If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1216 The False Holy Emperor's Divine Skill
"I am an emperor, why must I be a 'false' emperor?" Hu Hai asked.

Grand Tutor Yu said, "Haven't you heard of 'hypocrites'? A gentleman can be faked, and so can an emperor."

A hypocrite may have the words and actions of a gentleman, but he is not a gentleman in essence.

Your every move meets the standards of an 'Emperor', but you are not favored by Heaven and are not, in essence, an 'Emperor' recognized by Heaven.

During this great calamity, the only one who can become the 'True Son of Heaven' is probably the master of the Southeast Emperor's Qi.

Although the term "pseudo-emperor" doesn't sound very appealing, it does offer many advantages.

"By cultivating my 'False Saint Emperor Divine Skill,' you will not only become a qualified false emperor, but once you reach mastery, you may even transcend the ordinary and become a saint among false emperors."

"What is a sage among false emperors? What authority does he hold?" Hu Hai asked curiously.

"A saint among false emperors is still a false emperor. Because all your words and actions are a pretense."

Since he is a disguised emperor, what authority could he possibly have?
However, by cultivating the "False Holy Emperor's Divine Skill," you will gain unparalleled combat power and an addictive, almost addictive pleasure.

Grand Tutor Yu gestured for him to open the secret manual.

Hu Hai opened the title page and immediately saw an evil eyeball open on the dark page.

Its enormous eyeballs filled the entire page and were blinking at Hu Hai, which was quite eerie.

"Oh dear~~" He was startled and almost threw the manual in his hand away.

Grand Master Yu said, "To cultivate divine skills, one must first plant demonic thoughts. When demonic thoughts enter the heart, they transform into divine seeds. When the divine seeds sprout, divine beings are born naturally."

As Grand Tutor Yu recited the incantation, the demonic eye on the page gradually brightened and shot a beam of eerie light into Hu Hai's eyes.

Hu Hai tried to dodge, and even considered throwing the secret manual away.

But this is not reality; it is in Grand Tutor Yu's dream. Grand Tutor Yu is like a creator, and the dream world is entirely under her control.

The secret manual seemed to be ingrained in Hu Hai's hands; no matter how he tried to shake it, turn his head to avoid it, or close his eyes tightly, it was all in vain.

He felt that all he could see was a giant eyeball.

His eyes were bright like a black sun, and the black light shining from them made him dizzy for a moment.

Once everything returned to normal, the single eye in the book transformed from a three-dimensional entity into a uniquely expressive portrait of an eye.

It was as if everything before had been an illusion.

Grand Master Yu said, "Keep turning the pages and practice according to the secret techniques on them."

"Was that an illusion?" Hu Hai asked hesitantly, his mind uneasy.

Grand Tutor Yu asked, "I have a demonic art called the 'Demon Eye Technique.' Have you heard of it?"

Hu Hai nodded and said, "Uncle's magic is amazing! First, he knocked down a group of civil and military officials in the court, and then he displayed great power during the Taoist debate at Mount Hua."

Grand Tutor Yu said, "I am the Demon Ancestor, and you are now considered a minor 'Demon Lord'."

The text on the manual possesses a demonic quality; it is all my unique 'Demonic Seal Script'.

Just seeing them will slowly drive you mad. Isn't that eerie?

"No wonder I felt uneasy just seeing the six words 'False Holy Emperor's Divine Skill'," Hu Hai said with sudden realization.

Grand Tutor Yu laughed and said, "Now you should know why I transmitted the great technique to you in my dream, right?"
The False Holy Emperor's Divine Skill is indeed a demonic skill, possessing both demonic heart and divine nature.

No hypocrite would openly declare himself a hypocrite.

Even if you are a false emperor, you cannot tell people that you are pretending to be a holy emperor and that you are also practicing demonic arts.

What we discussed in our dream today must not be revealed to anyone.

To the outside world, just say you're practicing the "Holy Emperor's Divine Skill."

