Then I lowered my head and stared at the darkness below my mental figure. I was just so tired, so exhausted, and in so much pain. Already I could feet the beginnings of agony throbbing through my battered body, and the temptation to just stay here in blissful unfeelingness, in the warm embrace of a darkness free of pain, was too strong to resist.

My shoulders slumped, and my head hanging from my shoulders, I seemed as if I was going to return back to losing consciousness.

"…"

Master"s spectral figure regarded me for a moment, looking almost as if he was astonished by my reluctance.

"You…" he growled angrily. His visage flared up into a demonic mask as he glowered at me. "You heard me, didn"t you? Now get up! Immediately!"

"…I don"t wanna."

Still hanging my head, I muttered under my breath. I was just so tired, so sick of all this fighting. I just wanted to go back to sleep.

Hadn"t I fought enough? Against Liang Shao Yang. Against the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect. Against the invaders of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. My desire for vengeance had somewhat burned out from the constant fighting, the never-ending violence. I was getting sick of all this. I just wanted to live my life in peace.

When would the fighting end? It wasn"t as if I ever aimed to be the strongest. Unlike all those stupid xianxia protagonists, who were one-dimensional to the extreme, I never had the desire to become "the strongest." I just wanted to live a peaceful life, and gain enough strength to protect my family and friends.

I had bought Tong Xue enough time to get back to Duchun Town. This was enough. There was no longer any need for me to fight on. If I played dead, the Heavenly Venom King might leave me alone. Tong Xue would surely call for a rescue team to extract me. They would find my body, close to death, bring me back to Duchun Hospital, and heal me.

Why should I risk my life any further? I had already achieved my goal. There was no need for me to throw my life away unnecessarily. Sha Chen had already defeated me. He didn"t seem like the type to desecrate his opponents. He must have thought that I would slowly die from his toxins, and so he would leave me alone to an agonizing death where I gradually became immobilized from his destructive poisons. There was no need to let him know that I was immune to his Black Venom Toxin. No need to give my true ability away (the immunity, I mean).

So why should I keep fighting? It was meaningless. I might as well stay down and live a bit longer.

"What?"

However, Master seemed to disagree.

"So what?" he snarled. "Are you just going to let him beat you up, and then get away with it just so that you can survive? Where is your pride? Don"t you want your revenge? As a martial artist of the Heaven and Earth Sect, are you seriously going to let him go just because you achieved your objective of buying time and saving your friend? Even though he smashed you into such a miserable state, and taunted you?"

"He"s too strong for me," I told the illusionary ghost. What use was wanting revenge when I didn"t have the power to achieve it?

"Shut up, you idiot. How can you call yourself the disciple of the Absolute One…how can you call yourself my disciple if you don"t have the ambition to become the strongest?"

Ah…right. I could see the readers" comments too. The edgelords would no doubt be berating me for the lack of ambition. They couldn"t wrap their minds around the fact that not everyone wanted to be the strongest. Not everyone aimed for the peak of martial arts. They always forgot that the means were not the ends. What was the point of becoming the "strongest"? After you become the strongest, so what? You want everyone to praise you? You want to strut around arrogantly, showing off your strength? You want recognition? A prize, maybe?

Who the f.u.c.k cares about all that? To me, strength was just the means of protecting my family, my friends, and my loved ones. I understood that without sufficient strength, one was powerless and unable to protect anything or anybody.
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That was why Tang Qi Hong died. Because of my inability to defeat the enemy and protect her. That was also how Hu Shi and Hu Hai died. I wasn"t naïve enough to think I can live peacefuly without any strength.

But having the strength to protect people wasn"t the same thing as becoming the "strongest". In the first place, that was a meaningless t.i.tle. What the f.u.c.k did it mean to become the "strongest"? To become the Absolute One like my Master? Bulls.h.i.t. Thanks to becoming the strongest, my Master made a lot of unnecessary enemies. The Martial Arts Alliance were envious and afraid of his power, and ganged up on him to destroy him. Because the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect was expanding, the Martial Arts Alliance coveted their power, wealth and resources, and invaded us. I didn"t want strength just so I could get trapped in this neverending cycle of violence, worried about my comrades and fellow sect members, or my family being threatened by envious enemies, ambitious rivals and selfish b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. I didn"t want to draw the attention of such b.a.s.t.a.r.ds and put everyone around me in danger.

