My Longevity Simulation - Chapter 1284: Great Qi Enlightens the Dao

However, considering that the Sun Luyao before him was in fact his own creation, calling him useless would be equivalent to insulting his own craftsmanship.

Thus, the words that had reached Li Fan’s lips were swallowed back down.

With another cold snort, his thoughts rapidly shifted, and the now defective “Sun Luyao” was destroyed.

A moment later, an entirely new fabricated personality was born once again.

“Senior, that formation just now…” The newly fabricated personality had absolutely no awareness that he had only just been created. His memories still remained frozen at the moment the Primordial Spiritual Void Formation destroyed the world, and his face was pale.

“That formation is truly far too profound. This junior has not yet learned it.” Sun Luyao spoke bitterly, terrified of angering Li Fan.

Li Fan sensed the crystal clear sphere condensed at the cost of an entire small world and revealed a kindly smile. “No need to worry. The Primordial Spiritual Void Formation is indeed somewhat complicated. I only need to demonstrate it a few more times.”

Those calm and ordinary words caused Sun Luyao’s heart to turn cold. Yet he did not dare object in the slightest and could only blankly follow Li Fan toward the next target small world.

The worlds Li Fan selected were all among the smallest of the Xuanhuang Realm’s subordinate small worlds that had not yet been discovered by the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance. This was specifically to avoid drawing the Xuanhuang Realm closer to the Immortal Ruins and attracting outside attention.

However, Li Fan estimated that this behavior of digging away at the roots of the Xuanhuang Realm could not continue for too long.

Li Fan weighed the crystal clear sphere in his hand. “Another two or three of these will far surpass the protection provided by my 119th life’s Myriad Spirits-All Living Beings Refine the Soul. There should not be any problems.”

…

Great Qi Small World.

Daoist Hundred Flowers stood at the border of the Five Elements Great Cave Heaven, staring blankly into the void outside.

All this time, she had always completed the Holy Emperor’s assignments perfectly. As a result, the rewards of source power essence had never ceased, and recently they had even become abundant.

But source power essence was ultimately just that.

Before ever obtaining it, one felt it was incomparably precious and desired to taste it no matter what. Yet after truly becoming wealthy in it, it gradually began to feel dull and meaningless.

After all, it could not help one transcend mortal limits and ascend to the realm of a True Immortal. No matter how much one possessed, it was useless.

Daoist Hundred Flowers felt herself gradually becoming slack.

After achieving freedom in source power essence, she slowly lost both her goals and motivation. The thing she did most each day was care for the many Cave Heaven worlds, ensuring that spiritual energy circulated smoothly and vitality flourished.

The second thing was daydreaming.

Emptying her mind and thinking of nothing. Occasionally, fragmented scenes would flash through her thoughts.

Some were memories from after she awakened and experienced life within the Holy Dynasty Great Qi.

Others were scenes from before she had been captured by the Fishing Pond, together with those survivors from the various worlds.

“I wonder whether all those people are truly dead.” Hundred Flowers could not help thinking this.

Just as she was lost in thought, a ripple in the space ahead drew her attention.

After sensing that familiar aura, her tense nerves instantly relaxed again.

“Senior Hundred Flowers.”

The visitor was none other than the Holy Emperor’s eldest disciple, Sun Erlang.

“You came looking for another beating?” The moment Hundred Flowers saw Sun Erlang’s expression, she understood his purpose and could not help feeling somewhat helpless.

Sun Erlang frankly admitted it. “This junior returned to cultivate for a while and feels he has improved again, so I came to seek guidance from Senior once more.”

Hundred Flowers smiled. “I already told you not to listen to that Qiao Gong’s braggart boasting so loudly, claiming his puppets can rival Longevity Immortal cultivators. In the end, they are merely piles of dead objects. How could they truly compare to cultivators like us?”

Before Sun Erlang could reply, the voice of Master Qiao Gong had already sounded.

“Whether they can or cannot is not decided through boasting. We will see the truth with our hands! Boy Sun, teach her a proper lesson!”

Sun Erlang cupped his fists. “Senior, please be careful… This time is truly different from before.”

Before his words had even fallen, Sun Erlang’s figure disappeared from Hundred Flowers’ divine sense perception.

