Chapter 522: I Walk My Own Way

Several more books were destroyed, and Qin Mu was utterly enraged. The First Ancestor Human Emperor clearly held no regard for the lifelong efforts of his predecessors. The painstaking work of the Village Chief, Qi Kang, and other Human Emperors was simply ruined by the First Ancestor.

Qin Mu's vital qi surged, erupting with a roar. His crimson vital qi transformed into a sea of blood, a gory expanse where countless divine and demonic corpses floated amidst the carnage.

This was the Village Chief's second sword stance: "One Sword, Emperor's Blood Ocean!"

His sword technique differed from the Village Chief's. While the Village Chief's original technique comprised fourteen forms, Qin Mu integrated eighteen basic sword moves into this single stance. Though his execution lacked the same profound artistic conception and had minor flaws, its raw power far exceeded the Village Chief's.

As soon as Qin Mu unleashed his move, the First Ancestor Human Emperor's figure suddenly rose from the vast sea of blood. His sword technique carved a path through the gory expanse, scattering the countless divine and demonic corpses, which, paradoxically, seemed to aid his charge toward Qin Mu.

*Thump, thump, thump—*

Streaks of blood light exploded from Qin Mu's body as he was sent flying backward, each mark a wound inflicted by the First Ancestor Human Emperor's vital qi sword.

He slammed hard against the wall of the Human Emperor Hall, then dropped to the ground, lying prostrate.

The Dragon Qilin roared in fury, its mouth agape, and charged at the First Ancestor Human Emperor.

The First Ancestor Human Emperor's fingers twitched, and from their splayed tips, runes burst forth, forming a seal about a *zhang* (approximately 3.3 meters) in size. He pressed this seal into the Dragon Qilin's wide-open maw.

The Qilin True Fire in the Dragon Qilin's mouth was instantly suppressed. With a flick of the First Ancestor's sleeve, the creature was sent flying, crashing into the wall.

The coffin charged forward, its lid springing open as if to swallow him. But the First Ancestor merely tapped the coffin with his toe, sending it hurtling with a whoosh into the Dragon Qilin, which had just fallen from the wall. Both creatures rolled out of the Human Emperor Hall and tumbled down the steps.

"You see? Your so-called Overlord Body, your so-called Founding Emperor's bloodline—they are nothing."

The First Ancestor waved his sleeve, and a bookshelf floated into the air, its books fluttering wildly. With another sweep of his arm, each book, representing the painstaking efforts of the Human Emperors, disintegrated into delicate paper butterflies.

The First Ancestor's expression remained impassive. "These books, like you, are worthless. Any further effort is pointless. Why bother? Why continue to struggle and fight for your ridiculous ideas?"

Qin Mu rose, his fingers flying as he swiftly tapped around his wounds, sealing them. He charged at the First Ancestor once more. "Just because you can't, doesn't mean I can't! Seal!"

"Prohibit!"

"Stabilize!"

"River!"

"Mountain!"

He charged frantically, activating the Confucian Sage Human Emperor's "Words Become Law" technique. The "Seal" character appeared beneath the First Ancestor Human Emperor's feet, the "Prohibit" character enveloped him, "Stabilize" manifested before him, "River" coiled around him like a flood dragon, and "Mountain" pressed down on his head.

"Words Become Law," with five characters appearing simultaneously, was a brilliant cultivation technique and divine ability pioneered by the Confucian Sage Human Emperor.

However, these five grand characters immediately shattered. The First Ancestor Human Emperor's palm descended like an overturned world, crashing down with immense force.

Qin Mu roared with fury. Dragons seemed to coil around his body, his muscles like mighty serpents wrapped around his bones, his physique becoming monstrous, and his spine appearing to transform into a soaring true dragon.

This was the True Dragon Overlord Body!

He had painstakingly cultivated techniques learned in the True Dragon's Lair and integrated them with the Overlord Body Three Elixir Arts, allowing his physical body to reach previously unattainable heights.

This was his most powerful physical divine ability.

With his right hand as Yang and his left hand as Yin, he swiftly reversed and brought his palms together, meeting the First Ancestor Human Emperor's strike.

The Yin Yang Overturning Heaven Hand!

This was a technique and divine ability of the Third Ancestor Human Emperor. The Third Ancestor had only taught him the initial stance of the Yin Yang Overturning Heaven Hand, but Qin Mu had extrapolated from it, comprehending the use of stacked palms.

Now, he superposed pure Yin palm force with pure Yang palm force. As pure Yin and Yang burst forth simultaneously, their convergence unleashed an explosive surge of power!

*Boom—*

Qin Mu staggered backward, then, with his left hand as Yang and his right as Yin, he once again used stacked palms to meet the First Ancestor Human Emperor's fist. But before the full power of his move could erupt, the force contained within the First Ancestor's fist shattered his Yin and Yang, sending him hurtling through the air!

