Chapter 635 - 5: A Visit to the Museum

"I’m fine." Su Zhou smiled and waved his hand, having intentionally revealed a sliver of his strength. The woman let out a sigh of relief and returned to her tour group.

He was lost in thought. ’It seems that in the world today, while Innate Martial Artists are indeed rare and hold a higher status, it hasn’t created a rigid class divide. Ordinary people can still interact with them without being deferential or defiant.’

’Looks like this world is much more peaceful than I imagined. The Hundred Schools, Zhou Buyi and the others... they might have actually accomplished what they said they would.’

Meanwhile, Shao Qiming continued to use the drone to film everything he saw in the Divine Wood World.

As snow swirled through the air, Su Zhou continued onward.

This place, called the "Divine Blade Scenic Area," was actually quite crowded. Along the path, Su Zhou saw many people with their families, children, or lovers. Some took the cable cars, while others hiked up the mountain. He even overheard a man in his seventies or eighties telling his granddaughter about his childhood, when the scenic area was first established. The park had only been built in the last sixty years or so. In those days, most of Taibai Mountain was buried under volcanic ash. As children, he and his peers had dug alongside their parents, unearthing all sorts of relics and ruins to be sent to the official Alliance Office for Site Reconstruction.

"You could even say this place is where the Hundred Schools Assembly, the predecessor to the Alliance, got its start!"

The old man smiled warmly, holding his granddaughter’s hand. As they walked along the mountain path, he pointed to the inscriptions and statues lining the way. "Back in the day, the elite soldiers of the Hundred Schools Assembly forged the Divine Blade right here and launched their counterattack against the last Emperor of the Anx Dynasty! Look, these statues are of the elite soldiers stationed here back then. Not a single one is missing!"

As the old man recounted this piece of history, the two young men walked past him.

"You don’t think... they made a statue of you, do you?"

Shao Qiming was quite excited by the prospect, but Su Zhou just grunted noncommittally, his attention focused on the statues that were now appearing on both sides of the path.

’It really is the same group from back then. I recognize almost all of them... Huh, they even included the fallen. They remembered that young Swordsman who died when the National Preceptor assaulted the fort.’

’Isn’t that the Grand Master? Looking closely, the statue’s a bit more handsome than he was in real life, but the build is identical. Just as robust!’

For an ordinary person, the mountain path was long, but Su Zhou reached the summit in no time.

At a wide, open platform on the summit, Su Zhou saw the end of the line of statues and a huge, blade-shaped monument.

A stone sculpture of the Blade of Annihilation stood plunged into the ground, the flat of its blade forming the stele.

On either side of this massive stele stood two enormous sculpture groups... a host of Martial Artists battling ferocious-looking Demon Soldiers and Generals. Su Zhou was among them. There he was, a longbow on his back and a Long Spear in hand, facing a Daoist who wielded a sword and had wood-like patterns growing from his body.

Engraved upon the stele were enormous, ancient-style characters, arranged in vertical columns.

[--New Era, Year One. Taibai Mountain. Winter, First Month. Su Zhou of Kunlun, Li Daoran, Sect Master of Wind Riding, and Vice-Commander Weilie engaged the Demon Army at the mountain pass and utterly defeated them.]

[Of the enemy’s hundred-strong force, not one returned. The Demon Dynasty State Preceptor met his end in the fiery volcanic lake, leaving no corpse behind.]

[Thus was the Northern Territory pacified, and the Divine Soldiers were forged.]

Looking closer, he saw that each statue had a name and description engraved below it.

At the base of Su Zhou’s statue was [Kunlun Martial Saint - Su Zhou], as well as a remark that sounded more like a line from an opera than a proper description: [Traveled a thousand leagues alone to save the people from fire and flood.]

Zhou Buyi, Li Daoran, Weilie, and even Han Xiaoqian were among them. The man who had secretly sided with the Demon Army and leaked information had not, surprisingly, been pilloried in shame. Instead, he was still sculpted here as one of the heroes.

’After all, they were comrades who fought together for more than seventy years... They let him keep his honor after death.’

At this thought, Su Zhou’s expression grew complicated. He gazed at Han Xiaoqian’s statue, which depicted him with a medicine pouch at his waist, facing none of the Demon Soldiers and Generals, standing alone to one side of the sculpture group. He couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. "History is truly written by those who come after. For example, just by looking at the arrangement of these statues, I can tell that fellow Zhou Buyi must have become the leader of the Hundred Schools Assembly. Even though I’m at the very front, he’s the one in the protagonist’s spot."

"Subtle ass-kissing like this is also a part of history."

Meanwhile, Shao Qiming was excitedly maneuvering the drone, filming the sculpture group over and over, focusing especially on Su Zhou’s statue. It got to the point that even Su Zhou grew a little exasperated. "Hey, Qiming, why do you keep filming that?"

"When you go public later, I’m going to show all of this to Uncle Su and Aunt Ning! Don’t be so anxious! It’s not a bad thing, everyone here is praising you!"

Shao Qiming could naturally tell that Su Zhou had been lost in memories for a moment. These statues were undoubtedly of acquaintances he had met in this world, but since Shao Qiming didn’t know any of them, all he could do was take pictures to commemorate the moment.

"Speaking of which, this statue of you doesn’t really look like you."

Following his friend’s comment, Su Zhou focused his gaze on his statue again, then nodded. "You’re right. It’s uglier than I am."

’Normally, statues are touched up for commemorative purposes—made a bit more artistic and handsome than the person was in real life. Take Zhou Buyi, for instance. Back then, that guy was just as scholarly, but still so green. How could he have looked as brilliant, valiant, and eagle-eyed as his statue?’