487 The Emperor of Qingzhouâs Descendant
In the city, people were frantically escaping into the distance. However, there were others who ran towards Qingzhouâs inner city. Among them were monstrous beings with wings on their backs and ordinary people who looked as though they had lost their minds. Most of these folks were young men and women, their eyes alight with excitement.
Meanwhile, at the Blue Sea Pavilion, the sect master gazed at the chaotic scene from his hilltop view.
âThe weak run away, the strong come in,â he mused, âThis is the future of Qingzhou.â
Behind him, a man in a long robe stood lazily. âHave we found those brats yet?â
âNot yet, but even if we do, they arenât likely to cause much trouble, right?â
A sly grin appeared on the Blue Sea Pavilion Masterâs face. âThe more of them we get rid of, the stronger the survivors will become! Eventually, we will have a group of true prodigies, who have climbed up from being ordinary folks. Weâll bring down those who were born into greatness and send them into oblivionâ¦â
â¦
Inside the tunnel, Fan Ziyu shared his story.
âOver thirty years ago, I met a middle-aged man who emerged from the bronze world. Like others, he had forgotten his experience there. But, he seemed to have lost his sanity. Heâd spend his days telling tales of the so-called bronze world in the outer cityâs restaurants.
âAt first, many believed him, asking questions and indulging him. But eventually, everyone thought he was mad. I was no exception, until one dayâ¦â Fan Ziyu paused. âHe came to my pill shop to buy pills with the money heâd earned as a storyteller.
âI was intrigued and wanted to talk to this man whoâd walked out of the bronze world. I saw him holding a bronze tablet near the shop entrance, mumbling something. He was talking about the Emperor of Qingzhouâ¦
âI went in to chat with him. He told me he wanted to create and sell storybooks based on his tales. All the profits would be mine.â
Fan Ziyu looked conflicted as he continued, âI was curious, so I agreed. The story was indeed exciting. We sold those books in just over a month, making a lot of money.
âYears later, he returned to re-edit the story, which was originally strange and violent. The revised version became a moralistic tale of good versus evil, which was well-received and excitingâ¦â
âWait a minute. The storybook youâre talking about, could it be âThe Emperor of Qingzhouâs Biographyâ?â Hua Yanli interrupted Fan Ziyu.
âExactly. Have you seen it before?â Fan Ziyu asked, surprised.
âIs it really that?!â Xiang Mingfeng, Le Ji âan, and the others reacted with excitement.
âIâve read more than just that. Iâve read Qingzhouâs Strange Events and Qingzhouâs Historical Records,â She Wanshan said, eyes gleaming with excitement. âWeâve even read all the works about the emperor.â
Their eyes reflected a nostalgic expression.
âI can vouch for them being hardcore fans,â Qin Huai said with a complex look.
Xiang Mingfeng and the others were definitely hardcore fans. Even in the bronze world, the idea that the bronze world was some sort of test left by the emperor was based on these peopleâs deep dive into the emperorâs tales and mythological books.
Wait a secondâ¦
Qin Huaiâs eyebrows furrowed slightly. If this was true, then all of this was likely not a coincidence.
Fan Ziyu was also surprised. He listened as She Wanshan and the others recited the stories from the myths as if they were sharing precious family heirlooms. He never imagined these top talents of Qingzhou would be so engrossed in such a book of myths.
âWait a second. Are you saying all the mythology books weâve read recently were written by you?â Xiang Mingfeng asked, noting something unusual.
âTo be exact, they were written by the crazy man who came out of the bronze world,â Fan Ziyu clarified.
âThatâs the man who told stories in the restaurant, right?â Qin Huai asked.
âYes, thatâs him,â Fan Ziyu confirmed.
âIs his last name Yang?â Qin Huai tentatively inquired.
âHow did you know?â Fan Ziyu was surprised. He didnât expect Qin Huai to know the other manâs last name before he had even mentioned it.
âOh, right. You seem to have received the emperorâs inheritance,â Fan Ziyu realized, slapping his forehead. âYes, the manâs last name is Yang, but I canât remember his first name.â
âThat man must be a descendant of the emperor,â Gou Jie said, narrowing his eyes.
âYes, that Yang Tianhan seems to be from the emperorâs lineage.â Fang Huo smirked. âBut that fool appears to have sided with the Sacred Heart Sect and the demons. In the end, Brother Zhou killed him.â
âBoth are descendants of the emperor, but theyâre worlds apart,â everyone lamented, having figured out the truth.
âThe madman from the restaurant might have received the emperorâs approval.â