Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studiosn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Qin Mu looked toward the source of the sound and saw a tall and sturdy man with a shirt draped over his shoulders. He seemed slightly lazy, and the shirt on his body was also slightly loose. Yet it gave him a certain kind of aura.
âSo itâs Human Emperor Qi Kang,â God Chi Xiu said. âIâm acting on orders. Human Emperor Qin used a Youdu spell to snatch back people, and even King Yama was alarmed. The hearts of the ghosts in Fengdu are anxious that they will be summoned to Youdu and sink there eternally. Because of that, King Yama wants to take him down. Itâs not my fault.â
Human Emperor Qi Kang took hold of the shirt draped over his shoulders and smiled. âI know that you are acting on orders so I wonât create trouble for you. I will be bringing Human Emperor Qin away, just drop King Yama a note.â
God Chi Xiu shook his head and said, âThat will not do. King Yama still wants to punish him alone later, so I canât let you take him awayâ¦â
At this moment, an old voice suddenly rang out. âChi Xiu, I heard my discipleâs grand-disciple has been captured by you?â
God Chi Xiuâs expression changed slightly when he saw an elder with white hair walking over. It was none other than the master of Human Emperor Qi Kang. He immediately explained, âSo itâs Human Emperor Yi Shan. I canât make a decision regarding Human Emperor Qinâs matter, since itâs King Yama that wants to punish him for creating a disturbance in Fengdu. I canât call the shots. Human Emperor Yi Shan, please donât blame me.â
âI didnât see how big the matter was.â The white-haired elder had a short stature, and his snow-white beard flew upwards from both sides. His voice was like a great bell as he laughed. âI know you canât make the decision so Iâm not letting you make the decision. Iâm the one making the decision. Iâll be bringing Human Emperor Qin away!â
âYou canât!â God Chi Xiu became anxious and said, âKing Yama wants to punish him personally. Human Emperor Yi Shan, you canât make the decisionâ¦â
âChi Xiu, Iâve heard my grand-discipleâs grand-disciple has been captured by you?â
Another voice came over, and God Chi Xiu couldnât help crying out internally for help. He saw a woman in a blue dress carrying a small bamboo basket walking over. He immediately said, âSo itâs Human Emperor Lan Po. About thisâ¦â
âChi Xiu, Iâve heard my grand-discipleâs grand-discipleâs disciple has been captured by you?â
âChi Xiu, Iâve heard my grand-discipleâ¦â
Chi Xiu!â
â¦
More and more people surrounded God Chi Xiu who was about to explode. He thought to himself, âCould I have poked a hornetâs nest? These human emperors of Hall of Human Emperors are all hornets, right? You usually donât see them around, but once you poke one, the whole nest comes flying out!â
He felt he couldnât provoke them and when more and more damned human emperors came over, he could only say, âEveryone, you are all reputable figures so why must you force me? Please donât give me trouble. I can pass Human Emperor Qin to you guys first, but he cannot leave Fengdu. I have to hand him over to King Yamaâ¦â
âDonât worry, donât worry, we wonât make you trouble!â everyone said noisily.
Qin Mu looked around in a daze and stuttered, âGod Chi Xiu, you said I had people aboveâ¦â
âThatâs right!â Chi Xiu tried his best to squeeze out from the crowd while saying angrily, âThe human emperors of your Hall of Human Emperors are all bullies and ruffians, and they are a force in my Fengdu that cannot be provoked! One poke and the entire hornetâs nest will come out. Iâll come back for you later!â
He squeezed out of the crowd and flapped his wings away.
Qin Mu looked at the human emperors in the surroundings, slightly at a loss. Everyone was smiling as they examined him. Among them, there were men and women, young and old, tall and short, fat and skinny, well-groomed ones, fierce-looking ones, courageous and strong ones, and also weak-looking ones.
