Superhumans of the Dome City-Chapter 1385 - 7: Imperial Academy Supervisor Freshmen
A square table, two tea bowls, a small teapot. A child dressed in purple silently brewed tea, a wisp of white smoke gently rising and slowly dispersing.
The table was made of fine huanghuali wood, exuding a delicate fragrance through the sediment of time; the tea bowls were intricately carved from whole jade stones, just these two bowls required the best jade materials; the purple sand teapot was engraved with pine and cypress patterns, appearing exquisite and delicate, obviously crafted by a renowned artisan. The old man opposite the table wore a goatee and a light blue Taoist crown. By face alone, he embodied an immortal vibe, yet he wore a bright red and purple brocade robe and used extravagant furniture, being completely out of harmony.
The old man lifted a tea cup, sipped a bit, and glanced at Gongsun Ce: "The tea is so good, you’re reluctant to drink it?"
Gongsun Ce hurriedly drank the tea, smiling awkwardly: "I’m not versed in the tea arts, can’t tell the good from the bad, to me, it all tastes the same fragrance."
"It shows." The old man nodded, "Then the place is too grand, you’re not accustomed to it."
Gongsun Ce spoke the truth: "Can’t hide from you, truly surprised..."
The old man before him was "General Zhenwu" Zhang Hongzheng, 142 years old this year (2010), renowned for both civil and martial achievements. He was also, before Yan Qi grew up, the Empire’s only Creator Realm Mage. Gongsun Ce had seen the unconscious old man once in a secret room before, feeling even then that the old man had an extraordinary demeanor, with the elegance and aloofness of an immortal. But he didn’t expect his office to be so magnificently arranged, making even the nation’s nouveau riche pale in comparison to his opulent tea setup.
Is this the grandeur of the Empire’s mighty? Even the young lady’s Duke Wu Mansion isn’t as ostentatious, is it! 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
"Young people! All they think about is being indifferent to fame and wealth, not tainted by the mundane." The old general chuckled, shaking his head. "Why should you be indifferent to fame and wealth? If you spend a lifetime working for such a great Empire, why return home to live in a shabby house wearing linen? Is that fair? I started out at 16, busy till now for 129 years, I deserve to enjoy the best things."
Gongsun Ce nodded repeatedly: "You make a good point."
"Can’t make sense teaching here, can you?" The old general put down the teacup, giving him a sweeping glance, "Come on, what’s your background? What’s your mission?"
Gongsun Ce flicked his wrist, conjuring a document, got up and respectfully handed it to the old man: "Yiji Hall Universe Patrol Department Special An Yushi Gongsun Ce, commanded to inspect the Imperial Academy."
Zhang Hongzheng took the document, first looking at the seal at the end. Three seals were arranged in order from top to bottom, the first being a private seal used only for special tasks, exuding pure Red Emperor martial battle intent, the middle was the Yiji Hall official seal, with intricate details in its power keys, the last was shaped like a boat, representing the Universe Patrol Department, confirming the individual’s words as genuine. The words outside the seals were merely official jargon like "holding important responsibilities" and "acting conveniently," which he couldn’t be bothered to look at.
Having seen the three seals, Zhang Hongzheng had already grasped the situation. The Universe Patrol Department’s document might be faked, but the gray-haired youth before him was unmistakably a true heir of the True Martial lineage. The Impermanence Skill’s foundation is the Seal Contract Meme, the strange approach of Heavenly Demons is a privately modified God Fusion Seal, and his skill in effortlessly switching between various Divine Skills suggests this person’s exceptional insight, having deeply comprehended the "unity" mystery circulating in the Imperial Academy.
Only, people in the court generally shouldn’t act so irregularly, and there’s never been anyone like this among the academy’s inner disciples...
Zhang Hongzheng tapped the table, having settled: "You are a personal disciple taken in by the academy’s true heir, trusted enough to be assigned this job."
Gongsun Ce nodded: "The old general has eyes as bright as a torch."