Hearing his father say this, Hu Hai became less willing to practice the "False Holy Emperor's Demonic Arts".

He was the emperor; he didn't need to fight with others.

As long as you learn water escape techniques, you can escape along the Yellow River into Guanzhong in times of crisis, and that will be enough.

However, the seed of evil had already been planted in his heart.
"Father, rest assured, I understand the implications." He continued to peruse the manual, asking as he read, "What is the use of the demonic seed? Why plant a demonic seed in one's heart?"

Grand Master Yu said slowly, "Believers in the human world can worship gods, and they can also worship demons."

Whether worshipping gods or demons, believers will offer their own power of faith to the object of worship.

The gods refine and absorb the power of believers' faith, transforming it into the divine power of incense offerings.

The demon transforms the believers' faith into its own 'magical power,' directly enhancing their physique and increasing their internal strength.

I left a demonic seed in your heart to help you refine the beliefs of all people and thus unite their divinity.

You possess both a demonic heart and a divine nature, yet you are neither god nor demon.

You are the emperor; you don't need to be a god or a demon.

If you can gain the approval of the people, you will naturally gain their trust.

This is much easier than a deity developing followers.

The text in the manual is all in "demon script," which can be understood even if you don't know the characters. After understanding it, you can clearly feel a strange power entering your heart and merging into your blood.

The more I delve into the contents of the manual, the stronger the eerie feeling becomes.

It was as if the evil had become a tangible substance, slowly settling in Hu Hai's heart. It wouldn't disappear, it would only accumulate little by little.

After an unknown amount of time, the malevolent energy within him reached its limit.

"Ugh~~"

He felt suffocated and dizzy, and couldn't help but bend over and dry heave.

He vomited, as if something had come out of his chest.

I hadn't finished vomiting, and I still felt suffocated, but I felt a little better.

Hu Hai's dizzy head cleared up a bit, and then he saw a horrifying scene: a phantom head came out of his mouth.

Its head was covered in murky saliva and gastric juices, making it look wet, shriveled, and deformed.

But the face on his head was very familiar to him; it was his own!
"Ah, what monster?" He tried to scream, but his throat was blocked and he couldn't make a sound.

But his struggles and panic awakened the "monster Hu Hai" hanging from his mouth.

It actually opened its eyes, with no whites in them, its dark, shadowy pupils exactly like the demonic eyes seen on the title page.

“Fool!” it mocked him, then wriggled slightly and struggled to escape.

Hu Hai became uncontrollable, his mouth opening wider and wider until it was the size of a washbasin. Then, it twisted its neck and pulled its arms out of Hu Hai's throat.

Then it braced itself against his two rows of teeth with both hands and pulled its body out of his stomach.

It's like pulling up a radish.

With a muffled "pop," it separated from him.

"Father, a monster has grown in my belly, waaaaah~~" Hu Hai was finally able to speak.

He was so scared that he cried, tears and snot streaming down his face.

Grand Tutor Yu said irritably, "This is your demonic thought. The process of you reading the manual was gradually fostering your demonic nature, which eventually gave birth to demonic thoughts."

This process is similar to a Qi cultivator reciting Taoist scriptures to cultivate Taoist Qi and Taoist charm.

At this point, the "False Holy Emperor's Divine Skill" has finally completed its first stage.

With demonic thoughts, you gain the ability to draw faith from the people of the world.

Only those who can draw upon the beliefs of the people are qualified to cultivate the later parts of the "False Holy Emperor's Divine Skill".

The subsequent training methods are the core of this divine skill.

"I only read the Emperor's Divine Art once, and I've already condensed demonic thoughts? Do I have a special talent, suitable to be a demon cub?"

Hu Hai opened his eyes and examined it carefully.

It looked like a demon cub, with pale skin, faint demonic markings, a long, narrow face, indifferent and ruthless eyes, sharp teeth like daggers, a neck that was half a zhang long, but its legs were less than three chi long.

