Martial Arts Genius with Proficiency System Chapter 946 - 419: All of Us May Die, But Not You—You Will Ascend to Divinity atop Our Bones

They employ this ritual to constantly remind everyone that we all belong to the Human Race...

Gazing into the blazing pit, Su Tu stood visibly stunned. He was familiar with this tradition, yet he never imagined seeing such a venerable rite performed right here.

At his side, Lin An promptly sent a Heart and Spirit transmission to clarify things for Su Tu.

"It’s not about indulging in empty formalities; the problem lies with this throne!"

"Since this throne emerged, animosity between the races has surged twofold, and that malice targets not only the Foreign Race but even allies nearby."

"It has to be the throne’s influence."

"The competition’s rule boils down to one thing: slay every heaven’s pride expert and claim the throne. Thus, I worry that when the throne fully activates, it will lure everyone toward it, ignoring allies or enemies, compelling them to kill and vie for the seat."

"To avert that disaster, Lanshan proposed this old custom to keep drilling into our heads that we’re all Human Race and must shun fighting among ourselves."

After listening to Lin An, Su Tu gave a faint nod.

The rule this time demands the fall of all beneath the heavens, with one sole survivor claiming the emperor’s path, so it’s no shock the throne ignites murderous urges in everyone.

Their swift response and clever counterplan were truly impressive.

The three from the Ten Celestial Martial Race proved exceptionally outstanding; Simu Jiuchen boasted fearsome battle power, and Su Tu had gauged the subtlety from that recent punch.

This guy’s power falls just short of Long Wang’s, where even hundreds of clashes might end without a clear winner.

Lin An, meanwhile, exuded strong leadership; heaven’s pride experts tend to be haughty, especially these elite ones. Su Tu observed that the heaven’s pride experts showed respect to Simu Jiuchen and Zhao Lanshan mainly because of their status in the Ten Celestial Martial Race.

Yet they followed Lin An willingly, revealing an innate commanding aura that’s incredibly hard to cultivate naturally.

Zhao Lanshan excelled in caution. Journeying from the Human Race gathering to here, he stayed almost unharmed and wiped out multiple races, highlighting his prowess.

The current generation’s walkers of the Ten Celestial Martial Race were destined to shine, forever standing as the pinnacle of the Human Race’s youth.

Still, overshadowed by Su Tu’s dominance, these walkers seemed dimmed and inconspicuous, though that hardly meant they lacked strength.

"What’s to be done?"

"If we fight to the finish, we’ll end up as rivals to each other."

Su Tu sent via Heart and Spirit.

Hearing this dilemma, the previously quiet Zhao Lanshan furrowed his brows, as Lin An shook his head in resignation.

Simu Jiuchen hid nothing, flashing a broad grin that bared his gleaming white teeth.

"What’s there to ponder? You’re so overwhelmingly powerful, we’re not even on your level."

"How could we stand against you? We’ve got some trump cards, sure, but we’d never unleash them on fellow Humans."

"At heart, we walkers embody our ancestors’ will, fighting for the Human Race. The Human Race has no gods, yet gods are coming back."

"You surpass us and deserve that seat far more. What the Human Race craves isn’t a crowd of heaven’s pride experts, but a genuine ’god!’"

"Su Tu, we’ve made up our minds!!"

Simu Jiuchen clapped Lin An’s somewhat narrow shoulder next to him hard enough to make Lin An stumble.

"The Human Race made it this far with the backing of countless families, bound together as one. I’m no expert in politics or schemes. I can’t fathom the Federation’s current maneuvers, but one truth stands: we’re all Human Race!"

"Su Tu!! We back you to take the throne!!"

Simu Jiuchen’s tone lacked fervor, carrying a quiet steadiness instead, which let Su Tu sense his deep sincerity all the more.

The other’s declaration utterly surpassed what Su Tu had anticipated.

He’d figured they’d speak of battling Foreign Races first, then letting strength decide.

Instead, this unforeseen pledge emerged.

And it came from the Ten Celestial Martial Race walkers, famed as the youth’s guiding lights across eras, choosing this path.

Uttering those words meant... accepting death on their own terms.

Su Tu’s Inference of Heaven’s intuition confirmed they spoke truth.

