Chapter 310: Ascending to God!

The three-hundred-year-old Great Shun Dynasty perished in a way unlike any previous dynasty, without enduring abdication, without being overthrown by regicide, and without being wiped out by rebel or foreign armies storming the capital.

It fell naturally, as if water finds its channel, and even among the populace it attracted little attention……

This is not because the people don't care about state affairs, but because the Grand General's shogunate has replaced the court for many years; since the Grand General established the shogunate at age fifty, people have gone a full twenty years without knowing the names of the emperor and court…… Twenty years is enough to erase people's memories.

Young people born in this new era unheard of the court's name have, from childhood, basked in the boundless glory of General Lin, receiving constant instruction in the seven virtues of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust…… They long ago lost any feeling for the court.

At most, it's just some elderly people lamenting the changes of the world: even the emperor is gone……

But in terms of power, how much difference is there between the Grand General and the emperor?

He's merely an uncrowned king; since the Grand General doesn't want to wear the emperor's title, if he doesn't, he doesn't.

Year after year, time flows like water.

After securing all the population and land except Xiniu Hezhou, you launched a massive infrastructure drive!

First came poverty relief; considering the harsh natural conditions of East Victory Divine Continent and North Kuru Continent, you and Houzi et al. directly employed divine power to carry out large-scale transformation of the two continents.

Barren land became fertile, the chaotic climate was also adjusted—severe cold was no longer severe, extreme heat no longer extreme…… Although this affected the local flora and fauna already adapted to the climate, you didn't care at all; everything was subordinated to population growth.

Thus, the populations of the two continents surged, and their society and economy leapt forward dramatically!

Next came thought and belief, since incense is crucial for your godhood, and besides needing to suppress the wild‑god resistance groups everywhere to maintain order, you issued an edict banning all faiths other than the Eight Gods of the West Queen Sect.

The countless wild gods hiding in filthy ditches, barely clinging to life, could no longer hide; as soon as your edict to cut down mountains and demolish temples was issued, it provoked pandemonium, with all manner of monstrous spirits jumping out to disrupt governance.

But it was useless; under your iron fist, all kinds of monstrous spirits were carpet‑plowed one after another, their heads rolling……

Finally, you nearly exterminated all divine‑path cultivators outside Xiniu Hezhou; thereafter, within your shogunate's domain, only the faith of you eight remained.

You even cut off the incense offerings to all the legitimate gods of the Heavenly Court!

Although you never said it outright, your hostility toward the Heavenly Court is utterly undisguised!

Yet even though you acted so outrageously, the heavenly realm never sent anyone to confront you—this is truly strange: could the tempers of the immortals really be that good?

Unable to lure a true god down, you sighed: it seems you won't get to see a true god before achieving godhood…… To find out what the heavenly realm really looks like, you'll have to go up there yourself and investigate!

……

One year.

Ten years.

Twenty years……

After more than thirty years, you finally gathered the required incense; boundless incense‑divine power was stored within the scarlet Dharma Aspect.

You couldn't help stroking your pure‑white beard, letting out a long sigh: 'At last it's enough……'

Thirty‑plus years, full thirty‑plus years!

That once decisive Grand General of Subjugation is now a frail centenarian; though you, a mortal body, try to keep yourself in shape with divine power, flesh is flesh—aging and death cannot be avoided.

You, over a hundred years old, already have white hair and a withered frame, heavy with the aura of impending death…… In fact, you can at most live to about 120; being able to gather enough incense while over a hundred is nothing short of fortunate.

And if you compare the time you've taken with that of the founding emperors of past dynasties, you are undoubtedly the slowest……

This is the downside of eight people sharing a single portion of incense; since you don't want to eliminate your meritorious followers, you can only accept this outcome.

But no matter how you put it, as long as you can gather enough incense, everything is fine!

You estimated: 'Turning the Dharma Aspect into a true form should still take a few days…… Perfect timing to go out for a walk.'

After years of seclusion, you haven't seen anyone in ages; now, with godhood imminent, these are your last days as a mortal—once you become a god you will no longer be mortal, and a new worldview will replace the old, so your outlook on worldly affairs will change accordingly.

You want to seize this final time, to experience the world one last time through mortal eyes…… otherwise…… you'll never get another chance……

Thus you gladly rose, slowly pushed open the secret chamber's door, and stepped toward the vivid world you had left behind for the last time in your life!

……

Hou'er.

With crane‑white hair and chicken‑skin, yet full of vigor, Lin Liu walked out of the cultivation chamber, smiling at the golden silhouette that had long waited beside the door.

Master!

Houzi looked happily at the old man and couldn't help asking: 'Have you become a god?'

Not yet.

Lin Liu smiled: 'Just a few more days, waiting for the Dharma Aspect to naturally transform into a divine body.'

All right, come with me for a walk; I want to take one last look at this world in my mortal moments.

This……

Houzi felt a bit embarrassed, for a mortal body is still too weak—what if something happened? But after thinking, Master isn't a weakling, and besides, I have my own protection; an accident is impossible.

Thus it finally nodded, carefully supporting Lin Liu as they gradually walked outward.

