FIMA Ch115: Heaven Sent [Arc 7]

Today was roughly the middle of the month. The bright moon in the night sky was perfectly round, its moonlight as clear as water, illuminating everything around with distinct clarity.

This was true whether it was for the figures in black stealthily prowling and leaping across the eaves, or the imperial guards searching every corner of the palace with torches in hand.

“Assassins, there are assassins! Catch the assassins!”

“Jiuqiansui has been attacked!”

“Search every hall, one by one! One of the assassins was hit by Master Feng’s poisonous palm. He couldn’t have gotten far…”

Gu Siyuan’s already throbbing head felt even more stifled and irritable because of the incessant, chaotic commotion.

Supporting himself against the bed, he sat up, leaned slightly to the right, and pushed open the large, carved window. Instantly, the cool night wind, carrying a faint scent of osmanthus, rushed in and brushed against his face.

That slight discomfort finally eased a little.

The moonlight also streamed generously through the wide-open window. By this light, Gu Siyuan caught a glimpse of the pale yellow clothes he was wearing, embroidered with five-clawed dragons, as well as the bright imperial yellow visible everywhere in this lavishly decorated room.

His identity in this world was self-evident.

He fell silent for a moment, sat cross-legged by the window, and began to sort through the information he had received in his mind.

This was a world with a mid-level martial arts background, where the martial arts underworld (Wulin) coexisted with the imperial court and powerful aristocratic clans. On the fertile lands of the Central Plains, the current dynasty was named the Great Zhou, having been unified for barely twenty years.

Yet, the Great Zhou court was already beset by internal and external troubles. Internally, the eunuch Wei Zhengping, styling himself ‘Jiuqiansui‘, had bewitched the foolish emperor; relying on the Purging Court, he monopolized state affairs and brought disaster to the world. Externally, the four great aristocratic clans—Zhao, Qian, Shen, and Song—allied with various martial arts sects to divide and rule the territories, using martial force to defy the laws.

The common people had not yet recovered from the century-long era of chaos, only to face a regime seemingly doomed to perish in its second generation and a world torn asunder once again.

Of course, as the saying goes, troubled times create heroes.

The male protagonist of this world, Tang Sheng, was the key figure influencing the destiny of the Central Plains’ regime. Orphaned at a young age, Tang Sheng was raised by his adoptive father, Tang Tianying, a wealthy and powerful merchant tycoon in Lingnan. Quite clever since childhood, Tang Sheng had no interest in making money or doing business. He only wanted to practice martial arts, roam the world with his sword, and one day visit the bustling Central Plains for fun.

Finally, at the age of eighteen, he successfully snuck down the mountain.

Amidst turbulent times, with subpar skills and it being his first time leaving home, Tang Sheng naturally encountered numerous setbacks. However, as the protagonist, he possessed extraordinary luck. During this journey, he unexpectedly reaped many rewards. Not only did his martial arts and internal energy greatly improve, but through various conflicts that turned into friendships, he met his good friends Situ Feng and Xie Mingkong, as well as two female confidantes, Shen Luoshuang and Sun Yanyan.

After the group interacted for a while, the youthful Tang Sheng fell deeply in love with one of his confidantes—the mysterious, passionate, and morally ambiguous little beauty, Sun Yanyan. Tang Sheng even planned to go home with her to pay his respects to her elders.

Naturally, things were never that simple.

Sun Yanyan didn’t actually love Tang Sheng purely; her approach was premeditated and deliberate. A few months prior, shortly after descending the mountain, Tang Sheng accidentally stumbled into a perilous location. By sheer luck, he acquired half a volume of the world’s most extraordinary manual, the Innate Heaven and Earth Cultivation Arts, and learned the secret of the tokens meant to “choose a ruler on behalf of Heaven” during these chaotic times.

This naturally attracted the attention of various major factions. Among them, Sun Yanyan’s true identity was the adopted daughter of the court’s grand eunuch, Wei Zhengping. Her goal in approaching Tang Sheng was to swindle these two peerless treasures from him and present them to her adoptive father.

Now, seeing Tang Sheng thoroughly bewitched by Sun Yanyan, the other factions grew anxious and began scheming to expose her. And Sun Yanyan was by no means soft-hearted. To conceal her identity, she resorted to any means necessary along the way, silencing people through murder and killing many innocents.

And as the saying goes, the more one does, the more mistakes one makes.

Tang Sheng’s friends gradually began to notice that something was amiss with Sun Yanyan. Finally, when the group traveled outside Jinling City to the manor of his friend Xie Mingkong, under the probing of Xie Mingkong, Shen Luoshuang, and others, Sun Yanyan hastily exposed her true colors when she attempted yet another murder to silence them.

