and dying person would want to change his fate through a myth or the Tomes of Arcane. If a scroll of Tomes of Arcane could change everything, why did the Enlightenment Doctrine disappear back in the day? And how could the abbey dean continue to drift on the South Sea?"

When Ye Su heard that his teacher was still drifting on the remote South Sea, his furrowed brows got even more tightly knit together.

Xia Hou indifferently looked at Tang and said, "If you’re not interested in the Tomes of Arcane, why did you come?"

Tang said, "I came here to kill you."

Ye Su did not pay attention to the confrontation between the two powerhouses of the Devil’s Doctrine. Although Xia Hou was the visiting professor of West-Hill Divine Palace, it was evident that this general had shown disloyalty to the Divine hall for the act of attempting to steal the Tomes of Arcane–the same way he was disloyal to the Tang Empire.

He quietly looked at eldest Brother of the Academy, and he slowly measured up this scholar with no sense of presence. He wanted to see through the other party’s intentions behind this decision.

Xia Hou slowly lowered his head and looked at the iron box clasped in his hand.

At this time, the sound of hoof beats came like a torrential storm from the shore of Hulan Sea.

The ground shook slightly, and the countless strongest black-armored cavalry of the Tang Empire rushed over from the south. The knights who had ridden through the wilderness in winter came like an endless black tide with seemingly unstoppable momentum.

Soon hundreds of black-armored Papal Cavalrymen with golden talismans in the West-Hill Divine Palace, who had rushed from the east of the Wilderness, came to Hulan Sea in a very short time. They were silent, intimidating, and inviolable like an army that had descended from the heavens.

Two cavalrymen came to the shore of Hulan Sea, and each of them started setting up the formation. They silently sat on their saddles with the horses next to the ice, ready to launch an attack at any moment.

It was rather oppressive in the shore of Hulan Sea and under Tianqi Mountain.

In the eyes of the others, the Tang Empire’s black-armored cavalries and the Papal Cavalrymen of West-Hill Divine Palace were undoubtedly two most powerful and fearsome cavalries. However, because of some historical, political and religious factors, the two cavalries were never confronted on a battlefield, at least in the recorded history.

Today, the two cavalries suddenly moved away from the Central Plains and went deep into the cold lake of the Wilderness. As reinforcements, they were an essential part in the snatching of the "Ming" Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane. Is the fight going to break out today?

With surprising speed and a terrifying impact like a moving hill, the heavily armored cavalry had always been a nightmare for various cultivators on a battlefield. Because the carefully crafted armors could protect war horses and riders from the attacks like the flying swords.

At this time, these people standing at the foot of the mountain in the northern Hulan Sea were the strongest men in the world, and they were certainly not the ordinary cultivators who would easily perish on the battlefield. The cultivators maintained their wits and remained confident about their chances even as they faced the black armored cavalry. However, even the Grand Cultivator in Knowing Destiny State was also unwilling to get locked into a drawn-out battle with the armored cavalries on the Wilderness. Because in the historical records of the West-Hill Religious Code and the open-edge campaign records of the Tang Empire, some cavalry leaders had become mad and had sacrificed hundreds of precious heavy armored cavalry soldiers for a few deaths on the side of the cultivators in the Knowing Destiny State.

As the cavalries gathered together like dark clouds and black tides, they started to snatch the "Ming" Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane in public rather than in secret.

Looking at the Tang Empire’s armored black cavalry besides the Hulan Sea, Eldest Brother hid his gentle smile and looked at Xia Hou, whispering. "General, are you going to revolt?"

Ye Su lowered his head and whispered. "Does Elder Xia want to betray the Taoist sect and return to the Devil’s Doctrine?"

These two people spoke very calmly and gently. They represented two most powerful forces in the world: the Tang Empire and the Haotian Taoism sect. Even if Xia Hou were strong and had a loyal northeastern border military force, he would only be dead if he was abandoned by both of the powerful forces currently backing him.

Xia Hou said after a short silence, "I’m really old... The Tomes of Arcane are useless to you, so you don’t have to care about it. But they’re useful to me. Well, at least I hope it can be. So I care about it very much."

And then he looked at Ye Su and said with an emotionless expression, "I’m the visiting professor of West-Hill as well as the general of the Tang Empire. As a man of the secular world, I must rely on the power of the secular world. Today, neither you nor Tang has the confidence to defeat me. I suppose Mr. First won’t meddle in it. So I’ll take away the Tomes of Arcane."

Eldest Brother seemed to have thought of something and sighed. "Why won’t I meddle in it?"

Xia Hou said indifferently, "Because I’ll present the ’Ming’ Handscroll to the Emperor of the Tang Empire. Today, in front of all people, I ask Mr. First to testify. According to the rule set by the Headmaster, this is a state affair. No one in the Academy shall interfere."

As an imperial general, he was far from the station without any imperial order, and at the moment he even ordered over one thousand armored black cavalries to the depth of the Wilderness without permission. This would be considered treason under anyone’s eyes. However, Xia Hou could justify all his behaviors as long as he could really present the "Ming" Handscroll to the Emperor afterward.

If the Tang imperial court accepted the Tomes of Arcane, it would be a matter of state affairs. According to the Headmaster’s strict order, no matter how unwilling the people in the Academy were, they must remain silent and should even offer assistance in secret.