A trace of seriousness flashed through Hundred Flowers’ eyes as she transformed into a streak of golden light and flew into the endless void opened by the Rift-Splitting Whale.

She faintly sensed that many presences were secretly following behind her.

“They should be puppets controlled by that boy. Yet even my divine sense cannot lock onto them?”

Daoist Hundred Flowers finally became somewhat interested.

A glazed golden flower appeared in her hand with a slight movement of thought.

Then, in an instant, it suddenly bloomed.

Petals drifted down one after another, yet the glazed flower itself showed no signs of damage. Before long, the surrounding void around Daoist Hundred Flowers was already enveloped by billions of golden flower petals.

Bang!

Bang!

The petals scattered through the air, continuously colliding with the hidden puppets following in secret.

One after another, puppets coated in dark golden paint gradually revealed their true forms.

There were five in total, and they had silently surrounded Hundred Flowers at the center.

Daoist Hundred Flowers teased, “Young Sun knows he cannot win, so a duel became a group beating?”

Sun Erlang’s responding voice came through, though it did not originate from any of the puppets.

“Senior misunderstands. These puppets are all controlled by me alone. So it still counts as fair…”

Within the void, five nearly identical voices echoed simultaneously alongside Sun Erlang’s words.

“Gold of Rifted Space!”

“Wood of Entanglement!”

“Water of Extinguishing Life!”

“Fire of Burning Intent!”

“Earth of Nothingness!”

Strange Five Elements powers emerged respectively from the five puppets. They did not rush to attack Hundred Flowers, but instead instantly formed into a formation.

The hundred flowers within the formation seemed to instantly leave the void and return to the Five Elements Great Cave Heaven.

However, this Five Elements Cave Heaven was not full of vibrant life. Instead, it was filled with a chilling aura of slaughter.

Every strand of Five Elements energy within the Cave Heaven resembled a sharp sword. Upon sensing Hundred Flowers as an outsider, they launched frenzied attacks.

The Gold of Rifted Space moved silently, its sharpness capable of tearing apart space itself.

The Wood of Entanglement searched through the void for targets. Once it latched onto something, it would never stop until death.

The Water of Extinguishing Life snuffed out all vitality. Even the glazed golden flowers released by Hundred Flowers rapidly withered after coming into contact with it.

…

The Five Elements generated one another, with the five forces endlessly transforming into each other without cease.

Trapped within the formation, Hundred Flowers seemed to have endured several days of siege already, yet the attacks showed no sign of weakening.

“This is a Five Elements Killing Formation.”

“The five puppets should be serving as the formation core. Rather than fighting directly, they transformed into formation eyes…”

While Hundred Flowers was pondering this, she failed to notice that an obsidian-gold puppet had silently appeared behind her.

Hidden within the violent Five Elements aura, it resembled a golden sword as it slashed down decisively.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal echoed throughout the Five Elements Killing Formation. Hundred Flowers Daoist’s body instantly became transparent.

A glazed golden flower bloomed within her body.

Under the radiance of its light, even the sword embedded in her body gradually became glazed and transparent.

The power of the Gold of Rifted Space erupted violently, breaking free from the glazed corruption before vanishing once again and hiding within the chaotic Five Elements Killing Formation.

“Not bad.”

Hundred Flowers Daoist revealed her true appearance before Sun Erlang for the first time and gave a faint praise.

“If it were the former me, I would likely have been severely injured by that strike.”

“Unfortunately…”

Within Hundred Flowers Daoist’s transparent body, the glazed flower rapidly expanded.

Under the pure glazed radiance, the violent Five Elements power was completely assimilated into solid glazed crystals.

In merely a few breaths, the glazed flower swept through everything around it, engulfing the entire formation space.

Clang!

A slender finger extended out from the solid crystal.

It lightly tapped upon the condensed flower.

A crack appeared, then rapidly spread across the entire flower body.

Bang!

The flower exploded into countless fragments. The originally violent Five Elements Killing Formation completely turned into emptiness.

Hundred Flowers also returned to her original form and gazed around her surroundings.

However, what caused her expression to slightly change was that this technique, [Pure Life Glaze], which could annihilate an entire small world in an instant, seemingly had not broken the Five Elements Killing Formation at all.

Within the void, chaotic auras once again began to emerge.

After discerning them, Hundred Flowers immediately understood.

