Chapter 516: Desire is the Staircase to Progress
Chapter 516: Desire is the Staircase to Progress
The multicolored glow entered Sag's chest, instantly appearing and disappearing within his torso, then filling his surroundings and spreading all the way to the crown of his head.
"Human desire is the most terrifying thing," Bode whispered. "Too much desire leads to torment. No matter who it is, the desires in their hearts are like wild beasts."
As he spoke, the flickering multicolored aura became more radiant within Sag's body.
"Do farmers want better harvests? No, they want more land, they want others to till the fields for them, and they want mountains of food."
The rainbow glow flashed across Sag's limbs.
"Do merchants want to earn more goods? No, merchants want to monopolize all the goods on the sea. With a single thought, they can cause a nation to lack essential supplies."
The light flashed across Sag's abdomen.
"Do nobles desire higher status? No! Nobles want to reach the pinnacle of the sea and rule over everyone!"
The light flashed at Sag's heart.
"Pirates don't just want more loot; they want chaos without any order, nurturing the beasts in their hearts, never satisfied!"
The light flashed across Sag's head, transforming him into a multicolored glowing person.
"Wanting more, desiring more, the desires I've collected over these two years are all here. Experience them and then feel the despair!"
The light contracted and retreated into Sag's body as if it had never happened.
Sag twisted his neck, opened his mouth, and looked down at Bode below, "Is that all?"
Bode, who had been like a flickering candle in the wind, suddenly seemed to regain some spirit under Sag's gaze, whether it was a last burst of energy or a final flicker of the candle.
His eyes showed no madness, nor was there any pain. They were calm, as if he had just taken a sip of water.
"You... you..."
Bode stammered, his face filled with disbelief, "Impossible! Why aren't you affected at all? That was the collective desire of tens of thousands of people, like a stinking rag soaked in vomit and garbage. Even the spiritual essence is nauseating. Why!"
The Desire Fading Fruit not only absorbs desires but can also use them as an attack against others. Once someone is subjected to these desires, they may act beyond their understanding due to their inability to control their desires.
In more severe cases, they may become a crazed individual driven solely by their desires.
After leaving Propulsion City, he first absorbed the desires of his fellow inmates. Carrying these desires with him, he collected the desires of at least tens of thousands of people within two years, enough to drive someone insane.
Usually, he wouldn't use these desires as an attack, but facing imminent death and an opponent like Sag, a pirate he couldn't defeat, he unleashed them.
For an average person, the desires of two or three people could drive them mad.
The collective desire of tens of thousands would be unbearable, even for a Four Emperor!
Where was the promised agony?
"Nauseating? I don't feel anything. Hmm, it's not satisfying."
Sag scoffed, "Isn't this just human nature? The desires of a group are part of human nature. There's nothing unbearable about it. If I can't handle even this..."
He opened his mouth wide and laughed, "Why should I be an Overlord? An Overlord owns everything, including the wishes and demands of others and all the land!"
"You consider these desires sinful? I had higher expectations of you. I thought you were strong-willed and a formidable opponent, but you're just a diode."
Despite being half-severed, he still had the strength to speak, his throat crushed, and his body battered.
In terms of willpower, this was an opponent worthy of Sag's serious attention.
But diodes were a different matter.
"Diode? Black and white?"
Bode, somewhat understanding Sag's meaning, suddenly flushed with anger, finding strength from somewhere to point at Sag and shout,
"You don't understand! Desire is the most terrifying thing! It's because of desire that the sea is filled with so many tragedies. Take this island, for example. Before I came here, cough, cough, cough!"
The emotional outburst caused him to spit out a few mouthfuls of blood, and his flushed face turned even paler.
"Before I arrived, this island had experienced several conflicts between villages over water sources and farmland. Everyone's children and parents perished due to these pointless disputes!"
"After I came, I calmed the chaos here. People no longer engage in meaningless conflicts because they have no desires!"
A group of people gradually surrounded them, residents of the island drawn by the sounds of combat. Their eyes were filled with calmness, and they greeted each other with smiles, living in harmony.
However...
Sag glanced at them and focused on Bode. He crouched down and pointed at Bode's robe, "Where did you get this robe?"
