Clarity

Su Yao fled back to the place where the initial battle took place.

As snow poured down like a torrential downpour, the myriad illusory figures Zheng Qingci summoned were all covered by the snow and frozen layer by layer. At this moment, he was only barely holding on to his small area by relying on the Spirit Artifact of the School of Names Path in his hand.

Seeing this, Su Yao thought to himself: Among the various schools of thought, apart from the Confucian School which focuses on manifesting the great way of the world and does not rely on Human Dao, the Mohist School and Legalist School can be considered to Supreme True Person Fruition Position, after all, they have produced patriarchs of the Heavenly Venerable level.

As for the School of Names, they have long since declined and are merely appendages of Human Dao, at best holding only Subsidiary Rank or Remaining Rank.

At this moment, Li Chaoxue was using her own Cold Qi Divine Ability, "Lodged on a Cold Branch," to activate her Law Technique and Zheng Qingci tightly.

Beside him, Ni Polu used the Forest of All Beings, and Yang Nan transformed into Subterranean Water, surrounding the snow and the illusory figures of the myriad people, trapping them without killing them.

Seeing Su Yao arrive, the three of them eased off slightly, allowing Zheng Qingci to catch his breath. He suddenly looked up at the newcomer, his eyes wide with anger:

"Su Yao! If you want to kill me, then kill me. Why humiliate me like this!"

Upon hearing this, Su Yao burst into laughter. His laughter was full of mockery, and after a long pause, he coldly replied:

"Zheng Qingci, you still hold an official position, how could I possibly kill you?"

He paused, his tone growing increasingly sinister:

"Just you wait, I'll wait until the moment you're stripped of your official position."

Upon hearing Zheng Qingci was taken aback at first, but then quickly recovered and burst into laughter as well.

"Hahaha... I never expected the Abbot of Qixia Temple to have such insight! We are officials appointed by the imperial court. Without His Majesty's decree, who would dare to strip us of our official positions? Even the Grand Secretary wouldn't have that right!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chaoxue, Ni Polu, and Yang Nan were all taken aback and looked at Su Yao with a hint of worry in their eyes.

Zheng Qingci's words are true.

Since the Crown Prince has not yet ascended the throne, even if the Grand Secretariat Secretary wields immense power, he cannot overstep his authority in appointing or dismissing officials; only the Emperor's decree can grant such authority.

Upon hearing this, Su Yao's expression remained unchanged; he simply shook his head and said:

"Zheng Qingci, you just wait."

He looked at Li Chaoxue and the other two, and said:

"Please trouble you three fellow Daoists to keep him occupied for a little longer; an imperial decree will arrive shortly."

Hearing this, Li Chaoxue and the other two felt somewhat relieved, but just as they agreed, two streaks of light rushed towards them from the distant horizon.

A moment later, the light faded, revealing two figures: a middle-aged man in official robes, exuding an air of authority; and a young man in scarlet robes, with snow-white hair and a calm expression.

It was Yang Xuanye, the governor of Nanzhao, and Xue Min, the Mountain God of Cang Mountain.

Su Yao stepped forward and greeted them, while Li Chaoxue and the other two bowed in greeting.

As Zheng Qingci gazed at the two figures, a wave of unease surged within him, becoming increasingly difficult to suppress.

After exchanging greetings with Su Yao, Yang Xuanye's previously amiable smile vanished, replaced by a solemn expression.

He looked at Zheng Qingci, who was trapped in the snow, sighed deeply, then turned around and solemnly cupped his hands to Xue Min beside him:

"Thank you for your help, Mountain God."

Xue Min nodded slightly, her expression indifferent.

He stepped forward, his gaze landing on Zheng Qingci, his voice cold:

"In the past, the King saw that Taizu possessed extraordinary talent and restored the Han dynasty's rule, allowing the Heavenly Sovereign and the descendants of the Orthodox God of Soil and Grain to once again govern Human Dao. He was overjoyed and thus surrendered his territory to Qing. Emperor Taizu declined three times, but the King repeatedly pleaded with him, and only then did Taizu accept. However, considering the King's sincerity and that he was a descendant of the Orthodox God, he specially retained the country's name and title, and further granted the King the power to supervise local areas and dismiss officials."

He paused slightly, his gaze turning icy.

"For tens of thousands of years, the ruler has never exercised this power."

After he finished speaking, a deathly silence fell over the surroundings.

