Chapter 111:
Chapter 111:
Chapter 111:
Qiao Mu is an immortal time traveler, so he doesn’t have any fear of emperors, Martial Saints, or even so-called gods.
When his words reached the ears of everyone in the hall, they were more shocking than the lightning that just killed the Martial Saint.
Even the Wuji Association assassins, who see inhuman as their enemy, felt an inexplicable shock in their hearts.
"Another crazy one," Taoist Chiyang thought as he watched martial artist Qiao Mu angrily smashing the statue.
The Martial Saint is dead, the situation is settled.
The few surviving assassins were barely hanging on under the siege of cultivators.
They themselves didn’t even know what they were fighting for anymore, feeling lost and only driven by their instinct to survive.
Just like the spiritual refining assassin who tried to assassinate but was crushed by the wind shield next to Emperor Yonghe.
No matter how angry and accusing the mortals are, so what?
In the end, they couldn’t assassinate Emperor Yonghe, couldn’t disrupt this divine worship ceremony, and couldn’t change the overall situation. At most, it caused a little trouble."A mite trying to shake a tree? Even the strongest among you mortals, the so-called Martial Saint, has died. Your courage is useless."
Taoist Chiyang waved his sleeve, causing a gust of wind in the hall. The shattered stone fragments of the deity statue reassembled and returned to the altar, forming a complete statue again.
The statue’s body still had cracks, but it had a complete human form, no longer as messy as before.
If Elder Tianxing doesn’t take action, it means that his role as a steward is sufficient to deal with this mortal.
Although this person’s destruction of the statue is surprising, the surprise comes from their audacity, not anything else.
Qiao Mu was now imprisoned by an invisible force in the hall, with almost his entire body immobilized except for his mouth.
But he still held his ground.
Qiao Mu shouted, "Martial Saint is dead. If we follow his logic, then it’s his own weakness to blame, not others."
"The deceased is gone, shall the living throw themselves into despair? It’s better to remember my name, Qiao Zhong."
"Even if I die today, I will come to toll the death bell for you fake immortals!"
As these words were spoken.
The remaining assassins of the Wuji Association were also provoked.
Although Martial Saint acted fiercely and had a thirst for killing, there were indeed many members of the Wuji Association who had obtained top martial arts techniques from him. Thus, there were naturally loyal supporters within the Wuji Association.
"Even though Martial Saint is dead, he was still the strongest in martial arts, as he died at the hands of an immortal!"
"For decades in the martial world, no one could match him. He has just died, and you’re already rushing out?"
"What’s this? Are you going to worship Martial Saint, too? Worshipping the immortals is not enough, now you want to worship Martial Saint as well?" Qiao Mu retorted sarcastically.
Taoist Chiyang was quite surprised by what he heard.
He thought all the mice causing trouble this time were supporters of the Martial Saint, but now it seems… that’s not the case.
Despite the surprise, he wouldn’t hesitate at this moment.
He was about to attack and kill this Qiao Mu when suddenly, someone stepped forward two steps inside the hall.
As this person walked, everyone’s eyes were drawn to him, causing quite a surprise.
Even the hundred immortals on the altar in the hall, who were overlooking Qiao Mu, turned their heads to look.
This person is Emperor Yonghe.
Someone that nobody expected.
The Martial Saint and the Wuji Association wanted to assassinate him, while the cultivators of the Xuantian Sect wanted him to kneel before the immortals.
He is the main character of this event, but he is always ignored like he is in the center of a storm. No one has ever paid attention to him, even though he is known as a foolish and incompetent emperor.
The opponent of Martial Saint is a cultivator from Xuantian Sect, but no one pays attention to him.
The cultivators from Xuantian Sect have a sneaky plan to deceive others. They pretend to be enemies of the other Eight Immortal Gates and are just using Martial Saint as bait. Naturally, they look down on him, as he is just a mortal emperor.
But at this moment, the atmosphere feels a bit different.
"Emperor Yonghe, what do you mean by this?" a soft voice asked.
"Before the Xuantian Sect cultivators let me worship the gods, can I ask a few questions first?" Emperor Yonghe asked in a deep voice.
At this moment, he seemed to have suddenly gained some confidence, and his actions and words had the demeanor of a former emperor.
The hundred immortals in the great hall stared at Emperor Yonghe for a long time, and a silence fell.
"Qiao Zhong, it seems like you are not a subordinate of Martial Saint. So why have you come?" Emperor Yonghe asked.
At this moment, his face is deeply frowned.
Qiao Zhong? This name surprises him.
Qiao Mu’s current appearance is a disguise made through the Flesh Changing Skill technique. Naturally, he doesn’t recognize him.
But the name Qiao Zhong, he naturally knows. It reminds him of Qiao Pifu, the one he hesitated to save at the entrance of the martial arts hall in Heyang City, and ended up being burned alive.
Another Qiao family member…
"Of course, I came here to kill you…" At this moment, Qiao Mu even feels that the invisible sense of restraint on his body has weakened a little.
Although he doubts the strangeness of Emperor Yonghe, he also seriously considers it.
