Chapter 345: That So What

Qin Mu had never before seen the Village Chief so helpless and desperate. As Qin Mu held him, the Village Chief clung on as if to a lifeline, pleading to be taken home to Disabled Elderly Village, back to his self-contained world.

He couldn't imagine this terrified, desperate old man was the wise elder who had taught and guided him, nor did he expect someone as powerful as the Village Chief to be so easily defeated.

The Village Chief often said he was too powerful, yet now, all the beliefs of the man who uttered those words had fragmented and collapsed.

The Village Chief had been defeated once before. The last time, he went to Disabled Elderly Village and became a broken old man, both in spirit and will. It was hard to imagine what he would have become if Grandpa Ma, the Apothecary, the Mute, and the others hadn't successively arrived at Disabled Elderly Village.

Qin Mu still remembered when the Apothecary and the others had left the village, leaving only the Village Chief behind.

The dispirited and dejected Village Chief sat motionless at the village entrance, letting the wind and rain batter him, darkness engulf him, and his beard grow wild, too listless to even move.

He was unkempt, neither eating nor drinking, as if he were allowing himself to rot away.

The Village Chief's dejection when he was first defeated must have been even more profound than that. At that time, he was a complete and utter failure. All hope was lost, life held no meaning for him; he was merely a walking corpse!

Now, what had defeated the Village Chief was not his own failure, but the failure of all previous Human Emperors, and even the founder of the Human Emperor Palace, the First Human Emperor!

He empathized deeply with the First Human Emperor's despair. He was like a frightened, startled child, wanting to flee back into his own world, curl up, lick his wounds, or simply let himself rot and die.

Without experiencing such a failure, it was difficult to understand how the Village Chief felt now.

Qingyou Mountain Man watched from the side, showing pity and sighing. He hadn't intended to strike this old Human Emperor so hard; rather, he wanted to strike Qin Mu, the new Human Emperor. He aimed to give this ignorant young man a solid, heavy lesson, making him realize that all his pursuits and responsibilities would ultimately be nothing more than a trivial joke, an emptiness, a dream!

He hadn't managed to strike Qin Mu; instead, he had disheartened his old friend to the point of despair.

He and the Village Chief were old acquaintances, having crossed paths in their earlier years.

When the Village Chief invited him out of seclusion back then, he agreed and emerged. But what did it matter? In the end, he still returned to Little Jade Capital, dragging his battered body. Not only was he physically wounded, but his heart was also scarred.

From then on, he became disheartened, and his fervent passion faded.

Over the years, he had studied various records in Little Jade Capital. The more he learned about history and the deeper his understanding became, all his youthful ideas vanished like smoke.

When Qin Mu came to see him, bringing a cultivation method to repair the divine bridge and enable him to become a god, for a moment, he was indeed moved. His dormant blood seemed to warm up again.

But it immediately cooled.

But what did that matter?

Even if he repaired the divine bridge, could he be stronger than the immortal who originally created this place?

Even if the old Human Emperor repaired the divine bridge, what then? Could he be stronger than the Human Emperor who founded the Human Emperor Palace back then?

Even if Qin Mu became a god, what then? Could he be stronger than their Heavenly Saint Cult's Saint Woodcutter?

"So what?"

Qingyou Mountain Man paused slightly, hearing Qin Mu's voice. Qin Mu repeated it, smiling at the utterly despondent Village Chief, "So what? Grandpa Village Chief, so what if they failed?"

"Just a child."

Qingyou Mountain Man let out a wry laugh, shook his head, and felt a pang of melancholy in his heart. "The current Human Emperor is just a child who likes to play in the water," he thought. "I once had such passionate, spirited years too, back when I was just a child..."

Qin Mu smiled faintly. "They failed, the previous Human Emperors failed, and Grandpa Village Chief, you failed too. But so what? If the First Human Emperor failed, wasn't there a Second Human Emperor? If the Second Human Emperor failed, wasn't there a Third Human Emperor? Village Chief, you failed, but don't you still have me?"

The Village Chief was expressionless. His white hair trembled as he shook his head repeatedly.

"I don't want you to end up like me..." he said, his voice choked with emotion.

Now, he was just an ordinary old man, not the mighty Human Emperor who commanded the wind and clouds, nor the Sword God whose swordsmanship sought the Dao. He was just a disabled old man who didn't want his child to follow in his footsteps.

"I'm a Hegemon Body, have you forgotten?"

Qin Mu smiled faintly. "The only Hegemon Body. You raised me; isn't that enough?"

The Village Chief let out a choked laugh. "Hegemon Body! Heh heh, I brought this upon myself... Mu'er, let's go home? Please!"

Qin Mu's vital qi surged out, lifting the old man he held. He smiled as brightly as early spring sunshine, seemingly dispelling the gloom in others' hearts, bringing warmth and hope.

"Hegemon Body, never surrender, never admit defeat!"

Qin Mu's voice carried an infectious power as he straightened his back, possessing an unprecedented confidence and conviction. "I will surpass all of you; I won't always be second in the world! I will surpass you in swordsmanship, becoming a Sword God, the supreme master of the Sword Dao! I will surpass Grandpa Apothecary in medicine, Grandpa Cripple in speed, Grandpa Mute in artifact forging, Grandpa Deaf in painting, Grandpa Ma in fist arts, Grandpa Butcher in blade arts, Grandpa Blind in divine eyes, and Grandma Si in divine arts! I will be the strongest in the world!"