"What?" Bode was taken aback.
"I'm asking about your clothes, no, the fabric. How did you get this robe?"
He rubbed his fingers against the fabric of the robe, "Hmm, it's woven. The material is decent, a mid-range price, I'd say. Of course, it's the kind of 'mid-range' that ordinary people can hardly afford. If one has no desires, then why are you wearing this?"
Sag smiled, "Are you saying that if I don't put on this robe, how will people at sea know who I am?"
"Exactly! So, I'm asking how you got it, and why are you wearing clothes in the first place?"
He shook his head, ignoring Bode, and stood up. He waved to a man standing closer, "Come here."
The resident was a middle-aged man, his robe washed to a pale color and full of patches.
Not just him, but everyone from the nearby area had similar clothing, and it had been a long time since they had new clothes.
"Do you want a new set of clothes?" Sag asked.
The man shook his head, devoid of any secular desires, "As long as the clothes are wearable, I have no other demands."
"I see."
Sag nodded, raised his hand, and unleashed a gust of wind, sharp as a blade, that tore through the man's robe. With another gust, the robe fell to the ground.
Then, pointing to the white lotus-edged shirt that had split open due to the transformation, Sag said, "This one is mine, and that one is yours. Now, you choose."
"It doesn't matter which one I choose, they're all the same. I can wear them with a few stitches here and there." The middle-aged man's expression remained calm.
At this, Bode smiled.
"Really? They're not the same. Your clothes are made of ordinary fabric, and you can see that they're full of patches. The stitching is poor, and a strong wind will blow right through it."
"My clothes are different. This is the most expensive fabric on the high seas today. It's made from the fur of sea rams, a fast and elusive sea creature. Only the tuft of fur on their backs is the most valuable. My fabric is made from the top fur of a hundred sea rams."
Sag continued, "With this fabric, I don't know how many sets of clothes you could buy."
A flicker of emotion passed through the resident's eyes, but he was about to refuse.
"Don't be hasty. This fabric has another property. Even if it's torn, if you mend it with good thread and needle, the repair will be invisible, and it will never wear out."
"Think about it. The clothes won't wear out, and if they tear, a quick stitch will hide the repair. They're both breathable and warm, and they dry quickly. With this one set, you'll never need to change clothes again. Just wear this one."
"Its only drawback is its price, but I'm giving it to you for free, not a single penny. All you need to do is pick it up and put it on. Then, you'll have a set of clothes that can buy you a thousand or ten thousand sets of clothes from those around you. Wearing it will not only make your life easier but also set you apart."
"But..."
The middle-aged man's eyes flickered with emotion, but something seemed to hold him back. He clenched his teeth, "I still..."
"You said you had no desires, right?"
Sag's tone was devilishly persuasive, "Choosing one over the other is still a choice. They're all the same, after all."
The man's eyes lit up with realization, and he nodded, then hesitated, "You're really giving it to me?"
"I never lie." Sag bared his teeth.
"Thank you!"
The man quickly picked up Sag's robe and put it on, revealing a smile to Bode, a smile that had lost its calmness and was instead filled with...
Joy?
"You're tempting him!" Bode exclaimed.
"Isn't using your ability the same thing?"
Sag chuckled, "Moreover, from the beginning, his choice proved the point."
"If there were truly no desires, he should have picked up my robe right away since they're all the same. Just like me, because I'm too wealthy, it doesn't matter what I wear. Wearing good clothes feels natural, and even if I wear something inferior, I don't mind. Of course, unless necessary, I choose to wear the better ones."
He turned to Bode and said,
"But I wouldn't make a choice. Once a person has a choice, it means they have desires. Do you think a desire for purity is not a desire? Why insist on wearing tattered clothes? If you must choose a simple appearance to prove yourself, that's a desire in itself. So..."
Sag's lips curved into a smile, "Human desires are insatiable!"
"No, it's not like that, it's not!"
Bode's face paled. His once fearless gaze now held panic and resentment, "It's not like this! Desire, desire is an ugly thing, desire..."
"Desire is a good thing."
