103: After a hundred thousand years of being cursed, today I pick up the sword again for my old friend!

In recent days, many “strange things” have happened in Blackstone City.

The biggest grain merchant in the west of the city, and one of the spokesmen of the "God of Gluttony" in the human world, was suddenly exposed.

His warehouse, which he used to store grain, was actually a terrifying altar used to feed "Greedy Worms" with living human flesh and blood.

And the person who exposed him was none other than his most trusted butler.

The butler claimed that he had received an oracle from the [God of Deceitful Lies and Betrayal].

As long as he betrayed his master, he would gain the authority of "lies".

Overnight, the granary was burned down by angry citizens, and the grain merchant was hanged at the city gate.

Although the cause was the evil of "betrayal", the result was that countless starving people were temporarily saved from starvation.

In the east of the city, the city defense officer, who enjoyed torturing and killing slaves and worshipped the "God of Tyranny", was suddenly found dead in his bed one night.

The fatal wound was a stab from behind.

And the person who did it was his most beloved concubine.

After committing the act, the concubine disappeared into the shadows, leaving behind only a frantic utterance, believing in the [God of Silent Backstabbing].

From then on, the slave market in the east of the city lost a terrifying demon.

There was even a mother, whose child had just died, crying in the streets, saying that she had long received an oracle from the [God of Desperate Revelation], stating that her child would surely die young.

She had initially thought it was just a god's bored curse.

Until she discovered that her child's death was because the "God of Plague" believers in the city were secretly using newborns for "plague" live experiments!

That "desperate" oracle actually became evidence exposing another "evil"!

Similar "strange things" continued to happen.

The mayor of a certain town signed a "devil's contract" with a passing cult priest, selling out all the town's residents in exchange for power.

However, just before the contract was about to take effect, the [God of Broken Oaths] personally sent down divine punishment.

On the grounds that "the mayor had betrayed his oath to protect his people", He turned him, along with the cult priest, into ashes.

All the town's residents were saved because of this.

They knelt on the ground, frantically worshipping this "good god" who was "fickle yet kept His promises."

Chen Yuan saw all of this.

"This god is also very strange..."

Wei's voice became even more confused.

"Shouldn't He love to see people break their oaths the most?"

"Perhaps He just thinks that oaths torn apart by His own hands are 'art'. Those broken by mortals themselves are just clumsy imitations."

Chen Yuan explained all of this with his cold "evil god logic".

But the "interest" in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

The more he thought, the stranger he found it.

The modus operandi of these new gods was so bizarre, so illogical.

They were spreading "evil", enjoying "evil".

But every single thing they did, the ultimate outcome, inadvertently helped those mortals struggling in hardship.

He could feel that these new gods seemed somewhat different from the "old gods" in the Temple of All Evils, who only knew how to take and destroy.

But exactly how they were different, he couldn't quite say.

"Wei, can you feel it?"

"Hmm..."

The Sword Spirit Wei's voice carried a hint of joy.

"Their power, although also full of 'malice', but... but it doesn't feel so repulsive."

Not so repulsive, huh... Chen Yuan shook his head, temporarily casting these distracting thoughts aside.

No matter what these new gods ultimately wanted to do, the most pressing matter was to increase his own strength.

He leaped down from the bell tower, like a weightless night owl, silently merging into the shadows of Blackstone City.

He passed through dirty streets, past a long-abandoned temple that once belonged to him.

The temple's statue had long been toppled, covered in various insulting words.

"False Emperor Chen Yuan," "God Stealer," "Disgrace of the Human Race."

He merely glanced at it indifferently and continued on his way.

He had long grown accustomed to these things.

One hundred thousand years ago, he was a hero of the human race, the only torch illuminating the darkness.

One hundred thousand years later, in the "official history books" compiled by the gods, he became an ambitious "false emperor" who attempted to usurp divine authority and ultimately brought disaster to the world.

His achievements were erased.

His name was defiled.

History has always been written by the victors.

As the loser, he could only accept his fate.

