The Last Sentinel

After a heated exchange, the originally pleasant banquet ended on a sour note.

The banquet ended cleanly and efficiently. The servants cleared away the leftover wine and cold food, the clinking of cups and goblets fading into the distance. As the tent doors were opened and closed, the night wind swept in, carrying away the last trace of laughter and merriment, leaving only the lingering smell of wine and a few flickering lanterns.

Tianchou, the commander of Dongtianmen, neither praised nor blamed Vikram and Oda Hayato.

He wore a polite smile as he saw the two off. But that smile vanished like frost the moment the curtain fell.

As the crowd dispersed, General Tianchou sat alone in the vast command tent, patting his slightly bulging belly and hiccuping.

He leaned on the table with one hand and held an empty cup in the other, his fingertips circling the rim of the cup. In the lamplight, his face was half-lit and half-shadowed, and the shallow wrinkle between his brows was much deeper than it had been during the day.

As a member of the imperial family, General Tianchou knew very well who the loyal ministers were, who the treacherous ministers were, who was helping him, and who was harming him.

Without a doubt, Oda Hayato was a loyal retainer. He genuinely wanted to kill the carbon-based universe Great Xia civilization and Qi Tian. He was helping himself.

But this "loyalty" requires him to pay with the life of his sworn enemy.

Vikram is a treacherous minister; he's just here to coast along. He doesn't really want to fight Qi Tian, ​​nor does he want to be an enemy of the carbon-based Great Xia civilization. He just wants to get by.

But this "cunning" actually allowed Tianchou to walk out of the command tent alive.

To be honest, Tianchou, as a member of the Heavenly Family, received the most orthodox Heavenly Court education. He wanted to win the battle, kill Qitian, and take over Huaguo Mountain.

He couldn't say how much ambition he still had left, only that he still harbored a sliver of resentment.

But Tianchou knew very well that he was neither qualified nor capable.

Within the Tian family, Tian Chou belongs to the second tier, somewhere in between.

I knew I would never be given an important position in the Heavenly Court, which is why I was sent to the East Heavenly Gate as commander to draw the main firepower of Qitian from Flower Fruit Mountain.

The two routes that were actually responsible for attacking Huaguo Mountain were the West Heavenly Gate and the North Heavenly Gate, and were Tianchou's two brothers, Tianen and Tiannu!

Heaven's grace is like a prison! Heaven's wrath is like fire!

Tianen and Tiannu are the unparalleled twin stars of the Tian family. They are the pride of the Tian family and the two most promising talents favored by the Tian family patriarch, Tianfa.

To put it bluntly, the future head of the Tian family will be chosen from between Tian En and Tian Nu!

The head of the Tian family holds a legitimate position among the Five Heavenly Venerables in the Heavenly Court. Although he is not as high as the Three Pure Ones or the Four Emperors, he is still second only to the Emperor.

After all, normally, the One God, Two Saints, and Three Pure Ones don't appear; the Heavenly Court is ruled by the Four Emperors and the Five Heavenly Venerables!

Therefore, Tianchou was very clear about his own position. He was just cannon fodder. The worst thing for cannon fodder is to have too many ambitions, as these will only harm him.

Tianchou knew that Vikram was a treacherous minister, yet he still had to rely on him, as Vikram could save his life, while Oda Hayato would only bring about his own demise.

Thinking of this, he suddenly smiled. The smile was so faint that even he himself might not have noticed it—this was the weakness that a member of the imperial family should never have. He refilled his cup, tilted his head back, and gulped it down. The fiery liquor burned his throat, suppressing all those distracting thoughts back into his heart.

Just then, a dazzling golden light spread out, as if the smell of wine and the darkness inside the tent had been cleansed by an invisible hand. Even the lamplight dimmed by a third. A figure emerged from the light, dressed in silver armor and a heavenly general's robe, with a soft silver silk shirt underneath. His eyes gleamed, and between his brows was the Heavenly Eye mark unique to the imperial family. The light was pure, and the person was upright; there was not a single flaw to be found on his body.

Tianchou hurriedly stood up, took a few quick steps, his robe billowing in the wind, and respectfully cupped his hands, saying, "Greetings, Elder Brother Tianen."

