Chapter 1359 — The Venerable Must Die
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
"Your daddy?"
Heavenly Venerable Xiao's face darkened slightly. "Vulgar. Heavenly Venerable Mu, you have sunk to the point of cursing — it disappoints me somewhat. It seems the pressure I placed on you was too great. Today I did not come to deal with you, but with Heavenly Venerable Yue. You and I are still allies, after all, and there are places where I have need of you. But Heavenly Venerable Yue is not."
His gaze came to rest upon Heavenly Venerable Yue, and he extended a hand, his expression grave: "So long as Heavenly Venerable Yue is willing to submit, I can let bygones be bygones regarding the matter of your killing me in the past."
He said mildly: "Do not say I lack magnanimity — my magnanimity is vast indeed. Heaven Duke and Earth Count were unruly and untamable, yet I could tolerate them. The Heavenly Venerables Yu, Hao, Ling, Yue, and Fire opened the path of acquired cultivation, yet I could tolerate you all as well. Acquired lifeforms attaining godhood — I could tolerate that too; I even let you found the Xiaohan Heavenly Court and the Longxiao Heavenly Court, parceling out power to you. Even when Heavenly Venerable Mu carried out his reforms in Jingping, I turned a blind eye. As a Heavenly Emperor of an age, my magnanimity is not so poor, is it?"
His gaze was earnest as it rested on Heavenly Venerable Yue's face: "Had another Heavenly Venerable sat in my place — of today's ten Heavenly Venerables, which one do you think has such magnanimity? Heavenly Venerable Hao? He cannot. Were he in my seat, he would have wiped you out at the first moment and severed every reform at its root."
"Divine Emperor Langxuan? He cannot either — he has not the boldness of spirit for it."
"Heavenly Venerable Fire? A drudge and a toady, no more — whoever is strong, he licks their boots."
"Heavenly Venerable Hong is too indifferent; Heavenly Consort Yan dares not step forward herself, only clings to men; Heavenly Consort Qiang is Tai Di — he would destroy even his own race, let alone you."
"Heavenly Venerable Gong is too arrogant; Heavenly Venerable Xu's heart is too dark; the Ancestral God King is too reckless and wild — none of them is fit material for a Heavenly Emperor."
He said leisurely: "And as for the nine Heavenly Venerables of Longhan — setting aside Heavenly Venerable Hao and Heavenly Venerable Fire — Heavenly Venerable Yun had the talent to maneuver men and events at will, but lacked the momentum of the age; Heavenly Venerable You shut himself away, and could hardly achieve greatness; you, Heavenly Venerable Yue, are fit only for logistics; Heavenly Venerable Ling has trouble communicating; Heavenly Venerable Shen, for all his breadth of vision, is cautious by nature and deserves only to contend with Heavenly Venerable Hao for the realm. As for Heavenly Venerable Mu..."
He flicked a glance at Shen Mu and laughed: "Too flighty. He has schemes and methods, but sooner or later his own curiosity will be the death of him."
Shen Mu's face was black as iron.
Heavenly Venerable Xiao laughed: "Look through all ages past and present — search as you will for one who has the breadth, the bearing, the methods, the sense of duty, the magnanimity to fill the office of Heavenly Emperor perfectly, and from first to last there is only me. It is not that I dominated the cosmos and became Heavenly Emperor; rather, the cosmos chose me to be Heavenly Emperor."
Heavenly Venerable Yue's cultivation was climbing step by step, her aura growing ever stronger, and she said mildly: "You spoke of the nine Heavenly Venerables of old, and of today's ten. Then what of Heavenly Venerable Yu? Why did you not mention him?"
"Heavenly Venerable Yu?" Heavenly Venerable Xiao's face darkened slightly.
"Yes, Heavenly Venerable Yu!"