Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 334 The True God Is Not Allowed to Appear Among Mortals

The core of religion is worship.

The basis of worship is fanaticism.

Often, fanaticism is essentially religion itself, because fanatics firmly believe in their religion. Because of their unwavering faith, death is as simple as going home for them, and being boiled in oil is as harmless as taking a bath. Even if they are to be shattered to pieces, they don't care. The more they are mistreated, the closer they are to God.

Therefore, Yun Ce had no prejudice against those who were devout believers in gods. It is rare for a person to have a firm belief, and a person with a firm belief is an outstanding individual.

After all, ordinary people simply cannot maintain unwavering faith.

The old man in the family was among those who set up a Dragon God Temple in Yun Ce and personally had the firewood piles lit by the Shehuo (a local folk art troupe) to illuminate this pseudo-Dragon God Temple. At that time, he looked no different from the other old servants; he was just an old man who liked to stay up late and was willing to add firewood to the fire pit in the Dragon God Temple.

Time flies, and now, without realizing it, this old servant has come to consider himself a priest of the Shehuo Hall.

The problem is that, from Yun Ce to E Ji to ordinary people, no one thinks he is unfit to be a priest.

Sometimes, people cannot peek into divine authority. Therefore, this old servant is the one designated by the Shehuo (a traditional folk performance) to add firewood, and may become its spokesperson in the future.

Often, the problems with religion stem from its spokespeople.

Because God does not lie, but man does.

If God cannot convey His will directly to people, but instead speaks through a spokesperson, and that spokesperson happens not to be a fanatical believer, then there is a big problem.

So Yun Ce threw the old servant into the fire pit and removed the firewood. Then, the fire started burning again in the old servant's hand.

This was, after all, just a small flame in the rudimentary form of a folk performance; it couldn't burn itself, so the old man's hands became the fuel.

The firework burned on the old man's left hand. Although the firework was trying its best to avoid hurting him, his withered fingers still caught fire and turned into charcoal bit by bit.

The old servant seemed oblivious to the burning pain, sitting quietly in the fire pit, holding up his left hand, watching with fondness as the fire burned his fingers. He even worried that burning only his fingers would cause the fire to become malnourished, so he used his right hand to scrape off the charred parts of his fingers, just like people trimming candle wicks.

Yun Ce watched for a while and finally believed that the old man was a fanatic. He then tossed him a beautifully carved incense wood candlestick, indicating that the old man no longer needed to be used as fuel.

Unfortunately, the old servant didn't even glance at him, continuing to pluck at the charred parts of his fingers to provide the freshest fuel for the folk performance.

Seeing that the other person wanted to become a god, Yun Ce naturally couldn't ruin their good deed, so he patted his behind and left the Shehuo Hall. He didn't believe that the old servant would really use him as firewood to supply the Shehuo. He guessed there would be a limit, such as sacrificing a hand, or even just a forearm. At most, it would be just an arm.

Trading such a price for a position as a priest in the Yun Clan's Shehuo Hall seems like a very worthwhile deal.

Yun Ce stood at the entrance of the Shehuo Hall, continuing to watch Huo Wudi dance. To be honest, Huo Wudi's dance was basically Han dance, with styles like "Holding the Moon," "Flying Swallow," and "Gazing at the Moon." It didn't even have the unique Tang Dynasty style of playing the pipa backwards. If it weren't for her good looks, there would be nothing to see.

However, as Yun Ce watched, he noticed something was amiss. When the little girl did the backbend, her foxy eyes actually glanced at him twice.

Then, Yun Ce heard Lei Ming, who was clinging to the tree, scream and fall from the tree. Huo Wudi caught him like a ball. What was originally a very erotic scene turned into a nightmare. Lei Ming felt as if he had been stabbed dozens of times with steel needles. He bounced off Huo Wudi's leg and shot straight into the sky. Fortunately, he grabbed the tree trunk halfway and did not fly into the heavens.

Yun Ce saw it clearly; in that one move, Lei Ming had already unleashed a potential exceeding that of a thousand generals.

It seems this guy has some deep thoughts; at least he made it clear to Huo Wudi that he hasn't broken through the threshold of becoming a thousand-man general.

He didn't actually break through, but judging from his genuine reaction in his panic just now, he could break through and become a true master of a thousand men if he wanted to.

Huo Wudi stopped dancing, laughed like a lapdog, came to Yun Ce's side, grabbed his hand and shook it, saying in a coquettish voice, "Nobody plays with me anymore."

Yun Ce glanced at Huo Wudi and said, "Don't bother. I'm now a Grandmaster, and my inner energy is perfectly integrated. You won't get the upper hand against me."

Huo Wudi's feet were already embedded in the hard ground, but she still had a charming smile on her face as she said, "What should I do if I encounter a Grandmaster in the future?"

Yun Ce thought about it seriously for a moment and said, "Even if you accumulate internal energy that surpasses the Grandmaster realm, it's still useless. The Grandmaster realm is a realm, not something that can be determined by how much internal energy you have."

