When Lv Fanghui said this, he was silent for a long time.
For a few seconds, he did not move, as if he had turned into a statue.
But intense ripples appeared on the red wine in his hand.
It was as if a small storm had appeared, and it showed that his heart was not calm.
"Strength, or rather, cultivation realm, is a very objective thing. We need a lot of time, energy, and cultivation resources to build up and maintain it."
Lv Fanghui finally spoke. "When we waste a lot of time helping normal citizens repair their houses, rebuild their homes, and plant crops, we naturally don't have time to increase our fighting strength.
"And when we get a lot of crystals, we don't use them to create gene medicine for ourselves to stimulate the growth of our cells so that we can break the limits of our lives. Instead, we spend our precious cultivation resources on the old, weak, women, and children. Aside from their gratitude and laughter, we don't get anything else.
"In the past, we didn't realize this.
"While our fathers, brothers, and sisters who stayed in the nine sects seized every chance to plunder resources and train madly to become stronger, we, the self-righteous idealists, are actually Coldsignal Birds of another form. We are smug about the 'kindness' that only appears on the surface and the 'justice' that sticks to the details, but we don't notice that a fatal winter is quietly descending on us.
"Now, we have to pay the price for our foolishness.
"The members of Red Heart Society were all tough men. When they faced monsters that were ten times stronger than them, no one retreated, and no one ran away. They didn't even frown. All of them rushed forward without turning back.
"So what? Even if they glued their eyebrows together, they couldn't escape the fate of being torn to shreds by monsters, eaten, and turned into feces.
"Many people died, including the leader of Red Heart Society.
"I remember that the leader had a mighty beard and a pair of eyes that were the size of bells. They shone brightly, and he looked a little fierce, as if no one wanted to get close to him.
"But he's actually a very gentle and humorous man. All the children in the district like him, and they often climb onto his shoulders and ride him like he's a horse. But he doesn't care at all. Instead, he cooperates with the children, running and jumping, sprinting, and stopping suddenly, scaring the children and making them laugh out loud.
"This idiot …"
"While the other gang leaders are doing everything they can to seize resources and train madly so that they can reach six stars, seven stars, or even Deity Realm, he wastes too much time patrolling the area, playing with the children, and caring for the lonely elderly. Now, the Apocalyptic Beast is here. If he doesn't die, who will?
"The gap between the two sides is just too big.
"The Apocalyptic Beast didn't target him. In fact, it didn't even notice him. With just a casual stomp, it reduced half of his body and head to mush.
"He lay in the Apocalyptic Beast's footprints. His torn limbs and blood-soaked mud were mixed together. He could only widen the other half of his head and use his only remaining eye to watch the area under his jurisdiction and the children who always sat on his neck and giggled like silver bells being enveloped by the flames of destruction.
"I saw his entire eyeball protruding out. His empty eye sockets were spewing blood tears like a fountain.
"I think he must have regretted it at the last moment.
"It's a pity that 'regret' and 'kindness' are the most useless things in this cruel post-apocalyptic world.
"At that moment, Lei Zongchao arrived.
"As the strongest fighter in Dragon City, Battle God Lei Zongchao had unparalleled strength that could destroy the world. He was the guardian of many citizens.
"When Lei Zongchao saw that Red Heart Guild was destroyed and dozens of residential areas were engulfed in flames, he flew into a rage. He released a spirit energy that could roar like a tsunami, and right when he attacked, he heavily injured an Apocalyptic Beast.
"But there were too many Apocalyptic Beasts and other monsters attacking Dragon City.
"No matter how strong Lei Zongchao was, he couldn't fight against so many people.
"Besides, the enemy didn't just have four hands. They might have eight claws, more than ten tails, and hundreds of fangs.
"Lei Zongchao was soon surrounded by three Apocalyptic Beasts and dozens of Hell Beasts. He couldn't get away for a period of time.
"The remaining monsters picked up the pace and ravaged our home until it was a mess.
"The sounds of flames burning, buildings collapsing, the warriors' shrill screams, and the children's helpless cries made Lei Zongchao frustrated, and he gradually fell into a disadvantage.
"That's right. Lei Zongchao and Leader Red Heart are good people, but good people usually have a great weakness, and that's that they're softhearted. When they fight, this weakness is very fatal.
"Even the heavily injured Lei Zongchao's armor was drenched in blood. His exposed skin was covered in intersecting wounds, and not a single piece of his flesh was left unscathed.
"By the looks of it, since he refused to retreat, there was a high possibility that he would die under the monster horde.
"Lei Zongchao's fall meant that the entire defense line had collapsed. What awaited us was a humiliating destruction. There was no other possibility.
"My companions and I are all prepared to die.
"However, when we looked at each other, we read more things from each other's eyes. We suddenly realized that what drove us to face death unflinchingly was not courage or justice, but shame and regret.
"We regretted that we didn't listen to our fathers' teachings and followed them to walk down the path of using all means possible to become stronger. We were ashamed that we spent too much time and resources on meaningless things, which resulted in our deaths. We also killed countless citizens who believed in us and placed all their hopes on us.
