"We come here to pay tribute to the dead, not to deify all the heroes who died in battle, to deify them into a symbol, to worship them as heroes or saints."
Hai Wuya looked at these martial artists with doubtful eyes, and felt a little tired.
Creating an idol for yourself is actually creating a distance between you and yourself that is out of reach.
The one on the altar is a noble hero, a saint without any flaws.
The people who created gods are ordinary people, the "common people" who are waiting for heroes to come from heaven to save them.
“Before becoming a hero, a hero is first an ordinary person like you and me,” Hai Wuya said.
He was trying to persuade these hot-blooded martial artists.
The sacrifices in the past few days were quite lively, attracting many people from Zhongzhou and martial artists to come and watch the ceremonies.
But problems also followed.
There are too many of these people, and it seems that someone is secretly fanning the flames, and someone is packaging the personalities of characters such as Jian Zexian and the Qiao family who appeared in Past of the Lonely City.
What Hai Wuya wanted to say was actually to try to get these martial artists to not regard these heroes who died in battle as unattainable saints on the altar, but to treat them as living people.
For example, someone told Jian Zexian to fight for the people of the world, to take on the responsibility of being the best warrior in the world, to use martial arts to defeat the immortals and to become enemies with the nine major immortal sects.
Jian Zexian will just treat the opponent as a fool and then give in.
But if someone told Jian Zexian that your brother was going to die at the hands of an immortal cultivator, then Jian Zexian would not remain indifferent.
This is also the truth that Hai Wuya tried to tell these martial artists.
Not many people can be noble heroes who sacrifice themselves for others and fight for the people of the world, but if they can stand up for their relatives and friends when danger strikes, I think there are still many warriors who can do it.
Treat heroes as human beings, rather than idolizing them and keeping them at a distance.
Qiao Mu was listening quietly beside him, and an idea came to his mind:
"Hai Wuya has big plans."
"Emperor Yonghe asked him to serve as the representative of the court to pay tribute to the deceased. He certainly didn't expect that he had such an ambition."
What Hai Wuya is doing is trying to awaken the resistance will of these martial artists, let them love themselves first and then love others, and then talk about the so-called common people and the great cause of conquering the immortals, instead of just staying at the level of worshipping heroes.
However, Lu Yanbei next to him had a different focus from Qiao Mu.
"Master Hai, do you mean... my brother is a hero?" Lu Yanbei was a little confused.
"Of course." Hai Wuya said firmly:
"A gentleman is judged by deeds, not by heart. No one is perfect in the world."
"His final decision, together with the Qiao family, opened up a way for the disabled and old people in the lonely city. This is naturally a well-deserved heroic act."
Lu Yanbei opened his mouth but said nothing in the end. He just sighed.
Hai Wuya is the Minister of Rites and also represents the Great Yan court.
Such evaluation did bring some comfort to Lu Yanbei.
He took two steps and suddenly pulled out the wooden sword from his waist. He pinched the sword with two fingers, secretly used his internal energy, and broke the sword into two pieces.
Qiao Mu looked at him with some suspicion.
Lu Yanbei's nickname in the martial arts world is the Wooden Sword Master. After he reached middle age, his swordsmanship had already reached the level of a master and he was no longer attached to external things, so he abandoned his sharp sword and used a wooden sword instead.
But at this moment, he broke the wooden sword he had used for decades with his own hands
"The wooden sword is not sharp enough to kill the immortal." Lu Yanbei said calmly.
"What I want is a sword that is powerful enough to kill the immortals."
"My sword and swordsmanship are not good enough, they still need to be honed, so why do I use this wooden sword to pretend?"
Qiao Mu was slightly moved. At this moment, he felt that Lu Yanbei's temperament and demeanor were vaguely similar to that of the exiled sword immortal.
"Do you still want to kill the immortal?" Qiao Mu asked.
What he actually wanted to ask was, at your age, isn’t it... a bit late
Lu Yanbei is already an 87-year-old old man. His vitality and blood have declined and he is no longer at his peak, so he is only famous for his exquisite swordsmanship in his later years.
Lu Yanbei seemed to know what Qiao Mu was thinking and replied:
"Although I am already eighty-seven years old, my brother, the Sword Exiled Immortal, is also eighty-seven years old."
"I don't have many years left in my life, but my stupid brother tried his best to extend my life. So it's reasonable for me to repay him with my life and death in order to bring back his sword body from the Dao Sect, right?"
