Chapter 831 — Joining Hands for a Fight

Zhe Huali watched Shen Mu approach. He struggled to steady himself and raised a hand. "Cult Master Shen, after you!"

Shen Mu was baffled. "What for?"

Zhe Huali's face was solemn. "To die by the Cult Master's sword is a hundred times better than dying at the hands of Prince Qiuming. If I die by your hand, I will have no complaints."

Shen Mu did not know whether to laugh or cry. He shook his head. "Zhe Huali, you've misunderstood."

Zhe Huali was at a loss.

"I'm not here to kill you. If you die here, it will be a great inconvenience to me."

Shen Mu stepped forward, hauled him out of the broken bricks and rubble, and explained, "There is a poem on this pillar. It is the key to breaking the ghost ship's divine ability. You were standing beside it. When the ghost ship reincarnates and reassembles, you will merge with the pillar. If I cut you down, your blood will smear the writing. Would I have to wait for another cycle? If you want to die, then die somewhere farther away."

Zhe Huali gave a muffled snort and stared at Shen Mu's hand. In it was a bottle of dragon saliva, which Shen Mu was applying to his wounds.

"Cult Master Shen, you are healing my wounds," Zhe Huali reminded him.

Only then did Shen Mu realize what he was doing. He tossed Zhe Huali to the ground and said sheepishly, "A healer's heart is that of a parent. It was force of habit."

The fall made Zhe Huali's wounds ache, and only then did he notice that Shen Mu had already treated every injury on his body. The wounds were healing and no longer bleeding.

"You still saved me."

His feelings were complicated. "Cult Master Shen, you should know that we are enemies. You and I both come from humble origins. We clawed our way to our current positions through our own efforts. Therefore, to die by the Cult Master's hand, I have not a single complaint. Let us have a duel of the Dao. Let me truly be defeated by your hand and die by your hand!"

Shen Mu shook his head. "Zhe Huali, you've really misunderstood. How are we of humble origins? Compared to Prince Qiuming, you and I might be considered of humble origins, but compared to ordinary people, we were born with golden spoons in our mouths. You are a descendant of gods, extraordinarily talented. You had Luo Wushuang as your teacher, and a demon god like Fu Riluo to instruct you. Among mortals, who has conditions like yours?"

Zhe Huali was slightly taken aback.

Shen Mu said, "Though I was an abandoned infant in the wasteland, I had the Nine Elders of Yincan Village to teach me, nine of the finest teachers. And I am the Divine Son of Youdu, a descendant of Kaihuang. It may not have helped much, being mere background, but the status is there. And I also possess the Overlord Body."

He shook his head. "How can we be considered of humble origins? The truly humble are those ordinary people whose parents toil from dawn to dusk yet still go hungry and lack clothes to cover themselves. Born into such families, even three meals a day are a problem, survival itself is a problem. In some places, tigers and wolves roam everywhere. Parents go out early to find food and may not return alive at night. Those born in such places still struggle amid suffering, striving to climb upward, to ascend. That is what it means to be of humble origins."

He spoke neither hurriedly nor slowly. "Such people do not have our conditions, nor our fortunes and backgrounds. They will encounter many obstacles, many traps, and struggle desperately, and ultimately achieve something. We are not heroes of humble origins. They are."

Zhe Huali stood up, lowered his head in thought, and nodded. "What the Cult Master says is absolutely right. Compared to them, we are the detestable Prince Qiuming."

"The Jingping Reform seeks to change exactly this state of affairs."

Shen Mu's eyes were fervent. "The purpose of the Jingping Reform is to let every person fully exercise their talents and every thing fully serve its use! Everyone can receive sufficient education. Primary schools and universities will be established everywhere. The Dao, its methods, and divine abilities will be taught far and wide. The path from humble origins to hero will be freed of many obstacles and traps. Everyone's potential and talent can be brought into full play!"

He grew somewhat agitated. "This reform will make the gods no longer sit high above, but each fulfill their duty and give full play to their abilities! Imagine the Jingping of the future: tower ships and great vessels flying through the skies, goods flowing back and forth in tremendous abundance. People can converse across ten thousand li. They can reach up to the ninth heaven to grasp the moon, and dive into the five oceans to catch turtles. They can fully unleash their talents! They will build magnificent structures, connect one heaven after another, one world after another. There will be splendid and colorful art. Countless people will contribute their wisdom and talent to make life better for all! Zhe Huali..."

Zhe Huali stared at him, dumbstruck. Shen Mu said fervently, "Have you heard of the Tiansheng Cult?"

Zhe Huali's mouth hung open, his eyes wide.

"Work with me!"

Shen Mu grabbed both his shoulders with both hands and shook him vigorously, laughing. "Let us accomplish something great together! You struggle in that rotten Heavenly Court, fighting tooth and nail to climb. How high can you climb? At the very top, you would only be like Luo Wushuang, leader of the Lingxiu Army. Above you there would still be countless nobles and powerful figures. When you meet someone like Prince Qiuming, you would still have to bow and scrape. But Jingping's future is different. It can give you higher aspirations and more possibilities!"

Zhe Huali was shaken dizzy. He struggled to steady himself, and also to steady his heart of the Dao. "Cult Master Shen, let me think about it..."

Shen Mu released him, clenched his fist, and encouraged him in a low voice. "Think of your dreams. Think of your heart and your pursuits!"

Zhe Huali was in a daze. He felt that what Shen Mu said was very good and it stirred his heart. He could not help nodding. "I also feel that the lower realm is far more wonderful than the upper realm... But we are trapped on this ghost ship. I fear we cannot leave alive. What use is there in saying all this now?"

Shen Mu laughed. "We can get out. Haven't you noticed? I am stronger than both you and Prince Qiuming, yet I have not become void."

Zhe Huali gave a muffled snort, feeling he had agreed too soon. "This fellow has never known what humility means!"

"Ling Tianzun's divine ability turned this ship into a ghost ship. It appears extraordinarily powerful, but in truth it is still based on the divine ability of Creation, reversing matter, placing matter in a state of stillness, even making matter flow backward! But when she used the ability, her mana was insufficient. She did not truly accomplish this."

Light erupted once more, engulfing them.

Shen Mu's eyes glittered with excitement. He paced back and forth within the light, explaining to Zhe Huali, "The ghost ship's matter is still changing. When the change reaches its limit, it triggers her divine ability. The ability erupts and readjusts the ghost ship's matter, returning it to its most primal state."

The light dispersed. The destroyed halls were restored as before, and the pillar carved with the poem returned to its original state.

Zhe Huali's eyes were wide and blank. After a moment he came to his senses and hastily shook his head.

Shen Mu continued his explanation. "I placed myself at the same frequency of material transformation as the ghost ship. Ling Tianzun's divine ability then regards me as part of the ghost ship, so I do not become void. Therefore, of those who boarded the ship in the same batch, two can remain: you and me. Do you understand now?"

Zhe Huali's eyes went wide again. The demon blade behind him also widened its eyes, utterly bewildered.

"I understand."