Myriad Paths

Guo Zitai sat in the center of the hall, and next to him was the coffin of the Emperor.

Logically, and ‘rationally’, there was no need to take care of the Emperor's body. At this time, there were too many places that needed manpower.

The cardinals of all realms were being besieged by a large number of second-grade masters, perhaps even seventy or eighty.

The dragon veins were similar.

There were many wonders in various places that needed the protection of the first-grade masters. Compared with these places, the Emperor's body was really unnecessary.

Just look at it, even if it was robbed, the loss was nothing.

After all…

After his death, the Emperor had already lost all the halos on him. Whether it was the throne or the position of the General of Heavenly Strategy, they had already left and went to a secret place, guarded by the saint himself.

All the heirs who were ‘qualified as Emperors’ were there, waiting to inherit the supreme position.

One of them would succeed, but no one knew who it would be, and no one knew how long it would take.

Here, another secret was involved.

The Emperor was not an official position.

Tiance Shangjiang is the official position.

Every emperor is of the first rank, for this reason.

Many people, including Li Qi, once thought that the emperor became the first rank through official positions, and could not help but sigh that the official system was really outrageous, as if the first rank could be mass-produced.

But in fact, it is not the case.

There is only one first-rank official position in the human way, called Tiance Shangjiang, which is also the pinnacle of the entire official system, and it is even non-renewable. The human way can create the first one, but it may not be able to create the second one.

The birth of Tiance Shangjiang, even with the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, was completely accidental. Before that, the human way did not have a first-rank official position.

If the essence of this official position is shattered, and Gundam is broken by someone, it may become a swan song.

However, the mechanism of "Human Emperor" should not cause any problems.

Becoming the emperor of the human way is essentially to use a method that other Taoists cannot understand to directly promote the successor from the second rank to the first rank. This process has nothing to do with any official position. The throne of the emperor of the human way is independent of the official system.

After becoming the Human Emperor, he will be awarded the title of General of Heavenly Strategy, becoming a unique double first-rank official. He is considered to be the best fighter in the world, and still powerful among the first-rank officials.

But... the side effect is that he is doomed to die, and every time he takes action, this process will be accelerated.

Generation after generation of Human Emperors have been passed down like this, and everyone knows that as long as the succession is successful, it means that the end of death has come.

Therefore, the corpse of the Human Emperor is actually not worth much, at most it is equivalent to one or two living second-rank officials.

There is only so much value in watching the corpse of the Human Emperor, and compared with the first-rank war, it is really nothing.

But...

Guo Zitai couldn't bear it.

As a close minister of the Human Emperor, he had also seen the other party's high-spirited appearance, and he also knew that in the battle between humans and witches, the Human Emperor made a choice to give up the Sun and Moon Road for the unity of the three religions.

How can he give up the corpse of the Human Emperor? He did everything for humanity, but in the end he still had to give up the corpse? Just because it has no value?

If value is measured in this way, then Guo Zitai would rather be a fool.

People are not like this. People are not simple value measurement machines. Only animals use simple value dualism to measure.

Going to the left can get three pieces of bread, and going to the right can get two pieces of bread, so you have to go to the left.

Only mice can do this kind of calculation, but humans are not mice. Where people go is entirely based on their own will and choice, and they will not be shaken by things like interests.

Things that should be done should be done even if there is no benefit at all.

Things that should not be done should not be done even if they can get great benefits.

This is a gentleman.

A gentleman has something to do and something not to do.

Yes, Guo Zitai was also a gentleman when he was young. Even in the human world known for its strict requirements, gentlemen are the most strict self-demanding people.

He couldn't do it, so he chose to stay in the end.

"Give up, you can't take mine." At this moment, another second-rank who stayed in the palace of the emperor said so.

Li Qi had sensed before that there were two second-grade masters left here, one was suppressing, and the other was not sure what he was doing.

In fact, Guo Zitai was the one who 'did not know what he was doing'.

And the other one... was the Human Emperor Sword.

The power of the Human Emperor Sword oppressed the invaders in the entire palace and hindered their steps.

But the Human Emperor Sword was a weapon after all. When no one held it, its power was limited. The sword energy it slashed could only hinder, but could not really become a threat.

"How can we know if we don't try it to the end?" Guo Zitai tried to pick up the Human Emperor Sword again.

But...

He couldn't pick it up.

