Chapter 370: The Body of a Divine Being

This "Inquiry of the Heart," as the Captain mentioned, is indeed another form of oath for Sword Holders.

In the presence of the Emperor, answering the questions posed by the Emperor’s statue within one’s mind serves two purposes: verifying one’s race and assessing one’s character.

It is not critical because even if one fails the inquiry, it does not prevent them from becoming a Sword Holder.

However, it is important because the light emitted during the Emperor’s Inquiry of the Heart serves as an implicit condition for all future promotions and selections, particularly those concerning the core interests of humanity.

While it is not impossible to falsify this process, one must first possess the ability to deceive the Emperor's statue.

Although the Emperor’s statue is not the true, deceased Emperor, its main form in the Imperial Capital Domain is imbued with a wisp of the Emperor's divine soul. After countless ages of worship by humanity alongside several other Emperor statues, it has long acquired astonishing power.

This allows it to manifest within human territories and serve as the observer for Sword Holders.

At this moment, after Xu Qing and the four others had advanced a hundred zhang, the Inquiry of the Heart began as the Emperor's statue's formidable presence descended. The first person to undergo the inquiry was not Xu Qing, but Qing Qiu.

A seven-colored light was seen emanating from the statue's brow, enveloping Qing Qiu.

This process drew the attention of the multitude below, and simultaneously, all the Sword Holders in the sky gazed intently to bear witness.

Qing Qiu’s body trembled, and the demon on her scythe was now shivering, its eyes tightly shut, not daring to open them or make any rash moves.

It felt a vast divine sense settle upon it, and after a quick scan, it focused intently on Qing Qiu.

This divine sense was so immense that outsiders couldn't perceive it, but the demon could sense it clearly. Meanwhile, Qing Qiu found herself in a vast starry sky. The first thing she noticed was a brilliant sea of light above her.

That sea of light captured all her attention, preventing her from immediately looking down at what lay beneath the starry sky.

Instead, she looked up at the light, vaguely discerning a sacred figure within it.

Before this figure, she felt incredibly small, and everything before her left her feeling bewildered. However, her unwavering conviction soon brought clarity to her eyes.

At this very moment, a gentle voice softly drifted into her ear.

"Little girl, don't be nervous," the voice said. "Tell me, what do you believe a deity is?"

Qing Qiu was startled; the gentleness of the voice was beyond her expectation.

She had expected a lofty, awe-inspiring inquiry to resonate within her mind, befitting the majesty of the Emperor’s statue, but instead, it felt surprisingly approachable.

Qing Qiu hesitated for a moment. Her mind slowly became ethereal, and faint images appeared. As she looked at them, her eyes showed confusion, yet she vaguely felt an answer rising in her heart, wanting to speak it aloud.

It wasn't that she couldn't stop herself, but the gentle voice made her feel there was no harm in speaking, so she quietly began.

"I don't know what a deity is," she whispered, "but it doesn't matter. If I get the chance, I will drag them down with me to annihilation!"

As these words left her mouth, she seemed to hear a benevolent laugh.

"Commendable courage," the voice responded.

As the laughter reverberated, the starry sky before her dissolved. When she returned to reality, standing before the Emperor’s statue, she saw the statue emitting dazzling brilliance. This radiance instantly shot up over five hundred zhang, but it didn't stop there. It continued to climb to a thousand zhang, finally stopping at over eleven hundred zhang.

The brilliance, over eleven hundred zhang tall, illuminated the sky, clearly visible to everyone present. All the Sword Holders in the sky turned their heads, and even the middle-aged man announcing the results showed admiration in his eyes. The nine Sword Holder elders were all gazing intently at Qing Qiu.

As the first to undergo the Inquiry of the Heart, Qing Qiu directly reached a thousand zhang. While she didn't break Yinghuang State’s record, a height of a thousand zhang was rarely seen, demonstrating the uprightness of her heart during the inquiry.

"This girl is good!"

"She's a very promising talent," another said. "We should prioritize nurturing her with Yinghuang State's resources. With such a height, there's a high probability she'll be highly valued in the Upper Prefecture in the future."

Xu Qing also cast a few extra glances at Qing Qiu. Meanwhile, the Captain beside him was initially startled, but then, remembering the answers he had memorized and prepared, he calmed down again.

Next, the second person to undergo the inquiry appeared. The seven-colored light, which had emanated from the Emperor’s statue’s brow, now moved away from Qing Qiu and enveloped the young boy Ning Yan.

Evidently, there was no specific rule for the order of inquiry; it entirely depended on the Emperor’s statue’s own will.

Soon, the same starry sky appeared before Ning Yan's eyes. Although nervous, he was more expectant, and instinctively looked up with a fervent expression.

"Little one, tell me, what is a deity?" the gentle voice asked.

Unlike Qing Qiu's deliberation, Ning Yan didn't hesitate at all. With fervor in his eyes and piety in his expression, he spoke loudly.

"Deities are the great enemies of our human race," he declared. "They are detested by all races, causing suffering to all beings, and are the source of all life's resentment…" What he said wasn't much, but it was mostly rhetoric he had absorbed since childhood within his sect. One couldn't say it was bad, but it wasn't particularly insightful either—quite mediocre and lacking his own original thought.

