Chapter 502: Blasting the Patriarchs

On the bridge, the Human Emperors from past generations wore peculiar expressions. The Village Chief had told them that the Hegemon Body was a benevolent lie he fabricated to motivate Qin Mu, a mere mortal, to strive harder, and they had believed him.

Yet now, Human Emperor Qi Kang, at the same cultivation level, was immediately disadvantaged in their very first clash, and subsequently took blow after blow. This seemed impossible for a mere mortal to achieve through effort alone!

Could a mortal, not even a spirit body, reach a point where personal effort allowed them to thoroughly defeat a Human Emperor?

Thus, even they had to wonder if a Hegemon Body truly existed in this world.

On the bridge, Human Emperor Yi Shan's vital qi materialized into a large hand. It raised a long, snow-white, jade-like finger and poked Human Emperor Qi Kang, who was floating downstream.

Human Emperor Qi Kang lay sprawled on his back, eyes wide, gazing at the sky, motionless. After being poked twice, he sank into the water before resurfacing.

Yi Shan, suppressing a laugh, asked, "Good disciple, did your grand-disciple defeat you?"

Qi Kang retorted, "Stop poking me, old man! Let me have some peace." He continued gruffly, "I’m stunned, not defeated! I just want a moment to think about how I lost…"

Yi Shan laughed out loud, gloating. "Still denying defeat? You’re floating, aren't you?"

Qin Mu, feeling a little concerned, called out, "Grand-master, don’t choke on the water!"

Yi Shan chuckled. "This kid always acts like this when he loses. Don’t mind him. He’s wiping away tears, just doesn't want you to see."

Qin Mu felt uneasy. To beat his grand-master so badly that he was sprawled in the river wiping tears felt somewhat sacrilegious. As a youth raised by the Disabled Elderly Village, he had always respected his elders and teachers, though he had also frequently beaten the Cripple and the Mute when they sparred at the same cultivation level.

"Perhaps I was a bit too heavy-handed. Grand-master, my boxing isn’t actually as good as yours. I just relied on my deeper cultivation to overpower you. There’s no need to be sad!"

Qin Mu jumped onto the bridge, leaned over the railing, and stretched out towards Qi Kang, who was still floating downstream. He called out, "I didn't mean to strike so hard! I saw how incredibly strong you were, Grand-master, so I couldn't help but feel competitive and went all out from the start. Nowadays, I rarely use full strength when I encounter experts at the same cultivation level."

A touch of melancholy crossed his face. "After all, I am a Hegemon Body. I had hoped to find experts who could truly contend with me at the same level. Who would have thought that all of you Grand-ancestors and Grand-masters would be a bit less capable? But it's not your fault!"

On the bridge, the Human Emperors from past generations suppressed their anger. The young Human Emperor looked longingly at Qi Kang, who was floating away below. He continued, "If only all of you Grand-ancestors and Grand-masters could have lived in the same era as me. If you had been born in the same time and progressed alongside me, we could have truly competed. It’s just a shame that your eras were so ancient, and you didn't live to see the reforms brought by Imperial Advisor Yan Kang and myself. Consequently, your divine arts and cultivation methods are now outdated…"

Several of the old ancestors clenched their fists, knuckles cracking, struggling to contain their furious indignation.

Human Emperor Lan Po smiled, secretly grinding her teeth, producing a chilling, grating sound.

Though the brat’s words sounded humble, every sentence could enrage the living and revive the dead, making one wish to pin him to the ground and beat him relentlessly!

Human Emperor Yi Shan's tone grew stiff, though his expression remained pleasant. "Qin Hegemon Body, you’ve only defeated Qi Kang. Isn’t it a bit boastful to claim our cultivation methods and divine arts are outdated?" He added, "Come, come, I’ll show you what a divine art truly is!"

Qin Mu looked troubled, turning to face his Grand-ancestor, who stood a mere five feet tall. He said, "Grand-ancestor, you specialize in divine arts, and they are indeed powerful. But at this close range, you would have already died… sixteen or seventeen times."

Human Emperor Yi Shan was furious, clutching a ball of lightning in his hand, barely resisting the urge to strike the brat dead.

Qin Mu, seemingly oblivious, continued, "At such close range, even a Celestial Being realm expert wouldn’t last a single move against me." He continued, "Grand-ancestor, you cultivate divine arts, mastering them through cultivation. However, focusing on divine arts often leads to neglecting close-quarters physical combat. With us this close, in the time it takes you to utter a single sentence, I could make you die twenty or thirty times over."

Human Emperor Yi Shan nearly vomited blood, his face turning ashen. He turned and leaped from the bridge, a cloud of vital qi forming under his feet to support his short, stout body. He roared, "You brat, your tone is quite arrogant! I’ll create some distance first, and then we’ll fight!"