The Human Emperor Sword was the supreme sword, representing the authority of a country. Like the jade seal, it was a 'national weapon'. If you want to pick it up, you must have enough to support the weight of a country.

Guo Zitai did not have the qualifications to become the Human Emperor, so he could not pick it up.

In fact, if he could pick it up directly, he would not be next to the Human Emperor's coffin now, but would have gone to that mysterious place and become one of the 'candidates'.

"Come on, I'm connected to the destiny of the country. You can't pick it up, and they can't pick it up, so I'll be fine, but if you don't leave, you may die here." Human Emperor Sword advised.

Guo Zitai didn't say anything, he just looked at the Human Emperor's coffin.

"No one has inherited the official position of General Tiance yet, right? In other words, through the Supreme's corpse, I can forcibly inherit the position of General Tiance. With this official position, I should be able to pick you up." Guo Zitai said.

"Inheriting the official position of General Tiance means using your second-grade cultivation to force a first-grade official position. Regardless of whether the result is successful or not, you will die." Human Emperor Sword reminded.

Yes, theoretically speaking, only a true first-rank official can hold the position, and there is another special feature of Tiance Admiral, that is, only the 'Human Emperor' can hold it, and other saints cannot touch it.

As for the 'Human Emperor', it can only be passed down through 'inheritance'. The Human Emperor cannot be achieved through cultivation. You must inherit the entire human realm to gain the status and power of the Human Emperor, and then you can inherit it safely. The official position of General Tiance.

"As long as I succeed, these invading second-grade people will die, right?" Guo Zitai asked.

"You won't succeed. Even if you had a chance to succeed, you wouldn't be here now." The Human Emperor Sword showed no mercy.

At this moment, speaking mercilessly is a kind of cruelty.

There is no doubt that as long as the Human Emperor Sword says 'there is a chance', then Guo Zitai will give it a try.

But in reality, those who have no chance will surely die.

"Indeed, how long can I last with my current ability? I don't need to inherit it, I just borrow the power forcibly." Guo Zitai asked again.

"Fifteen seconds, and it's your subjective time." Human Emperor Sword was silent for a moment, but still gave the answer.

Guo Zitai said as if talking to himself: "Then, even if it fails, when I inherit the position of General Tiance, I can still use your power. I will definitely win, but I may not be able to kill you... "

"It's meaningless. They escaped for fifteen seconds, and then it's no different than you leaving. There's no need." Human Emperor Sword advised: "Leave quickly, they will come in in ten minutes at most, and they have already reached the inner hall. Well, don’t ruin your lineage for your own selfishness.”

After hearing this, Guo Zitai glanced outside.

That's right, the people blocking the way outside are all disciples and grandsons of Guo Zitai's lineage. Although there are many schools among them, their origins come from Guo Zitai, the second grade.

But he shook his head and said, "It's necessary."

Necessary.

"It is right to retreat, but it is wrong to advance. If we do this, it is not a long-term solution. Although the step is difficult and the country is getting weaker, we must not lose sight of it."

"In the past, to use troops to achieve great success, one must first consolidate people's hearts and morale, seize advantageous terrain without being willing to retreat first, and do all the personnel and work without being willing to surrender first. Therefore, in the past, when the emperor was separated from Xinggao, he faced Wu and Chu. Although he was defeated repeatedly, he could not After retreating to the land of size, a chasm was cut, and the wizard led it eastward, and then there was death.

"Although the soldiers are weak and lack food, they must be stopped from retreating. Judging from what happened today, how can we abandon the body of our former master, look at the wind and fear the enemy, and suddenly retreat?"

"Returning to Yu Gu can keep his life, but the human situation is shaken. If you don't have strong ambitions, your morale will shrink, and you won't have the spirit of fighting. We will retreat and advance, so that the enemy horses can cross again. When the message is sent to the border warriors, they will be attacked by rebellious officials and traitors, and they will be cunning. The officials and gangsters are following one after another, and they are all like tigers and owles. If the descendants want to return to the chariot and restore the court among the thorns and rubble, it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible."

"Instead of making things difficult for future generations, it is better for us to make things difficult for them first and open up a path for them so that their hearts can be righteous and they will not be disturbed by demons."

In Guo Zitai's view, if he gave up the human emperor's body without any resistance, it would be equivalent to cutting down the flag himself.

He knew that in the current state, there were too many important places that needed to be protected, and the remains of the Human Emperor were really nothing.