"Hogwash eyes, didn’t even plan to hide, even a blind person can see it." Zhang Hongzheng glanced at him, "Which year did you come?"
Gongsun Ce smiled wryly: "Can’t say."
"What’s the mission?"
Gongsun Ce continued to smile wryly: "Don’t know..."
"Interesting, this time the impact is big." Zhang Hongzheng sounded surprised, rubbing a bit of flame to burn the document, "Any guesses?"
"Yes!" Gongsun Ce spoke solemnly, "Yan Qi, Qin Ming, Liu Zhongwu, Situ Yi, along with the current Crown Prince Chi Zijing, and an unknown person whose details haven’t been figured out yet. Above believes this time’s correction target should be among these people."
This speech was vague, only those knowing the details could understand its true meaning. Gongsun Ce recalled Liu Zhongwu’s explanation last night; even he, claiming to have broad experience, was shocked upon hearing the inside story.
—"The four directions and above and below are called the universe, the past and present are called time. The main business of the Yiji Hall Universe Patrol Department is to shuttle through time to protect the Empire’s stability.
In the prior negotiation with Gaius, you should have understood the Empire’s Fan Ding Realm sealing is closely related to time and space. I can tell you that before the apocalypse in the sky in 2000, the Empire was always observing the future. The Fan Ding Realm’s power can identify ’people’ or ’events’ causing threats to long-term continuity, which could be a casual argument or a large-scale rebellion, called ’disorder factor’ by Yiji Hall. The Universe Patrol Department’s task is to use grotto heavens and blessed lands under official jurisdiction to travel from past to future, correcting unstable factors as outsiders, ensuring the Empire’s eternal peace and prosperity."
This "time and space management agency"-like action must not be recorded, so Universe Patrol Department specialists often do not reveal any information to the outside, avoiding additional problems beyond the task. To prevent interference from mind-reading or similar abilities, during certain major tasks, they don’t even know the details of the "disorder factor," relying solely on their wisdom and effort to self-discover in order to complete the heavy responsibilities.
"Not surprising, except for Zhongwu being steady and obedient, the rest aren’t easy to deal with." Zhang Hongzheng nodded, "After handling this fight earlier, any thoughts?"
"I was greatly surprised." Gongsun Ce admitted frankly, "I consider myself to have rich practical experience, thinking if four still-learning academy disciples ran into trouble, I could forcibly suppress it, yet I didn’t expect them to reach such prowess during school. Qin Ming’s Heavenly Return Skill seems to surpass limits, Yan Qi’s last move I’ve pondered till now and still haven’t figured out. Has he reached the Creation Realm?"
"He broke through the realm." Zhang Hongzheng smiled, "People of your era probably aren’t clear, in this era, a Kingdom of Morton has produced an unparalleled genius named Macrow Wright. He developed the first-ever stably usable Silent Phase Breakthrough, so the Silent Phase Skill has become a path to walk."
Gongsun Ce hesitated for a moment, controlling himself not to show emotions other than shock. He didn’t expect to hear the old leader’s name here, nor did he expect that before then, the Breakthrough Skill was impractical.
How did Silent Phase Mages fight before the old group leader succeeded? Did they rely on their exceptional talent to forge ahead triumphantly, only to turn themselves to ashes at the moment of breakthrough... Or like Kerky, based their success on their own death?
"Well, he is quite lucky," Gongsun Ce said softly.
"Compared to the unlucky ones of the past, Silent Phase Mages of this era have it much better... Ha, sounds like a bad joke."
Zhang Hongzheng waved his hand, and the young boy who served him tea before came quickly, holding a silk-lined jade tray presenting a square piece of wood. The old man scraped the wood with his hand, yet the wood itself was undamaged, and another piece seemed to come off.
"It’s only natural that you’re surprised. This batch of Inner Sect disciples is the most talented since the Imperial Academy Supervisor began its operation. You young lad might not even compare to them." Zhang Hongzheng casually continued carving the wood.
Gongsun Ce raised an eyebrow: "You have that much confidence in them."
