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Chapter 533: Apprentice of the Crown Prince, Bai Xiaozhou (part 2)

The person who had appeared was none other than Master Seventh, who had been hiding in the crowd the whole time. He had told his apprentices that he left to go into hiding, and the reality was that his hiding spot had been the most dangerous place of all, the county capital itself. Considering what had played out in Forbidden by the Immortal, there was no way he could just leave behind his own apprentices and not worry about them. As such, he had decided to stay behind. He had told Xu Qing and Chen Erniu to wait for a month before leaving, because he had already decided to secretly stay behind and watch over them. And now he had chosen to reveal himself.

Noticing Xu Qing’s bloodshot eyes, and chastened demeanor, Master Seventh sighed inwardly. “Keep your head up!”

Xu Qing shivered and looked up.

“Xu Qing, as your Master, I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong. In fact, I’m proud to have an apprentice like you! I don’t know what the fallout will be for all of this. But I’m still your Master! And there’s no way a Master can stand around indifferently while his apprentice puts his life on the line. You kowtowed to me. You offered me tea. Starting then, it became my responsibility to keep you safe.”

“Same here!” Blue light glittered in the crowd as the Captain emerged. He had been ready to step in all along, except his little Junior Brother always seemed to have another move ready to employ. Thus, he’d been waiting for the right moment to do so. After he saw their Master reveal himself, it was without the slightest hesitation that he rushed out to stand next to Xu Qing. Grinning, he said, “Why’d you go and try to do something this big without asking me along?”

Countless eyes focused on the Master and two apprentices. At the same time, even more destiny aura converged above Xu Qing. In fact, it affected the canopy of heaven, creating a huge vortex that even the mortals could see, filled with lightning and the roar of thunder. Everyone was deeply shaken.

Xu Qing took a deep breath as he felt like his head was spinning.

Meanwhile, Master Seventh looked at the lieutenant governor. “I’ve seen the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan!”

The lieutenant governor’s eyes suddenly flickered in a way that didn’t seem calm at all.

“And my fourth apprentice is right. You really don’t deserve to be a follower of the Crown Prince. Why? Because you like to hide in the shadows. You don’t have any courage!”

The lieutenant governor closed his eyes for a few breaths of time. When he opened them, they were calm again.

“The Eight Sect Coalition from Emperor-Receiving Prefecture is guilty of fomenting rebellion. Let everyone in Sea-Sealing County be notified that this sect is sentenced to extermination!”

Master Seventh laughed. “You think you can scare me with words like that, fool? Fuck off with your talk of extermination!”

He took a step toward the lieutenant governor. Instantly, the puppet moved to intercept him, and a moment later, the boom of combat echoed out. Master Seventh wasn’t a match, but he had plenty of assets to call upon. God magics erupted! Though he couldn’t possibly defeat a fourth-stage Void Returning puppet, he could at least fight it for a time.

The entire situation had been turned on its head. There had been so many twists and turns in this event that it was hard for everyone present to wrap their minds around it.

As rumbling booms swept through the county capital, killing intent surged in the lieutenant governor’s eyes. He knew full well that he needed to end things as quickly as possible. Thus, he strode forward to personally put an end to everything.

However, that was when Master Seventh, even as he fought the puppet, shouted, “I know you’re here! Even my apprentice figured out who you are. So why the fuck aren’t you doing anything? Don’t tell me you’re going to let my two apprentices risk everything while you just watch???”

A blood-colored streak of light shot from the altar, moving at top speed. No one in the crowd could have possibly predicted that this would happen. In the blink of an eye, that figure shot down and joined Qingqin, who was still dealing with the first puppet. This figure wore a blood-red suit of armor, and had a blood-colored mask, all of which shone with crimson light. It was the very same subordinate of Seventh Prince who had presided over the operation in Forbidden by the Immortal. It was Generalissimo Bloodhorror!

The other commanders-in-chief were clearly surprised to see him interfere. However, Seventh Prince didn’t betray even the slightest reaction.

Xu Qing turned to look at Generalissimo Bloodhorror.

As the onlookers shouted exclamations of shock, Generalissimo Bloodhorror performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then pushed his hand toward the puppet fighting Qingqin.