But the remains of the Human Emperor can be snatched away, but they cannot be sent away.

There is no decent resistance at all. What can we do to repair people's hearts when we rebuild in the future? Maybe some powerful people think that the human hearts of mortals are worthless, but Guo Zitai doesn't think that is the case.

Even though there are differences in ability, those people are undoubtedly part of the human race. They do not have the same firmness as the strong and high-quality people. They still need to grow. If they lose their hearts because of this, or even lose their qualifications as human beings, So how does it count?

You know, this is not alarmist. People are not in a permanent state, and they have no solidified minds. One of Li Qi's subordinates, 'Mu Yu', was once a human being, but later he chose to leave because he lost confidence and motivation. .

So what counts as decent resistance?

Let the blood of the second grade prove it. If the Human Emperor is the flag of humanity, then dye the flag red so that it can be seen no matter where it is.

"It's not worth it." Human Emperor Sword said.

"It's worth it." Guo Zitai didn't explain why, he just closed his eyes and placed one hand on the Human Emperor's coffin.

The mentality of retreat can be temporary but not permanent, or it can be permanent. Otherwise, if you take one step back, you will lose one step, and if you step back one foot, you will lose one foot.

If you retreat, humanity will no longer be humane.

So, about ten minutes later.

There are a total of six second-level invasions.

There was Li Qi, a real dragon, and three great sages from the demon clan who came together, and a heavenly immortal from the Hermit Sect.

Six people approached the inner hall from four directions and quickly walked in.

"Six, although I don't know who each of you is, but... please die here." Guo Zitai touched the coffin and stood up.

"Puff..." The real dragon that had talked to Li Qi before couldn't help laughing.

This was really arrogant, and scared the dragon to death.

But Guo Zitai didn't say much, just held the Human Emperor Sword next to him, and his official position floated up.

The five second-rank officials next to him suddenly stopped sneering and retreated wildly! !

Only Li Qi stayed in place.

The previous real dragon couldn't help but remind him: "Hey! Fool! First-rank official position plus the Human Emperor Sword, this guy is desperate, avoid him for more than ten seconds, and he will die. Don't stay where you are!"

The communication between the second-rank officials was extremely fast, and the information was instantly reached and understood, so Li Qi also responded immediately.

He replied: "I know, but... why do you have to retreat? Wouldn't it be disrespectful to retreat?"

After speaking, Li Qi looked at Guo Zitai and asked: "Can you lift the Human Emperor Sword?"

Guo Zitai also said: "I can't lift it, so I will die, but you will too."

As he spoke, the sword tip had already lit up, and the various aspects of the human world engraved on the sword spine could be seen.

Li Qi took a deep breath: "I have a cause and effect with the Human Emperor Sword to settle."

"There are too many causes and effects with the Human Emperor Sword." Guo Zitai didn't know what Li Qi was talking about.

"Back then, the Human Emperor Sword shattered Luofu Cave Heaven, and this matter needs to be settled carefully." Li Qi said.

"Are you Yang Zhenqian? Or Ge Zhichuan? No, it should be neither. You are a witch, which means... Li Qi?" Although Guo Zitai didn't know who Li Qi was, he could find out with a simple guess.

That's all for the gossip.

Guo Zitai's sword has been chopped out.

The temporary position of Tiance General obtained from the corpse of the Human Emperor was used to force the Human Emperor Sword to strike out.

The sword that shattered Luofu Cave Heaven in the past appeared in front of Li Qi.

The bone-piercing coldness emerged from the body, almost freezing the mind.

Unable to move.

No wonder this sword could shatter Luofu Cave Heaven, it was really powerful.

What Li Qi felt was "observation", as if Li Qi's position was anchored by "observation". He was like an elementary particle, nailed in place by countless lasers, and every breath had to stop, and even forced to enter the state of absolute zero.

Just like the sentient beings in the human world, everyone is an observation point, and in this way Li Qi was trapped in place.

However...

Speaking of sentient beings, Li Qi is not bad here.

The Desire Realm appeared on Li Qi's chest, and the sword light of the Human Emperor Sword slashed on the Desire Realm.

It can shatter Luofu Cave Heaven and almost kill Yang Zhen Lead, so can it shatter the Desire Realm?

A huge gap was cut in the Desire Realm, and a large amount of evil thoughts overflowed from it, almost instantly filling the surroundings.

Li Qi escaped and merged into the evil thoughts. (End of this chapter)