……

Leaving the General's Shogunate, all that you master and disciple saw was a bustling streetscape.

The once remote coastal county seat has long since become one of the few great cities under heaven, with all industries thriving and the people prosperous and healthy!

All these changes are thanks to you; after all, although you are not an emperor, the Grand General and the emperor differ little, and with the shogunate established here, this place became the political center of the realm.】【Politics drove population concentration, and with convenient coastal transport, after nearly fifty years of construction the former county seat has grown into a metropolis that rivals any capital built by past dynasties!

Shrouded in an illusion technique, you and your disciple clearly took in the sight of this 'Overnight‑Rising City'……

'Better than the capital!'

After looking for a while, you sighed from the heart.

Houzi proudly said: 'Exactly! Since we govern this place with divine power, it naturally surpasses the capital…… Master, you don't know, the city inside and out has a population of five to six hundred thousand; in a few more years, even a million won't be hard.'

You sighed, feeling relieved at the progress of your homeland……

'Right, Master!'

Houzi seemed to have thought of something, laughing: 'You don't know, even the family of the little emperor who abdicated back then is making a living here with us!'

Oh?

You took an interest: "Could it be that the old lady hasn't died yet?"

Old lady? She died long ago!

Monkey shook his head and roughly recounted the many years of deeds of the little emperor's family...

The Grand Empress Dowager had been dead for over twenty years; she died at nearly ninety, which is considered an extremely long life.

After her death, the imperial clan's bunch, accustomed to extreme extravagance and desire, were like horses freed from their reins, doing whatever they pleased, quickly taking to eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling.

At that rate of spending, even if the imperial clan had money, their fortunes declined within a few years.

Seeing that things were getting worse and worse, the little emperor knew he could no longer stay with those relatives; he decisively cut ties, using his status as clan head to expel all non-immediate kin from the genealogy, leaving them to fend for themselves.

Thereafter, forced by circumstance, the little emperor reluctantly gave up his luxurious life and brought his whole family to the northeast to make a living...

Thanks to his former imperial status, many remnants of the previous dynasty secretly sent him money, so even though the family declined, they were not reduced to begging.

However, given his sensitive status, he dared not be too ostentatious, keeping a low profile in daily life, only occasionally earning a little money by writing or drawing for others... It's clear he has a strong will to survive.

After hearing the little emperor's recent situation, you only sighed: This is all his own doing; otherwise he'd still be living in the palace...

After asking, you no longer paid attention to him: Let the past be past...

Afterwards, you and the monkey traveled many places, even riding clouds to fly to the distant East Victory Divine State and North Kuru State, to see how they had developed.

And each time you passed a place filled with memories, you would recall the past, then sigh, fall silent, or feel comforted...

Finally, you and the monkey returned to your hometown and walked slowly toward the final destination of this journey.

Seaside, fishing village.

The venerable Lin Six's physique grew ever more gaunt, as if his days were numbered, yet the monkey felt joy in his heart, for this indicated that the master was soon to shed his mortal coil and become a true god...

Lin Six walked through the fishing village; it remained just as he remembered, hardly changed from a century ago.

This is because he always refused to meet outsiders in his true form, so people did not know that the sect leader was actually that Lin Six, a fisherman from the seaside; they merely thought it was a coincidence of same name and surname.

Otherwise the village would have long been turned into a tourist spot...

Lin Six slowly approached his own cottage: it differed little from his memory, though no one lived there anymore, yet it remained spotless and free of pests, evidently because the monkey was deliberately protecting it.

After silently gazing for a while, countless past scenes surfaced in Lin Six's mind: gutting fish, drying nets, washing shells...

The aroma of Mother's fish stew seemed still to linger at the tip of his nose, Father's snoring appeared still to echo in his ears.

The childhood sweetheart, a fisherman's daughter, still called him brother, and the friend who had played naked with him since childhood still called him to go swimming...

Then gradually, the scent of the fish stew faded away, and the snoring grew faint and eventually inaudible.

The fisherman's daughter grew up, married him and bore children; the good brother, after starting a family, faded into obscurity.

Then, the one who used to bring the fish stew now had white hair and could no longer lift the bowl; the snorer felt chest tightness and shortness of breath, unable to sleep soundly. The elderly wife took his hand and gently said not to waste his divine strength any further. Even his daughter and son...

Until they were all buried in the earth.

Of those who once appeared in this cottage, now only he remains.

The hundred-year-old elder closed his eyes, and murky tears dripped down...

"Disciple..."

Lin Six slowly said: "Bury my corpse well, and lay it beside my wife... There is a plot I had long chosen for our graves..."

"Yes, Master!"

In the year of his one hundred and sixth year, his breath finally ceased; his corpse was buried by his disciple in the grave plot, adjacent to his wife.

That year, the mortal Lin Six, aged one hundred and six, reached the end of his lifespan and passed away peacefully, carrying with him the mundane events of his life into eternal sleep.

That year, the true god Lin Six opened his keen eyes, and, carrying the legendary deeds of his life, began a new legend.

Immortality, vast supernatural powers—no longer mere dreams; through your effort and struggle, they have become reality.

You have become the first true god of the mortal realm!

(End of chapter)