Volume One, Chapter Five: The Empress's Authority? No, It Is the Matron Instructor’s Majesty
Li Chungang’s eyes erupted with brilliant light. Ignoring everything else, he transformed into a streak of radiant energy, recklessly following the sword intent.
However, upon reaching the outer perimeter of the Gu family estate, he was stopped dead by an invisible barrier, unable to advance even an inch.
He exerted all his lifelong cultivation, wielding his destined sword, yet could only cause the barrier to ripple faintly, barely perceptible.
Through that ripple, he barely caught a glimpse of a corner of the courtyard.
Then, he saw it.
He saw the source of that supreme sword intent.
It was a piece of... glowing wooden fence.
Li Chungang froze in place, his mind blank.
All he had sought in life, the pinnacle of swordsmanship he believed in, the divine sword he had imagined that could sever eternity—
Turned out to be nothing more than a fence enclosing a household?
“Phut—”
He spat a mouthful of blood. The moment he saw the fence, his sword heart was already webbed with delicate cracks.
His proud mastery of the sword way, in the face of the sword intent casually emanated by that fence, was as insignificant as a firefly before the bright moon—both laughable and tragic.
His collapse was instantaneous.
Yet, he did not go mad nor force his way through.
After the utmost breakdown came a deeper reverence and enlightenment.
He slowly sheathed his ancient sword, straightened his clothes, and then solemnly performed a deep kowtow toward that glowing fence.
He knelt there, unmoving, murmuring to himself with expressions alternating between madness and sorrow.
“The Way... so the Way lies here...”
“I was wrong... wrong all my life...”
Inside the courtyard, Fu Bo noticed the commotion outside and silently appeared beside Gu Changsheng, bowing to report.
Gu Changsheng, irritated by the fence’s shimmering light that disturbed his nap, was already restless and even more impatient when hearing the noise outside.
“Tell him to stop kneeling—he’s making too much noise.”
“If he wants to watch, let him, just don’t disturb my rest.”
Fu Bo obeyed, his voice calm as he passed the message along.
Outside the estate, Li Chungang, still kneeling, trembled violently upon hearing these words.
This was not a reprimand—it was permission!
The unfathomable existence before him was allowing this insignificant ant to glimpse a corner of the Way!
“Thank you, Senior, for your heavenly grace!”
Li Chungang was overwhelmed with gratitude, tears streaming down his face. Hastily, he rose and sat cross-legged outside the estate, fully focused on observing that fence.
In just one day and one night,
A bottleneck that had plagued him for thirty thousand years shattered with a thunderous crash.
The vast sword intent washed over his entire body; his realm unexpectedly advanced a great step forward.
This event was like a stone thrown into a tranquil lake, instantly stirring a monstrous wave.
***
News that “the Gu family fence aids one in achieving enlightenment and immortality” spread like wildfire, shaking the entire Nine Heavens and Ten Realms.
Countless ancient beings stuck at their bottlenecks stirred restlessly.
Yet before they could act,
A massive shadow enveloped the sky above the Gu estate.
A colossal warship, emblazoned with the Phoenix totem of the Celestial Pool Holy Land, tore through the void and hovered menacingly.
At its forefront stood Supreme Elder Li Wangchen, his hair and beard standing on end, radiating imperial majesty. His roar thundered through the clouds:
“Who dares imprison my Celestial Pool Empress!”
Li Wangchen’s divine will surged like an overwhelming tide toward the seemingly humble estate below, but the moment it touched the estate’s walls, it vanished without a trace, as if swallowed by an invisible giant beast.
A chill ran through his heart, but he did not retreat.
The inability to probe further only confirmed the peculiar nature of his adversary.
He expended his primordial essence, forcibly activating secret methods, finally capturing a faint, intermittent, and feeble aura belonging to Ji Ruoxue deep within the courtyard.
His fury burned hotter.
As expected! The Empress has been suppressed by villains, her primordial essence severely damaged!
