It was the first time Qin Mu had ever seen the Village Chief so helpless and desperate. Holding him in his arms, the old man clung to him like a drowning man grasping a straw, begging him to take him home, back to the Crippled Elders Village, back to his self-enclosed little world.
He simply couldn't imagine that this terrified, despairing old man was the same expert who had taught and educated him. Nor had he imagined that someone as powerful as the Village Chief could be so easily struck down.
The Village Chief often said he was too strong, but now the old man who uttered those words saw all his beliefs crumble and collapse.
The Village Chief had been struck down once before. After that last defeat, he had gone to the Crippled Elders Village, becoming a physically and mentally broken old man. If Master Ma, the Medicine Master, the Mute, and the others hadn't come to the village one after another, it was hard to imagine what he would have become.
Qin Mu still remembered the time when the Medicine Master and the others had left the village, leaving only the Village Chief behind.
The dejected and dispirited Village Chief sat at the village entrance, motionless, letting the wind and rain batter him, letting the darkness encroach, letting his beard grow wild—he simply couldn't be bothered to move.
He let himself go, neither eating nor drinking, as if allowing himself to rot away right there.
And the Village Chief at the moment of his defeat had likely been even more despondent than that. Back then, he was a complete and utter failure, all hope lost, life meaningless—nothing but a walking corpse!
But now, what had struck down the Village Chief was not his own failure, but the failure of all the successive Human Emperors, and even the founder of the Emperor of Humanity's Hall—that first Human Emperor!
He felt the despair of that first Human Emperor as if it were his own. Like a frightened child, he wanted to flee back to his own world, curl up, lick his own wounds, or simply let himself rot and die.
Without experiencing such a failure, it was hard to understand how the Village Chief felt now.
Qingyou the Mountain Dweller watched from the side, a look of pity on his face, and sighed. He hadn't intended to strike down this old Human Emperor. He had wanted to strike at Qin Mu, the new Human Emperor, to teach this arrogant young man a harsh lesson, to let him know that all his pursuits and responsibilities were nothing but a trivial joke, all in vain, all a dream!
But instead of striking Qin Mu, he had broken the heart of his old friend.
He and the Village Chief were old acquaintances, their paths having crossed in earlier years.
Back when the Village Chief had invited him to come out of seclusion, he had agreed and had indeed come out. But what then? In the end, he had dragged his scarred and battered body back to Little Jade Capital. He wasn't just physically wounded; his heart was scarred as well.
From then on, he had grown disheartened, his passionate fervor fading away.
Over the years, he had studied the records of Little Jade Capital. The more he learned of history, the deeper his understanding grew, and all his earlier aspirations had vanished like smoke.
When Qin Mu had come to see him, bringing the technique to mend the Divine Bridge so he could become a god, for a moment he had indeed been tempted. His dormant blood seemed to heat up again.
But then it cooled.
So what?
Even if he mended his Divine Bridge, could he ever surpass the immortals who had created this place back in the day?
Even if the old Human Emperor mended his Divine Bridge, so what? Could he surpass the Human Emperor who had founded the Emperor of Humanity's Hall?
Even if Qin Mu became a god, so what? Could Qin Mu surpass the Woodcutter Saint of their Celestial Venerable Cult?
"So what?"
Qingyou the Mountain Dweller started slightly, hearing Qin Mu's voice. Qin Mu repeated himself, smiling at the despairing, hopeless Village Chief: "So what? Village Chief, so what if they failed?"
"Child."
Qingyou the Mountain Dweller laughed softly, shaking his head, a sense of melancholy in his heart. "The current Human Emperor is still just a child who likes to play in the water. I too once had those days of burning passion. Back then, I was just a child..."
Qin Mu smiled. "They failed. All the successive Human Emperors failed. Village Chief, you failed too. But so what? The first Human Emperor failed, but then came the second. The second failed, but then came the third. Village Chief, you failed, but here I am."
The Village Chief stared blankly, his white hair trembling as he shook his head again and again.
"I don't want you to become like me..." he said with a choked voice.
Now he was just an ordinary old man, not the commanding Human Emperor, not the Sword God who had sought the Dao through the sword. He was just a broken old man who didn't want his child to walk the same path.
"I am the Tyrant Body, remember?" Qin Mu said with a smile. "The only Tyrant Body. I was raised by you all. Isn't that enough?"
"Tyrant Body?" the Village Chief cried, half-launting. "Tyrant Body! Heh, I brought this upon myself... Mu'er, let's go home? Please!"
Qin Mu's yuanqi surged, lifting the old man in his arms. He smiled like the sun of early spring, bright enough to dispel the gloom from others' hearts and bring warmth and hope.
"The Tyrant Body never admits defeat, never concedes!" Qin Mu's voice carried an inexplicable power as he straightened his back, filled with unprecedented confidence and conviction. "I will surpass you all. I will not forever be second best! I will surpass you in swordsmanship, become the Sword God, the supreme of the sword Dao! I will surpass the Medicine Master in healing, surpass Grandpa Cripple in speed, surpass Grandpa Mute in crafting treasures, surpass Grandpa Deaf in painting, surpass Master Ma in fist techniques, surpass Grandpa Butcher in blade work, surpass Grandpa Blind in divine sight, and surpass Grandma Si in magical power! I will be the greatest under heaven!"
