Hearing what Li Zhan said in regards to the envoy, Ovid thought for a long time, before simply shaking his head and leaning into the cool stone walls behind him. He rested his head on a protruding part of the wall and closed his eyes.
Li Zhan was somewhat confused. She asked, “What are you doing?”
Ovid’s voice sounded weak but stilled echoed through the cave. “I want to rest.”
Li Zhan said, “I’m ascending in three days. The Cambrian Empire is voluntarily acting as a massive tree you can hide under. How can you miss out on this opportunity?”
“I’m fine with following my mother’s plot, but for now, I simply want to rest for a little.”
Li Zhan looked at Ovid with sympathy. She thought; he is not even twenty, but already, have seen more things than people who had lived for hundreds of years. Ever since Ovid had met with Anna half a year ago, he had arrived before death’s door too many times. Although he maintains an aloof expression, the pressure Ovid must have been under is no doubt immense.
Li Zhan said, “I will stay behind until you leave the cave.”
Ovid opened his eyes, a little bewildered. He asked, “Why?”
“Would Cai Hua miss me only after a few years? I am confident that he will not be too difficult to find even beyond this world. He is simply too much of a flamboyant to hide within the universe. Moreover, if you can increase your control over your state, it would make you more valuable to the Kaiser, the envoy is only a half-saint, and would not dare act brazenly.”
Li Zhan stood up from the stone bed and walked toward the exit of the cave. She said without turning from her back to Ovid, “I will go tell him that you are currently cultivating a sword spirit, inspired by the sword left behind by Cai Hua. If the envoy wants to stay in the harsh wind and frigid cold of the Great Dividing Range in order to cultivate his mind, he is more than welcomed.”
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Karl von Seeburg was a quiet and gentle young man.
His quietness and gentleness did not mean that he was not ambitious. He simply concealed his ambition beneath a mellow and warm exterior. Just like many years ago, he needed the advice of his mentor to leave his village and joined a minor noble as a stable boy beneath an alias, adopting the von Seeburg name in the process. He remained mild no matter how coldly his peers in the castle were to him or how they treated him to disdain.
It was because he was one of the many bastard children of the Kaiser, the most ambitious man in the world. Even though his mother was an ordinary peasant, he still had the right to be ambitious - just like his father. But he simply did not need to show it, just like how an eagle simply did not feel the need to reveal its ambition to the sparrows beneath it.
However, in the buffer zone between the Juliana Empire and the Northern Kingdoms, his quietness and mildness were more sincere. Countless ambitious man… and even some woman have met there ends here.
Out of respect for these legendary figures, he chose to not use any mana to walk through this mountains range, and not leave the foot of Metopo. The prowess Li Zhan perceived from his presence was naturally not wrong, Karl von Seeburg was indeed a powerful half-saint. But his state is perhaps even less stable than Ovid’s, at least before that strange essence appeared in Ovid’s body.
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The breeze blowing through the Great Dividing Range was always harsh. But the harshest would be the morning wind.
Karl opened his eyes and emerged from his meditation. He gazed calmly at the figure emerging from the snow, before standing up and making a gesture of respect.
In fact, several days had already passed before Li Zhan had informed Ovid of Karl’s presence. She had not thought of him as an individual that would express genuine commitment toward Ovid until today.
Li Zhan squinted at the gloomy sky as if attempting to look beyond the starry skies. After some time, she said, “The person you want to employ is my husband’s disciple.
Karl’s expression turned solemn. He said, “I did not know that you are the famous Li Zhan. Please forgive my impoliteness.”
Li Zhan ignored what he said. “The lands here are rich in spiritual essence and harsh on the soul. Ovid is currently using this condition to create his own sword spirit…”
“The deed of your husband will be remembered by the human collectiveness. Madame Li, my condolences.”
Li Zhan expressionlessly accepted Karl’s consolation and continued, “Many thanks gentleman Karl. The conditions here are also suitable for the strengthening of your foundations. After ten years, your state should be enough to impress others.”
Karl was silent.
Cai Hua had already ascended, but Li Zhan was still here. At the same time, Ovid had entered into self-exile. He had spent a large portion of his savings to uncover the connection between Ovid and Cai Hua. However, when he realises what Li Zhan implied behind her words, that being Ovid refused to meet him within 10 years, he grew outraged. He grew even angrier when he heard Ovid was going to spend the time cultivating a sword spirit.
It was a feat that Cai Hua, the most talented swordsman to have ever lived, had only managed to do only after more than a hundred years. To do it in ten years was no different than the illusions of a child.
That’s not to even mention that Ovid’s state was only a half-saint, just like himself. Karl thought himself to be ambitious, but even he would not dare dream of cultivating a sword spirit as a mere half-saint - moreover, as someone who had just achieved the state of half-saint. Could Ovid be expecting to break through into sainthood before he was even thirty?
According to Karl’s understanding of the path toward eternality, nothing like this had ever occurred before. Cultivating a sword spirit in a mere ten years sounded like a joke! That’s why he felt everything was false! He had been so kind as to have personally travelled to this wasteland, yet even before he arrived before the door, he was rejected!
A look of scorn appeared on Karl’s face as he said, “If Ovid is not willing to meet me just say so. Why ridicule me through such a flimsy excuse?”
Li Zhan did not care what impression Karl had on her. She turned away from him and prepared to walk into the snow.
It was just that as the cold wind brushed past her, she was reminded of the frozen aura of the royal palace. She returned her gaze to Karl, who now, appeared as pathetic as a dog due to the strange expression on his face.
“If you want to impress your father, there are many ways. But since you chose to meet Ovid, it’s only right to keep it till the end. I’m well aware you want to use Ovid to increase your influence in Cambrian court, but all you Southerners are selfish beings, so I expect the others to be no better than you.”
“I have seen countless men like you become famous through your talent and humble origin in the past thousand years. They were all like you, and they thought only through using others could they reach the end of eternity. The well-off second generations were only lucky in the birth lottery and gained an advantage that you cannot get even if you worked hard for it.”
“I know you want to shake the world and become famous.”
“But one cannot reach eternity on the back of others alone.”
“Even with the best teacher, even with the best birthright, you cannot reach eternity. That’s not to even say of exploiting people who are weaker than you. Once you walk down that path, you have lost the chance to cross into eternity.”
“That’s why Alexander can ascend; because he never relied on the efforts of others.”
“That’s why the Kaiser, or even my father, cannot ascend after so many years.”
Li Zhan flicked her golden robes and said, “You can’t even be willing to bear the name of the mother who raised you, much less bear the weight of your own path, what right do you have to force others to bear yours? If you don’t rely on yourself, how can you call yourself truly ambitious?”
Karl did not speak as he listened to Li Zhan speak. His face grew paler and sweat poured down his back, soaking his shirt and the path of snow beneath him.
After a moment, he straightened up and placed his hands on the ground before him. He strung his index finger around his head, a gesture commonly used by clergymen to instructors after a lecture and said sincerely, “Thank you, Madame Li, for showing the path to me.”
Li Zhan calmly placed her foot on the incline of the mountain, as if she were a king inspecting her lands. She said, “Do not thank me. I only came here to inform you due to my foolish husband’s disciple. It’s just that if you cause a stir, he may not be able to concentrate and finish his seclusion in time.”
Li Zhan took another step onto the mountain and disappeared.
Karl looked at the seemingly infinite mountain and decided to no longer simply recruit Ovid into his father’s court. He wanted to challenge Ovid.