***
Gu Changsheng was sound asleep, dreaming he had found a perfect resting posture, when he suddenly felt a noisy clamor outside, like tens of thousands of ducks holding a conference in the sky.
He opened his eyes in extreme annoyance.
Having his nap disturbed was among the most intolerable things in his life.
Looking into the courtyard, he saw Ji Ruoxue holding a small nail clipper, patiently instructing Ye Qingxian.
“See? At this angle, the force must be even. The nails must be trimmed neatly without causing the slightest injury, and the young master must feel comfortable. The subtle control here is a form of cultivation…”
Gu Changsheng shouted irritably,
“Ji Ruoxue!”
Ji Ruoxue stiffened and quickly bowed.
“My lord, your servant is here.”
“Your relatives came and are too noisy. Tell them to leave.”
Li Wangchen and the other Celestial Pool elders in the sky heard these words clearly, and just in time caught the scene in the courtyard.
The Celestial Pool Empress, supreme sovereign over the Nine Heavens and Ten Realms, was respectfully explaining to a young maid… how to trim nails?
And... calling herself a servant?
Li Wangchen felt as if his brain had been struck by a heavy hammer, ringing with a dull emptiness.
Is this their Empress?
Acting as a mere etiquette instructor?
Upon hearing Gu Changsheng’s command, a trace of fear flashed across Ji Ruoxue’s face, as if afraid of failing in her duty and displeasing her lord.
She suddenly raised her head. Those phoenix eyes that once looked down upon all beings now blazed with icy fury, staring directly at Li Wangchen in the sky.
“Elder Li, who told you to come!”
***
“Disturbing the young master’s cultivation—are you prepared to bear the consequences!”
That reprimand struck with more power than any spell or divine attack.
Li Wangchen and all the Celestial Pool disciples aboard the warship felt their faith and pride shattered to pieces by that single sentence.
The Empress was not only uncoerced but seemed to be defending that “enemy”?
Fu Bo silently appeared in the courtyard.
He didn’t even glance at the sky but picked up a scrap of paper Gu Changsheng had carelessly tossed onto the table.
On the paper were two hastily scrawled characters—“Hypnosis.”
Fu Bo’s voice was calm.
“The young master’s order: leave.”
“This is the Empress’s family letter to you. Take it back and do not return.”
With a snap of his fingers, the scrap of paper floated lightly into the sky.
Li Wangchen instinctively reached out to catch it.
The instant the paper touched his hand, an overwhelming aura of ancient suppression, beyond worldly comprehension, exploded forth!
The crooked characters “Hypnosis” seemed to come alive, transforming into an unchallengeable supreme law.
An irresistible drowsiness instantly engulfed Li Wangchen and everyone on the warship.
None even managed a groan before collectively falling into deep slumber.
The enormous warship lost control, its immortal light extinguished, and plummeted straight from the clouds.
Fu Bo didn’t even look, casually waving his sleeve.
A gentle yet irresistible force caught the falling warship. Simultaneously, a massive rift was forcibly torn open in front of the ship.
He “sent” the warship along with all the sleeping occupants into the spatial rift.
***
After an unknown length of time, within the Celestial Pool Holy Land, Li Wangchen suddenly awoke.
He found himself and all his disciples safely returned to their sect.
In his hand, he tightly grasped the scrap of paper that had led to their utter defeat.
Trembling, he unfolded the paper, staring at those two ordinary characters that carried a Dao aura so terrifying it shook his soul.
His face went ashen.
He understood.
This time, the Celestial Pool had not merely hit a rock.
They had shattered an entire universe.
[System Notice: The host repelled the imperial enemy with a single sheet of paper, fame spreading far and wide, causing drastic shifts in causality. Reward: 2000 “Relaxation Points,” “Family Prestige (Passive)” increased. Effect: Anyone who hears the name “Gu” will feel awe and reduce hostility by 50%.]