Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 626: Ten Thousand Li of Mountains and Rivers Lay Before Their Eyes

You claim to be above engaging with NPCs, but how did you end up with a half-human daughter then?

Zhao Changhe silently mocked in his heart, though he understood what Xia Longyuan meant—it was about emotions. True to form, his convictions had not changed, not even in his final words.

He liked to blame his lack of formal education as if it were some kind of humble admission. Was this his way of conceding his flaws? While it was true that his limited exposure to modern thought and broader cultural perspectives played a role, that was not the real issue. Others had achieved greatness with even less. Zhao Changhe himself did not rely on modern thinking all that often—this world of martial arts did not require it. The real problem was Xia Longyuan’s unwillingness to acknowledge his actual flaws. Stubborn to the end, he would rather claim ignorance than admit a fault of personality.

But that was no longer important. The man was gone; criticizing him now was pointless.

What mattered was that he genuinely cared for Zhao Changhe.

Even at the end, he left a warning about facing the blind woman. “No matter what kind of cheat you drew at the start, don’t expect to take it and make it your own, like the Wang Clan trying to absorb the Sea Tribe’s yin qi. It’s laughable. Don’t make the same mistake. If you have to cut off a hand or a foot to purge it, do it.”

Zhao Changhe sighed. Am I supposed to cut off my head then?

“The Six Harmonies Art was something I once tried to use to fuse other techniques into my own. It works fine for regular techniques, but it struggles with anything higher-level, forcing them to coexist in a spiral form. So, forget about using it to seize the blind woman’s backdoor. If you’re stuck with an awkward, inescapable piece of her influence, I suggest studying the Wang Clan’s Heavenly Sea-Suppressing Palm. It rejects foreign energy with extreme prejudice. It might help... The best part is, the blind woman would never expect you to master a technique of the Wang Clan. It might just surprise her.”

“Wang Daoning tried to fuse techniques despite having the Heavenly Sea-Suppressing Palm. What was he thinking? Maybe he thought he could mimic me, blending everything into harmony. The man’s mind must have snapped... Perhaps his obsession with reaching the Profound Control Realm became an inner demon that consumed him.”

“Finally, don’t rely too much on the Heavenly Tome. Before you even complete it, you’ll become its slave.”

“I’m gone now. But even in death, I might not be truly dead. Who knows, my soul might return...”

The message ended there.

From the point where Xia Longyuan mentioned, “I faintly sensed it,” the tone shifted. This part was likely added later. The first portion seemed a casual note, a jab at the blind woman; the latter, a genuine farewell meant specifically for Zhao Changhe.

Even in death, Xia Longyuan’s final thoughts were about vexing the blind woman. She lingered in his mind until the very end.

Though the exchange seemed long, it happened in a mere instant within Zhao Changhe’s soul sea. To Vermillion Bird and Xia Chichi, Zhao Changhe merely glanced at the page before tucking it away.

Then, with a twist of his wrist, the Dragon Soul Bow appeared in his hand.

Vermillion Bird and Xia Chichi froze in surprise as Zhao Changhe drew the bowstring taut, his eyes blazing with fury.

He loosed the arrow into the heavens, and his voice thundered to the firmament: “You vermin dare call yourselves gods and demons? Face my arrow!”

Xia Longyuan had warned him. The moment he left the capital, someone would exploit the opening. That meant someone had always been lurking, waiting for the chance.

Wang Daoning was dead, yet the Tome of Troubled Times still had not flashed, except for its earlier mention of the battle at Puyang. The fight here was not over!

The convergence of these events made it clear: a god or demon was lurking, unsure if Xia Longyuan was truly dead or merely feigning death as bait. Now that the Heavenly Tome was safely in Zhao Changhe’s possession, they would surely be compelled to act.

Whoosh!

An arrow shot toward the lone underground entrance, perfectly timed. A shadowy figure darted down, almost colliding headfirst with the incoming projectile.

The intruder had never expected Zhao Changhe to fire an arrow at the entrance without provocation. Caught off guard, they barely managed to slap the arrow away. A muffled grunt escaped their mouth as the sudden movement caused a slight miscalculation. Their shoulder took a glancing blow.

