The next day, as soon as he opened his eyes, Jiang Chao Ge was not the least bit surprised to meet a pair of bright golden pupils. He was already used to Zhi Xuan scaring him in such a way. The one thing he was glad of was that at least he was sleeping with him in the appearance of a human.

Zhi Xuan looked at him, fuming with rage between gritted teeth, face full of resentment.

Jiang Chao Ge yawned, "Zuzong, what"s wrong again?"

"Don"t you see my body has become smaller again!"

Jiang Chao Ge lifted his body and looked. Zhi Xuan was now the appearance of only a ten year old……he resisted the impulse to laugh and said with a face full of sincerity: "I really envy you."

Zhi Xuan froze, "Ah?"

"Becoming young when you want to be young, becoming an adult when you want to be an adult. How good would it be if I could be powerful like you."

Zhi Xuan tilted his head and looked at him, "You think that it"s very powerful this way?"

"Of course. Have you seen any human that can do it? If humans could also change their appearance as they please, all the woman in the world don"t want to become old."

Zhi Xuan stroked his chin, seeming as if he thought what he said made sense, "But I don"t like this appearance."

"My spiritual power is still not enough. Wait until I become strong, I"ll definitely let you appear in any appearance you desire. You appearance now is really good. If you are smaller, when you don"t want to walk I can carry you. Also, no matter what appearance you are, you won"t lose half a bit of might."

Zhi Xuan raised his eyebrows, "Really?"

Jiang Chao Ge nodded his head forcefully, "Really."

Zhi Xuan seemed to have been temporarily deceived.

Jiang Chao Ge got out of bed, washing his face and rinsing his mouth, then bringing him downstairs to eat.

Yu Ren Shu and Tian Rong were long since properly prepared. As soon as they saw them coming downstairs, both of them simultaneously began to laugh with a snort.

Zhi Xuan glared at them, and said in a stern voice, "Why are you laughing?"

Jiang Chao Ge gave them a meaningful look.

Yu Ren Shu gave a soft cough and turned his head away. Tian Rong"s expression rejoiced at Zhi Xuan"s misfortune.

Zhi Xuan pointed at them, "I want to eat them."

Jiang Chao Ge pulled him behind him, "They aren"t yummy. I"ll go buy alcohol for you."

Zhi Xuan said furiously: "You said that humans were envious of me, were you lying?!"

"Of course not."

"Then why does that Zheng want to maintain an adult appearance?"

"Eh….he probably likes the appearance of an adult."

"I also like!" Zhi Xuan grabbed Jiang Chao Ge"s collar, "Make him the same as me or else I"ll eat you all!"

Tian Rong"s expression changed. Because Yu Ren Shu needed to uphold the majesty of the royal family, he could not lose self control and could only hold back his laughter to the point his whole face was bright red.

Jiang Chao Ge looked towards Yu Ren Shu, with an expression that said "you do what you see fit".

Yu Ren Shu glanced sideways at Tian Rong, "How about you….."

Tian Rong gave a cold snort, "Don"t even think about it."

A flame suddenly ignited in Zhi Xuan"s small fist. Jiang Chao Ge said hurriedly: "Dont waste spiritual power. You will become smaller like this."

Zhi Xuan froze, so angry his eyes threw sparks.

Yu Ren Shu smiled at Tian Rong, expectation actually in his eyes, "Be wronged for bit or else it won"t be easy to go the rest of the way."

Tian Rong glared at him, "I"d rather go back to the spirit weapon."

"Tian Rong, the present situation is more important."

Tian Rong"s expression was stiff. He looked at Zhi Xuan who was baring his fangs and brandishing his claws, hesitated for a while and then nodded unwillingly. His appearance suddenly shrunk, facial features also changing from that of a youth to a ten year old child. Only that pair of amber eyes were as sharp and fearful as before.

Yu Ren Shu burst into laughter. He picked up Tian Rong, "I"ve long since wanted to see."

Tian Rong pulled a long face, cheeks puffed out, giving a cold snort and turning his head away.

Only then was Zhi Xuan at ease, tugging at Jiang Chao Ge"s sleeve, "Let"s go."