They are deformed and strange-looking.

"Whoosh!" It suddenly leaped up and rushed towards him like lightning.

Hu Hai barely had time to close his eyes before it arrived beside him, like a cup of wine being poured into a well.

It merged directly into his body. Hu Hai immediately felt a little different. The obscure and difficult-to-understand secret manual seemed to be clear at once. He didn't understand the principle, but he knew what to do.

It was as if they had developed an instinct.

"If you were to show this manual, 'The False Holy Emperor's Divine Skill,' to someone with your exceptionally poor talent, it would probably take you a hundred years to even complete the first step of condensing demonic thoughts."

When you first opened the manual's cover, didn't you see the Demon Eye on the title page?
I have bestowed upon you a portion of the essence of a demon god, to help you quickly condense your demonic thoughts.

"Look down!" Grand Tutor Yu suddenly shouted like a morning bell and evening drum.

Hu Hai, out of control, looked down at the scene below.

They had been standing on a cliff overlooking the Yellow River, with the turbulent waters flowing beneath them.

At this moment, Hu Hai looked down and the first thing he saw was the great river.

But at this moment, the river was rapidly plunging downstream, and in his field of vision, the river seemed to grow longer and longer.

Finally, the entire Yellow River, stretching for thousands of miles, came into view.

For some reason, Hu Hai felt that the Yellow River at this moment was stunningly beautiful and magnificent.

Tears of emotion welled up in his eyes, and he felt as if his own blood was connected to the great river.

The Yellow River nurtured him; its waters flowed through his veins, becoming an artery within him.

Then, within Hu Hai's field of vision, the Yellow River moved upstream, and the Ji River appeared in his field of vision.

The complete Ji River evoked the same feeling I had when I first saw the Yellow River—a profound sense of emotion, as if my blood and the riverbed were connected.

Ultimately, the Ji River also became part of his blood vessels and meridians.

Then he saw the Huai River, the Yangtze River, the Wei River, the Jing River, Dongting Lake, and Zhenze Lake.
The rivers and lakes of China came into view. Next came Mount Tai and Mount Hua.
After mountains and water comes the earth.

Before Hu Hai appeared a complete land of China, with mountains and waterways, as well as ley lines and underground water veins.

He unconsciously changed the circulation path of his internal energy.

Hu Hai himself was completely unaware of this and simply followed his instincts.

After an unknown amount of time, his body's meridians began to shimmer with a faint golden light, and spiritual light emanated from his acupoints.

The meridians and acupoints are connected, and surprisingly, they correspond one by one with the mountains and waterways on the land of China.

Throughout the process, Grand Tutor Yu not only stood by and watched carefully, but also kept adjusting the map of the Divine Land.

He also took out the "False Holy Emperor's Divine Skill" manual again and modified its contents.

When Hu Hai regained consciousness, she handed him the manual again and asked him to look at it once more.

After more than twenty revisions and adjustments, Grand Tutor Yu finally led him back to the banks of the Yellow River.

"Do you understand what just happened?" Grand Tutor Yu asked.

Hu Hai said, "I am cultivating the Emperor's Divine Skill. The mountains and rivers of the land are a diagram of my cultivation."

Grand Tutor Yu shook his head and said, "It's not a practice diagram, but a visualization diagram, which is the 'Heart Sutra' of the Emperor's Divine Skill."

The demon seed merely helps you absorb and refine the beliefs of all living beings towards the emperor.

Once belief is transformed into power, the key to the pseudo-saint emperor's divine power lies in how to put it into practice.

If you only steal the people's beliefs, you are a demon, not an emperor.

You must connect your own strength with the land of China.

Do you know what dragon energy is?

The combination of the beliefs of all living beings and the evil energy of the earth is the dragon energy.

After you draw your faith from the people and transform it into your own inner strength, you must combine that inner strength with the power of the earth to create a special kind of 'Dragon Qi Inner Strength'.