“So it is not a Five Elements Killing Formation, but a Yin-Yang Five Elements Grand Formation.”

The Yin and Yang energies circulated and intertwined. Within the chaos, the aura of the Five Elements emerged once more, endlessly regenerating.

Before long, the void that had only briefly calmed became lively once again.

Seeing this, Hundred Flowers could not help but slightly frown.

She could easily destroy the formation, yet she could not stop the process of Yin and Yang generating the Five Elements.

Even if she annihilated it again and again, the killing intent directed toward her within the void remained endless.

“After combining the powers of the Five Elements and Yin-Yang with formation techniques, although the destructive power has not increased much, it has indeed become far more troublesome.”

Although Hundred Flowers understood a little about formations, she could not sense any traces of a formation around her.

“Hahahaha! Hundred Flowers, you are out of options now, aren’t you? Hurry up and surrender obediently!” Master Qiao Gong’s arrogant voice echoed throughout the killing formation.

Hundred Flowers let out a cold snort, and dazzling golden light shone within her eyes.

“Boy Sun, be careful. We finally forced her to use this move. Let us see how our prepared countermeasure performs.”

After receiving the augmentation of source power essence, Hundred Flowers’ glazed radiance seemed to become even purer.

It was as if even space itself had crystallized. A glittering gemstone slowly formed around her.

The Yin-Yang energies that nurtured the Five Elements, as well as the structural framework maintaining the formation itself, no longer had any place to remain under the oppression of such pure power.

Light from the outside world shone inward. This killing formation was on the verge of being broken by Hundred Flowers.

“You think you are the only one with source power essence?!”

At that moment, Master Qiao Gong’s somewhat smug voice rang out once more.

A finger formed entirely from golden light suddenly appeared before Hundred Flowers without any warning, ignoring the already solidified glazed crystals.

The crystals shattered violently, turning into streams of radiant fragments. The golden finger was unstoppable as it ruthlessly pressed toward the center of her forehead.

Hundred Flowers’ expression changed slightly, and her body once again transformed into a pure glazed state.

Bathed in the same golden radiance, Hundred Flowers clashed against the golden finger.

To her astonishment, the source power essence golden finger that looked so terrifying was merely an empty shell.

It collapsed upon contact, transforming into countless golden threads that wrapped around her body from head to toe.

“Boy Sun, reel in the net!” Master Qiao Gong shouted excitedly.

The golden threads spread in an instant. Crossing horizontally and vertically, they caught the Daoist Hundred Flowers completely off guard and trapped her within the net.

The glazed flower tried to bloom with radiance, but upon colliding with the golden net, its light was erased into nothingness.

A tremendous force came from within the golden net. Hundred Flowers was dragged away in a miserable state, violently pulled forward at extreme speed.

“How presumptuous!”

This time, Hundred Flowers was truly enraged.

“All living beings are glass!”

Within her icy cold shout, the figure of Hundred Flowers, who had seemed already captured, suddenly vanished.

The glazed flower also underwent a transformation. Petals drifted down one after another, but this time, after falling, they completely disappeared without a trace. In an instant, its inner true form was revealed.

Within the shifting radiance, there was astonishingly an entire glazed world.

The glass world froze over, and countless living beings abruptly opened their eyes.

Hiss…

The enormous golden net wrapped around the world instantly developed countless tiny cracks.

The shocked and furious voice of Master Qiao Gong rang out: “Did you not say before that you escaped after abandoning your world?! I never expected that you actually refined the entire Wansheng Realm into a glazed state!”

“What a vicious woman!”

From within the glazed world came the voice of Hundred Flowers Daoist: “What do you understand! This was for survival!”

“Not just for myself, but for the entire Heavenly Lotus Sect!”

Amid Hundred Flowers’ furious shout, dazzling brilliance erupted from the glazed world, completely breaking free from the golden net restraining it.

“Boy Sun, retreat quickly!”

“Senior, please forgive us…”

She vaguely heard the somewhat battered voice of Master Qiao Gong, along with the helpless voice of Sun Erlang.

When she returned to the void, the two of them were already nowhere to be seen.

The glazed flower bloomed once more, concealing the glazed Wansheng Realm within its center. Hundred Flowers Daoist also returned to her original appearance.

She did not pursue them and instead returned to the Five Elements Great Cave Heaven.