Another red light rose from behind, carrying a scorching heat and the scent of alcohol, accompanied by a mocking laugh: "Tianen is indeed the eldest brother, he has so much face! With you here, I feel superfluous."

Tian Chou turned around and saw a general standing behind him, dressed in black armor and a dark robe, bearing a resemblance to Tian En. Firelight danced along the edges of his armor like an inextinguishable wildfire. He strode into the tent, kicking up dust with his rough and flamboyant manner. Tian Chou quickly turned back and said, "Greetings, Second Brother Tian Nu!"

"Sit down, Third Brother!" Tiannu leaned back casually on a side of the celestial throne, crossed his legs, and glanced at his eldest brother Tianen: "It's been a month, and there's still no movement. Boss, are you even capable? If you're scared, let me lead the charge. I don't mind fighting the Star Legion!"

Tian En's face was frosty; he didn't even lift his eyelids, coldly uttering two words: "Idiot!"

The air pressure inside the tent suddenly dropped, and even the lamp flames flickered.

"You!" Tian Nu said unhappily, "You've remained inactive time and time again. What are you waiting for? To wait for Qi Tian to attack you first? Do you know that Qi Tian is developing at an alarming rate? He's using the power of the Ming Dynasty's Nine Cauldrons to revive the Tang Dynasty's Nine Cauldrons. Once the Tang Dynasty's Nine Cauldrons are revived, we won't be facing Flower Fruit Mountain anymore, but the once benevolent father of all realms, the mighty Tang Dynasty! It's Li Shimin, the strongest carbon-based being!"

When the name "Li Shimin" was mentioned, Tian Nu's voice became three degrees lower. But Tian En still held his wine cup, drinking steadily, sip by sip, as if the collapse of the sky had nothing to do with him.

Tianchou hurriedly poured wine for Tiannu, his hand steady, his smile perfectly timed: "Second brother, why be angry! Eldest brother's inaction must be part of his plan."

Tian Nu coldly said, "What kind of strategy can someone who's so subservient have!"

His words were half a curse against Tianchou and half a speech to Tianen.

Tian En glanced at Tian Nu, a look so indifferent yet causing a moment of silence in the entire command tent: "If we send troops now, and then the three great natural disasters, the myriad phenomena of the heavens, or some other alien demonic forces attack us from behind, what will you do?"

"Let's fight!" Tian Nu slammed his hand on the armrest of his celestial throne and abruptly stood up. "Our three Heavenly Gate armies—East Heavenly Gate, North Heavenly Gate, and West Heavenly Gate—only need you, eldest brother, to lead the North Heavenly Gate to suppress Qi Tian. The rest, my third brother Tian Chou and I will handle!"

Tian En glanced at Tian Nu, then at Tian Chou, and smiled contemptuously: "You think you can do it?"

That smile was like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing all the warmth in the tent.

Tianchou lowered his head and remained silent. His fingertips, however, curled slightly inside his sleeve.

Tian Nu retorted defiantly, "I refuse to believe that the three great calamities can unite against us. As long as they can't unite, I can stop them!"

Tian En didn't reply. He drank another cup of wine, put down the cup, tapped his fingertips lightly three times on the table, and slowly spoke: "But what would you think if I told you I wasn't confident I could defeat Qi Tian?"

Tian Nu was stunned, as if he had been punched between the eyebrows: "You, you're not confident you can defeat Qi Tian? This, how is this possible! You lead the strongest Northern Heavenly Gate..."

"You're wrong." Tian En interrupted him, his voice low but deliberate: "The strongest Heavenly Gate in Heaven has always been the South Heavenly Gate! Never the North Heavenly Gate! The North Heavenly Gate, East Heavenly Gate, and West Heavenly Gate are nothing more than new Heavenly Gates set up by the Three Pure Ones of Heaven after the South Heavenly Gate betrayed Heaven, in an attempt to replace the South Heavenly Gate, but that's just wishful thinking."

The tent was deathly silent, with only the crackling of the candlelight.