Qingyou Mountain Man burst into laughter. "The Human Emperor's ambition is commendable, but can you surpass these stone statues? Can you surpass those stone statues in the Great Ruins? Even if you can, can you surpass Kaihuang?"

His voice gradually grew stern, as if he were scolding a child. "You're just a child with ambition but no experience of setbacks and hardships; go play in the water! Wouldn't it be better to live an ordinary life as a normal person? You simply don't understand the adult world!"

Qin Mu looked up at the stone statues, his expression calm. "If I don't work hard and strive, I naturally won't be able to surpass the First Human Emperor. If I work hard and strive, there's still a chance, there's still hope. If I don't work hard, don't strive, and only think of failure, there will be absolutely nothing!"

He glanced at Qingyou Mountain Man. "Qingyou Immortal, you said you bring nothing into life and take nothing when you die. What can you leave behind?"

Qingyou Mountain Man shook his head. "No immortal is truly immortal."

"What can you leave behind?" Qin Mu asked again.

"You bring nothing into life, and you take nothing when you die," Qingyou Mountain Man replied.

Qin Mu smiled. "But the immortal who founded Little Jade Capital left behind stone statues, the First Human Emperor left behind stone statues, and the Saint Woodcutter left behind stone statues. Are these stone statues truly dead? In the nights of the Great Ruins, I've seen the Celestial King's stone statue ride a dragon-qilin to slay divine dragons. I've seen stone statues awaken, come back to life, and continue to battle. I've also seen stone statues in the Great Ruins emit divine light at night, guarding a region and providing shelter to the abandoned people of the Great Ruins. After you die, what can you leave behind?"

Without waiting for Qingyou Mountain Man to speak, he answered for him, "Absolutely nothing!"

Qingyou Mountain Man felt anger rising in his heart, but he shook his head and laughed. "You're still just a child, spouting grand words without understanding the consequences. You'll end up with bumps all over your head, bleeding from wounds, physically and mentally scarred, just like me and the Human Emperor. In the end, your family will be shattered, you'll be left all alone, without even a child to see you off in death. Only then will you realize what golden advice my words as an elder truly were."

Qin Mu looked up at the various stone statues again, 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 at that time, will Qingyou Immortal be able to come back to life and fight? You won't be able to; you'll already be dead."

Qingyou Mountain Man was furious. He took a step forward, his clothes rustling as if by an invisible wind, his hair flying, and he roared, "Though you are the Human Emperor, what capabilities do you possess?"

Qin Mu glanced at him. "I'm a Hegemon Body."

"There is no Hegemon Body in this world!"

Qingyou Mountain Man exploded, his shout deafening. "What nonsense Hegemon Body? Such a physique doesn't exist! Who are you trying to fool?"

"There is a Hegemon Body in this world."

The Village Chief suddenly spoke, making Qingyou Mountain Man pause slightly and look at him. The Village Chief broke free from Qin Mu's vital qi, floated up, and said with a solemn expression, "There is a Hegemon Body in this world, a Hegemon Body from Carefree Village!"

Qingyou Mountain Man was greatly shocked. He immediately looked at Qin Mu and blurted out, "You mean to say..."

"His surname is Qin, the Qin of Kaihuang."

The Village Chief seemed to have shaken off his earlier dejection. Though his voice still carried weariness, he said solemnly, "The Qin of Carefree Village, the Qin who swept across the Eight Wastes and unified the Six Directions. He is the Hegemon Body, the unparalleled Hegemon Body!"

"Carefree Village?"

Qingyou Mountain Man's mind was somewhat flustered. He composed himself and asked, "The Qin of Carefree Village? The Qin of Kaihuang? Did that golden scroll come from Carefree Village? Are there still Qin clan members in Carefree Village?"

The Village Chief nodded. "We couldn't do it, but the Qin clan can."

Qingyou Mountain Man showed excitement, then quickly calmed down, chuckling. "Old Dao Brother, you don't know enough about the Kaihuang Era. What good is the Qin clan? Aren't they all just a bunch of failures too? Carefree Village is just a bunch of people secretly clinging to survival. How are they different from my Little Jade Capital? In fact, even you don't believe it."

The Village Chief fell silent, then suddenly spoke, "But there is hope, even if it's just a sliver."

Qingyou Mountain Man's expression was indifferent. "Don't try to pressure me with Carefree Village. There's no Hegemon Body in Carefree Village either. Such a physique doesn't exist in this world at all."

"Mu'er can prove it to you."

The Village Chief said in a deep voice, "To prove that he is the one and only Hegemon Body!"

Qingyou Mountain Man burst into laughter, shaking his head as he laughed. "Dao Brother, have you nothing left but the ability to lie? Hegemon Body, heh heh, Hegemon Body..."

His voice suddenly became incredibly loud, resounding throughout Little Jade Capital. "Disciples of Little Jade Capital, come here!"

Qin Mu was slightly surprised.

Qingyou Mountain Man's expression became serious. He glared fiercely at Qin Mu, his sleeves trembling. "Prove it to me! My Little Jade Capital has only trained three disciples. Defeat them, and I will follow you down the mountain!"

Qin Mu stretched his limbs, smiled, and raised an eyebrow. "Qingyou Immortal, you should have said so earlier. Three is too few. Why don't all of you immortals from Little Jade Capital seal your cultivation and come at me together? Dao Master Rulai can join in too."