Man on the ark, forced to become king

"Brother, there's no need to be modest. You've been practicing martial arts for a hundred years, and so have I."

After the fight, Lin Lu felt quite comfortable. Since coming to this world, this was the first time he had met someone who could rival him in martial arts.

In this competition, he won because of his strong physique, but he did not actually surpass Chongyue in skill.

“Oh? That’s right. Such martial arts skills cannot be acquired overnight. Mr. Lin must have practiced martial arts for many years to achieve such profound skills.”

Chongyue was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly realized.

Indeed, such skills cannot be mastered in just a few years or decades, and that power that surpasses even the gods cannot be acquired in a short time.

Someone like Lin Lu is definitely not a short-lived mortal; she is most likely a long-lived being who has lived for a very long time.

"No, I never practice martial arts, I only kill people. The more I kill, the more I naturally understand."

Lin Lu waved her hand and gave a casual explanation.

Practicing martial arts? When would he have time to practice martial arts?

When he was at the border, he was either fighting with the enemy or on his way to fight. His high throne was covered in blood.

Behind this martial art lies countless deaths and countless brushes with death.

The martial arts skills he displayed in his fight against Chongyue were only one aspect of the battle.

Although he didn't truly surpass Chongyue in hand-to-hand combat, in a life-or-death battle, Chongyue would definitely be no match for him.

The killing techniques built from countless corpses are not just about fists and feet.

"I see."

Chongyue was taken aback, but didn't take it seriously, assuming Lin Lu was just joking.

Killing people to practice martial arts is certainly feasible; the efficiency of growing through combat is far greater than that of burying oneself in hard training.

But we can't keep killing forever, can we?

No one can fight continuously for so long. Putting aside everything else, if someone were to spend decades or even centuries fighting, their spirit would not be able to withstand it, and they would have collapsed long ago.

"Mr. Lin, I have a question."

Putting that topic aside, Chongyue suddenly looked up, his expression solemn: "What is martial arts?"

This question came quite abruptly, but it is indeed what he is thinking right now.

Having practiced martial arts for hundreds of years, he had seen countless martial artists and heard countless discussions about martial arts, but those people were still far behind.

Now that he has finally encountered a worthy opponent, he wants to hear Lin Lu's answer.

What is martial arts?

Lin Lu scratched her head and smiled wryly: "In my opinion, stopping war is the best form of martial arts!"

"We practice martial arts precisely to resolve conflicts, right?"

"As long as your fist is big enough, you can make the other party calmly reason with you when there is a dispute, and you can also make them willing to listen to your reasoning calmly. In this way, the problem will naturally be solved."

Chapter 185 Strength is the capital to do whatever you want

"This……"

These words startled Chongyue, who then shook his head: "How can we always rely on war to solve problems?"

"What else can we do?"

Lin Lu pointed to the raging fire that burned endlessly in the desert and laughed, "This is the nature of the world; only the strong can make the rules."

"Look at the demons spying outside Yumen Pass, isn't that the same thing?"

"Before I arrived, they were so overwhelming that Yumen Pass could hardly breathe."

"After I arrive, a great fire will be able to burn it down."

"What do I rely on? In the end, it's still force. My fist is bigger than theirs, so they have to back down. Even a mindless monster has to follow my rules."

"But……"

Chongyue frowned, wanting to refute, but found he couldn't find a reason to do so.

This is indeed the essence of the world. Even with the guise of civilization, it has not shed its wild and untamed nature. Strength and weakness have always been the core of the operation of order.

"Enough, enough, what's the point of saying all this? Everyone has their own ambitions, and we can't force them. My thoughts are just mine, and you have your own principles. Such arguments are meaningless."

Although it was clear that Chongyue wanted to continue, Lin Lu had lost interest in arguing further.

As he said, it makes no sense.

Those who reach the top in a certain field all have their own unique principles that cannot be easily shaken.

Chongyue was such a person, and so was he.

