Chapter 155: Casual Conversation

Although the Imperial City was bustling and prosperous, the atmosphere within the academy remained as leisurely and tranquil as ever—so idle that Shen Yu felt a touch of boredom after staying there for too long.

Moreover, the Mid-Autumn Festival had arrived, and the academy had granted a holiday. All the students had returned home early to reunite with their parents and enjoy the moon, leaving only a few ordinary servants to sweep the courtyards.

With the arrival of the Mid-Autumn Festival, every household in the entire Imperial City was celebrating the reunion. Bright red lanterns hung all along the streets, and many large boats draped with colorful lanterns drifted along the canal in the West City.

True to his word, Su Mo had vanished, perhaps staying with some relatives in the Imperial City, and had not been seen for days.

The young girl whose identity was supposedly that of a Great Tang princess seemed to have grown weary of reading; she too had taken a day off to return to the palace for some amusement.

Shen Yu had learned her name: Li Wudi.

Well, just hearing it sounded like nonsense.

At the academy's main entrance.

After another session of seated meditation, Shen Yu opened his eyes. Though his gaze was calm, a hint of helplessness remained concealed within it.

That bizarre black hole swirling around his body absorbed the spiritual energy within him at every moment. Judging by cultivation realms, he had already fallen from the Cave Truth Realm down to the Golden Core Realm.

At this rate, before long, he would even drop into the Dao Entry Realm, until not a shred of spiritual energy remained in his body, reducing him completely to an ordinary mortal.

Yet, despite all his efforts these past days, Shen Yu remained entirely helpless.

Could it truly be as the books said: that he was forever severed from the Great Dao?

Shen Yu exhaled softly, feeling somewhat bored, and stood up to walk further into the academy grounds. Since most students were away on holiday today, he decided to take a look at the famed Cloud-Soaring Rankings.

Within the academy, anyone belonging to it—regardless of noble or humble status—was free to read in all areas, save for the legendary Qiongtai Pavilion.

For reasons unknown, the opening of the Three-Story Tower—one of the great landmarks of the prosperous Linghuang era—had been delayed by three years. It was a strange occurrence, but Shen Yu had no energy to spare for that right now.

Less than an hour later, Shen Yu arrived before the ordinary-looking Three-Story Tower. He cast a casual glance at the current names on the Cloud-Soaring Rankings, then withdrew his gaze.

Having emerged from the Dao Sect and witnessed countless heaven-chosen prodigies across the Nine Sacred Lands, engaging in numerous life-or-death battles along the way, his gaze had never truly rested on this younger generation.

Shen Yu shifted his line of sight slightly and noticed a plain, withered, and skinny old man sitting on the stone steps to the left of the building, staring intently at an ancient, yellow-leaved book in his hands.

Choosing not to disturb him, Shen Yu let his gaze wander toward the rear.

"This is the first time a young disciple has come here without letting his eyes linger on the Cloud-Soaring Rankings for more than three breaths," a mellow voice resonated.

Shen Yu turned back to see a middle-aged man dressed in a dark gray Confucian robe, possessing a refined and scholarly demeanor, standing behind him.

Shen Yu had caught a glimpse of this middle-aged man when he first entered the academy. According to Su Mo, he was an obscure Confucian sage.

Shen Yu spoke, "I heard the academy holds a Heaven-Ascension Ranking, which records the full combat power of today's supreme grand practitioners."

The middle-aged man clasped his hands behind his back, shook his head slightly, and said, "It is merely a falsehood spread by the world. Those towering figures with heaven-reaching cultivation in today's world have long since merged their auras with the fortune of heaven and earth, their divine souls resting in unknowable realms. How could they be so easily spied upon, let alone ranked from highest to lowest?"

The scholarly man suddenly smiled and said, "However, the academy does record the rankings of the younger generation from the previous generation on the Cloud-Soaring Rankings. It is practically the same thing."

Understanding his meaning, Shen Yu asked, "May I look at it?"

The middle-aged man shook his head slightly. "This is a matter of great consequence. You may not."

Guelling a suspicion that the man before him was the guardian of the Cloud-Soaring Rankings, Shen Yu nodded gently and said nothing more.

Just as Shen Yu was about to take his leave, the middle-aged man seemed to be in high spirits and continued, "That being said, anyone with a bit of insight can roughly deduce the approximate standings."

After a moment of thought, Shen Yu replied, "Song Nu of Emperor City, and the Master of the Dao Sect."

The middle-aged man added, "And the Master of the Divine Temple."

With a sigh of emotion, the middle-aged man continued, "In terms of combat power, these few are undoubtedly the strongest today."

Shen Yu thought of the small mountain village where he had once healed his wounds, and of the middle-aged man who lived there, offering no commentary.

After a brief casual conversation, having obtained a general answer, Shen Yu slowly departed.

Watching Shen Yu's receding figure, the middle-aged man slowly turned around and said with a trace of apology, "Did I say too much?"

The withered, skinny old man, who had been reading on the left steps from the very beginning, didn't even raise his head as he replied indifferently, "What the whole world already knows—what is there to speak of as 'too much'?"

The middle-aged man remarked, "What clings to Shen Yu of the Dao Sect is indeed somewhat troublesome."

The plain old man said nonchalantly, "Chaos power entwines his entire body. Who knows what crooked method the brat used in Jade Pool, or what kind of thing some towering powerhouse planted in him to affect the karma of the Heavenly Dao? In short, it is thoroughly troublesome."

The little old man licked the right finger of his right hand, turned a page, and continued, "Why are you paying so much attention to this kid?"

The middle-aged man smiled. "Su Mo keeps pestering me about him. I had to take a look."

At a loss for what to recall, the withered little old man snapped irritably, "You'd better care more about your own affairs."

The middle-aged man shook his head slightly. "I am merely waiting to die."

Hearing this, the old man wore an expression of profound exasperation and scolded, "Dammit, she is your own daughter! If she wants to kill you, you just stretch out your neck for her to chop? That woman has committed countless evils in recent years. As her father, your guilt may be true, but precisely because of that, you must all the more stop her. 'One knows the size of the sprouts, but not the wickedness of one's child'—have the words I taught you been eaten by dogs?"

The refined man remained silent for a moment, then smiled candidly, "The cycle of heavenly principles: the cause one plants, one must reap the result. Didn't you also say, 'To teach without strictness is the teacher's laziness—or rather, a father's fault'?"

In an abysmal mood, the stern-faced, withered old man waved his hands dismissively, slapped his backside, and walked away, cursing, "Forget it! Do as you please, go die if you want to! The old man is going to read! Read! Read! I couldn't care less about this heartbreaking mess."

The middle-aged man stood quietly on the stone steps, gazing into the distance with a free and easy smile.