You think that just because you"re the strongest, everyone will be afraid of you and won"t dare to touch you? Nope…you"ll receive countless challengers because they desired your t.i.tle. It was basically the Sword of Damocles. The t.i.tle was a curse, a constant threat hanging over your head and reminding you to not be complacent and live your life in perpetual constant.

f.u.c.k all that. I did want to become strong, but not to the extent where I could never live a peaceful life. I understood that I was naïve, and that n.o.body would truly leave me alone, that I would have to continue to be on my guard against threats no matter how strong or weak I was, but I could at least mitigate that – after all, no one cares about the side characters. Everyone always goes after the protagonist when he embarks on the road to be the "strongest."

Again, what the f.u.c.k does "strongest" mean? Do you automatically become the strongest when you beat everyone in the world? When you reach some obscure realm or level (I don"t even know what h.e.l.l they call such realms…Dou Emperor Realm or some bulls.h.i.t t.i.tle like that)? Or was it a t.i.tle that people arbitrarily a.s.signed to you after you beat a certain number of people, or the ex-strongest? How did that ex-strongest even got his or her t.i.tle in the first place? It boggled the mind that people like Li Fu Chen aimed for the heavens and just blindly strove to become the "strongest" when such a term was arbitrary and not even real in the first place.

I mean, these xianxia stories always revolve around the concept of "there will always be one mountain higher than this mountain" yet the protagonist always ends up becoming the tallest mountain there is. Like…what the f.u.c.k, dude? Why even bring that concept up or establish all these rules regarding realms, cultivation levels and whatnot when the protagonist was going to break them in the first place? And why have the protagonist reach the peak when he was already thrashing and crushing people of superior cultivation levels or realms when he was weaker or lower than them, like that G.o.d Mode Mary Sue Li Fu Chen? Or have treasure weapons and spirit pills conveniently fall into their laps whenever they need them and level up easily, like Lin Dong from Wu Dong Qian Kun?

"Oh, quit your whining. Get back up and fight back!" Master issued an order, uncaring about my ranting. I sighed wearily. Master was probably having the same mentality as the readers, who were scorning my so-called lack of ambition (no, I just have a different ambition, and I wasn"t like every xianxia protagonist who blindly and one-dimensionally aimed to be the "strongest" without any clear meaning of what that entailed or meant – obviously most xianxia stories never considered the complications behind that t.i.tle or realized how arbitrary and false it was) and calling me a p.u.s.s.y just because I didn"t want to become the strongest.

Then, readers and existences beyond the fourth wall, let me posit this question to you. Are you striving to be the strongest? What are your ambitions? Are you trying to become the strongest? Then why are you here reading a stupid web novel and whining about the protagonist instead of…I don"t know, going to dojo to learn martial arts? Or perhaps a few of you already do. Have you won championships? Are you on the route to becoming a champion? How many of you are realistically on the path of achieving the so-called t.i.tle of the strongest? And strongest in what? Boxing? Wrestling? Kick-boxing? Karate? Tae Kwan Do? Wing Chun?

Or are you aiming to become the richest? Which one of you readers is on your way to become the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates? I"m flattered to have such an innovative entrepreneur read this trash of a web novel, but I"m pretty sure even if you do, there are probably thousands of other readers who aren"t.

After all, just how many Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are there in this world?

