Sword intent was a formless sword.
This sword arose from the depths of the great hall and shot straight towards the door, all the true essence this Mount Li elder had refined over several centuries of bitter cultivation. Anything in the world, formed or formless, would be cut in two by this sword, and neither Luoluo nor Chen Changsheng, who had at some point appeared in front of her with his dagger bared, had any hope of blocking it.
With a howl, a figure arrived like a lightning bolt before the sword.
With a light clap, Xiao Songgong's sword intent that seemed so sharp as to be unblockable was actually blocked!
What shocked the crowd even more was that what blocked this sword intent were actually the palms of two hands!
Those two palms were wrapped in sword glow, imbued with a faint golden hue, like they were plated with gold!
A deathly stillness.
A series of loud cracks arose from the collision of Xiao Songgong's sword intent with those two palms.
Right after, another series of cracks rang out in the darkness outside Weiyang Palace!
The sword and palms remained still in the eyes of the crowd, but the air around them seemed about to shatter.
The darkness outside the hall already seemed to have shattered.
Buzzzz!
In an instant, the array outside Weiyang Palace that kept out the autumn wind cracked!
The chilly darkness poured in through the countless doors and windows, gusting through the clothes of the seated students and teachers of the academies. Even the light of the Night Pearls seemed to somewhat sway at this moment!
Those people somewhat closer to the door were bowled over. Their faces were pale and they found it difficult to breathe, so they naturally couldn't shout out either.
A powerful clash of true essence, a terrifying result from their clash.
The hall was deathly still, the only sound being the howling of the wind.
The sword intent gradually dissipated.
Those two palms were slowly withdrawn.
The owner of these two palms was a middle-aged man of unremarkable appearance and ordinary bearing. This middle-aged man was somewhat plump, and he wore a silk gown with a copper coin pattern. He looked just like one of those rich provincials often sighted in the countryside, not possessing the slightest iota of a nobleman's bearing. Standing within the palace, he seemed extremely out of place.
This ordinary middle-aged man had relied on only his bare palms to casually block Mount Li Elder Xiao Songgong's rage-filled strike!
The middle-aged man put down his palms and gazed into the hall at Xiao Songgong, his face revealing a rather profound smile. Then, he retreated back behind Luoluo.
When he stood in front of Luoluo, he was an ordinary wealthy old man, and when he stood behind Luoluo, he was still an ordinary wealthy old man. He did not reveal any hint of a grandmaster's bearing, nor did he intentionally hide away his Qi so that he could play the part of a butler.
Because the current him was precisely a wealthy old man. He only loved money, especially gold.
However, there was absolutely nobody in the hall that would believe this. They all gazed at this middle-aged man with astonishment and confusion.
A man able to match up to Mount Li Elder Xiao Songgong was at least on the level of Principal of the Heavenly Dao Academy Mao Qiuyu, so how could he be just an ordinary wealthy old man?
The members of the southern diplomatic mission were even more shocked, especially the young disciples of Mount Li. Even if their martial granduncle had rather randomly lashed out in anger, and furthermore had not used his full strength because he was in the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, this middle-aged man had managed to not fall behind, despite the fact that he used only his bare palms!
Xiao Songgong stood at the back of the hall, staring at the middle-aged man by the door, his gaze very complex. He seemed to have thought of something but didn't dare believe it.
There was an extremely soft crack.
It was so light that only Guan Feibai and the other Mount Li disciples seated closest could hear.
And only they could clearly see that the sword sheath at Elder Xiao Songgong's waist…had a new crack!
As disciples of Mount Li, how could they not understand what this signified?
It wasn't matching up nor was it simply not falling behind—that seemingly ordinary middle-aged man had actually come out the victor over Elder Xiao Songgong in this exchange!
...
...
The hall was silent. Everyone's gazes were fixed upon that middle-aged man behind Luoluo.
Xu Shiji's complexion was ashen, his mind tossing and turning with waves. He knew that this female student of the Orthodox Academy called Luoluo had a very mysterious background and unusual identity, yet he hadn't imagined that she was able to have an expert of such terrifying cultivation at her command. Just who was that middle-aged man? And just who really was that girl called Luoluo?
The robe over Xiao Songgong's wizened body gently swayed. This was because it was being blown about by the wind from outside the hall, and also because his two hands were currently trembling in his sleeves.
In that previous exchange, they had only collided for an instant before parting. It seemed that there had been no victory or defeat, but he clearly understood that he had lost, and had even suffered significant injuries. His meridians had suffered a shock and true essence was seeping out of them…but what truly shocked him was not that middle-aged man's power, but his vague recollection of a certain matter, a certain man.
A matter from the past, a man from the past.
Xiao Songgong gazed at the middle-aged man and slightly narrowed his eyes, somewhat hesitant and unsure. He asked, "You are…"
The middle-aged man standing behind Luoluo gave two light coughs. From the sound of it, he had also received some injuries from the exchange.
This cough was very light, but it resounded in Xiao Songgong's ear like a clap of thunder.
The middle-aged man affirmed, "That's right, it's me."
Xiao Songgong's complexion instantly changed. His cheeks turned a ghastly white and his eyes surged with boundless flames of rage, but it was impossible to hide that tinge of fear in their depths.
"Jin Yulu!
"How can you be here!"
...
...
Xiao Songgong's angry and resentful cry echoed within Weiyang Palace.
Besides this, there was no other sound.
Everyone was struck dumb. Their gazes no longer held confusion, only shock or reverence.