From Hu An City all the way to the imperial capital it was pretty smooth going. It was a Prince going on a journey after all, the dispatch was different. Jiang Chao Ge and Zhi Xuan followed, having tasty food and strong drinks without spending a penny. Boss Jiang weighed the seven gold coins left and thought about different reprehensible means to make money and then buy spirit medicine, eating it like candy.

Being supplied with alcohol everyday, Zhi Xuan"s mood was pretty good. Other than demanding that Tian Rong maintain the same bean appearance as him to gain some mental rea.s.surance, he was actually ok to look after. Although Tian Rong was resentful at the start, he became used to it afterwards. He rode on one horse with Hu Ren Shu and looked at the scenery as usual.

After being constantly on the move for half a month, they finally arrived at the imperial capital, Tian Ao City.

Jiang Chao Ge looked at that imposing imperial capital from afar, somewhat rueful in his heart. The place he risked his life to escape before, he cam back to himself several months later.

Walking through the outer gates, someone came to greet Yu Ren Shu. Seeing Tian Rong who was riding on the same horse as Yu Ren Shu, they suddenly froze, "Your Highness, this is?" He wanted to ask who"s kid it was, but that amber hair and eyes were obviously not human.

"It"s Tian Rong." Yu Ren Shu patted Tian Rong"s head, "Pretty cute right?"

Tian Rong lifted his head and gave him a glare, "Shu, don"t be excessive."

Yu Ren Shu disapproved, "Bear with it a bit longer."

"Your Highness, the State Preceptor is currently waiting for you."

"He knows I"m back?"

"Yes."

"Ok, I also urgently want to meet him. We"ll go directly to State Preceptor Hall."

The delegation of people made their way majestically towards State Preceptor Hall.

Jiang Chao Ge was absolutely stunned by the excellent scenery in Tian Ao City"s period of prosperity. The heart of that huge and prosperous empire had a well deserved reputation. The whole city was built upon a mountain. The city gate was at the foot of the mountain. The higher up the mountain one walked, the more magnificent and dignified the architectural style. That dazzling domed building at the summit of the mountain was definitely the royal palace.

Along the way, Jiang Chao Ge saw all categories of spirit weapon shops, beast material shops, spirit medicine stores, auction houses in a huge scale. He inwardly rubbed his hands, thinking of how many gold coins were waiting for him in such a huge city.

State Preceptor Hall was a dignified, tetragonal building. The ground was laid with coa.r.s.e, dark red volcanoes rock, making it seem strong and proper.

The four dismounted and entered, covered in dust from head to toe. Attendants brought them towards the legislative hall.

Jiang Chao Ge asked curiously: "Is there anything special about the State Preceptor? Only that his spiritual power is extremely high?"

Yu Ren Shu said: "The State Preceptor is namely the Great Sorcerer of Tian Ling. He"s chosen by G.o.d to inherit ancient sorcery and is someone that possesses extraordinary wisdom. The wisdom of the State Preceptor is like the ocean, it"s limitless."

"That powerful?" Jiang Chao Ge thought deeply: "Then is he still mortal?"

"Yes. Unless it"s a State Preceptor that cultivates the path of a spirit priest, otherwise his life span is no different from ordinary people. The State Preceptor now cultivates the path of a spirit weapon user."

"Then what if he dies?" Zhi Xuan asked.

The attendants looked back with round eyes, glaring at Zhi Xuan.

Zhi Xuan glared fiercely back at them, scaring the trembling hearts of the attendants. They hastily turned their heads back.

Yu Ren Shu whispered: "The State Preceptor has a special ability. He can find his own successor, grooming them from childhood to become the next Preceptor."

While speaking, they"d already arrived at legislative hall. In such a huge legislative hall, there only stood two solitary people, an elder and youth. The elder was the tall thin old man Jiang Chao Ge had once seen in the sacrificial hall. Beside him stood a pretty sixteen or seventeen year old boy.

As soon as they saw Yu Ren Shu, the two half rose out of their chairs and said in unison: "Third Prince Highness."

Yu Ren Shu said politely: "State Preceptor sir."

The State Preceptor straightened his body, sharp gaze sweeping over the four people. Ultimately, his gaze rested on Zhi Xuan. Right now Zhi Xuan was the appearance of a three year old child yet he was not polite at all, glaring at people everywhere. Other than Jiang Chao Ge, he practically never gave anyone a happy face.