“After finally fighting a battle, things are not quite so boring anymore. I wonder when we will truly go to war with the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance?”

“If we can truly escape the Immortal Ruins, or even the entire Darkest Star Sea, perhaps the Heavenly Lotus Sect may one day reappear beneath the heavens.” Hundred Flowers Daoist pondered silently.

Toward the Holy Emperor of Great Qi, she possessed a special kind of confidence.

Hundred Flowers casually glanced once more toward the void beyond.

There, at the place where the Holy Emperor had once gone, she faintly sensed an energy that caused the entire glazed Wansheng Realm to tremble slightly in fear.

“What a maniac…”

Within the Holy Dynasty Great Qi, the somewhat disheveled Qiao Gong cursed nonstop while looking rather distressed at the seven dark golden puppets before him.

“I should have realized it long ago. Anyone capable of surviving the world extinction catastrophe could never be some simple character. Seeing how submissive she acted before the Holy Emperor earlier, I actually got deceived by her…”

“Qiao Gong, Qiao Gong, you truly have become muddleheaded!”

Sun Erlang remained silent.

The strength suddenly displayed by Senior Hundred Flowers, who had always appeared gentle and amiable, was indeed somewhat terrifying.

However, the purpose of challenging her this time had also been achieved.

Sun Erlang looked toward the seven dark golden puppets in the field.

Through these puppet bodies, he had not only become more familiar with the power of the seven Spirit of Heaven and Earth within the puppet cores.

He had also vaguely gained a deeper mastery over source power essence.

“No! I refuse to believe it! I, the great Qiao Gong of the Heavenly Mechanism Realm, will not lose to a mere Wansheng Realm!” Beside him, Qiao Gong spoke fiercely and took something out from his robes.

“Boy Sun, install this into those puppets!” Qiao Gong said viciously.

“What is this?”

Sun Erlang looked curiously at the square black object in Qiao Gong’s hand.

“Hehehe, this is the ‘experience’ extracted from the Immortal Puppet Ancestor by our Heavenly Mechanism Realm back then. It cannot be replicated. Ever since the Heavenly Mechanism Realm was destroyed, every use means one less remaining. I was unwilling to use it before, but now…” Qiao Gong looked at it with reluctance before finally gritting his teeth.

“No matter what, I cannot lose to that woman!”

When Sun Erlang heard the words Immortal Puppet, his heart trembled slightly.

Just as he was about to receive it, he suddenly remembered something and hesitated. “Such a precious item should probably be left for Senior Tianyang? Perhaps it would be more useful to him…”

Qiao Gong waved his hand dismissively. “I already gave him a copy long ago. Why do you think you have not seen him for so long? He has been in secluded cultivation comprehending it and still has not emerged!”

“Enough nonsense. Do as I say! Hurry, or I might regret it in a moment!”

Hearing this, Sun Erlang no longer acted coyly.

His mind connected simultaneously with the seven dark golden puppets as he crushed the square black object in his hand.

Black liquid flowed out through the gaps between his fingers.

Like a living creature, it crawled upward along Sun Erlang’s arm until it reached his head. It resembled a hunting cobra, raising itself high before suddenly drilling directly into his eye sockets.

Out of trust toward Qiao Gong, Sun Erlang did not resist.

The instant the black liquid covered his vision, the environment he sensed completely changed.

A vast number of blurry images surged toward him like a tidal wave. Accompanying them were fragmented and discontinuous battle memories.

Or more accurately, memories of being beaten.

Mysterious and unfathomable spells continuously bombarded the Immortal Puppet’s body.

The Immortal Puppet could only rely on its own incomparably sturdy material to endure them head on, with very few opportunities to counterattack.

Yet even merely enduring the attacks caused mysterious and profound insights to arise within Sun Erlang’s heart.

After being beaten countless times, Sun Erlang seemed to gradually form a certain instinct.

Whenever an immortal technique attack appeared again within his mind, his body would instinctively generate a feeling of how to respond to that spell.

This sensation completely immersed Sun Erlang.

Unfortunately, just as he seemed about to truly comprehend something, all the scenes suddenly vanished. And the various insights from before also receded like a retreating tide, leaving behind no trace at all.

“Urgh…”

Veins bulged across Sun Erlang’s forehead. His fists clenched tightly as he gasped heavily.