Even the worst Grandmaster is connected to the heavens and earth. Even if you can split mountains and shatter the earth with a single punch, it's still nothing to the heavens and earth. After all, you can only destroy one mountain, not all of them. Here's a warning: what you need to learn now isn't how to continue gathering your inner energy, but how to conceal it. It's best not to let any Grandmaster know that you became a master by absorbing the inner energy of others. If they find out, every Grandmaster in the world, except me, will slap you to death.

Huo Wudi listened to Yun Ce's incessant lectures but refused to listen. Instead, she put in all her effort to try and absorb some of Yun Ce's inner energy.

Seeing this, Yun Ce stopped trying to persuade Huo Wudi and let her do as she pleased. Just as Huo Wudi's legs were sinking deep into the ground, Lei Ming came over and grabbed Yun Ce's other hand, using all his strength to try to help Huo Wudi get out of trouble.

Looking at these two arrogant fools, and then at the group of young men and women cheering for Lei Ming and Huo Wudi, Yun Ce felt that they were too proud.

With a flick of his wrist, he placed his hand on top of Huo Wudi and Lei Ming's heads. The two men were suddenly subjected to an overwhelming force, and could only straighten their bodies to withstand it. Yun Ce chuckled and pressed these two arrogant fools into the ground, leaving only their heads sticking out.

The surrounding young men and women all sighed in regret. Yun Ce darted through the crowd like lightning, and in the blink of an eye, he had planted many people on the ground with a series of "plop, plop" sounds.

He lowered his sleeves and looked at the heads scattered on the ground, saying, "You haven't learned to walk yet, but you're already thinking about flying. Don't think that you can reach the strength of a hundred generals at such a young age. It's your own true ability. Let me tell you, there are now hundreds and thousands of generals outside. As strong as I am, I was able to return from Qingshui Plateau this time, which can be considered as escaping death."

Be humble, build a solid foundation, and that way, when you need to take charge independently, you'll be able to get things done, accomplish tasks, and incidentally, save your own lives.

Huo Wudi spat out the dirt in his mouth, rolled his eyes and said to Yun Ce, "I heard that the first priest of the Guifang tribe, Da Xue Beng, was also a ghost who escaped from the Lord's command."

Yun Ce said coldly, "In the battle at the Divine Dragon Palace, it was I who almost died, not the Great Avalanche."

The children in the manor grew up hearing about Yun Ce's invincible reputation. Over time, they took Yun Ce's achievements as their goal to catch up with. In addition, Yun Clan Manor has never encountered a truly powerful enemy. Even Lei Ming has only dealt with some minor incidents of caravans being robbed.

Without powerful enemies, their pride naturally grew, and Yun Ce felt it was necessary to let them see the cruel side of this world.

Huo Wudi was the first to break free from the restraints imposed by Yun Ce. His body swayed from side to side like a snake, and then he burst out of the ground with a bang. Thunder followed. He had used his strength to shatter the earth and jump out of the hole. Although the other boys and girls struggled and their faces turned red, they could not escape in a short time.

Yun Ce ignored them and led Huo Wudi and Lei Ming back into the Shehuo Hall.

Yun Ce had assumed that the old servant had long since left the Shehuo (a traditional folk performance) and was seeking medical help, but when he stepped into the Shehuo Hall, he found that the Shehuo was still burning on the old servant's raised arm.

Unlike the unbearable pain he had just experienced, the old man now seemed to have completely escaped the pain of his burning body. He sat in the fire pit, arms raised high, his expression solemn yet somewhat joyful, his entire body bathed in the glow of a martyr.

Lei Ming frowned and asked Yun Ce, "My lord, what is that old servant doing?"

Yun Ce sighed and said, "He is waiting for a divine decree."

Lei Ming stepped forward and looked at the old servant, saying, "Do you want to become the person above the master in Yun Family Manor?"

The old servant smiled but said nothing.

Huo Wudi opened her mouth and said, "Even if you burn yourself to ashes, the master won't care."

The old servant looked at the firecracker, which had already burned up to his shoulder, with affection and said softly, "It's enough that it cares."

Yun Ce reached out and took the firewood from the old servant's shoulder, letting it burn in his palm. The old servant was too weak to stand up, and sat in the ashes of the fire pit, groaning, "My lord, please allow me to offer it one more time."

Yun Ce placed the firework on a carved candlestick, looked at the leaping flames and said, "I'm afraid that after you offer your life to it, it will become picky and refuse to accept human sacrifices."

The old servant looked at the folk performance leaping on the incense candlestick with thirst and said, "I can feel its reluctance and kindness, and I can also feel its desire to grow. Supporting it is the opportunity that has allowed me to live until now, and it is also the most important task in my life."

Yun Ce said to Lei Ming, "Kick him out of Yun Family Manor."

Lei Ming never compromised on Yun Ce's decisions. As soon as the order came down, he grabbed the old servant by the back of the neck, lifted him up, and walked out, ignoring the old servant's cries of pain. Once outside, he jumped onto a horse and rode away.

Huo Wudi asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Yun Ce said, "Kill the Buddha if you see him, kill the god if you see him!"

(End of this chapter)