Chapter 702: Chapter 681: Abandonment

The demons halted and observed.

Those demons with demigod bloodlines or powerful grandmaster abilities glanced at the back of Zhao Cong, stood afar, and surprisingly abandoned their ascent.

The ordinary grandmaster demons were still hesitating.

They looked at the top of the corpse throne, their eyes full of greed.

Demons with demigod bloodlines or particularly strong clans actually didn’t need the corpse throne.

But for demons with ordinary bloodlines, ascending to grandmaster was extremely challenging.

To allow their family and bloodline to truly transcend, they must ascend to demigod.

In the Demon Purgatory, demigod is everything.

Chen Shouhu and Wang Boxiong, isolated by the demons, looked at the two climbing figures with complex expressions.

These grandmasters, having been among the human race for many years, have heard various tales about the Zhao family.

Many know that the last time the corpse throne appeared, the one sitting was the current patriarch, Zhao Hao.

Such things cannot be hidden.

Zhao Cong in the lead, they understand.

But, Li Shenkong seemed to be clearing the path for Zhao Cong.

“Li Shenkong.” Chen Shouhu shouted, veins bulging on his neck, eyes bloodshot.

Li Shenkong stood on the high position of the bone staircase, turned his head to smile at Chen Shouhu, and then continued his ascent.

Another batch of demons rushed up, and Li Shenkong slashed another sword.

Blood paved the bone staircase.

The demons calmed down, exchanged glances, and gave up vying for the primary corpse throne.

But there are still chances for those smaller corpse thrones, though they have to wait.

“The corpse throne is ours, humans are forbidden to approach!”

The demons self-organized to obstruct Chen Shouhu and Wang Boxiong and other human grandmasters.

Most human grandmasters did not want to sit on the corpse throne, ignoring the piled bones, the potential of demonization was a huge risk.

But they wanted to destroy the corpse throne.

“Kill!”

Wang Boxiong and Chen Shouhu whispered, leading the Tree-man Alliance Army grandmasters, charging towards the corpse throne.

The grandmasters on both sides collided.

Zhao Cong and Li Shenkong ascended to the top of the tower one after another.

The two looked at the huge throne formed by piled bones in front of them.

Joy surged in Zhao Cong’s eyes, he took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and stepped forward…

His foot lifted into the air, feeling the aura behind him was wrong, he suddenly turned back, instinctively raised his arms, crossed them in front of his chest for defense.

Li Shenkong leaned on the Star-slaying Sword with both hands, the blade facing forward, the tip pointing downward, watching Zhao Cong.

Zhao Cong smiled and said, “Everyone wants the primary corpse throne. Name your terms, I will fulfill them.”

Li Shenkong nodded and said, “Then let me ask you a few things.”

“Please.”

“After our last meeting at the Tree-man Base, I joined forces with Xu Minglian’s comrades to join the Tree-man Alliance Army, later, apart from me, nearly all of Xu Minglian perished, do you still remember this?”

“I remember.”

“The reason for Xu Minglian’s demise was due to intelligence leaks. Victory and defeat are common in military affairs, I originally could understand this, but what I don’t understand is, why were you in the demon camp before that?”

Zhao Cong showed a look of surprise and said, “You must have seen wrong, or the demons impersonated me. During that time, I was incredibly busy, either cultivating or handling affairs between two rivers, how could I have been in the demon camp?”

Li Shenkong said, “I investigated, on that day, you were indeed in seclusion for cultivation, the time and witnesses all match.”

“Then so be it.”

“However, you may have overlooked a small flaw. The Tree of Life at the Tree-man Base, supplying cultivation power, is familiar with everything about the treehouse. I used some means to find out, on that day, you were not cultivating in the treehouse, secretly left, and then secretly returned.”

“Oh, that matter, yes, I left secretly for family business,” Zhao Cong said.

“Good, then on the night you were injured a few days ago, why did you enter the demon camp and then return? Later, why did you meet with the Demon Worship Sect in the cave?”

Zhao Cong calmly looked at Li Shenkong and said, “Were you following me all the time?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I think I should seek justice for Xu Minglian’s brothers. And why are you targeting the Star-slaying Sword?”

Zhao Cong this time didn’t disguise anything, just smiled slightly, and said: “I always thought you were that naive little Shenkong from back then. I didn’t expect that you’ve grown up too.”

“Brother Cong, why did you betray humanity?”

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

Zhao Cong, upon hearing the familiar address, had a slight ripple in his eyes, which promptly ceased.

He smiled slightly.

“Similar questions, Wang Boxiong, Zhou Leng, many have asked me. All I can say is, whatever someone does, it’s normal. Me, you, Zhou Leng, everyone is the same; we all do things within our limits. Everything we do, there’s not so much ’why’, it’s just that we can only do this and not something else…”

“For example, your swordsmanship is the best in the world, but your fist technique will never match mine. Can I ask you why you don’t study fist technique well? Is it that you don’t like it, or are you betraying martial arts? It’s the same reasoning.”

