Zheng Shangming strode away.
There was one more thing he hadn't said aloud: even the legend you, Jiang Wang, were creating now existed only at the Inner Palace level.
Beyond the Outer Tower came Divine Presence, beyond Divine Presence came True Insight, and beyond True Insight came Dao Derivation. This world was so vast! Great power was so mighty! Could you really change anything?
Zheng Shangming had once been determined not to rely on his father's reputation. He had concealed his name and enlisted in the army, stubbornly striving on his own. But during Wen Lianmu's match, before the Nation-Protecting Marshal Mansion, Wang Yiwu's fist had smashed all his pride to pieces.
After that, he had decisively joined the Green Badge system and adapted to the Northern Office as quickly as he could.
Today, he and Jiang Wang had made different choices, but he hadn't made his choice today.
Whether that was growth and transformation or compromise and a fall was hard to say.
Everyone lived according to their own moral code.
All their struggles, beliefs, excuses... in the end, were nothing more than attempts to justify themselves after making a choice.
Sometimes, a person could change overnight.
But there were always some who refused to change, ever.
Perhaps?
The Buddhists said that between a flower's blooming and its falling, a world was born and died.
Who could be certain they weren't someone living inside that flower?
Jiang Wang sat quietly before the stone table in the courtyard. He raised a finger again and, amid the northern wind, watched the Flame Flower bloom and fade, savoring the mysteries of the Daoist Art.
Perhaps today simply wasn't suited for cultivation. Before long, Steward Xie came to report that a guest had arrived.
A calling card, exquisitely made.
The visitor was Yang