Chapter 265 – Survival of the Fittest (9)

“Of course, it’s because I want to go back to the past.”

The black-haired student laughed lightly and spoke casually, but there was a faint madness in his eyes.

Just a moment ago, he seemed to understand his situation well and was calm, but now there was something intense reflected in his eyes.

It wasn’t just me who felt it. Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes narrowed.

“When you say ‘the past,’ do you mean going back to the other world?”

“It’s similar, but a little different. I want to go back to the time before you, the Heavenly Demon, existed.”

“….”

Hong Yeon-hwa clenched her fists, thinking of something.

But even with such understandable anger, the black-haired student did not stop talking.

“It’s been over 15 years, but the memories of that time are still vivid. The sight of the beggars trembling at my gaze and gestures. The family that developed by using those beggars effectively….”

I couldn’t imagine what the past that the black-haired student was thinking of was like, but I could make a guess based on what happened in this village, what he said himself, and what I heard from Hong Yeon-hwa.

It must have been a world where only they were happy. Others would have been treated like useful livestock.

The atmosphere around them became chilly, but the black-haired student continued to speak without hesitation.

“Everything was perfect! I want to go back to that time! I wanted to become strong again!”

“It’s impossible as long as I exist.”

“Yes, that’s right. Since the Heavenly Demon was stronger than the entire Murim Alliance. Even if there was a way to go back, it would have been impossible.”

He nodded his head and added.

“That’s why I wanted to make this world like my hometown.”

“What?”

Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes widened at the scale of what he was saying, which was different from just raiding a village.

“What could I gain by inciting the Great Sects War? The only thing that happened was that the peace we have now was destroyed and the world became chaotic. And I wanted that chaos.”

Let’s assume that the Ming Dynasty royal family collapsed and someone took over the capital.

Others wouldn’t just sit still. The Murim factions would fight inside, and foreign enemies would invade from outside.

In the process, the existing rules and order would be trampled underfoot by swords and hooves, becoming a faded legacy of the past.

In the end, all that would remain would be the logic of power.

“When you think about it, it’s a natural thing, isn’t it? Why don’t you use your strength when you have it? Why do you have to care about the beggars who will die with one gesture?”

Chapter 265 – Survival of the Fittest (9)

The black-haired student looked frustrated, as if he couldn’t understand anything.

It was then that I realized what the source of his madness was.

“Survival of the fittest. The strong eat the weak, and the weak are eaten…Isn’t it a very natural law?”

The guy who spoke like that had no hesitation in his words.

As if he was absolutely right and believed that his thoughts were the truth, like a madman who didn’t doubt himself.

“In my eyes, this world looks strange. What are you training martial arts for? Why are you looking around at your surroundings? Why can’t you enjoy the rights of the strong?”

Born in a terrible world, the black-haired student thought it was natural. He didn’t even think that he was wrong, so he wanted to change the world, not himself.

Unfortunately, that was the worst direction he could have taken.

“In that sense, I…no, most of the Murim Alliance members won’t fear you, the Heavenly Demon, but they won’t hate you either.”

“Why me? First of all…why?”

“Because you are stronger than all of us. I told you, survival of the fittest.”

The black-haired student said it in a flat tone, as if it were something very natural.

“What happened to us was because the Heavenly Demon was strong. Just like I did to those weaker than me, you just ate us.”

No wonder he seemed strangely calm from the moment he was caught.

It wasn’t like he was being overly generous to himself like a saint.

He sincerely believed that being caught and killed by someone stronger than him was an inevitable thing.

He was a guy who could brainwash others like puppets with the soul possession technique…but now, I wondered if the black-haired student himself was under the influence of the soul possession technique.

How can a person be so twisted?

And what about the world of Hong Yeon-hwa, where such people ruled the entire Jungwon?

While I was lost in thought, Hong Yeon-hwa sighed once and put her foot on one of the black-haired student’s necks, who was still unharmed.

“You guys are all the same. All the guys we’ve caught so far have said similar things.”

“It’s a natural thing, isn’t it? Isn’t this a universal truth?”

As he spouted nonsense and laughed to himself, Hong Yeon-hwa cut him off.

“I’ve asked you everything I wanted to ask just now. Do you have anything else to ask?”

For a moment, Paeng So-so and Sama Ye-ryeong looked at each other before shaking their heads.

We knew there was no other colleague coming from the other side, we had resolved all the questions we had, and we had learned about the existence of time lag that occurs when traveling through dimensions.

“I don’t have any more questions.”

“Then we’re done here.”

“Heh…hehehe. Then keep your promise.”

“Of course. Promises must be kept.”

Hong Yeon-hwa nodded slightly and waved her hand in the air. With that, the strange energy that had been surrounding us dissipated, and we could hear the voices of those who had been freed from the soul possession technique. The sound of the black-haired student’s stronghold collapsing and the voices of those who had escaped the soul possession technique mixed together. Most of them were angry, ashamed, powerless, and a little scared.

