Gate of God

Whenever he recalled the match where Yan Qing clinged onto Nan Gongmu, a drop of cold sweat could trickle down from his head. Isn’t he also pestered by this brat too?

"Do you still remember the promise between us?" Chi Guyan turned around slowly and stared at Fang Zhengzhi quietly with her bright eyes.

"I do remember, but are you trying to take advantage of my current predicament?" Fang Zhengzhi’s lips jerked. He naturally knew which promise Chi Guyan was referring to.

If Chi Guyan had asked this question half a month ago, Fang Zhengzhi would promptly agree without even batting an eyelid. But now, he would have to give this prospect serious thought. After all, his promise was a double-edged sword - if he won, Chi Guyan would be his slut for a month, but if he lost ...

Ugh! Fang Zhengzhi felt chills down his spine immediately after thinking about it.

Her personal valet for a month? And he’s only allowed to stand and not sit?

If he accidently lost the match by a whisker, he would have to spend one whole month of his remaining three months being Chi Guyan’s servant. Then what’s the difference between this and just killing him immediately?

"I won’t. I’ll wait for you to recover and we’ll have a fair showdown half a month later!" Chi Guyan shook her head, her expression clearly telling Fang Zhengzhi that she would not bully him.

"Fighting ... is not actually a good thing. As the adage goes, a gentleman uses his words and not his fists for battle. Furthermore, the true aim of all this training is actually to attain the Great Dao. If we engage in such meaningless brutal scuffles, we may lose the point of all this training ..." Upon hearing Chi Guyan’s reply, Fang Zhengzhi explained in lengths, brimming with justice.

"Yes, you’re right." Chi Guyan nodded and walked to Fang Zhengzhi’s bedside, sitting down slowly. "Why don’t we compete in another way?"

"I’m highly proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and art. If we compete in these areas, you might just be overwhelmed and complain that I’m bullying you ...." Fang Zhengzhi continued firmly.

"Sneeze!" Chi Guyan couldn’t hold back her chuckle, with her smile as radiant as the most beautiful blossoms. But very quickly, Chi Guyan retracted her smile. "You shameless thief, your skin is really thick, isn’t it? Then let’s see who can rise higher in the Divine Rain Pond, how about that?"

"What if we both ascend to the Ninth Heaven?" Fang Zhengzhi asked casually.

"As I said just now, there’s only one person in the history of the Heaven Dao Pavilion who has reached the Ninth Heaven, and that person is the first Pavilion Leader of the Heaven Dao Pavilion, the one who once sat at the top of the Holy Region, Du Gujian!" Chi Guyan gazed at Fang Zhengzhi.

"So what?"

"Alright, if we both ascend to the Ninth Heaven, then we’ll compete to see who can grasp the Ninth Sagely Illustration the fastest." Chi Guyan nodded.

"What if we both master it at the same time?" asked Fang Zhengzhi again.

"Then of course, it’ll be counted as your loss."

"Why?"

"Because I’m a woman, and I’m younger than you by a year." Chi Guyan exclaimed righteously.

"...." Fang Zhengzhi’s lips twitched. For a brief moment, he was speechless.

Yes, that chick Chi Guyan is indeed younger than him by a year, but she cannot deny the fact that she grew up in the Divine Constabulary, and boasted more experience than Fang Zhengzhi by nearly a thousand times, and most importantly, followed a cursed bloodline.

Could they even compare these?

Yes, they certainly could. After all, Fang Zhengzhi had one additional lifetime’s worth of memories.

.....

Fang Zhengzhi already had his fill after walking out of Chi Guyan’s little yard.

Against the setting sun, there were no returning crows roosting on the branches. There was just a figure dressed in dark green robes standing beneath the tree, glaring at Fang Zhengzhi striding out of the gates with his beastly eyes.

"Oh, what a coincidence." Fang Zhengzhi greeted Yan Qing very proactively before speeding up his steps, preparing to take off.

"I don’t think so. I’ve been waiting for you." Yan Qing nodded and in a flash, he blocked Fang Zhengzhi’s advance immediately without any hesitation.

"Waiting for me? I’m sorry, I’m a little busy at the moment ...."

"Brother Fang, I want to challenge you to a battle!"

"Yan Qing, I’m still recuperating from the grievous injuries I sustained. Even if you really wish to challenge me, could you at least wait for me to heal completely?" Fang Zhengzhi proposed earnestly.

"This .... Brother Fang is right. I was out of line." Upon hearing this, Yan Qing frowned and continued, "Then I’ll return tomorrow."

"...." Fang Zhengzhi stared at Yan Qing walking into the distance, slightly speechless. He was certainly not afraid of losing, but he knew Yan Qing’s personality inside out. Yan Qing held an unwavering determination, and would never give up before he got what he wanted.

To put in more bluntly, even if Fang Zhengzhi had defeated Yan Qing today, Yan Qing would return again tomorrow, and the day after. Once this starts, there would be no end to this.

