The Legend of the Devil
Ch. 154 - Truth in Tragedy

As if a bulkhead was obstructing the breathing of the man in the magnificent robe, he took a heavy breath and seemed to be huffed like never before. Hearing the name of Holy Sword Batara alone had made the oxygen around him thin, let alone the chronology of his death accurately described by the white masked youth.

"I do appreciate your good deed in helping my granddaughter ..." He poured a cup of drink for Xue Zhan. "But what you've been pestering this time is a taboo question, me and the Nine Council agreed not to bring it up again."

He showed sorrow in between his explanations, "The death of the previous Great Chief of the Holy World, the Holy Sword is indeed very unfortunate. He was a good man of wisdom and discipline, everyone respected him without exception. However ... There's one thing you don't know, young man."

Ziran Zhao shifted the small glass cup towards Xue Zhan, "the greater the power you carry with you, the more unlucky your life will be."

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?" Xue Zhan gulped began to gulp emotions.

"Sacred Sword Monarch was going through a bad thing because she bore a great responsibility; bringing the Stone Ground with her."

"But-but!" Xue Zhan almost kicked the table. "Stone of the Earth is not his responsibility, you ask him for help and he helps with a sincere heart. How did you all leave her when something bad happened to her? Where are you all going?! Why are you partying on the day of his death?"

Xue Zhan's shoulders had broken and he had only realized he was getting brazen when Xiang Yi Bai patted his right shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm released."

Ziran Zhao closed his eyes for a moment, carefully considering his decision. On one hand he had already promised to obey whatever Xue Zhan asked for. On the other hand he objected to saying it.

But for a moment the regret in both of his eyeballs seemed not to lie. He kept something that was still incising a wound in his heart.

"His death must be hidden because of many things, this is very complicated to explain" he murmured. "There are three things I can tell you. That is the fact that the Ground Stone to this very second is still with him, whether he lives or dies, he has the book of the Seven Healing God Methods of the Milky Way Forest and some other equally great heavenly heirlooms. Everyone in this world is after that. Only the Sacred Sword Sect can protect him well."

"I don't know why my heart was moved to ask for his help. He looked extremely tough and sturdy to withstand all the oncoming attacks."

Xue Zhan cut. "So Your Majesty already knew it would all end like this? And still sacrifice the Holy Sword Batara?"

"This may indeed sound selfish, but basically the duty of a Supreme Chief of the martial World is to protect the martial World from bloodshed and chaos. He had already declared it in an oath that he couldn't possibly break" Ziran Zhao said.

"Thanks to the Diqiu Empire returning to peace, those treasures did not fall into the wrong hands, and the balance returned. His sacrifice brought back the smiles of millions of people," his voice was stifled.

"However, I admit that I was the one who spread the news of his death." Ziran Zhao raised his face and looked at the young man in front of him firmly.

"Not without reason. I predicted many things for all the choices I made. When the Sacred Sword Saint fell into the Gorge of Regret I couldn't be sure he was alive or dead. I've sent some people to find out and they never came back" he explained.

"In the end I came to a conclusion, whether he was dead or alive, my only way to help him was to prevent the entry of the enemy into the Pit of Regret. I spread the news of his death, spread the frightening news of the ravine and forced everyone to shut up. Because if anyone were to find out about his death, of course they think the Holy Sword Saint still has a chance to live."

"What's wrong with that?"

Ziran Zhao replied. "If the one who heard it was you, you would have thought of looking for him and even saving him. What if the one who heard it was the Devil from Mount Qin or even the Red Fangs?"

Xue Zhan was silent. Ziran Zhao nodded briefly.

"This is their greatest opportunity. Get tens of 100 World Miracle Heirlooms at once, a Book that can make you eternal life and a Ground Stone. Even I've heard of his Sword is also one of the Heavenly Heirlooms. It's so dangerous, if someone finds his body and takes all of it, the entire empire will be shaken violently."