Today in Hulan Sea, if Eldest Brother no longer meddled in it, Ye Su and Tang, the World Wayfarers of the Taoist sect and Devil’s Doctrine would be even less inclined to together fight with him. So there was no doubt that Xia Hou, under the escort of over one thousand cavalrymen, had the best chance to snatch it.

Eldest Brother sighed and said, "After doing so many things, all you want is to take a glance at the Tomes of Arcane?"

Xia Hou said indifferently, "All I need is a glance."

Eldest Brother kept silent and no longer said anything.

Everyone was silent. The wind on the shore of Hulan Sea blew the ground and their cheeks like sharp blades. It was somewhat depressing and cold. Just like the randomly blowing wind, no one knew the end of this snatch for the Tomes of Arcane.

At this time, a voice sounded out.

"If the General wants to see the Tomes of Arcane, then why did you take my box?"

Ning Que stared at Xia Hou with curious eyes. With clear and pure eyes, he looked so innocent and naive. But he had a malicious intention hidden in his eyes, for he wanted to see the disappointed look of the other.

Only Mo Shanshan and Ye Hongyu understood what was intending to do. The rest of the people felt that his question was somewhat meaningless, for they thought that the "Ming" Handscroll should be in the iron box. Otherwise, how could Xia Hou be willing to withstand the pressures of West-Hill Divine Palace and the Academy for that box? Ye Su coldly glanced at Ning Que. He thought that he had not seen the "Ming" Handscroll in person since it got lost. However, Xia Hou had already gotten this box for a long time and must have affirmed the thing within it in a certain way.

Though Eldest Brother did not enter the Front Gate of Devil’s Doctrine, he seemed to believe what Ning Que had said. He smiled with his soft and clean eyes and looked at Xia Hou, saying, "Yeah. Why?"

Xia Hou looked at them and said indifferently, "Mr. First and Mr. Thirteen. Do you think your random words could stop me? It’s impossible for me to misjudge the aura of the thing in this iron box."

The box was very common, but also very dense and heavy. It was perfectly sealed along the edges. There was a faint rust on its surface and a smooth metal luster emitted from the place Xia Hou’s fingers previously had touched. It was impossible for them to judge what was inside from its weight and touch alone.

But Xia Hou could clearly feel the aura of the thing in this box. The aura was so familiar and awe-inspiring. This kind of fear arose from the deepest area of his sense of perception as if he instinctively felt frightened and reverent. He believed that as an Enlightenment Doctrine Elder, only he could clearly feel the aura.

Noting but the "Ming" Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane that had helped to set up Enlightenment Doctrine in this world could make him instinctively feel frightened, reverent, longing for approach yet afraid to do so.

...

...

The iron box was opened with a cluck.

There was no "Ming" Handscroll in it, not even a sheet of paper.

There was only a box of grey ashes mixed with some bone remnants inside.

As a powerhouse in the Peak state of Martial Arts, he could stand like a steady mountain even if he held giant tripod vessels with both hands. But at this time, he began to tremble with the small iron box in his hands. His face was getting darker and darker like black iron.

Xia Hou stared at the ashes in the box and kept silent for a long time. There was no trace of anxiety on his silkworm-like brows. He tilted, furrowed and then relaxed his brows. His thick blood-like lips looked a little pale. After a long time, he squeezed out a sound that was like rusted metal surfaces scratching each other.

"What... is this?"

Ning Que looked at his face and said, "This is the remains of Master Lotus."

Upon listening to the words "Master Lotus," both Ye Su and Tang slightly changed their expressions. Even Eldest Brother could not help glancing at the ashed in the box, wondering what these children had encountered in the Front Gate of Devil’s Doctrine.

Ning Que stared at Xia Hou’s face and vaguely guessed that Xia Hou did have a relationship with that ghostly old monk.

Xia Hou just stared at the ashes in the box. After hearing the words "Master Lotus", he remained utterly still like a statue. There was no dejected look on his face, but instead, there was another peculiar expression that resembled someone on the verge of crying.

After a long while, the weird look on Xia Hou’s face gradually disappeared and a slightly bitter smile showed up. He looked at the ashes and sighed gently.

The joints of his fingers holding the iron box suddenly became pale, for he seemingly tried to grasp it with more strength. However, he stopped the movement a moment later. He indifferently said, "Since it is the ashes of the older sublime being, I’ll bury it."

At this time, the situation had changed. No one thought that the iron box, which Ning Que and others had taken out of the Front Gate and had been judged by Xia Hou as a box with the Tomes of Arcane, actually only had bone ashes in it. Everyone kept silent.

Eldest Brother looked at Xia Hou and sighed. "Why bother?"

When Xia Hou obviously had wanted to give up and then changed his mind to snatch it, Eldest Brother once sighed and uttered the words of "why bother". At this time, he repeated them again. The words still sounded so slow and full of pity.

Xia Hou silently looked at the ashes in the box and murmured, "Yeah. Why bother?"

Everything, including the seven volumes of the Tomes of Arcane, the 32 Petals, Xia Hou’s attempt to stop the struggling among light and darkness and live free on his own identity, as well as his teacher, Lotus, who had calmly and happily walked amongst the light and darkness, ultimately could only become a meaningless pile of ash.

However, before becoming ashes, people always fought and argued with one another for something they believed in. If one asked "why bother," perhaps they could only lament that such is the harshness of life.