Chapter 345: So What
Translator: Ninetales Editor: DarkGem
It was Qin Mu's first time seeing Village Chief so helpless and in such despair. He hugged him like he was holding onto a floating ring, begging him to bring him home, to Disabled Elderly Village, to his own little world.
Qin Mu truly couldn't believe that this terrified and devastated old man was actually the expert that had taught and educated him. He had never imagined that the powerful Village Chief could be so easily struck down.
Village Chief always said that he was too powerful, yet all his beliefs had been so easily crushed.
When Village Chief had been struck the first time, he went to Disabled Elderly Village to become a disabled old man whose heart and ambitions were crippled. If Old Ma, Apothecary, Mute, and the rest didn't come to join him there, it was hard to imagine what he would have become.
Qin Mu still remembered the sight of Village Chief all alone after Apothecary and the rest left the village.
The dispirited Village Chief just sat at the village entrance, letting the wind and rain batter him, the darkness wash over him, and his beard grew frantically. All of his happened because he didn't feel like moving.
He didn't care about his appearance and didn't eat or drink. It was as if he wanted to rot right there and then
Yet the Village Chief had to have been even more dispirited when he'd been struck down the first time. At that time, it had been his personal failure that had led him to lose all interest in life, until he became no better than a walking corpse!
Yet right then, what had struck Village Chief was not his personal failure, but the failures of the previous human emperors and that of the first generation's Human Emperor!
Qin Mu could feel the despair of the once great man. He was like a frightened child that wanted to escape into his own world to huddle up and lick his wounds, or maybe just hide in a dark corner where no one would see as he rotted away.
Without experiencing this kind of failure, it was hard to understand what Village Chief was feeling.
Hermit Qing You looked over from nearby, his eyes filling with pity as he sighed. He hadn't wanted to strike the old human emperor like this, but Qin Mu, this new human emperor. He wanted to give this brat who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth a severe lesson, to let him know that all he was seeking and all the responsibilities he took upon himself were nothing but a joke in the end. All his hopes and hard work would lead to nothing!
Yet his blow didn't land on Qin Mu, but his old friend, who was left devastated. The two of them had interacted a lot during their youth.
Back then, Village Chief had invited him down the mountain, and he had agreed and went down, but so what? He had returned to Little Jade Capital covered in injuries. Even his heart had been wounded.
From then on, he was disheartened, and all his hot-bloodedness had been washed off.
In the years after, he had read through all kinds of records in Little Jade Capital and knew much more about the history. The greater his knowledge became, the less of the youth that went down the mountain was left in him.
When Qin Mu came to see him with the technique that could patch the divine bridge and allow one to become god, he was indeed moved for an instant. His dormant blood had once again become hot.
But right after, it cooled down.
So what?
Even if he patched up his divine bridge, could he become stronger than the immortals who founded this place?
So what if Old Human Emperor managed to patch his divine bridge? Could he become stronger than the human emperor who founded Hall of Human Emperors?
So what if Qin Mu became a god? Could he be stronger than Heavenly Saint Cult's Saint Woodcutter?
"So what?" Hermit Qing You was slightly stunned when he heard Qin Mu's voice. The youth repeated his words once more and smiled at the disheartened Village Chief. "So what? Grandpa Village Chief, so what if they failed?"
"Naive child." Hermit Qing You broke out in laughter and shook his head. "The current Human Emperor is still a naive child who likes to play with water. Back in the day, I was also hot-blooded like you, a naive child…"
Qin Mu smiled. "They failed, the previous human emperors and Grandpa Village Chief. But so what? When the first Human Emperor failed, wasn't there a second Human Emperor? When he failed, wasn't there a third one? Village Chief, even if you failed, isn't there still me?"
Village Chief was stupefied. His white hair swayed as he shook his head.
"I don't want you to become like me…" he said in a sob.
The him then was just an ordinary old man and not the human emperor that could rebuke the heaven and earth. He was not that sword god whose sword skill had reached the realm of the path. He was just a crippled old man who wasn't willing to let his child follow in his footsteps.
"I'm the Overlord Body, have you forgotten?" Qin Mu said with a smile. "The only Overlord Body, and I was raised by all of you. Isn't that enough?"
"Overlord Body?" Village Chief laughed and cried at the same time. "Overlord Body! Hehe, it's my sin… Mu'er, let us go home, okay? I beg of you!"
Qin Mu's vital qi surged out and lifted the elder into his arms. His smile was radiant like the morning sun in early spring. It seemed to be able to drive away all the dark clouds in others' hearts, bringing them warmth and hope.
"Overlord Body will never admit defeat, never accept death!"
Qin Mu had an indescribable infectiousness to his voice when he straightened his back and spoke with new confidence and certainty. "I will surpass all of you and stop always being the number two in the world!
"I will surpass you in sword skills and become the sword god, reaching the extremes in sword path! I shall surpass Grandpa Apothecary in the art of healing, Grandpa Cripple in speed, Grandpa Mute in forging treasure, Grandpa Deaf in the path of painting, Grandpa Ma in fist skills, Grandpa Butcher in knife skills, Grandpa Blind in divine eyes, and Granny Si in divine arts! I will be the number one in the world!"