Tian Chou looked up, his gaze shifting slightly, as if some old memory had been stirred up. His voice softened: "Back then, in the last great war of the Three Realms in the old Heavenly Court, Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King and commander of the Southern Heavenly Gate, led the Southern Heavenly Gate to annihilate Flower Fruit Mountain. The Jade Emperor dispatched Erlang Shen, the Manifesting Saint True Lord of Guanjiangkou, Nezha, the Great God of the Three Altars and the Sea, the Big Dipper and the Southern Dipper, the Wenqu and Wude, and the Thunder Department Prisoner. Everyone was present, but for some reason, internal strife broke out in the Southern Heavenly Gate halfway there. Yang Jian joined forces with Nezha to seize Li Jing's military power, and then attacked Mount Ling, rescued the Victorious Fighting Buddha, and destroyed the Three Buddhas of the Three Worlds. The three giants joined forces to attack the Heavenly Court and wreak havoc in the Heavenly Palace..."

His voice grew softer and softer, finally turning into a sigh that disappeared into the shadows of the corner of the tent.

Tian Nu slammed his fist on the table and said, "Enough! Stop talking about those old, rotten things! The key point now is that the Southern Heavenly Gate no longer exists. That so-called Southern Heavenly Gate project on Carbon-Based Blue Star was just a name; it wasn't the real Southern Heavenly Gate. Brother, you're scaring yourself!"

Tian En shook his head, his gaze fixed on the endless darkness outside the tent: "No, I don't think so. I can feel that the Southern Heavenly Gate has always been there, and the Southern Heavenly Gate Plan is the Southern Heavenly Gate itself! Moreover, this internal war among the four Heavenly Gates is like a continuation of the last war between the New and Ancient Heavenly Courts; it's the ancient Heavenly Court's flames of revenge burning! The Southern Heavenly Gate will shatter everything the New Heavenly Court has to reclaim the glory and pride of the ancient Heavenly Court!"

The three people present remained silent after the elder brother's words.

The night wind had stopped sometime earlier, and the tent was so quiet that one could hear their own heartbeats. Tian Nu opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't retort; Tian Chou lowered his eyes, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the rim of his cup.

After drinking a few cups of wine, Tian En suddenly said, "Before I came here, I went to the Taiqing Temple of the Three Pure Ones to ask for a divination."

Tian Nu hurriedly asked, "What do you mean?"

Tian En did not answer immediately, but gazed at the flickering lamplight and slowly recited:

"A heart free from greed is hard to fathom; a mind far removed from anger is impervious to words."

"With a clear mind, one is not disturbed by attachments; with a settled state of mind, one need not worry about worldly troubles."

"All encounters are reflections of the heart; a clear mind is the universe itself."

"If the mind can be at peace, the hearts of all people will naturally turn to it."

The verses echoed in the silent tent, like the sound of an evening bell tolling in an ancient temple.

Tiannu looked completely bewildered: "What do you mean?"

Tian En offered no explanation. He turned, put his hands behind his back, and slowly walked away. The night wind ruffled his cloak as he softly recited: "If the mind is at peace, all will naturally return to their hearts. All will naturally return to their hearts!"

Before the words were finished, the figure had already faded into a golden light, as if it had never been there.

Tian Nu watched Tian En's retreating figure disappear for a long time before turning to Tian Chou in confusion: "Third brother, what does eldest brother mean?"

Tianchou shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Second brother, eldest brother has been posing this riddle for a long time, and even you don't understand it, how could I possibly guess what he's thinking?"

"Sigh!" Tian Nu angrily waved his sleeve. "I'm leaving!"

He arrived with great fanfare, but left with a gust of cool wind. The tent curtains were lifted with a rustling sound, then slowly fell back down.

Tianchou hurriedly stood up, but his voice was low: "Second Brother, take care!"

When the red light had completely faded away, the command tent returned to silence. Tian Chou sat back down at his desk, looking at the fading lamp, and suddenly murmured, "If the spirit platform can achieve long-term stability... then the hearts of all will naturally turn to it."

He muttered these two sentences to himself, his fingertips tapping unconsciously on the table, once, twice, three times.

No one knows what he understood, just as no one knows who is whose pawn in this vast Eastern Heavenly Gate.