96. The Return of the Lamenters (1)

A few sturdy Late Homo sapiens armed with long spears were enough to kill any large land animal. In other words, humanity was the greatest executioner Earth had ever known.

The emergence of the spear meant animals could no longer match humans. Like sharpened sticks and fire, it opened a brand-new age of civilization.

—All of the above was ancient history the Empire of today had never learned. Across the entire Empire, perhaps only He Shenyan and The Emperor knew this history, so distant that it could no longer even be verified.

But it had indeed existed.

Not only that, the spear had endured. Hundreds of thousands of years had passed, and spears were still used by humans—and were still a terrifying weapon.

But the broken spear currently placed before He Shenyan could not be called a terrifying weapon. It could not even be called a weapon.

Time had corroded it beyond recognition. It was the sort of trash no one would spare a glance at even if it were tossed into a garbage heap. Yet that piece of trash was now lying on He Shenyan's desk, and he had been staring at it for more than five minutes.

At last, he spoke.

"This is the Lance of Longinus that once wounded Jesus?"

He Shenyan shrugged. "Looks no different from garbage to me."

The Emperor's voice came from The Void. "When it wounded me back then, it did not look like this."

"You really did play your own son once?"

"Ancient history." The Emperor clearly did not want to elaborate. "Being nailed to a cross didn't feel good—though I did volunteer for it, alas."

He sighed. "After I died, I thought people would be guided by my death and strive to improve themselves. I didn't expect everyone who had so