They had all regained their senses, but none of them had the courage to stand before us and continue the interrogation in this ominous atmosphere. They all kept their distance.

Hong Yeon-hwa looked around at them for a moment. Women huddled together, crying, and their families comforting them. There were also young men with bloodshot eyes, and others staring blankly at small offerings.

Their memories of what had happened would not disappear easily.

Hong Yeon-hwa smiled coldly as she saw the easily discernible desire for revenge in the eyes of the villagers.

“I will keep my promise. But there may be some interference before that.”

“What…?”

The black-haired student finally realized what Hong Yeon-hwa was trying to say, and his face turned pale.

“Am I…going to die by those scumbags?”

“No. I told you, I will keep my promise. You will die by my hand.”

Until then, he had acted as if he didn’t care.

But when he realized what was going to happen, he panicked. Sama Ye-ryeong gestured to the villagers and muttered, “Isn’t this what you wanted, survival of the fittest? He has no inner energy, no limbs, and not enough brains.”

“But still! Still…!”

The black-haired student writhed on the ground, his one remaining leg flailing about, and shouted at me.

“Just kill me now! Cut my throat with that sword! Do it now!”

Hadn’t he just said that he wanted to be in the position of the strong?

For a guy who believed in the law of the jungle and was proud to be part of the strong, being beaten by an ordinary villager was a humiliating experience.

It might be a natural thing for someone who believed in the law of the jungle and was proud to be part of the strong, but it was still a humiliating experience. However, the fact remained that he was a ruthless murderer who had stepped on the weak. And there was a possibility that he might retaliate against the villagers, so I broke his one good leg.

“Aaaah!”

I said to him, “I think ‘survival of the fittest’ is more appropriate than ‘law of the jungle’.”

No one can be the strongest forever, and even if you’re weak, opportunities will come if you just keep living.

Right now, the people of Jungsu Village who were once about to be defeated by the Black Dragon’s students are now approaching him, ready to beat him to death.

Hong Yeon-hwa, who was born among the fugitives and deeply empathizes with them, calls herself a demon and is also like that.

As for me, I was able to win by leading the power of the Lingering Spirit Skill to the end of my persistent struggle against a stronger opponent.

Well, if you ask if I won by becoming stronger in the end, I don’t have much to say, but…

The point is that if you don’t want to get stabbed by a stronger guy later, you have to live while keeping your principles.

I asked Hong Yeon-hwa, who still looked uncomfortable, listening with one ear to the harsh curses, screams, and sounds of impact coming from behind.

“Oh, come to think of it, Yeon-hwa. I felt it while fighting that guy earlier, but for a Hwakyung, he was too weak, wasn’t he? Did I get stronger during that time?”

“It is true that you have become accustomed to your current level. However, it is also true that he was weak.”

Hong Yeon-hwa laughed bitterly and said.

“Think about it. Someone who devotes themselves to training themselves even in their daily life, and someone who learns martial arts to wield their strength to the fullest. Who do you think is stronger?”

“Ah.”

Of course, it’s the former.

Once you reach a certain level, you start to focus on enjoying it rather than training in martial arts.

Of course, even at the same level, there will inevitably be differences in skill.

“Moreover, he is someone who is not even in the memories of the Bonnyeo. In other words, he was someone who was not worth paying attention to when the Bonnyeo was rampaging over there. How could such a person rise to Hwakyung?”

He must have been talented enough to reach the peak. But that’s it.

Hong Yeon-hwa, no matter what, is not at the level where she can chew up everything.

And it’s not like he’s someone who works hard in training, either, so there’s no way he could have made it to Hwakyung.

“…Is it the Absorption Technique after all? But he didn’t use the Absorption Technique during the fight, did he?”

“He may have been able to use other secret techniques. The Jeonma clan, to which the Bonnyeo belonged, was a family that especially liked to use tricks to become stronger without effort.”

Tricks… Hong Yeon-hwa said that she obtained several secret techniques of various factions during the Jeongma War. Of course, there must have been some of Jeonma Se-ga’s techniques among them.

Looking at how she has been watching over my training so far and not teaching me such tricks, maybe…

“Is that not good?”

“You may become stronger in the short term, but all the swordsmanship and martial arts will become sloppy.”

No wonder. Even though I was ambushed, he was too weak.

“Okay. Then we have to take care of that even if we cut off our interest in this matter, right?”

“Hmm. It’s a failure, but it’s interesting that he made it to face the Bonnyeo.”

The Absorption Technique.

The grotesque martial art that made the Bloodthirsty Red Horse the best in Sapa after years of hard work is hidden here.

Of course, the location has already been discovered while interrogating the Black Dragon’s student.