You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?

The saying goes, "Three men make a tiger, many mouths melt gold."

Most people in this world are naturally prone to believing in rumors.

He knew the Demon Clan was to blame, but...

"The Crown Prince proposed the method of slaughtering the Mortals because he foresaw that many people would become angry due to the blindness and ignorance of the world."

The Second Prince said softly, "When I rejected his proposal in the Di Hong Palace earlier, he told me that I would regret it in the future, haha... Maybe so, I indeed have regretted more than once before, but if given another chance, I would probably make the same choice."

He spoke with a hint of mockery, "The Crown Prince says that being weak is a fault, this purely calculative method of treating beings as mere pawns might be correct... but knowing that the fault doesn't lie with the weak Mortals, yet striking down your own kind, can you still call yourself a person if you actually did that?"

Lin Yue fell silent for a moment and then said, "If it really came to the point of our clan's survival, how would Second Brother choose?"

"I have made such a choice before."

The Second Prince said calmly, "Often there are other methods, but... people always prioritize the path that's better for themselves, just like now, if all those Saints didn't care about their lives, even if they were all publicly executed and the country lost twenty percent of its national fortune, the situation would have a better chance of being salvaged, but no one wants to die in vain."

Lin Yue's heart stirred.

He always felt there was something strange about the Second Prince's tone, as if he really intended to do so.

Could it be that the Second Prince was not planning to save those Saints who might be publicly executed?

"Have you ever heard the story of the Human Ancestor leaving the Human Clan to explore the Eternal Night alone?"

The Second Prince suddenly looked at Lin Yue.

Lin Yue nodded slightly.

This was one of the tales of the Human Ancestor passed down from ancient times within the Human Clan.

The story went—

Before the Human Ancestor founded Martial Arts, the Human Clan only knew how to simply refine their bodies and sought Heaven and Earth Treasures to increase their strength.

When the Human Ancestor first created Martial Arts, because the practice was very demanding, the clansmen did not believe in him and were unwilling to learn Martial Arts.

To refine Martial Arts and prove himself, the Human Ancestor explored the Eternal Night alone, killed many Mutant Beasts, and brought the prey back to his clan, only then gaining their recognition.

From then on, the Martial Arts of the Human Ancestor began to be spread among the clansmen.

"Most stories are either fabricated or overly simplified."

The Second Prince shook his head slightly and added, "In fact, when the Human Ancestor first created Martial Arts, it incited greed among some clansmen. Life was tough for the Human Clan then, and for just a touch of Spiritual Power in wild fruits, there were fierce fights; it wasn't that they were unwilling to learn."

Lin Yue was slightly taken aback.

Indeed that was the case.

"At that time, the Human Ancestor hadn't consumed many Heaven and Earth Treasures and easily defeated those stronger than him, immediately catching the attention of his clansmen."

The Second Prince continued, "Many people were eager to learn; the Human Ancestor didn't keep it to himself and taught his painstakingly created Martial Arts thoroughly, but his Martial Arts Talent was unmatched to this day, and the progress of his clansmen in practicing Martial Arts lagged far behind him, leading them to suspect he had hidden secrets."

He sighed, "Back then, a group in the tribe captured the Human Ancestor, tortured him daily, and forced him to reveal the true method of martial arts training. No matter how the Human Ancestor explained, no one believed him, and eventually... those people, worried that the Human Ancestor would threaten their position within the clan, when they found they couldn't extract anything from him, they broke his limbs, leaving him disabled."

Lin Yue was taken aback.

All because of that... the Human Ancestor was tortured by his own kind to disability?

"If it wasn't for the Shennong Tribe hearing about the Human Ancestor creating Martial Arts and a major figure from the Shennong Tribe wanting to meet the Human Ancestor, he probably wouldn't have been able to survive."

The Second Prince shook his head slightly and continued, "After the Human Ancestor was taken away by the people of the Shennong Tribe, he met the then Lady Xi. Under Lady Xi's careful care, with the help of a precious Heaven and Earth Treasure, the Human Ancestor's body recovered, and he decided to take revenge."

Lin Yue suddenly understood.

Nv Xi was the wife of the Human Ancestor.

She was also one of the twelve original Demon Ancestors of the Demon Clan.

"A few years later, the Human Ancestor had honed his martial arts and returned to his clan."

"But he found that the people who had tormented him back then had already suspected he would return, fearing his revenge—one had married the Human Ancestor's sister, another married his daughter to the Human Ancestor's brother, and yet another had become intimate with his long-widowed aunt."

