Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 727 (2): The Protagonists

Yue Hongling pursed her lips, then broke into laughter.

They’d all learned the same technique, but they each walked a unique path, and they were adapting it to their own understanding. That, Yue Hongling realized, was what Ye Wuzong meant by “grasping the essence.”

“I really needed this to complement my movement art,” she said with a grin. “My movements used to be too direct and rigid. I think I’ll call this the Lingering Sunset Movement Art. What about you? What are you going to call yours? The Womanizer’s Movement Art?”

Zhao Changhe replied, “I’m not too interested in naming things. Even my fist art doesn’t have a proper name yet. Sometimes, I think Old Xia’s way of calling his move something like My Fist is a pretty good idea—it’s simple, even if it’s a bit childish.”

“That’s probably because neither of you have any intention of passing it down,” Yue Hongling said, laughing. “If you wanted to create a legacy, you’d naturally give it a proper name. Since you’re aiming for the stars, why not base the name on that?”

“Then I’ll call it Star Flicker,” Zhao Changhe said.

As the words left his mouth, he vanished and reappeared in an instant, like a star flickering in and out of sight. Yue Hongling watched, amused. “But aren’t you learning wind control so that you can fly?”

Zhao Changhe held her hand. “Well, wanna give it a try?”

Their eyes met, and they smiled before leaping into the air together.

Zhao Changhe had tried flying before, awkwardly dragging Snow-Treading Crow along in an unsteady, lurching manner. It had been slow, clumsy, and far from graceful.

This time, however, hand in hand with Yue Hongling, it was entirely different. They ascended like they were riding the wind, drifting through the air with the elegance of celestial beings.

At that moment, the Spirit Tribe’s artificial sun hung high in the sky.

The two soared on the clouds, drifting close to the dome of this small world. Zhao Changhe extended his free hand to touch the firmament, his expression thoughtful.

Yue Hongling did not interrupt his thoughts, merely holding his hand as they glided through the air in silence.

Following the path of the artificial sun, they slowly moved westward, toward the sunset. When their energy was nearly depleted, they descended gently, their feet touching down as the sun reached the western horizon.

“No wonder you advanced so quickly after hiding out here for a time,” Yue Hongling said casually. She was lying against Zhao Changhe’s leg, catching her breath and recovering the energy they had expended practicing flight. “This small world truly is the perfect stepping stone to the heavens. If someone spent their entire time in the Profound Mysteries training here, they’d advance much faster than in any other place.”

Zhao Changhe stared at the massive sun as though in a trance, then said softly, “I’ve been thinking about how to take control of Old Xia’s subterranean sky. All these things are the same—just different in scale.”

Yue Hongling glanced at him, her voice thoughtful. “And eventually, it’ll be about mastering the entire world’s firmament, won’t it?”

Zhao Changhe shifted his gaze to look at her.

Yue Hongling reclined on his lap, her smile easy and carefree. “Anyone with enough insight can sense the world’s falseness. One day, I’ll pierce the sun with my own hand.”

Zhao Changhe leaned down and kissed her lightly. “That’s the spirit.”

“Isn’t it the same for you?” Yue Hongling asked. “Deep down, you’ve never cared about becoming the new Night Emperor. You think it’s meaningless to chase control over a fabricated world.”

Zhao Changhe blinked, caught off guard. “How do you know that? I’ve never mentioned the Four Idols Cult’s recognition of me as the new Night Emperor.”

Yue Hongling rolled her eyes. “When we dual cultivate, we end up knowing far too much about each other. While I don’t know the exact details, it’s easy enough to piece things together. Your dealings with those from the Four Idols Cult and the Han court’s current attitude toward you make it so that it really doesn’t take much imagination to figure certain things out.”

She paused, then her tone turned wistful. “For some reason... Whether it’s before gods and demons began to appear or now, when they’re everywhere, I’ve never been interested in their stories. I just want to walk my own path.”

“That’s because you’re Yue Hongling,” Zhao Changhe said with a smile. “Every step you take is its own legend. It’s others who chase after you, not the other way around. If there’s a true protagonist of this era, it’s you.”

Yue Hongling tilted her head with a somewhat peculiar expression. “Not you?”

“Me?” Zhao Changhe gazed at the horizon, where the sun had fully sunk behind the mountains, leaving the sky to the rising stars and moon. “I’m just a meteor, passing through this vast expanse. But when I saw you, I couldn’t bear to leave.”

The blind woman, overhearing through her extraordinary senses, could not help but shiver. The sheer sentimentality made her feel like her skin was crawling. Meanwhile, the couple had already leaned into an impassioned kiss.

There was no helping it. Both of them were still recovering from their injuries, and tonight was Yue Hongling’s turn—if for no other reason than fairness. Sisi had already claimed the previous night, so there was no room to intrude again.

Still, the blind woman mulled over Zhao Changhe’s words and had to admit they carried a certain poetic weight.

For someone who rarely read books, he was growing increasingly profound in his expressions.

If anyone were to claim the title of protagonist... The blind woman closed her eyes and focused her senses in Yue Hongling’s direction. She could not deny it. Zhao Changhe, for all his brilliance, treated the page of karma and the page of destiny[1] like forbidden mysteries, barely scratching their surface due to his own hesitations. Were he to truly delve into them, he would undoubtedly see truths others could never dream to comprehend.

Over a decade ago, the blind woman had seen the inescapable bonds tying Tang Wanzhuang to Vermillion Bird and Black Tortoise, and time had proven her right.

