Chapter 527 — To Grant Forgiveness

He was still incomparably strong; his retreat a moment ago had seemingly been only a wait for Shen Mu's single-burst momentum to flag, and now he meant to crush Shen Mu utterly, to shatter Shen Mu's confidence together with his flesh!

His battling experience was immense, his fleshly functions still in their most perfect state, his control over vital essence reaching an inconceivable level. Shen Mu gave himself over to abandon, to wild release, pouring his feelings into his divine abilities; but the First Ancestor could control his own emotions perfectly, wasting not a shred of extra power on the venting of feeling.

Bang, bang, bang; how many fists and kicks, how many divine abilities Shen Mu took upon his body, he did not know. Compared with the First Ancestor Human Emperor's flesh, like that of a youth who had become a true god, he was still far too tender.

His True Dragon Overlord Body could not hold. The First Ancestor Human Emperor's fingerpoint came suddenly, the tip touching his brow, and the True Dragon Overlord Body was broken.

Shen Mu's body flew high, then came down like a rotten sack stuffed full of grain, and fell before the Second Ancestor's ruined straw hut.

He wanted to struggle to his feet, but could not rise however he tried.

The First Ancestor Human Emperor walked over, his face cold, coming straight to stand before him, and said indifferently: "You have said so much. Does any of it help? If you have the ability, strike me down. Otherwise you will never shoulder the name of Human Emperor. Once you are Human Emperor, the enemies you face will be far stronger than I am, far crueler than I am."

Shen Mu stared wide-eyed, watching him walk to the Second Ancestor's straw hut and lift up the Second Ancestor's remains.

"No... don't..."

Shen Mu crawled over with difficulty, caught hold of his ankle, and said, his voice close to weeping: "I beg you!"

Crack.

The Second Ancestor's remains broke apart and fell to the ground.

The First Ancestor Human Emperor lifted his foot and trod upon them twice, and said coldly: "If you cannot defeat me, you will never defeat them. I give you the chance to defeat me. This is the first. You have thirty-four more."

Shen Mu's sight blurred, his cheeks cold. The First Ancestor Human Emperor picked him up and slammed him onto the chest with a bang, and said coldly: "Every time you lose, I destroy a Human Emperor's remains. If you keep losing, these failures will not have a bone left among them. Go."

The Dragon Qilin opened its mouth, wanting to roar at him, but its jaws were still sealed and no sound would come.

The First Ancestor Human Emperor glared at it, and the Dragon Qilin lowered its head and bore the chest, and Shen Mu upon it, back the way they had come.

"I will beat you to death!"

Shen Mu's voice came from atop the chest: "I will most certainly beat you to death!"

The First Ancestor Human Emperor's body trembled. He did not turn his head. The Dragon Qilin carried the chest, the chest carried Shen Mu, and they walked out of that ancient fragment of the Heavenly Court.

"I am sorry..."

Thud.

The First Ancestor Human Emperor knelt before the Second Ancestor's straw hut, raising a spray of dust: "I am sorry, I am sorry. I did not truly mean to destroy your bones. I am sorry..."

"I forgive you."

From the shattered bones a ghost rose faintly; the Second Ancestor's figure was ethereal, and he smiled: "I forgave you long ago. I know what you have in mind. You want him to grow quickly, don't you? He has the Overlord Body, doesn't he? He can carry the burden we could not carry, can't he? I forgive you. Go back to Fengdu. They will forgive you as well..."

In ruined straw hut after ruined straw hut, withered bone after withered bone lifted its head and looked in silence at the First Ancestor Human Emperor, who knelt and could not rise.

"We all forgive you..."

They looked upon their founding master. The First Ancestor Human Emperor had not passed down to them the art of becoming a god, but he had passed down to them an inexpressible spirit, a spirit that would not be extinguished, that would not submit.

"I cannot forgive myself."

The First Ancestor Human Emperor knelt, his body slowly turning to stone, his primal spirit gone far away.

The chest ran with a clatter, bearing Shen Mu over mountains and ridges, the Dragon Qilin ahead warily scanning their surroundings lest some strange beast of the wild hills come at them.

Two days later they came to Crimson Dragon City, and Si Yunxiang and Xue Hu'er hurried to take Shen Mu and tend him with care. After some days Shen Mu recovered a little and nursed himself.

"I will beat him to death."

Shen Mu sat atop the dragon head of the dragon pillar in the city, his eyes vacant. To Ling Yuxiu, who had had him carried here, he said: "I will most certainly beat him to death. I will never forgive him..."

Ling Yuxiu had seen how listless he had been these days, but did not know how to comfort him, and could only set him in this place where the two of them had once played together, hoping it might dispel the gloom in his heart.

"Father has summoned me back. He says he will send me to the Western Lands."

Ling Yuxiu hesitated a moment, then said: "The Western Lands have submitted, but no power of the court has ever entered them. Why don't you come with me to the Western Lands and take your mind off things? You must not keep turning matters over and over in your head; it is dreadful to see... Tell me about it. Perhaps I will have an idea."

Shen Mu looked at her woodenly, no light in his eyes. He had always liked to pluck out the stubborn, thriving whiskers that pushed their way out of his chin; these days he had not plucked them, and they had grown into a stubble. Woodenly he asked: "How does one beat a true god to death?"

Ling Yuxiu stared blankly for a moment.

Shen Mu lay down: "Go to the Western Lands. The Emperor sends you to the Western Lands, and sends Crown Prince Yushu to the north; both places were only just conquered. If you govern the Western Lands better than your second brother does, you will be the crown prince. If you want to be crown prince, I can help you; I have people in the Western Lands. I cannot go with you. There are things I must think over carefully."

Ling Yuxiu lay down beside him, her hands clasped behind her head, staring blankly at the white clouds in the sky, and suddenly said: "Years ago, when we lay here together, how carefree we were. I liked you, and you liked me. Why is it that the older we grow, the more troubles there are? I miss those days so..."

"Likely we have grown up," Shen Mu said softly, closing his eyes.

Ling Yuxiu turned over and looked at him on her side, and plucked a wild-grown whisker from his cheek: "Are you still the you you were?"

Shen Mu was startled for a moment, then said: "Xing An says a person's body is completely replaced every seven years. Three or four years have passed now, so I should be only half of me."

Ling Yuxiu shuddered, then fiercely plucked several more of his whiskers and said in vexation: "You are frightening me again! You must not turn into Xing An!"

She turned her head and thought, then said: "If you do not want me to go to the Western Lands, I can stay and keep you company."

"Do you want to go?" Shen Mu asked.

"I do!"

Ling Yuxiu stood up and looked down upon the ruined rivers and mountains, high in spirits: "I will be Empress, I will defeat my father! I will make him feel that I am better than all his sons, that I am more capable than any of them!"

A glimmer of light shone in Shen Mu's vacant eyes; stirred by this girl, some spirit came back into him, as though he had come alive again.