Suddenly, Su Tu found himself at a loss for words, unsure how to reply. Indeed, with his present might, he held firm assurance to seize the throne if it came to pure contests of ability.

Yet the astonishment sparked by the declaration "we will support you to ascend the throne" stirred a sensation utterly unlike the previous one.

His eyes shifted without control to the remaining heaven’s pride experts gathered there, most of whom he identified accurately from their spars in the Ancestor Hall.

Still, neither Feng nor Mu Wuyang appeared in the bunch, and Jia Xun was nowhere to be seen either.

Su Tu simply assumed they remained locked in combat somewhere else and didn’t dwell on it.

Turning his attention to those concentrating on recovering their conditions, the heaven’s pride experts aimed to reach peak form right before the throne materialized completely.

In preparation for the imminent slaughter, Su Tu spotted burning ambition in the gazes of several, which came as no surprise.

Human hearts differ vastly, each shaped uniquely from birth.

Su Tu held no illusion that all these heaven’s pride experts would meekly transform into emperor dao skeletons; they were prodigies forged in relentless advancement.

Maybe Su Tu’s inner turmoil showed plainly on his face.

Zhao Lanshan’s voice resounded directly in his mind.

"Xiaotu, using this name makes things feel more intimate, so I’ll take the liberty of calling you that."

"I see what’s on your mind. Not everybody accepts playing second fiddle, and not all grasp the dire straits the Human Race confronts today.

When we discovered that every child from our ten tribes starts their first lesson at age eight, centered on meditating upon the Heart and Spirit from the Human Race’s primordial exodus from the Star River.

We truly comprehend that existence. The Human Race can feud internally and wage wars among kin, but never sink to livestock, blood sustenance, or playthings!!

Gods return while the Human Race lacks its own divinities—how can it claim stature as a supreme civilization? Beneath true gods, every creature crawls as ants. With endless foes amassed, the gods’ homecoming demands reckoning with the Human Race first.

The Human Race cannot suffer that torment anew; therefore, it absolutely must, must!! must!!! produce its own god!!"

Zhao Lanshan delivered these words with grave intensity.

"To achieve this, any sacrifice proves justified; I can perish, Anzi can fall, the brute too, but you must endure."

"I’ll play the role of the villain here."

Zhao Lanshan’s tone stayed devoid of feeling, soft yet ruthlessly mechanical.

Hearing this, Su Tu unusually lapsed into quiet contemplation, at a loss for words.

His fists tightened instinctively while his eyes fixed on the throne, swirling with emotions too profound to name.

He could protest, claim the righteous vantage, and challenge Zhao Lanshan and his allies for presuming to dictate another’s destiny—even if he stood to gain everything.

Yet after all his ordeals, he grasped deeply that no triumph ever comes without lives given in tribute.

"Have you uncovered secrets I’m unaware of?"

A moment later, Su Tu inquired with utmost seriousness.

Given Su Tu’s prowess, Zhao Lanshan and the rest—if merely intent on backing his throne ascent—had no cause for such elaborate explanations; they could simply await the climactic clashes.

But their statements now sharpened Su Tu’s suspicions.

The trio’s promised support went far beyond yielding matches, accepting defeat, and courting death to crown him.

They knew hidden truths, prompting these very declarations.

At this, Zhao Lanshan and companions shared looks, as Lin An let out a light chuckle: "You’re sharp as ever, sensing the irregularity from mere phrases."

"We planned to handle it discreetly, yet some lingering youthful idealism made us want to etch a memory."

"In the end, we chose to imprint a noble, forthright image in the soul of the coming ’god,’ that is, you."

Lin An’s words flowed with wry levity, yet Su Tu detected the grim bloodshed lurking beneath….

Gazing upon the three, his pupils quivered abruptly, a hint of azure flickering forth. Activating Inference of Heaven, Su Tu assumed an all-seeing perch, as though surveying the Dao’s terminus from afar.

Next, the Innate Divine Technique Life and Death in the Palm unleashed, drawing forth every thread of cause and effect. A mere glance at the trio unveiled endless causal lines, futures and possibilities churning in vortex.

In that instant!!

Su Tu beheld… An elder loomed behind them, one intimately familiar to him, a companion from boyhood—not blood kin, but family all the same…

Gong Uncle!!!