"It seems there are still some things you are unaware of." Zhang Hongzheng glanced deeply at him, tossing the carved wood over. Gongsun Ce caught it and took a look; in just a few words, the wood had been sculpted into a token with the characters "Gongsun" on it.
"The Universe Patrol Department has important duties for you, and you must interact more with these young lads. First, take a token and be an Inner Sect disciple for a few days." Zhang Hongzheng sat back down, "For someone like you, to go back to school is quite a challenge... but I notice you seem rather eager?"
Gongsun Ce held the token joyously: "Being able to enter the Inner Sect of the Imperial Academy and receive instruction from the General, what a blessing for a junior! Gongsun Ce hereby thanks the General!"
"From now on, call me ’teacher’ instead of discussing business, so those overly suspicious young lads don’t get suspicious." Zhang Hongzheng lifted his teacup again, "I’ll take care of the procedures for you, go ahead yourself. In the Divine Capital, you’re free to act within, but necessary surveillance won’t be forgotten, be cautious."
"I understand."
Gongsun Ce bowed and made his departure. Zhang Hongzheng closed his eyes in thought for a while, then shouted hoarsely: "Yan Qi, get over here!"
"That’s it, you decrepit old man! I’m not keen to hear your nonsense!"
The window behind Zhang Hongzheng opened, and Yan Qi, blindfolded with cloth strips, jumped into the room, seating himself on Gongsun Ce’s previous spot. He grabbed a large cup and poured himself some cold tea, lounging with crossed legs: "What’s up?"
"Did I ask you to have tea? I’m asking your opinion!" The old man glared.
"You shouldn’t bother with such idle efforts, it’s pointless." Yan Qi swirled his cup, "That lad dodged my opening move, you wouldn’t even beat him if you faced him yourself. In the entire Divine Capital City, no one but me and a fool can compete with him."
Zhang Hongzheng wasn’t angry at all, instead he was lost in thought.
"Well said," he said slowly, "Such a person, if in office during this dynasty, should be a senior official in charge of the Yiji Hall in any era. How could they go to the Universe Patrol Department to work? Even if he has the capability, the court can’t afford such a loss."
"What’s the fuss over something so trivial." Yan Qi scoffed, "There are only two possibilities. Either that Gongsun lad’s background is unclear and half of what he said before is nonsense, or the matters here are extremely serious, so serious that no one would dare claim they could solve it without sending him."
Zhang Hongzheng nodded: "Keep an eye on him when you can."
"I have no interest in being someone’s shadow, manage it yourself!"
Yan Qi dashed off right after finishing his tea, and Zhang wasn’t surprised at all. He knew his student’s character, mouth claiming indifference yet mind keenly attentive. He stood by the window, gazing at the old cypress tree below with its decaying leaves.
"I don’t recall anyone’s divine skills being Heavenly Demon..." Zhang muttered, "This matter is peculiar."
·
Gongsun Ce strolled leisurely out of General Zhenwu’s great hall, inwardly raising his guard. The old man, seeming forthright was actually cautious, probing him three times over just one cup of tea. Conversations about the task details and Silent Phase went smoothly, but the discussion about talent inadvertently exposed a flaw.
The Inner Sect of the Imperial Academy Supervisor evidently has criteria unknown to him, which ought to be common knowledge among Empire’s upper echelon!
Mr. Liu, not telling me even such a trivial matter is downright sly... I don’t even know how many this cohort has in talent, can’t conceal everything under secrecy...
Gongsun Ce sighed, catching sight of Liu Zhongwu emerging from the academy gate and swiftly caught up, grasping his broad hand: "Oh Zhongwu student, it’s great you’re still around. I’m new here and unfamiliar with everything, could you kindly point out a few quiet spots around the Imperial Academy?"
Liu Zhongwu looked dumbfounded: "How are you still here?!"
Gongsun Ce waved the token with a grin, saying: "Inner Sect of the Imperial Academy, Gongsun Ce, starting today we’re classmates~"
