Transcending the Nine Heavens

Lan Buhui smiled impassively.
“Since that’s the case, let me ask a favor of you in advance… Should you see my father when you reach the underworld, please send him my regards.”There was a look of familial love in his eyes.
He went on softly.
“He left home when I came of age at twenty years old and never came back ever since… I miss him very much.
Very, very much.”

He said, “Since you are also a Nine Tribulations, if your spirit remains after death, I’m sure you’ll see him.”

Mo Tianji smiled slightly.
“I’m only afraid that after I speak to him, he’ll be very disappointed in you.
That would be a very ugly sight.”

Lan Buhui replied impassively, “If he can come to my dreams to lecture me because of that, then what harm is there in me slaughtering the world?”

Looking at Mo Tianji, he suddenly asked, “Do you have a father? Is your father still around?”

Mo Tianji was taken aback.
All of a sudden, there was some nostalgia in his eyes.

His father… Mo Tianji’s father, Mo Xingchen, could also be considered somebody.
But before this, Mo Tianji had never thought much about it.
Moreover, he was dissatisfied with a lot of the ways his father handled things.

Mo Xingchen was a bit of someone who attached importance to status and a bit of a profiteer.
In terms of strength of character and integrity, he didn’t have much.

What Mo Tianji felt toward his father was not fearful reverence.
Neither was it respect, and even less so scorn.
In any case, it was very complicated.
Especially after he grew up, as his intelligence and experience slowly increased, he became even more…

But in this moment of recollection, he thought only of how his father had taken care of and protected him during his childhood.
He thought of that middle-aged man who lifted him onto his shoulders when he was still a child yet got his entire neck soaked in urine, and a hint of a smile couldn’t help but form on his lips.
He said, “I’m more blissful than you.”

Lan Buhui chuckled.
“You have a father.
How would you know the pain and agony of a child who lost his father at a young age!”

A contemplative Mo Tianji replied, “Should I really perish today, I will deliver your sentiments of yearning for you!”

“Thank you!” Lan Buhui nodded and smiled.
“As a token of my gratitude, I shall treat you to tea today.”

As he spoke, he casually waved.
The spiritual energy in the air suddenly fluctuated.
Right away, a teapot and three teacups formed out of thin air.
He brought out tea leaves — the most ordinary green tea leaves — from his bosom and placed them into the teapot.
Again, spiritual energy transformed into water, which flowed into the teapot.
After a brief moment, the water in the teapot started boiling.

“I’m not terribly hung up about these things.
I’ve never been one to be concerned over or be particular about whether the tea is good or if the wine is fragrant,” said Lan Buhui as his hands moved about busily.
“Therefore, I apologize for the slight…”

Mo Tianji smiled.
“It is indeed rather slighting.
However, I’ll forgive you this one time.”

Lan Buhui shook his head, unable to hold back his laughter.
“There is a difference of ten thousand years of age between you and I.
Yet now, I’m treating you as someone on equal ground.
In fact, even half an elder.”

Mo Tianji mused for a moment before he replied, “I understand.”

Lan Buhui said, “Thank you for understanding.
Therefore, I will be gentler later when dealing with the two of you.”

Mo Tianji gave him a smile.
“Thank you.”

Lan Buhui chuckled in response.
The tea was already boiling.
The aroma of tea permeated the air.
He picked up the teapot and filled the cups for the other two.
Steam and the aroma of tea wafted, forming a thin mist in front of the three of them, seemingly obscuring the faces of all three, as well as their eyes.

“Duxing, to prevent Elder Lan from being suspicious, why don’t you sit at the side? If we sit side by side, I’m afraid Elder Lan would truly be concerned that we would escape.”

Mo Tianji suggested.

Gu Duxing, who remained silent, took a seat at the side.

Lan Buhui indeed had that in mind.
If the two Nine Tribulations sat together, then there certainly were countless tricks or methods in which they could communicate and discuss.
Even a ninth-grade Supreme Martial Artist like him might not necessarily be able to detect these little tricks.

Now that the two of them were sitting separately, it suited his purpose perfectly.
Still, he said, “You’re worrying unnecessarily.”

Mo Tianji smiled slightly.

Right now, their positions were as such — Mo Tianji sat in the main seat facing the door, with his back to the south.
Lan Buhui sat right opposite him with his back to the door.
Gu Duxing was on the east and facing the west, seated between the two of them.

Right in front of them was the table.

Lan Buhui had given this much thought — This position was the most advantageous to him.
Even if an enemy were to appear behind him, he was totally capable of reacting in time.
Furthermore, if the other two wanted to escape, there was no way they could go through the door.
However, if they wanted to break through the walls, whether or not he was going to give them the opportunity to do so aside, even if they did do so and managed to achieve it, they would still face a faint sense of obstruction at the point of breaking through the walls.

But this momentary delay would be enough for him to react thrice!

As such, Lan Buhui put his mind at ease.

“The Nine Super Clans are incredibly formidable!” Mo Tianji did not wait for Lan Buhui to prompt him this time, taking the initiative to speak instead.
His voice was deep and steady, with a kind of might that was capable of instilling fear in others.
Even at this moment, the way he carried himself was still… completely assured, the universe in his hand and the world in his heart.

As though he was advising a friend and discussing the philosophy of heroism with his brothers, rather than going through a moment of life and death!

“The Nine Super Clans’ legacies have been passed down for ten thousand years.
There are incredible talents coming into the world every generation! Therefore, they became stronger and stronger.”

