The Path Toward Heaven

Chapter 596: The Same Family Name of Jing and the Same Sword

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The formation in the palace reacted instantly, countless brightly glowing stars dropping down like an illusory palace hall toward Xin Haichen.

Xin Haichen was an important figure in the army of the imperial court, so he was fully aware of the power of this formation. With a grunt, the soft armor hidden inside his cloth expanded abruptly, turning into a huge puppet to block the illusory palace hall.

Soon, the puppet had crumpled along with innumerable and frequent sounds, but the blocking puppet had gained a window of opportunity for Xin Haichen.

His will of the broadsword, which had already left his hand, was on its way to cut Jing Yao in half.

Standing in the side hall, the Royal Concubine Hu looked at the scene with a pale face. She was so anxious to save her son that she was about to show her true vixen nature with no regard for the consequence of doing so in public; but she was intercepted by a hand.

Crack!!!

Xin Haichen’s broadsword, which had stored within it a great deal of energy, was hacked downwards. striking white cloth instead of Jing Yao.

A small rupture appeared on the white cloth, caused by the slashing broadsword.

Jing Jiu arrived in the grand hall unnoticed.

He clasped Xin Haichen’s throat with his hands and lifted his body in midair.

Xin Haichen let out a low and furious growl; he brought his two palms together as if fanning something with all of his strength in an effort to crush the head of his opponent. He had been guarding the northern border adjacent to the Snowy Kingdom for many years; so he had an extremely strong body and the strength of a mountain; there was no way he was going to let someone lift him up like a chick.

Jing Jiu didn’t dodge his closing palms, waiting for the impact of the hands of his opponent.

A thunderous boom echoed in the grand hall.

Xin Haichen’s hands struck Jing Jiu’s face...It didn’t even leave a mark.

Yet, Jing Jiu’s right hand had bumped into his opponent’s neck, creating a flame.

Crack!!!

Xin Haichen’s hands dropped helplessly.

Soon after, his head fell off his neck, bouncing twice after hitting the ground before rolling to a very far spot.

Jing Jiu drew back his right hand and caught the hair band that was drifting down in the air. After binding his black hair behind his back, Jing Jiu strolled past the chancellors and arrived outside the grand hall.

The arising morning sunlight in the east shone on his face, so everyone could see it clearly.

Countless suppressed screams broke out.

The chancellors had guessed his identity; many of them knelt on the ground, calling him either “Sect Master” or the “Immortal Jing Yang”.

Many others didn’t move, instead freezing where they stood. They looked at him with cautious and fearful eyes.

The voice of the Immortal Bai drifted over from the Yintian Gate several miles away.

“According to the rules of the Plum Meeting, the Green Mountain Sect cannot meddle in the affairs of the royal family; you couldn’t get involved even if you were the Immortal Jing Yang...except that you’re probably a sword devil.”

The chancellors realized that what she said was correct: Even though Jing Jiu was the sect master of Green Mountain or even the Immortal Jing Yang, he still couldn’t interfere with the inheritance of the throne.

And according to the regulations of the human world, the Center Sect had no right to get involved in the matter either. The Cultivation circle and Chaotian had to obey the rules set at the Plum Meeting.

“Read the Will,” said Jing Jiu, ignoring the Immortal Bai and the chancellors.

No sooner had Jing Jiu said this than State Duke Lu walked out from the crowd of the chancellors. He looked much older today.

The chancellors were surprised to see him coming out at first, but they realized it was a sensible choice. Since State Duke Lu was the most trusted chancellor of the Emperor, it was understandable that the Will was in his hands.

State Duke Lu took out the Will and read it, his slightly hoarse voice echoing in the quiet grand hall.

The first part of the Will was the normal content.

As expected, the Emperor passed the throne to the Crown Prince Jing Yao, and State Duke Lu and the Prime Minister Qin were the guiding chancellors.

Gu Qing was appointed in the Will as the Emperor Teacher, a very important position, which was also expected.

As State Duke Lu read the last part of the Will, the crowd realized that it was the most important content of the Will.

