Chapter 62

"Who is this little girl?"

The Southern delegation had arrived in Kyoto as guests and, in principle, should not have taken the initiative to ask questions. However, the woman with a white veil over her face was familiar with the teacher and students of Qingyao Thirteen and was also an old acquaintance of Xu Shiji. Seeing the strange atmosphere in the hall, she asked a question.

Most of the people in the hall had attended the first night of the Qingteng Banquet and would not fail to recognize the little girl who had beaten Tian Hai Yar to a pulp. Hearing the guest's question, someone said, "She is a student at the National Teaching Academy. She is a bit late for some reason."

Upon hearing this, the woman from Holy Maiden Peak let out a light exclamation, seemingly surprised. The three young men with swords on their knees simultaneously raised their heads, their gazes suddenly becoming extremely sharp, like unsheathed swords, as they looked at Luoluo.

In the far south, people also knew that the National Teaching Academy had long been abandoned. On the journey, they had heard about what happened on the first night of the Qingteng Banquet, and learned that the National Teaching Academy had two new students this year. Was this little girl the sudden genius who emerged?

The three young men from Lishan were among the seven great laws of the Divine Kingdom. In their view, defeating Tian Hai Yar was not a big deal, but for a girl of her age to be so powerful was indeed noteworthy.

Gou Hanshi also raised his head to look at Luoluo, but he only smiled gently, showing that he was not overly concerned.

Luoluo ignored the gazes of the three young men from Lishan. The seven great laws of the Divine Kingdom were indeed remarkable, but her attention was entirely on Gou Hanshi. She could clearly feel that this person was very extraordinary, and she was not his match. What about her teacher? Could he surpass him?

The hall fell silent for a moment, and she stood at the door, somewhat conspicuous.

Xu Shiji, with a cold expression, said, "Since you are late, it is already impolite. Why don't you quickly take a seat? Do you want to make a fool of yourself in front of the guests?"

Hearing these unkind words, Prince Chenliu was slightly taken aback, then laughed. He thought that Xu Shiji had still not guessed the little girl's identity, indicating that the Empress's trust in him had its limits, far less than that in Xue Xingchuan.

Prince Chenliu looked at the head of the Heavenly Dao Academy, Mao Qiuyu. At this moment, only the two of them knew Luoluo's true identity. Mao Qiuyu's expression was solemn, as if he knew nothing. Suddenly, Prince Chenliu's heart stirred, and he turned to look at Bishop Meilisha, but saw that the bishop had his eyes half-closed, seemingly about to fall asleep.

"The elders are really composed..."

Prince Chenliu sighed. He knew that the bishop was deeply hidden and had probably already guessed Luoluo's identity.

Luoluo glanced at Xu Shiji. If it were another time, and someone dared to scold her like this, she would not let it go. Don't think she was always gentle and charming in front of Chen Changsheng; when she got serious, even the Princess of Pingguo was afraid of her.

But tonight was special. Her hand tightly gripped the brocade pouch in her sleeve, thinking of Chen Changsheng's instructions. She took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and without speaking to Xu Shiji, walked directly to the corner where the National Teaching Academy's students sat.

At this moment, the music and ceremonial sounds began, and the curtains gently fluttered. Accompanied by over a dozen palace maids and eunuchs, a woman in splendid palace attire slowly entered the hall.

It was Mo Yu.

Although she held significant power in the Great Zhou Dynasty, she did not have an official position and should have been more low-key. However, since this was the front hall of the imperial palace, everyone knew she represented the Empress, so they all stood up to welcome her.

Hundreds of people in the hall stood up, including the important figures from the Southern delegation. Under the light of the night pearls, it was like a sea of waves.

Two people did not stand up.

One was Bishop Meilisha of the Church, who had his eyes closed, a faint smile on his lips, as if he were really asleep.

The other was Luoluo in the corner, who stared at Mo Yu's face, appearing somewhat impolite.

With everyone standing, the two who did not stand were naturally very noticeable, and everyone looked at them.

Xu Shiji's face became even darker. Although he knew that the little girl named Luoluo had an extraordinary background, the Southern delegation had come to propose marriage tonight, and he had to ensure everything was under control. Therefore, he had deliberately scolded her earlier to see if there were any unexpected developments.

It seemed that the unexpected development had arrived.

The bishop's status was different, and he could not express his anger, so he naturally targeted the remaining person.

He coldly looked at the corner where the National Teaching Academy's students sat.

As he thought, no one dared to look directly at the bishop sitting above, and all gazes fell on the corner, on Luoluo.

Luoluo ignored these gazes. She stared at Mo Yu, her eyes calm and her expression serious, with a clear warning.

Everyone felt a chill, unsure what would happen next.

Xu Shiji was about to scold her in a stern voice when a clear voice suddenly rang out in the hall.

"It's nothing."

Mo Yu smiled, extending her arms with her sleeves hanging slightly, signaling everyone to sit down.

This sentence seemed to be for everyone, for Xu Shiji, showing her broad-mindedness.

Only Luoluo knew that this sentence was for her.

She had promised Luoluo that Chen Changsheng would be fine.

Luoluo knew that Mo Yu would not lie, especially at this moment, after she had already known what Mo Yu had done and issued a warning.

Her mood relaxed a bit, but she did not fully relax.

She sat in the corner, quietly watching Mo Yu, her gaze unwavering.