Sag interrupted, reaching out and summoning a gust of wind that gathered the broken rings, which, with a flash of lightning, transformed into tiny golden beans.
"You all have a chance too!"
He shouted to the others, "There's only one shirt made from this fabric, but don't you want it? Now's your chance. See the golden beans in my hand? There are ten in total, and I'm going to throw them out. Whoever picks one up first can come to me and exchange it for this fabric!"
His words gradually changed the expressions of the crowd, but no one moved.
Sage added fuel to the fire, "These are gold! With this, you can buy a new shirt or some nice patches to make your clothes warmer and more durable. Winter is coming, so grab them now!"
A brief silence followed.
Finally, one person's eyes flashed with madness, and they couldn't help but shout, "Can we really exchange it for fabric? What if it's fake?"
Smack!
As soon as the words left his mouth, a golden bean hit his forehead, falling from above, and he caught it instinctively.
"Good question," Sage praised, "I'll give you this bean. When the next ship arrives, take it and exchange it. I, Cataclysm, guarantee you'll get what you want!"
Sage laughed, "I am one of the Four Emperors, Cataclysm. How could I deceive you commoners?"
Lack of desire doesn't mean lack of brains or experience.
The news bird doesn't discriminate between known and unknown islands; it delivers news indiscriminately wherever it flies. The reputation of the Four Emperors is well-known in the New World.
This group of people was clearly not among those who recognized them.
"Now there are only nine left."
Sage surveyed the crowd and suddenly threw the beans, scattering them like flowers. Then, he shouted, "Grab them!"
The sudden command startled those with wavering eyes, and almost instinctively, two people took a step forward. This single step seemed to ignite something within them.
"No!!!"
Bode's eyes widened with fury as he roared. At that moment, everyone took a step forward, reaching out with their hands. Regardless of age or gender, they all scrambled for the golden beans lying on the ground, glowing with radiance.
"Hahahahaha!"
Sage's smile stretched across his face as he burst into laughter.
"No, no, it's not like this," Bode's eyes filled with despair, and his breath grew weaker, like a deflating balloon.
"Yes, it is!"
Sage turned to him and said, "Then, back to my previous question, where did you get your clothes?"
"It's because of desire! You wear clothes because you don't want to be naked, and you wear a robe to show your identity as a monk. Why not other clothes?"
Pointing at Bode, he said, "Your clothes are made by others' labor. Why do they weave? Because there's demand. And where there's demand, there's trade. Where there's trade, there's profit. And where there's profit, there's someone who wants to exchange this for what they need."
"Everyone has desires. How can you force others to be desireless? Even if you suppress them, it's useless. You think I'm deceiving them, but I'm just giving them a choice, a chance to live better."
"Humans have fire because they don't want to eat raw food. They have clothes because they're afraid of the cold. They have weapons because they want to kill. And because their desires are insatiable, they have various choices."
"Save the world? Absorb 'sin'? Don't be ridiculous. You're not worthy of such a task because of human desires..."
...
"Bode, you're so weak, it's no wonder you're bullied. If you pay up now, I won't hit you."
I hated their bullying and the discriminatory looks and malicious taunts.
"Bode, you're a famous boxer now. You need to give the audience a better experience. I'm telling you, you must draw blood!"
I despised the spectators' malicious cheers and the merchant's greedy eyes.
"Bode, we go out to sea for money! We're all on an illegal voyage, so we might as well be pirates and really rob!"
I hated my companions' wickedness and the captain's ferocity.
"Bode."
"Bode?"
"Bode!"
I hated the commoners' greed, my friends' favoritism, the nobles' arrogance, and the Sky Dragon People's privilege of disregarding human lives.
Why can't humans live in peace?
Why do they all have desires? Desires are truly detestable.
Desire—the staircase to progress!!!
The thunderous voice stirred Bode's blurry eyes, bringing a moment of clarity. He saw the residents of the island, whom he had worked hard to absorb their desires, now peaceful and gentle, going mad, scrambling for the golden beans on the ground. Those who grabbed them revealed their greed and joy, laughing from the heart.
And the white-haired man with his arms outstretched, his face filled with wild laughter.
(End of Chapter)
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