Chapter 838 Sentence given (15)
?Chen Zian and Chen Gutian simultaneously turned their attention to Song Ba, whose ghost-like features grew more defined by the second.
Chen Gutian looked at Song Ba, with the same silent coldness in his eyes that he had given Shen Mu moments ago before he turned towards Yang Qing.
"Judge Yang Qing, I promise not to act out of turn and I am sorry for my early outburst.."
Yang Qing, sensing his sincerity, nodded as he removed the restriction he had placed on him, allowing the old Chen elder some freedom in his movement.
Yang Qing wasn't too worried as he released him. Even if the elder decided to act out, Yang Qing was confident in suppressing him in an instant. About the only reservations he had was the consequences he would receive incase he did. As someone caught having human cauldron and pill slaves, his future was already grim, and now with the shock of the news that just hit him, Yang Qing didn't want to pile more troubles on him.
Elder Gutian nodded gratefully toward Yang Qing before he turned to face Owner Song Ba looking like he wanted to ask him something.
With the revelations thus far and the seemingly weight of it, rather than interfere, as long as there were no fights, Yang Qing decided to let things proceed their natural course. If Chen Butian or Chen Zian had any questions to ask, they could freely do so, in the context of things.
Besides, Yang Qing had noticed something as Shen Mu was giving his testimony. Chen Butian and Chen Zian were not the only ones who displayed reactions to his confessions about the death of Chen Butian's son, Chen Xue. Most of the elders of the Chen family seemed shocked by the news, with some disheartened by it, and others, it was just plain shock with no other reaction, but for one of them, the way they reacted caught Yang Qing's eyes.
Yang Qing couldn't help but narrow his eyes at him as he alternated his gaze between that elder and the Owner Song Ba.
"Owner Song Ba, why did you do it?" coldly asked Chen Butian.
"You've been playing me for a fool all this time, haven't you? What a fool I have been.. colluding with my son's killer.." he added as he shook his head whilst smiling bitterly before his look turned calm again.
"Back then, I only agreed to your plan of taking in those poor children to the farm and subjected them to those roles, all because you promised to help me find my son's killer. No matter how much I hated myself for it, I kept telling myself it was okay as long as it led me to my son's killer. To that end, I would have done everything and anything, including sacrificing my conscience.
And now you want to tell me it was all for naught? I destroyed my conscience, at the behest of my son's killer?
Why Song Ba? Why did you do it? Did playing with the emotions of a grieving father and playing him for a fool really bring you such pleasure?
What did I ever do to you? What did my son ever do to you? Of all the questions I have, that's the one I want to know. Why... Why did you have my son killed?" Chen Gutian asked his voice, his face, all showing the grief that had haunted him for the past forty-three years since his son's death.
In all his life, his greatest pride and joy was his son. The founder of the Chen family, Chen Fu had established himself as a sword cultivator, and when he broke through to the palace realm it was through the sword dao. However, later generations didn't have the same talent as him when it came to the sword, and they eventually decided to ply their efforts in alchemy instead.
However, even after pivoting to alchemy as their lifeline to stay afloat and relevant, it was still a sword clan, through and through. They may not have the same talent as their founder, but they never abandoned the sword, not truly. Every generation would still practise with it, and Chen Butian was no different.
In his youth, his eyes were on nothing else but the sword, he loved it but unfortunately for him, the love was one-sided, the sword didn't love him back. He had no talent for it, but like most, he believed that one day his relentless efforts would shine through and win its hearts, after all, it was said hard work trumps talent.
Later in life, he realized the fallacy in that statement. Hard work could never trump talent. A mortal could exercise his or her body to death, but if they couldn't sense and absorb qi, they would never be able to become cultivators;
Someone could have a blue-grade cultivation art and meditate on it day and night without pause, but if they didn't have a sufficient level of talent in comprehension, then without a fortuitous fate-altering encounter, they were doomed to remain as they were.
But with talent, someone cultivating the poorest white grade cultivation art could somehow make gains using the art, and even quite possibly elevate it from the white grade to the blue grade. True talents could take a massive leap to the skies with a single movement while those without it could just stare at the skies, forever bound to the ground beneath their feet.
Hard work could never trump talent, but it could equate to it. But for that to happen it needed luck, which either tries to fill in the gap talent would need, or which was more often than not provide the talent that was missing in the first place.
