Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 409 - 382 Old Fist God and Shan Liangyi 1

Chapter 409: 382 Old Fist God and Shan Liangyi 1

The words of the Old Fist God seemed a bit strange.

He clearly didn’t know how Weichi planned to become stronger, yet he was certain in advance that Weichi must pay the price of ’cannot be paid without courage’ to become stronger, which is truly puzzling.

Fortunately, I am no longer the newcomer who entered the abnormal world without any knowledge of the common sense of demon hunters. I can somewhat surmise the reason why the Old Fist God would say such things.

The paths for demon hunters to grow stronger are fundamentally different from those of ordinary people.

The mana used by demon hunters is essentially the power of the mind. When it comes to the power of the mind, it seems more romantic and full of possibilities compared to physical power, yet in some ways, it is less adaptable than physical power.

An ordinary person—even one who detests combat—can be forced to learn the techniques of fighting and wielding weapons by various means. As long as his body remembers the experience and sensation of combat and knows how to make the right decisions on the battlefield, he can become a competent warrior. However, a demon hunter cannot do it if they say they can’t. If such a hunter is disgusted with killing others from the bottom of their heart, they are destined to achieve no remarkable success in this area.

Unless they become something outside of themselves.

Young Zhu Shi—or rather Zhu Jiuxing—was a child who very much hated causing harm to others, but she made the heavy decision to take on the family’s duty as a demon hunter, setting an aspiration and resolve contrary to her nature. As a result, the nature of her soul changed drastically, and her personality followed, becoming like a different person.

At that time, Zhu Jiuxing was in the most malleable period of childhood. Although it wouldn’t be right to say she experienced complete spirit death, she nonetheless lost the feeling of love and even her innate Right Positioning Heavenly Phenomena deteriorated into the power of Buzhou Mountain.

But Weichi is an adult with fully formed ideas and beliefs. Since he still struggles with combat after reaching the Great Success Rank, it can only mean he is spiritually unsuited to combat. To gain the power required to personally kill the Old Fist God, he must undergo a spiritual transformation no less than that of Zhu Jiuxing.

That would certainly lead to the current Weichi being spiritually killed and give rise to a new self that isn’t him.

Comparatively, it’s like if I gave up my pursuit of adventure—would I still be me?

"The arrays in which you excel are the way of gradual wisdom," the Old Fist God seemed to see through everything about Weichi. "Once you begin to hastily pursue power at all costs, not only may you fail to build on the path of strength, but you will also lose the original wisdom you possess."

"Unlike the talent for power, the talent for wisdom is very fragile. You must nurture it carefully, or it will wither easily."

"Even so, do you still wish to pursue power?"

From Weichi’s expression, it seemed the Old Fist God had hit the nail on the head.

Weichi glared fiercely at the Old Fist God and said resentfully, "Don’t adopt that mentor-like attitude with me now... Qilin was your student, so why did you kill Qilin?"

"Strange, haven’t I told you before?" the Old Fist God said casually, "It was an accident, you see."

"Accident!?" Weichi’s eyes were bloodshot.

"I realized my student seemed to have gotten quite strong, and rumors were afloat that she might even surpass me, so I was very curious," the Old Fist God reminisced with a smile. "I thought after falling in love and getting married, she would have surely neglected her skills, but apparently, things weren’t as I expected. So I visited her and engaged in a long overdue martial exchange to see how much she’d grown since graduating."

"The result was astonishing; could love truly make women stronger? Although I anticipated she might have gotten stronger, I didn’t expect her to be that much stronger! Thus, in my delight, I couldn’t help using a bit more force."

"By the time I came to my senses, she was already dead."

Could that really be the truth? Even as an onlooker, I found this too absurd and suspected some hidden context, let alone Weichi, who seemed to be clenching his fists to the point of breaking.

"However, I believe Qilin must have been happy too," the Old Fist God said. "Although I deeply regret her death, to die in combat with a formidable opponent is perhaps a fortunate thing."

"It’s fine if you’re seeking revenge for yourself, but if it’s for ’avenging her,’ then you might be misinterpreting her intentions."

Weichi finally could not resist roaring, "Stop joking! Do you think Qilin was a battle maniac just like you? She’s different from a battle-obsessed freak like you; she always just used the mask of madness to cover her inner pain... You know nothing about her suffering and vulnerability, and yet you keep talking... Is that what makes you Qilin’s master!?"

