Chapter 273

Heavenly Emperor?

Facing the so-called promises and compensation from the River of the Underworld, you only find it laughable: so many people died because of this—could it be that their deaths were merely to scoop you a Heavenly Emperor position?

Such compensation has no meaning whatsoever; it won't earn your forgiveness, nor can it console the dead—its sole effect is merely to lessen the River of the Underworld's own sense of guilt…

"Father, I don't want to be the Heavenly Emperor."

You let out a long sigh.

"I lack the ability to govern heaven and earth and all the myriad races' beings, and I don't want to make things difficult for Xuan Du…… He is a qualified Heavenly Emperor; even if I took his position, I wouldn't do any better than he does……"

"What you say doesn't count."

The River of the Underworld closed its eyes; it is as determined as a turtle swallowing a weight, resolved to make you replace Xuan Du, because this is the only compensation it can offer—better compensation, it cannot produce nor wishes to.

You all know full well that the best way to atone is for it to die! Only the murderer can pay with his life to offset the victims' lives; any other so-called compensation is meaningless to the dead.

A life for a life—this is natural and just!

But a sage cannot die, nor does he wish to; even being beaten by you to vent anger, he would never agree, for a sage would never lower himself to that extent.

He can acknowledge owing you, but he will never admit any fault or wrongdoing, let alone consider punishment.

"I have already consulted the Six Sages; they all agree that you should replace Xuan Du, as compensation for the sacrifice of the Asura clan."

"You must take this throne, whether you want to or not!"

Indeed!

Hearing the River of the Underworld's indisputable words, you sigh inwardly: just as you previously thought, sages possess the utmost violence; everything in heaven and earth depends on the sages' decisions, they are born domineering and never leave room for others to oppose.

Because their logic is simple: follow them and prosper, oppose them and perish!

And the seemingly noble position of Heavenly Emperor is in fact nothing more than something a sage can decide with a single word……

You can't help but recall the legend of the Golden Heavenly Emperor from years past: he was able to topple the Supreme Heavenly Court, capture and slay the great witches, star lords, and demon commanders of both the Witch and Demon races, even forcing the peak quasi-sage Di Jun to abdicate voluntarily…… Was this truly achieved solely by the unanimous support of all beings?

I do not deny that the Golden Heavenly Emperor governed well and enjoyed deep support and worship from all beings, nor do I deny that the regime of the Sun Star Lord and the reactionary clique of Di Jun engaged in various perverse actions, exhausting the people's goodwill.

But in the wilderness, these factors are not decisive; no matter how good Mount Shouyang is or how bad the Heavenly Court is, Di Jun and his group of quasi-sages could never be overthrown by all beings—this is the absolute advantage brought by supreme violence!

Therefore, the reason the Golden Heavenly Emperor could win boils down to a single point: his master is the Sage of Grand Purity.

Precisely under the leadership and support of the Sage of Grand Purity, the Six Sages all declared their stance, unanimously appointing Jin Bing as Heavenly Emperor, which frightened Di Jun, who had secretly planned to act, laying the foundation for ultimate victory.

Otherwise, after Jin Bing declared in the morning that he would "purge the monarch's side," he wouldn't even have time to eat lunch before Mount Shouyang would be smashed to ashes by the Chaos Bell……

The sage's absolute violence is the sole force determining the development of the wilderness!

The Golden Heavenly Emperor of old obtained his throne because of a sage; now Xuan Du as Heavenly Emperor will lose his throne because of a sage—the River of the Underworld says he shall not be allowed to hold it, and so he cannot.

"Withdraw now; afterward, organize your troops, and you can at any time attack the Thirty-Three Heavens. The human, demon, and witch races will all pledge their loyalty to you—once your army reaches the Middle Heaven Gate, Xuan Du will lead the Heavenly Court officials to surrender to you……"

The River of the Underworld gave a slight smile and presented you with this great gift as compensation.

You dare not defy the sage, so you can only perform the salute in silence and then withdraw.

But at the moment you stepped out of the palace gate, you suddenly asked him a question.

"Father, if in the future another sage supports someone to raise an army, will I become a second Xuan Du?"

The River of the Underworld's smile stiffened, then gradually faded……

He did not answer, yet it seemed as if he had answered everything.

You laughed heartily, strode out, and never looked back!

……

Along the banks of the Sea of Blood, Jin Bing, in high spirits, organized everyone to rebuild their homeland; tens of millions of mystic immortals worked together casting spells, bustling with vigor, and soon erected the foundations of one city after another.

The wandering Asura clan will resettle, and from now on they will suffer no hardship! Happy days are beckoning to the people……

"You're out? How did the talk go?"

Jin Bing, who was issuing all kinds of orders, let out a soft "yi" and looked toward Xue Xuan, who had just stepped out.

Xue Xuan wore a smile: "Father has ordered me to prepare the army; we can attack the Heavenly Court at any time—He has arranged everything!"

Ah? Jin Bing, who had been excited about rebuilding the homeland, was startled by these words, then gradually fell silent……

"I think…… Xuan Du is actually doing a pretty good job……"

Jin Bing said quietly, he is ultimately part of the Golden Heavenly Emperor, and Xuan Du was personally appointed as successor by the Golden Heavenly Emperor; no matter what, he does not wish for Xuan Du to abdicate.