For example, a mortal with zero talent in cultivation suddenly stumbles onto a natural spiritual treasure that transforms their body and gives them the talent to cultivate.
Getting born into an affluent clan, like Chen Butian was, could be considered a form of luck. He may have not had the talent for the sword, but thanks to the considerable resources the clan had and the effort he put in, even without talent, he was able to make some progress with the sword and even achieve sword qi.
Were he to be born into a different clan, an impoverished one, it would have been in doubt if he would have even developed sword sense, or ever reached the core formation realm, but because of his luck, he was born into the prestigious Chen Clan,a clan containing the heritage of a sword palace stage cultivator.
When an immortal ascends even his chickens and dogs ascend with him and that was ever so true for Chen Butian, but ultimately, the late stages of the core formation realm and getting sword qi was the limit he could ever reach even with the support of the Chen Clan. That luck could only take him so far.
He was like a normal horse. No matter how hardworking the normal horse was, there was only so much it could carry, even with care from the owner, feeding on the best hay, regular checkups, and maintenance, there was a limit the normal horse would carry before its legs gave out. But if that horse had a smidge of dragon blood in it, then that limit grows exponentially regardless of how well it was cared for.
That was the importance of talent, and Chen Butian had little of it, luckily he had the Chen Clan to fall back on, it was why he was so greatly devoted to its wellbeing even after he realized he had no talent for the sword. He was one of the few elders who actively volunteered for the younger members of the clan, especially those in the body refinement realm.He would also be the first to volunteer for dangerous missions like delving into unknown ruins, mysterious realms, and other dangerous places in the hunt for treasures, and before he knew it, he was already 4,000 years old, closely approaching his lifespan limit, with no wife and children.
He didn't mind it, but when the other elders including his nephew Chen Zian, asked him to rest, he had done more than enough for the clan, only then did he consider having a family and it wasn't because it was something he truly wanted but only because he felt it was something that would be of service to the clan. All his life other than the sword, his clan had always come first, even above his life.
With that thought, he found a dao partner, and even when he chose his dao partner, it was with the clan's benefits in mind which was why he went for someone from one of the minor nobles so as to draw more support for the Chen Clan. Other than her background, he didn't care much for his dao partner and eventually, he had a child with her, Chen Xue.
Before he was even born, Chen Gutian already had everything planned out, which was he would use his lifespan to ensure his child would be of great service to the clan that had given him so much. To him, his child was a tool of service to the clan, they would exist solely for the clan's sake.
At least that was what he thought, but from the moment Chen Xue was born, for the first time, there was something that took the hegemony that the Chen Clan had in his heart, and that was his son. His world shifted and existed for his son, with everything else coming second place to him. Chen Gutian always found himself surprised at the change that happened to him because of Chen Xue and it wasn't because Chen Xue had shown considerable talent that drew even the eyes of the entire of the Chen Clan.
To him, he knew, even if Chen Xue had shown mediocre talent, he would still have felt the same way. Chen Xue was his son and pride and joy and that was it, there was no rhyme or reason. Chen Xue became his greatest achievement. Even if he gained sword intent, something he longed to achieve, it still would not come to the exhilaration he felt every time he was around his son and the journey he shared as father and son.
One of his regret was, he started that journey too late and to make up for it, he tried to ensure Chen Xue had a wholesome life. Whatever plans he had of making Chen Xue useful to the clan, he scrapped them, as he was even the one who continually tried to have Chen Xue live more, instead of just cultivating. To try and have other things in his life, that would make cultivating important.
The day Chen Xue died, Chen Gutian had managed to convince him to take a break from cultivation and go experience the thrill of an auction house, from the excitement that came from the unique treasures being revealed to the bidding war that came after, and the thrill that came from being one of the victors. He hoped to add some color to his son's life. As someone who lived his life with single-minded devotion, he knew how exhausting that life was, and didn't want his son to live the same life he did.
Therefore he had him go to that auction, not knowing he had sent his beloved son to his death.
When he received the news, he collapsed and went into shock for a month, missing even the funeral, and when he came to, he didn't believe it at all, thinking he was under some illusion attack, and when it finally sunk in, he broke. He cried, roared, fought, did anything to try and numb the pain of the loss, and the guilt he felt but none of what he did worked.
He grew to loathe himself in the process with each day becoming unbearable, but through it all, there was one thing that kept him sane and steady, and that was vengeance. Finding his son's killers and paying them back in interest was the only thing that kept him going.
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