'Dragon Qi Internal Force' is the foundation of the Emperor's Divine Skill.

Ultimately, you will become the medium between the people of China and the land of China.

This is also the fundamental meaning of 'Son of Heaven'—the son of Heaven who holds power on earth.

No one else can do it, only you can. You are the master of the dragon vein and the master of the world.

The ability to absorb unlimited amounts of the Earthly Fiend Dragon Qi is a special talent of the 'Emperor'.

Once you cultivate to the highest level, the entire land of China will become your dantian (energy center).

In addition, with the 'All Laws Repel' characteristic of Dragon Qi's internal force, you will be able to kill gods and demons alike.

Being invincible in the world is not necessarily a bad thing.

"I can actually be invincible, and even defeat the gods behind the rebels?" Hu Hai was overjoyed.

Grand Tutor Yu glanced at him and said, "Only by impersonating the Holy Emperor and gaining the faith of the entire world can one possibly achieve great mastery of divine skills."

Only after mastering divine skills can one become invincible. Although you are now the emperor, how many people can truly believe in you?

"I've finally become emperor, so I must have some faith among the people, right?" Hu Hai said.

"Try it yourself when you get back to reality."

Grand Tutor Yu carefully explained the theory of the False Holy Emperor's Divine Skill to him again before bringing him back to reality.

"Ugh~~"

After waking up on the soft couch, Hu Hai once again felt the exhaustion of the "Yellow Millet Dream".

He struggled to his feet, walked out of the cubicle, and came to Grand Tutor Yu, asking, "Father, shall I circulate my internal energy now?"

Grand Master Yu asked, "How do believers usually worship gods?"

"Go to the temple to kneel and worship the statues of gods, or kowtow and chant scriptures in front of the shrine at home."

Hu Hai's heart stirred, and he began to understand.

“I am now like an ‘emperor god’. I need to go out and meet the people, gain their approval, and make them worship me from the bottom of their hearts in order to gain their faith?”

Grand Tutor Yu nodded slightly, “You don’t need to meet all the people. As long as the people spread the word, it will increase the faith of all living beings.”

It's getting late, and you won't see any people now.

You can go out and meet the palace guards, maids, and eunuchs.

They are also part of all living beings in the world.

"Father, please rest first. I'm going out for a walk."

Hu Hai was in high spirits. He first tidied his clothes before walking out of the palace with measured steps.

Upon seeing the young eunuch who came to serve him, Hu Hai felt as if a heart was gently beating between his brows.

He was only surprised for a moment before he realized that this was a demonic seed!
The movement of the demonic seed indicates that the faith of all beings has been awakened.

It was the little eunuch's belief!
"Your Majesty, where are you going? Where is the Grand Tutor?" His personal eunuch, Zhao Chuan'er, asked respectfully.

—It really works! So many positive feelings, it feels so good!

Hu Hai couldn't hide his joy. "My father is resting, please don't disturb him. I'm just taking a stroll now."

He walked forward happily, and along the way, palace maids, eunuchs, and guards would immediately kneel down and shout "Long live the Emperor!" upon seeing him.

The more people he saw, the faster the demonic seed between his brows throbbed, even forming a cool, trickling stream. It would first circulate in his head—specifically stimulating dopamine secretion—before flowing down into his limbs and bones.

"Oh, so happy, so happy~~"

It felt so good that Hu Hai couldn't help but let out a soft groan.

—My father didn't lie to me. Practicing this "False Holy Emperor's Divine Skill" makes me feel comfortable all over, even more so than ascending to heaven in broad daylight.

So comfortable, so comfortable, so comfortable~~~ I want more, more pleasure!

For some reason, the happier he was, the more he craved more happiness, and he couldn't stop.

As for romantic love, fine wine and delicious food, he had no desire for them at all.

Uh, it's weird, but that's the magic.

If it's not sinister, then it's not a demonic art.

(End of this chapter)