The cloud beneath him carried him swiftly upstream, skimming the river surface. After traveling five or six li, Yi Shan felt the distance was adequate. However, he suddenly remembered Qin Mu’s swift swordplay; this distance might not be safe. So, he moved another three li. Then, recalling Qin Mu’s incredible speed and how easily he had caught up to Qi Kang on the river, he moved another two li.

He thought, "I can’t retreat any further. If I do, they’ll see I’m scared, afraid of losing to my great-grand-disciple…"

Yi Shan looked back. The bridge was so far away it appeared as a thin line, and Qin Mu and the others were just dots on that line.

Yi Shan’s face flushed slightly. Running that far was indeed showing cowardice.

His face still red but his breathing steady, Yi Shan boomed, "Come down here!" His manner was identical to Human Emperor Qi Kang's.

On the bridge, the Second Ancestor loudly called out, "Yi Shan, you forgot to seal your divine treasures!"

Yi Shan’s face flushed again. He had been so nervous that he forgot to seal the Heaven-Human Life-and-Death and Divine Bridge divine treasures. He quickly sealed these three divine treasures, then with renewed vigor, called out, "Come down here!"

Qin Mu leaped onto the river surface.

Yi Shan initiated, "Joined Peaks of the Azure Mountains!"

Yi Shan was the first to attack. His wide sleeves flapped as his plump fingers moved within his robe, and immediately, the river surface for more than ten li from his position began to erupt. The vast water transformed into azure mountains, peaks rising one after another with thunderous roars!

The great river turned into azure mountains, appearing as a captivating landscape, but it was a divine art, harboring deadly intent!

He had mastered divine arts to an ultimate level. Unlike others' divine arts, his wouldn't unleash their power unless triggered. Within his divine art, the slightest movement would invite catastrophic destruction!

The rapidly rising azure mountains reached Qin Mu by the bridge in an instant, making him excited once more. Every vital qi particle in his body trembled with excitement, far more active than usual!

"This is… the origin of the Village Chief’s first sword diagram! The Village Chief’s 'Sword-Treading Mountains and Rivers' technique was derived from Grand-ancestor Yi Shan's move. From divine art to sword art, the Village Chief is truly a prodigy!"

Overwhelmed with excitement, Qin Mu couldn't help but let out a passionate roar, "True Dragon Hegemon Body!"

He was too excited!

He had been repeatedly frustrated by the Village Chief’s 'Sword-Treading Mountains and Rivers' technique. When he first learned it, he frequently lost to the Village Chief. Now, his understanding and insight far surpassed his former self, yet facing the origin of 'Sword-Treading Mountains and Rivers' felt like sparring with the Village Chief all over again.

So excited, he involuntarily activated his True Dragon Hegemon Body. His vital qi surged magnificently, each strand overflowing from his body manifesting as a different dragon shape.

The True Dragon Hegemon Body was the strongest physical divine art he had comprehended, combining dragon cultivation methods from the Dragon’s Lair with the Hegemon Body Three Elixirs technique. His vital qi transformed into dragon essence, resonating through the surrounding space and forming various wondrous dragon-shaped patterns, like talismans or runes, constantly lighting up on his body surface!

A physical divine art against a spell-based divine art!

Qin Mu charged recklessly, treading over the mountains and river, heading straight for Human Emperor Yi Shan, who was more than ten li away!

Boom, boom, boom!

His fists and feet struck with wide, sweeping movements. With every motion of his body, dozens, even hundreds, of true dragons circled him, their roars immense. They shattered the mountains and rivers. Human Emperor Yi Shan’s divine arts bombarded him, but they could not break through his True Dragon Hegemon Body’s defenses.

Yi Shan’s expression drastically changed. This fellow was incredibly formidable, using his physical body to break divine arts. He hastily altered his divine art, unleashing a barrage of attacks towards Qin Mu, thinking, "Let’s see how you break this! If you charge forward, you’ll only be taking hits!"

One azure mountain after another collapsed, turning into surging waves. On the bridge, the Human Emperors from past generations felt the surging battle intent emanating from Qin Mu’s body, and the strong winds swept their clothes backward.

The Third Ancestor remarked deeply, "This physical divine art is even stronger than yours, Second Ancestor." He continued, "Tuo Yu, you are proficient in formation calculations and your mathematical attainments are unmatched in the world. Can you calculate his weakness?"

In Human Emperor Tuo Yu’s eyes, countless formation patterns flickered, as he frantically calculated the various dragon patterns in Qin Mu’s movements. Through these dragon patterns, he calculated the changes in the dragon patterns on Qin Mu’s skin, and from those changes, he deduced the flow of vital qi, the movement of muscles, and the method of power application within Qin Mu’s body.

He further calculated the path of Qin Mu’s cultivation technique and the trajectory of his vital qi within his divine treasures.

