Chapter 32: In the Great Martial Hall; Crown Prince Meets Crown Prince (Part 1)

Xie Lian knew this ring must be something Hua Cheng left behind. He held it in his hand and wondered for a moment, 'what could this be?'

When Xie Lian was still a Crown Prince, he grew up in the Palace of Xianle. The kingdom of Xianle had always reveled in beautiful, precious objects; collectors were abundant, and the palace itself was therefore of course glorious and bedazzling. Golden columns, jade steps, innumerable treasures, and precious jewels; even the noble children played around with various colored gems like toys. By the looks of this ring, it did seem like it was made of diamond.

However, its shape was exquisite; perhaps even the most skilled jeweler would not be able to craft the ethereal natural beauty it emanated. Moreover, of all the diamonds he had ever seen, this stone was extraordinarily clear, shimmering like a crystal, fascinating and sublime, making it hard for him to determine exactly what it might be made of.

Still, even if he couldn't tell what the ring was made of, it was for sure an item of extreme significance. Besides, if it was found around his neck, then this was not something that was accidentally dropped, and more than likely a gift from Hua Cheng as a keepsake.

Xie Lian was a little surprised receiving a keepsake like this. He smiled softly, resolved to take good care of it, then ask the boy what the gift meant the next time they meet.

The only place he owned was the broken-down shrine; there was nowhere appropriate for him to hide treasure, so after some thought, the best place was on his person after all, and Xie Lian put the silver chain around his neck once more.

After returning from running around Mount Yujun and the Banyue Pass back to back, Xie Lian lay in Puqi Shrine paralyzed for a few days. If it wasn't for some of the overly passionate villagers who'd come and offer buns or porridge, he'd probably stay incapacitated for many more days. He spent his days thus until one day, Ling Wen suddenly sent him a notice: Return to the heavens at once.

Judging by her tone, something bad was about to go down. Xie Lian could more or less guess what it might be and was already mentally prepared.

"Is this about the Banyue Pass?" "That's right," Ling Wen replied, "When you've returned to the heavens, come directly to The Great Martial Hall."

Upon hearing 'The Great Martial Hall,' Xie Lian froze. Jun Wu was back. After his third ascension, he still hadn't greeted Jun Wu. As the number one Martial God, Jun Wu spent his days deep in cultivation behind closed doors or was out patrolling the realms, keeping the world secure. Now that Jun Wu was back, Xie Lian couldn't get out of making this trip to the heavens, and so he hiked up to the Heavenly Capital once more after only so many days of rest.

All manners of gods and immortals had their divine palaces built here, and banding together, they formed the great city, each with their own history and style; sculpted pillars and muraled buildings here, little bridges and streams there.

The Heavenly Court had one main road: the Martial Deity Avenue. Although there were many such roads built in remembrance of Jun Wu in the mortal realm, they were only mere shadows and copies of the real one in the heavens. Xie Lian walked on through the expansive road and headed towards the Heavenly Court. En route, there were many heavenly officials in a hurry, and not a single one dared to greet him.

Truthfully, there was usually not many who would greet him when he visited the Heavenly Court. However, 'not greet' meant no fellow officials would approach him or initiate any conversation, but they would still nod in acknowledgment as was proper.

Right now, everyone was pretending he wasn't there, as if just glancing at him would get them in trouble. If they were in front of him, they would hurry away; if they were behind him, they would slow their pace, leaving him a wide berth, afraid to approach. Xie Lian was already used to this treatment and didn't think anything of it; after all, he did just drag down the popular and newly ascended General Pei Junior. It'd be more strange if no one stayed away.

Yet unexpectedly, as he walked, a voice suddenly called out from behind him, "Your Royal Highness!"

Hearing the call, Xie Lian was amazed, thinking whoever it was that dared to call him truly had commendable courage. But when he turned his head back, the junior official that called for the Royal Highness rushed by him and ran towards someone who was walking further ahead of him. He called as he ran, "Jeez, Your Royal Highness! How can you forget your identity pass going to the Great Martial Hall? How would you even get in?"

Only then did Xie Lian get it. Now wonder. Of course, the address 'Your Royal Highness' wasn't directed at him. There's a number of Crown Princes in the heavens, so some confusion wasn't anything extraordinary.

Yet when he glanced over and saw the other Crown Prince, he paused.

That young man had thick brows and bright eyes with a wide smile. This smile was vastly different than many other heavenly officials; it was one that was pure and genuine without anything behind it, and added an air of youth to his handsome face. To have another harsher official, like Mu Qing, to comment, however, he would probably call it an air of foolishness. The young man was decked in armor, proud and heroic; but the armor on him didn't give off a sense of blood and battle, rather it gave him an air of royal nobility, candid and brilliant.

Xie Lian stopped in his step and stared at the young man. The two in front felt his gaze and turned back to face him. When the junior official saw who it was, his face dropped immediately. Xie Lian lightly nodded his head and smiled at him, "Greetings, Your Royal Highness."

The other Crown Prince obviously was one who didn't mind the everyday details and didn't recognize his face, so when he saw someone greeting him, he immediately returned it with a bright smile and shouted, "Greetings!"

The junior official beside him gave him a little push and hurried, "Let's go, Your Highness. We still need to go to the Great Martial Hall."

The young man, still unaware and inconscient, was weirded out by the sudden push, "Why are you pushing me???"

