Chapter 380 — The Inheritor
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
Though State Preceptor Xuankang and Ling Yushu had brought back vast treasures from the Mandi Kingdom and the Langjuxu Kingdom, the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon was a bottomless pit that could never be filled, a gold-devouring beast that could never be sated. Play with it a while longer, and it would bankrupt the nation.
"This is the first god our Yankang has slain!"
Emperor Yanfeng raised his head to the sky and sneered, "In the future there may well be a second, a third! My subjects are not fish flesh to be carved at will, nor am I a coward to be kneaded however these gods please! The army returns to court!"
The Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon slowly rotated. Shen Mu hesitated, then said, "Your Majesty, your humble servant has a few small matters and must remain here a while longer..."
Emperor Yanfeng looked at him and said, "My minister, could it be that you know the experts who fought those gods? You wish to stay and meet them?"
Shen Mu nodded and said, "They are several elders of my household."
Emperor Yanfeng smiled ambiguously and said, "Your household has quite a few elders. Might you introduce them to me? The nation is in dire need of talent—these peerless experts, I would very much like to meet."
Shen Mu hastily pointed at Wang Muran and said, "Several more should be elders of their household. My family's elders do not much care to meet outsiders. Your Majesty had best ask about their family's elders instead."
Wang Muran shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, our family's elders also do not care to meet outsiders."
Emperor Yanfeng's face turned ashen.
State Preceptor Xuankang coughed, stood at his side, and leaned in as though nothing were amiss, whispering into Emperor Yanfeng's ear, "The elders of both their houses are truly extraordinary. On one side are the Old Man Emperor, the Heavenly Blade, and other mysterious masters hidden away in the Desolate Ruins; on the other is Little Yujing. Your Majesty will not be able to recruit them."
Emperor Yanfeng was startled, and awe filled his heart. Little Yujing he knew of—though reclusive and withdrawn from the world, its standing surpassed even the Three Great Holy Lands, and within it dwelt ancient immortals of unfathomable mystery. And the State Preceptor ranked Shen Mu's household even above Little Yujing—could it be a holy land hidden in the Desolate Ruins?
"State Preceptor, since there is an Old Man Emperor, then this generation's Human Emperor..."
State Preceptor Xuankang shook his head and said, "The near pavilion catches the first moonlight. This generation's Human Emperor cannot be Your Majesty."
Emperor Yanfeng was shaken inwardly. He looked at Shen Mu, his mind growing somewhat muddled.
Shen Mu took his leave once more. Emperor Yanfeng hesitated, and State Preceptor Xuankang, knowing the thoughts of a sovereign, understood that he had clearly grown wary of Shen Mu, this new Human Emperor.
"Your Majesty?" State Preceptor Xuankang coughed.
Emperor Yanfeng came to himself, waved his hand, and said, "My dear Minister Qin had best attend to his own affairs. You may withdraw."
Shen Mu leaped down from the cannon platform, and Wang Muran and the others hastily followed.
Emperor Yanfeng watched their departing figures. State Preceptor Xuankang stood silently behind him, then suddenly said, "Your Majesty has felt the urge to kill?"
"For a moment."
Emperor Yanfeng concealed nothing from him, admitting it readily, and said, "He is the Hierarch of the Youmo Cult—a man I have always been wary of. Though the Youmo Cult bears the word 'demon,' it is the foremost sect, nominally a martial faction but in truth a nation—a nation within my Yankang. Employing him, I have never been able to rest easy. And now that he has become this generation's Human Emperor, I am all the more uneasy."