Chapter 1142 - 379: A Short Story

"Of course I regret it. Let alone losing my legs, I feel uncomfortable if I just scrape a finger.

"But so many years have passed before I even realized it.

"Although I’ve lived a life without legs, at least I still have some memories left in my mind.

"All the brothers in our battalion died back then, and only your father managed to save me. Compared to my comrades, I’m actually quite lucky," Su Jianzhou said.

"Uncle, if you had never gone to the battlefield, you definitely would have lived a great life!" Su Yue nodded calmly. He looked at Su Jianzhou’s wheelchair, genuinely feeling that it wasn’t worth it for his uncle.

"No, you’re wrong. I definitely would still go to the battlefield!

"The Wetland from over a decade ago was completely different from how it is now. Back then, the Wet Ghost Towers would break open from time to time, and the alien races would slaughter everyone on sight. Any Martial Artist who ran away was a coward.

"If the frontlines fell, everyone would die. You wouldn’t even have the chance to be selfish.

"Actually, sometimes I feel pain, and sometimes I feel incredibly proud.

"In this life, I have at least defended a city and saved thousands of civilians. Even right before I die, I’ll feel that this life wasn’t lived in vain.

"Sometimes I regret it, and sometimes I don’t. I’m conflicted, and truthfully, I don’t have a definitive answer!

"Martial Artists aren’t saints. No one can be truly selfless, but I can guarantee that if I face another disaster, I myself won’t be selfish!" Su Jianzhou said.

"You can guarantee that you won’t be selfish, but you can’t guarantee the same for others," Su Yue said, a mocking curve playing on his lips.

"Tell me, what exactly did you encounter?" Su Jianzhou asked seriously.

In the past, whenever Su Yue came back, he would be high-spirited, looking as if he were ready to flatten the Eight Races Sacred Land. But this time, the light shining in his eyes was somewhat dim.

It wasn’t normal.

"In the past, I particularly worshipped Marshal Yuan Longhan. He is the Military God of the Divine Land, the War God of the Divine Land, and my father’s savior. He can even be considered half a teacher to my dad. I practically treated the Grand Marshal like an Immortal.

"But this time, I am incredibly disappointed..." Su Yue let out a cold laugh.

Afterward, he briefly recounted to Su Jianzhou how Yuan Longhan had deliberately given Bai Zhiyong a light sentence. His uncle wasn’t an outsider, so there was no harm in speaking of these things.

Su Yue had been holding in a breath of frustration.

Actually, he wasn’t angry at Bai Zhiyong’s despicable behavior at all. There were all kinds of people in the world, so it wasn’t surprising. It wasn’t even surprising that Bai Zhiyong had flaunted Yuan Longhan’s name to throw his weight around.

But Su Yue was disappointed by Yuan Longhan’s attitude. He had clearly witnessed everything Bai Zhiyong had done from beginning to end. He should have executed that bastard on the spot.

Combat Martial Artists fought bloody battles in the Wetland. They could die at any moment, and surviving entirely depended on luck. He was just a Qi and Blood Martial Artist. What right did he have to flaunt his power? What gave him the audacity to brazenly bully meritorious heroes?

Su Yue couldn’t figure it out.

"If I can’t even deal with a Qi and Blood Martial Artist who bullies me, what do I need these merits for?" he wondered. "I could just roam the world with a sword, uphold justice, kill whoever I want, and sleep whenever I want. Why should I risk my life?"

Although Bai Zhiyong had already tasted the bitter consequences of his actions, how many more Bai Zhiyongs were there in the Divine Land? He could use the Star-Washing Ice Crystal to negotiate terms with Yuan Longhan, but what about other Combat Martial Artists? When faced with injustice, what could they do?

Just thinking about the sight of Combat Martial Artists swallowing their anger made a fire burn in Su Yue’s heart. He was infuriated to his very core.

Over the past few days, Su Yue had been searching for an answer. He simply couldn’t find peace of mind.

"I can fight and kill the alien races in the Wetland. I can get injured, take risks, or even die, spilling my hot blood on the battlefield," Su Yue thought. "But I cannot stand this kind of humiliation."

If Bai Zhiyong had been a Combat Martial Artist with a bad character, Su Yue could have accepted it. He had been bullied by Li Duozhi time and time again in the past, after all. But Li Duozhi was at least fighting on the frontlines in the Wetland. He clearly could have been a teacher in the safety of Eastern Martial Arts University, yet he still chose to risk his life.

Even when Su Yue was beaten black and blue by him, he never felt this kind of disappointment.

"Even if Li Duozhi were to beat me to death, it would just mean my skills are inferior. I could admit defeat," he reasoned.

But not Bai Zhiyong. He wasn’t worthy.

Su Yue was truly disappointed to the core by how Yuan Longhan had handled Bai Zhiyong.

After he finished speaking, the living room fell silent for a few minutes.

Coincidentally, a news broadcast on the television happened to be playing a clip of Yuan Longhan’s speech. He was still as old and weathered as ever, yet brimming with vigor.

Yuan Longhan was still the peerless divine spear of the Divine Land. Even among foreign reporters, many wore T-shirts printed with the Marshal’s face, their expressions filled with adoration.

"Su Yue, imagine a scenario.

"Suppose a friend died in the Wetland to save you. He left behind a baby and asked you to raise him.

"You successfully raised this baby into an adult, but he had no interest in the martial dao. To repay his father’s favor, you allowed him to become a Qi and Blood Martial Artist, and even went out of your way to give him a better life as long as he didn’t make any mistakes.

"But ultimately, this baby made a mistake—though not one punishable by death. Would you kill him without a second thought?

"Fabricating a person in your mind might feel a bit hollow.

"What if this baby was Su Jianjun? Could you bring yourself to do it?

"Within the bounds of the law, you would definitely want to spare Su Jianjun’s life too, right?" Su Jianzhou sighed.

"I understand the logic, but I just can’t get over this hurdle!" Su Yue shook his head stubbornly.

"Actually, your expectations of Yuan Longhan are too high!

"Like us, he is essentially just an ordinary person, an old man who is protective of his own.

"The Marshal used to be an ordinary person too. He fought his way to this position. Although he is the strongest and has lived the longest, he has also racked up countless life-and-death debts."