The color drained from Zheng Qingci's face in that instant, leaving her ashen-faced.

Xue Min continued, her voice as cold as frost:

"It has now been ascertained that Zheng Qingci, the magistrate of Langqiong, as an official appointed by the imperial court and entrusted with the emperor's trust, was responsible for governing this region. However, instead of being loyal to the emperor and serving the Outer Dao, he secretly made friends with heretics and plotted treason. He disregarded the state for personal gain and forgot the emperor's grace for the sake of foreign powers. This is truly a heinous crime, and his actions and intentions deserve punishment."

He looked at Zheng Qingci and continued in a loud voice:

"Now, by order of the King of the Nanzhao Kingdom, and in accordance with the authority granted by the Taizu, Zheng Qingci is hereby stripped of his post as magistrate of Langqiong, his official rank is revoked, and his academic titles are revoked, effective immediately!"

Zheng Qingci's body trembled violently, as if struck by lightning.

But he immediately realized:

"If the ruler wants to strip me of my official position, he must first submit a petition."

But Xue Min ignored him and said again:

"The King will report to His Highness the Crown Prince afterward, explaining the situation. Given the urgency of the matter, we have no choice but to act accordingly!"

After saying this, he turned to look at Su Yao, his gaze carrying a deeper meaning, and slowly said:

"Act first, report later."

The four words fell like a guillotine.

As she finished speaking, Xue Min tossed out a bright yellow scroll, which flew upwards and transformed into specks of yellow light that flew towards Zheng Qingci.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qingci slightly, her face turned pale, and she lowered her head.

But after a moment, he slowly raised his head as if resigned to his fate, looking at Xue Min, then at Yang Xuanye, and finally at Su Yao. After a long while, a smile appeared on his lips, neither mocking nor bitter, but a calm after the dust had settled. He said softly:

"So that's how it is. You two were in cahoots all along."

His voice was very soft, almost as if he were talking to himself.

Then he straightened his clothes, even though the patterns of his official robes began to dissipate inch by inch after the yellow light fell, turning into specks of light that vanished.

His body, which had been almost hunched over by the heavy snow, slowly straightened up at this moment.

He met Su Yao's gaze, which gradually became calm and indifferent, just as it had been before in front of the county government office when he quoted the words of the sage—neither humble nor arrogant, neither surprised nor afraid.

Li Chaoxue and Ni Polu exchanged a glance and remained silent. Yang Nan lowered his eyes and sighed softly in his heart.

In the Great Void, the heavy snow suddenly stopped.

The Forest of All Beings vanished silently, and the Subterranean Water receded as an undercurrent.

Su Yao slowly drew his sword.

The sword was drawn, its Sword Intent as clear as water.

The sword light, like the first ray of dawn piercing the long night, carried the splendor and decisiveness of the morning glow, and fell silently.

In Zheng Qingci's eyes, all that remained at that moment was the ever-approaching rosy light.

He did not close his eyes.

He saw the sword light pierce through the illusory images of the myriad people he had summoned. Those images, having lost the blessing of his official position, were already as thin as cicada wings and would crumble at the slightest touch.

He saw the sword light slash into his Rising Yang Mansion, just as the sage had said, as if it were a divine mandate descending, inescapable.

He suddenly recalled how he was twelve years ago when he first took office as the magistrate of Langqiong, full of vigor and ambition, and how he looked when he went up Golden Ao Mountain.

Then he recalled the State of Mind he had when he uttered the phrase "the words of a sage" after Su Yao's three questions—a sense of relief that followed fear.

Now, at the moment the sword fell, he found himself feeling neither fear nor regret.

There was only clear water.

A flash of sword light streaked past, and a chill ran down my brow.

Zheng Qingci's physical body did not crack inch by inch like Mujian's, nor did it flow like molten gold like Xuanping's, nor did it dissipate like spring breeze like Heyin's.

He simply stood there quietly, a very thin sword mark between his brows gleaming faintly in the sunlight.

A moment later, the radiant light surged from his body, enveloping him entirely.

The phantom of the myriad people appeared for the last time. It was the power of Human Dao that he had gathered over more than ten years of guarding the Langqiong. Now, having lost its support, it turned into countless points of light, rising slowly like fireflies and dissipating into the Great Void.

A faint smile still lingered on Zheng Qingci's lips.

Then, he vanished into nothingness amidst the rosy glow.