For a moment Xue Zhan did not respond. One by one the questions in his head began to be answered and Ziran Zhao was apparently not the bad guy that caused his Master's death. He looked at his Master and it seemed that Xiang Yi Bai had also only learned some facts after hearing the explanation from Ziran Zhao's side.

There was a voice from Ziran Zhao. The man's sight changed. "Before his death I sent an army to help him. But who would have thought, they betrayed and went crazy with the heirloom maniac, instead of helping even fight over the great treasures at the hands of the Holy Sword Batara and made the man decide to commit suicide."

"Actually how many heirlooms did he carry to become a fugitive of all the warriors from all over the world?"

Xue Zhan was really suspicious because Xiang Yi Bai had never said this before, he turned to his Master with a look of disbelief even though it was useless, Xue Zhan did not know how the man's expression was at the moment.

"I can't say it exactly, but he kept at least 10 of the 100 World Miracle Treasures hidden in the Thousand Tree Mountain College. He's the only one left of the school and everyone's after him. That was also the reason why he was hunted so fiercely. Even I am ... I couldn't resist such a strong current ... They hunted the Sacred Sword Sect so fiercely."

Ziran Zhao clenched his hands involuntarily. "You can imagine it? He was a guard over the 10 World Miracle Treasures, one Ground Stone belonging to the Diqiu Empire, and the Seven Profound Healing God Methods in his hands alone?"

A moment when Xue Zhan thought clearer and started to feel all the dots that had previously split apart from each other now started to connect with each other.

The main problem was not the Ground Stone that Ziran Zhao left behind, it was just the trigger. But the entirety of the heirloom that Xiang Yi Bai brought with him. Right Ziran Zhao said, the greater the power brought, the more unlucky the person's life will be. Xue Zhan looked at himself and felt it was true. Everyone wanted to kill him because of the power within him.

"Until the end of his life I still have great respect for him. The Sacred Sword Saint was a very admirable person. I have no one I can trust to guard the Stone. I think it is better to be taken to die with the Holy Sword Stone than to leave it to rotten humans. Even if the Sacred Sword Saint is still alive, I'm sure he'll keep the stone even if I don't ask for it."

The man continued back. "Because even though he looks evil, he actually has a tremendous tenderness of heart."

Xue Zhan nodded. "I finally understand. I'm sorry, Your Honor, I misinterpreted all of this and thought badly of you."

Ziran Zhao pulled a smile. "G ... For some reason when I tell this to others it feels like a bit of a burden on my shoulder disappears. I never told this to anyone. I hope you keep this a secret as well as I've kept it for 20 years. It's all for his good."

Xue Zhan smiled. "Of course, Your Majesty." She added. "If the Holy Sword Sect were to hear you, what would you say, Your Majesty?"

For a moment Ziran Zhao turned to him with a different facial expression. He thought for three minutes and finally made a sound.

"I'm sorry for my inability to protect you, this is the biggest regret I've never forgotten. And thank you for keeping the peace for 20 years. Without you the Diqiu Empire may have collapsed."

Xue Zhan was surprised not to play when Ziran Zhao suddenly lowered his head.

"Your Majesty, I only said if! Lift your head back."

Beside him, Xiang Yi Bai laughed and it made Ziran Zhao suspicious.

The man looked a little teary even though he was trying to cover it up.

"I got a little carried away." He sat back in an upright position.

"Is there anything else you want to ask?"

Xue Zhan shook his head. "No, your answer is more than enough, Your Majesty."

Xue Zhan smiled back behind his mask, seeing how even Ziran Zhao and Xiang Yi Bai were equally amazing. They deserve great respect.

"Teacher, are we back?"

Ziran Zhao was quite astonished actually why the young swordsman had brought his Master with him. The man did not even utter a word as they seriously told a story. He chose to ignore it. Xue Zhan said goodbye to return to Fan Yuan's residence with the white-robed man. Until before his departure, Ziran Zhao looked at the figure of the white robe from behind and felt familiar.

"The white cloak ... Why does it feel so familiar?"