Chapter 392: Recorders of the Past and Present (Part 3)

"Yue Anping entrusted me with some resources, asking me to come here after his death and deliver a message."
The young man seemed to sense Su Chen's surprise, and he frankly explained, "I didn't expect him to be going on such a dangerous mission... If I had known, I might have stopped him, and he wouldn't have died in vain."
The young man's tone was somewhat regretful, but his face showed no remorse.
Su Chen thought to himself, if the young man knew Yue Anping was going on a mission that would inevitably lead to his death, he wouldn't just not stop him; he probably would have been secretly hoping Yue Anping would die so he could monopolize the resources he left behind.
Fortunately, this young man was somewhat trustworthy, and he did come here after Yue Anping's death.
"Yue Anping said there wasn't much to record in his life, the only thing he was fortunate to have met Junior Sister Hua Caidie. After his death, all that's needed is to record that he was a disciple of the Tianyuan Sect; there's no need to waste too much ink. The rest is just to put him and Junior Sister Hua together."
The young man handed over a Yuan Stone.
Clearly, Yue Anping left behind a considerable fortune; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so generous as to give Su Chen a whole low-grade spirit stone.
Su Chen didn't refuse. After accepting the spirit stone, he asked, "How did Yue Anping die?"
The young man replied, "He insisted on taking on the mission to hunt down the Blood-Skinned Daoist. That Blood-Skinned Daoist was already a Spirit Pattern Realm expert, extremely ruthless, and enjoyed skinning young girls. In a short time, hundreds of girls within the sect's territory died at his hands. It's said he was a wanted monster who had fled from the outside world; even ordinary Spirit Sea Elders couldn't do anything to him."
When Yue Anping was found, his death was gruesome.
However, he had a smile on his face, which was surprising.
Listening to the young man's description, Su Chen understood why Yue Anping had a smile on his face before his death.
Yue Anping joined the Tianyuan Sect in his youth and later met Hua Caidie, an outer disciple; they became Daoist partners.
He later failed to kill the demon Bloodskin Taoist and died at the Bloodskin Taoist's hands.
Su Chen placed Yue Anping and Hua Caidie together.
Perhaps even insignificant figures like them wouldn't attract any attention here.
The disciples who came were mostly reminiscing about the sect's past glories, paying homage to the talented disciples and elders.
Su Chen looked at the dusty bamboo slips and sighed inwardly.
The bamboo slips on top were spotless, some even as warm as jade.
After instructing Yue Anping on his task, the young man left without looking back.
Before long, the name Yue Anping would gradually fade from the Tianyuan Sect's memory, until it disappeared completely.
Su Chen shook his head.
That's how it is for most ordinary people.
They couldn't achieve great fame or widespread recognition; only a very few people would remember them.
But once those few who remembered them were gone, or rather, forgotten,
they vanished without a trace, seemingly leaving no mark on the world.
Born without a trace, died without a trace.
"Whether one is remembered for eternity or infamous for ten thousand years, it is better than leaving no trace at all."
Su Chen muttered to himself.
He thought of the Book of Reversal.
If he were truly dead,
this world would no longer bear any trace of him.
He had once been mediocre and infamous,
and also reigned supreme, his name etched in history.
Now... he's returned to ordinariness.
.......
Less than a month later, Su Chen heard the news of the Blood-Skinned Daoist's death.
The Blood-Skinned Daoist had killed a disciple of the Tianyuan Sect. Even the most ordinary disciple was a provocation to the Tianyuan Sect, let alone Yue Anping, who had been tortured to death in extremely cruel ways... incurring the wrath of the Tianyuan Sect.
If the Blood-Skinned Daoist wasn't killed,
the Tianyuan Sect's painstakingly cultivated reputation would plummet.
Upon learning all this,
Su Chen smiled.
"So that's how it is... Yue Anping, is this the result you wanted?"
Even small figures have small ambitions.
Su Chen realized.
Yue Anping hadn't died in vain.
He knew he was no match for the Blood-Skinned Daoist, and he also knew that unless the Blood-Skinned Daoist committed a fundamental error, even the Tianyuan Sect wouldn't easily expend a great deal of effort to kill him.
He was resolute in his death, willing to face it... using himself as bait to lure the sect elders into action.
Su Chen felt a pang of regret; he had underestimated ordinary people like Yue Anping... Now he could no longer alter Yue Anping's life story.
Tampering with the records of the dead was a grave taboo.
Thinking of all this, Su Chen clapped his hands and laughed.
"Brilliant!"
This time, he developed a strong interest in the profession of 'recorder'.
The path he had traveled in the past had been too fast; he had never truly understood the masses.
Now, perhaps it was time for him to calm down.
Even if this was his final journey, he wanted to see the most beautiful scenery.
.......
Within the Tianyuan Sect
Another autumn and winter had arrived.
It had been a long time since anyone had found Su Chen.
Fortunately, he had long since endured the monotonous days and didn't find it boring.
However, Su Chen noticed that the Tianyuan Sect had been quite busy lately.
After inquiring, Su Chen learned that it was the day of the once-a-decade sect ranking in the Mu Jing Dynasty.
This was a major event for the Tianyuan Sect.
Sect ranking represented a sect's reputation!
A sect's reputation meant it could recruit more talented disciples.
More talented disciples meant a sect's future!
In short, it was of paramount importance!
The Tianyuan Sect first needed to determine its participants.
Hmm...
"Thank you for your kind offer!"
Su Chen looked at a young man with black hair, his hair standing on end, grinning at another young man wielding a greatsword.
"Senior Brother Sun is mighty!"
"Senior Brother Sun has won! This time, Senior Brother Sun will definitely have a place among the top ten geniuses of the Mu Jing Dynasty!"
"Hahahaha!"
The Senior Brother surnamed Sun was none other than the jovial, black-haired youth. He was now full of pride, showing no humility in the face of the crowd's praise.
"I, Sun Ao, will certainly not let down the Sect Master, Elders, and all my senior brothers, sisters, and junior brothers and sisters who have placed their expectations on me!"
"This time, the name of my Tianyuan Sect will definitely be among the top ten geniuses of the Mu Jing Dynasty!"
The elder on the platform looked at the confident Sun Ao and laughed, scolding, "You brat, the fight hasn't even started yet, and you're already so arrogant!"
The youth wielding the greatsword, defeated by Sun Ao, also shouted, "Sun Ao, remember what you said!"
"You must become one of the top ten geniuses of the Mu Jing Dynasty!"
Sun Ao laughed loudly, "That's for sure!"
The young man named Sun Ao was quite strong; he had already broken through to the peak of the Spirit Pattern Realm at the age of twenty.
With such lofty ambitions, achieving a good ranking in the Dynasty's Grand Competition wouldn't be difficult.
Su Chen watched this scene and smiled along with everyone else.
........