Although there is a huge gap between Lu Yanbei and Jian Zexian in their attainments in martial arts, this does not affect Lu Yanbei's ambition.
"He's still strong despite his old age." Qiao Mu praised.
While feeling inexplicably envious in his heart, he said:
"Lu Yanbei, your brother is a descendant of the Qiao family, so as an elder, I cannot ignore this matter."
"One day in the future, no matter whether Jian Zexian is dead or alive, my Qiao family will bring it back from the Da Dao Sect on your behalf."
Lu Yanbei was startled for a moment, then a strange light flashed across his face, and he thought to himself:
"This Qiao family is truly extraordinary. I wonder what kind of demeanor the Qiao family's ancestors had to set so many family precepts that their descendants can follow them from generation to generation."
"I guess... he is also a martyr who leads by example."
While the two were talking, Hai Wuya was leading the court officials to pay tribute to the deceased in the Anxi Pass Forest of Steles.
Night falls and stars hang low in the sky.
Three hundred white-haired veterans stood in front of the Forest of Steles, their gray hair and beards fluttering in the wind, and sang military songs from the days when they went to battle in the old days.
"The long clouds of Qinghai darken the snow-capped mountains, and the lonely city looks towards Yumen Pass in the distance.
I have worn my golden armor through hundreds of battles in the yellow sand, and I will not return until I have conquered Loulan."
One by one, Kongming lanterns rise slowly in the night sky, connecting into one piece in the night sky, just like brilliant stars.
Zhongzhou, the newly established capital of Daqin.
Inside the Prince of Qin’s Palace.
"The head of the Wan family in the imperial capital said that the old man Qiao Shui from the Qiao family is in the imperial capital, and he also found out where he lives?"
The King of Qin had a gloomy look in his eyes. When he mentioned the Wan family in the imperial capital, he recalled an old story.
"It's a pity that time is running out and I am too busy to manage the overall situation in the capital city and resettle the refugees from the lonely city in the desert."
Before, the Dao Sect sent a message to ask him to do the dirty work, but it was too late by then. The news of the lonely city in the desert had already spread around Zhongzhou, so he had no choice.
Although there is no way, we can still work secretly, for example, we can take the initiative to volunteer and tell the court that the Qinfu City is in ruins and is a good place to receive refugees...
"Luohan, why don't you go to the imperial capital and find out the background of the old man Qiao Shui from the Qiao family? Don't underestimate the enemy." King Qin said.
The old man in the Qiao family is over 100 years old, and "Qiao Shui" is 210 years old.
People can vaguely judge the appearance of an 80-year-old or a 90-year-old, but what do a 100-year-old or 200-year-old look like
I've never seen it before.
So in the eyes of the world, "Qiao Shui" of the Qiao family is just like "Qiao Shuanglin" and "Qiao Senlin" before them, all of them are very old people, but it is difficult to judge their specific ages.
Qiao Shui and "Qiao Shuanglin" who was in the imperial capital are both elders of the Qiao family. It is hard to say who is stronger and who is weaker. It is also reasonable to let Luohan, the protector who once repelled "Qiao Senlin", to check.
Chapter 228 The Qiao family is born as a hundred-year-old monster (8k
At Anxi Pass, after the sacrifice to the heroic souls, Hai Wuya stared at the three hundred old soldiers in front of him.
He had already read out the Yonghe Emperor's decree, rewarding the 300 old soldiers. At the same time, according to the Emperor's wishes, he also provided a place for the remaining women, children, and the elderly in the isolated city to stay.
The things that Emperor Yonghe ordered have been done, so the next thing is what he personally wants to do.
"These three hundred old soldiers are not ordinary, they are all strong men." Hai Wuya's gaze shifted away from his eldest son Hai Siyuan and fell on the three hundred old soldiers who looked equally old under the night sky, and he felt emotional.
The three hundred veteran soldiers are elite warriors who have fought in hundreds of battles in the vast desert.
The Alien War was the most brutal battlefield on the land of Kyushu forty years ago, and they were the remnants of hundreds of battles who had struggled to hold on for forty years in the most brutal battlefield, and were the strongest ones selected from the army of one hundred thousand.
The strong man that Hai Wuya mentioned does not refer to the strength of martial arts skills, but the strength of will.