Gou Hanshi, Guan Feibai, and the other disciples of Mount Li's inner sect had all heard of their martial granduncle's greatest regret, and so the looks they turned to the middle-aged man were extremely complex.
Even the proud and aloof Tang Thirty-Six was also given a fright upon hearing Jin Yulu's name. As he looked at the middle-aged man, his eyes opened wide as if wanting to make sure he was looking at a real person.
Chen Changsheng recognized this middle-aged man, but he only knew him as the butler-esque man who stood at Luoluo's side. The meals sent from the Hundred Herb Garden every day were all meticulously arranged by this person, and he had talked with him a few times. He had not seen anything special about the man, only that…this middle-aged man was very chatty, very much like some auntie.
The middle-aged man was Guardian Jin of the Hundred Herb Garden.
Chen Changsheng had never imagined that this butler Jin who was very much like a chattering auntie was actually such a powerful man.
However, he had never heard the name of Jin Yulu, so he found it impossible to understand the silence in the hall and the abnormal gazes of the crowd.
Jin Yulu was a legendary figure of the continent.
Back when the humans allied with the demi-humans and engaged in successive years of war with the demons, he was appointed three times as logistics officer.
The logistics officer was a very important position, because if they were late, a disastrous and miserable result might occur.
When he said that provisions and weapons would be sent to a particular place at a particular time, it was certain to occur without a single accident.
Because he stood by his word.
Any person who questioned his decisions had already fallen in the storms of the north.
Jin Yulu, the leader of the demi-humans' Four Great Divine Generals.
Taizong, Emperor of the Great Zhou, had once personally written in praise of him: golden rules, jade laws!
(TN: Jin Yulu, '金玉律', literally translates to 'golden jade laws', and the aforementioned saying is to mean that rules and laws must be respected.)
...
...
Principal of the Heavenly Dao Academy Mao Qiuyu lightly sighed and then stood up.
Feeling extremely helpless, Prince Chen Liu stood up.
Mo Yu felt a small headache coming on and kneaded her forehead, but in the end, she also stood up.
With Jin Yulu's military achievements and moral integrity, he was naturally worthy of such courtesy, but to these important figures who knew the secret of the Hundred Herb Garden, the more important matter was that since Jin Yulu had revealed his identity, a certain person would naturally have to reveal their identity as well. Since everyone in the hall would have to stand, it was better that they stand first.
Tonight's Ivy Festival would assuredly be recorded in the history books.
A little later on, the rest of the people in the hall finally reacted.
Their gazes moved from Guardian Jin's body to the girl standing in front of him. The gazes moved very slowly, because they were very heavy.
The people of the southern diplomatic mission all slightly paled. Guan Feibai was somewhat unwilling, taking in a few coarse breaths.
Gou Hanshi's expression turned solemn as he thought, it turned out that you were in the capital this entire time.
At the Heavenly Dao Academy's seating area, Zhuang Huanyu slowly stood up, his eyes brimming with pain, his body somewhat unsteady. He had the look of someone rather dejected.
From the first night of the Ivy Festival, countless people had speculated as to the identity of this girl from the Orthodox Academy.
The only thing known for sure was that her background was unusual, her origins a mystery, but not a single person was able to guess at it.
To be more precise, no one dared to even speculate in that direction.
Tonight, with Jin Yulu quietly standing behind the girl, the girl's identity naturally became obvious.
Tang Thirty-Six gazed at Luoluo with a complex look on his face, his thoughts a mystery.
Silence reigned. Nobody made a single sound.
Eventually, someone would have to break this silence.
Chen Changsheng turned to calmly gaze at Luoluo.
Luoluo lowered her head and mumbled, "Teacher, I didn't intentionally deceive you."
In the Orthodox Academy, she had once said that as long as Chen Changsheng asked, she would say it.
Chen Changsheng did not ask.
At the moment, he knew without needing to ask.
But it still seemed that something was missing.
Chen Changsheng gazed at the girl's nervous appearance and smiled. He gently asked, "Who are you?"
She thought this question over, then replied, "I am Luoluo."
Chen Changsheng seriously replied, "This is not a bad thing, this a matter worthy of being proud of."
"Yes, Teacher."
Luoluo raised her head to meet the many different gazes in the hall, and then calmly took a step forward.
The wind blew into the hall, blowing her black hair across her cheeks.
She was a girl dressed in an academy uniform, her appearance beautiful but still somewhat childish, but ordinary.
But when she took this step forward, standing before the entire world, before all the world's people…
Her academy dress seemed to become an imperial robe and a noble aura exuded from her body.
Everyone felt that a light was shining in their eyes.
The entire palace truly seemed to light up.
This was a truly noble air.
The crowd subconsciously avoided her gaze, some people even taking several steps back before this brilliance, and no one dared to look her directly in the eye.
Not out of fear, but because it was too bright.
She was precisely a sun that had just been born.
Calm yet warm, but from which a sufficient respect and distance must be maintained.
She gazed at the people in the hall as she calmly and proudly declared, "My surname is Baidi, the White Emperor's Baidi."
(TN: Baidi, '白帝' translates to 'White Emperor'.)
In the faraway west was the land of the demi-humans, and deep within this land was a great city, located at the source of the River of Oblivion, majestic and spectacular. The eight hundred li of the Red River circled and flowed past the city.
The name of this city was White Emperor City, because the White Emperor lived within.
She was the sole daughter of the current White Emperor.
The eight hundred li along the two banks of the Red River was her fief.
She was Luoluo.
She was Princess Luoluo.