Chapter 1469 — Grudges Melt Away Like Snow
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
"Di Qing is a typical half-god."
Tian Shu's divine sense rippled as he sent a stealthy transmission to Shen Mu: "Most half-gods of old thought this way—arrogant, looking down on all creation. Back in the Kaihuang era, when the Lord of Heaven ordered the half-gods of Xuandu to aid us, we endured no small amount of his and the other Xuandu deities' peculiar temperaments."
Shen Mu understood the feeling well.
Since before the Dragon Han era, the half-god race had fed upon other acquired races. By the Dragon Han era, with its rigid hierarchy, the half-gods—second only to the ancient gods—stood exalted above all, and had been born exalted, possessing a natural sense of superiority over those of lower station.
Di Qing was likely a half-god born after the Ancestral God King, and had developed exactly this temperament.
He studied Di Qing, and in him could see the shadow of the Lord of Heaven. Di Qing bore little resemblance to Di Yiyue—only the lips and the bridge of the nose showed some likeness.
Di Qing's gaze swept over Shen Mu and the others, and seeing that all four were masked, he could not help but frown.
Tian Shu laughed. "These four brothers have special identities and cannot show their faces."
"In ordinary times, entering Xuandu masked would surely mark one as an enemy. But now the Heavenly Dao distinguishes friend from foe, so these four must be friends." Di Qing smiled.
Shen Mu looked around and saw many half-god children running wild through the city. He frowned. "Di Qing, why are there still women and children in Tianfang City? You should send the children to the Yuan Realm at once. Tianfang City cannot hold out at all—keeping the women and children here is just sending them to their deaths!"
"Tianfang City cannot be breached. The Heavenly Court's armies of gods and demons cannot even reach the city gates."
Di Qing frowned. "The more people gathered in the city, the stronger the Heavenly Dao becomes. Keeping children and women in the city will only swell the power of the Heavenly Dao! You do not understand the ways of the Heavenly Dao, so I will not hold it against you—but next time, do not speak recklessly and disrupt the morale of my army, or do not blame me for the mercilessness of military law."
He looked at Tian Shu, his expression darkening. "Heavenly King of the Underworld, it is good that you have come to lend aid, but you had best restrain your friends and not disrupt the morale of my army."
Tian Shu stealthily tugged at Shen Mu's lapel and laughed heartily. "Rest assured, rest assured, we will not speak nonsense again. We are still waiting for you to share the credit with us. But gathering women and children in the city—is it truly useful?"
The sternness vanished from Di Qing's face as he smiled. "This is the exquisite subtlety of Xuandu's Heavenly Dao. Times are different now. The Heavenly Dao protects Xuandu, and wherever more living beings gather, the Heavenly Dao grows stronger. The reason the Heavenly Dao's power in Tianfang City is so formidable is that many Xuandu gods and demons have gathered here. But gods and demons are few in number after all, so the common people of Xuandu must also gather here."
He glanced at Shen Mu and the others. "All who can live in Xuandu are of the half-god race. Everywhere here is a divine kingdom—there are no acquired beings such as humans."
Tian Shu smiled apologetically. "Yes, we humans and other acquired beings are unworthy of living in Xuandu. You said so before."
Di Qing said hastily, "That is not what I meant. But to preserve the purity of Xuandu's bloodline, acquired beings are forbidden from setting foot in Xuandu—it is not discrimination against you. Now, though there are many half-gods in Tianfang City, there are still not enough, so I have ordered the Sun Wardens, Moon Wardens, and Star Lords of various regions to migrate more half-gods from the myriad heavens here, to jointly defend Tianfang and strengthen the power of the Heavenly Dao!"