As he finished speaking and returned to reality, he saw the Emperor’s statue emitting sixty zhang of light.

This light was incomparable to Qing Qiu's.

Ning Yan was startled, not understanding what was wrong with his answer.

He believed his answer was correct, yet the immense difference in the light puzzled him, and he couldn't help but look at Qing Qiu, eager to know her answer.

The Sword Holders in the sky mostly maintained their normal expressions. In fact, sixty zhang of light was the norm, signifying a passing grade.

But the Captain scoffed inwardly, thinking that sixty zhang was nothing; his own would surely reach thousands of zhang. With this thought, he looked expectantly at the Emperor’s statue.

The next instant, the seven-colored light descended upon the Captain.

The Captain’s body trembled, excitement and pride gleaming in his eyes. However, his process was incredibly brief; in just two breaths, the seven-colored light on him dispersed.

The Emperor’s statue, standing motionless before them, emitted no brilliance.

The Captain was stunned.

Xu Qing blinked, looking at the Captain in surprise.

Qing Qiu also looked suspicious, and Ning Yan, beside her, was equally bewildered.

Not just them, but all the Sword Holders in the sky now had strange looks in their eyes, and the nine Sword Holder elders' gazes instantly sharpened.

"No light," the central Sword Holder Elder stated, "means not human."

The central Sword Holder Elder looked down and spoke calmly. As his words rang out, killing intent erupted all around, but it did not descend.

This situation had occurred before; every time there was no light, it signified that the individual was not human. However, what surprised them was that in past instances, such individuals would have been immediately eradicated.

Yet, Chen Erniu was still standing there unharmed.

This was also why the killing intent erupted but did not descend.

"No way, I’m human!" the Captain exclaimed, uncharacteristically nervous as he looked at the Emperor’s statue. "I answered very well, and the Emperor even liked me, affectionately calling me 'little rascal' at first."

Xu Qing also grew tense.

Finally, as the atmosphere grew increasingly heavy, the Emperor’s statue slowly emitted one zhang of light. One zhang…

The Captain was dumbfounded.

Incredulity also rose in Xu Qing’s heart. He vaguely felt that this one zhang from the Emperor’s statue seemed to be given somewhat reluctantly, as if it were a mere symbolic gesture to confirm humanity.

The killing intent in the sky dissipated, but all the Sword Holders now wore peculiar expressions, as did the nine Sword Holder elders. They had never witnessed a one-zhang light before.

"What on earth did this kid answer?"

"If this gets out, it will be too shameful," another commented. "Our Yinghuang State Sword Holders actually produced someone with a one-zhang Inquiry of the Heart."

"Should we find a reason to disqualify him…?"

The Captain was somewhat bewildered. As he stared at the one-zhang light, he felt immensely wronged, but also slightly relieved. The killing intent from the sky a moment ago had nearly made him feel he was about to be executed.

But he soon felt it was unfair again. As he simmered with indignation, the seven-colored light landed on Grand Minister Dao Child Zhang Siyun. After dozens of breaths, the Emperor’s statue emitted light to a height of five hundred zhang. This height was acceptable, but it paled in comparison to Qing Qiu’s.

No one noticed that while Zhang Siyun underwent the Inquiry of the Heart, the central Sword Holder Elder in the sky seemed to receive a divine thought from the Emperor. His eyes suddenly narrowed, revealing a cold glint. He gave Zhang Siyun a deeply meaningful glance, then, without a change in expression, concealed the cold glint in his eyes.

Zhang Siyun, on the steps, did not notice any of this. He merely cast a cold glance at Xu Qing.

At this point, among the five, only Xu Qing had not yet undergone the Inquiry of the Heart.

Xu Qing took a deep breath. With a calm expression, he briefly glanced at the Captain, then lifted his gaze to the Emperor’s statue. As he did, the seven-colored light descended, enveloping his body.

A starry sky appeared before Xu Qing's eyes.

He stood in the starry sky, sensing the brilliant sea of light above, but he didn't immediately look up. Instead, he looked down at his feet.

This was his habit; he preferred to first observe his surroundings.

With one glance, his eyes sharply narrowed.

He saw a vast continent.

This continent was so vast it seemed to occupy half the starry sky. Upon it, he saw the remnant face of a deity. Its hair drifted and draped, spreading over half the continent, and behind this remnant face was a golden spine.

This spine was extremely long, encircling the continent, gradually enclosing it layer by layer, and seemingly contracting slowly…

There were no arms, no torso, no legs—only this golden spine, composed of countless bones.

Each bone within it was as vast as a domain, emitting unparalleled divine power. Connected to half a skull, it formed the supreme remnant face of a deity, unparalleled in its life-level.

Xu Qing only took one glance, and his entire being felt as if it would collapse. His mind trembled violently, stirring up immense ripples.

Yet, he could feel that he was in a protected state, and what he saw was likely an illusion. Otherwise, a single glimpse would have instantly overwhelmed him, annihilating both his form and spirit.

At the same time, a gentle voice echoed in his ear.

"You are the only one among the previous few who, after arriving here, did not look up at me, but instead gazed down at where you stood."

"I believe you wished to see this world, so I allowed you to witness this scene, which they did not."

"Now then, I have a question for you."

"What is a deity?"