Chapter 809 - 329: "Ascend or Die

Chen Mang nodded and smiled as he continued the conversation: "But humans have to try, don’t they? Maybe we’ll reach the top."

His confidence stemmed from having a backup plan.

His civilization had no territorial limits; all planets were contained within trains. Even if they encountered an insurmountable crisis, they could simply take the trains and flee.

"It’s quite strange when you think about it."

The elder remarked with a touch of melancholy: "Almost all civilization leaders have never won a lottery in their lifetime, yet they firmly believe they can emerge victorious from the battles of millions of civilizations."

"It’s really strange."

"Who knows where their confidence and assurance come from."

"Indeed."

The elder suddenly smacked his forehead: "I forgot about this. Most civilizations have no idea about these things until they develop; they never considered that there could be ’Cosmic Landmines’ in the cosmos, and they certainly don’t realize they’re within others’ civilization territories."

"Even until the crisis arrives, they don’t know what happened."

"No one tells them these things."

"Those advanced civilizations won’t go door to door advising people to definitely not dare to ascend their civilization, threatening to attack them if they do."

"But today, I’ve made it very clear to you, and you still haven’t wavered; you’re steadfast in your development, which makes me curious about where your confidence comes from. Of course, don’t worry, I won’t pursue the question—I have that much common sense."

"I just hope to remind you of one thing."

"In the cosmos—"

"Any confidence you have, other civilizations might have it too."

"Any secret you think should not be revealed might be known to everyone."

"Any method you think only you have, everyone else might have it too."

"Nothing is unique."

"In the cosmos, there’s no such thing as uniqueness."

"Don’t rely too much on your special methods; if you really want to take this path to the top, what you need is..."

"Absolute rational clarity."

"A thoroughly crushed conscience."

"An indomitable ambition."

"The gambler-like madness."

"And—"

"A massive amount of luck."

"The former accounts for 1%, the latter for 99%."

Chen Mang couldn’t help but laugh: "It sounds like the first four are completely useless, and you only need luck."

"Because that’s how it is."

The elder spread his hands helplessly: "The path to the top—it’s the most deadly and brutal path in the cosmos. I personally admire all civilization leaders who, knowing this path, still choose it voluntarily."

"But, I also have to admit, in my eyes, these people are like gamblers whose eyes have turned red."

"Even if they fail, they don’t deserve pity."

"You’ll need to stain your hands with the blood of many living beings. A single civilization represents tens to hundreds of billions of beings, and to become an advanced civilization, you’d have to personally massacre thousands of civilizations."

"You’ll lose your humanity."

"Gradually approaching divinity."

"Until you become a demon."

"Isn’t it becoming a god?"

"Gods don’t welcome those who’ve killed so many living beings."

"Then they should slay the gods too."

"Ah, that’s why I say people like you are too murderous; you can never become a Divine Mansion Civilization, and you can’t truly worship a deity. All you think about is that the deity seems to be exposing their health bar; why not fire a shot and see."

...

Chen Mang didn’t reply anymore. He just lit another cigarette before leaning back on the chair, lost in thought: "I can feel you’re advising me not to take this path, yet you seem to hope I don’t give up."

"People are always conflicted; it’s quite natural."

The elder took a smoke from Chen Mang, curiously examined it before lighting it and cautiously putting it in his mouth: "Your civilization was the first to sign a mutual assistance agreement with the Starfire Civilization. From a friend’s perspective, I hope you’re safe."

"But from another angle..."

"Your civilization is also the fastest-growing one I’ve seen, the fastest in terms of civilization explosion. No one dislikes witnessing a miracle, even if the miracle has nothing to do with them."

"If you truly reach the top, I will also be a witness to the miracle."

"But..."

"I do worry because the name of your civilization is a bit too arrogant."

"Human Civilization."

"I can tell you for sure, there’s a divine-level civilization called ’Human Civilization,’ and in the future, you’ll definitely clash with them. You should prepare yourself mentally."

"Your path to the top is harder than others."

"But—"

"There’s an insider gossip that during its ascent, the current divine-level ’Human Civilization’ didn’t use this name until it reached the top, when they then used some means to change the civilization’s name to ’Human Civilization.’ This isn’t exactly the righteous path."

"If you can reach the top with the name ’Human Civilization,’ you’ll become the true orthodox human civilization. You’ll gain recognition from over half of the human race civilizations in the cosmos. These civilizations will regard yours as the Holy Land of humans, and the prestige and various resources you possess after ascending will far surpass the current divine-level human civilization."

"Your path is truly the righteous path."

"Harder than everyone’s path to the top, but once reached, the gains will be unparalleled."

"After you."

"All civilizations naming themselves ’Human Civilization’ will be attacked by others spontaneously, and any civilization reaching the top with this name will be spontaneously besieged without you lifting a finger. People will no longer recognize a second human civilization; you will be the forever and only true orthodox."