Qingyou the Mountain Dweller laughed heartily. "The Human Emperor's ambition is commendable, but can you surpass these stone statues? Can you surpass the statues in the Great Ruins? Even if you can, can you surpass the Founding Emperor?"
His voice grew stern, as if scolding a child. "You are just an ambitious child who has never faced setbacks and hardships. Go play in the water! Being an ordinary person and living an uneventful life—wouldn't that be better? You don't understand the world of adults at all!"
Qin Mu looked up at the stone statues, his expression calm. "If I don't strive, don't fight, naturally I cannot surpass the first Human Emperor. But if I strive, if I fight, there is still a chance, still hope. If I don't strive, if I don't fight, and only think about failure, I'll get nothing at all!"
He glanced at Qingyou the Mountain Dweller. "Immortal Qingyou, since you are an immortal, will you die?"
Qingyou the Mountain Dweller shook his head. "There is no immortal who does not die."
"What will you leave behind?" Qin Mu asked.
Qingyou the Mountain Dweller said, "You are born with nothing, and you take nothing with you when you die."
Qin Mu smiled. "But the immortal who created Little Jade Capital left behind stone statues. The first Human Emperor left behind stone statues. The Woodcutter Saint left behind stone statues. Are these statues truly dead? I have seen the Heavenly King statue riding a dragon-qilin to slay a divine dragon in the night of the Great Ruins. I have seen statues awaken, come back to life, and continue to fight. I have also seen the statues in the Great Ruins emit divine light at night, guarding the land and giving shelter to the abandoned people of the Great Ruins. After you die, what will you leave behind?"
He didn't wait for Qingyou the Mountain Dweller to answer, already answering for him: "Absolutely nothing!"
Qingyou the Mountain Dweller's anger stirred. He shook his head and laughed. "You are still just a child, all talk, utterly ignorant of the consequences. You will bump your head, suffer broken skin and bleeding, be wounded in body and spirit, just like me and the Human Emperor. In the end, your home will be broken, your people gone, and you will be left all alone, with not even a child to bury you. Only then will you realize how valuable my words as an elder truly are."
Qin Mu looked up again at the row of stone statues, his expression calm. "They will come back to life. When hope appears in this world, they will awaken and continue to fight for that hope. But will you, Immortal Qingyou, be alive to fight then? You cannot. You will be dead."
Qingyou the Mountain Dweller grew furious, stepping forward. His robes rustled without wind, his hair flying. He shouted, "Though you are the Human Emperor, what can you do?"
Qin Mu glanced at him. "I am the Tyrant Body."
"There is no Tyrant Body in this world!" Qingyou the Mountain Dweller roared, his voice deafening. "What nonsense Tyrant Body? It doesn't exist! Who are you trying to fool?"
"There is a Tyrant Body in this world," the Village Chief suddenly said.
Qingyou the Mountain Dweller started slightly and looked at him. The Village Chief broke free of Qin Mu's yuanqi and floated up, his expression solemn. "There is a Tyrant Body in this world, a Tyrant Body from Carefree Village!"
Qingyou the Mountain Dweller was greatly shaken. He quickly looked at Qin Mu and blurted, "You mean..."
"He bears the surname Qin—the Qin of the Founding Emperor."
The Village Chief seemed to shake off his earlier despondency, though weariness still lingered in his voice. He said gravely, "The Qin of Carefree Village, the Qin that swept across the eight wastelands and unified the six realms. He is the Tyrant Body, the peerless Tyrant Body!"
"Carefree Village?" Qingyou the Mountain Dweller's mind faltered for a moment. He steadied himself and said, "The Qin of Carefree Village? The Qin of the Founding Emperor? That golden scripture scroll came from Carefree Village? Is there still a Qin clan in Carefree Village?"
The Village Chief nodded. "We cannot do it, but the Qin clan can."
Qingyou the Mountain Dweller showed a flicker of excitement, then calmed down again. He chuckled. "Old friend, you don't know enough about the Founding Emperor's era. What can the Qin clan do? Aren't they all just a group of failures too? Carefree Village is nothing but a bunch of people sneaking around, clinging to a wretched existence. What's the difference from my Little Jade Capital? In fact, even you don't believe it yourself."
The Village Chief fell silent, then suddenly spoke. "But there is hope—even if it's just a sliver."
Qingyou the Mountain Dweller's face turned cold. "Don't try to use Carefree Village to pressure me. Carefree Village doesn't have any Tyrant Body either. There is no such thing as a Tyrant Body in this world."
"Mu'er can prove it to you," the Village Chief said firmly. "Prove that he is the unique, one-of-a-kind Tyrant Body!"
Qingyou the Mountain Dweller laughed heartily, shaking his head as he laughed. "Old friend, is lying all you have left? Tyrant Body, heh, Tyrant Body..."
His voice suddenly became booming and resonant, echoing throughout Little Jade Capital. "Disciples of Little Jade Capital, come here!"
Qin Mu started slightly.
Qingyou the Mountain Dweller's expression turned grave. He glared fiercely at Qin Mu, his sleeves rustling. "Prove it to me! My Little Jade Capital has only taken in three disciples. Defeat them, and I will go down the mountain with you!"
Qin Mu stretched his limbs and smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Immortal Qingyou, you should have said so earlier. Three isn't enough. Why don't you immortals of Little Jade Capital seal your cultivation and join in? The Dao Master and the Tathagata can join in too."
His aura suddenly erupted, and he roared fiercely, "I'll beat you all to death!"