The Council Spire was enormous and filled with many rooms, but few people lived there. Aside from major conferences, most of the space remained empty.
The elevator rose slowly toward the highest point. Xu Chuyao stood slightly behind the secretary, Xiao Jia. Her lips twitched as she considered starting a conversation, but she decided it wasn’t necessary.
‘The Old Speaker…’
This man truly fell into her unknown territory. It wasn’t for any other reason than the fact that, much like Monroe, he was an extremely old character.
In the original story, by the time Shen Ning reached the upper echelons, the Old Speaker was either long dead or retired to live out his final years. He never had the chance to appear.
Xu Chuyao combed through the memories in her mind.
The original text only mentioned him once. When the female lead grew too quickly and threatened Wen Shengqing’s position, the latter tore off his hypocritical mask and ordered his followers to surround and attack her, doing everything possible to kill her.
Upon learning of this, the Old Speaker, who had once held the world in his hands, only gave a long sigh, having no other choice.
Only that one sentence.
Xu Chuyao tilted her head back and looked upward. Of course, she couldn’t see anything through the elevator ceiling, but she knew who was up there. As her gaze crossed the gap between two timelines, the fragmented image from the book quietly shattered, becoming vivid and mysterious.
The timeline of the original novel was ten years later. For an elderly man, ten years was a massive difference. Someone who could only manage a sigh ten years later might still be quite vigorous now.
“Miss Xu, we’re here.”
The secretary was the first to step out, but this time she didn’t lead the way with her head down. Instead, she stood quietly by the door. Once Xu Chuyao stepped out, the secretary turned back into the elevator, closed the doors, and descended.
‘Very tactful,’ Chuyao thought.
Xu Chuyao watched the elevator go down before turning to look around. This floor was a large open terrace.
Part of the area had been turned into a flower garden, blooming vibrantly under the summer sun. The rest of the space was empty. Under the perfect sunlight, an old man reclined on a rocking chair, leisurely soaking up the sun.
“You’re here. If you’re tired from standing, find something to sit on,” he said, glancing back. “I should have brewed a pot of good tea inside, but I feel that talking indoors is always uncomfortable. It’s better here; words drift away quickly with the wind and won’t be trapped in one place.”
With just that one glance, Chuyao could tell this Old Speaker still had plenty of life in him!
As the victor of the Pacification War and the man who ended the chaotic era, the old dragon, though in his twilight years, naturally possessed an air of majesty.
Ten years later, it wouldn’t be his twilight; it would be his end.
Standing was actually fine, and she wasn’t tired. Besides, the terrace was quite bare, and there weren’t many things suitable to pull over. However, Xu Chuyao thought about it and decided to look for a seat anyway.
Talking to an elder while standing over them wasn’t great. Furthermore, if she stood, he wouldn’t be able to see her face, which would be awkward.
She found it — a small wooden chair by the edge of the garden. Xu Chuyao dragged it over and sat down opposite the rocking chair.
“Elder, I’m not sure how to address you?”
“My surname is Ye.”
“Understood, Elder Ye.”
After a few brief pleasantries, the Old Speaker sat up slightly and studied the girl in front of him.
“Student Xu Chuyao from Shengling Academy, right? I’ve heard of you for a long time. You’ve done many great things this past year.”
He said it casually, and Chuyao took it just as casually. The last one, Zhou Tian, had said the same thing. In reality, they had probably just skimmed her file the night before.
“Just some minor contributions,” she said plainly.
“Is that so? It’s rare for you to visit, so let’s talk about things you won’t encounter at school.”
The Old Speaker shifted his body and picked up a small water bottle from his side. With a slight flick of his hand, a stream of clear water shot from the mouth, flying over ten meters through the air before landing accurately on the flowers in the garden.
‘Such a smooth way to water the garden.’
As Chuyao was pondering this, she heard the Old Speaker speak again. “Regarding the current world, how do you view the order we’ve had since the war?”
“What are you referring to?”
Xu Chuyao didn’t understand his meaning. The Old Speaker put down the water bottle and pointed his finger at the ground.
Or rather, what was beneath it.
The Spire? Or the Council?
‘Oh, politics. You should have just said so.’
Xu Chuyao tilted her head and thought for a moment. “Emmm… it’s probably fine. It’s passable, anyway.”
Life was like that; if it was passable, then it was fine. After all, Chuyao wasn’t a politician; she couldn’t really say anything profound.
“In fact, when the war was nearing its end and the situation was settled, I considered this question. People around me gave many opinions. Some even wanted to drape the yellow robe over me,” the Old Speaker said.
Xu Chuyao’s mouth hung open slightly. ‘Good heavens.’
None of this was in the original story. Had she finally triggered a hidden plot after being here for so long?
“In the end, nothing happened. We simply established a Council in a hurry to discuss and handle things, planning to refine the system slowly later. But afterward, I realized there was no need at all.”
The Old Speaker paused halfway and turned his head to check if Chuyao was listening properly. Seeing her paying attention, he continued. “According to the sayings of the Spirit Ascension era, our system is, in essence, a military government model. Moreover, the power of final decision is basically held in the hands of one person.”
“Force within oneself,” Xu Chuyao added.
It wasn’t that she wanted to speak, but the Old Speaker kept looking at her while he talked, just like a teacher in a classroom checking if a student was listening and hoping for some feedback.
So, she gave him some feedback.
“Exactly,” the Old Speaker nodded with a smile. “The force is within oneself, so the form doesn’t matter. But from another perspective, as long as the person at the top wants it, anything can be tried. So… do you have any thoughts?”
Xu Chuyao was slightly stunned. “I don’t really have any thoughts.”
“True, you’re still young. You can take your time to think.”
The Old Speaker picked up the water bottle again and stood up from the rocking chair, preparing to go and water the flowers properly.
“Go back and rest. It was an exhausting journey today. You’ve worked hard.”
“Okay.”
Back in the elevator, after pressing the button for the first floor, Xu Chuyao watched the doors close and let out a quiet sigh of relief.
She realized why the Old Speaker had said those things. He was treating her as a future leader and had started dropping hints about the Emperor’s Arts.
Being held in such high regard felt okay to Chuyao, but there was one small problem — there were far too many generations between them. There was at least one Wen Shengqing standing in the middle.
‘Emmm… wait, could it be?’
A radical thought crossed Chuyao’s mind.
*Click.* The elevator doors opened. Yu Jing, who was waiting at the entrance, looked anxious. Seeing the girl return, she immediately said, “They said you went upstairs. I was just about to go look for you. Is everything okay?”
“I’m fine. No… actually, something is happening.” Xu Chuyao’s eyes sparkled. Something very good! —
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