Fang Zhengzhi didn’t want to be continuously bogged down by Yan Qing, and more importantly, he would just waste his energy battling Yan Qing without any benefit whatsoever.

He was pressed for time. He only had half a month left, and he could not afford to be delayed at all. Hence, he has already decided to focus solely on exploiting his privileges he received from the elders to ransack the Heaven Dao Pavilion in this period of time without any hesitations.

Fang Zhengzhi went straight towards the Repository.

"Eh? That scoundrel’s awake?"

"It really is Fang Zhengzhi!"

"He’s awake ..."

After taking approximately a hundred steps out of the yard, Fang Zhengzhi was noticed by a few loitering Heaven Dao disciples, instantly spoiling the silence.

"Hey, come over here!" Fang Zhengzhi gestured to the Heaven Dao disciple nearest to him.

"What? Let me tell you, don’t you try anything stupid. This is the Heaven Dao Pavilion. Master may have accepted you, but if you dare do anything to me ... Ouch, ouch, ouch ... Brother Fang, a true gentleman uses words and not his fists ... Say it out if you have something to tell me, we may even become disciples in the same sect in the future!"

"How do I get to the Repository?" Fang Zhengzhi asked the Heaven Dao disciple who become completely subservient after being punched in the face.

"That’s your only question? Hold on, Brother Fang. Let me draw you a map. I’m not touting my own horn but, before I entered the Heaven Dao Pavilion, I was already a famous ink painter in the Radiant Moon Empire."

"If you don’t finish drawing the map by the time I finishing counting down from five, hehe ..."

"What? Brother Fang, I assure you that ...."

"Five!"

"...."

"Three!"

"...."

.....

After arriving at the Repository, Fang Zhengzhi naturally became the focal point of attention. Both the disciples preparing to enter the Repository and the disciples leaving the Repository all focused their eyes on Fang Zhengzhi, appearing extremely cautious in his presence.

As for the situation he was in ... Fang Zhengzhi was certainly prepared for it. After all, his appearance has been deeply engraved in the hearts of every Heaven Dao Pavilion after the battle at the Heaven Academic Altar.

As he stepped into the Repository, the disciples guarding the Repository gates were noticeably shocked, but nobody stopped him from entering. And neither did Fang Zhengzhi confront any of the disciples reading in the Repository with any hostility.

Because, he was completely overwhelmed by the collection of the ancient books resting on the white jade shelves inside the Repository.

In fact ... after arriving in this world, this was the first time Fang Zhengzhi truly entered such a place. When he was little, his books were gathered from all over the place. And after he entered the Shadow Sect, he heard Wu Yu’er and the Heavenly Oasis Saint boast about how formidably powerful and impressive the Shadow Sect was.

"There really is quite a lot of books!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled and he strode towards the staircase leading up to the second floor. He wasn’t stopped either.

Up to the third floor, the fourth floor, the fifth floor, the sixth floor ...

When he reached the entrance of the seventh floor, a hand reached out and blocked his path.

"I’m sorry, only the Pavilion Leader is authorized to enter the seventh floor!" The person impeding his advance was an old man dressed exactly like a Heaven Dao disciple, but he seemed to be at least ten years old.

"Okay." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

It was virtually impossible for Fang Zhengzhi to finish reading all the books in the Heaven Dao Pavilion Repository within half a month, and neither did Fang Zhengzhi possess the to read a thousand lines with a single glance.

Hence, he wisely chose to begin reading from the highest floor which his elder privileges allowed him to enter, before proceeding down the floors from there.

And in fact, it was proven that ... his decision was the right one.

Because the books on the sixth floor were evidently much fewer than the books on the first floor. At a glance, there were only about fifty books.

"It seems like a few secrets of the Holy Region would be ... hidden here, wouldn’t it?" Fang Zhengzhi smirked and began browsing through the books.

There’s even sword techniques in here?

Hmm ... this has to be copied down.

Eh? There’s alchemy, weapon-making, and formation-breaking techniques too? Hm, these must be copied down too!

Why aren’t there any guides introducing the geography of the Holy Region? Oh, there isn’t an geography guide, but there’s a map of the Holy Region’s forbidden areas, and ..

"Oh? So much treasure!" Fang Zhengzhi’s eyes lit up. Very quickly, he managed to locate an explanatory map detailing the various forbidden areas of the Holy Region and the respective treasures they contained.

The Thousand Years Fire Herb, guarded by the Three Sages of Black Moon Island and one of the treasures of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain.

But what a pity ... it’s been crossed out.

However, why is there a special note on the page that it’s been eaten by someone named Fang Zhengzhi?

It certainly refreshes its information very quickly.

Hold on.

If the Heaven Dao Pavilion Repository has updated their catalogue with this new piece of information, does that mean that the remaining four sects of the Holy Region know about this as well?