That minor graze was enough to be disastrous. This was no ordinary arrow; it was one that possessed soul-annihilating properties. Even this minor injury sent a wave of chaos through their soul sea, a disorienting upheaval that felt like teetering on the edge of obliteration.

At the same moment, Vermillion Bird and Xia Chichi leaped into action, closing in rapidly. Zhao Changhe nocked another arrow, ready to shoot again.

The figure fled with decisive speed, their form vanishing into the shadows. A faint, strained cough echoed in the air. “Impressive... truly impressive. The legacy of the Human Emperor truly resists extinction. The lifeblood of this land runs deep and unyielding.”

Zhao Changhe narrowed his eyes at the sky.

This god or demon was not one he had encountered before. There were countless entities lurking in the darkness, each with their own agendas. Some reveled in slaughter, others sought human sacrifices, while some wanted to establish a state religion by supporting a puppet ruler. Some simply wished to sow chaos, and a rare few were aloof and disinterested in the affairs of mortals. This one seemed to fall into a unique category—someone who despised the notion of an emperor ruling the Central Plains, silently watching the capital with inscrutable intent.

In any case, not every god or demon cared about mortal nations. Xia Longyuan was not blocking all of them, but this particular one was likely the most critical threat he had been guarding against. Now injured, the entity would likely retreat for a while, giving Zhao Changhe some temporary respite.

But respite was not something Zhao Changhe could afford. He knew one thing for certain. Whatever their motives or morals, most of these gods and demons craved the Heavenly Tome.

Even if they had not previously known who possessed the Heavenly Tome pages—for instance, whether the Sea Emperor had a page or not—everyone could easily guess that Xia Longyuan had one.

When the Tome of Troubled Times announced Xia Longyuan’s death, the question naturally came: Who holds his page now? And following that logic: Zhao Changhe killed the Sea Emperor. Did the Sea Emperor have a page? And with Zhao Changhe’s rapid rise in power—how many pages does he possess?

From that moment, the world would be thrown into chaos, and he would become the prime target for every lurking evil.

Zhao Changhe asked the blind woman, “Is this what you wanted?”

She was silent for a moment before replying softly, “From my perspective, I would have much preferred you to quietly grow stronger. This chaos is not my design. You should believe that.” @@novelbin@@

“...Right.”

“I wanted Xia Longyuan dead too but not this soon. This outcome was never my intention, and it has nothing to do with me. I know you had ties of kinship and shared origin with him. Don’t lay this blame at my feet.”

Zhao Changhe said nothing. Xia Longyuan’s death could not be pinned squarely on the blind woman, but she was not blameless either. Having summoned an unprepared soul into this world, she bore a share of that guilt—for the chaos that ensued, the countless lives lost because of it—whether she admitted it or not.

But he chose not to voice this. Instead, he asked, “If you want me to quietly amass power, does this have to be broadcast?”

“It has to be. I told you—this is the rule of the Heavenly Dao. I can’t change it. At most, I can soften the wording.”

As she finished speaking, a golden light finally shimmered across the sky.

When Xia Longyuan returned from the sea, wounded, Tngri exposed the flaw in his cultivation foundation. Wang Daoning overheard this in secret. With the Sea Emperor’s fall, Wang Daoning drew the masterless Soul of Water into himself, breaking into the Profound Control Realm.

The world had long suffered under the Xia dynasty. The injured emperor shook the hearts of the people. Wang Daoning, having ascended, rallied the aristocratic families and conspired with various factions to strike a decisive blow.

The eleventh month, Great Snow.

The empire turned against itself; none recognized the emperor. The dragon qi wavered. Yuxu severed the vein of Beimang, cutting off the capital’s lifeblood. The fake emperor issued a decree to exterminate the Tang Clan, snuffing out the last ember of imperial qi. Emperor Xia’s cultivation thus collapsed.

Li Shentong, Ying Five, Vermillion Bird, Li Gongsi, and Yang Jingxiu besieged Emperor Xia in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The divine swords of Qinghe, Lianshan, Zhenhai, and Pinglong formed the Mountains and Rivers Array, trapping the dragon in the abyss.

Wang Daoning ambushed Tang Wanzhuang. Amid their clash, Zhao Changhe arrived on horseback. Distracted by the battle at the temple, Wang Daoning trapped Zhao Changhe and Tang Wanzhuang with a wall of energy and rushed back to the fray.

