A Card In Hand

Chapter 42: Who Wants to Challenge Me?

Li Ao knew that feeding the newcomers “poisonous chicken soup” was an important step.

There was no real poisonous chicken soup.

Many newcomers simply couldn’t adhere to their ideals because their spirits were fragile and they lacked external validation.

Some of these newcomers actually had decent talents, but often they faltered midway.

Why?

The reason was that they didn’t have a strong enough opponent to regularly feed them “poisonous chicken soup”… Even recognition from an opponent was incredibly important to newcomers!

Each newcomer’s talent was different; not everyone could ascend to the Celestial Realm or ignite the divine flame to advance to godhood.

Some could only step into legend.

Some might reach the status of a king.

And many more.

Would be champions or even lower, at the elite level.

For these people, Li Ao was their goal, as well as their pillar of support.

Just a little favor from Li Ao, even just verbal recognition, would be etched in their hearts, never to be forgotten.

In the future.

Li Ao was destined to re-enter the realm of gods.

He needed to establish a solid foundation in Tianfeng Continent to securely stand in the Celestial Realm in the future.

Co-opting major families to gather resources to support him was one method, but Li Ao felt a more effective strategy was to win over these rookies.

He didn’t need all of them, just a portion from each cohort to become his staunch followers.

As they grew and their influence spread generation by generation, Li Ao would secure the faith power necessary for forging his divinity…

Speaking a few words of “poisonous chicken soup” cost him little effort.

Why not do it?

Besides, among the current batch of newcomers, many with special talents had not yet emerged.

They were still weaklings in the exploratory stage.

Feeding them “poisonous chicken soup” was timely!

In his previous life, Li Ao was a millennium loner, roaming the world at will, incredibly carefree.

He was indeed very carefree.

Roaming at will.

Unrestrained and carefree.

Could that not be considered dashing?

The problem was the heartache of being ganged up on by the gods without anyone to help!

At the worst of times, there wasn’t even a place to hide, constantly being chased by adversaries in a relentless pursuit, running for decades without a moment to catch his breath!

Not to mention being mobbed, when it came to exploring and treasure hunting, the same tales of sorrow filled his heart.

Some ancient secret realms or sealed locations, despite knowing they contained treasures, required the cooperation of at least two gods to access.

As a millennium loner, Li Ao could only watch helplessly at such times!

So.

After his rebirth, Li Ao decided to change his approach and return to the divine realms, letting anyone who wished to continue the path of a millennium loner do so.

Especially since this generation of newcomers included quite a few potential talents.

If he started building relationships with them early, even if they didn’t become close and trusted allies, being able to form temporary teams for mutual benefit was also valuable!

Now, Li Ao was a super supporter, leading a group of rookies to ascend and strike towards the celestial realms.

Whether or not everyone recognized him as a big shot in the future.

The benefits.

Li Ao was sure to get the most.

In order to secure more benefits and a smoother path to godhood in the future, Li Ao, the millennium-old trickster, began his charm offensive.

“Fellow students, as one of you, as a peer, and as someone who has also devoted himself to quiet training in the world, I understand your feelings! Just like you, I am also striving to reach higher levels! Shuanghan told me before the match that he wanted to give up the fight, not wanting to reveal his strength publicly. Honestly, before I met Prince Jinxi, I felt the same way; just graduate and then work hard at a low profile. It’s much better, isn’t it? You must feel the same way, right?”

Pretending to be a newbie, Li Ao expressed his desire to keep a low profile, blaming it on Prince Jinxi not allowing him to do so.

Luckily for Prince Jinxi, he was unconscious.

Otherwise, he would have vomited blood in anger.

That blame!

Before meeting me, you had already overwhelmed Wild, so how were you low key?

Of course, now the image of Prince Jinxi had completely collapsed in everyone’s minds.

Not to say that he was unconscious and unable to refute, even if he was awake, and had several more mouths on his face, no one would believe him.

“I stood on the platform and thought about yielding the championship to Prince Jinxi,” Li Ao reflected.

“Why provoke a prince? It would do no good for my future. Perhaps, by defeating Prince Jinxi, I’d invite endless troubles, significantly affecting my future! However, when Prince Jinxi unleashed the ‘Mammoth’s Rage’ on me, I had an epiphany in that instant!”