I never intended to aim to be the strongest because it just wasn"t realistic. Even though the t.i.tle was arbitrary, theoretically there could only be one "strongest" in the world, and often the holder of that position would change depending on the field, the outcomes of matches between them or whatever. I didn"t want to get involved in such troublesome nonsense. And you probably know the drill for xianxia formula by now. The moment you reach a level cap or become the "strongest" in your sect or town or kingdom or country, the writer just moves and dumps you into a new zone where he resets the level cap and you become the weakest all over again. The whole "strongest" or become stronger cliché was the reason why xianxia stories were so repet.i.tive and made no sense. Once you became the "strongest", you basically reached your goal and the story ends, and to prevent that and make more money, authors lazily reset the level cap and move their protagonists to a new place so that they could repeat the cycle all over again.

Furthermore, the xianxia authors" shallow understanding of strength basically boiled down to their protagonist defeating every single opponent they came across. Apparently you can only become the strongest by beating everybody up, which led to protagonists being arrogant hypocrites going around committing genocide and wiping out entire sects, clans or bloodlines, supposedly to show how they are stronger than the strongest clan.

What utter bulls.h.i.t. What was the whole point of all that? Was the only way to reach the pinnacle of power by killing everyone else, and elimating whatever powerful clans so that the stupid crowds who were always watching the battles for some inane reason could praise you for being an unprecedented genius?

My desire for power stemmed from wanting to protect my family and friends, not to randomly become the strongest, something that held no meaning, something so abstract and pointless. Was it wrong?

"Yes, it"s wrong! As the successor to the Heaven and Earth Sect, you"re not allowed to lose!"

I snorted. "You lost to the Heavenly Venom King too, or so he claimed."

That shut Master up. He stared at me, his expression softening. My head lowered, I continued to retort.

"So how am I supposed to fight him? Are you asking others to do what you can"t? I"m done. My goal is to live, to be with my friends and family, not to recklessly fight everybody on my way to become the so-called strongest. I couldn"t care about being invincible or undefeated or the strongest. It"s meaningless if I"m not alive to accompany my friends and family."

Master almost seemed to sigh as he studied my slumped, exhausted figure.

"Wu…"

His voice was gentle now, but firm.

"…"

I responded with silence, waiting for him to say whatever he intended. Master placed a ghostly hand on my shoulder as he leaned forward, his tone almost kind.

"…I was undefeated in my lifetime."

"Well, I"m not. I already lost a bunch. To Zhu Jiao. To several enemies. I"m not a Mary Sue protagonist who never loses. I"m not a G.o.d. I can lose too. I"ve already been defeated countless times."

"And yet every single time you crawled out of the precipice of defeat, and became stronger. I know you didn"t get a rematch every single time, but…that doesn"t mean your journey ends here, Wu." Master continued in that gentle tone of his. "Didn"t I tell you? If you wanted to, you can walk the same path as me. Start afresh. Forget your past. Your legend begins anytime you want it to."

"I don"t want that sort of legend. I don"t care about being undefeated or invincible or being the strongest…I only care about…"

"…protecting those dear to you," Master finished for me, and he rose to his ghostly feet. "So…"

I blinked up in surprise and raised my head to look at him in shock. This was the first time he acknowledged my goal…my ambition. Unlike the readers and existences beyond the fourth wall who were still whining about me being spineless and being a p.u.s.s.y for lacking ambition and not wanting to aim to become the strongest. Martial arts were never about becoming the strongest, nor was cultivation about cultivating to the peak of humanity and becoming a G.o.d. It was about discipline, moral values and self-improvement. The only person you had to beat was yourself, not everyone else. The point of it was for the you of today to become stronger than the you of yesterday, and the you of tomorrow to become stronger than the you of today, not to stand alone atop the corpses of all your challengers and enemies. As much as those xianxia stories would have you believe, that was utter bulls.h.i.t and went against the true values and goals of martial arts and cultivation.

Those xianxia authors were just indulging in their power trips, wish fulfilment and power fantasy bulls.h.i.t.

"Get up now," Master ordered kindly but firmly. "Innocent people are dying because of you."

