Chapter 1009 — The Mighty Pass Stretches Long, Hard as Iron
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 4
" Boom! He raised his great foot and trampled Kaihuang fiercely underfoot, laughing heartily: "This so-called Kaihuang Era never existed at all! From the beginning there was only you, holding on by yourself!
On whom do you rely?
What companions of the dao do you have? You have only a pack of mewling slaves waiting to be fed!
They are not your companions of the dao, only slaves who worship you!
" "Why will you not swim with the mud?
Why will you not be a Shen Heaven Sovereign with a smiling face, amiable to one and all?
Why do you still raise your head?
" Shen Mu stamped down heavily once more, roaring: "Why do you still get up? " Kaihuang held up Shen Mu's sole with both hands, half-kneeling, swaying, straining with all his might to stand.
"Don't get up!
" A young god-demon wept bitterly: "Your Majesty, don't get up!
Admit defeat!
" Shen Mu's thigh tensed, grinding Kaihuang down into the dust, his face savage and ferocious: "You owe no one anything, you have failed no one! All you have to do is kneel, and you are still Shen Heaven Sovereign! Not the rebel Shen Ye, not the Kaihuang whom the Worry-Free Land enshrines upon its altar!
Kneel down!
Be Shen Heaven Sovereign!
" He lifted his foot; Kaihuang lay in the print of his sole.
Shen Mu reached out two fingers and picked him up as one picks up a tiny ant.
He looked down upon all living things, and laughed heartily: "These are your companions of the dao?
These are the mainstay of your Kaihuang reform?
They are nothing but a pack of pitiful wretches! " "Shen Ye, surrender. These people are not worth your fighting to the death for them!
Take off your robes, come to the heavenly court, kneel before the Ten Heaven Sovereigns, bare your back and beg for punishment, and you are still Shen Heaven Sovereign, still lofty on high, still admired by countless people, still worshiped by countless people.
" At that very moment Shen Mu suddenly felt an endless, boundless rage.
Below, in Kaihuang's heavenly court, an old minister tore the clothes from his upper body, lifted two great mallets, and struck the war drum hung before the Southern Heavenly Gate of Kaihuang's heavenly court.
The drum boomed dong, dong, and a hoarse, weathered voice turned into a grave war song: "The west wind blows hard, so hard.
" Fang Youji tore off his clothes, flung away his cap, his hair falling loose over his shoulders, propped his own coffin upright, and beating upon it sang long and loud: "The west wind blows hard, so hard!
In the vast sky wild geese call to the frosty morning moon! " Yan Yunxi drew her sword; the long blade sang as it left the sheath, its note clear and piercing: "Frosty morning moon! Horse hooves clatter, the bugle sobs.
The mighty pass stretches long, hard as iron!
" From old minister after old minister of Kaihuang, a spirit belonging to that calamity-ridden age burst forth, qi rising like a rainbow; their voices were no longer that worshipful summons, their dao hearts no longer the twisted dao hearts that lodged all hope in Kaihuang alone.
Their voices were low, yet filled with piercing power, showing the new generation of the Worry-Free Land the suffering and the hope of those glorious years, shaking every heart. "The mighty pass stretches long, hard as iron, yet today we step across from the beginning!
" "Today we step across from the beginning, from the beginning! "