Monarch of Evernight - Chapter 1029

Chapter 1029

Chapter 1029: Old Stories

Qianye’s thoughts drifted about . He only heard half of the old man’s words while the remainder just floated past his ears . The scattered scenes, pieced together, formed a rough narration of the story between the Song clan and Elder Lu . Back then, he had stepped into the divine champion realm quite early and was considered a character with potential for taking the next step . However, he made no progress at all after hiding his surname and entering the Song clan .

That wasn’t all . After realizing that his elder brother would enter the Great Maelstrom to train, he used their brotherly relationship to force the man to guard the Heavenschild Pasture .

Such a brother truly made one speechless .

Qianye’s thoughts were naturally reflected on his face . The old man said, “It’s difficult to say whether it’s a loss or a gain for me . I was only able to step past the divine champion threshold and keep forging ahead by utilizing the treasures of the Great Maelstrom . I only reached a bottleneck around ten years ago . Speaking of which, most of the merit goes to things like this wine here . But my success and failure is all dependent on the wine, I progressed by relying on the wine, and now, I can’t take a single step on my own . ”

Qianye understood this because the key to clearing bottlenecks was the purity of one's origin power . The old man’s wine could provide energy pure enough to break through the divine champion threshold, but that wasn’t enough to make him a heavenly monarch since the origin power wasn’t at the apex of purity .

It was just that the old man had been left to guard the Heavenschild Pasture for fifty years because of his brother—truly something to sigh about . No wonder the Song clan had never lost the pasture throughout the years .

The old man flicked East Peak with his finger, saying, “There are numerous profundities in this blade that I do not understand, but it doesn’t look solely like my brother’s work . Why is that?”

Qianye didn’t hide the fact that the Zhao clan’s Crafts Manor had helped him modify it .

The old man remained silent for a good while . “Heh! Crafts Manor, Crafts Manor . The Zhao clan really is far-sighted, they actually established such a place . No wonder they have never faltered since the founding of the Empire . ”

He returned East Peak to Qianye along with a crystal bottle, and there was a purple ball hovering inside that was translucent and almost crystalline .

“This sword can still be upgraded . Inside this bottle is the marrow of a void colossus that had fallen here . This is something I came across by chance . After reaching the Pond of Life, apply this marrow on East Peak before entering . The endless power of the pond will help you incorporate the material into the weapon . If you have other good stuff on, use all of them as well . It’s just that I have no idea how much more the weapon can be strengthened . ”

Qianye expressed his thanks as he received the bottle .

At this point, East Peak was no longer able to sweep through everything like it used to . As Qianye’s enemies grew stronger, more and more of them possessed weapons capable of contending against—or even suppress—his blade .

It would take yet another upgrade for East Peak to be a good match for Qianye’s current combat strength .

As the two men began walking toward the hut, Qianye suddenly asked, “We’ve never known one another, so much so that you don’t even know my name . Why would you treat me so well?”

The old man smiled . “Do you know how I recognized East Peak?”

“I do not . ”

“It wasn’t because of the style or craftsmanship, but the material . It was crafted from a piece of wondrous metal he had come across back in the day, an ore of special characteristics and unknown origins . He treated that item with utmost importance and was never willing to use it . However, East Peak contains a fair amount of the strange ore, and by the looks of it, he probably used the entire metal to forge it . Since he gave you this sword, it’s naturally because he sees something in you . Otherwise, he wouldn’t have given you this sword just because of a mere examination . ”

By the time the two men arrived at the door, Ji Tianqing was already seated in the courtyard and enjoying tea with Li Kuanglan . The old man’s expression changed rapidly as he sniffed the fragrance . “My Flying Spring!”

Ji Tianqing chuckled . “Back then, I had only managed to steal half a cup’s worth of Flying Spring from my grandpa . Who would’ve thought there would be two entire cups of it here? The Empire would only produce three taels of such tea a year . Now that I see it just sitting there, how could I just let it go?”

The old man’s lips trembled in anger, but his eyes lit up . “There’s only one cup’s worth here, where’s the rest?”

“Here . ” An unassuming earthen jar appeared in Ji Tianqing’s hand .

The old man made to snatch the container back, but he had just moved when Ji Tianqing put more pressure on her hands, effectively causing the old man to freeze . Such high-quality tea usually involved strict storage conditions . The tea would have to be brewed on the spot once it had come into contact with outside air, otherwise, the taste would decline .

Ji Tianqing was able to grasp the old man’s weakness immediately .

The old man sat down at the table and glared at Ji Tianqing . “Lass, you’re going too far! Back then, even your grandfather had to treat me with a certain level of respect . ”

“That’s because he needed a favor from you, isn’t it?” Ji Tianqing’s tongue was sharp .

The old man was livid . He wanted to deny the claim, but he couldn’t quite lower himself to lying . The Pointer Monarch was one of the top major characters of the Empire and a person of high status . There was really no need for him to be courteous unless the old man had some special ability . The Pointer Monarch was notorious for his temper back when he was young . It was only after a certain event that he changed into a completely different person . However, the kind and gentle Pointer Monarch filled people with a different type of fear .

