Chapter 353 — Soft-Hearted
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
He struggled up and saw five elders seated in five directions, high above him, nearly as ancient as the Three Primes elders.
He looked around. This was not the Hall of the Three Primes he had entered, but another great hall, and these five elders did not look like the Three Primes elders at all.
Shen Mu steadied himself. Every muscle in his body ached, and his legs and hands were still trembling.
"Where are those three old immortals from before?" Shen Mu asked, his voice shaking a little.
"The Three Primes elders are not here."
One of the old loose immortals was short of stature, but his voice was remarkably loud and full of vigor. "We are the Five Luminaries, and this is the Hall of Five Qi. From the Hall of Five Qi we watched the Human Sovereign achieve the Three Primes breakthrough, and our admiration was sincere and great. Having broken through, the Human Sovereign was delivered here to the Hall of Five Qi, and will now face the Five Qi trial."
"I achieved the Three Primes breakthrough?"
Shen Mu was both startled and delighted, though his legs still shook disobediently, refusing to stop.
"So he truly was a false Tyrant Body, and I am the true Tyrant Body!" the youth said, well pleased with himself.
When the Five Luminaries heard this, they were utterly at a loss, their faces blank with confusion; they had no idea what a Tyrant Body or a false Tyrant Body might be.
Shen Mu tried hard to stand steady, but his legs kept quaking, and his two arms would not stop trembling either.
One old loose immortal frowned slightly. "The Human Sovereign is the second person ever to pass the Three Primes breakthrough. Do you intend to challenge the Five Qi breakthrough?"
Shen Mu simply sat down on the ground, to keep from toppling over and making a fool of himself, and asked, "How does the Five Qi breakthrough compare with the Three Primes breakthrough?"
"A little harder."
An old woman spoke to him kindly. "That the Human Sovereign could achieve the Three Primes breakthrough is enough to make your foundation far more powerful. The Five Qi breakthrough should not prove too difficult either."
"Still harder?"
Shen Mu was alarmed. He shook his head. "Seniors, might you be a little flexible in this? Could you allow me to come back another day to make the challenge?"
He truly had no strength left now to challenge the Five Qi breakthrough.
He had beaten the young god and won the Three Primes, and his wounds had for the most part healed — yet the soreness in his flesh had not faded, and the shock of that last blow, leaping down from a mountain thousands of zhang high, had struck his spirit far too hard. It was not only his body that trembled now; his very soul was shuddering, unable to keep its seat.
The five loose immortals could see how poor his condition was. They exchanged glances, and one of the elders said, "There has never been such a rule in our Little Jade Capital. Once one passes the trial of the Hall of the Three Primes, one may enter the Hall of Five Qi; having failed, one leaves. Stopping midway — such a thing has never happened."
Another old woman said, "But a Three Primes breakthrough is truly rare. The last person to achieve one lived seven thousand years ago. Since the Human Sovereign has come this far, it would be quite unreasonable not to let him challenge another day."
The five elders conferred, and the eldest among them said, "Since the Human Sovereign has asked, Little Jade Capital is not so rigid as to know no flexibility. Let it be so: when the Human Sovereign has recovered, he may come again to challenge the Hall of Five Qi."
"Many thanks!" Shen Mu struggled to his feet and saluted the five elders.
By the time he straightened up, the scene before him had changed once more. He stood outside the Hall of the Three Primes. The Perfected Ones of the Heaven Prime, the Earth Prime and the Water Prime were speaking with the recluse Qingyou. Qingyou's face was full of shock, while the headman wore a look of modest satisfaction.