"True," the Old Fist God didn’t completely deny it. "Qilin and I have different ages, genders, and life experiences, and regardless of how long we’ve spent together, I can’t claim complete understanding of her."

"But do you truly understand my student? You think Qilin pursued power only due to childhood shadows, but to me, Qilin had long surmounted her childhood. Isn’t the one who hasn’t moved past it actually you?"

"Is what you see in your eyes her true self, or is it the fantasy you wishfully imagined?"

"I’m going to kill you..." Weichi raged, "No matter the cost... I will kill you!"

"I look forward to it," the Old Fist God said.

Could it be that he was intentionally provoking Weichi just now?

"Well, it’s about time for me to head over there; you guys can continue talking."

The Old Fist God bid farewell while picking up a plate, as if planning to change locations to continue eating.

I hadn’t forgotten that I had something important to ask, so I immediately called out to the Old Fist God, saying, "Wait, I have a matter I wish to ask you."

"What is it?" the Old Fist God asked, stopping.

"I want to know... how you defeated Shan Liangyi," I said. "I’ve heard you too were once a Liangyi inheritor, your gift distorted by Shan Liangyi. When facing Shan Liangyi head-on, the accumulated strength should be plundered along with the Power Seed. In fact, I’ve even heard the Power Seed within you had indeed disappeared..."

"Shan Liangyi... it’s been a long time since anyone mentioned matters related to him to me." The Old Fist God carefully examined me. "Moreover, you said ’also’..."

It was uncertain whether he’d noticed the Vermilion Bird Seed in my body, as he nodded and asked, "Are you also a Liangyi inheritor?"

"Indeed," I said.

"Well, I’m sorry, but I don’t even know how to explain defeating Shan Liangyi to you," the Old Fist God said. "Back then during the battle with Shan Liangyi, he did indeed take away the Power Seed from within me, but the abilities I’d accumulated weren’t lost because of that. I was only aware of the Power Seed being taken after defeating Shan Liangyi."

"You were unaware of the Power Seed being taken and why your accumulated ability didn’t disappear along with it? It wasn’t because you anticipated the enemy and made certain preparations beforehand?" I asked.

"It wasn’t." The Old Fist God said, "Although I was always active in this world, I never had a very deep understanding of abnormal things or demon hunters."

"At the time, I’d heard of Shan Liangyi during my training and knew I was what you’d call a Liangyi inheritor, but asking me to prepare in advance like a proper demon hunter would honestly be asking too much."

"So, even knowing about the relationship between Shan Liangyi and yourself, and having no expectation that your power wouldn’t be taken away, you still fought Shan Liangyi on that basis..." I pondered, "Was it Shan Liangyi who sought you out?"

The Old Fist God shook his head, "I was the one who challenged Shan Liangyi. At the time, I was going around challenging formidable characters, and Shan Liangyi seemed formidable, so I challenged him on a whim."

Isn’t this person’s way of doing things a bit too reckless?

The Old Fist God added, "If I have to give another reason... it was to vent my frustrations."

"Frustrations?" I asked.

"Since childhood, I’ve loved martial arts. Although I knew of demon hunters, I still preferred straightforward hand-to-hand skills over their mana and spells," the Old Fist God sighed. "Perhaps you wouldn’t understand why I insist on a power many consider outdated, but to me it’s a type of romance."

"Even in the world of common knowledge, despite the modern era of guns and artillery, there are still many enthusiasts obsessed with creating and wielding cold weapons. Perhaps their thoughts are similar to mine."

"Day after day, sweating and hardening oneself, systematically refining it into a stronger weapon—the process has a charm I can’t let go of."

"Then, in the year approaching fifty, I had a dream."

"A dream?" I asked.

"I dreamt of entering a sinful city, debating martial arts with a strange youth," the Old Fist God said, "and the youth wielded a skill I’d never imagined, of supernatural mastery. Upon waking, I was determined to recreate the youth’s skills in reality, relentlessly training to the point of exhaustion. I even ventured deep into the abnormal world, seeking inspiration through life-and-death battles with abnormal beings and demon hunters."

"At the moment when I felt closest to the youth in my dream, something peculiar suddenly befell me."

"It was this blasted thing that ruined my dreams of martial arts, inadvertently awakening my mana!"

The old man let out a voice filled with heartfelt distress.

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