Resolve to Succeed

"Huh?"

Chu Yunpeng, who had answered the phone, was immediately stunned.

That questioning tone... What was going on?

"No, I just told her that a ridiculously powerful guy had joined our team this time and helped us make a fortune. I didn't say anything else," Chu Yunpeng hurriedly explained. "We agreed to keep the Frost Shadow Deer thing between us. How could I tell anyone? Why are you suddenly asking me this?"

"Wait!" Chu Yunpeng's voice suddenly rose several pitches. "Did someone come looking for you?"

"Yeah. Zhao Changkong, the supervisor of the Extreme Martial Arts Gym here in the Northeast."

"Zhao Changkong?" Chu Yunpeng froze. As if he'd thought of something, his tone suddenly turned apologetic. "I... I know. It must be because of my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend..." Chu He repeated the rather strange word, puzzled.

Wasn't he an Intermediate War General Level Warrior? How could he be short on girlfriends?

After a long silence, Chu Yunpeng explained, "My girlfriend's surname is Zhao. She's related to Zhao Changkong—one of those distant branches of a major family."

"She's always wanted to return to the main family. It hadn't affected me before, and I thought it was nice for a girl to have ambition, so I didn't interfere. This time... she probably wanted to earn some credit, so she told them the little bit I'd mentioned about you."

Hearing this, Chu He finally understood what had happened.

Fortunately, Zhao Changkong hadn't heard much from Chu Yunpeng. Or rather, Chu Yunpeng hadn't told his girlfriend much about Chu He's strength, leading Zhao Changkong to make a wrong assessment.

"Brother Chu, I know this is your private matter, and ordinarily I wouldn't interfere. But since it involves me, I think I have some right to speak up."

"About your girlfriend..."

Before Chu He could finish, Chu Yunpeng cut in. "I know. I was in the wrong before. After this, I've seen things clearly. If her family matters more to her than I do, then there's nothing left to say."

"I'm not the kind of guy who gets hung up on one woman. I'll find someone who cares about me and has a good personality."

"Chu He, I owe you one for this. If you ever need anything, just call. I'll be there right away."

With the misunderstanding cleared up, Chu He didn't say anything more. They exchanged a few pleasantries and hung up.

When Chu He went downstairs to the living room, he saw his father curled up on the sofa, lost in thought.

Chu He was curious about his grandfather, too.

Ever since he was old enough to remember, he'd never met his grandfather, a War God Level fighter. Yet his grandfather's influence could be felt in every aspect of their lives.

Chu He sat beside Chu Tianxiong, filled both their cups with tea, and asked, "Dad, what kind of person was Grandpa?"

"Your grandfather... Ah." Chu Tianxiong sighed. "He was extraordinarily gifted. He broke through to the War God Level using nothing but the family's Ancient Martial Arts technique, the Seven Star Blade. He even compiled an entire set of Secret Techniques, but unfortunately..."

"Unfortunately what?" Chu He pressed.

Chu Tianxiong looked at his son and finally decided to explain everything.

The family's descendants needed to remember what had happened to Chu Jingfeng. And perhaps this son of his could even avenge his grandfather.

"Back in '38, the Base Cities hadn't been established for long, and Beast Tides happened much more frequently than they do now. That year, Beast Tides of all sizes regularly attacked the Base Cities. The largest one came when two separate Beast Tides charged toward the Base City from the east and west at the same time."

"Two?" Chu He asked, puzzled.

The year '38 didn't mean much to Chu He.

He'd been born on October 1, '39, so it had happened before his birth.

But... two Beast Tides didn't sound like much.

"Those two Beast Tides came from the Greater Khingan Mountains and Changbai Mountain."

Oh...

Chu He understood.

The Greater Khingan Mountains, the Lesser Khingan Mountains, and Changbai Mountain were the three largest and most important mountain ranges in the Northeast Region.

The Northeast Base City sat right between the Greater Khingan Mountains and Changbai Mountain.

No wonder two Beast Tides had been called the largest and most dangerous.

But surely they already had Laser Cannons back then!

Chu Tianxiong glanced at Chu He. "You think the Base City is safe just because it has Laser Cannons?"

"Developing Laser Cannons marked the end of large-scale warfare between humans and monsters, but the cannons themselves have their limits. Otherwise, why would we have built only six Base Cities? That's clearly not enough. Adding three more wouldn't change the overall situation, would it?"

"The main reason is that there are only so many large Laser Cannons, and they're a pain to maintain."

"At the time, the large Laser Cannon in the Northeast Base City had malfunctioned. The military was tied up on the Greater Khingan Mountains side, dealing with the Beast Tide there, when another Beast Tide suddenly broke out in the direction of Changbai Mountain..."

Chu Tianxiong's voice sank, full of regret.

"Ordinarily, the Beast Tide coming from Changbai Mountain would have been held back by civilian forces, buying time for the military to redeploy."

"So Grandpa died there?" Chu He asked tentatively.

Chu He still didn't understand. From the sound of it, his grandfather's death had little to do with the Two Great Martial Arts Halls. Why did they act as if they'd committed some terrible crime and couldn't face his father?

"Maybe they blamed themselves for arriving too late." Tears welled in Chu Tianxiong's eyes. "I never blamed them. I only blame myself. If I'd trained properly when I was young, maybe... maybe..."

Chu Tianxiong was soon weeping too hard to speak.

"Don't worry, Dad. Before long, I'll personally wipe out everything in Changbai Mountain. That'll avenge Grandpa, too."

Chu He looked at the old man curled up on the sofa, sobbing uncontrollably, and patted his shoulder, unsure how to comfort him.

A six-foot-tall man, regretting the choices he'd made as a child, was curled up on a tiny sofa and crying like one.

And all of it was happening in front of his own son.

In the end, Chu He quietly left the living room.

In the Martial Arts Hall on the second floor, Chu He sat cross-legged on the carpet, five streaks of light circling back and forth beside him.

His Spiritual Force hadn't improved much, but as his control grew, he could now manipulate five Flying Daggers perfectly.

At that moment, though, the five streaks of light were clearly moving in a chaotic pattern.

Chu He was obviously not as calm as he seemed.

For various reasons, Hong and the others had chosen to leave the monsters alive along the original course of events.

But if... Earth Humans grew strong enough, and monsters no higher than the Planetary Level could no longer serve as training opponents, there'd be no reason to leave them alive.

At worst... he could move all the monsters to other planets in the Solar System!

With the White Jade Wine Pot in his possession, Chu He had absolute faith that he could improve everyone's bloodline.

The five streaks of light suddenly stopped in midair. Cold gleams flowed across the blades, their sharpness seeming capable of tearing through space.

When that time came, he would wipe out every monster on Earth!

He would destroy their lairs and wipe out their kind!