Xie Lian puffed out a laugh, and that junior official looked to be in even more of a hurry. He urged, "The Emperor is probably already waiting for us; please let's go, Your Highness!" The other Crown Prince could only give Xie Lian a confused look before turning to leave.

Xie Lian stayed where he was as they walked away, and soon, whispers from officials of a lower rank floated into his ears from afar.

"…Well, that was awkward. The world is such a small place."

"But they're both officials in the heavens; it was only a matter of time. If you ask me, General Nan Yang bumping into General Xuan Zhen is more exciting an affair."

"Hahaha, what's the rush? They'll be bumping into each other real soon! They're all waiting for him at the Great Martial Hall, aren't they?"

Suddenly, someone commented, "Never mind a small world; really, it's people comparing each other that really does it. People really are so different from one another; they're both Crown Princes, but His Highness Tai Hua is truly noble, and if it was him, he wouldn't do anything shameful even when fallen from grace."

"The kingdom of Yong'An is more prosperous than the kingdom of Xianle after all, so of course, the Crown Prince of Yong'An would be stronger than that of Xianle. How the grass grows depends on the land it grew on. Simple logic."

The Northern territory belonged to the Palace of Ming Guang, the Martial God Pei Ming; the Western Palace Qi Ying was Quan Yizheng; The Southeast Palace of Nan Yang was Feng Xin; the Southwest Palace of Xuan Zhen was Mu Qing; and the one the Eastern territory belonged to was the Palace of Tai Hua, the Martial God Lang Qianqiu.

Lang Qianqiu, when he was a mortal, was a crown prince like Xie Lian. However, he was the Crown Prince of Yong'An. The Kingdom of Yong'An was the country that built over the fall of Xianle, and the founder of Yong'An was the rebel general who successfully overthrew the royal capital of Xianle.

When Xie Lian drifted in the mortal realm, he had also visited the east and naturally knew that the Crown Prince of Yong'An had ascended. As heavenly officials, it would be inevitable for them to bump into each other, so he didn't think much of it. Maybe to anyone else, the gossiping whispers, albeit not really whispers, would probably never be heard for fear of retribution. But those words were uttered without fear of Xie Lian hearing, maybe even hoping for something exciting to happen should he overheard, so Xie Lian pretended to have heard nothing and casually walked away.

Just then, another voice came from behind called out, "Your Highness!"

'Not again?!' Xie Lian thought, but this time when he turned around, it was someone who was addressing him for real. Ling Wen, with her two dark-circled eyes and arms full of scrolls, approached him, "Everyone has gone to the Great Martial Hall for the meeting. Be more mindful once you've reached the hall."

Xie Lian understood. "What do you think General Pei Junior's sentence will be?"

"Exile, probably," Ling Wen replied.

'That's actually not too bad. Not too severe.' Xie Lian thought. Exile was considered a 'Temporary Banishment' for officials who committed crimes, meaning the term of punishment was negotiable, and there may still be opportunities for resuming duties. If one day they should be found to be on their best behaviour, they may yet get fished back up; maybe in thirty to fifty years, maybe in a hundred or two hundred years. But to Xie Lian, 'not too bad' was, of course, to his standards. To General Pei, it would be a completely different story.

Xie Lian remembered another thing and said, "Oh yeah, Ling Wen, how goes the search for the boy with the human face disease from Mount Yujun I told you about last time? Do you have any news?"

"I'm really sorry, Your Highness. I don't have anything at the moment. We're working on it," Ling Wen replied.

Even for a heavenly official, to find a person in such a vast world was not an easy task. Although the heavens may be faster, it was still only a difference between ten years in the mortal realm versus one year in the heavens. Xie Lian could only express gratitude, "Thank you for your hard work."

Just then, they reached the end of the avenue, and a majestic palace came into view before him.

The palace had stood through the ages, yet it only showed enduring excellence, and none of its antiquity; layers of glazed golden shingles pyramided, blinding in their scintillation. Xie Lian raised his head and glanced at the 'The Great Martial Hall' beneath the golden roof; the words written with power and with vigour were exactly the same as a few hundred years ago, unchanging. He lowered his head and stepped into the hall.

Within, numerous heavenly officials had already gathered, either in their own groups of two or three or by their lonesome, standing in silence.

The only ones who may enter the hall were the heavenly officials who had officially ascended, all imperial sons of heavens or indomitable overlords, each bursting with spiritual might. They eyed each other in silent pride and judgment, their splendor overwhelming. At this time and place, everyone held their breaths, not daring to make a sound. On the throne at the very end of the hall sat a martial god decked in pure white armor.

This martial god was refined and dignified, his eyes closed and his lips unspeaking, poised and solemn. Behind him was the magnificent Great Martial Hall, but beneath his feet was a pure white snowy peak. As if sensing Xie Lian entering the hall, he opened his eyes.

That pair of eyes were obsidian black but bright and clear, as if formed by the melted snow of a lake frozen for millions of years. When he blinked open his eyes, this martial god smiled softly, "Xianle, you've come."

Xie Lian lowered his head in a bow and said nothing.

When Jun Wu spoke, he was not loud, but his deep voice echoed through the entire Great Martial Hall. Then, all the eyes of the officials focused on Xie Lian, and he understood immediately.

It appeared this meeting wasn't for discussing General Pei Junior and the Banyue Pass scandal.

The spotlight, it seemed, was on him.

1. Jun Wu translates to 'The Lord, I Am'.