However, just as Chen Yuan was about to leave, an old grandmother was leading her granddaughter, repairing the temple and wiping away the unsightly curses.

"Grandma, what kind of person was the Human Emperor?" the little granddaughter's voice rang out again.

"I heard the big brothers on the street say he was a big bad guy!"

Before the grandmother in the temple could answer, she even started to sing a widely circulated children's rhyme in the city with great gusto.

"Human Emperor's bad, heart's astray, wants to build a high platform like an immortal."

"East street dies, west street cries, no way out for every household."

"Kills parents, sells children, finally turns into a great monster!"

"Sword in hand, turns to dust, don't learn from the Great Emperor, learn from immortals."

"Immortals are good, immortals are wonderful, offer a child's heart and you'll be full."

"Gods eat people, people revere gods, if you don't revere gods, there's no way out."

"Every household worships evil gods, praying for a good harvest next year."

This children's rhyme, full of malice and slander, pierced Chen Yuan's heart like poisonous needles!

"Nonsense!" The old woman, who had just finished cleaning the main hall, came out and heard this, immediately straightened her face and reprimanded.

"Don't sing that! Those are bad immortals from above, who made it up to deceive people!"

She paused, then softly hummed another ancient song, long forgotten by the world, in a tone full of yearning and reverence.

"Suddenly an Emperor, from the east came, moonlight bright, shining on the hall."

"Slay evil gods, cut down demon kings, for the human race, open the light of heaven."

"He doesn't sleep, he doesn't descend, guarding us, our good homeland."

"Human Emperor King, surnamed Chen, blood spilled across nine heavens, never returning home."

"White-robed, sword in hand, ascended the divine platform, opened the future for our human race!"

"Longing for your return, looking for the king, the heroic souls of humanity will never forget."

"Don't believe books, don't believe words, the Human Emperor's spirit is hidden in the heart."

The old woman squatted down, stroked her granddaughter's head, and gently taught her.

The granddaughter nodded obediently and hugged her grandmother affectionately.

Chen Yuan's footsteps suddenly halted.

His body froze in place.

The first half of this children's rhyme... he remembered it.

It was made up by his bravest yet most unreliable General Lin, one hundred thousand years ago, during a celebration feast when he was drunk.

At that time, he had laughed and cursed, kicking the fellow, saying he was vulgar and disrespectful.

He hadn't expected... one hundred thousand years had passed.

His temple had long turned to ruins.

His name had long been tarnished.

Yet this children's song, which he had once criticized as "vulgar", was still being sung on this desperate land.

Chen Yuan could no longer control himself, he turned around, his back to the grandparents, letting tears flow silently.

He remembered too much.

He remembered the scene when he promulgated the [Humanity Code] and the common people cheered.

He remembered the heroic spirit of leading a million strong army to swear an oath to attack heaven.

He remembered the tragic bravery of countless soldiers who, when he was defeated and almost succeeded, fearlessly self-detonated their souls to cover his retreat.

But now... on the historical records, only sixteen short characters remained: "False Emperor Chen Yuan, acted against the natural order, attempted to defy heaven, and was ultimately struck down by heaven."

All achievements were erased.

All sacrifices were forgotten.

He, from a hero of the human race, became an eternal sinner nailed to the pillar of historical shame.

"Big brother, are you also here to pay respects to the 'Demon Suppressing General'?"

The little girl's voice was clear and tender.

Chen Yuan's heart trembled violently!

He slowly turned his head and looked at the little girl.

That tender face, those clear eyes, that slightly upturned corner of her mouth... all bore a five or six-tenths resemblance to Lin Hu, who always grinned and shouted "Your Majesty is mighty" behind him in his memories!

"You... your surname is Lin?"

Chen Yuan's voice became somewhat hoarse.

"Yes!" The little girl proudly puffed out her chest.

"My name is Lin Xiao! My mother said our ancestor was a great hero who stood tall between heaven and earth!"

Boom—!

Chen Yuan's mind went blank, his body felt as if struck by lightning!

