Chapter 552: This Martial Arts World Has Never Been Friendly

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Collapsing onto the ground with vacant eyes, Shao Pincheng seemed to have lost all hope at this moment, and the world before him appeared to have turned gray.

When one's final spiritual sustenance becomes a backstab, the only result is despair.

"Is that so? Actually, you already have the answer in your heart; you just don't dare to admit it."

"Heh, seeking skin from a tiger—so this is what it means to seek skin from a tiger. That's right, I have been abandoned!"

A bitter smile crept onto his face as Shao Pincheng looked up at Shen Yu; at this moment, the man-eating hatred in his eyes was gone.

His gaze was dim and lusterless; he probably only wished for a quick death now.

"The matters in Xichuan were my doing, it was all my doing!"

"Shen Yu, do you know? My greatest dream back then was to be like you, able to sweep away injustice and cleanse the world with my sword."

Looking at Shen Yu, a hint of envy appeared on Shao Pincheng's face; this was the life he had originally wanted.

"I was born of a concubine, and my father was a spineless coward who feared his wife. The first wife ruled the household, so my mother and I lived lives worse than the servants every day!"

"Yet my mother still tried hard to teach me to be kind every day. She was a disciple of a small sect; after her sect was destroyed, she was saved by my father and then gave herself to him."

"Who would have thought that this father of mine was an incompetent coward who couldn't protect her at all."

"But even so, she never complained. She pinned her hopes on me, wishing that I could become a great hero who upholds justice in the future!"

"But she was tortured to death by the first wife early on. My mother was an expert of the Hou Tian Realm, yet she was tortured to death alive. Can you imagine how much torment she had to endure every day?"

"Even then, she was still teaching me, hoping I could become a hero renowned throughout the martial arts world and respected by all."

"Perhaps in her eyes, only by becoming a hero could one get ahead and be respected. She hoped that whenever her son was mentioned, it would be with reverence!"

Struggling to crawl up, Shao Pincheng began to mutter about his past, not caring whether Shen Yu was truly willing to listen.

There were some things he had kept suppressed in his heart, and now that his life was coming to an end, he had to let them out.

He hated this world, and he hated everyone; it was the world that had abandoned him first!

"I, too, once strove for this dream. I devoted myself to joining a sect. My master taught me to learn to sacrifice, and my senior brothers told me to learn to let go."

"When I first stepped into the sect, I thought I had arrived at a true righteous school. But you don't know, my sect was a pack of wolves that would eat people without spitting out the bones!"

"Except for my junior sister who treated me with sincerity, everyone else wanted to devour me."

"A dignified major sect, yet so many people died or were injured every year—I should have realized there was a problem long ago!"

Quietly watching Shen Yu, the more he looked, the more he envied him. Since Shen Yu debuted, he seemed to have never encountered any major setbacks, sailing smoothly all the way.

Powerful strength is the confidence that allows one to act recklessly. Shen Yu can kill corrupt officials and eliminate evil bullies without restraint, living his life as he pleases without worrying about any retaliation.

But I couldn't. He, too, had dreamed of wielding his sword across the world, but reality did not allow his wishes to come true.

The bloody reality taught him about life, forcing him to bow his head and, even more so, causing him to discard his original intentions early on.

"Shen Yu, Lord Shen, not everyone is as lucky as you. Have you ever thought about how dark this martial arts world is!"

"The martial arts our sect practiced seemed powerful, but in reality, it was just a Seed sown by others; only a very few people truly benefited from it."

"All the remaining fellow disciples were nothing but food for them to improve themselves!"

"How ridiculous the teachings of the sect elders and the affection of the senior brothers were. They weren't caring for juniors; they were planting crops, they were raising pigs and sheep!"

"When I accidentally saw my senior brother being sucked into a husk by our master, do you know how desperate that made me feel!"

"The master I respected, the existence I viewed as a father, actually wanted to kill us. From that moment on, my sky had already collapsed!"

