Winners took all. Wars were always brutal. The dark history put people in extreme grief.
Bai Xuanyu's eyes were bloodshot. She said, "When the Sacred City was taken in the past, it was the Lingxiao Heavenly King Mansion that had slaughtered many monks who were loyal to the empire. Our ancestors were killed in the massacre."
Bai Xuanshuang comforted her sister, "We are lucky that we were helped by Lord Twelve to go on practicing and gaining the power to take revenge on our enemies, instead of being slaves and living pathetic lives."
Zhang Ruochen was touched. He asked them about the stories about Lord Twelve.
According to them, Lord Twelve had saved many persecuted descendants of the last dynasty with part loyal heirs of the royal family and monks who were loyal to the Sacred Central Empire.
They'd been hiding in the dark and fighting the imperial court, taking revenge while waiting for Emperor Ming's return.
They firmly believed that Emperor Ming was still alive.
Besides Lord Twelve, there was another strong power listening to the older sister of Emperor Ming, the Princess Royal of the last dynasty.
But the Princess Royal thought that the time of the Sacred Central Empire had ended and the power of the First Central Empire was too strong to fight. If they went on fighting it, more innocent people would die.
So she took an army and left the Kunlun's Field, hiding in some Void World outside the Realm.
To sum it up, those who followed Lord Twelve were called radicals.
And those who followed the Princess Royal were called conservatives.
Lord Twelve wanted to save more descendants of the last dynasty with his power, providing them a more dignified life, instead of living as battle slaves, servants and whores.
The Princess Royal was more sensible in that she didn't want more people die for it.
Endings like Zhang Fengxing's and Zhang Shu's were extremely tragic.
If their ancestors had left with the Princess Royal, maybe it would not have happened to them.
Who's right? Who's wrong?
Actually they had both chosen what they believed to be the right way. They just thought differently.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "How about the Sacred Central Crypt?"
Bai Xuanshuang showed hatred in her eyes. She said, "The Sacred Central Crypt is just a bunch of usurpers. Before, Emperor Ming disappeared, the Crown Prince was assassinated, and the whole Sacred Central Empire fell into disorder."
"People wanted to elect Lord Twelve to become the prince regent until Emperor Ming returned. But the owner of the Peacock House, Kong Shangling, thought he was the best besides Emperor Ming and the most qualified to become the ruler of the Sacred Central Empire."
"So Kong Shangling united some ministers to take over the government, and entered Emperor Ming's Palace."
"And Emperor Qing and Chi Yao used it as an excuse to lead the army of the Chi Qing Central Empire to wage war against Kong Shangling and then merge with the Sacred Central Empire. Then hundreds of years of warfare and disasters were brought to the Kunlun's Field."
"300 years ago, after Kong Shangling died of old age, our relationship with the Sacred Central Crypt eased up a little. We would even collaborate to fight the oppression of the government."
Bai Xuanshuang and Bai Xuanyu told many things to Zhang Ruochen, making him angry and emotional.
There were so many conflicts in relation to the destruction of an empire, which couldn't be clarified in just words. There were many stories that even the parties wouldn't have known about.
Bai Xuanshuang and Bai Xuanyu hadn't experienced the history by themselves, so their telling was from others. They sounded subjective.
Standing on different angles, each person had different views.
Even Murong Yue had a story slightly different from theirs.
Bai Xuanshuang and Bai Xuanyu led Zhang Ruochen to the stairs and came to the living room of Qin Yutong's palace.
Bai Xuanyu took out a pot of hot tea, and poured Zhang Ruochen a cup.
"I've passed word to Senior Sister that you've finished exercising. She should come here soon," said Bai Xuanyu.
Zhang Ruochen took out a pot of divine blood, and gave 100 drops to each of them.
Such a huge amount of divine blood frightened them both. They dared not to accept it, wanting to refuse.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You've reached the Fourth Level Half-Saint before 100 years old, which means that you have high talents. But your bodies are too weak to help you become saints."
"If you each could refine 100 drops of divine blood, you could improve your cultivation and build up your bodies greatly. In the future, you might be able to become saints."
Out of the desire to become saints, Bai Xuanshuang and Bai Xuanyu accepted the divine blood.
They both bowed to Zhang Ruochen, and said, "Thank you very much, my lord."
Bai Xuanshuang's eyes rolled and said secretly, "You mustn't tell this to Senior Sister, my lord. Otherwise, she will scold us."
Zhang Ruochen laughed and said, "You can't tell this to other people, either. Otherwise, I might be killed for it."
"No, no, no. We won't!"
Bai Xuanshuang and Bai Xuanyu said repeatedly and retreated to hide the divine blood in a haste.
