The bloodstained golden meteor had been so dazzling as it streaked across the sky that Zhao Heng, the reigning emperor, had hurried straight to Six Doors headquarters at Vermilion Robe Building, eager to learn what had happened. Now, hearing Sima Shi's rueful sigh, he gave a slight shake of his head. "Whatever astonishing thing Su Meng accomplishes, I doubt I'll ever be surprised again."
After learning that he was still alive!
After learning that he had entered the depths of Spirit Mountain alone, faced the Demon Buddha who had unleashed the Great Tribulation and brought the Medieval Era to an end, severed his ties, and returned alive!
Sima Shi, of course, knew nothing of this. He sighed. "I watched him go from a junior not yet twenty to one of the masters who rule the currents of the world, while I've remained stuck in place..."
He was unwilling to say more. Instead, he asked, "Prince Qin has gone into seclusion again to attempt a breakthrough?"
Zhao Heng rose and walked to the window with his hands behind his back. Looking out at the flowers in full bloom, he sighed. "Yes. If attaining a Dharma Body were that easy, with all the heroes in this vast world, how could there be only eleven or twelve?"
"Indeed. Even in antiquity, when great powers abounded, a Dharma Body still marked the divide between the immortal and the mortal. No matter how freely one could refine the Power of All Beings, how deep one's accumulations, or how close one came to the threshold, attaining a Dharma Body was never easy." Sima Shi spoke with heartfelt understanding.
Sunlight fell across the flowers, bathing Zhao Heng in gold. He was silent for a moment, thinking of the increasingly difficult situation. Then he shook his head and