"The Human Ancestor wanted revenge. His relatives tried to stop him; those people begged for mercy and apologized, and he didn't know what to do."

At this point, the Second Prince looked at Lin Yue and asked, "If it were you, what would you do?"

Lin Yue paused for a moment then said, "After severing ties, those who should be killed must be killed."

"I knew you would choose thus. You're clear about honor and revenge which is admirable."

The Second Prince shook his head and smiled, saying, "The Human Ancestor did the same. Though he cherished his kin, he distinguished between favors and grudges cleanly. Ignoring the obstruction of his relatives, he killed those three and then departed."

Lin Yue nodded slightly.

Having known the Human Ancestor for so many years within the Eternal Darkness Reincarnation Coffin, he naturally guessed that Human Ancestor would make this choice.

"But this also triggered a subsequent tragedy."

The Second Prince said, "Humans are a race that loves internal strife, so the conflict within the tribe was no small matter. At that time, when the tribal chief saw the Human Ancestor's strength, he became very wary and spread rumors that martial arts practiced excessively would turn a person into a heartless, ruthless being, akin to a Mutant Beast, even capable of harming their own kin."

He sighed, "At the same time, the martial arts taught by the Human Ancestor were learned by a group of bandits who specialized in plundering and killing. Among them was a highly talented individual who, having learned the martial arts, became extraordinarily strong. Several large clans couldn't stop him, and many died. Even though the Human Ancestor killed that bandit, many still believed that martial arts could turn someone cold-hearted and ruthless. For a while, various clans were unwelcoming towards the Human Ancestor and even sought to expel him from the Human Clan's hidden territories."

Lin Yue was taken aback.

Even the Demon Path wasn't treated this way now?

The martial arts, regarded by the Human Clan as a salvation, initially faced such an outcome?

"The Human Ancestor began to wander while continuing to focus on developing martial arts, believing it could change the Human Clan."

The Second Prince continued, "At that time, the Human Clan was hunted by Mutant Beasts, almost unable to resist, merely letting themselves be eaten. Once, the Human Ancestor encountered a clan being attacked by a Mutant Beast. He revealed his true strength, killed the beast, and then left; however, other Mutant Beasts got wind of this, causing an uprising amongst them, which led to the destruction of several nearby clans."

"Thus, the Human Clan began to suspect that the martial arts of the Human Ancestor had threatened the Mutant Beasts, leading them to specifically target the Human Clan. Normally, the number of humans eaten each year was manageable, with enough births to keep up, but that incident led to the extinction of several clans."

"Many felt that it was imperative to eliminate the Human Ancestor quickly to avoid attracting the disaster of the Eternal Night."

"In the face of a situation where everyone was out to get him, the Human Ancestor had no choice but to leave the relatively safe Human Clan territory and venture into the more dangerous areas of Eternal Night."

"From that moment on, the Human Ancestor utterly lost hope in the Human Clan. He felt they did not deserve salvation. Already in possession of powerful martial arts, they saw it as a source of disaster. The man who saved them was viewed as a harbinger of calamity; he couldn't accept it."

"After many years, when the Human Ancestor's martial arts were fully realized, nothing in the Eternal Night could threaten him except for a Holy Beast."

"Perhaps due to loneliness, or perhaps missing Nv Xi, he returned to the Human Clan territory. Coincidentally, he discovered a clan under attack by Mutant Beasts. He didn't want to intervene, but couldn't resist and decided to kill the beasts then leave."

"What he didn't expect was that after so many years, many had already forgotten the so-called disastrous martial arts, and instead, they regarded him as a savior, electing him as the chief of their tribe."

"Most of the other clans had also forgotten him, simply admiring his strength and willing to follow him."

"Even in the tribe where Nv Xi lived, there were quite a few who believed in his martial arts and practiced it in secret, not only living longer lives but also gaining confidence in their tribe."

"Only then did the Human Ancestor realize… not everyone was wrong. Many were merely blindly following due to ignorance and fear, lacking only a sufficiently wise leader."

"There were always truly good people who understood him; he could no longer neglect them."

"Thus, the Human Ancestor decided to spend a lifetime teaching martial arts and everything he learned in the Eternal Night, so the Human Clan would no longer make wrong choices out of ignorance and fear."

The Second Prince spoke softly, as if narrating, yet as if he had witnessed it himself.