Hermit Qing You laughed loudly. "Human Emperor's ambitions are laudable, but can you surpass these stone statues? Can you surpass those in Great Ruins? Even if you can, can you surpass Founding Emperor?"
His voice gradually became sterner as if he was lecturing a small boy. "You are only a naive child that has ambitions, but has never been faced setbacks or trials, so go back and play with water! Isn't it good to be an ordinary human and live an ordinary life? You can't yet understand the world of adults!"
Qin Mu raised his head to look a the stone statues and said calmly, "If I don't work hard and strive for success, I will naturally not surpass the first Human Emperor. But if I push myself one step at a time, there will be a chance, there will be hope. If I don't work hard and strive for success, but only think about failure all the time, of course I won't have shit!"
He took a glance at Hermit Qing You. "Immortal Qing You, since you are an immortal, will you die?"
Hermit Qing You shook his head. "There's no immortal that won't die."
"What can you leave behind?" asked Qin Mu.
Hermit Qing You said, "I didn't bring anything when I came to life, so I can't bring anything when I leave either."
Qin Mu revealed a smile. "But the immortals of Little Jade Capital left behind stone statues, and so did the first Human Emperor and Saint Woodcutter. But are they truly dead? During nighttime in Great Ruins, I saw a stone statue of a heavenly king ride the dragon qilin to slay divine dragons, I saw stone statues reviving to go into battle once again. I have even seen them give off divine light at night to protect the people of Great Ruins. But what will you leave behind after you die?"
He didn't wait for Hermit Qing You to reply and answered for him. "Nothing!"
Hermit Qing You was angered, and he shook his head while smiling. "You are still a little child who only knows how to brag, not understanding the gains and losses. You will get bruised all over and break your head, your body, and yourself until you are like me and the old human emperor. When that time comes, your family will be eradicated, leaving you all alone, without even a child to send you off. At that time, you will come to the realization that my words were gems of wisdom."
Qin Mu raised his head to look at the stone statue and said with a calm expression, "They will revive and when there's hope in this world once again, they will come back to life and continue to fight for hope. But when that time comes, will Immortal Qing You be able to come back to life to fight? He won't, because you are already dead."
Furious, Hermit Qing You took a step forward. His clothes moved by themselves, without the wind, and his hair fluttered as he shouted, "Even if you are the human emperor, what can you do?"
Qin Mu took a glance at him. "I'm the Overlord Body."
"There is no Overlord Body in this world!" Hermit Qing You shouted out at an ear-deafening volume. "What the f*ck is an Overlord Body? There's absolutely no such constitution! Who are you trying to fool?"
"This world has an Overlord Body."
Village Chief suddenly opened his mouth, and Hermit Qing You was slightly stunned when he shifted his gaze at him. Village Chief struggled free from Qin Mu's vital qi and floated up with a solemn face. "There's an Overlord Body in this world, an Overlord Body from Carefree Village!"
Hermit Qing You's heart was greatly shaken, and he looked at Qin Mu in a hurry while crying out, "What you mean is…"
"His surname is Qin, Qin of Founding Emperor."
Village Chief seemed to have lost his depression from earlier, but his tone still had a hint of exhaustion. "Qin of Carefree Village, the Qin that had swept all eight lands and united the world. He is the Overlord Body, the matchless Overlord Body!"
"Carefree Village?" Hermit Qing You's heart was a little flustered, and it took him a moment to compose himself. He asked, "Qin of Carefree Village? Qin of Founding Emperor? That golden book is from Carefree Village? Carefree Village still has someone from Qin Family?"
Village Chief nodded. "We can't do it, but the Qin Family can."
Hermit Qing You revealed an excited expression, but soon hid it away once more. He chuckled. "Old Dao brother seems to not have much understanding of Founding Emperor Era. What can the Qin Family do? Aren't they just a bunch of failures like us? Carefree Village is merely some people trying their best to stay alive. What's the difference between them and our Little Jade Capital? Actually, you don't even believe it yourself."
Village Chief was silent for the moment, then suddenly opened his mouth. "There's hope, even if it's a slither."
Hermit Qing You's expression was apathetic as he said, "Don't take Carefree Village to pressure me. There is no Overlord Body in Carefree Village. There's no Overlord Body in this world."
"Mu'er can prove it to you," Village Chief said solemnly. "He can prove he is the one and only Overlord Body!"
Hermit Qing You laughed loudly and shook his head. "Dao brother, are you only left with the ability to say lies? Overlord Body, hehe, Overlord Body…" His voice suddenly became incomparably resounding and spread through Little Jade Capital. "Disciples of Little Jade Capital, come over here!"
Qin Mu was slightly stunned.
Hermit Qing You's face became solemn, and he ruthlessly stared over, his sleeves trembling. "Prove it to me! My Little Jade Capital has only groomed three disciples, but defeat them, and I'll go down the mountain with you!"
Qin Mu flexed his muscles, revealing a smile while raising his eyebrows. "Immortal Qing You, you were the one who said it. Three is too little, why don't all of you immortals of Little Jade Capital seal your cultivations and come at once? Dao Master and Rulai can come as well." His aura suddenly burst forth, and he roared ruthlessly, "I'll beat you all to death!"