Bai Xuanshuang and Bai Xuanyu were both unfortunate people. Their ancestors also had suffered a lot from the destruction of the Sacred Central Empire.
Zhang Ruochen giving them two small pots of divine blood was a kind of compensation for the Bai Family.
But of course Zhang Ruochen wouldn't give away divine blood randomly.
He saw that Bai Xuanshuang and Bai Xuanyu didn't have any schemes nor did they look greedy, so he decided to give it to them.
If they were people with schemes, Zhang Ruochen wouldn't dare to give them pricey gifts.
Qin Yutong came back in a light blue dress. She still wore a veil. A red ring made of jade hung to her slim waist, looking antique and beautiful.
She sat across from Zhang Ruochen gracefully, and passed two scrolls covered by white beast leather to Zhang Ruochen, and said, "This is the latest Half-Saint Rank and the Half-Saint Outer Rank. Do you wanna take a look?"
"Really?"
Zhang Ruochen picked up the Half-Saint Rank and the Half-Saint Outer Rank and read them through quickly.
Neither rank had his name.
Even though Zhang Ruochen had killed two saints of the Demonic Sect, and had stolen the spotlight of the Nine Heirs.
The Saint Lady knew his real strength and didn't list him in the two ranks.
Both Sikong One and Sikong Two were included in the Half-Saint Outer Rank. They ranked No. 472 and No. 473.
They'd had a fight with Kong Hongbi, which made names for them.Find authorized novels in Webnovel,faster updates, better experience,Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.
The fight was short and neither party had used full strength. Therefore, it wasn't easy to estimate Sikong One and Sikong Two's real power.
So their rankings were comparatively low.
Besides them, another person's name caught Zhang Ruochen's eyes.
It was Le.
Le was placed in the ending of the Half-Saint Outer Rank, barely making it. But it still surprised Zhang Ruochen.
He didn't get the rich resources for practice like the Nine Heirs, but his speed was not slower than the Nine Heirs. It was crazy.
"I was right to teach him the Nine-Circle Life-Death Code. Maybe he will become the first person to have finished practicing the Ninth Circle." Zhang Ruochen smiled.
The exercise of the Nine-Circle Life-Death Code was different from other authentic ways. It was an abnormal exercise, which could cost the person their life at any time.
The more dangerous it became, the closer to death, the quicker his cultivation would be improved.
Each time he died, his cultivation would be greatly improved.
But sometimes, the death would be fatal.
Because of the speciality of this exercise, Le's speed surpassed ordinary monks. Even Nine Heirs wouldn't be able to compare with him.
After reading the two ranks, Zhang Ruochen handed it back and put it on the table.
Qin Yutong looked grave, and said, "Another big thing has happened."
"What is it?" asked Zhang Ruochen.
Qin Yutong said, "It is said that the spiritual Qi in the Central Emperor City has dropped sharply. People say that that's because the true self of the Empress has left the city."
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen's face turned grave as well.
As the saying went, any mountains can be famous with the presence of an immortal, and the presence of a dragon can make any river sacred.
Because of the Empress's presence, all spiritual Qi in the Kunlun's Field had gathered in the Central Emperor City.
As a result, the Central Emperor City had always been the place that had the most spiritual Qi. And all monks gathered there.
The true self of the Empress hadn't left the city for years.
"Where should she go?" Zhang Ruochen frowned.
Qin Yutong said, "People are guessing that it has something to do with the chaos of war happening everywhere in the Kunlun's Field."
"It is said that because of her leave, in the Northern Region, some Blood Emperors of the Immortal Vampires have left the Kunlun's Field to hide overseas."
"In the Eastern Region, the ghost kings who had run away from the netherworld have hidden their traces and disappeared."
"The Death Zen Sect in the Southern Region rested a little. The top powerful figures all disappeared overnight. They must be hiding from the Empress's power as well."
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "With her cultivation, a move of her true self would shake the whole world. Perhaps the savage kings in the Savage Barren Territory are frightened as well."
Qin Yutong added, "Of course there is no telling whether the Empress might have gone somewhere to hide herself from the Celestial Way, as there was no word of her appearance in the Northern Region, Eastern Region or the Southern Region. Her whereabouts have become a mystery."
Zhang Ruochen changed his looks frequently, and said, "At least, before the puzzle is solved, the powerful saints of the Death Zen Sect, the Immortal Vampires and the netherworld wouldn't dare to make moves, but will hide. It's good news to the human race."
Qin Yutong nodded in agreement with Zhang Ruochen's view.
After a while, Zhang Ruochen asked again, "Have you found the whereabouts of the other eight commanders of the Canglong Army?"