in the edge

Chapter 529: Absent Death

After killing the zombies and picking up the equipment, Du Chengfeng no longer paid attention to the corpses of soldiers lying on the ground. He just stood up and flew back.

This victory was actually a trick. Although theoretically, he could be considered to have defeated his opponent in his understanding of death, but if it was switched to the tactical level, he ultimately used the competition of understanding of death to make his opponent give up his defense. If the zombie really went all out, the opponent's swordsmanship alone that cut his iron body into pieces would have been enough to defeat him.

It’s a pity that this zombie is too obsessed with death.

When he constructed an environment that was no different from death, the zombie completely gave up its defense. He could feel that the zombie was trying to compete with him in understanding of death and wanted to completely conquer him on this path - but unfortunately, he had never thought about competing in understanding from the beginning. All he wanted was to kill the zombie.

From a strategic point of view, he is indeed the final winner.

"But it's not a fair victory."

Thinking of this, Du Chengfeng couldn't help but sigh, and even had the urge to go back and fight another round.

The three turbid powers were surging in his body, and it was obvious that this confrontation had already damaged his state of mind.

It was at this time that Du Chengfeng realized firsthand why both the coyote and the old man fishing had their own paths to stick to, and even had been following this route to do things - he once thought that this was a kind of inflexible pedantry, or perhaps a paranoid self-restraint.

But now, he has some understanding.

A not-so-glorious victory has cast a shadow on his will.

“But it has to be done.”

Du Chengfeng clenched his fists.

After all, this was not a duel of martial arts, but a reckoning between him and the coyote by a top powerful person. In this life-and-death fight, there was no logic at all - only by killing this zombie could they temporarily stabilize the situation. Otherwise, if they really faced a duel, he and the coyote together would not be enough to be chopped by this zombie.

You know, the defense of his iron body is already top-notch, but it still can't withstand the slashing of the dagger in the zombie's hand. It can only be said that the top powerful people have some explanation.

His previous delusion that he could destroy this powerful man by experiencing death a few more times was too naive.

“But this is a good thing.”

Du Chengfeng thought so.

Only by realizing your own immaturity can you grow better, and only by knowing your own weaknesses can you understand the path to becoming stronger.

He can even bear the evil energy of a million people, so how can he not bear a few mistakes?
“Be responsible!”

Du Chengfeng cheered himself up in this way.

Although this victory could even be considered a failure for him, it was this failure that made him vaguely see the path ahead.

Du Chengfeng had never thought about these things before. He always felt that the only unchanging thing in the world was change, so choosing any path to confine oneself was a foolish behavior - this also directly led to him becoming one of the very few powerful people who did not choose his own future.

But now...

"I've already taken care of it over there!"

Du Chengfeng in mid-air shouted at the jungle in the distance.

"Your side... uh."

Du Chengfeng choked halfway through his shout, because the coyote seemed to finish even faster than him.

Under the moonlight, the burly wolf body was already standing on the top of the pile of corpses. The corpses of the soldiers just now had now turned into broken bones and rotten flesh all over the ground - and in the coyote's mouth, an old man who was fishing was bitten tightly, and even the fishing rod had been broken and thrown aside.

Just by looking at the coyote's proud look, you can already feel that this coyote is fully practicing his way.

Killing the once unattainable strong man in a way that the strong prey on the weak, even if it was just a resurrected broken corpse, was enough to make the coyote's state of mind go a step further.

"amazing!"

Du Chengfeng couldn't help but applaud.

At this moment, the giant wolf under the moon also raised its head.

"You...are not dead?"

The coyote opened his eyes wide and for a moment he thought he was seeing things.

"You are still alive? You can actually beat Death Star?"

"Death Star? Why is it named like this?"

Du Chengfeng couldn't help scratching his head.

The zombie was so strong, he thought it had some famous name, but the name "Death Star" was a bit too...

"A nickname, used for insults."

Coyote explained casually.

"You also know that this expert studies death itself, so he is not very popular... He himself doesn't come out to give a name, so naturally others can call him whatever they want."

"Ah this."

Du Chengfeng didn't expect there was this layer of truth. He thought the title was something he got from heaven.

But think about it, although this coyote has the title of Tanlang Star Lord, the old fisherman who is stronger than the coyote will only be called Diaosou - this has nothing to do with Star Lord at all, even if the old fisherman has lived in the sky much earlier than the coyote.

So what would be his own name?
"As for you... I don't know yet. After all, the other powerful ones are not familiar with you."

Hearing Du Chengfeng's doubts, Coyote continued to explain.

"Names are given by outsiders. It all depends on how others address you... But in the mortal world, your name Taibaixing is quite popular. I think you can use it in the future."

"Well... that's fine."

Du Chengfeng couldn't think of any good name for a moment, or perhaps he never cared about names.

Just this moment of casual chat diluted the solemn atmosphere just now. Perhaps this was their instinctive reaction. After all, the battle just now made them too nervous - especially on the Coyote side. After his teammate Du Chengfeng was carried away, he was completely in despair.

"But it's a good thing. At least after this experience, I have truly understood the true meaning of the law of the jungle."

The coyote lying on the pile of corpses felt a little more relaxed, and even its body had returned to its original size as a wild wolf.

"If you practice the law of the jungle, you have to admit that you will be eaten, which is very troublesome. It is also the meaning of death in this routine... Fortunately, I was beaten to the point of death this time, which made me realize that at the critical moment, I just need to fight hard and don't have to think too much."