The newcomers held their breath, their ears perked up, fearful of missing even a single word from Li Ao.

Not just the newcomers.

The elders sent by the major families were equally curious about what this young man would say.

The three old men from the Pantheon nodded repeatedly, their gazes not willing to leave Li Ao for even a second.

Supervisor Lei Bao’s expression was as somber as still water.

Silent.

However, the mysterious man wearing a purple cloak, his face unclear and his skin faintly translucent, kept shifting his focus among Shuanghan, Qian Nian, and Qiqu, the super-newcomers with hidden strengths, seemingly scheming something.

“Life, or human life, never eases its difficulty because of your compromises or retreats! Life is always tough! We could yield once, twice, or even for a lifetime. But if we bow our heads time and again, what future can we speak of?”

“We can endure the agony of training, sweat profusely for a future in the Celestial Realm, to achieve transcendence!”

“But what kind of person will we become if we let that perseverance deflate?”

“Can cowards achieve transcendence?”

“Impossible!”

“When retreat and compromise become habitual, what kind of person will we become?”

“Those adults, who compromise for the continuation and development of their families, have no hope of reaching higher levels. Their spirit is gone, their ideals extinguished. They bow their heads to reality, bear the pain with their shoulders, support their families with their spines, and leave hope to us, the younger generation!”

“Who are we? We are the youth, vibrant and in the prime of life, with vitality boiling in our bodies and hope shining above us. For us, everything is still possible!”

“Among you, some might become legends, some might ascend to the Celestial Realm, ignite the divine fire, and ascend to godhood!”

“That is our future!”

“When you look back on your past, would you want to see a once utterly cowardly self, a stain in the brilliance of your life?”

“We are still young; we can afford to fail, but we absolutely cannot allow cowardice, and we absolutely must not shrink back or compromise in the face of reality. We fight not only for ourselves but also bear the hopes of our families and the fervent expectations of countless loved ones! There is no need for us to learn to bow down to reality prematurely—that is what hopeless adults do. We are the youth that no hardships or difficulties can defeat! We will never admit defeat! We may lose battles, but each time, we will rise again and become even stronger! We should face challenges fearlessly! We should meet difficulties head-on! Life is always so hard, so is there really any need for us to keep hiding?”

“Is it useful?”

“Tell me, when challenges come your way, is running away useful?”

“Will your opponents, your enemies, show mercy and let you off just because you bow your head?”

“No! Compromise and retreat will only make them more aggressive! Cowardice will only make them more arrogant! They will defeat you and slaughter your families! If you do not fight, your enemies will insult every loved one who supports you even more viciously!”

“Like the rising sun, are you to set before you’ve fully risen, shrinking in the pitiful twilight?”

“Tell me, do you want to back down in the face of reality?”

“I don’t know what your answer is, but let me tell you mine—I, Li Ao, will not back down, will not compromise, will not bow to any challenge reality throws at me! I want to make my own voice heard in this world, I want to prove to the world that I too can shine brilliantly, I want to send out a beam of light that is uniquely mine, I want to tell the world that I was here! Perhaps I will be like a shooting star, fleeting, but I have certainly left my mark here that is completely my own!”

“To hell with keeping a low profile!”

“Why should we keep a low profile? Why can’t we show off our talents? Why can’t we let our own light shine?”

“Every challenge, we must stomp under our feet, we are born to stand on the highest peaks and look down on all beings, we must not only leap out of Tianfeng Continent, but also advance to the Celestial Realm, where we will forge our godly thrones, imprint our divinity, and achieve eternal immortality!”

“To the youths running with me under the banner of youth, what is your answer?”

“Tell me your answer?”

“Do you want to join me in accepting the challenges of life? Do you want to join me in pushing the limits? Do you want to join me in fighting to the death? Do you want to join me in battling to the last moment of our lives? We can bleed dry, but we will not compromise! We may be obliterated into cosmic dust, but we will not regret having lived and challenged life to the fullest!”

“Perhaps one day we will grow old, but when we look back, we will tell ourselves that our youth was without regrets, we at least tried hard to challenge, we fought for our damn ideals to the last drop of our hot blood!”

“Fight, let us roar at fate, we must emit our own youthful roars!”

“Come on, young one, fight with me!”

“Now tell me!”

“Who?”

“Who will fight me?”