Chapter 1768 — Supreme Father and Son
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The shattered Great Luotian fell from the sky, stars raining down like scattered starlight upon the earth of the Primal Realm, and the One-Qi Great Luotian broke apart as it fell, its innate primordial qi nourishing the wounded land. Shang Jun lifted his head; starlight glimmered on every side, and the falling fragments of Great Luotian dissolved into pure energy, so that the earth after the great battle was no longer the scarred ruin it had been, grass and trees surged upward, vitality brimmed, and the soil grew rich.
This was not his sixteenth cosmic epoch but the seventeenth; none of his old friends remained here, yet there were still common folk he wished to protect. He left in silence and walked into shadow.
Though he was an assassin with blood on his hands, though he had once more grasped ultimate killing intent and attained the Dao anew, he refused to brand his Way of Slaughter upon the Ultimate Void.
He did not wish to walk beneath the sun or to be watched by others.
In the divine city above the Heavenly Court camp, in the room where Shen Mu was healing, the lamplight suddenly flickered, and Shen Mu opened his eyes to stare at the dark shadow beneath the lamp, then after a moment smiled: "Second brother has gone? " Shang Jun stepped forth from the shadow beneath the lamp and nodded silently.
Shen Mu breathed out and sighed: "In those years Tai Di, Tai Chu, Luo Xiao and I swore brotherhood, seeking not to be born in the same year and month and day but to die in the same year and month and day.
After third brother Luo Xiao died I always feared he would be lonely, and I longed to send my two elder brothers to join him, and now at last my wish is fulfilled. Eldest brother, second brother, fare well on your road.
" His gaze fell upon Shang Jun's face and he smiled: "Shang Jun, you need not hide in shadow any longer; you may go out and walk.
" A sharp glint like a blade flashed in Shang Jun's eyes as he said in a low voice: "Before, you always kept me within your shadow because you feared my killing intent was too heavy and that I would lose control. Only by hiding in your shadow could you rest easy. Why now would you release me? I have attained the Dao a second time and my Dao heart is ever firmer; are you not afraid my lust for killing will run wild and scourge the world?
You know that at times I cannot restrain my own killing intent!
" Shen Mu's gaze was gentle as he smiled: "Before, your Dao heart was flawed and you could hardly suppress your killing intent, your self-command was poor, so I had to keep you with me. Now your Dao heart is complete and you are no longer the Shang Jun of old, so I release you and give you freedom. " Shang Jun fell silent and would have retreated again into the shadow beneath the lamp. Suddenly Shen Mu said: "Do not walk in shadow; walk out through the front gate in the open.
You owe this universe nothing; rather, this universe owes you a debt. " Shang Jun started, revealed himself from the darkness beneath the lamp, and walked toward the front gate with hesitant steps. Yet he walked out, and beyond the door the first ray of sunlight fell upon him, not dazzling, yet he lifted a hand to shield his eyes and only lowered it after a moment.
"Shang Jun, I have always taken you for a friend.
" Shen Mu's voice came from behind him and made his body tremble faintly. A friend?
He had never had one.
Through the entire sixteenth cosmic epoch he had had no friends and seldom spoke with others; his debts of slaughter were too many, and the ruin of the sixteenth epoch was bound to him directly, so he felt unworthy of friends. Perhaps those few sealed by the Eldest Young Master in the squalid grounds of the void might count as friends, yet not truly; they had only shared pity in common misery, chatting and slaughtering pigs together, each concealing his past from the others and refusing to tell his history, so they could hardly be called true companions.