The State Preceptor looked at Zhi Xuan for two seconds, took a deep breath, eyes filled with sorrow and said mournfully: "Disaster is around the corner."

Yu Ren Shu said: "You already know?"

The State Preceptor nodded: "Half a month ago, astrological phenomena suddenly changed in the central district, the star configurations were abnormal. I had never seen such a configuration before. I only knew after flipping through ancient books combined with legends, that ancient rare beasts had appeared on earth."

"I"m also aware that the situation is serious, so I brought him back. State Preceptor, what should we do now?"

The State Preceptor said darkly: "We must think of a way to find other Divine grade spirit weapons, the strength of the seal is obviously fading. The only thing we can do now, is try to prevent Divine grade spirit weapons from falling into the hands of those that harbour evil intentions. Does anyone else know about this matter?"

Yu Ren Shu clenched his fists: "The spirit weapon user of Ming Ling a.s.sociation"s Fei Yi, Shen Yan Sui was also present at that time. We were all shocked by the appearance of the Qi Lin, and in the end allowed him to escape."

The State Preceptor gave a heavy sigh, "We definitely can"t allow Ming Ling a.s.sociation to find any more Divine grade spirit weapons. A battle between ancient rare beasts can destroy the heavens and wipe out earth. The only way we can control the situation now, is to control Divine grade spirit weapons in our hands."

Zhi Xuan gave a cold snort, "Humans, overestimate their abilities."

The State Preceptor walked forward a few steps, and said respectfully towards Zhi Xuan, "Sir Qi Lin, you"ve seriously overlooked a gap of ten thousand years in the human world. The human world now is not the human world of back then. The Origin of Heaven and Earth also cannot be traced. Would it be possible for you to enjoy the times of peace and prosperity with humans?"

Zhi Xuan used the young and tender voice of a child and said coldly, "I"ve never wanted the Origin of Heaven and Earth, but I won"t be under others control. So I also won"t give the Origin of Heaven and Earth to anyone else."

Yu Ren Shu said with a heavy voice: "The Origin of Heaven and Earth….. what is it?"

"The Origin of Heaven and Earth is a divine object born from the essence of heaven and earth, the sun and moon. With the Origin of Heaven and Earth, you possess the ability to control all creatures on earth. Thousands of years ago, ancient rare beasts fought with each other in order to contend for the Origin of Heaven and Earth, resulting in the human world becoming a purgatory. In order to save the human world, the G.o.ds sent ancient sorcerers to suppress the rare beasts while they were in a stalemate. But because the rare beasts" spiritual awareness was too powerful, there was no place that could store them even after searching the six worlds. They could only seal them within a spirit weapon."

Jiang Chao Ge glanced at Zhi Xuan, and discovered that his pupils were frighteningly bright, like the flames in h.e.l.l, burning fiercely. He could not help but place a hand on Zhi Xuan"s chest, softly rea.s.suring. He said: "I don"t understand. Didn"t ancient sorcerers already kill them?"

The State Preceptor shook his head, "The birth and death of all living things on earth is actually a never ending cycle. In your world, it can be explained by the "law of conservation of energy". Its just like with the death of one person, their corporal body can become fertiliser to nourish the earth, their soul goes from the human world to the spirit world. They will never disappear and will simply exist on earth in a different situation. Similarly, although ancient sorcerers killed rare beasts and turned their bodies into spirit weapons, their souls are too powerful. So powerful there is no place to safely store them in any of the six worlds. If they enter the spirit world, then the spirit world will become the next human world. Thus they can only be sealed and cannot be annihilated. The seal has already been in power for thousands of years, and has long since become unable to restrain their spiritual awareness. So the day they appear on earth will come sooner or later. Once all twelve ancient rare beasts return to the human world, can you imagine what a thousand years of resentment will turn this world into?"

Jiang Chao Ge became frightened in his heart. If twelve rare beasts like Zhi Xuan began to fight each other….. he only now realised how serious the situation was.

The Origin of Heaven and Earth/天地之元- I"m not sure if this has a more accurate translation because nothing turned up when I searched it so I just translated it literally.

Translator"s Corner

Lmao what an unexpected surprise, Tian Rong in child form ? He"s so cute lmao (///▽///)