“Palace Lord of the Justice Palace. Brother Hengxin: wake up!!” [1]

Generalissimo Bloodhorror’s shouted words caused the hundreds of thousands of cultivators present to feel shaken to the core. Xu Qing was similarly taken aback. The cultivators from the Justice Palace felt like their hearts were breaking, and rage began to burn within them. That was even more the case of the mortals. After all, it had been announced that Zhang Hengxin, palace lord of the Justice Palace, had died on the northern front during the war!

In response to Generalissimo Bloodhorror’s shout, the puppet shivered. Its listless eyes seemed to twitch slightly, and tremors swept through its body. Then its hands lurched up, seemingly of their own accord, and started performing an incantation gesture that perfectly mirrored that of Generalissimo Bloodhorror.

Their hands slammed into each other, and a deafening shriek rang out from the puppet’s mouth. The puppet’s armor shattered, revealing that its body was made of countless pieces that had been sewn together.

Then, a discarnate soul floated up, which bore the semblance of a burly, mighty man. His fleshly body had been ravaged beyond recognition, but his soul would always look the same. And the face of that soul... was that of one of the three palace lords of Sea-Sealing County, Zhang Hengxin of the Justice Palace!

Everyone in the county capital who was watching these events play out were visibly astonished.

The discarnate soul couldn’t survive for very long before dissipating. Nor could the soul speak. All it could do was look with melancholy at Sea-Sealing County, in much the same way as the governor and Palace Lord Kong had done.

The rage of the Justice Palace cultivators was rising to heaven-shaking, earth-shattering proportions as they all glared at the lieutenant governor.

Meanwhile, Generalissimo Bloodhorror turned to face the lieutenant governor, reached up, and grabbed his mask. When he removed it, he revealed a very familiar face.

“Long time no see, Lieutenant Governor!”

The lieutenant governor looked back and sighed. He had done a lot of sighing today. “Yao Tianyan! I’m surprised you would dare to come out of hiding!”

The hundreds of thousands of cultivators were rocked to the core. As it turned out, Generalissimo Bloodhorror was really Marquis Yao, who had gone missing from the battlefield and then been branded a traitor and rebel! The series of stunning events that were playing out in the county capital left everyone blank from shock.

Xu Qing struggled to control his breathing as he looked at the remaining puppet, hoping to be able to make out some identifying features. From what he could tell, it wasn’t Palace Lord Kong....

“I didn’t want to reveal myself so soon,” Marquis Yao said softly. “The old governor showed grace to my clan, and I still haven’t accomplished the task he assigned me. But I had no choice. Who could have guessed things would turn out like this?

“An adult like me couldn’t possibly let a human child be murdered in front of me. I’ve experienced a lot of things in life. I reached the peak of my career. I’ve been pursued, cursed, and have been considered both brilliant and infamous. If I die, then I die. But... it was the words of this child that kept the few remaining members of my clan safe. And that’s a favor I can’t forget.”

He gazed warmly at Xu Qing for a moment before shifting his attention to the lieutenant governor.

“As for you, Lieutenant Governor, this plot of yours was amazing, I’ll give you that. You pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes, to the point where none of us even trusted each other. However, you also slipped up. While on the front lines, Brother Hengxin, Brother Rongyu and myself all used soul-hexing magics on each other so that we could truly trust each other.

“You coveted their physical bodies, and thus turned them into puppets after they died. But the soul hexes allowed their discarnate souls to wake up. Although it would only allow for a moment of clarity before the discarnate soul dissipated, that... was more than enough evidence.”

Marquis Yao’s words were heard by everyone present. They were borne witness to by heaven, earth, and the people! Flames of rage began to burn brightly throughout the county capital. Countless eyes began to flicker with killing intent. In a completely unprecedented turn of events, all of that killing intent was focused on the lieutenant governor.

Xu Qing looked up, and he could sense that, though he himself was little more than a spark, he had managed to set the entire world ablaze. Everything made sense now. All the pieces of evidence fit together.

“And now I’ll just have to quote Xu Qing,” Marquis Yao said calmly. “Lieutenant Governor, you carried out your plan so meticulously, it only makes sense that you would eventually be exposed. So, do you dare admit to your crimes? Please point out any errors I’ve made.”

The lieutenant governor was silent for a long moment. Then he exhaled some impure vital energy. Seemingly very calm, he turned to Seventh Prince.