Tang Sheng was heartbroken and agonized, but remembering their past affection, he couldn’t bear to kill her. Despite the fierce opposition of his friend Xie Mingkong and the others, he stubbornly let Sun Yanyan go.

However, Sun Yanyan was unwilling to leave things at that. Although she had initially approached him with deceit, she had genuinely fallen in love with Tang Sheng by now. She bitterly hated Shen Luoshuang’s feelings for Tang Sheng and resented Xie Mingkong for exposing her. So, right before she left, she poisoned them both with a special lethal toxin from the Purging Court.

Left with no choice, Tang Sheng had to find a way to get the antidote. Coincidentally, at that time, Jiuqiansui Wei Zhengping had coaxed the puppet emperor into traveling south of the Yangtze River for a pleasure trip. The entourage was currently residing in the Jinling temporary palace and likely carried the antidote with them.

That night, Tang Sheng, his good friend Situ Feng, and Xie Mingkong’s biological older brother, Xie Chenyun, stealthily infiltrated the temporary palace together. The trip to the palace was full of twists and turns. Everyone except Tang Sheng was injured, but they ultimately achieved their goal. Tang Sheng in particular had immense luck; not only did he successfully obtain the antidote, but he also unexpectedly acquired the other half of the Innate Heaven and Earth Cultivation Arts.

However, after dawn, when they returned to the Xie family manor, a massive tragedy occurred. Sun Yanyan had returned, bringing along the forces of the Purging Court. She had captured Shen Luoshuang, Xie Mingkong, and the others who had stayed behind to recover, taking them all hostage.

She forced Tang Sheng to leave with her and start over. She also ordered him to personally disfigure Shen Luoshuang’s face; otherwise, she would kill everyone present. Tang Sheng naturally refused, and a fight broke out between the two sides.

During the brawl, his good friend Xie Mingkong was killed by the Purging Court’s men, and the Xie family manor suffered heavy casualties. Yet, in the end, Tang Sheng still cherished their past love. Thinking that Sun Yanyan had done all of this out of love for him, he simply couldn’t bring himself to ruthlessly kill her, allowing her to escape once again.

As Xie Mingkong’s older brother, Xie Chenyun was completely unable to accept this outcome. His eyes red with fury, he immediately turned against Tang Sheng and even tried to kill him. If Tang Sheng hadn’t failed to pull up the weed by the roots last time, stubbornly letting that venomous woman go, how could his younger brother have died? More importantly, Tang Sheng had just watched his brother die right in front of him, yet he still let Mingkong’s murderer walk away!

However, Tang Sheng’s martial arts were not inferior to Xie Chenyun’s. Furthermore, with the assistance of Situ Feng and the newly-cured Shen Luoshuang, the group simply fled the Xie family manor. After escaping, Tang Sheng felt quite melancholic about the unexpected death of his good friend Xie Mingkong, and he resolved never to forgive Sun Yanyan again.

Thus, he got together with Shen Luoshuang, who had been waiting for him with infatuation.

In the current world, the four great aristocratic clans—Zhao, Qian, Shen, and Song—respectively backed four powerful martial arts sects: Cangyun Mountain, Sword Washing Sect, Bright Moon Palace, and the Bathing Fire Cult. Among them, the Bathing Fire Cult was known for its bizarre methods that went against conventional morals, and was thus commonly referred to as the Demonic Cult.

When it came to supreme martial arts, the world acknowledged three individuals who had stepped into the realm of Innate Grandmasters: The first was the court’s ‘Jiuqiansui‘ Wei Zhengping, who practiced the Sunflower Manual; the second was Zhao Yunkong, the current head of Cangyun Mountain; the third was Song Wudi, the leader of the Bathing Fire Cult.

To avenge his brother, Xie Chenyun joined the Bathing Fire Cult, determined to master peerless martial arts, raze the Purging Court to the ground, and kill Sun Yanyan. Coincidentally, his physique was extremely suited for cultivating the Cult’s supreme martial art, the Nirvana Holy Canon. Soon, he was taken in as a disciple by Song Wudi and became the Young Cult Leader.

Over two years later, the world plunged into absolute chaos. The four great aristocratic clans and various factions large and small, under the banner of “clearing the emperor’s side of evil advisors,” launched an offensive against Wei Zhengping’s clique, spanning from the martial underworld to the imperial court.

As the Young Cult Leader, Xie Chenyun joined forces with the Song clan—which had good relations with the Bathing Fire Cult—in battle. This was something he had long awaited: getting revenge for his brother and the Xie family.

On the battlefield, Xie Chenyun unexpectedly reunited with the male protagonist, Tang Sheng.

As it turned out, after leaving the Xie family manor, Tang Sheng originally intended to marry Shen Luoshuang and roam the world together. Unfortunately, Shen Luoshuang was actually the precious daughter of the Shen clan, one of the four great clans. Her family had already arranged a marriage for her and looked down on someone like Tang Sheng. The two were forced to separate.