"The Third Human Emperor was also a failure. Using his techniques, you are destined to lose."

The First Ancestor Human Emperor's palm wind struck the ground. Qin Mu, who had just landed, was involuntarily jolted into the air, only to be immediately slammed down by another strike, landing prone on the ground with a thud.

Two beams of divine light shot from his eyes, striking Qin Mu. The sheer power of his gaze made Qin Mu feel as though he would be sliced in half at the waist, and the surrounding ground glowed crimson from the heat.

Qin Mu rolled over, scrambling on his feet to dodge the gaze, darting through the Human Emperor Hall with incredible speed. Divine light gathered in his own eyes, and two beams shot forth, colliding with the First Ancestor's gaze.

His divine eyes were overwhelmed, and he was pinned against the wall.

"Have you met him?"

The First Ancestor Human Emperor withdrew his gaze, walked to the Third Ancestor's bookshelf, and took down a book—the Third Ancestor's cultivation method. His expression remained blank. "You know now that his Yin Yang Overturning Heaven Hand, perfected over a lifetime, is utterly useless. It should have been thrown into the latrine long ago! The books he wrote aren't even fit for wiping one's backside."

Qin Mu slid down the wall, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He watched the First Ancestor Human Emperor tearing books beside the shelf, a profound sense of frustration welling within him.

He had never encountered such a powerful opponent in his life. The First Ancestor utilized the same cultivation realm as himself, both having opened the Seven Stars Divine Treasure. The only difference was that Qin Mu's Seven Stars Divine Treasure had already merged with his other divine treasures, removing any realm barriers, whereas the First Ancestor still had them.

From this perspective alone, Qin Mu's vital qi cultivation far exceeded the First Ancestor's. Yet, in actual combat, it was a completely different story!

The First Ancestor appeared to be a figure without weaknesses in any aspect. Even though he hadn't merged his divine treasures, his physical body alone far surpassed Qin Mu's!

He was like a true god in his youth. His fists, legs, muscles, skin, hair, bones, and sinews all exhibited an achievement beyond Qin Mu's current capabilities!

His five internal organs and six viscera were extraordinarily developed. His heart, which propelled blood through his body, beat with immense power, thrumming like a great bell and instantly delivering qi and blood to all his limbs and joints, enabling his magic power to circulate at incredible speeds.

His lungs held a long, deep breath, causing winds to gather and clouds to swirl with each inhale and exhale, allowing his lungs to store more air. His kidneys mobilized and coordinated his body's power, maintaining his physique in an incredibly stable state.

The functions of his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, along with his gallbladder, stomach, bladder, triple burner, and large and small intestines—all his vital organs—perfectly corresponded to the Five Stellar Palaces, achieving a flawless integration with his divine treasures.

His eyes were like the sun and moon, and combined perfectly with the Five Stellar Palaces to form the Seven Stars.

His comprehension of the cultivation realm reached a height Qin Mu had never seen or even conceived of!

His dantian, though silent, burned like a massive furnace, radiating light like the sun. It acted as the primal driving force for his physical body, constantly maintaining his physical strength at its absolute peak!

This physical state was akin to the flawless Xing An, yet even more formidable!

His primordial spirit had also reached an inconceivable level.

The primordial spirit is the spirit embryo, the soul, the vital qi god. Qin Mu's greatest pride was that his primordial spirit was stronger and his soul more stable than anyone else's. Even in his current realm, he could make his primordial spirit leave his body and roam the Great Void.

He also practiced dual cultivation of the primordial spirit and even created the "Primordial Spirit Guide." After cultivating in this realm for some time, his primordial spirit had grown so immense that none of his peers could match him; even Xu Shenghua's primordial spirit was a touch inferior.

Yet, compared to the First Ancestor Human Emperor, his primordial spirit paled.

The First Ancestor Human Emperor's primordial spirit and physical body were perfectly unified. A mere thought of his heart translated into a physical attack, a movement of his spirit into a vital qi divine ability, and a deliberate intention unified both forms of attack.

This resulted in the First Ancestor's attacks being incredibly swift, a relentless barrage that no one could possibly withstand!

Both his physical body and his divine abilities were perfectly unified; this was the epitome of a divine ability practitioner.

He was like a true god in his youthful prime!

And yet, this incredibly powerful individual, when the calamity and great war erupted in the late Founding Emperor era, became a deserter!

If even such a formidable, seemingly invincible being turned tail and fled the battlefield, abandoning his comrades, then how overwhelmingly powerful must the enemy have been?

"Stop tearing them..." Qin Mu gasped, his breath ragged.