In the chaos, Zhao Changhe returned, persuading Vermillion Bird to switch sides. Together, they battled Wang Daoning. Snow Owl and Bo’e ambushed Xia Longyuan. Li Gongsi’s collusion with Bo’e was exposed. Li Shentong held Bo’e at bay, and Ying Five brutally executed Li Gongsi. In the ensuing battle, Xia Longyuan, Snow Owl, and Bo’e all suffered grievous injuries. Ye Wuzong stole the Axe of Tngri in the blink of an eye.

The world read the announcement with bewilderment.

It was hastily written, filled with vague details. Who was fighting whom? Who betrayed whom? Who were these sudden arrivals? The report was an incoherent jumble as if scribbled to merely document the chaos rather than explain it.

Had the fights not influenced the rankings, the blind woman might have skipped the details altogether, content to list the participants and leave it at that.

Her true focus lay in the final verdict:

Emperor Xia’s foundation crumbled. Wounded and aged, he chose not to linger, shattering the four divine swords of the mortal realm in mutual destruction. For a thousand years, aristocratic families preserved the martial arts and knowledge of ancient swords. That lineage is now severed.

Emperor Xia has fallen. The figure ranked first on the Ranking of Heaven is no longer.

Gods and demons remain distant, while mortals struggle alone. Those who bring chaos to the world shall be slain by the world itself. Who needs gods or demons for that?

By destroying the foundation of the aristocratic families, he removed himself and his enemies, acknowledging his mistakes. In this, Emperor Xia purged two great evils—a hero’s end.

If one seeks the pinnacle of martial arts, why shackle oneself to the throne?

With Emperor Xia’s fall, the forces scattered. Xia Chichi disrupted Wang Daoning’s Soul of Water, and Vermillion Bird delivered the final blow. Wang Daoning fled, only to be slain by Xia Chichi.

The figure ranked tenth on the Ranking of Heaven has fallen.

Those who sought to uphold the heavens saw their roots severed; those who sought to suppress the seas had their soul shattered. One moment of greed wasted their potential.

The Rankings of Troubled Times adjusted:

Emperor Xia did not die by Bo’e’s hand. Wounded and humiliated, he handed the axe to Ye Wuzong—a jest upon the realm. Bo’e cannot claim the first rank.

Ranking of Heaven, Rank 1: The Khagan of the Golden Horde, Timur. Subsequent positions adjust accordingly.

Zhao Changhe glanced at the blind woman, a hint of gratitude in his eyes. Thanks.

This was a calculated provocation. Whether it would work remained to be seen.

It was Xia Chichi who disrupted Wang Daoning’s soul, but her strength fell short. Only Vermillion Bird’s strike could shatter him. Her mastery of the third layer of the Profound Mysteries Realm allows her to claim the tenth rank.

Ranking of Heaven, Rank 10: Vermillion Bird of the Four Idols Cult.

With Emperor Xia’s fall, she advances to the ninth rank.

Though Ye Wuzong did not engage directly, his theft of the divine axe in a battle of figures at the Profound Control Realm merits recognition.

Ranking of Heaven, Rank 10: Thief Saint Ye Wuzong.

Ranking of Earth, Rank 1: Bureau Chief of the Demon Suppression Bureau, Tang Wanzhuang.

Zhao Changhe, though only at the second layer of the Profound Mysteries Realm, faced Wang Daoning twice while his Soul of Water remained intact. He struck Bo’e and shot an ancient Profound Control Realm being—true feats against such powers. With Li Gongsi dead, his position is vacant. Zhao Changhe shall take his place. Xia Chichi, also at the second layer of the Profound Mysteries Realm, has faced multiple Profound Control Realm opponents and merits recognition.

Li Gongsi’s prior position?

He had been fifth on the Ranking of Earth since Maitreya’s death. But then Black Tortoise had advanced, and now, with the reshuffling, Vermillion Bird, Tang Wanzhuang, and Ye Wuzong had also advanced.

Ranking of Earth, Rank 2: Zhao Changhe.

Ranking of Earth, Rank 36: Xia Chichi.

A dream disturbed by the autumn night’s chill, ten thousand li of mountains and rivers lay before their eyes.