Starting from humble beginnings, wading through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, slaying evil monsters, battling demigods, wielding a sword like a god, and finally ascending the throne—all of this was achieved through an unwavering and steadfast will.

Unwilling to accept defeat, refusing to yield to powerful enemies; if the enemy is strong, then make yourself stronger!

As long as he is stronger than everyone else, he is the king!

This is his reasoning; whether it's right or wrong is other people's business and won't shake his own convictions.

That makes sense.

His furrowed brows relaxed, and Chongyue seemed to have realized something.

"Once the matter at Yumen is settled, it will be time to leave, to wander through this mortal world, and to find an answer."

"Does it really matter whether there's an answer or not?"

Lin Lu looked at him and shook her head again.

"You've guarded Yumen Pass for a hundred years, is it really just to seek an answer? In my opinion, you've trapped yourself. You gods are thinking about strange things that I can't understand."

"If you ask me, just follow your heart, why worry about so much?"

"Do what you want to do. If you can't do it, it means you're not strong enough. Make yourself stronger."

"People can't stand still; they always have to look forward."

"Look at me, my thinking is very simple. That's to make myself stronger, even stronger. There's no confusion at all, it's that simple."

"Mr. Lin, do you think you're not strong enough?"

Chongyue's expression changed, and Linghe Zuo Xuanliao also seemed somewhat unable to understand.

In their view, someone like Lin Lu has already reached the pinnacle of the world, so why is she so obsessed with becoming stronger?

Isn't our current strength enough?

Not to mention mortals, even gods cannot resist the mighty power of this raging fire. Even if we go further, what else can we do?

"Not enough, not enough, far from enough."

"Furthermore, do you really understand what true strength is?"

Ultimately, both Reiwa and Chongyue are fragments split off from the giant beast 'Sui'. Even if one of them reached the pinnacle of martial arts and the other attained a state of carefree ease, leaving behind countless legends, and even if they grew to a level comparable to true gods as fragments, this cannot change the fact.

Their understanding of this world is far too limited; all they see is the Yan Kingdom.

Can someone be considered powerful if they can cut down mountains and destroy cities, using their individual strength to rival natural disasters?

What kind of strength is that?

Lin Lu has only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg of this world based on the information she has, yet it is far more than what they have seen.

The origins of the demonic species, the mysterious sea creatures, and the ancient Ticaz race that once ruled this world—these are all just appearances.

Behind all this lies a mysterious 'pre-civilization' that may have created the world we know today.

Now, in addition to this world, there are those Outer Gods and Supreme Wills who have come from the borderlands.

The power of those things is far more than just destroying a few mountains or leveling a few cities.

When you reach that level, you see the whole world; the boundary is a good example.

An unparalleled will could manipulate the entire border region at will, and destroy any civilization within it would only require dropping a meteorite from the stars.

Faced with such power, how much resistance could so-called gods possibly offer?

Lin Lu doesn't think his current strength is enough to fight future enemies.

Or rather, there is never enough power; the higher you stand, the higher the level of your enemies will be.

"Natural disasters, behemoths, demons—aren't these enough to make you strong?"

Zuo Xuanliao couldn't help but speak up. He was a general of the Yan Kingdom, who had fought all his life, suppressing evil demons in the north. He had witnessed power far beyond that of ordinary people. How could he say he didn't understand true strength?

"Ha, what's that?"

Without any sarcasm or ridicule, Lin Lu was simply stating a plain fact.

"Natural disaster? It's not difficult to destroy that thing. Not to mention me, your sister could do it, and she has done it before."

“A behemoth? You mean the Year? It is indeed somewhat interesting, but that’s about it. If I wanted to kill it, it wouldn’t take me half a day.”

"Demons? These are the things that fled in a sorry state after being burned? A bunch of mindless beasts, not even as strong as giants, how powerful could they be?"

“I am telling you now, never think that you have enough strength, and never think that there is anything wrong with pursuing strength.”