"Wait, what? But I should have bought enough time…"

"Hurry!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, genuinely confused. "Tong Xue should be safe by now. He should have reached Duchun Town. There"s no way the Dark Sage would pursue him all the way to Duchun Town. There"s an entire garrison of Imperial Guard stationed there…"

"Don"t be naïve. Even if the Heavenly Venom King doesn"t pursue your friends now, what about the future? You and your friend killed his subordinates and drove his Black Venom Cult to the verge of annihilation. You think he"s simply going to forgive you and let you go after all you did? All of your friends?"

Master shook his head, and then dropped his voice to a whisper.

"Besides, your friends aren"t the only ones precious to you, are they? There are also other things important to you, and they are not necessarily human."

"…?"

For a moment, I didn"t understand what Master was talking about. Then it hit me.

My robots. Even as I lay on the ground, unconscious, my Castellax battle-automata were faithfully fighting on to their last metaphorical breath, determined to protect me with their lives.

Just like how I had resolved to risk my life to save my friends. In a way, I was more similar to my Castellax battle-automata than any of my human friends. I couldn"t just abandon my Castellax battle-automata to their fate. They might not technically be alive, but they were precious to me. Their loyalty, though programmed and mechanical, was no different from a soldier"s loyalty for his nation.

Since they were battling so hard to preserve my life, I couldn"t help but return their devotion to me.

My eyes widened and flickered open.

Whoosh!

"…eh?"

To my utter surprise, I was moving. No, my body was moving. My head bobbed up and down, and a breeze touched my face. Blinking, I lifted my head, and my vision shifted from the moving ground to the barren landscape that stretched to the horizon.

One of my Castellax battle-automata had thrown me over its shoulder and was marching away at its top speed. It wasn"t as fast as a Thallax, who had jump jets and could jump, shoot, jump, and it was barely striding at the speed of a running human. It was more akin to a heavy battlemech, its speed limited and sluggish, with its cha.s.sis having been configured for armor and firepower rather than agility.

"The others…" I murmured hoa.r.s.ely. Lifting my head, I saw my remaining three Castellax battle-automata getting torn apart by the vicious Sha Chen. He was mercilessly whipping them with his flexible weapons, dismembering them and knocking out more weapons and mechanical appendates off. One of them crashed onto the ground, swaying as electric sparks crackled around its hull. Exposed wires smoked and burned.

They weren"t going to last much longer now.

"…hmm?"

My regaining consciousness must have sparked some qi back into my body, for Sha Chen noticed that I was now awake and still alive. He knocked one of my Castellax battle-automata back before it could hit him with its remaining power fist, his whip mercilessly knocking it flat on its back.

"I see. So you were trying to get away, huh?" he scoffed.

My other two Castellax battle-automata advanced upon him, firing their remaining weapons. One of them was missing an arm, while the other was missing his shoulder turret weapon. Mauler bolt rounds and small-caliber bolt rounds smashed into Sha Chen, but he sliced through the ma.s.s reactive projectiles before smashing them apart with his whip.

One of them slumped down, sparking and hissing, while the other struggled to get up, its damaged mechanical joints whining as they tried to support its weight. Ignoring the both of them, which were too far out to attack, Sha Chen kicked off the ground and launched himself high into the air, his whips flying on either side of him like wings.

Curving in an elegant arc, Sha Chen then descended heavily upon our position, his whips snaking out cruelly.

My Castellax battle-automata threw me off its shoulder and spun around to deal with the current threat, its turret weapon moving to track its target. A plasma burst hurtled from the glowing, red-hot barrel and enveloped the Dark Sage, but he merely dissipated the superheated blast with his writhing whips before hurling them at it.

Breathing heavily, I forced myself to my feet and shouldered my Castellax battle-automata aside because I was unable to override its protective protocols. The whips stabbed into the ground, missing my robot altogether.

"Heh! You"re actually protecting your own battle puppet?!"

Cackling madly, Sha Chen landed on my position, rearing his hands back. His fingers curled into venomous talons, getting ready to tear into me. His whips were stabbed and stuck firmly in the soft mud, and he seemed unable to pull them out just yet. Especially since he was using them to anchor and pull himself toward me.

