The King of Black Fog

Chapter 1267 - 563: The Fifth Holy City

The small boat was light yet gave a feeling of stability, almost as if it pressed down in the air.

Li Changzhou recited: "Life is a sea of bitterness, the physical body is the boat, ideals are the compass needle, and effort is the sail."

He opened his eyes and asked Turquoise Pool, "My dear, how about it?"

Turquoise Pool held back her laughter and gave a thumbs-up: "You've already become a real person in the Republic era, probably would have been one in the Ming Dynasty too, but it's a pity you didn't go to the Qing Dynasty, otherwise you'd definitely have been Qian Long."

Li Changzhou was displeased: "My love, reflect on it, savor it carefully."

"Such a profound truth, comparable to 'blame oneself harshly, hence one thrives better'. This saying was given to me by my grandfather during the year I studied abroad. He said, there is no need to forgive others, but one must be strict with oneself. This is genius, this is the path of a qualified Zhao."

"Your grandfather spoke so well." Li Changzhou put his hands together in admiration, "But as for me, I just want to ask you, is my poem any good?"

"...Alright, brother." Turquoise Pool was speechless.

"Stubborn and incorrigible!"

Turquoise Pool wanted to roll her eyes at him.

She looked at the small boat transformed from the Primordial Divine Tree and asked, "Are you sure it will work? The requirement of the fourth city is to find materials within this city, aren't you bringing your own?"

"Materials, in the context of language, the only materials to compose an essay, are what's in the mind."

"Are you sure?" Turquoise Pool asked again.

"Not sure, but I am confident," Li Changzhou said, "Weren't we just discussing whether to use the best materials or the worst materials before?"

"Now that I think about it, the path of life, shortcuts are often the worst, the treasure materials everywhere in the city are shortcuts. Only by understanding what a true boat is can one find the best boat."

"A true boat?"

"Rely on what for cultivation, depend on what to live."

Turquoise Pool seemed pensive.

After thinking for a while, she looked up and asked, "What do you think my boat is?"

"Me."

"Hmm—" Turquoise Pool made a sound of deep contemplation, "Am I relying too much on you? In Han Feizi, it says, 'Trust in oneself, rely not on others'; a person must rely on themselves."

"Does Han Feizi understand love? Moreover, we are comrades, playmates—or in Qian Xia's words, 'partners', the unity of these three means we will never be apart until the end of time."

Li Changzhou took her hand and continued, "Whether it's you or Qing Lan, I will certainly not let you down, rest assured."

"...You're sounding more and more like an Emperor."

"I truly am!" Li Changzhou squeezed her tender hand, "I wish I could break into history and give two Emperors a good beating—no, it's not them or the history that turned Emperors into cads; it's those palace dramas!"

"When I return, I'll issue an order to strictly review palace dramas; those with cad scenes will not pass the audit, accused of mocking the Heavenly Emperor, and from now on, they can all go watch 'Teletubbies'!"

Turquoise Pool tumbled into his arms with laughter.

Li Changzhou also hugged her, her soft and fragrant body being irresistible.

He whispered, "I'm not asking you to lose yourself and become a slave to love. What I mean is: where you can rely on me, don't hesitate, for your own body and will are not as loyal to you as I am."

Turquoise Pool wrapped her arms around his waist without speaking, her face against his chest.

"You can look for your own boat," Li Changzhou said, "not for the sake of independence, it's simply that this should be the path to Saint in the fourth Holy City, and it's worthwhile to study it."

Turquoise Pool lifted her head in his embrace, her gorgeous face direct at him.

"I've already found my own boat." She showed a dazzling smile.

Li Changzhou chuckled, holding her tighter, "I'm not joking."

"Neither am I. You and Qing Lan are in the same boat through life and death; why can't I?"

"You can, of course, you can."

Li Changzhou no longer insisted, moreover, this might not be the wrong path; he is indeed the true boat for Turquoise Pool.

Why didn't the fourth Holy City separate the players? There is a reason.

Those combatants who follow the strong, for them, the strong are their boats.

So, the real challenge in this trial is for the strong, only they need to find their own boat.

The boat has been found, but the meaning of cultivation contained in it is still worth learning for Turquoise Pool, so she begins her seclusion practice.

She sat beneath the Enlightenment Ancient Tree and the Primordial Divine Tree, the mountain breeze blowing through, her red dress fluttering, clothing clinging to her body, her full chest mesmerizing and her slim waist intoxicating.

Li Changzhou was refining and repairing his war robe.

The war robe was created from general and supreme materials. The general materials were devoured by Chaos Qi, but the supreme materials remained; the foundation was not destroyed.

It only requires the integration of general materials, and the war robe can be restored.

As for the Bronze Spear, he intended to remove the sword marks, but it refused; it wanted to vindicate itself and comprehend the sword intent within the sword marks.

Materials vary in quality, but the artifact spirits of the war robe and the Bronze Spear do not.

However, the war robe's role is to protect, so it cannot allow itself to be in tatters; the Bronze Spear, predominantly used for striking, naturally pursues ultimate lethality.

Each person's path is different, each individual's boat is different.

Li Changzhou thought: 'The True Dragon's boat is most likely his bloodline, or perhaps his physical body; Corpse Bone Gene—if he uses the Black Bone as a boat, then he's doomed; if the Princess can awaken, she would certainly use order as her boat...'

And the Jade Emperor, Shakyamuni, and so on.

He put himself in the shoes of these opponents, walking their path to find their flaws.

Sunlight streamed down, casting dappled shadows through the Primordial Divine Tree and the Enlightenment Ancient Tree; he recalled a small incident from his sophomore year.

One day, his criminal law professor suddenly messaged him, sending him a load of materials and templates, asking him to make a PPT.

Some days after completing it, when he had almost forgotten about it, the professor suddenly called him in and drove him to the professor's own law firm.