"And later, when the master discovered me, he didn't hesitate to suck me dry as well."

Speaking to this point, Shao Pincheng couldn't help but laugh out loud. He laughed at his own ridiculous self, and he laughed at this ridiculous martial arts world.

"Perhaps it was because I hadn't practiced for long, or perhaps my constitution was special; I survived, though my body was depleted and my internal energy was completely ruined, but fortunately, I didn't become a husk."

"Since then, I drifted through the martial arts world. I have killed people, been a beggar, been a refugee, and seen all kinds of falsehoods and evils in this world!"

"What great heroes upholding justice, what seniors of the righteous sects—they are all hypocrites and swindlers."

"To achieve their status, how much blood has been stained on their hands."

"Only then did I realize what it meant by 'the good do not live long' and 'the murderous and arsonists wear golden belts'."

"In such a martial arts world, deceit is everywhere, and good people cannot live long. Only by being more ruthless and evil can one survive."

"Villains who burn, kill, and pillage can become great benefactors and top-tier heroes just by doing a tiny bit of good. This martial arts world has long since rotted to the core!"

"Until I accidentally broke into that place, a voice rang out from the bottom of my heart. If this martial arts world is dark, then I must be darker than them; only then can I live, live well!"

"I personally killed my entire family and everyone in my sect, killed the junior sister I admired and the senior brother who took good care of me, cutting off all paths of retreat."

"I offered up my conscience and harvested unprecedented power—true power."

"Ruthless!" Shen Yu raised an eyebrow slightly. This was the rhythm of one person succeeding at the cost of their entire family. And not just the family; even the sect brothers and anyone with the slightest connection were dragged into it.

Shen Yu had already sorted out the whole process: this negative energy first caused Shao Pincheng to fall and become someone truly used for their own purposes.

Then, in this process, it slowly merged completely with him, able to successfully pass through the consumption of Shao Pincheng's origin to grow and divide. Then it made him find targets to invade, silently spreading the negative energy out.

Until now, the entire Xichuan had fallen into chaos because of this, the common people were complaining, and the person behind it was likely already growing strong because of this.

The sweetness he gave Shao Pincheng was only a very, very small part, perhaps only a tiny bit.

Shao Pincheng was like a donkey pulling a millstone; didn't he have to be given a little sweetness to be fed? The bulk of the harvest had already been collected.

At this moment, they were likely in some dark corner, looking at the outside world with greedy eyes.

"Afterward, I became one with that power, able to absorb negative energy for my own use. I spread those mental powers out, slowly infecting the upper echelons of all of Xichuan."

"They were corrupt and lawless, living in a drunken stupor, their inner desires infinitely magnified. The common people were treated like fish and meat, their lives miserable, and complaints were everywhere."

"But so what? Pain, sorrow, despair—all kinds of negative emotions gathered like the sea, and my power grew stronger and stronger."

"I paid so much, just so that I could win. I could sacrifice everything; my conscience was long gone!!"

"This was my final sustenance. It pulled me up from the dust and mud, allowing me to become a person above others. But now it has abandoned me, throwing me ruthlessly back into the dust!"

"You are right; I was just a tool that could be discarded at will, a discarded Seed."

"Not everyone is Lord Shen, and not everyone can sail smoothly. This martial arts world has never been friendly!"

"But I don't regret it; at least I once possessed it, instead of always being in the dust!" Laughing again, Shao Pincheng's smile was very ugly, his laughter filled with sorrow.

Back then, Shao Pincheng dreamed every day of sharpening a sword for ten years, to soar into the sky today and sweep away all the affairs of the world.

Yet in the end, she walked down an entirely different path, a path he was unwilling to take, but one he was deeply trapped within.

By now, the original resistance had long since vanished without a trace, leaving only dependence behind.

Shao Pincheng is no longer the youth of the past; as for the person he is now, death is not a pity!