"Gods do not save people; people save themselves."
"If gods want to kill people, people kill gods."
"It's that simple!"
The clearing fell silent for a long while.
No one spoke.
Only the rustle of wind through leaves and the babble of a distant stream could be heard.
For mortals of this era who sought the protection of gods, even casually glancing at a divine statue would feel like an act of disrespect.
And now, Xu Changqing was telling them to "slay gods."
Such a thing was not only impossible to understand at first—it was impossible to accept.
After all, in most people's eyes, gods had always stood high above.
Powerful and majestic were their bywords.
"What do we do now?"
"Now that the god is gone, will a new god come?"
"Stream Earl is dead. Won't we face retaliation?"
For a time, everyone in the tribe was trembling with unease.
Then a voice came from another direction.
"What a lively scene!"
Xu Changqing abruptly turned around.
At the village entrance, a person had appeared at some unknown time.
He had a strong, sturdy build.
His skin was bronze-colored.
He wore a short animal-hide tunic, with a bone dagger tucked at his waist.
He was precisely the mysterious man from ten years ago, the one who had mocked the Human Race and Xu Changqing for their stupidity.
Who would have thought that after ten years, he had not changed in the slightest?
He still stood with that lazy posture, still wore that half-smiling expression.
With his arms folded over his chest, his gaze passed over everyone and landed on Stream Earl's shattered divine statue. He could not help whistling.
"Whoo~"
"Not bad."
"Ten years apart, and you even dared to kill a god!"
Someone immediately stepped forward. "N-No... we didn't