Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 661 - 604: The True Saint Heir of the Heavenly Punishment Sect!

Chapter 661: Chapter 604: The True Saint Heir of the Heavenly Punishment Sect!

Zhang San immediately turned around and glanced at another Zhang San who looked exactly like him, only much colder in expression.

"Are you my predecessor?"

"Predecessor? That’s an interesting term. But to be more accurate, I am the true master of this body, while you, you are just a fleeting visitor. Now, your journey has ended."

"What if I don’t want it to end?"

"You are not the master of this body, by what right do you refuse to end?"

Zhang San was left speechless by his predecessor.

According to the simple values of a modern-day person from the lower strata of society, if you reside in a place for a while, yet it ultimately doesn’t belong to you, then you have no reason to continue occupying it.

So, Zhang San looked around at the hundreds of light spheres and asked, "Can I be curious about what these light spheres are all about? Are they related to my dreams?"

His predecessor scoffed and countered, "You remember the scroll on which Bai Yucheng recorded his interactions and disputes with those officials from the Capital, don’t you?"

"The Eight Hundred Souls-breaking Record?"

The predecessor nodded slightly and said, "These are the soul fragments of nearly all the geniuses of the human race in this world that I’ve collected using the Eight Hundred Souls-breaking Record."

Upon hearing this, Zhang San frowned and asked, "What do you mean by ’collected soul fragments of human geniuses’?"

It seemed that the predecessor knew that Zhang San’s death was inevitable, so at this moment, he was not impatient with Zhang San’s questions.

"At first, when I acquired this technique, I felt it was a very evil technique. Because the correct way to use this technique is to peel off the soul fragments of other geniuses and store them in the Eight Hundred Souls-breaking Record. Once you refine and absorb all the soul fragments of the eight hundred individuals collected in the Eight Hundred Souls-breaking Record, you would effectively possess the talents of these eight hundred geniuses, as well as their unique abilities."

At this point, Zhang San finally understood why every time he saw or heard something, he would dream and meet an old man with an indistinct face in his dreams.

It turned out that it was not an old man, but a manifestation of the soul fragments.

"So, what I learned in my dreams was actually the memories from the soul fragments of other talents?"

His predecessor smiled smugly and nodded, "Exactly! And that is the most evil aspect of the Eight Hundred Souls-breaking Record. It’s as if you are sacrificing eight hundred talents. But the effect is very obvious, which is that you can acquire all the talents of these eight hundred geniuses, as well as some kind of powerful skill they’ve learned."

"The strongest aspect of the human race is the ability to pass on knowledge and achievements. This is a unique ability that other creatures do not possess. However, the human race also has its own flaws, namely that life is ultimately too short. Therefore, if one can amass the talents and wisdom of hundreds of people into one, such a person could become the pinnacle of this era, illuminating this world! Changing the oppression of the imperial rule, changing the suffering of all beings, changing all that is unjust! And I, Zhang San, was born for this purpose!"

At this moment, the predecessor spoke of his grand visions with a sense of righteousness emanating from every word.

However, Zhang San just coldly sneered and retorted, "So, you killed these eight hundred people to satisfy yourself?"

"No! I did not do this to satisfy myself. Everything I have done is for the sake of the world! Have you ever seen the bones of those frozen to death outside the gates of a luxurious mansion amidst the cold wind? Have you seen an old father who has to sell his children to survive despite a good harvest? Have you seen a mother who prostitutes her body for a handful of cereal mixed with gravel just to feed her child? Have you seen the innocence of someone whose hands have been crushed and who screams in a cell?"

"If the world is rotten, one should eradicate those tumors! Then, reshape a new universe!"

"You have been by Kaihuang’s side, and you know what kind of Emperor he is! He is diligent, indeed. He is hardworking, indeed. He has ensured that the people of Great Sui have clothes on their backs and food on their plates. Yet, despite all this, because of the power of the noble families, there are people who suffer terribly and do not meet a good end. Shouldn’t such an Imperial Path be overthrown? Shouldn’t such a nation be turned to ashes? If I alone cannot achieve this, then I shall join the Heavenly Punishment Sect. If the Heavenly Punishment Sect also cannot achieve it, then I shall harness the power of the Heavenly Punishment Sect, along with these eight hundred willing soul fragments, to change the world!"

"Everything I have done was never for myself! My justice is pure as jade! My dream is the well-being of all beings!"

Zhang San listened to the words of his predecessor and felt as though he was hearing the parting speech of an adolescent yearning to destroy the world.

"So, you killed eight hundred geniuses of the human race, and then what? How are you going to do it? Rely on their power to become stronger, to sweep through this world? And then what?"

"Destroy the imperial authority! Ruin the nations!"

"And then what?"

"Establish a new order! An order where everyone is equal, where nobody is oppressed!"

"Here comes the question, then, what kind of order is this order? How are you going to achieve such an order, and how will you maintain it?"

Hearing Zhang San’s words, his predecessor sneered and roared angrily, "The kind shall receive blessings, the wicked shall be punished! That’s all it takes for the world to be clear and bright!"

At this, Zhang San shook his head slightly, a bitter smile on his face.

"Alright then, I ask you, who determines what constitutes kindness and wickedness?"

"Of course it’s me!"

"So... you’re the Emperor?"

"I am not the Emperor! I am the creator of a new order! I am the judge of this world! I am... I am... I..."

As the predecessor spoke, his once-high-and-mighty arrogance that seemed ready to restart the world at any moment gradually extinguished.

For at this moment, he too realized that the things he had always wanted to do seemed to lack a well-thought-out final step.

Zhang San sighed and said, "Some say history is cyclical. You have overthrown the old order, you have shattered the rule of the past, you have toppled the high and mighty nobility. And then? Replace them? What difference would that be from the past? You... are simply doing the same thing as the ambitious under the guise of justice!"

"If it’s always been this way, if it will continue to be the same in the future, then what meaning do your actions have? It’s nothing more than not being the one on high who can judge life and death."

"No! That’s not it! It’s not like that!"

At this moment, the predecessor roared in anger.

But Zhang San had already stopped paying attention to him and instead looked at the gradually becoming clearer faces within the eight hundred spheres of light.

"My ideals aren’t wrong! I couldn’t possibly be wrong! If I just kill you! Yes, just by killing you! My ideals will be able to continue!"

Zhang San glanced at his predecessor, who was already somewhat insane, and said with a bitter smile, "Is this where you say, ’My heart and actions are utterly unclouded; all that I do is righteous’? Kid, stop it! Continue being a wisp of a residual soul here! I need to leave! The battlefield is calling for me!"

Zhang San spoke, then leaped up into the dark space surrounding him, attempting to leave.

Snap!

Zhang San leapt up, but then he fell back down.

"This is my Soul World, mine! Without my permission, no one can leave! Originally, I had planned to use my cooperation with Bai Yucheng as an opportunity to infiltrate the Town Martial Office. My ultimate goal being to assassinate Shang Bufa as a martial artist of the office, to gather the last fragment of soul. Then, while instigating a war between Legalism and Town Martial Office, I would seize the Great Sui’s Qi Luck using the bloodline of the Yuwen Imperial Clan. Now, I have changed my mind; I will kill you first! Perhaps your soul fragment is not so bad after all!"