165: Chapter 165 Emperor Yao Still Blames Himself

East Sea, Fire Cloud Cave.

Originally the cave dwelling of the Heavenly God Hongyun, it was later moved by Shi Yan to the East Sea to serve as the dojo for the Human Race.

It now serves as a training base for the Acquired Human Race.

Within the Mortal territories, all clansmen with the talent to Cultivate are brought here upon reaching adulthood to receive systematic training.

In the core area of Fire Cloud Cave, a city stands.

The city is a perfect, enlarged replica of the Human Race's capital within the Mortal territories, except for the Hall of the Co-Lord.

The Hall of the Co-Lord is the exclusive palace of the Common Sovereign of the Human Race.

There can only be one for the entire Human Race.

Therefore, according to Shi Yan's wishes, a school was built in the location where the Hall of the Co-Lord should have been established.

The Human Race Three-Thousand-Year Compulsory Cultivation Education School.

Clansmen who have just stepped into the path of Cultivation are all sent here.

They spend three thousand years learning the basic knowledge of the Primordial World, the Cultivation methods of the Human Race, and the spirit of contribution for the sake of the Human Race.

The first principal of the Human Race Three-Thousand-Year Compulsory Cultivation Education School is Emperor Yao.

He is the only top-tier Cultivator of the Human Race to establish a dojo in Fire Cloud Cave.

At this moment, he is inside the school.

Sitting on a white jade podium, he is watched by countless young yet incredibly focused eyes.

With the calmest and gentlest voice, he slowly explains the rules of the Primordial World.

He speaks of the movement of the sun, moon, and stars, and recounts the hardships and glory of the Human Race from living in caves and using slash-and-burn agriculture to standing tall in the Primordial World today.

"The Primordial World is vast, with ten thousand races standing tall; the strong are honored, and the weak are food."

"Our Human Race possesses no formidable bodies or inherited Bloodline. To stand firm in this world and become the Common Sovereign of the world, besides the struggle of countless sages, there is also the passing of the torch by us, the Acquired Human Race."

Emperor Yao's voice is not loud, yet it falls clearly into the ears of every clansman.

Like the work of heaven and earth, it is carved bit by bit into the depths of their hearts.

He lifts his fingertips gently, and a wisp of the Human Race's Luck transforms into a light screen, appearing before everyone—

On the light screen, one sees the hardships of the Human ancestors, the self-sacrifice of countless predecessors to protect their clansmen, and the persistence of the Human Race to never forget their original intentions after their rise...

Facing these shocking scenes, the Human Race below all have burning lights in their eyes, clenching their fists, with the belief of living for the Human Race and fighting for the Human Race deeply branded in their hearts.

Emperor Yao stands to the side, looking at the young yet sincere faces below. In his stern eyes, a rare, faint warmth appears.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the screen dissipates.

Just as Emperor Yao is about to say a few words, he senses a familiar aura.

His figure pauses, and he says gently to the crowd below: "The lesson ends here for today. After class, meditate on your own; do not be slack."

"Yes!"

Thousands of students rise in unison, bowing and saluting, their voices uniform.

After the voices fade and the classroom returns to silence, they retreat in an orderly fashion to the quiet rooms throughout the school to Cultivate.

Once everyone has left, Emperor Yao steps out of the school.

Standing on the eaves of the school is a man dressed in black imperial robes.

He has an imposing stature and an ancient, dignified face, with the heavy aura of a Hunyuan Golden Immortal swirling around him. It is none other than another of the Five Emperors of the Human Race—Emperor Ku.

Looking at Emperor Yao, who is dressed in plain clothes and whose Cultivation is still at the half-step Hunyuan Golden Immortal level, Emperor Ku shakes his head slightly and walks forward.

"Emperor Yao, how many years has it been? Are you still not going to Three Immortals Island to establish a dojo?"

Now that the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors have all returned to their positions, even Great Yu has gone to Three Immortals Island to establish a dojo; only Emperor Yao remains.