Li Shenkong said: “I’ve never been able to out-argue you since we were kids.”

“You are invincible in your domain, but in my world, everything you do could be wrong.”

“Then in my world, could you also be wrong?”

“Perhaps,” Zhao Cong said.

Li Shenkong slowly said: “I don’t understand, your Zhao family almost has everything: status, wealth, fame, even historical evaluation, almost surpassing most people in the history books. Why do you still fall into demonization?”

Zhao Cong shrugged and retorted: “Is there a difference between humans and demons? Demons are just slightly more evil people; people are just slightly kinder demons. There’s no essential difference. Just like there’s no fundamental difference between humans and Demon Spirit Masters, giants, or Steel Dwarves. You’re in the Martial Clan, you should have heard about the things humans have done, which are no different from demons. What your Li Clan did, is it essentially different from what our Zhao Clan did except in degree? No. Do you need me to recount all your family’s deeds to you?”

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

“You’re remarkable, I admire you, but I can’t do it.”

Zhao Cong’s face still carried a faint smile.

“When Grandpa Zhao was around, you weren’t like this,” Li Shenkong said.

Zhao Cong chuckled happily and said, “Actually, I wish more than anyone else that my grandpa were alive. He was really powerful, truly great. I want to always live by his side. But my father didn’t want that.”

Zhao Cong’s smile disappeared from his face.

Li Shenkong said: “I’ve heard about Uncle Zhao. It’s said he was guided by Saint Zhao, considered a genius, only one step away from sainthood. Later, he was consecutively defeated three times by the Demon Grandmaster King of those days, now the Demigod Supreme Holy Son, causing a shake in his martial arts will. Afterward, he personally witnessed the power of the 9th-floor lord of the Demon Purgatory, the Despair Shepherd, from which he never progressed again.”

Zhao Cong seemingly looked at Li Shenkong with sympathy and said: “To correct you, it wasn’t witnessing the power of the Despair Shepherd; it was after my grandpa was injured and bedridden, my father witnessed the 18th floor of the Demon Prison, the myriad gods hanging in the sky, and after that, he never progressed again.”

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

The 18th floor of the Demon Prison has accumulated countless thousands of years, if united, it could easily sweep across the Ten Realms.

“But… Demons are different from us. Compared to defeating us, they fear other demons more. Because the world’s will of the Demon Prison is chaotic, crazy, and disordered.”

“There’s no difference. If I were him, seeing the myriad gods hanging in the sky, I would tell my children as well, humanity, has no hope.”

Li Shenkong’s gaze was sharp.

“I understand, human power is limited, hope is dim, I can understand that. But I don’t understand why your Zhao family personally buried the human race?”

“Isn’t it good to let Blue Star become 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 gradually grow stronger in the world of the strong, isn’t that good? Perhaps we could turn from guest to host, can you deny that possibility?”

Li Shenkong said: “Then, which scientific theorem, which martial arts principle, which cosmic law says it must be done? Can’t we humans cultivate while standing, ascend to divinity while standing, survive while standing? Can you deny this possibility?”

“The possibility is too small.”

“In the vast universe, the probability of life being born, the probability of humans being born, is even smaller.”

“Your eloquence has improved.” Zhao Cong praised.

“Brother Cong, stop before it’s too late. As long as you haven’t sat on that bloodstained seat, you are still human, your Zhao family can still walk that path again. Even if Saint Zhao’s path isn’t so perfect, you, we, can work together to improve the future path.”

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

“My father has given up, what can I do?”

The two stared into each other’s eyes.

“My father also gave up, but I haven’t. You can’t be your father’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 grandpa is still alive, you have the Divine Sword.”

“When you were my age, your grandpa was also alive.”

“But I don’t have the Divine Sword.”

Li Shenkong glanced slightly to the side and said, “I thought you always knew, it’s not that I have the Divine Sword, it’s that since I was a child, I have given my all to cultivate, and the Divine Sword allows me to wield it. Do you really not understand? Your grandpa is still alive, alive in the ’East Monarch’s Collection’, alive in our hearts, alive in the river of history, alive in the memory of civilization. Always alive!”

“You are truly naïve,” Zhao Cong chuckled dismissively.

Li Shenkong looked at Zhao Cong, after a long time, said: “I understand now, it’s your Zhao family that first fell into demonization, and then killed your inner Saint Zhao.”

Zhao Cong’s lips trembled, his face turned a faint shade of blue,

On Li Shenkong’s face, a look of understanding appeared.

“The one who opens the heavens and earth is a dragon; the one who expands territories is a clan; the progenitor of a flourishing era is Zhao. Your Zhao family thinks of itself as the lofty dragon, the Martial Clan. Yes, Saint Zhao was a dragon, established the clan, founded Zhao. After that, what have you Zhao family achieved?”

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