Suffering such great humiliation from the Shen family, Tang Sheng swore to make a name for himself and win back Shen Luoshuang in the future. Thus, he and his good friend Situ Feng joined the rebel army of the Wu family in Jingchu. Due to their formidable martial arts, the two were highly valued by the head of the Wu family. During a siege, the Wu family head died from severe injuries. Before passing away, he entrusted his only daughter, Wu Man’er, to Tang Sheng, making Tang Sheng the logical new leader of the rebel army.

After two years of expansion and development, this rebel army had become a force to be reckoned with, second only to the four great clans. They rebranded themselves as the Tang Family Army. This time, the Tang Family Army also joined the four great clans in the campaign to purge the emperor’s advisors.

Afterward, throughout the campaign against the Great Zhou dynasty, the Tang Family Army truly performed exceptionally well. Not only were they full of experts, but they were also well-informed and contributed immensely. Through the war, the Tang Family Army expanded further, quickly surpassing the four great clans directly. The Shen clan no longer dared to underestimate Tang Sheng, and Shen Luoshuang was able to be with him once again.

Xie Chenyun only sneered coldly at this and made no comment. He only wanted to avenge his brother and those of the Xie family manor who died unjustly.

Ultimately, the allied forces finally breached the capital and fought their way into the Purging Court. After everyone joined hands to slay the traitorous scoundrel Wei Zhengping…

Xie Chenyun naturally hadn’t forgotten the true murderer, Sun Yanyan. Just as he was about to land the killing blow in the nick of time, Tang Sheng surprisingly appeared and saved Sun Yanyan. Moreover, Tang Sheng shamelessly told Xie Chenyun to “look past it,” claiming that Sun Yanyan had now abandoned the darkness for the light, and that she had provided him with numerous clues during this assault on the capital and the Purging Court.

The others also praised Sun Yanyan as a heroine who dared to love and hate; they praised Tang Sheng for his immense charm, capable of making a demoness turn over a new leaf for love. Even Shen Luoshuang and Wu Man’er had absolutely no objections to this, saying: Tang Sheng’s ability to treat a woman who loved him so gently proved that he was a man of love and righteousness, making him worthy of their affection.

Xie Chenyun, however, only felt nauseous enough to vomit. Having three wives and four concubines, how could he talk about love and righteousness? Furthermore, were romantic feelings the only bonds in this world? Was there no righteousness among friends? Hadn’t his brother, Xie Mingkong, once been good friends with this bastard Tang Sheng? Did those who died by Sun Yanyan’s hands simply die in vain?

Thus, Xie Chenyun didn’t even bother arguing with them and directly channeled his internal energy to attack.

Tang Sheng also immediately stepped up to fight him. Having come this far and seen so many beauties, he didn’t care as much about Sun Yanyan as he did when he was an immature youth. However, now that he had achieved success and stood above millions, he naturally despised any dissenting voices. Xie Chenyun was simply too unappreciative of the situation.

After obtaining the complete Innate Heaven and Earth Cultivation Arts in the Jinling temporary palace, Tang Sheng’s strength had long since undergone an earth-shattering transformation. Even though Xie Chenyun had mastered the Nirvana Holy Canon, he was still no match for him.

Finally, at the critical moment of their battle, Xie Chenyun was fatally sneak-attacked from behind by Sun Yanyan.

Looking at Xie Chenyun’s corpse, Tang Sheng sighed deeply and said: “Although this man was obstinate and misguided, out of respect for my late friend Xie Mingkong, let us leave his brother’s body intact and buy him a coffin.”

And the rest of the story was the journey of Tang Sheng conquering everywhere, expanding his harem along the way, and ultimately ruling the world.

…

A cool breeze brushed against his face. Gu Siyuan gathered his thoughts. Without a doubt, the original owner of this body was the Great Zhou puppet emperor propped up by the grand eunuch Wei Zhengping. In two years’ time, he would be killed, and the country would fall.

As for the starting conditions… they weren’t too bad, right?

Just then, a dark shadow suddenly flashed through the wide-open window, and Gu Siyuan felt a sudden weight on his lap.

A familiar, cold mechanical voice sounded in his mind.

“Hello, Host. This is your mission target for this world—Xie Chenyun.”

“Current Mission: Change Xie Chenyun’s character ending and allow him to find happiness.

Success Reward: One lottery draw opportunity.

Failure Penalty: No reward obtained.”

Gu Siyuan lowered his head slightly, looked at the person in black who had crashed into his arms, and raised an eyebrow with great interest.

The cool breeze and bright moon were actually so romantic as to send a beauty right into his embrace?

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