His eyes turned bloodshot as he stared fixedly at Master Qiao Gong.

Qiao Gong seemed to have long been prepared for this and had already stayed far away. He coldly said, “Boy Sun, clear your head. Do not be deceived by illusion.”

“Those feelings of being on the verge of Dao comprehension, do they truly come from yourself, or from the Immortal Puppet?”

Qiao Gong’s words were like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, instantly waking Sun Erlang considerably.

Yet even so, it still took him nearly half a day to slowly suppress the thought in his heart. Because of the intense feeling of loss, he had almost tried to seize the Immortal Puppet experience from Qiao Gong and continue comprehending it himself.

“I am sorry, senior,” Sun Erlang said somewhat ashamed.

“It is fine. You need not blame yourself. Forget you, even the old fellows of our Heavenly Mechanism Realm could not resist this kind of temptation at all.” Qiao Gong licked his lips, seemingly savoring the taste of Dao comprehension.

“Now look again and see what is different from before,” Qiao Gong instructed.

Sun Erlang turned his attention back to the five dark golden puppets. A moment later, a trace of delight flashed in his eyes.

“Hm? Those memories of being beaten are appearing again…”

Sun Erlang closed his eyes and carefully sensed them.

Qiao Gong clapped his hands, and thousands of Holy Army puppets appeared one after another.

Relying on mechanical instinct, they simultaneously launched attacks toward the dark golden puppets controlled by Sun Erlang.

As if tempered through countless trials, every different spell technique and move was effortlessly avoided by Sun Erlang.

Even Sun Erlang himself was stunned by such results.

He could not even understand why those attacks clearly landed upon the dark golden puppets he controlled, yet ultimately caused no damage at all.

It was not because of the dark golden puppets’ powerful defensive abilities neutralizing the attacks.

Rather, through some incomparably mysterious method, all the Holy Army puppets’ attacks had truly been evaded.

“Do not lose focus. Maintain this instinctive feeling as much as possible!”

“The remnants of the Immortal Puppet’s experience will dissipate very quickly. As for how much you can ultimately retain, that depends on your own fortune!”

Master Qiao Gong’s words immediately snapped Sun Erlang back to his senses.

He cast aside all distracting thoughts and concentrated fully on memorizing the Immortal Puppet’s evasion instinct.

But after all, this was a divine ability belonging to an Immortal Puppet, not something mortal means could permanently preserve.

Even though Sun Erlang had already done his utmost, as time gradually passed, the number of times the dark golden puppets he controlled were struck inevitably increased.

After persisting for seven full days, the evasion probability finally stabilized at a fixed value.

“One third.”

“That is already a fairly good result.”

Qiao Gong comforted him.

Sun Erlang was clearly somewhat unwilling to accept it.

“You need not worry. As you continue comprehending it in the future, your evasion ability will still improve to a certain extent. But if you wish to reach the Immortal Puppet’s level, moving according to thought itself and evading so called divine abilities and spell attacks…”

“I fear you would have to break through the mortal limit.” Qiao Gong spoke truthfully.

Sun Erlang let out a long breath, and the regret in his heart slowly subsided.

“Do not underestimate this one third chance. In life and death combat, it often produces miraculous effects. Even if someone’s strength far surpasses yours, their attacks may still be unconsciously evaded by you.”

“More importantly, you can simultaneously control seven puppets. In actual battle, because the seven puppet bodies share se

nsory perception, the practical effect will be slightly higher than this value…”

Qiao Gong began summarizing and analyzing the gains from this experience with Sun Erlang.

“If you were to spar with Hundred Flowers again now, there would be a high probability that you could evade the Glazed Flower Golden Light of the Wansheng Realm. As long as the formation remains unbroken, she would merely be a turtle trapped in a jar…” Qiao Gong still seemed somewhat unconvinced by Hundred Flowers and spoke in a muffled tone.

While the two were conversing, they suddenly noticed the surrounding space faintly trembling.

“Hm?”

Sun Erlang and Qiao Gong were both startled at first, then simultaneously flew outside the testing grounds.

It was not only their location. The entire Holy Dynasty Great Qi had fallen into violent trembling.

In the sky above, a vortex faintly appeared.

Bolts of thunder roared continuously within it.

“This is…”

A trace of pleasant surprise flashed through Sun Erlang’s eyes.