Perhaps, to be blunt, one could say that most people who dared to hop about in front of the Pointer Monarch had ended up as corpses .

The old man quickly realized that he wasn’t Ji Tianqing’s match in a verbal spar . His treasure was also in her hand, so there was no way out for him .

Qianye was more focused on Ji Tianqing’s body . He noticed that her aura was somewhat weak, but her origin power was purer and more active . He felt relieved, knowing that the star cherry fruit was really beneficial to her .

The old man gave up . “What do you want, speak . ”

“Firstly, regarding the two of us, whether you’ve noticed certain things or not, you’re not allowed to tell anyone . ” Ji Tianqing pointed at Li Kuanglan .

The old man nodded . “That’s easy, I barely see a single person in several years . I don’t have anyone to tell even if I wanted to . ”

Ji Tianqing looked fairly relieved . “Secondly, you seem to know a lot about my grandpa’s past . You must tell me every little thing you know, no withholding information! I also want to know why you’ve been here for fifty years . ”

The old man was livid . “Lass, don’t go too far!”

Ultimately, the old man had to restrain himself after seeing Ji Tianqing raise the jar up . “Sigh, this matter is also related to you, so it’s fine to tell you . No one remembers me back in the empire, so there’s nothing to be embarrassed about . ”

The old man calmed himself and said, “Ji Wentian was extremely talented and capable of learning countless mysterious arts that were difficult to master . He was also of Imperial blood, so there were a fair number of people who wanted him on the throne . He didn’t need to care about anyone back then . ”

Everyone listened to the narration with bated breaths . Even Qianye, who knew some parts of the story, was listening closely .

“But the world isn’t so kind; the more favorable one's life is, the easier it is to encounter problems . Why did Ji Wentian have to fall in love with her?”

Who was “her”? Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan were curious, but Qianye was thinking about Heartgrave .

The old man didn’t keep them in suspense . “That person is the sister-in-law of Eldest Princess Haimi . ”

It wasn’t just Qianye, even the two ladies were puzzled . They all knew Princess Haimi as a key character in the political movement back then, who later returned to her hometown and lived in seclusion thereafter . No one knew who her sister-in-law was, however .

The old man laughed bitterly . “She was quite famous back then, but the Imperial clan did their utmost to hide this part of history after the accident . On the other hand, everyone knew this was a wound in Ji Wentian’s heart . Who would dare bring up this matter? It’s only natural that no one would remember her as time goes by . ”

Qianye recalled how the Pointer Monarch’s remnant-will had warned him not to mention this matter in front of the monarch himself .

“Just what kind of person is she?” Ji Tianqing inquired .

“She’s… how should I say… an indescribable woman . There’s really no good way to summarize her…” The old man sighed as he fell into reminiscence . “The first time I saw her, my head went completely blank, I could neither remember nor think of anything . I still remember that feeling even today, it’s just emptiness . I can’t even recall her appearance .

“She was sick back then, she had been sick for a fairly long time . Countless doctors could do nothing to help her, so Ji Wentian came to find me . I had gained a bit of fame back then, but how capable could I be in medical techniques when I hadn’t even broken through to the divine champion rank . It was just that he had no other choice than to go around trying to seek help .

“It just so happened that I knew some unorthodox things and was born sensitive to origin power . After repeated investigations, I finally discovered that she wasn’t sick, that she had been poisoned, and was suffering from a hidden injury . The poison was almost undetectable and integrated into a wisp of cold origin power . Her cultivation was also of the ice attribute, so it was extremely difficult to sense . If it wasn’t for the fact that my origin power examination skills were unrivaled in the Empire, that wisp of foreign origin power would’ve gone undetected .

“This origin power, mixed with the poison, became almost undetectable . The activation was also extremely slow, gradually devouring the host’s vitality to strengthen itself . The person who had poisoned her was the most capable person I’d ever seen . I wouldn’t have believed it had I not seen it myself .

“I only found out the cause but was helpless with regards to a cure . Not to mention the fact that I wasn’t a divine champion back then, even if I was, I would still fail to solve the problem all the same . After sitting alone for one day and night, he suddenly disappeared with her, and no one knew where they had gone . By the time he returned to the Empire, he was already a completely different person . There was no more Ji Wentian thereafter, only the Pointer Monarch . ”

The three felt stifled after hearing the story . Someone had actually dared to target the Pointer Monarch’s lover . This person was probably at the top of the Empire both in terms of scheming and skill .

This poison wasn’t just to stop Ji Wentian from entering the heavenly monarch realm; it was probably related to that supreme character as well .

After hearing the story, even the usually obstinate Ji Tianqing didn’t press on with more questions . She only sighed and fell into silence .

The old man didn’t continue with the story . “Actually, you must’ve guessed by now . I hid here for fifty years, not because of my useless brother, but because my heart could accept no other person after seeing her that one time . ”