“The state will be overseen by the Immortal Jing Yang.”

The more shocking part was that the name written in the Will of the late emperor was not the Immortal Jing Yang...but Royal Uncle Jing Yang!

...

...

Countless shocked gazes were fixed on Jing Jiu.

If he was the Immortal Jing Yang, why was he also the uncle of the late emperor?

The Immortal Jing Yang had such a close relationship with the royal family, but why the populace of Chaotian didn’t know about it for hundreds of years?

Well, everybody knew it was because of the word “Jing”.

It was the same word as in the scenery, in the Jing Emperor and in Jing Yang.

Though...there were a great many people who had the family name of Jing, why did the two of them happen to have the same family name of Jing?

It was deathly quiet in the grand hall; nobody could utter a single word.

The people gazed at the man wearing a white cloth before the grand hall in shock. It was then that they began to understand why the Emperor had a close relationship with the Green Mountain Sect in recent years. Some chancellors had thought of the events further back; at the Plum Meeting six hundred years ago the Green Mountain Sect gave up their influence on Zhaoge City in order to gain the support of the Center Sect, and did the choice have something to do with this relationship?

The Immortal Jing Yang was the senior member of the royal family to begin with, so it was impossible for the Center Sect to completely control the imperial court.

Standing at a spot not far from the throne and listening to the Will, Jing Yao glanced at the side hall reflexively after coming back from his stupor. Seeing his mother nod her head, he gained more of his senses back and knelt before Jing Jiu, “Your grandnephew greets Royal Granduncle!”

“Sit on the seat that is yours,” said Jing Jiu without turning his head around.

The seat for an emperor was of course the throne.

Jing Yao took a deep inhale before he walked toward the throne while holding the sword hanging on his waist; his face was not pale anymore, and the expression in his eyes was more determined.

The chancellors and generals of the imperial court who were inclined to support Jing Xin were still numerous even after he had been deposed as Prince for many years. Many of them came out to oppose the decision even as the reading of the Will by State Duke Lu was still echoing among the beams of the grand hall.

Two generals and a few guards even attempted to copy Xin Haichen and kill Jing Yao even though they were in peril of being suppressed by the Great Formation of royal palace.

The Prime Minister Qin and those chancellors who were determined to carry out the Will of the late emperor were enraged, and they were about to strike.

Standing in front of the grand hall and looking at the distant Yintian Gate, Jing Jiu didn’t make a move.

Clatter!!!

Jing Yao’s right hand that held the hilt of the sword was knocked away, and the sword shot out from the sheath!

A desolate and cold sword light illuminated the dim palace hall.

The sword light traveled at an unimaginably fast speed in the grand hall along with faint but exceedingly dreadful sounds of cutting flesh. The crowd couldn’t see the sword; all they could see was the arches of light in the air.

Crack!!! Crack!!! Crack!!!

Those generals and guards froze in the same spots; then the spider web-like marks appeared on their bodies, bodies that dropped to the ground in the form of busted-up pulp

The desolate and cold sword light disappeared abruptly.

Clatter!!!

The sword returned to the sheath on Jing Yao’s waist.

...

...

It was in merely an instant that those generals and guards with sinister intents turned into the bloody pulps on the ground.

Looking at the spreading pool of blood, some chancellors moved back in terror; some were lost in thought; most gazed at Jing Jiu.

They were all aware that it was Jing Jiu who wielded the sword even though it came out from the sheath on the Crown Prince Jing Yao’s waist.

What kind of a sword was it? It could kill people invisibly and in such a terrifying way, and it didn’t display any lethal intent, as if the sword was not something from the human world.

Moreover, even if the sword was of a very high state, how high was the swordsman’s Cultivation state in order to kill so many powerful opponents in an instant?

The whole of the Cultivation circle and the upper echelon of Chaotian were well aware that Jing Jiu was the youngest swordsman in the Broken Sea State; but how could someone in the initial state of the Broken Sea be so powerful?

