Martial arts ascend to the gods

Chapter 683 Giving up
The monsters stopped and watched.

Those demons with demigod bloodlines or powerful Grandmaster-level beings glanced at Zhao Cong's back, stood at a distance, and gave up climbing.

Those ordinary Grandmaster-level demons were still hesitating.

They gazed at the top of the Corpse Throne, their eyes filled with greed.

Those monsters with demigod bloodlines or particularly powerful races don't actually need the Corpse Throne.

However, it is extremely difficult for a demon of ordinary bloodline to advance to the Grandmaster level.

The only way for one's family and bloodline to achieve true transcendence is to ascend to the level of a demigod.

In the Demon Prison, demigods are everything.

Separated from the monsters, Chen Shouhu and Wang Boxiong, along with other human masters, watched the two climbing upwards with complex expressions.

These grandmasters, having lived among the human race for many years, had all heard rumors about the Zhao family to varying degrees.

Many people know that the last time the Corpse Throne appeared, the one sitting on it was the current head of the family, Zhao Hao.

This kind of thing can't be kept secret.

They could understand Zhao Cong's example.

However, Li Shenkong seemed to be covering Zhao Cong's retreat.

"Li Shenkong!" Chen Shouhu shouted, veins bulging on his neck and bloodshot eyes.

Standing atop the human bone staircase, Li Shenkong turned and smiled at Chen Shouhu before continuing his ascent.

Another group of demons rushed forward, and Li Shenkong struck again with his sword.

Blood covered the steps of human bones.

The monsters calmed down, looked at each other, and gave up the fight for the first Corpse King's throne.

But those smaller Corpse Thrones still have a chance, but they have to wait.

"The Throne of Corpses belongs to us demons; humans are forbidden to approach!"

The monsters spontaneously organized themselves to stop Chen Shouhu and Wang Boxiong, among other human masters.

Most human grandmasters do not want to sit on the Corpse Throne. Not to mention the piles of bones on it, the possibility of being corrupted by demons is a huge hidden danger.

However, they want to destroy the Corpse Throne.

"kill!"

Wang Boxiong and Chen Shouhu shouted in unison, leading the Tree Man Alliance Grandmasters to charge towards the Corpse King's Throne.

The two masters clashed.

Zhao Cong and Li Shenkong climbed to the top of the tower one after the other.

The two gazed at the enormous throne piled high with human bones before them.

Joy welled up in Zhao Cong's eyes. He took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and stepped forward...

With his feet raised in mid-air, he sensed something was wrong behind him, turned around abruptly, and instinctively raised his arms, crossing them in front of his chest to defend himself.

Li Shenkong rested his hands on the Zhanxing Sword, the blade facing forward with the tip pointing downward, staring at Zhao Cong.

Zhao Cong smiled and said, "Everyone wants the First Corpse Throne. Name your conditions, and I will definitely grant them."

Li Shenkong nodded and said, "Then I'll ask you a few questions."

"please."

"After we met at the Tree Man Base last time, I joined forces with Xu Minglian's comrades and joined the Tree Man Alliance. Later, almost all of Xu Minglian's men, except for me, were killed in action. Do you remember that?"

"remember."

"The reason Xu Ming and his troops died was due to an intelligence leak. Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, and I can understand that. But what I don't understand is why you were in the demon camp before that?"

Zhao Cong looked surprised and said, "You must have seen wrong, or it must be a demon impersonating me. During that time, I was extremely busy, either cultivating or handling affairs in the two rivers region. How could I have been in the demon camp?"

Li Shenkong said, "I have investigated. You were indeed in seclusion that day. The time and the witnesses all match up."

"That's it."

"However, you may have overlooked a small flaw. That is, the Tree of Life in the Treeman Base supplies cultivation power and knows everything about the underground treehouse. I used some means to find out that you were not actually cultivating in the treehouse that day, but secretly left and then secretly returned."

"You mean this? Yes, I left secretly for the sake of the family business," Zhao Cong said.

"Okay, so a few days ago, on the night you were injured, why did you enter the demon camp and then return? Later, why did you meet with the Demon Worship Cult in the cave?"

Zhao Cong looked calmly at Li Shenkong and said, "You've been following me?"

"Ah."

"why?"

"I feel I should seek justice for Xu Minglian's brother. And why are you targeting the Star-Slaying Sword?"

This time, Zhao Cong made no attempt to disguise himself, simply smiling and saying, "I always thought you were that innocent little Shen Kong from back then. I never imagined you'd grown up so much." "Brother Cong, why did you betray humanity?"

Li Shenkong gripped the sword hilt tightly with both hands, his fingers twisted in pain.

Upon hearing the familiar address, Zhao Cong's eyes flickered slightly, but then stopped.

He smiled.

"Wang Boxiong, Zhou Leng, many people have asked me similar questions. I can only say that whatever a person does is normal. Me, you, Zhou Leng, everyone is the same; we all do things within the limits of our abilities. There aren't so many 'whys' about what we do; it's just that we can only do this, and can't do anything else..."

"For example, your swordsmanship may be the best in the world, but your fist techniques will never be as good as mine. Can I ask you why you don't study fist techniques properly? Is it because you don't like them, or are you betraying the way of martial arts? It's the same principle."

