Chapter 1840: New Master

The figure was hurled through the air by an immense force, crashing like a cannonball into the ground nearby, creating a large crater. It happened so quickly that no one had time to react.

“Jijiu!” Xie Daoyun cried out, gathering her skirt as she rushed over. As a student of the academy, Jijiu held a transcendent position in her heart.

Zu’an and the others rushed to follow. They saw a large bloodstain spreading across Jijiu’s chest, his hair was disheveled, and his beard was matted with blood. His eyes were clouded, and he now resembled a frail old man on his last legs, utterly lacking his usual elegant and otherworldly aura.

“Jijiu, what happened to you?” Zu’an asked urgently.

Jijiu opened his eyes, saw them, and a hint of surprise appeared in his gaze. He quickly said, “Hurry, leave now. The Emperor is coming.”

Zu’an’s heart sank. “Did Zhao Hao injure you like this?”

Yan Xuehen had already removed her fingers from his pulse point and subtly shook her head at everyone.

Jijiu’s life force was almost completely extinguished; he was barely clinging to life.

Seeing this, Xie Daoyun was overcome with sorrow and began to sob, her shoulders shaking.

Jijiu, however, comforted her, “Little Daoyun, don’t cry. Everyone must die, and my time is near. There’s nothing to be sad about.”

Xie Daoyun didn’t want to trouble him and tried hard to stop crying, but her tears fell like an endless string of pearls.

Jijiu sighed, then turned to Zu’an. “Indeed, I thought I could perish alongside Zhao Hao, but I didn’t expect his cultivation to have advanced so much. Alas, I only have myself to blame for having too many interests in life, which scattered my energy. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be in this predicament today. Now, it seems everything is fated.”

Everyone was startled. Zhao Hao had improved again?

How was that possible?

Everyone suddenly realized that Zhao Hao had been trapped in the Earth Immortal realm for many years, constantly unsure of his path forward. But recently, witnessing the actions of Immortal Baopu revealed the direction he needed. For a cultivation genius like him, that insight was likely more potent than any divine elixir.

Furthermore, the world’s essence here seemed stronger than their own, and the world’s spiritual energy was much more abundant. Zhao Hao might truly have a chance to break through here.

Zu’an, however, was thinking about something else. He had visited the back mountain of the Imperial Academy before and seen Jijiu’s personal disciples. Each of them studied completely different fields, and they all greatly admired Jijiu. Jijiu’s energy must have been dispersed among these various pursuits.

The 'Baopu True Scripture' he had just obtained contained knowledge of rites and music, divination, rituals, talismans, formations, alchemy, and artifact refining. Each of these fields was profound and vast. If he also expended too much energy on them, would he end up like Jijiu?

Jijiu was actually quite powerful, but he couldn’t withstand someone like Zhao Hao, who focused solely on cultivation. If he encountered a situation like today’s, regret might come too late.

Just then, a golden figure rapidly approached from afar: “Hahaha, Jijiu, I must thank you, my worthy opponent, for the stimulation. It allowed me to find inspiration for a breakthrough. Once I fully grasp it, I’ll likely be able to transcend and break through in this world.”

That familiar aura unmistakably belonged to Zhao Hao.

At this moment, Jijiu’s expression changed, and he quickly said to Zu’an, “There’s one thing I want to ask of you.”

“Please tell me, Jijiu!” Zu’an said solemnly. Previously, when rumors about him and Bi Linglong were rampant, it was thanks to Jijiu’s testimony that his name was cleared.

Later, when he visited the Imperial Academy, Jijiu had been kind to him, so he naturally felt obliged to repay the kindness.

By this time, Zhao Hao had ascended into the air and spotted Zu’an’s group. He paused for a moment, then burst into joy: “Hahaha, it seems what one seeks with diligence often appears effortlessly! Since you’re all gathered together, it saves me the trouble of searching for you.”

Yan Xuehen said in a low voice, “I’ll buy you some time.”

With that, she drew her Flying Snow Sword and lunged towards Zhao Hao.

Jijiu had saved her life just a few days prior. Now, watching him on the verge of death, even she, who cultivated the Dao of Supreme Forgetfulness, had eyes filled with rage.

“Yan Xuehen, are you truly courting death? Are you disregarding even White Jade Capital?” Zhao Hao’s face darkened. He had once admired this woman, and seeing her now turn her sword against him left a particularly bitter taste in his mouth.

Yan Xuehen said coolly, “If you want to fight, then fight. Why so much nonsense?”

Zhao Hao sneered, “In the past, I’ve been lenient towards women. Do you really think that was your own ability?”

With that, he directly threw a punch.

Snowflakes swirled around Yan Xuehen as she charged forward, enveloped in a storm of ice and snow.

Her move was not reckless; seeing Jijiu so gravely injured, she knew Zhao Hao must also be significantly wounded. Being at her peak, she might have a chance to fight.

As expected, with a single blow, she was sent flying. However, her heart settled, for though she was at a disadvantage, the gap between them wasn’t so vast as to be despairing.

She formed hand seals with one hand, unleashing various spells and executing exquisite sword techniques. Her body seemed to be surrounded by white afterimages.

“Mere tricks!” Zhao Hao scoffed, directly punching one of the shadows.

Yan Xuehen’s body trembled, and she was sent flying once more.

