In the Blade

"I really didn't do anything, did I?"

Far away in the imperial dining room of Jiankang Imperial City, Du Chengfeng scratched his head for a while. He was convinced that he had really done nothing.

In fact, in recent times, he may have been the kindest he has been.

Although nominally, he came out here to kill people, in fact, he never actually drew the sword once - maybe it can be counted once when he first met Huang Tian, ​​but that time can't actually be counted. He was considered the murderer, but Huang Tian took the initiative to hit the sword blade and committed suicide.

Just like the current situation, he obviously wanted to ask a question, but the other person directly tore his neck open, and lay down on the ground without losing his life. Who can he ask to reason?

"Hey, can't he be more sensible?"

After thinking for a long time, Du Chengfeng finally sighed.

"Why do you have to die? How big of a deal is this?"

Along with this sigh, the air that split in front of him gradually closed.

Originally, he thought that he would be greeted by a fierce battle, but the other party actually committed suicide like this. This was really... Fortunately, Huang Tian could still be resurrected, and the duel in three days would not be missed. He After going out, there was still a bit of a fight.

Although he is nominally a pacifist, from the perspective of a martial arts practitioner, he also has a need to kill people.

In other words, only a life-and-death battle can make him take a step forward.

"The main thing is the lack of a stress test."

This is Du Chengfeng's current dilemma. In the past, in order to survive, he was obsessed with getting stronger. But now that he has really become stronger, he can't find a suitable opponent - maybe Huang Tian can be counted as one, and the infinite resurrection mechanism can indeed cause him a lot of trouble, but Huang Tian's psychology seems a bit... too weak, and he doesn't seem to be able to count on the other party to become a suitable opponent.

Without a suitable opponent, it would be difficult for him to fully utilize his abilities, which would make it impossible for him to truly detect where he was solid enough and where he had not learned enough.

If he doesn't even have a clear understanding of himself, how can he know from what angle he should become stronger?

"A good opponent is a mirror."

Du Chengfeng, who had nothing to do, was lying on the rocking chair, chatting with the little emperor on his side.

Naturally, it is impossible to expect the young emperor to understand this kind of topic, so most of the time, it is just Du Chengfeng himself nagging.

Organizing his thoughts while talking, this can be regarded as a way of summarizing that is unique to him.

"There is no such thing as the strongest... In fact, there is never such a thing as the strongest. There is only stronger. Strength is determined by comparison. Only with comparison can we know the strength and weakness... Of course, in the most ideal state, there must be no one. You have to live your own life with whom to compete, but there is nothing you can do about this kind of thing. If you don’t want to compete, you can’t stand it and others insist on competing with you.”

If the comparison is about other aspects, such as craftsmanship or appearance, then you will be a little sulky if you can't compare, but if you can't compare in terms of strength, you may lose your life.

"But...I am the emperor."

The little emperor, who had been standing still for a long time, finally couldn't help but speak.

"I am the emperor, will I die?"

"What if?"

Du Chengfeng started scratching his head.

"Just like now, do you think you can beat me or something?"

"..."

The young emperor choked on the spot.

Indeed, the most important lesson he has learned in the past few days is that in the face of absolute violence, the title of emperor is nothing. Indeed, he may be able to make people die with a piece of paper, but that is just When the other party can't reach him.

Just like now, even if he wants to issue an edict, facing absolute violence, does he really have a chance to pick up the emperor's seal?

"The emperor's power is ten steps away and within a thousand miles."

The things he had learned were gradually integrated, and the young emperor truly realized for the first time that the emperor's power also had limits.

Even speaking, the things taught by those gentlemen are not necessarily reliable. For example, as long as the emperor can issue an edict, he can eliminate a certain traitor... But the question is, can it really be eliminated? If it's like this now and you really can't beat it, what should you do?

"I……"

The young emperor was silent for a moment and then expressed his doubts.

"What should I do if I really encounter someone that I can't beat..."

"That's what you asked."

Du Chengfeng started scratching his head.

This question is not complicated. In fact, there is a standard answer. If you can't defeat it, just admit defeat. There is nothing to say about this kind of thing. After all, this means an objective gap in combat power. What else can you do if you don't admit defeat?

But for Du Chengfeng now, the answer to this question is not that simple.

Especially after just seeing the scene of Huang Tian committing suicide.

"This...it depends on your personal choice."

After thinking for a moment, Du Chengfeng began to consider his words.

"Some people will choose to surrender, and some people will choose to fight on. What you do mainly depends on what you want... After all, sometimes, compared to some more important things, life can actually be paid as a price. , At that time, people will fight tooth and nail, even if they know they can’t win, they will fight.”

"Why are you still fighting?"

The young emperor looked embarrassed.

"Can't we not fight?"

"Whether to fight or not is not decided by you, but by the stronger person."

Du Chengfeng continued to summarize.

"Only the stronger side has the right to terminate the battle. After all, he really has the strength to kill the weak. As for the weak side, you can't decide whether to fight or not. After all, if you can withstand the attack without dying, it is considered a victory. ”

So no matter what, you have to become the strong one.

Du Chengfeng occasionally remembered that when he was still in Jibei, when he first arrived, he encountered a terrifying and powerful enemy like He Xiqing - he also thought about whether it would be better to retreat at that time. It's more appropriate. After all, no matter how many times he thought about it, he was able to win at that time, not so much because of his desperate efforts, but because he was lucky.

That is to say, because he was lucky enough, he was able to defeat He Xiqing and survive. If he was unlucky, he would probably end up there.

So, if he was given another chance to come back, would he still choose to fight for his life?