Swaying unsteadily on my feet, I glared defiantly at the incoming Sha Chen, refusing to back down. Grinding my foot against the ground, I straightened up and raised both hands. Both my swords reappeared in them, having also been retrieved by my Castellax battle-automata. They shimmered with qi as I infused them with defensive energy.

Sha Chen leered as he closed the distance between us, disregarding my swords and defensive stance completely.

His palm lashed out like a hurricane, the shockwaves from his attack pulverizing the ground. I gritted my teeth, almost overwhelmed by the shockwaves alone, but crossed both my swords to block his palm. The tremendous impact nearly ripped my arms out of my sockets, and a shrill screech reverberated across the barren swamp, my blades trembling violently as they struggled to withstand the Dark Sage"s powerful strike.

"Ugh!"

Whoosh!

The ground beneath me gave way, turning into a brown tidal wave that crumbled. Swept away by both the shockwaves and the disintegrating ground, I couldn"t help but groan as I was sent hurtling backward helplessly. In contrast, Sha Chen gracefully landed on both feet, completely unaffected despite Newton"s third law.

Just what kind of f.u.c.king monster was he?

As he stood in the circular crater he created himself, Sha Chen watched the broken trail that I carved straight through the ground, almost as if I was digging a tunnel with my body. I finally crashed to a stop several dozen meters away, inadvertently crafting a mound of mud and dirt, blood bursting from my mouth.

Then even the mound itself collapsed as I fell against it another time, my body rocking unsteadily from the aftereffects.

"You are mine!" Sha Chen crowed triumphantly.

h.e.l.l no. I don"t belong to you, you sick b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Or so I would like to say, but obviously I was in no condition to utter a word. I could only lay sprawled on the ground, dazed.

Raising his hand to the air, the poison master"s whip unfurled and spun around him crazily. A tempest swirled around him as he increased his qi in a threatening manner again.

"I"ll cripple you so that you will never be able to move again!"

"What happened to letting your venom destroy my muscles and tendons, and allowing me to feel despair over slowly becoming immobile?" I asked dryly.

"Oh, shut up, you brat!" Sha Chen roared. Raising his whip, he got ready to deliver the coup de grace.

Before he could, however, my last remaining Castellax battle-automata smashed into him, its power fist crackling in a blue field as it closed its hydraulic claws over his head after the old man was swept off his feet. Normally that would kill a normal man iinstantly.

But Sha Chen was no normal man.

"Annoying…you"re just a puppet, aren"t you?!"

With a snarl, Sha Chen ripped the Castellax battle-automata"s arm out of its socket, causing it to stagger. Smoke and electricity fumed and sparked from exposed wires, and the Castellax seemed to be on the verge of shutting down. Not taking any chances, Sha Chen smashed his palm into its armored chest, denting it deeply and knocking it off its feet. My last Castellax battle-automata went down, its remaining limbs twitching, and then it finally stopped moving.

"Finally," the Dark Sage huffed irritably, and turned toward me. "Now I can finish you off without any interruptions. Not unless you"re still hiding some other toys in your sleeve."

As if on cue, six qi beams streaked from the air and smashed into him, burning holes into his limbs and body…only for his protective qi to dispel most of their destructive force. Even so, the intense qi beams were able to scald his flesh and caused him to stumble.

"f.u.c.k, I forgot about those flying stinger things too!" Sha Chen growled. He lashed out vengefully with his whip, but they scattered and flew away at high speed, always staying just out of range. Shaking his head, Sha Chen glared at me. "Stop playing around with your toys and face me properly like a man!"

I snorted as I slowly got to my feet, clutching my injuries. Blood continued to drip from my mouth and wounds, forming a huge puddle around my battered shoes, but I ignored it. Heaving heavily, I met his glowering appearance evenly, my eyes steeled with resolve.

"No. you"re too strong."

Tightening my grip on my swords, I infused them with more qi and prepared myself for one last struggle.

"I"m sorry…this might sound despicable, but I"m going to resort to every cheap trick I have in order to survive."