"The strongest?" The Blood-Devouring Demon Venerable's gaze shifted ever so slightly.
Many people had spoken of becoming the strongest before, but most were bragging, or indulging in wild fantasies.
But when Chu Feng said those words, he sensed that Chu Feng was being serious.
"I've made a fool of myself before my senior." Chu Feng felt that his words sounded somewhat arrogant, but he still added, "However, becoming the strongest is my goal."
"Why must you become the strongest? Is it so that everyone under the heavens will bow before you in submission?" the Blood-Devouring Demon Venerable asked.
"No." Chu Feng shook his head.
"Then why?" the Blood-Devouring Demon Venerable asked.
"Only by becoming the strongest can I protect the people I want to protect."
"Otherwise, there will always be someone who can bully me, someone who can hurt the people I hold dear. That kind of threat fills me with unease," Chu Feng said.
"So, your desire to become the strongest stems from the fact that there are people you wish to protect?" the Blood-Devouring Demon Venerable asked.
"To be honest with my senior, my closest kin were once slaughtered. Not a single one was left alive."
"That feeling of powerlessness, that agony in my heart — this junior has engraved it upon his soul, and I will never forget it for as long as I live."
"Even though, later on, I discovered that they had not truly died, and they were brought back to life."
"I still never want to taste that feeling of losing my loved ones ever again."
"But the world of martial cultivators is too cruel. Even if I don't provoke others, others will come after me."
"Just walking down a street in silence, the wrong look from someone could bring about my death."
"If I want my loved ones to live in peace, I must become the strongest." Chu Feng's voice was resolute.
What Chu Feng said at that moment was the truth from the bottom of his heart — and a goal he had held for a very long time.
Back when he had been on the Nine Provinces Continent, because Chu Feng had made enemies, the entire Chu Family had been massacred.
It was the greatest pain of Chu Feng's life. Although, with the help of his father, Chu Xuanzhou, the Chu Family members had been brought back to life, mending the mistake Chu Feng had made.
But that incident, that pain, had all happened for real, and it was seared deep into Chu Feng's heart, shaping him profoundly.
"Chu Feng, let me tell you something," the Blood-Devouring Demon Venerable said.
"Please, go ahead, senior," Chu Feng replied.
"If there are people you wish to protect, then right now, you truly need to work hard — work harder, work desperately hard."
"Because right now, you are far too weak. You yourself are still being protected by others. Who could you possibly protect?"
"If you remain at this level, when a true calamity arrives, you won't merely be watching yourself face death, powerless to act."
"You will be watching your family face death — and you will be powerless to act."
"When I just tried to kill you, you felt that despair, didn't you?" the Blood-Devouring Demon Venerable asked.
"Mm." Chu Feng nodded.
"You need to understand — those who possess my kind of power are not rare in this world of martial cultivation. It isn't that there are too few strong ones; it's that you are too weak."
"If you don't train harder, your family, your friends, and even the person you love will all endure that same despair. And when that time comes, it won't be a test — it will be a real brush with death."
"I am absolutely not trying to frighten you with wild claims. At the very least, these words — I am telling you with a genuine heart, and every word is the truth."
At this point, the Blood-Devouring Demon Venerable reached down and grabbed the Evil God Sword from the ground.
"There is a demon sealed within this demonic sword. Did you know?" the Blood-Devouring Demon Venerable asked.
"This junior knows," Chu Feng said.
"But it has been sealed. Did you know that?" the Blood-Devouring Demon Venerable asked.
"Senior, when did this sealing take place?" Chu Feng asked.