"We clearly didn't have the power to become heroes, but we insisted on deceiving ourselves and pretending to be heroes. When danger truly descended upon us, we couldn't bear any responsibility. How could we have the face to run back to our homes? We could only use death to wash away our sins and avoid punishment.
"My companions and I closed our eyes. We didn't want to see each other's ashamed expressions. We just wanted to charge at the Apocalyptic Beasts and end everything in the burning beast flames.
"At that moment, we heard sonic booms.
"More than ten sonic booms tore through the sky and shook the ground. They came charging at us like an army from beyond the sky.
"Our eyes were opened by the sonic booms, and to our shock, we discovered that the ones charging at us like cruise missiles were our fathers.
"It's precisely our greedy, selfish, stone-hearted, and tyrannical fathers who took things by force.
"They were our fathers who pretended to be sanctimonious and held up the banner of justice and fairness to defeat Blood Alliance. They made countless promises to the sect members and citizens, but once we really defeated Blood Alliance, they eagerly divided up Blood Alliance's legacy and used all the resources on their own cultivation.
"They were … the dragon slaying warriors who turned into evil dragons.
"The person leading them was my father, Lv Zhongqi.
"He was surrounded by surging spirit flames, and his spirit energy gathered together to form shockwaves that struck the air around him madly. They let out deafening booms that sounded like waves crashing against the shore, but also like thunder.
"His incredibly shocking presence wasn't any weaker than Battle God Lei Zongchao's.
"I couldn't believe my eyes. My father actually managed to reach such an astonishing breakthrough in just a short year and a half and reached Deity Realm!
"As I stared at my father's cold and expressionless face, I suddenly remembered something from the past.
"It was not long after I joined Red Heart Guild. There was a girl who was about seven years old in my district. She was infected with an incredibly unique flesh-eating fungus from the Other World, and her organs were full of holes. She was on the verge of death.
"I remember that she was a really beautiful girl. Her voice was as pleasant as a lark's. Before she got sick, her singing was the best consolation for the Red Heart members who had worked hard for an entire day.
"Everyone called her Young Lark, and all the Red Heart members liked her. It was even more so for the members who betrayed the nine sects. We treated Young Lark as the best symbol of humanity, and she was the thing that was worth protecting the most in the dark and bloody apocalypse.
"That's why when we learned that Young Lark was infected with the flesh-eating fungus from the Other World, we became really anxious and thought of a way to cure her.
"It's a pity that Crimson Heart Guild lacks doctors and medicine. Our research toward the Other World's viruses and spirit energy has just started. The doctors have been working on it for a long time, but they can't do anything about it. They can only say that unless we find a Blue Origin Crystal Marrow and stimulate Lark's vitality, we can create a miracle. Otherwise, this cute girl will rot from the inside out and die.
"I know. Coincidentally, my father had a supreme-grade Blue Origin Crystal Marrow in his collection!
"When I betrayed the family, I swore that unless Dragon City became a peaceful and prosperous paradise where everyone was equal, I would never return to the Lu family.
"But for Young Lark, I broke my promise. When I returned to the Lu family, I faced my brothers and sisters' mocking, mocking, concerned, and disappointed gazes. I knelt down in front of my father and begged him to give me … No, lend me a bit of Blue Origin Crystal Marrow.
"I know that supreme-grade crystals are precious, but no matter how precious they are, can they be more valuable than human lives? Besides, I don't need a lot of them. I just need a tiny bit, a tiny bit that's even smaller than a fingernail!
"It's just as you thought. My father rejected me without hesitation.
"He said that he needed Blue Origin Crystal Marrow to repair his damaged organs and blood vessels so that he could shorten the cooldown time between cultivation sessions and increase his leveling speed.
"Even if he lent me a tiny bit of Blue Origin Crystal Marrow that was smaller than a fingernail, it could drag out his leveling speed by a few days, a few hours, or even a few minutes.
"But he couldn't even wait for a few seconds.
"I was shocked by my father's reason.
"Before I went back, I thought that he might reject me.
"But I didn't expect that he would use this sort of reason to reject me.
"He slowed down his cultivation speed for a living life, and at most, he would just waste a few days. I didn't understand just how cold and heartless he had to be to reject this sort of trade!
"One of these days, you will understand.
"My father only said those words to me before he chased me out of the house so that he could focus on his training.
"He didn't even bother to fly into a rage because of my betrayal. It was as if compared to his training, his son's unruliness was insignificant.
"Of course I didn't understand at that time, and I believed that I would never understand.
"It was especially so when Little Lark's body festered because she couldn't find any Blue Origin Crystal Marrow. She died in great pain in front of me. When her melodious and moving singing turned into the most shrill screams, I was livid, and my heart was broken.
"At that time, my father had already become as terrifying as the leader of Blood Alliance in the past. They were both selfish demons who would do anything to achieve their goals, and they treated human lives like grass!
"Up until that moment …
"My father, who reached Deity Realm, and the other leaders of the nine gangs who were selfish, would do anything to achieve their goals, snatch resources, and train madly to reach Deity Realm descended from the sky to fight against the Apocalyptic Beast. They saved Battle God Lei Zongchao, and they also saved the communities that were about to be destroyed along with the thousands of survivors.
"At that instant, I understood my father's choice that day!"
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