"Is anger useful?" Cao Ya countered the old man's question.
“Indeed, anger is useless; it’s just a laughing stock for gods and demons.” The old man’s voice was deep as he sighed and said, “You are better off than me. When I first learned the truth, I was furious, bewildered, and lost.”
He gazed at the young ascendant, a hint of anticipation appearing in his eyes.
Perhaps this ascendant can grow into humanity's trump card?
The old man could no longer sense Cao Ya's presence; it was faint and indistinct, shrouded in mystery.
He guessed that this was an extremely rare powerhouse who had reached god-level status in the lower realms.
"The law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, is an immutable law of the universe. And humans are really too weak, far too weak."
The old man sighed:
"In order to make humanity stronger, we had no choice but to set up this cage. You cannot discover this fact while inside it. The existence of the Immortal Realm is an incentive for you."
"Do you remember the number I mentioned earlier? You are the first ascendant, do you think that number is huge? However, I want to tell you a fact: the total number of humans in this world is only tens of millions, do you think that's not small?"
The old man gave a bitter smile and said:
"In this world, whether it's demons or winged angels, their populations are in the hundreds of billions or trillions. What are tens of millions of humans? They're not even enough to fill a tooth gap!"
"Ordinary people in the lower realm are too weak and have no means of resistance. Humanity can only rely on martial artists who have ascended to immortality and the people of this world."
"Otherwise, why would we create lies about the celestial realm to motivate humans in the lower world?"
"Moreover, demons and angels are born far, far more powerful than humans."
Do you think humanity can be in a good situation under these circumstances?
"How can one not be at the bottom of the food chain?"
Cao Ya remained silent. Even though he already knew all this, hearing it from someone who had experienced it firsthand gave him a different feeling.
Moreover, he himself became a participant in the experience.
Anger? Resentment?
All of these emotions surged within Cao Ya's chest, ultimately coalescing into a single sentence: "As heaven maintains vigor through movement, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement!"
"In the next three years, you will receive any help you desire. Three years. Within these three years, if you cannot become a qualified strongman..." the old man said coldly.
However, before he could finish speaking, Cao Ya's eyebrows twitched, and he released a wisp of his aura.
Instantly, the old man felt a chill run down his spine, as if he were facing a top human expert, feeling that his life and death were not in his own hands.
The old man understood what the ascendant meant: with his current strength, was he capable of surviving in this world?
After a few seconds of silence, the old man spoke:
"That's enough. But I suggest you make good use of these three years. Although you are strong, there are far too many creatures in this world that are stronger than you, especially demons and angels."
"You have a third question. Go ahead and ask."
Cao Ya shook his head and said:
"No need, I already know what I want to know."
The old man frowned. This ascendant was the strangest ascendant he had ever encountered, without exception.
But he felt he should say something more.
Such a powerful ascendant must not be allowed to become arrogant, lest he perish.
This person is qualified to become humanity's ace.
"The reason why only tens of millions of humans can survive in such a world and protect countless sub-realms is because..."
An expression of admiration and longing appeared on the old man's face as he said:
“Every race has some powerful beings. For such beings, destroying the space you originally lived in is an easy thing. Among humans, there are naturally such powerful beings as well. They are the trump card of the human race.”
"Hopefully, your appearance will increase our human resources."
Can you fly?
The old man asked a seemingly unrelated question at the end.
Cao Ya hummed in agreement.
"Then come with me to the Martial Arts Temple, the sacred land of my human race," the old man said calmly, taking off into the air at incredible speed, seemingly intentionally not giving Cao Ya time to react.
He turned around to see if the young ascendant could keep up, but was startled by what he saw.
Cao Ya followed at a steady pace, lagging behind him by four or five meters, maintaining this distance no matter how fast he sped up.
It was obvious that the person behind him, although an ascendant, was still a master even in the ancient world.
With no more worries, the old man sped up, flying through the air at breakneck speed.
Cao Ya followed the old man to the Temple of Martial Arts, while simultaneously spreading his divine sense to observe this ancient world.
Below lay a pristine mountain forest. As far as the eye could see, there wasn't a single human in sight. Instead, there were powerful demons battling against enormous, strangely shaped prehistoric beasts. Their divine power surged, and none of them were weak.
Clearly, those were the lowest level of demons.
Compared to ordinary people, they are hundreds or thousands of times better.
Cao Ya felt a deeper connection to the old man's words, "born strong."
[After Ascension] In the universe, the God of Light and the God of Darkness are high above, and the gods and demons are incredibly powerful. Although the human race has a supreme being, it lacks the strongest combat power. This is the pain of the human race and the root cause of its inability to rise.
To put it simply, if the human race in the [Primordial Era] universe didn't have the Primordial Saint, the Three Sovereigns Daoist, and if the human race in the [Covering the Sky] universe didn't have the Ancient Emperors, could the human race still have risen to power? Even if they had, would they still have their current status? Wouldn't they have become mere pawns?
It should be understood that even with the Three Sovereigns Daoist presiding over the human race in the [Primordial] Universe, there are still many Primordial Saints who make moves and lay their foundations, because there is only one Primordial Saint among the human race, which is extremely rare.
In the universe, the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, is the only constant.
This rule applies to all universes.
"Humans..."
******
******
Not long after, Cao Ya followed the old man to an ancient sacred mountain, which was majestic and precipitous, thousands of feet high, and soared into the clouds.
It lacked any sacred aura, yet it seemed to be close to the Dao.
At the summit of the sacred peak lies a flat area of several thousand square meters, upon which stands an ancient temple built entirely of massive stones. The gate alone is over eighty feet high, and the pillars are constructed of rough, massive stones. From the outside, the entire temple appears as a single, unified structure.
At the top of the gate is an ancient seal script character – “武” (Wu).
On both sides of the hall, the square paved with bluestone was filled with people, each occupying a space on a bluestone slab, meditating with their eyes closed. There were old and young, men and women.
Cao Ya descended into the light of his escape, and no one opened their eyes to look at him. Everyone was racing against time to cultivate and increase their strength. Who had time to pay attention to others?
Even though the footsteps awakened some ascetics, who opened their eyes and glanced at Cao Ya and the old man with a hint of scrutiny, they quickly closed their eyes again and immersed themselves in their ascetic practice.
“They are all ascetics,” Cao Ya couldn’t help but sigh.
"Ha." The old man uttered a sound as mournful as a cuckoo's cry.
"Given the current situation, how can we change the human race's disadvantaged position without diligent cultivation?"
At the entrance of the Martial Arts Temple, a man opened his eyes and sighed softly.
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