"Those born on the frontier must be prepared to sacrifice their lives for the Empire at any moment.
It is their fate, and their glory.
Sacrificing a small part of the Human Race for the greater good of our entire race... is a worthy trade."
"And what if it was your best friend being sacrificed?!"
Qin Feng’s question was like a red-hot branding iron, searing Yu Han’s most sensitive nerve.
"What if your family was among those three million compatriots?!
What about your parents, your closest friends, your revered master?!
Would you still think it was a worthy trade?! Would you, Master Yu Han!"
WHOOM—!
It was as if a star had exploded in Yu Han’s mind.
Qin Feng’s words were a key—a key stained with blood and tears. It brutally forced open a gate deep within his memories, a gate he himself had sealed shut with endless layers of regret and pain.
His pupils contracted violently, shrinking to dangerous pinpoints.
For the first time, his glacial expression, which seemed unchanged for ten thousand years, twisted violently.
He saw visions of mountains of corpses and a Sea of Blood. He saw planets burning, and countless familiar faces turning to ash as they screamed in agony.
A single, scalding tear escaped uncontrollably from the corner of his eye. But the moment it began to fall, the terrifying Spiritual Energy radiating from his body instantly vaporized it, leaving not even a trace behind.
He was struck dumb by Qin Feng’s soul-crushing question.
At that very moment, with tensions stretched to the breaking point and the atmosphere frozen solid...
THUD, THUD, THUD—
The sound of heavy footsteps, like a collapsing mountain, echoed slowly from the depths of the bamboo forest.
Each step seemed to land on everyone’s heart, making the very air solidify.
A figure, even taller and more powerfully built than Qin Feng, slowly emerged.
He wore the standard-issue training uniform of the Ultramarines Chapter. Beneath the black fabric, the terrifying contours of his muscles looked as though they were forged from divine metal.
His face was square and his gaze was imperious. It was none other than the Black Hole Level Powerhouse and Company Commander of the Ultramarines Chapter—Zhou Xiong.
This was a stark contrast to the gentle, almost lazy demeanor from their previous encounters. The Zhou Xiong of this moment radiated an Iron Blood authority forged in countless battles, the authority of a man who held the power of life and death over billions.
His gaze wasn’t on Yu Han. It was fixed on Qin Feng, pressing down on him with immense weight.
"You don’t accept it? Then get stronger. Get so strong that your Will becomes the Will of the Empire. So strong that your words become the rules everyone must obey."
Zhou Xiong’s voice wasn’t loud, yet it held an absolute power that permitted no argument.
Every syllable was like the decree of a fundamental law, branded deep into Qin Feng’s soul.
"You don’t accept it? Then go and change things.
If you don’t want the Empire to cultivate geniuses this way, then go to the Battlefield of Ten Thousand Races! Go into the depths of Chaos and personally sever the heads of countless demons and Alien Race gods! Use their corpses to pave a brighter path for the Empire and for the Human Race!"
"Until you have the power to change the status quo, you will obediently follow the rules!
So put away your ridiculous, childish emotions, and stop acting like a whining, unweaned infant!"
Zhou Xiong’s gaze suddenly turned incredibly severe, like two bolts of lightning tearing through the cosmos.
"Now! Back to your training!"
Those last four words hit like a military command, like a divine oracle, booming through the air.
"Yes."
Qin Feng bit his lip so hard it bled.
He felt a humiliation unlike any he had ever known—not because of Zhou Xiong’s rebuke, but because of his own weakness.
’Yes, Zhou Xiong was right.’
’Don’t accept it? Then change it.’
’Without power, you don’t even have the right to protest.’
He gave Zhou Xiong one last deep look, then glanced at Yu Han, who was still lost in some painful memory. Without another word, he clenched his fists, turned, and strode away with grim resolve.
Only when Qin Feng’s figure had completely vanished at the far end of the bamboo forest did the suffocating tension finally begin to ease.
Yu Han let out a long sigh, pulling himself free from the painful memories. He wiped at the non-existent tear stains at the corners of his eyes and looked at Zhou Xiong, a wry smile gracing his lips.
"Lord Zhou. You’re here.
The Empire cultivates Chaos Demons primarily by using death-row Interstellar Pirates and other major felons. They conduct the ’Raising Gu’ process on designated prison planets.
We’re... we were lying to Qin Feng.
Isn’t it... a little too soon to be giving him this kind of cruel ’political lesson’?"
Zhou Xiong turned. The suffocating authority vanished in an instant, replaced by a strange, sardonic tone.
"What do you mean, too soon? And what do you mean, lying?!
If we don’t give him his ’political lesson’ now, when should we? After he’s clad in the power armor of an Ultimate Warrior and hailed as a hero by the masses? Should we wait until he suffers some minor setback out there and just quits on the spot? Until he comes crying back to his alma mater, acting like a pathetic coward? Is *that* when you plan on teaching him a lesson?"
"Ahem... cough, cough."
Zhou Xiong’s words made Yu Han choke and cough repeatedly. His handsome face flushed crimson, and he forced an awkward smile that looked worse than if he’d been crying.
The man might as well have been pointing a finger in his face and cursing him out.
Zhou Xiong shot him a sidelong glance, snorted, and continued his verbal assault without holding back.
"Yu Han, you think I was just scolding him and not you?"
"You bastard! ’Don’t accept it? Then change it.’ I told you the exact same thing back in the day!
And what about you? What did *you* do?
You ran back to Canaan Star Martial Arts University to hide. You holed up in this Ivory Tower to play master, acting like a spineless coward for all these years! What was that all about?!
A genius once hailed as the ’Divine Spear,’ and this is all you’ve amounted to?