Especially since Xuan Du is doing well, it is sheer nonsense for him to abdicate suddenly just because of a sage's single remark……

"I also think he's doing well."

Xue Xuan calmly said: "But there's nothing we can do; Father is a sage, and whatever a sage says goes—no one can change it……"

"Xuan Du's abdication was sealed the moment he sealed the vortex entrance and wrote that insulting note—Father will surely deal with him." "But actually, I think he did nothing wrong; the forty-eight Asuras who entered the Eternal Wilderness before me were all utterly wicked, and that naturally gave Xuan Du and his entourage the bad impression that the entire Asura clan is evil."

"When Xuan Du sealed the entrance, he surely knew what it meant…… yet he did it anyway, because he was willing to sacrifice for the safety of the beings under his rule, and he accepted all consequences."

"If I were in charge, I would do exactly the same!"

Jin Bing looked at Xue Xuan in surprise, hesitatingly asking: "You…… don't want to be the Heavenly Emperor?"

Xue Xuan did not answer, but his refusal was clearly written on his face.

Seeing this, Jin Bing himself didn't know what to feel; myriad thoughts surged in his mind, ultimately amounting only to a sigh: "Say whatever you think, I…… will listen to you."

Xue Xuan remained silent for a moment.

After a long while, he lifted his gaze toward the people along the Sea of Blood who were enthusiastically rebuilding their homeland; his eyes seemed to reflect struggle and confusion……

……

Ding! Faced with the sage's stern arrangement, you know this goes against your will—you don't want to be any Heavenly Emperor, and Xuan Du shouldn't abdicate.

But you no longer possess the Pangu true form capable of opposing a sage; the sage's decision is something you cannot possibly refuse!

The game hasn't ended yet; this also means you haven't achieved the truly perfect ending you desire. At this crucial moment, just one step away from completion, the bewildered you pins your hopes on "another self," hoping he can attain true perfection……

Your choice: (?) Please answer freely!

At this point, still asking? Zhao Si raises an eyebrow:

"Isn't it already perfect?"

The Asura Clan was all saved, and Xue Xuan also relied on Pangu's true form to secretly give Minghe a beating, barely avenging the Asura Clan.

The Eternal Great Wasteland was successfully anchored, and the cataclysmic danger was completely eliminated.

Next, Xue Xuan only needs to follow the plan given by Minghe, and he can smoothly become the Heavenly Emperor!

What's still imperfect about it?

After thinking, Zhao Si seemed to realize: "Xue Xuan doesn't want to be the Heavenly Emperor—not just because he truly doesn't want to, but more because he wants to resist Minghe's violent patriarchy!"

In short, it's just refusing to be controlled by this biological father! Xue Xuan certainly knows Minghe means well, but Minghe's longstanding violent, paternalistic style has drawn his disgust.

Minghe always has ample justification to arbitrarily rule over the Asura Clan:

To protect the Great Wasteland, His sky-mending plan killed countless Asura Clan members, yet He neither admits fault nor seeks anyone's opinion, doing whatever He wants and forbidding any opposition!

The answer is always "I have my difficulties!"

The answer is always "It's for your own good!"

Growing up in such an environment, Xue Xuan naturally saw all the negative results of Minghe's paternalistic approach, so he despises every arrangement and command Minghe imposes on the Asura Clan.

Now, Minghe once again plans to violently arrange a future for his children; although He truly means well this time, Xue Xuan has clearly had enough! The father-son conflict between Xue Xuan and Minghe has reached its extreme; if this continues, even if he were truly installed as Heavenly Emperor, he would not resign himself to it.

And a perfect ending is called a perfect ending precisely because it lets the protagonist be satisfied with the status quo; now the protagonist is dissatisfied, so of course it isn't a perfect ending……

"If we really want Xue Xuan to be satisfied, the best solution is to completely eliminate Minghe……"

But this is obviously unrealistic; even Pangu cannot truly kill a saint, so with Xue Xuan's current conditions, it's certainly impossible.

"Can't beat……"

Zhao Si's mind turned, and a plan came to him:

"Then let's run!"

The effective way for adult children to resist domineering parents is nothing more than to split the household and live separately.

If we want Minghe unable to control the Asura Clan, we should split from Him! "But where can we run to escape the pursuit of a saint?"

Zhao Si subconsciously thought of other saints: as the saying goes, only magic can defeat magic!

Facing a saint's super-model-level threat, only other saints can block it.

But the problem arises: which saint would be willing to offend Minghe to help his son escape? The answer: none.

No one would bother to offend this domineering father, and no one would pay the price to shelter Xue Xuan; the father-son dispute, outsiders meddling……

"Wait a moment!"

Zhao Si suddenly had a flash of logic: it seems there really is a saint who would wholeheartedly protect Xue Xuan, because this saint is completely bound to him and has a dull mind, daring to do anything……

"Lao Pan! So this foreshadowing of yours is used here!"

……

(End of chapter)