Emperor Yao looks at the quiet rooms in the school that are still glowing with faint light. His gaze is distant as he replies softly:

"These children are the future of the Human Race. I stay here, and I feel at ease."

Hearing this, Emperor Ku remains silent for a moment.

Although he says so, Emperor Ku understands that Emperor Yao still cannot let go of the past.

The matter of the flood is, after all, Emperor Yao's heart knot.

After all, Three Immortals Island is connected to Fire Cloud Cave. It can be said that in the entire Primordial World, there is no place safer than Fire Cloud Cave.

The words about feeling at ease are, ultimately, just diplomatic talk and an excuse from Emperor Yao.

Emperor Ku looks at Emperor Yao's lonely profile, his voice deepening, losing all courtesy, and striking straight at the heart:

"How much longer do you intend to deceive yourself?"

"The calamity of the flood was not your fault. It was an inevitable trend in the development of the Human Race, and the cause for the birth of Emperor Yu!"

"Besides, the Ancestor of Weapons has long notified the Netherworld. Those clansmen who died tragically have all been Reincarnated and reborn. Why must you keep punishing yourself?"

Emperor Ku becomes more agitated as he speaks, eventually beginning to sound as if he is reprimanding him.

"If you really want to make up for the regrets of those years, then go to Three Immortals Island to establish a dojo and honestly seek a Breakthrough to Hunyuan Golden Immortal. That is what you should be doing now! Not staying here playing the role of a schoolteacher!"

Above the eaves, the Innate Spiritual Qi suddenly stagnates.

Emperor Ku's words carry the anger of someone wishing others would succeed, every word striking Emperor Yao's heart and tearing through the disguise of guilt he has wrapped himself in for ten thousand years.

The hand Emperor Yao has hanging at his side trembles slightly, and bitter emotions surge in his usually stern eyes.

How could he not know?

How could he not know that the flood catastrophe was a fixed destiny of the Human Dao and a tribulation that the Human Race had to experience?

How could he not know that the Ancestor of Weapons personally entered the Netherworld, settled all the unjustly dead clansmen, and helped them with their Reincarnation to re-enter the Human Race?

He understands these truths better than anyone.

For tens of thousands of years, through countless days and nights, he has been repeatedly confronting himself. Yet, reason is reason, but the heart knot is something he has never been able to overcome.

He slowly raises his eyes to look at Emperor Ku, fine ripples appearing in his eyes—there is guilt, there is melancholy, and there is even a trace of an indelible obsession.

"I know."

Emperor Yao speaks, his voice light but carrying the weight of a mountain of exhaustion,

"I understand all these truths, and I know that you have made countless efforts to help me overcome this heart knot."

"But I cannot let go."

Simple as these five words are, they reveal the reason for Emperor Yao's self-imprisonment in Fire Cloud Cave.

He raises his eyes to look into the distance, his gaze seemingly piercing through the layers of space in Fire Cloud Cave, seeing the world-ending flood that blotted out the sky fifty thousand years ago.

The muddy waves surged into the sky, submerging the Nine Provinces, the land became a swamp, and the clansmen drifted like catkins.

At that time, he was the Common Sovereign of the Human Race, holding a high position, respected by all people, yet he could only watch helplessly as the clansmen he cared about could not eat well, could not dress warmly, and were homeless.

He exhausted everything to control the water, but he was simply powerless.

The matter of water control was decreed by the Human Dao to be Great Yu's task.

That sense of powerlessness was carved into his Primordial Spirit, becoming an indelible mark that never ceased.

"I understand the logic, but I will never forget the looks in the eyes of those clansmen when they looked at me."

"As the Common Sovereign of the Human Race, failing to protect my people is the greatest fault."

He is not blaming the Human Dao, nor is he blaming fate; from beginning to end, he has only blamed himself.

If his Cultivation had been stronger, if he had possessed the Cultivation of a Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortal during his time as the Common Sovereign,

The Human Dao would have changed because of him.

The matter of the flood would surely have changed because of that.