Realms In The Firmament

Ye Xiao said, “Since I am here, I should be confident. If not, why would I come?”

“It is useless now to talk too much. I am quite interested with whatever makes you so confident.” Master Bai’s eyes were filled with interest. He looked at Ye Xiao and said with a deep voice, “However, if it fails to surprise me, today should be the last day of your life. You have a fifty percent chance to surprise me, but I am one hundred percent sure I can take you down!”

He spoke slowly, “Under this sky, nobody can still live on after being so arrogant in front of me.”

“Actually, I hope you can be an exception.” Master Bai was calm; no a single emotion was shown on his face.

The phenomenon suddenly cooled down.

The smoke in the air turned into a mess; it didn’t look tidy and beautiful anymore.

Ye Xiao laughed and said, “You have the whole world. You wave your hand and the cloud and rain come for it. You can decide the future of a kingdom. Within thousands of years, you what you want again and again. It should be a game to you. If it is, that is so boring and there is no fun in it.”

Master Bai’s face turned dark, but he didn’t say anything.

“Now I can be sure… You, Master Bai, Wan of the Clouds and Xiu of the Heaven are the people who controls the collapse during the thousands of years. You are who you were thousands of years ago. Things you are doing are the same as what you did thousands of years ago. I know nobody dares to mess with you already, but… you should be much stronger than you are now.”

Ye Xiao spoke slowly, “And you have done it so many times. The collapse… You must have been doing it for something special.”

“You shouldn’t be enjoying the process of the collapse. All games will turn boring!”

“So, storms are not meant to be chaotic, and the martial world is not the world.”

Ye Xiao spoke and thought at the same time. He didn’t talk fast; he was trying to make every word sound clearly.

Master Bai was sitting and listening quietly. He didn’t interrupt.

If he interrupted, it might be the end of Ye Xiao’s life!

The smoke flew around him again, covering his eyes and his face. It made him look like a shadow in nihility.

It felt like nothing about him was real.

It felt like if wind blew on him, he would disappear like the smoke.

They all knew Master Bai was listening to Ye Xiao carefully.

He wouldn’t miss anything.

“Collapse of a kingdom, especially in its height of power and splendor, is to change the world and repeat the fate… It concerns too many things. It is not an easy thing…”

Ye Xiao sighed. “Maybe you have your difficulty about not being able to stop, however, it won’t be an enjoyable thing.”

“After all, it takes lives. It works against the god’s will. It produces disasters. Too many blood is splashed, and it produces too many undeserved death. That will absolutely cost you something. The fate of the whole world is not so easy to change, yet you changed it again and again.”

Ye Xiao raised his head as he looked at Master Bai and said, “I am not sure whether you care about what I said or not?”

Master Bai’s face wasn’t calm anymore. It turned darker and darker, yet he didn’t speak at all. His sight froze. At this moment, he wasn’t looking at Ye Xiao, but instead, he was looking at nothingness.

It was the first time that Master Bai got away from another’s watch!

For so many years, he had never avoided eye contact from others. This time, Master Bai didn’t want to get away too, but he thought of all those times he made the collapse in the thousands of years and all the death in it; he felt that even hell couldn’t hold the countless people that died in his hands…

For the first time, he avoided people’s daze.

His face was still calm, and his eyes were still stable, but deep inside, his heart had been shocked.

On the other side, Wan of the Clouds smiled blandly as she said, “You are wrong, Feng Monarch.”

Ye Xiao said, “Oh? I would love to hear more.”

Wan-Er blandly spoke, “From time immemorial, there have always been death and life, unity and separation. When one kingdom falls, another rises. All those kings have killed countless people for their own interests, and the world suffered wars because of them. What had those citizens done? They were innocent, yet they still couldn’t complain, could they? All they could do was accept it. After all, when the power struggles settled, peace and happiness would return. That has always been the truth!”

“That is what happens all the time! It happens again and again!”

“It repeats and repeats, and it never stops. The kingdoms won’t die out, nor will war!”

“A mountain of dead bodies makes a great hero. How many do you think there should be to make a kingdom?”

Wan-Er spoke harsh words, “Since when did a normal citizen have the right to control his own fate? When the war begins, homes will be ruined, wives and children will vanish, who should they complain to? What place in this world can hold justice for them?”

Before Ye Xiao replied, Wan-Er harshly continued, “Feng Monarch, please, to say things like enforcing justice on heaven’s name and overthrowing tyranny... they are only excuses for people to fight for higher positions. They are nothing but noble excuses.”

“When those who claimed they would enforce justice and overthrow tyranny became kings, they became kings themselves!”

“They talked like they would last for thousands of years, yet after several generations, every one of them ended up tragic!”

“All their words… is nothing but an excuse! They aim at power! Interests! Profits! That is what drives them!”

Wan-Er’s voice was getting lower. Her words were still sharp like knives though. “People is always a tool to the governors! They do whatever they want and get whatever they need!”

“The tragedy of the people never ends!”

“That is the reality of the world!”

“That is what happens on all people!”

“That is what a king does!”

“That happens in all the lands under the firmament!”

“It never changes!”

Wan-Er’s voice suddenly turned soft, “Feng Monarch, do you agree?”

Ye Xiao spoke in a deep voice, “You have profound thoughts, my lady. I agree. However, there are always reasons for a kingdom’s rise and fall, fortunate or not! Perhaps it is luck, the meritorious services, or the loyal people…”

“Heh, heh…” Wan-Er sneered, “Fortunate? What is it? Luck? Tell me, what is it?”

Ye Xiao helplessly smiled.

Even the Xiao Monarch couldn’t have the answer. He knew a bit of it, but not all. In front of the people who really understood the power of fortune and fate, the ones who were truly able to use them, Ye Xiao felt that it was better to keep his mouth shut.

“All is about a game of snatching power and interest. That’s it.” Wan-Er’s voice was soft. Her face looked peaceful, however, the words from her mouth were extremely cold. She sounded like a goddess looking down upon the mortal world and the ants on it.

…