Like a tiger lurking in the mountains, quietly watching its prey, ready to pounce and tear it apart at any moment.

Mo Yu felt the gaze from the distant corner, her eyebrows slightly raised, somewhat surprised—she and the Princess of Pingguo both thought that the so-called studies at the National Teaching Academy were just a game she played in the Hundred Grass Garden, a trivial matter.

Even if she had some affection for Chen Changsheng, it should not be this serious.

Mo Yu could feel her gaze, and many other experts in the hall also noticed.

Especially those around the National Teaching Academy, who suddenly felt a chill.

...

...

Chen Changsheng thought he was dead, but he was not.

The black dragon stopped in the air in front of him, not moving forward.

They were about ten yards apart, but because the black dragon was so large, this distance was very close. He could even see the snow and wind accumulated at the roots of the dragon's teeth. The black dragon breathed slowly and deeply, and countless cold winds howled, with snowflakes and frost swirling and dancing in the air.

Chen Changsheng felt as if he were standing outside the Snow Elder City in the distant north.

What made the black dragon stop was not his courage or the words he said before dying, but the short sword in his hand.

The short sword looked ordinary.

Looking at the short sword in his hand, the black dragon's eyes seemed to have countless stars light up one by one, then extinguish.

Each star represented an emotion.

Confusion.

Puzzlement.

Shock.

Anxiety.

Hatred.

Parting.

Meeting.

Familiarity.

Caution.

Anger.

Grandeur.

Indifference.

Unable to be indifferent.

Wanting to forget.

Unable to forget.

Disappointment.

Despair.

Hope.

Still hope.

...

...

The black dragon's cold and cruel eyes showed countless complex emotions.

As a human, it was hard to understand how a single glance could contain so many emotions.

Chen Changsheng could not understand. He was covered in snow and wind, tightly gripping the sword, looking at the black dragon in silence.

The black dragon quietly looked at him for a long time.

Suddenly, the black dragon... let out a low roar!

The cold wind howled, and the snow and ice on the distant walls of the underground space fell, and the frost and snow on the surface of the silver sea swirled and flew.

The low roar was a word, as it had a specific meaning.

The low roar was more like a pure sound, as it was just a sound, and a monosyllable.

A very short sound, but extremely complex.

Like a hurricane, it seemed chaotic and monotonous, but contained countless turbulent currents and directions.

This was the dragon language.

The dragon language, which had disappeared from the human world for thousands, even tens of thousands of years.

By now, perhaps no one had heard the dragon language, and those who could speak it... were even harder to find.

Dragons were the highest life forms in this world, with the most perfect bodies and souls. Only their incredibly solid and complex biological structure and powerful spiritual consciousness could communicate in this unimaginable way.

The simplest is the most complex, the highest.

"Is this the legendary dragon language?"

Chen Changsheng was stunned.

Even if he were not trapped in the snow and wind, he would probably be stiff all over.

Because he was really stunned.

His shock was different from anyone else's shock at hearing a dragon's roar, or rather, his shock was on a different level.

He had heard this sound before.

In the old temple of Xining Town, he and his senior brother had read the Three Thousand Daoist Scriptures, the last volume of which had 1,601 characters, said to contain the ultimate meaning of the Heavenly Dao. They did not recognize the characters on the scroll, so they asked their teacher, who said he did not recognize them either, but he... could read them.

So he and his senior brother began to learn to read those characters.

Not knowing their meaning, but knowing their sounds.

He had always been unsure what those strange characters were.

Until many years later, in the underground of the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, in front of a black frost dragon, he finally knew.

It was the dragon language.

It turned out that the last volume of the Three Thousand Daoist Scriptures was written in dragon language.

Silence.

Long silence.

The black dragon quietly looked at Chen Changsheng, as if waiting for something.

Chen Changsheng did not know what it was waiting for, so he remained silent.

The black dragon's eyes again had countless stars light up one by one, then extinguish.

It was silent for a moment, then let out a low howl.

This howl was really low, without the cold wind rising, but with a sense of desolation.

Chen Changsheng's eyelashes fell.

His Daoist bun was blown apart, his black hair scattered behind him, then fell.

His clothes were torn, then fell.

The dragon's howl was low and deep, full of anger, ultimately leading to disappointment, then despair.

Chen Changsheng knew he was going to die again—this "again" was not funny, but very sad.

The black dragon had seemed to have some hope for him earlier, so it let him live a little longer.

But now that hope was gone.

Chen Changsheng suddenly felt very sad, not because of the lack of hope, not because of himself.

For some reason, hearing the black dragon's low howl, he felt an indescribable sadness.

He seemed to see countless years, endless loneliness.

The dark underground, deception and concealment, bitter waiting and despair.

These were things he had also experienced.

The shadow of death, like a dark night, had tormented him for years, non-stop.

He had no one to talk to, no place to express himself, and waited alone for the final judgment.

He suddenly wanted to comfort this black dragon.

He did not know what to say, but felt that he should say something at this moment.

So, he said a word to the black dragon.

He did not know the meaning of this word.

It was the first word he learned from the last volume of the Three Thousand Daoist Scriptures when he was young.

It was a monosyllable, with a very strange pronunciation.

It seemed to contain endless information.

Hearing this word, the black dragon's eyes suddenly shot out countless violent rays of light!

The entire world fell silent.