"Probably... we will still fight."

Thinking of this, Du Chengfeng sighed.

Yes, no matter how many times he comes, he will probably continue to fight. If he doesn't continue to fight, then he probably won't be him - although theoretically, he may be able to survive by escaping, but if he really escapes like this, he Can you escape for a lifetime?

Probably not.

Perhaps it was such a deviation in thinking that made him embark on a different path. When he chose to fight, he had gradually separated from ordinary people's life - if he had chosen to escape at that time, then he There is probably still enough time to see all the different things in this world, but now...

Now, there is no one in front of him who can be equal to him.

This is not some ideological supremacy, but a huge gap in the physical sense. He must carefully control his power to ensure that the people around him will not die on the spot due to some inexplicable and huge force, just like he is now. His body shape is the same. Even if he squats down half-crouched, it is difficult for him to look at eye level.

Therefore, the more this happens, the more respect he will have for the people around him. The reason is for no other reason than that he just wants to get back a little bit of the past, when he was still an ordinary person.

"Actually, I should develop a technology that makes people smaller."

Thinking of this, Du Chengfeng slapped his head.

Yes, this is what he needs to do most right now, not to let others order an extra-large size for him, but to take the initiative to become an ordinary person himself - of course, this is extremely difficult for him, especially It is even more unthinkable to think about shrinking bones.

But in this hellish idealistic world, this nonsense idea might actually work.

"As long as I firmly believe, I will definitely be able to become smaller!"

With this in mind, Du Chengfeng prioritized this plan.

However, it can only go so far.

The summary of these thoughts is probably a summary of his daily thinking activities. Before he finds a suitable opponent, his progress can only go so far - due to the lack of a specific reference, he really doesn't know where he is. In which direction should I go to become stronger? I don’t know what the next step to becoming stronger will be.

So on weekdays, he would study many things that have nothing to do with becoming stronger, such as cooking or weaving. On the one hand, this behavior is a hobby, and on the other hand, it is also a lottery, in case there is any inspiration. If it can be applied to becoming stronger, doesn't he directly earn it?

"Why do you have to become stronger?"

After listening to Du Chengfeng's complaints for a long time, the young emperor finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"Isn't it okay if you don't get stronger?"

"It really won't work if you don't get stronger."

Du Chengfeng scratched his head. He didn't expect that the child would ask such a question.

In other words, this is a classic argument. He is talking about something, and the other person suddenly says, "What if you don't do this?" It sounds like there is no problem, but in fact...

"Put your arms up, don't be lazy."

Du Chengfeng just waved his hand, and then a kitchen knife was pressed against the little emperor's arm.

It's really impossible not to be strong, and the young emperor felt this with his body.

"If you are strong enough, you can actually reject me directly and say that you will stop standing and never do this kind of training again."

Seeing the grief and anger on the young emperor's face, Du Chengfeng shook his head and spread his hands.

"But now you are not strong enough, so you have to do whatever I say... What? You mean just like you usually command those eunuchs? Yes, this is indeed the same thing, because the stronger party has mastered violence, so The weak one has no choice but to obey, or simply die."

"..."

Feeling the blade that was about to pierce his skin, the young emperor straightened his body.

Still young, his body is still controlled by instinct. Under the survival instinct, he naturally does not want to choose death.

So he could only obey, and he could only obey.

You can only adapt to this, the absolute dominance brought by violence.

"Why."

After thinking about it, Du Chengfeng waved his hand and removed the kitchen knives.

Bullying children is ultimately meaningless.

He needs an opponent, an opponent who can match him, an opponent who can bring him pressure, but in the current situation, such an opponent is too difficult to find - every time at this time, he would think, if he did not choose to fight with He Xiqing, but chose to escape, then would it be easier for him to find an opponent.

Maybe it would be easier. After all, once he chose to escape, his progress would never be so fast. He would probably linger in the stage of evil spirit entering the body for a long time, and then enter the stage of evil spirit release due to some major events... At that time, He Xiqing must have killed a lot, and it is even possible that he has already stepped over the stage of evil spirit release and reached a new realm, ten times or even a hundred times stronger than before.

If it is such a life... maybe it is not bad?

"What are you thinking about."

Thinking of this, Du Chengfeng patted his head again.

Things have already passed. It is useless for him to regret now. Or, if he had really chosen another path at that time, he might have complained about why he was not strong enough. He would have hoped that he could have chosen another path and become a different person, just like he is now. In the final analysis, the reason why this idea was born was because there was no opponent. Are there not many opponents in this world who can fight?

"It doesn't make sense. It really doesn't make sense."

Du Chengfeng cursed Xianjie again.

If even someone like him can be beaten to the point where there is no opponent, then he dared not think about how bad this world is.

What's more, this kind of thing is really unreasonable. It is obviously a world of strong idealism. It is obvious that as long as you have the power of belief, you can do anything. In such an environment, there are not many reliable strong people. Is this reasonable? Is this really reasonable?

"I've decided! I want to be a strong man!"

Just when Du Chengfeng was about to scratch his head again, the little emperor on the side clenched his teeth.

"I want to be strong! I will never be manipulated by anyone again! I am the emperor! My will is..."

"What is it?"

Before the little emperor finished speaking, a strong wind blew in his face and knocked him down.

"If you don't have the ability, don't be so anxious to brag. If you are not good, practice more."

"I..."

Faced with absolute violence, the young emperor finally shrank his neck and stood back in place obediently.

This also made Du Chengfeng feel a little relieved.

On the days when he couldn't find a suitable opponent, he could only bully those children who couldn't beat him.