Seventh Prince looked back at him expressionlessly. It was no surprise to Seventh Prince that Marquis Yao had been hiding amongst his commanders. After all, it was Seventh Prince himself who had secretly saved the marquis. He had multiple reasons for doing so. One of them was to have someone to keep the lieutenant governor in check. The second was in case his father the emperor started to suspect that he was up to something. Saving the marquis would be evidence to prove that he was cooperating with his father’s plan, and that he was doing everything for the sake of humankind. Based on what he knew about his father, as long as he could prove such a thing, he would be safe. Compared to the potential losses, the potential gain had been immense: to become a hero of humankind, to expand human territory, to bring the Holytides back into the fold. All could be considered unparalleled achievements.

Given what was at stake, there was no chance he would come out the loser. At the moment, he actually hoped the lieutenant governor would try to expose him. After all, it didn’t matter what the lieutenant governor said at the moment, no one would believe him. That said, he didn’t think the lieutenant governor would actually do that. The deal with the Holytides wasn’t complete, which meant that the bowl he wanted had not yet been secured.

Besides, Seventh Prince had no intention of going back on his word. Everything that was playing out was the responsibility of the lieutenant governor. It had nothing to do with Seventh Prince. Thus, he had refrained from helping either party. He just stood back and watched. As he did, he focused more and more on Xu Qing.

After looking at Seventh Prince, the lieutenant governor turned away. There were countless gazes fixed on him, full of killing intent. Glancing around, he eventually focused on Xu Qing. It was this person, who he had never taken very seriously, that suddenly wrecked everything and delivered a death blow to his heart.

He had recognized Xu Qing from the first moment he saw him in the Swordsage Palace. He knew that his lord and master had a younger brother in this current life. That said, the lieutenant governor had never felt Xu Qing was worth paying much attention to. How could a person who had seen a massive dragon care about a tiny snake?

He had always assumed that the younger brother was just a minor accessory attached to his lord and master, as far separated from the other as mud was from the clouds. But now he didn’t think that way at all. Now he realized that there was much about Xu Qing that reminded him of his lord and master.

“Xu Qing,” he said softly, “I can tell you who I really am now, and my name.” The lieutenant governor’s eyes glittered with reminiscence. “I was the governor of Sea-Sealing County back during the days of the Sovereign Kingdom of Violet and Cyan. My name is Bai Xiaozhuo. Tens of thousands of years ago, I was the governor of this very place. It belongs to me.” [2]

His words caused the minds of all the natives of Sea-Sealing County to tremble. Xu Qing’s gaze sharpened.

The name ‘Holytide Region’ had come into use after the betrayal of Grand Duke Holytide. Before, it had a different name. It was the Violet and Cyan Region. Another ancient name was associated with this location, one that stretched back to the time of Emperor Mirrorcloud. Back then, it was called the Sovereign Kingdom of Violet and Cyan. The king of that kingdom had been weak and feeble, so its crown prince ended up taking control of national affairs. During that time, Sea-Sealing County... bore the same name as it did now: Sea-Sealing County. In the year 315 of the Violet Cyan calendar, its crown prince perished in the southern continent. That same year, the Sovereign Kingdom of Violet and Cyan crumbled.

Bai Xiaozhuo, the apprentice of the crown prince, who had been the last governor of Sea-Sealing County, stood by when all of the other cultivators in his county died. Weeping tears of blood, he disfigured half his face to make himself look like the broken face of the god.

Then, he spoke his final words before dying. “I will accompany the crown prince in death. Then I will awaken a thousand years before him, to pave the way for him as his dao protector.”

1. ’Brother Hengxin’ is obviously the same Zhang Hengxin mentioned in chapter 508. ?

2. Bai Xiaozhuo. Bai is #70 on the list of the 100 common Chinese surnames. It means “white, pure.” It’s the same surname as Bai Xiaochun, and is also my Chinese surname. Xiao means “miserable, desolate, dreary.” It is NOT the same Xiao from Bai Xiaochun. Zhuo means “outstanding.” Madam Deathblade pointed out that the two characters which make his name are part of two other common words, specifically “xiao sa” and “zhuo yue.” The first means “confident, dashing, debonair,” while the latter means “outstanding, brilliant, remarkable.” Because of that, she thinks the name sound very cool and impressive. ?