He had experienced a similar scene before.

It was a phenomenon that occurred whenever the overall environment of the Holy Dynasty underwent ascension.

After the previous transformation, the concentration of spiritual qi within the Holy Dynasty had increased severalfold. Moreover, the number of outstanding talents born into the world had also clearly risen compared to the past.

The current cultivation environment of the Holy Dynasty was already no worse than that of an ordinary prefecture in the Xuanhuang Realm. If it ascended once again.

Would it not leave the Xuanhuang Realm far behind?

Not only the disciples of the Holy Emperor, but all the citizens of the Holy Dynasty also walked out from their homes at this moment, gazing excitedly toward the heavens.

As the most direct beneficiaries of the world’s ascension, the citizens of the Holy Dynasty, without any summons, all knelt upon the ground together and began devoutly chanting praises to the Holy Emperor in prayer.

If Li Ping had been present, he would have seen that the fortune of the Holy Dynasty, which had already been refined to the utmost limit, now actually showed signs of another breakthrough.

It was only that taking this next step was extremely difficult.

At present, it was merely the beginning.

Amid the chants of the Holy Dynasty’s citizens, dense purple qi, almost tangible in form, drifted out from all regions and was absorbed by the vortex in the sky.

The sounds of wind and thunder intensified. The peals of thunder were so fierce that even Sun Erlang faintly felt his soul trembling.

From above his head, he sensed waves of pressure growing increasingly heavier.

It caused him to lower his head slightly.

“Master has broken through again.”

A trace of realization arose in Sun Erlang’s heart.

From the expressions of Su Yuqing, Ou Shangtian, and the other disciples of the Holy Emperor, Sun Erlang could see that they shared the same thought as him.

The vortex in the heavens spun faster and faster. Streams of starlight continuously burst forth from within it, scattering toward every corner of the world.

Where vegetation was touched, it grew at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Where living beings came into contact with it, it was as though enlightenment had been poured directly into their minds, allowing them to instantly comprehend the Dao.

Several especially concentrated and vast streams of starlight shot out like ribbons, flying accurately toward Sun Erlang and the others.

This even included cultivators such as Qiao Gong and Hundred Flowers, who had been recruited by the Holy Emperor.

The moment the starlight entered his body, the scene before Sun Erlang’s eyes abruptly changed.

It was as if he had truly arrived in the endless void beyond the Xuanhuang Realm. Sun Erlang saw that within the dead silence and darkness, countless terrifying powers of calamity lurked and raged.

Sun Erlang also saw that even within this dreadful Darkest Star Sea of extinction, countless Star Sea Daos were still stubbornly reviving.

“Light hides beneath darkness…”

“Life is born from silence and death.”

Like a devout believer comprehending the Dao, Sun Erlang personally witnessed the vastness and resilience of the star sea, and could not help but shed tears.

The other cultivators within the Holy Dynasty were the same.

Waves of mysterious energy fluctuations burst forth from their bodies and surged toward the heavens.

Their shared enlightenment and comprehension caused the trembling of the Great Qi small world to intensify once more.

These fluctuations even spread beyond the world itself and diffused into the void.

The Five Elements Cave Heavens surrounding Great Qi, as well as the other small worlds that had been relocated here, were all affected and began resonating at the same frequency.

Like the rhythm of a heartbeat, it seemed as though something was being nurtured within this pulsing sound.

All living beings within the Great Qi small world seemed to sense something in their hearts as they raised their heads and gazed toward the vortex in the sky.

Under the gaze of countless eyes, a majestic figure passed through the wind, thunder, and lightning, through the purple qi and the hazy, mysterious starlight.

Slowly descending into the world.

“Welcome, Holy Emperor!”

Hundreds of millions of Great Qi citizens knelt and shouted in unison, their voices shaking mountains and seas.

However, the disciples of the Holy Emperor, as well as Hundred Flowers, Qiao Gong, Yin Shangren, and the others, discovered with some shock that the faceless Holy Emperor they were familiar with now had a face growing upon that previously blank visage.

After hesitating only briefly, the aura emanating from the Holy Emperor unquestionably confirmed his true identity.

The Holy Emperor stood above the nine heavens, overlooking all living beings below.

With a gentle wave of his hand, all the kneeling citizens rose to their feet.