The First Ancestor continued to tear the books, shredding the Third Ancestor's painstaking work. He said calmly, "Why keep them? The people who wrote these books were failures in life, and their books are failures too. Since that's the case, they just take up space; it's better to tear them up. You're no different. You'll also become a failure like them in the future, even if you cultivate to my level."

He sneered, then walked to the Second Ancestor's bookshelf, picked up a book, and continued tearing. "They considered the Heavens their lifelong adversary," he scoffed. "Heh, are the Heavens even worthy? The Heavens are just dogs! If they couldn't even defeat a dog, how could they talk of counterattacking? You're also useless; you can't even beat me. What's all this nonsense about ambition and ideals? Go back, find a woman, and have a child..."

Qin Mu roared and lunged forward. His spiritual embryo in his glabella merged with his soul to form his primordial spirit, which then unified with his physical body. Having observed the source of the First Ancestor's strength, he immediately put it into practice.

"I told you to stop tearing them!"

His speed increased dramatically, and his palm force became incredibly powerful. But in the next instant, he was sent flying by the First Ancestor.

"Great Luo Heavenly Star Palm Force!"

Qin Mu lunged again, but *boom*, he was sent flying backward once more.

*Thump, thump.*

Dull, heavy thuds echoed from inside the Human Emperor Hall. After a long silence, the First Ancestor Human Emperor watched Qin Mu struggle to his feet, shaking his head. "Still haven't given up? You are different from the previous Human Emperors. They were deceived by their masters and forced into the role. If they had my permission to abandon it, they would have rejoiced and happily stepped aside. And you? Surely you were deceived too, weren't you?"

Qin Mu shakily stood up, sealing his wounds and wiping blood from his mouth, his breath ragged. "The Village Chief didn't deceive me. He told me that becoming the Human Emperor would bring no benefits whatsoever. Instead, it would lead to me being hunted, targeted by all, and constantly in peril..."

"Then why do you still stand?"

The First Ancestor asked, bewildered, "Why haven't you given up yet? Why pursue something with no benefits? Are you foolish?"

Qin Mu grinned, his teeth stained crimson with blood. "If no one does it, won't there be no hope forever? If you won't do it, why won't you let me?"

"Because you're foolish!"

The First Ancestor Human Emperor attacked him, each strike heavier than the last, roaring, "You fool who doesn't know when to quit! You'll only throw your life away! Your future enemies will be countless, many of them like me. If you can't even contend with me, how will you fight them? My mistakes cannot be borne by future generations! Give up!"

Qin Mu met the blow, staggering backward. The First Ancestor attacked like a raging storm, each strike as heavy as a mountain and as sharp as a blade. "Give up!" he roared. "Give up! Just give up!"

Qin Mu tumbled and rolled, sent flying out of the Human Emperor Hall. Just as he managed to get up, the First Ancestor appeared before him. With one hand signifying heaven and the other earth, he brought the two forces together, blasting Qin Mu into the air.

Qin Mu fell between several tombs. The First Ancestor Human Emperor's figure suddenly appeared, his foot on Qin Mu's chest. "Will you surrender?"

Qin Mu seized his ankle, flipped him away, then rose again and charged. "The title of Human Emperor wasn't self-proclaimed by you!" he roared. "It was bestowed upon you by the various races! You cannot take it back!"

"The Human Emperor is a sham! I will shatter the illusion in your mind!"

The First Ancestor's gaze was cold. He reached out, grabbed Qin Mu's neck, and lifted him into the air. Qin Mu clasped the First Ancestor's hands, then, like a massive python, suddenly flipped, straddling the First Ancestor's arm and throwing him off balance.

*Thump—*

He was blasted into the air by the falling First Ancestor's punch, then plummeted once more.

The First Ancestor rose, walked to the thatched hut, and sneered, "It's these incompetent fools who created the illusion that the Human Emperor should dedicate himself and fight for the lives of the people, filling naive youths like you with foolish fervor. Let me destroy their bones instead, grind the remains of these fame-seekers into mud, into dust!"

He stormed into the thatched hut, stomped the Second Ancestor's stone tablet into fragments, and seized the Second Ancestor's bones.

"You dare!"

Outside, the wild wind howled. Qin Mu roared in fury. The First Ancestor turned, raising his palm to meet the incoming fist head-on—a bloodied fist, a fist brimming with boundless rage—which shook his five fingers relentlessly.

*Boom—*

Countless bolts of lightning struck, hitting the First Ancestor's face and blasting him out of the thatched hut.

The thatched hut exploded. A figure, drenched in blood, emerged from the lightning, catching the Second Ancestor's bones. He carefully set them down, knelt in a bow, then shot out like an arrow from a taut bowstring, pursuing the First Ancestor who was still in mid-air!

"If you can't do it, let me! I can!"

A dull thud echoed from the distance, and a pale cloud slowly billowed upward.