Chapter 1219: White Jade Capital In The Sky

“What... in the...”

On the hill, the student’s eyes widened like saucers after the rocks crumbled into dust and flew into the air like magnificent clouds.

“Still think that their fight is more bark than bite?” The scholar asked calmly as if he had anticipated this from the beginning.

Staring at the grandiose sight, the student could not say anything for a long time.

Before this, he thought that the duo’s fight was more bark than bite at best, or staged at worst. It was only now he realized that he was a clown this whole time, and that it was he whose horizons were lacking.

Although the duo had only clashed once, the shockwave of force still disintegrated every rock and stone within several hundred meters into fine powder.

They didn’t shatter the stones, they disintegrated them. The difference between the two was like heaven and earth; the firefly and the moon.

Had he been standing within the range of the shockwave, he had no doubt that he would dissolve into meat paste and perish in the mind.

Cold sweat broke out of the student’s forehead when he recalled how he had harassed his teacher to get closer to the battlefield when they first arrived at the scene. Thank goodness he rejected him, or the consequences would have been unimaginable.

“Now you know how wise I am!”

As if he could guess his student’s thoughts, the scholar teased him, “In the future, you should stop insulting me inside your head!”

The student’s heart skipped a beat as he replied awkwardly, “Ahem... I never! There is no one Tao Ni respects more than you, young master.”

“Wanna guess if I believe that spiel?” The scholar wore a smile that did not quite reach the eyes.

“But of course!”

Tao Ni nodded seriously. “Even if you don’t believe it, I certainly do!”

“Har har...” The scholar tossed another grape into his mouth and let out a deadpan laugh.

Suddenly, the scholar blanched and said in a hurried voice, “Shit! We’re in trouble.”

“Trouble? What trouble?” The student looked around in confusion.

“All you need to know is that it’s a big one,” the scholar answered distractedly while climbing to his feet and patting away the grass on his pants.

“Big trouble? What are we waiting for? Let’s run!” Tao Ni immediately rolled up his sleeves and got ready to escape as well.

“That’s the thing. It’s already too late.”

The scholar sighed just in time for Tao Ni to feel an immense, grandiose aura descending from the sky and locking onto him firmly.

The next moment, a figure slowly appeared through the sky-blotting sea of dust.

The figure was neither huge nor lofty. He wasn’t walking particularly swiftly or slowly either. And yet, looking at him made Tao Ni feel like he was looking at the earth; the ancient, time-worn earth. It was so thick, so heavy, so vast, and so old, that it was like nothing he had ever seen before.

Tao Ni could not help but feel small and insignificant before the figure. Fear well inside his heart, his face turned white as a sheet, and his consciousness threatened to crumble there and then.

“Imbecile child, why are you still looking at him?”

Right before Tao Ni’s heart would crumble, and his consciousness would scatter into nothing, the scholar patted him softly on the head and steadied his mind.

It was not the newcomer’s intention to hurt Tao Ni. His cultivation level was simply too high, his strength too great, and his presence too overwhelming compared to Tao Ni’s. To give a comparison, it was like a moth who saw the flame. The flame did not intend to hurt the moth, but the moth would still be hurt if it got close to the flame.

The student clasped his fists in salute and explained, “Do not misunderstand, Brother Ye. We mean no harm.”

“I know you mean no harm. Otherwise, the two of you won’t be standing right now.”

The newcomer was of course Ye Qing. He had already sensed someone spying on them while he was fighting against Wang Shan, and one of them was a lot stronger than he thought. However, he ignored them at the time since he didn’t sense any malice.

However, he did not expect the duo to remain even after his fight with Wang Shan was over. So, he decided to come over and check out who were the audacious people to test his patience.

“Who are you?” Ye Qing looked at the scholar with slightly narrowed eyes. He could tell that the scholar was extremely powerful. It was because some sort of veil was preventing him from identifying his cultivation level completely.

Ye Qing had a solution to this though. His eyes turned black and white in color as he activated the Yin Yang Spell Eyes. He was going to find out exactly who the scholar was.

As expected, the Yin Yang Spell Eyes were able to pierce the veil shrouding the scholar immediately. Ye Qing then discovered that the scholar was a Great Trueman.

However, right as he was about to observe further, the scholar seemingly sensed his intrusion and hurriedly took a step back away from him. At the same time, auspicious clouds surrounded him and covered up his energies and mind once more.

“Ahem, have mercy, Brother Ye. At this rate, you’re going to expose even the color of my underwear!” The scholar begged.

“I thought you said you don’t wear any because it’s cooler that way, young master?” Tao Ni’s confused voice rang before Ye Qing could say anything.

“Quiet! The adults are talking!” The scholar turned red as an apple as he smacked Tao Ni on the forehead, hard.

Tao Ni let out a cry of pain and grabbed his forehead. He looked aggrieved.

“Ahem... It’s just the foolish words of a child. No need to take it seriously, Brother Ye,” the scholar explained awkwardly.

“Sure. I won’t take it seriously.”

Ye Qing smiled while looking at the scholar with a strange look. He normally did not smile unless he couldn’t hold it.

“Ahem, allow me to introduce myself. I am Tao Wang, and this is my student, Tao Ni. We are the disciples of White Jade Capital.”

The scholar abruptly changed the subject with a straight face. No one could embarrass him if he refused to feel embarrassment.

“White Jade Capital? ‘There is a white jade capital in the sky with twelve towers and five cities’?” Ye Qing exclaimed in surprise.

“You are well-learned, Brother Ye. That is exactly right.”

Tao Wang answered, “Since you know about White Jade Capital, you probably figured out why we’re here already, right?”

“In fact, I don’t. Do enlighten me, Brother Tao,” Ye Qing said honestly.

“Very well. You should know what’s the primary function of the White Jade Capital, right? It was a secretive place built by a bunch of old farts for the purpose of research and collecting ancient documents until they stumbled upon a Strange Artifact that allowed them to inspect and display all warriors’ strength and cultivation level. That is how the Heaven, Earth and Human Champions Ranking came to be.”

For whatever reason, Tao Wang’s tone made it clear that he held zero respect for his own sect. “I am one of the members assigned to rank the elites of the Earth Champions Ranking. I came today specifically to confirm your strength and your ranking. To that end, I am also looking into your past achievements.”

An imperceptible frown flashed across Ye Qing’s face. The so-called Strange Artifact that Tao Wang said could inspect and display all warriors’ cultivation level and strength could only be the renowned Watcher of Heavens.

“You’re talking about the Watcher of Heavens, right? If the Watcher of Heavens could do your job, why do you need to enter the field yourself?”

“Hah!”

Tao Wang scoffed, “The Watcher of Heavens is pretty amazing, sure, but it is ultimately just a Strange Artifact. It does not work on those with great fate or secrets, nor does it work on powerful Sages or Gods-On-Earth[1].”

1. Those who think AI will replace all jobs should read this. ☜