The plan to assassinate the emperor by Wuji Association is something he has been considering for a long time.
But at that time, it was just a crude plan to kill Martial Saint and use the power of the Great Yan Imperial Court as a tool.
But now it’s different.
A high-quality death can make Qiao Mu stronger over the years.
So, he can act without worrying about gains and losses, without fearing the powerful and cherishing life and fearing death, and he can do whatever he wants.
The Martial Saint is dead, no one can give him any top-secret techniques, but what difference does it make?
Since crossing over to the present, everything he has done, although driven by his own desire for strength, wasn’t that done with a proud heart?
And this is what he wants to do.
"I came to kill you, but more importantly, I came for a proud heart." he said.
Whether it’s the laws of Great Yan or the rules of the Immortal Gate, the greatest punishment for a person is death.
And if Qiao Mu is not afraid of death, even longing for it, what can stop him or restrain him?
If he is willing, he can become a powerful ancestor at any time, just thinking about it makes him feel excited.
When he indulges his desires and dies, he might discover a new way to have a quality death: dying for evil.
But after feeling that excitement, he still wants to do what he truly wants.
He is not an ancestor, nor a superhero of justice, but an ordinary person with a balanced heart who wants to do what he desires.
Since he came into this world, he has interacted more with ordinary people. They are common folks rather than prominent figures.
Along the way, he experienced the difficult lives of the people and their hardships. His heart naturally filled with a sense of injustice. Even if he fought and died many times, he couldn’t completely get rid of the obstacles in his heart.
"When a figure like the Martial Saint dies, the people of the Wuji Association become distraught and unable to fight anymore," he said.
"And as the Emperor of the Great Yan Imperial Court, everyone in the world will be watching you. If you also kneel, it will only lead to others following suit and the people’s confidence will be lost."
"If you want to kneel, it is better to die like me, with a greater sense of release."
The ruler of a country cannot kneel.
Just like in the eyes of a martial artist, a Martial Saint represents the leader of the martial arts rebellion against the immortal way, carrying their hope for resistance against the immortal way.
If even the ruler kneels, can we expect the subjects to fight to the death?
"This person really wants me to die…" Emperor Yonghe squinted his eyes, these words made him think even more about the already deceased Qiao Pifu.
He continued, "Even the powerful Martial Saint, who surpassed the limits of a martial artist, is dead. What use is your struggle now?"
Emperor Yonghe was talking about the Martial Saint, but he might as well have been talking about his own situation.
The Martial Saint, who had been in hiding for forty years, had grown much stronger, but still ended up easily crushed by a heavenly thunder.
As the Great Yan Emperor, he had compromised and endured all the way until now, already exhausted in body and spirit. He couldn’t see any bright future anymore and now recognized the huge gap with the Immortal Gate.
"If I don’t struggle, should I kneel down like you?" Qiao Mu said.
"If this generation’s martial arts leader is not capable, then the next generation, and the one after… If the previous generation only knows compromise and submission, without any sacrifices, how can we expect the next generation to have courage?"
While saying this, Qiao Mu’s gaze swept past Emperor Yonghe and looked towards the square outside the palace.
The body of the Martial Saint, who was previously struck by the thunderbolt, had long turned to dust and no longer existed.
The worshippers had indifferent expressions, sometimes clear-headed and sometimes confused, only instinctively dodging the fighting.
The remaining seven or eight Wuji Association assassins also had numb and painful expressions. They were only relying on their combat instincts to resist the onslaught of cultivators, and had long lost their fighting spirit.
The Martial Saint was the support and reliance in the hearts of these Wuji Association members. With his death, despair engulfed the martial artists of the Wuji Association, and they cried out that the way of martial arts no longer existed, and no one could oppose the path of immortals.
"The Martial Saint was the pillar of martial arts, and he is already dead," said Qiao Mu.
"From now on, let me, Qiao Zhong, carry the mantle of martial arts, let me become the martial arts leader!"
"A single tree cannot make a forest; if I am incapable, there will still be successors thousands of years later."
The so-called leader of the martial arts is not just the best martial artist.
Born in this era where the Immortal Gate is high above, the leader of the martial arts naturally carries the expectations of martial artists and the heavy responsibility of using martial arts to confront the immortals.
Coincidentally, Qiao Mu has strong shoulders.
Today, he witnessed the huge gap between the path of immortality and the path of martial arts, a gap that cannot be filled by the efforts of one or two generations.
Without him, the modern method of martial arts developed by the Martial Saint might have taken decades, hundreds, or even thousands of years to gradually catch up with this gap.
But he is different.
As long as he dies multiple times, he can eventually surpass the accumulation of the long years and stand at the pinnacle of martial arts, just like the Martial Saint who defeated Immortals using Martial Arts.
"With my death alone, there is hope to shorten the suffering of the people in this realm by hundreds or even thousands of years… Isn’t that a huge gain?" This thought emerged in Qiao Mu’s mind.
Since the Martial Saint is already dead, from this day forward, he is determined to become the leader of the martial arts.