Even if he was the real Immortal Jing Yang...he couldn’t have been so formidable when the Immortal Jing Yang had been in the initial state of the Broken Sea.

“Is this Nan Qü’s First Child Sword?” The voice of the Immortal Bai drifted over from the Yintian Gate several miles away.

Jing Jiu corrected her by saying, “This is my First Child Sword.”

A great many years ago, the Immortal Daoyuan had employed the Sword Formation of Green Mountain, broken Nan Qü’s Dao Tree and snatched his First Child Sword; he handed it to his most favorite disciple of third generation, Jing Yang, before his death.

The First Child Sword had been with Jing Yang ever since.

More than six hundred years ago, he used this sword to kill many swordsmen on Green Mountain along with Taiping, Liu Ci, Yuan Qijing, the Dead Dog and the Devil Rooster.

He used the very same sword when he and Taiping went to the headquarters of the Mysterious Dark Sect and wiped them out.

More than three hundred years ago, the former emperor faked his own death and hid at the Fruit Formation Temple as a monk, the late emperor having inherited the throne unwillingly. To comfort his nephew, he gave the First Child Sword to him as a gift.

Three hundred years later, the late emperor lent the First Child Sword to Zhao Layue; and she used the sword to kill Luo Huainan. Later, the sword was buried under a tree by Liu Shisui, which indirectly caused the death of Xiwang Sun and the destruction of the Cloud Platform.

After that, the First Child Sword was given by Guo Dong to the West Ocean Sword Sect, which contributed to the obliteration of the West Ocean Sword Sect.

In the end, this sword returned to Green Mountain and to the hands of Jing Jiu.

A few years ago when the late emperor appointed Jing Yao as the Crown Prince, he brought the First Child Sword to the royal palace as a gift again.

The First Child Sword had many incredible experiences; it had many different owners over the space of a thousand years. However, those swordsmen and sects who possessed the sword had all met a terrible end; the First Child Sword seemed to be an unfortunate object.

Yet, Jing Jiu didn’t think so. It was because all those unfortunate people were his foes. As he said to the Immortal Bai, this sword was his to begin with.

It was a sword he had used the longest.

As such, he used the First Child Sword for the first strike in the battle of contending for the throne today.

Blood had to spill when he struck with the sword.

And he expected to see a desirable result.

...

...

Jing Yao came before the throne; nobody could stop him now.

But he didn’t sit on it; instead, he was looking at Jing Jiu who was at the door of the grand hall.

Jing Jiu took two steps and sat down on the stone steps in front of the grand hall. He placed his right hand on his knee casually, as if he were fishing by a stream.

He and his royal nephew had sat here a few days ago; they had a chat while sitting in the same way.

Seeing the scene, Jing Yao sniffed a few times, his eyes a bit wet, before he sat on the throne.

Simply by sitting on the throne, his bearing had suddenly become different from before. He became more composed and determined instead of being nobler and more awe-inspiring.

Led by State Duke Lu, many chancellors and generals knelt on the floor, calling him “Your Majesty”.

Some chancellors opted to stand in the same spots in silence; they neither moved nor spoke.

The calling of “Your Majesty” came out from the grand hall and startled the birds that woke up early in the morning. They flapped their wings against the morning wind with fluttering sound, flying higher and higher.

The square in front of the grand hall was very broad to begin with; as the Great Formation of royal palace was activated, the square looked as if it were endless. One couldn’t see the other end of the square, which must be more than five miles wide.

There was not even one person present in such a wide square except for a lonely small green curtain sedan parking there.

Outside the royal palace the morning clouds were getting thicker and the morning sunshine grew brighter. The cloud boats, numbering more than ten, looked clearer, giving off a sacred beauty.

The Boat of Diligent Study of the One-Cottage House hovered a little further away.

It was rather quiet inside Zhaoge City.

A great many Cultivation sects and swordsmen were approaching in the sky outside the city.

Sitting on the stone steps, Jing Jiu observed all this in silence.

Next, the Immortal Tan arrived.

Jing Jiu didn’t get up to receive him this time.

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