A trace of ruthlessness flashed across Zhao Hao’s face. Since he couldn’t have this woman, he wouldn’t let anyone else have her either.

He had just fought a major battle with Jijiu, and although he had gained insight for a breakthrough, his injuries were not light. These individuals could still pose a threat to him, so he decided to eliminate the highest-cultivated one first, making it easier to defeat the others individually later.

Yan Xuehen’s sword was struck by his punch, and the immense force prevented her from catching her breath. She could only watch as his fist drew closer and closer.

Just then, a sliver of moonlight flashed by, forcing Zhao Hao to retract his punch to defend himself. He then glared with a grim expression at the other woman with hair reaching her hips.

“Ice Stone Woman, how will you thank me for saving your life this time?” Yun Jianyue asked, controlling her Crescent Moon Wheel as it circled her, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Yan Xuehen scoffed, “I didn’t ask for your help.”

Even if you hadn’t intervened, that guy wouldn’t have stood by and done nothing anyway.

“You’re truly always a cold woman, ungrateful.” Although Yun Jianyue was teasing, her full attention was on Zhao Hao.

Previously, when facing the Ghost King, their skills were rendered useless by his soul-absorbing demonic sound, leaving these masters only able to passively endure the attacks.

But facing Zhao Hao was different; at least they had a chance to fight.

Zhao Hao’s brow furrowed. How had these two women’s cultivation advanced so much?

Back then, when Yun Jianyue launched her assassination attempt, she was slapped away by him before he even saw her face. Yet, in such a short time, she had already faintly touched the threshold of the Earth Immortal realm?

And Yan Xuehen, because she often represented White Jade Capital throughout the land, the Embroidered Tower had long had a clear assessment of her strength. How could she have also made such rapid progress?

Could it be that they had both consumed some kind of immortal elixir?

“The world knows you two are sworn enemies, yet today you’ve joined forces against an opponent. To have achieved this, I consider myself honored,” Zhao Hao said with a smile. With faint signs of further advancement, he was in a very good mood.

Yun Jianyue smiled noncommittally, “Your Majesty, the man who made us join forces against an enemy is not you, you know.”

Yan Xuehen shot her a wary glance, wondering what nonsense this woman was spouting in front of their disciples.

Although she subtly glanced in Zu’an’s direction, such small movements couldn’t escape Zhao Hao’s eyes. Seeing her display a bashful expression for the first time, Zhao Hao was first stunned, then his heart sank.

The fairy who seemed untouched by worldly affairs had actually fallen for a mortal, and to make it worse, her object of affection was a good-for-nothing rogue he despised.

If she had treated everyone the same, and everyone believed she was solely devoted to cultivation and disliked men, he wouldn’t have felt anything.

But now, seeing another man gain what he couldn’t felt even worse than his own loss.

Rage points from Zhao Hao +444444444…

“In that case, let me show you who is the strongest man in this world.” Zhao Hao angrily wielded his fists, instantly transforming into two streaks of light and attacking the two women.

Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue dared not be negligent, each giving their full attention to the enemy.

Zu’an, observing the battle, anxiously asked Jijiu, “What exactly did you want to tell me?”

“Earlier, on Purple Mountain, you must have heard why I intended to deal with Zhao Hao, right?” Seeing the two women’s recent performance and Zu’an’s anxious expression, Jijiu’s lips subtly curved upward, a thought crossing his mind.

“Because of the Meng Dynasty, and the former dynasty’s… empress?” Zu’an ventured tentatively.

“No need to speak cautiously for my sake,” Jijiu smiled. “The Meng Dynasty is but a fleeting cloud to me now. She is all I care about.”

Zu’an thought to himself that Jijiu was truly the ultimate devoted admirer, loving his own sister-in-law and spending his entire life working and planning for her descendants and those of his rival.

At this point, Jijiu said, “Many of her descendants were harmed by the Zhao family back then. However, I later learned that the young eunuch who handled the matter felt uneasy and secretly swapped a royal grandson, taking him out of the palace. That royal grandson has been living among the common people, and by my estimation, he should be around your age. I hope you can find him, tell him everything, and have him bear the responsibility he ought to.”

Zu’an frowned, “The world is so vast, it might be very difficult to find him.”

Of course, he could have easily agreed, but grateful for Jijiu’s kindness, he didn’t want to mislead him casually.

Jijiu took off the archer’s ring from his finger. “Take this and go to my dwelling on the back mountain of the academy. Find my old servant; he will naturally give you the relevant clues. I only worry that after you find the person, he might be unwilling to bear the responsibility.”

Zu’an patted his chest and declared, “Rest assured, Jijiu. So many people have dedicated their lives and even their lives for him. What right does he have to refuse? If he dares to decline, I’ll beat him until he agrees!”

Jijiu nodded with satisfaction, “Your words reassure me.”

Zu’an suddenly frowned. “The royal grandson you mentioned wouldn’t happen to be me, would he?”

This old fox seemed like he was setting a trap for him.

Jijiu chuckled, “Your imagination is truly vivid. If it were you, I would have told you directly. Why go to such great lengths?”

Zu’an realized he had a point.

At this moment, Jijiu spoke again, “Daoyun, be my witness. From now on, he will be the academy’s new Jijiu.”

“Huh?” Not only Xie Daoyun, but even Zu’an was dumbfounded.