Qin Mu looked toward the crowd, but Village Chief couldnât be seen. He immediately coughed and greeted, âYoung and superficial student Qin Mu, the current human emperor, pays his respects to grand-master, great grand-master, great great grand master, great great great grand masterâ¦â
âThere no need for such formalities!â
Everyone flooded forward and surrounded him, this little skeleton, in the center, rattling his bones until they were almost falling apart. They gathered around him and walked him toward the city with smiles. âItâs rare to have a living coming to find us so letâs have a nice gathering and liven things up!â
âYou havenât been burning paper money for us. If it wasnât for that little brat with the surname Su dying and coming to Fengdu, we would have thought that Hall of Human Emperors has been cut short!â
âWhy didnât you sweep our tombs? If you had gone, we would have known that we have a successor. We even left some treasures for you in Hall of Human Emperors.â
â¦
There were too many questions so Qin Mu could only reply honestly. âUntil now, I have yet to visit the Hall of Human Emperors. Village Chief also didnât tell me where it isâ¦â
Human Emperor Qi Kang couldnât help becoming furious. âWhat was that little brat doing? To actually not bring you to Hall of Human Emperors! This scoundrel, when he comes back, Iâll definitely teach him a lesson!â
Human Emperor Yi Shan gave a fierce kick to Human Emperor Qi Kangâs buttocks and blew his beard while giving him a stare before shouting, âHow do you teach your disciple? Beating your disciple is never the way to teach a good disciple! Itâs because of teachings from people like you that Human Emperor Qin didnât sweep our tombs!â
After this kick from Human Emperor Yi Shan, his head was immediately punched by Human Emperor Lan Po, and he cradled it in pain. Human Emperor Lan Po said furiously. âYi Shan, did I teach you like this? How dare you even have the face to say that to Qi Kang âhow did you teach your discipleâ?â
âLan Po, such a violent girl, throwing my face!â
âKong Xian, how dare you beat my grand-disciple? You are tired of living!â
â¦
A bunch of old fellows started to fight in the city, and they couldnât be broken apart. Qin Mu immediately saw one strange point in that. The past human emperors would help their grand-disciple to beat their disciple.
It seemed that every disciple wasnât friendly with their own master.
However, the abilities of the past human emperors were indeed all astonishing. Literally, everyone was an existence that had cultivated to the realm of path. Yet what was weird was that they all had their own specialties. The abilities that the disciples and their masters were skilled in were different. Human Emperor Qi Kang was Village Chiefâs master, and Village Chief was most proficient in sword skills. He was known as Sword God yet Human Emperor Qi Kang was proficient in fists skills and mudra skills.
They were strong and overbearing. His mudra techniques were even more terrifying than the fist skills of Great Thunderclap Monastery.
Yet his master was Human Emperor Yi Shan who was skilled in divine arts. His master, Human Emperor Lan Po, was skilled in spirit weapons. As for Human Emperor Kong Xian, he was skilled in the divine arts of spells with words.
It seemed as if all of them hated their masters very much and had vowed not to take their path, stubbornly wanting to open up a path of their own.
Qin Mu blinked and looked around. The human emperors that were messing around had razed down a few streets in a few breathsâ time. Only after a few halls were destroyed and countless houses were torn down did they stop fighting.
The gods and devils in the city kept quiet out of fear, none of them daring to make a sound. They had all stopped what they were doing to look.
Some of their halls were destroyed, but they didnât say anything. They could only grieve internally as numerous imps came forward to help repair the halls.
âGod Chi Xiu said that our Hall of Human Emperor is a force in Fengdu, looks like he was right,â Qin Mu thought to himself. âThe past human emperors tore down a few streets yet no one dares to get involved with them. Village Chief must have been living in bliss here, able to walk unhindered. He could even be said to be the little overlord of Fengdu. Still, where did he disappear to?â
Human Emperor Qi Kangâs face was all bruised when he climbed out from under Human Emperor Yi Shanâs legs. He wiped away the blood from his nose and said with a smile, âYou must go to Hall of Human Emperors. All of the past human emperors have left their ultimate arts there, hoping someone in the future generation will break through and walk their path. Besides, you have to sweep the tombs, and on every New Year and other festivities, you need to burn some good offerings for us.â
Yi Shan chuckled. âYou can burn some enemies for us to play. This Fengdu is good in everything, except having things to play around. Weâre before First Ancestorâs Sacred Hall of Five Yang, so letâs go there!â
âFirst Ancestor?â
Qin Muâs heart shook slightly. First Ancestor was the first human emperor, a true god who had opened the inheritance of Hall of Human emperors. He had remarkable abilities, and Qin Mu wanted to meet this distinguished person of the past very much!
He had seen the stone statue of the first human emperor in Little Jade Capital, and Hermit Qing You had said that First Ancestor Human Emperor had become a stone statue under utter despair. After Qin Mu had never expected to be able to meet him.