“Clans capable of passing down their legacies for ten thousand years, be it in terms of their foundation, martial strength or wit, all of them are not to be thought lightly of.
Otherwise, even without the Nine Tribulations Sword Master, they would have been destroyed by others a long time ago.
Therefore, when facing these clans, no amount of carefulness and prudence is considered excessive.”

“Even a tiny little supervisor or a tiny little warden of the Nine Super Clans… As long as it’s a proper job position, he should not be underestimated.
Without corresponding capability, it is impossible for him to rise to such a position.”

Mo Tianji spoke tirelessly.

Lan Buhui looked surprised for a moment and glanced at Gu Duxing somewhat thoughtfully.
Then, he shook his head and smiled lightly.
He did not stop Mo Tianji from speaking.

Gu Duxing felt as if a knife was twisting in his heart.
However, he sat straight and listened attentively.

He knew that at this point, Mo Tianji’s intended audience when saying all these was not Lan Buhui but himself.
He was entrusting everything to him and placing all his hope on the tiny chance that he could escape.

Should Mo Tianji perish today, then this was his final plan as a Nine Tribulations!

“Within the Nine Super Clans, the more you go down the lineage, the more you’ll notice a fascinating trend — The fact that the younger the generation is, the faster their cultivation progression seems to be, as compared to the older generation.
They may be of the same aptitude, but the older generation may take up to 35 years to reach Emperor-level, whereas the younger generation perhaps needs only 25 years.”

“This gives people the misconception that the so-called seniors are actually not that impressive, whereas the younger generation is so strong that they can outdo their elders! However, this is a huge mistake.”

“Take for example Elder Lan Buhui; his cultivation is likely the product of steady hard work put in over the years!”

“However, this is not the same for descendants who come later.
As the saying goes, one generation plants the trees under whose shade another generation rests.
Once the first generation lays the foundation, the second generation would be able to quicken the process.
In the span of the second generation, resources would accumulate, resulting in the third generation becoming even faster… As each generation becomes faster and stronger than the previous, the resources that come into their possession would increase as well.
The elders can spend their entire lifetimes to establish a tunnel, but the future generations need not even expend an inch of effort and it would be free for them to pass through directly.
As such, the cultivation speed of the future generations would become even faster… This is a cycle!”

“Therefore, there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the Nine Super Clans.
It is simply unknown just how many experts there are among them…”

“In addition, due to the nature of the Nine Super Clans’ environment, even the mediocre among the Nine Super Clans, under longtime influence, would naturally employ the most correct methods, or methods that best benefit the clan, when they run into problems.
The actions they choose to take would be the same as what learned and intelligent people would do.
This is an inborn advantage.”

“Just like how the son of an emperor would be taught the ways of a monarch from a young age, in preparation to take over the throne.
Yet the children of other people think only of topping the national exams to become someone else’s servants!”

“Training one’s skill in education, martial prowess and the arts to provide service to the royalty.”

“This is a condition and a rule, and even more a legacy! Such a legacy slowly becomes a custom, forming an established law and gradually becomes entrenched in people’s hearts, exerting a subtle influence on everyone! …This is the part that is truly terrifying.”

Both Lan Buhui and Gu Duxing nodded at the same time.

What Mo Tianji said made absolute sense.

Lan Buhui couldn’t help but sigh.
“That’s right… The son of an emperor is taught the ways of a monarch from a young age, in preparation to take over the throne.
Yet the children of other people think only of topping the national exams to become someone else’s servants! These two lines are truly a classic example!”

Mo Tianji said, “Yes, this is what we call status.
Speaking of which, even the education which a regular person and someone born to the home of a government official receives is completely different.
They may look equal, but in truth, there are already differences… Therefore, this is status and the ways of the world, and even more so the manners and morals of time!”

“Therefore, in this world, so-called fairness is nothing but just a word!”

“Hahaha… Fairness is but just a word.
This line is worth downing a cup of wine for!” Lan Buhui burst into laughter.
“Since olden times, since when has there ever been true fairness in this world?”

Mo Tianji remarked satirically, “That is why we need to go through so much hardship and fight our way up here if we wish to create a foothold here in the Upper Three Heavens, while the Nine Super Clans can do whatever they wish since the moment they were born…”

Lan Buhui guffawed.

Gu Duxing’s expression was somber.

Subsequently, Mo Tianji began to analyze the Nine Super Clans one by one.
As he did so, Gu Duxing’s expression became increasingly grim.
Mo Tianji hadn’t reached a point where he truly understood the Nine Super Clans in and out.
Therefore, all his analysis and theories were generalized.

He did not speak in detail.

But just this generalization alone filled Gu Duxing’s heart with alarm.

In fact, a certain feeling even welled up within him — The fearsomeness of the Nine Super Clans is definitely more than what Mo Tianji analyzed them to be.

“… Take the Lan Clan for example.
On the surface, it looks as if we have already destroyed their headquarters.
In truth, even though this incident hurts the Lan Clan at the foundation, it definitely hasn’t reached the point where it is impossible for them to get back up after the setback!”

With the air of someone high up giving advice, Mo Tianji went on.
“There are definitely high-ranking personnel in the Lan Clan who have survived.
Moreover, there is a group of Lan Clan members who was sent to the Lower Three Heavens, a group in charge of guarding the Nine Heavens passageway, a group heading to the northwest and even a bunch scattered all about in the martial world.”

“Therefore, the Lan Clan has only lost their roots and some of their direct bloodline this time.
It does not actually affect their survival; they are capable of staging a comeback anytime.
This is precisely the reason why Elder Lan Buhui insists on hearing my analysis — Because he doesn’t wish to repeat the same mistake.”

“Similarly, it has also given me an excuse to buy us some time.”

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