"That's true. As long as you are strong enough, you can eat them all."

Du Chengfeng couldn't help but nodded, feeling happy for the coyote.

In Du Chengfeng's opinion, the original path of the survival of the fittest has almost reached its limit. Sooner or later, this coyote will be eaten by a stronger one. This is inevitable on this path - but after this battle, this coyote has made a breakthrough on this path and even reached a higher level.

The strong prey on the weak, the strong prey on the weak, what is weak and what is strong?
Is it a competition of strength? Is it a competition of skills? Or is it a competition of understanding of the world, a competition of determination?

neither.

The answer is very simple.

Those who die are weak, and those who survive are strong.

"So... are you reminding me?" Du Chengfeng couldn't help but raise his head when he thought of this.

"Did you see it?"

"How could I not see that?"

The coyote sighed.

"Your mental instability is written all over your face... You've come back alive, so why did you end up like this?"

"I...hey."

With a sigh, Du Chengfeng told his whole experience, but he did not mention the memory he saw while sharpening the knife. Instead, he said that he had some understanding of death.

But this little thing is unimportant. After all, this is not the source of the problem. The real problem lies in the fact that the other party wanted to compete with him in understanding of death, but he directly made a fatal move - yes, he won in the result, but the hurdle in his heart was somewhat difficult to overcome.

"That's about it. I'm a bit of a loser. Don't laugh at me."

"Why should I laugh at you? This is obviously a good thing."

The coyote looked at Du Chengfeng in confusion.

"Why do you feel that this is an insurmountable obstacle? If this hadn't happened, would you be able to see your own path clearly?"

"I also thought about treating this as a good thing, but it's really..."

Du Chengfeng started scratching his head.

"There are other ways to see the road clearly. There's no need to do this. This kind of thing is a bit..."

"No, that's all."

Coyote shook his head.

"If you want to see where your path lies, this is really the only way."

"……what?"

Du Chengfeng was stunned.

For a moment he didn't understand what the coyote was talking about.

"You should be able to sense it, right? Once you have the power, you can do anything."

Seeing that Du Chengfeng still didn't understand, Coyote continued.

"If you can do anything, it means you can go anywhere you want. There is no road and you will be lost... But now, because of these setbacks and hardships, you at least know what you don't want to do."

"I don't want to... do what?"

Du Chengfeng had a vague feeling.

"what do you mean……"

"The things you don't want to do are like the muddy swamps on the roadside, like the deep jungles that ordinary people can't enter... Isn't the purpose of the so-called roads in the mortal world to avoid these dangerous places that can't be visited?"

As it spoke, the coyote carved a simple map on the skull under its claws.

"Of course, sometimes these roads will pass through these dangerous places... Just like this, building a bridge over a fast-flowing river is also a form of road. But fundamentally, the purpose of the existence of roads is to keep you away from those who will harm you."

At this the coyote smashed the skull under his claws.

"I never thought that you would only start to find your own way now. How did my cheap mentor lose to you? If I had known earlier, I would have done it myself."

"Ah this."

Du Chengfeng didn't expect that he would be despised by this coyote.

However, he understood what Coyote meant. What he did was indeed not a bad thing. Coyote's words even confirmed his previous feeling. This victory was indeed an improvement for him.

"Besides, this isn't really a victory for you."

It was at this time that the coyote spoke again.

"Faced with a master who has studied death, you don't think you can kill him just by killing him once, do you?"

"I……"

Du Chengfeng choked.

It seemed to be true. He had forgotten that the mountain gods, river gods and the like in the mortal world all had a lot of life-saving methods to resurrect at any time. And how could a jinx who had studied the way of death be truly dead just by having his body crushed once?

"But...I have a question."

Thinking of this, Du Chengfeng suddenly became a little confused.

Or, in other words, this doubt actually arose a long time ago, and can even be traced back to the time when he was fighting Wu Zhao - at that time, Carpenter Li was suddenly killed by Wu Zhao. Refusing to believe the reality, he simply relied on his still rather immature understanding of evil spirits and the power of incense and wishes to directly resurrect Carpenter Li.

At that time, he was still immersed in the joy of Carpenter Li's resurrection, so he didn't think too much about it, but later on...

If he could resurrect Carpenter Li, doesn't that mean that everyone can be resurrected as long as they have enough energy?

Even when the coyote was talking to him about the difference between life and death, he confirmed this point. Not only did he use this method of resurrection, but the coyote had used it as well. Even the Emperor of Heaven who had fought with him before, and even the various mountain gods and river gods, all had their own methods of resurrection. This was not even a simple way of avoiding death, but a true resurrection from the dead.

As long as arrangements are made in advance, no one will actually die.

This is the conclusion drawn by Du Chengfeng.

This was also the most unbelievable thing for him.

"Is there no real death in this world?"

After saying this, Du Chengfeng looked at the coyote.

"As long as there is power, anyone can be resurrected, and no one will die easily. Is there no real death in this world?"

"I don't know what you mean by death. I remember I have already told you the difference between life and death."

The coyote frowned.

"But if it's the kind of death you see... it probably doesn't exist."

"..."

Du Chengfeng fell into silence.

Holding the dagger from the zombie in his hand, Du Chengfeng at this moment could vaguely feel the zombie's thoughts. He suddenly realized why the zombie was so obsessed with death and even studied death for so long.

Just because death in this world is problematic in itself.

Or in other words, there is no real death in this world at all, death itself is absent.

(End of this chapter)