He stood there blankly, looking at the small grave mound in the distance, watching the wisps of smoke rising.

He saw a smooth stone slab in front of the grave, on which a line of text was carved in the oldest human script.

— [Lin Hu of the Human Race, awaiting the Emperor's return.]

In his mind, uncontrollably, a scene from one hundred thousand years ago appeared.

The nine-foot tall man with a full beard, whose laughter was louder than anyone else's, was patting his shoulder, laughing as he said: "Your Majesty! After this battle, I'll go home and marry Cuihua from the next village! When the time comes, you must come and drink my wedding wine!"

"Certainly."

He remembered that's how he had replied.

But that battle, they lost.

Lin Hu died in battle.

He never got to drink that wedding wine.

One hundred thousand years had passed.

Great changes had taken place; things were no longer what they were.

The once "Human Emperor" who conquered the world was now just a lonely soul with lost cultivation.

The once awe-inspiring "Demon Suppressing General" was now just a small, solitary grave, and the infamous title of a "rebellious minister and traitor."

One hundred thousand years had passed.

He had always thought that he had long been abandoned by the world.

Yet, he never expected that there were still people who remembered him.

There were still people, in their own way, guarding that history which should have been buried.

Perhaps... history can be tampered with.

Heroes can be slandered.

But there are always some things that fire cannot burn away, and swords cannot cut through.

It will be buried like a seed in the humblest, most inconspicuous corner.

Then, at some unknown moment, it will quietly sprout.

In Chen Yuan's eyes, as he looked at the little girl, there was sorrow, relief, and all sorts of complex emotions.

His heart, which had long been frozen by one hundred thousand years of solitude and despair, was touched at this moment by that sprouting seed.

For one hundred thousand years!!!

He had thought his heart was as hard as stone.

He had thought he could face all the partings and deaths in this world with equanimity.

But when he personally saw the bloodline of his former subordinate continue for one hundred thousand years on this land he had failed.

When he personally heard that child, so similar to his old friend, call out in that clear voice, "Our ancestor was a great hero"—

That solid ice, forged by one hundred thousand years of loneliness and regret, collapsed.

He said nothing more.

He just silently turned and walked into an empty alley.

Leaning against the cold wall, he slowly slid to the ground.

Scenes that he had long sealed in the deepest parts of his memory surged into his mind like a breaking dam.

He remembered Lin Hu's eyes, still full of trust and anticipation, just before he died.

He remembered the last request of another strategist who had blocked a fatal blow for him and whose soul had been annihilated before vanishing: "Your Majesty... the future of the human race is entrusted to you."

He remembered the countless familiar faces who had followed him, laughed with him, bled with him, and ultimately fell on that bloody path to the heavens... He had once thought he bore the fate of the entire human race.

But only now did he understand that what he truly bore were the hopes of those specific, vibrant companions who had trusted him, followed him, and died for him!

"Sacrifice this city... sacrifice these millions of lives..." Chen Yuan murmured.

"And then?"

"Go sacrifice the next city?"

"Until finally, only I, a 'victor', remain on this land?"

"Such a victory..."

"—What meaning would it have?!"

A hot, crystalline tear silently slid from his eyes, which had witnessed one hundred thousand years of vicissitudes, and fell onto the holy sword named "Wei."

"Are you... crying?" Wei's voice softly echoed in his mind, with a hint of cautious concern.

"I'm not." Chen Yuan suddenly looked up, roughly wiping away the tears from his face with his sleeve.

In his bloodshot eyes, an unyielding flame burned once more!

"I just..."

"—don't want to lose again!"

He suddenly stood up, gripped the sword in his hand, and strode out of the ruined temple.

There was no longer any confusion or hesitation in him.

"Wei."

"Hmm?"

"Change of plans."

"We're not going to kill the City Lord anymore."

"Then... what are we going to do?"

Chen Yuan looked up at the several "cult" strongholds in the city that were quietly emanating "goodwill."

The corners of his mouth curved into a smile full of madness and resolve.

"Go..."

"—ignite this darkness!"