Li Shenkong said, "I've never been able to win an argument with you since I was a child."

"You are invincible in your field, but in my world, everything about you may be wrong."

"Then in my world, you might also be wrong?"

"Perhaps," Zhao Cong said.

Li Shenkong slowly said, "I don't understand. Your Zhao family has almost everything—status, wealth, fame, even historical reputation—surpassing most people in history books. Why do you still choose to fall into demonic ways?"

Zhao Cong shrugged and countered, "Is there a difference between humans and demons? Demons are just humans who are more evil, and humans are just demons who are more benevolent. There's no essential difference. It's like comparing humans to spirit masters, giants, and iron dwarves—there's no essential difference. You're from the Wu Clan, so you should have heard many things humans have done that are no different from demons. Are the things your Li Clan has done, apart from being less severe than what our Zhao Clan has done, essentially any different? No. Do you need me to… tell you all the things your family has done?"

“I know what the Li family has done, so I will not repeat the same mistakes.”

"You're amazing, I admire you, but I can't do it."

Zhao Cong still had a faint smile on his face.

“You weren’t like this when Grandpa Zhao was here,” Li Shenkong said.

Zhao Cong smiled happily and said, "Actually, I wish my grandfather were alive more than anyone else. He was really powerful and great, and I want to live by his side forever. But my dad doesn't want to."

The smile on Zhao Cong's face disappeared.

Li Shenkong said, "I've heard about Uncle Zhao. I heard that he received guidance from Zhao Sheng and was considered exceptionally talented. He was just one step away from becoming a saint. Later, he was defeated three times in a row by the former Demon Grandmaster King, who is now the demigod supreme saint, and his martial will was shaken. After that, he witnessed the power of the ninth level of the Demon Prison, the Despair Patriarch, and never made any progress again."

Zhao Cong glanced at Li Shenkong with a hint of sympathy and said, "To correct you, it wasn't that he saw the power of the Patriarch of Despair. It was after my grandfather was injured and bedridden that my father saw the myriad gods hanging in the eighteen levels of the Demon Prison. After that, he made no further progress."

Li Shenkong suddenly fell silent, because he had also heard about it.

The eighteen levels of the Demon Prison have accumulated over countless millennia; if they work together, they can easily sweep across the ten realms.

"But... demons are different from us. They are more worried about other demons than about defeating us. Because the world will of the Demon Prison is chaotic, insane, and disordered."

"There's no difference. If I were him, seeing all the gods hanging in the sky, I would also tell my children, 'Humanity has no hope.'"

Li Shenkong's gaze was sharp.

"I understand that human resources are limited and hope is slim; I can understand that. But I don't understand why your Zhao family would personally annihilate the human race?"

"Wouldn't it be better to make Earth a layer of the Demon Prison? Which scientific theorem, which martial arts principle, which cosmic law says it can't be done? The weak submit to the strong, and then slowly grow stronger in the world of the strong, isn't that great? Maybe we can turn the tables and take the lead. Can you deny that possibility?"

Li Shenkong said, "Then, which scientific theorem, which martial arts principle, which cosmic law says that we must do it this way? Can't we humans cultivate standing up, ascend to godhood standing up, and live standing up? Can you deny this possibility?"

"The possibility is too small."

"In the vast universe, the possibility of life being born, and the possibility of human beings being born, is even smaller."

"Your eloquence has improved," Zhao Cong praised.

“Brother Cong, stop now. As long as you’re not sitting on that blood-stained chair, you’re still a human being. Your Zhao family can still walk that path again. Even if Zhao Sheng’s path wasn’t perfect, you and we can join forces to improve the future.”

Zhao Cong stared at Li Shenkong and let out a long sigh.

"My dad has given up, what can I do?"

The two looked at each other.

“My dad gave up too, but I didn’t. You can’t be your dad’s shadow! Humanity has come this far because each generation surpasses the last.”

Zhao Cong looked at the divine sword in Li Shenkong's hand and said, "I really envy you. Your grandfather is still alive, and you have a divine sword."

When you were my age, your grandfather was still alive.

"But I don't have a divine sword."

Li Shenkong glanced sideways and said, "I thought you always knew that it wasn't me who possessed the divine sword, but rather that I had cultivated it with all my might since childhood, and only then could I wield it. Don't you understand? Your grandfather has always lived, living in the 'Dongjun Miscellaneous Collection,' living in our hearts, living in the river of history, living in the memory of civilization. He has always lived!"

"You guys are so naive," Zhao Cong chuckled.

Li Shenkong looked at Zhao Cong for a long time and then said, "I understand. It was your Zhao family that fell into demonic possession first and then killed the Zhao Saint in your hearts."

Zhao Cong's lips trembled, and a faint bluish tinge appeared on his face.

A look of relief appeared on Li Shenkong's face.

"Those who create heaven and earth are dragons; those who expand territory are warlords; those who usher in a golden age are Zhao. Your Zhao family considers yourselves to be high and mighty dragons, to be military warlords. Yes, Zhao Sheng was a dragon, established a warlord, and defined Zhao. After that, what did your Zhao family accomplish?"

(End of this chapter)