It is impossible for a soldier with a worse character to hold out for forty years under the pressure of an alien.
Even if they were ordinary soldiers forty years ago, after forty years of blood and tears, they are no longer ordinary.
"Their martial arts skills are not very high. Only my son Hai Siyuan has entered the third level of soul refining... It's not that they are limited in talent. It's really that there are few resources in the isolated city, and it's difficult to improve their martial arts skills. A good cook can't cook without rice."
"The Hundred Miles Desert is the place where the immortals nourish their souls. It can also be seen as a place where the soldiers temper their minds and refine their spirits. So these three hundred old soldiers..." Hai Wuya looked far away:
"They are all God-refining seeds."
"No, an ordinary upper third-grade soul-refining warrior probably cannot be compared with these three hundred old soldiers in terms of mental determination."
Hai Wuya himself does not have a high level of martial arts skills, but he has studied in Tianlao for thirty years and holds a high position. His vision and perspective are actually far beyond the reach of ordinary martial artists.
Looking at the three hundred gray-haired old soldiers in front of him, Hai Wuya really wanted to say... the future is promising.
But they are too old.
Yes, too old.
After defending a city in a haunted place like the Hundred Miles Desert for forty years, even a skilled warrior would be exhausted and prematurely aged.
What’s more, these are old soldiers.
Most of them have lost their vitality, but their will is as firm as iron.
If they were placed in the old martial arts world forty years ago, no matter how strong their will was, it would be useless because they were too old.
Even if we get out of the desert, how many years can we live
But now it's different.
For forty years during the Alien War, the folk martial arts world has been dead silent because of the Martial Saint. In fact, the forefront of Kyushu martial arts has always been at the Wu Ji Conference.
The martial arts world is undergoing a lot of changes, and there are indeed differences between the old and the new compared to forty years ago.
Even the former famous sects such as Wudang Sect and Shaolin Temple have been eliminated and become the cornerstone of the new martial arts of Wu Ji Hui.
"The Qiao family has already passed on the "Sumeru Mountain King Sutra" to them, but they still need time to practice."
"Given their character, if they have a fighting spirit and are willing to practice, the Sumeru Mountain King Sutra will not be difficult for them, and there is no threshold. Being strong even at an old age is not an empty talk."
"And the key is... after witnessing the current decadent situation in Kyushu, do these old soldiers still have the will to fight, or are they really ready to retire as Emperor Yonghe wishes?" Hai Wuya thought.
It is actually normal for the old soldiers to retire and return to the countryside.
After all, no matter how strong their will is, they are not men of iron.
Everyone gets tired and hesitates, so it is normal for them to want to rest after forty years of bloody battles and now that they are old and frail.
Hai Wuya felt that these old soldiers were all talented people that could be cultivated.
If we consider the overall situation, he feels that these veterans are doing their best and continue to improve themselves in martial arts, and hopefully they will become the flag bearers of martial arts in the new era.
But Hai Wuya is also an old man. He can't bear it, so he will not use the name of righteousness to force these old soldiers to continue fighting for the lives of the people of Kyushu.
"If they still have the will to fight against the aliens, and are unwilling to grow old and retire..." Hai Wuya looked at his eldest son Hai Siyuan beside him:
"Just bring them to the imperial capital to find me. Today's martial arts are indeed different from those of forty years ago."
Jian Zexian’s strength has reached the pinnacle, but he is not a good teacher, so his strength is only the strength of one person.
Hai Wuya was not very strong, and he had not reached the third level of spirit refining during his youth, but this did not affect his creation of the "Sumeru Mountain King Sutra".
Hai Wuya, whose philosophy is humanity, has devoted his life to developing a new martial arts so that everyone can practice martial arts to strengthen their bodies. He has been working hard on this for thirty years.
His martial arts skills were not strong, but his level as a teacher and in pioneering martial arts was far superior to Jian Zexian.
"If the Martial Saint were still alive, I wonder how he would view his former comrades?" Speaking of the new martial arts, Hai Wuya couldn't help but think of his former colleague, the Martial Saint.
Hai Wuya took a detour and did not devote his whole life to practicing martial arts.
He was devoted to his official career and only regarded martial arts training as a way to become an official. Therefore, after becoming a high-ranking official, he no longer practiced martial arts diligently until the outbreak of the alien war.
But the Martial Saint is another matter.
... .
In the morning, the sun rises and illuminates the barren mountains.