âFirst Ancestor has left Fengdu for quite a period of time. He said he was going to attend to something very important. Your master went to find him, but he still hasnât returned. Your master is very weird. He doesnât seem to have stopped breathing completely, so he can walk out of Fengdu. On the other hand, we have really stopped breathing,â Qi Kang said.
Everyone flooded forward and made the two huge beasts that were guarding Sacred Hall of Five Yang jump in shock. The human-faced beast with a birdâs body on the left hurriedly asked, âHuman emperors, are you coming to old masterâs house to look for food again? The place has been eaten almost clean by you guys, so why donât you go to Second Ancestorâs house?â
âShut up!â the old human emperors shouted in unison. âSecond Ancestorâs house has been eaten clean, and the same goes for Third Ancestorâs house! Among all of our past human emperors, only your house still has something left!â
The human-faced bird immediately shut its mouth and pretended not to see anything, letting them barge in.
Qin Mu had the dragon qilin and taotie stay out of the hall. âStay here, Iâll go in and have a talk with the ancestors.â
The dragon qilin did as told and examined the two huge beasts. He suddenly asked, âHave you guys seen Heavenly Saint Cultâs Patriarch? He looks like a youth and is very handsome.â
The human-faced bird was easier to talk to and said, âHeavenly Saint Cultâs Patriarch? You should go to the nest of Heavenly Saint Cult. All the past cult master stay there, but they are mostly devils and look fiendish; they are not to be provoked.â
The dragon qilin was delighted upon hearing his words and hurriedly asked, âMay I ask brothers to show me the way.â
In Hall of Five Yang, Qin Mu couldnât help sighing ruefully. The human emperors were truly like bandits entering the village, never treating themselves like outsiders. Before they even got seated, Human Emperor Lan Po summoned some imps over and instructed them. âHuman Emperor Qin from the world of the living is here, so quickly prepare some good dishes to receive him!â
One of the green-skinned imps braved himself to say, âOld masters, a living person canât eat the food of Fengdu. Look, Human Emperor Qin is a skeleton without flesh, blood, or intestines; he canât eat.â
âPesky! Of course, heâs not the one eating, and we are the ones eating! Iâm the disciple of First Ancestor, can I not eat? Go prepare, quickly!â Second Ancestor Human Emperor shouted.
Numerous green-faced imps with fangs scuttled around and prepared the dishes. Qin Mu examined them and was puzzled. They were quite similar to the ghost kings in Hall of King Qin, creatures that werenât life forms from the world of the living. Could they be life forms from Youdu?
âNo one has been sending offerings to us over these years, so we are becoming hungry ghosts! Raise the seats!â
Second Ancestor used his mudra skills, and instantly lotuses bloomed inside the Sacred Hall of Five Yang. They grew taller and larger, lifting them up.
Numerous imps were done with the dishes and carried them up. The past human emperors didnât care about their looks as they ate and drank gluttonously, sweeping everything clean. Only then were they satisfied.
Qin Mu stared at the sight with wide eyes. The past human emperors looked like they had starved for a few hundred years. Where was any sort of loftiness left?
The food in front of him was untouched because he was only a skeleton and couldnât eat anything.
âIf Human Emperor Qin had not come forward, I still couldnât have had a full meal. Your master must have hated me very much, so he had never gone tomb sweeping, starving me for a few hundred years.â
Human Emperor Qi Kang sighed and looked at Qin Mu. âLittle Brat Su praised you to the heavens, saying his disciple has much better future prospects than my disciple. Let me see how is his disciple much better than my disciple?â
Qin Mu didnât know whether to laugh or cry. âIsnât Grand Master Qi Kangâs disciple Village Chief?â
The other human emperors were also instantly excited. They all said, âOld rules, letâs fight first!â
Qin Mu rose and bowed around him. âGrand-masters, ancestors, Iâm only on Seven Stars Realm, I think we can forgo the fight?â
Qi Kang smiled and said, âDonât worry, we wonât bully you. Of course, we will be fighting with you on the same realm. We wonât hurt you as well, since we just want to see your cultivation and give pointers.â
Qin Muâs expression became troubled. âIn that case, thereâs no need to compete. I donât want to bully grand-masters and ancestors. Hurting you guys isnât good. Truth be told, your techniques and divine arts are all mostly behind timesâ¦â
The surroundings went silent.
âI suddenly feel like beating this rascal to deathâ¦â Human Emperor Yi Shan muttered softly.