The computational load was immense and complex, yet Human Emperor Tuo Yu remained calm and composed, with considerable energy to spare.

He was the strongest formation master of his era, and his mathematical prowess had once convinced the Dao Master of the Dao Sect, leading to a debate that left the entire Dao Sect in awe and submission!

At this moment, all the Human Emperors on the bridge recognized Qin Mu’s formidable strength, privately concluding that they too would likely be thoroughly beaten by him at the same cultivation level. Losing was a minor issue; losing face was a major one.

Therefore, they had to rely on Human Emperor Tuo Yu to calculate Qin Mu’s weakness, hoping to seize the opportunity to win. This was an act of desperation.

Tuo Yu’s eyes lit up with delight. "He has a weakness." Below, Qin Mu was advancing like a hot knife through butter, breaking through Human Emperor Yi Shan’s divine arts, his body like a raging dragon or a galloping horse, heading directly for Yi Shan.

Tuo Yu stated solemnly, "His weakness is in his philtrum… wait, it moved… now it’s on his left shoulder… it’s gone to his back…"

Lan Po demanded, "Where exactly is it?" She snapped, "Grand-Grand-ancestor, can you even do this?"

Tuo Yu was about to speak when, below, Human Emperor Yi Shan pointed a finger, unleashing his most powerful divine art, the 'God-Sealing Finger,' drawing everyone’s attention.

The God-Sealing Finger sealed primordial spirit and vital qi, attacking the soul. It was a divine art Yi Shan had used to fight against the gods of the higher heavens, having achieved numerous victories with it!

As he pointed, no waves stirred and no wind blew. Qin Mu was already before him, less than a li away. Yet, this strike reached Qin Mu’s glabella almost instantly, leaving him barely any time to react!

On the bridge, everyone exclaimed, "Good!" They praised in unison, "A divine strike! Let’s see how arrogant the little Hegemon Body can be now!"

Just then, Qin Mu’s glabella split open, and a tiny spiritual embryo emerged from within. The spiritual embryo, fused with his soul and primordial spirit, transformed into a primordial spirit itself. In the primordial spirit’s eyes, layers of formation patterns spun wildly, a galaxy coiled, and a great sun erupted. Two beams of light shot out with a hum, one of which devastatingly shattered Human Emperor Yi Shan’s God-Sealing Finger!

Such a powerful primordial spirit left those on the bridge dumbfounded. The other beam hummed as it struck Yi Shan’s chest, directly piercing through his protective divine art and creating a flaw in his defenses.

Qin Mu called out, "Sword-Treading Mountains and Rivers!"

Qin Mu’s vital qi, surging like dragons around him, suddenly transformed into countless flying swords, engulfing Human Emperor Yi Shan in mid-air. Ten thousand swords became towering mountains and rivers, and with a thunderous roar, Yi Shan, impaled by swords all over, plunged into the river.

Then, "One Sword Opens an Emperor’s Ocean of Blood!"

Suddenly, the ten thousand swords merged. The long river instantly appeared as if stained with blood, revealing a horrifying scene of countless gods and devils being beheaded, their blood flowing and corpses floating.

Qin Mu turned and swung his sword downwards. From within the bloody ocean, Human Emperor Yi Shan floated up and drifted downstream.

Moments later, the sword’s unusual phenomenon vanished, and the river water became clear. Qin Mu watched Human Emperor Yi Shan float past him, his face filled with resentment. The white-haired, stout old man wore an expression of dying with grievances, staring at Qin Mu.

Qin Mu scratched his head and tentatively began, "Grand-ancestor Yi Shan…"

With a plop, Human Emperor Yi Shan flipped over, face down in the river, and silently drifted away, backside up.

Tuo Yu’s eyes lit up with delight. "Found it!" He announced, "His weakness is at his dantian, the third to last vertebra in his spine! That’s the origin of his weakness!"

Lan Po exclaimed, "I'll go beat that brat to death!" She, full of enthusiasm, leaped from the bridge with her basket, heading straight for Qin Mu. She chuckled, "Little Qin, Granny here will spar with you using spirit weapons!"

Tuo Yu hesitated, feeling he might have made an oversight. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead, exclaiming, "I was wrong! He only has three divine treasures, not four! He merged the Divine Treasure with the Seven Stars Divine Treasure! A single movement affects the whole body, and I calculated based on the cultivation paths of four divine treasures. The weakness I calculated is completely different from the true one…"

The surging river settled down. Below the bridge, Human Emperor Lan Po drifted through the archway, her basket’s spirit weapons scattered. Her face was etched with resentment, and she gritted her teeth. She retorted, "Grand-Grand-ancestor, don’t say another word! The moment I attacked, I knew your calculations were wrong!"

Tuo Yu’s face reddened. He addressed the other Human Emperors on the bridge, "Now I won’t miscalculate… What are those expressions for? I really won’t miscalculate this time!"