But now, as the so-called “protagonist” lay entwined with Yue Hongling, their red robes cast aside like petals to reveal the vulnerability beneath, it was clear to anyone who the true center of this world was. The sheer intensity of the aura radiating from Yue Hongling was beyond reason—a concentration of destiny so potent it bordered on absurdity.

The blind woman wanted to intervene, but not too directly. She had always preferred to let Zhao Changhe struggle and stumble his way through challenges, sometimes even with a touch of malice that Zhao Changhe himself occasionally sensed. Yet no matter how steep the obstacles, Zhao Changhe always managed to overcome them, and the sheer intensity of his growth had reached a point where even the blind woman could not help but furrow her brow.

Especially this time. Even though she had expected Zhao Changhe to win against Underworld Guide, she had never anticipated that he would outright kill the old god. After all, who could have predicted that Ye Wuzong would feign death so convincingly, holding out until the last possible moment?

Underworld Guide was not just any opponent—he was a demon god at the peak of the first layer of the Profound Control Realm. The difference between him being alive or dead carried enormous implications. With Underworld Guide gone, Zhao Changhe had inadvertently made himself an enemy of Jiuyou. The blind woman had not foreseen this development, and it complicated matters significantly.

When a person’s destiny becomes too pronounced, it invites challenges far beyond their ability to handle. Right now, the gap between Zhao Changhe and Jiuyou was insurmountable. Yet, no one seemed to realize it.

The people of this era had no real understanding of Jiuyou’s power. Historical records painted her as a defeated titan, but few understood the caliber of those who had defeated her.

In truth, it might be best if Jiuyou delivered Zhao Changhe a humbling defeat, cutting down his excessive momentum. But the blind woman had no intention of letting him die in such a crushing manner—not now, when there was no one else capable of stepping into his role.

After much deliberation, the blind woman finally entered his dream.

A lucid dream.

Zhao Changhe, still blissfully dual cultivating with Yue Hongling, found his soul immersed in an intoxicating state of union. It was the kind of euphoric, out-of-body experience that felt like soaring through the heavens. That was until he suddenly looked up to see the blind woman waiting for him in the clouds and discovered that he was, in fact, soaring through the heavens in a sense.

“...?” Zhao Changhe nearly lost his balance, startled. “What are you doing here?”

He quickly glanced down at himself and noticed, much to his confusion, that his self within his spiritual sea was inexplicably clothed again.

The blind woman’s expression remained impassive. “With your level of control, you barely managed to wrestle with Lie. Don’t bother trying to struggle against me. If I decide you’re clothed, then you’re clothed.”

Zhao Changhe: “...Are you here for a refill? Get in line.”

Ignoring his innuendo, the blind woman replied coldly, “You spent the entire day mastering wind control. That was necessary—your long-standing weakness in chasing down enemies needed to be addressed. But after sunset, why are you rushing into dual cultivation? Are you out of things to do?”

Zhao Changhe blinked in confusion. “Since when did you start micromanaging my schedule?”

“Why can’t I interfere? Who was it that solemnly promised me he’d stop using that stuff, only to go and use it again? Zhao Changhe, are you even a man? Do your words mean nothing?”

The blind woman’s voice rose, her face turning slightly red with anger.

“Uh...” Zhao Changhe faltered, clearly knowing that he was in the wrong. He had indeed promised her before, but in a moment of desperation, he had forgotten. With a resigned sigh, he admitted defeat. “Alright, are you saying you came into my dream this time just to remind me not to smear anything on you again?”

“Who said that?!” the blind woman snapped. “I don’t care about your little games. What I do care about is that if you’ve got the Heavenly Tome, you need to use it! You just killed Underworld Guide, yet have you even thought about studying the powers of yin and death? You’ve got the divine axe, yet have you even reflected on the power of lightning and the Dao of creation? Underworld Guide and Jiuyou, the divine axe and the Grasslands, the intertwining qi veins of the world and the destiny power they carry... You possess the Heavenly Tome. Do you think it’s some useless scrap paper?!”

Zhao Changhe fell silent for a long while, his expression oddly sheepish. “Actually... I’ve already been using it. A few days ago, I started analyzing Snow Owl’s techniques with the Heavenly Tome. I’ve been less reluctant than you think. If you hadn’t entered my dream, I would’ve started studying Underworld Guide and the divine axe right after this... session. But since you’re here, you actually reminded me of something...”

The blind woman narrowed her eyes. While she believed he had delved into Underworld Guide’s methods and the lightning of the divine axe, she doubted he had approached the deeper concepts of karma and qi veins. That was the main reason she had entered his dream with such urgency.

But Zhao Changhe’s slightly softened stance calmed her irritation somewhat. “What did I remind you of?”

“I was just wondering...” Zhao Changhe began tentatively. “If you’re the spirit of the tome, then the visions and insights I see while using the Heavenly Tome are essentially your analyses, correct? If that’s the case, why bother with the extra step? Why not just... teach me directly?”

The blind woman blinked, her mouth opening slightly. For a moment, she did not know how to respond.

Wait, do you realize you’re still in the middle of dual cultivation right now?

1. The original term here is actually “qi veins,” but the term here refers more to fate, destiny, and the paths that a certain individual has chosen to take. For a more insightful take on this, you may imagine qi veins to be energy pathways that belong to the world itself. These energy pathways then become concentrated on certain individuals who bear great fates, allowing them certain benefits and opportunities. For instance, the so-called dragon vein is the accumulated destiny of a country and is concentrated on the country’s rightful ruler. ☜