High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1375: Chapter 122 Fearless Brave

After hearing his teacher’s explanation, Zheng Qing finally understood why some chose the ’Dao’ of cannibalism.

Because the path to becoming a Demon is rugged and narrow, but still walkable, and one can walk for a long time, walk very far, farther than many can on the Wizard’s path.

This has nothing to do with morality.

It is simply the result of the ruthless reality and the cold interaction of interests.

”Fearless Brave.” The young cost student chewed on these words, a bitter smile on his face: ”The one who is eaten and the one who eats share the same nature... what a huge surprise.”

The teacher sat on the grass, like a statue, his voice unusually calm:

”Korma once told me, before she made her final decision, she heard a phrase from Satoguya that I think is also very suitable for you... ’There are many branches of extraordinary power, and we need not always follow the broadest channel. Sometimes the narrow and winding path is our own ’Dao’.’”

”A long time ago, one of my students said something similar—this world actually does not care about good or evil, the Heavenly Dao is unkind, good and evil are societal judgments. If there must be a choice, then human nature is inherently evil. Because it is inherently evil, we need morality, we need enlightenment. Whether we follow human nature or defy ethics, we do not run counter to the Heavenly Dao.”

”As long as you don’t stop, there will always be a road ahead.”

Zheng Qing stared blankly at a small grass by his feet, where an ant struggled to climb forward. Even for the ant, the grass leaf wasn’t large. It quickly reached the tip of the leaf.

The ant stood on the tip of the leaf, antennae trembling gently in the breeze, paused for a moment, then turned around and continued to climb along the underside of the leaf.

In Zheng Qing’s eyes, the ant was making futile efforts, moving around. But in the eyes of the ant, it was always moving forward. Zheng Qing was not an ant; he didn’t know whether its forward movement had any meaning.

Maybe moving forward was the entire meaning of its crawling.

Zheng Qing thought of the hamster he had kept for over ten years, thought of the grumpy librarian, thought of Rat Immortal with a fat face covered in wrinkles—Zhu Si, who was always looking forward to meeting the Rat Immortal again.

”They... those wizards who intentionally accepted the corruption of Demons, how did they transform themselves?” the boy asked quietly.

”It’s simple, those wizards transplanted the flesh and blood of the Demons they hunted onto themselves, using symbols and Spell Formulas to control the spread of the demonic energy. The related Magical Skills have been sealed by the Alliance, I can only tell you so much.”

”Do you know Professor Montreya?”

”I do, he’s a young man with a lot of ideas.” The teacher smiled: ”He thinks he has found a new path. But he doesn’t know that the weeds on that sheep intestines narrow path have all grown from seeds planted by the Alliance... It’s just that he hasn’t completely stepped on that path. Perhaps some of the old folks at the school also hold a glimmer of hope for his ideas.”

The ant on the leaf made its way down the blade to the soil.

It stood on a small white pebble, raising its head, looking around, vaguely exuding an imposing aura. Zheng Qing didn’t know if that was just his imagination.

Its antennae twitched slightly, and the ant turned its head to look in another direction.

Soon, it hurriedly left the gravel and crawled away into the distance. Whether it had sniffed the fragrance of rotting flesh or found the direction home was unknown.

”If,” the boy stared at the ant’s retreating figure, hesitated for a long time, and finally asked softly, ”I mean, what if, I was bitten by a demon... How should I resist the contamination of demonic energy? Of course, I would definitely not voluntarily offer my arm for them to bite.”

After speaking, he turned his head back somewhat nervously to glance at his teacher.

He was very concerned that the teacher might think he was looking for shortcuts, hence his question—perhaps in some corner of his heart, Zheng Qing had indeed harbored such a thought. But the mere thought of Sepulano’s brother, who had turned into a Pig Demon, made him shiver to the core.

A person who was just having a lively conversation with you not so long ago turns into a beast with bloodshot eyes and nothing but drool and squeals like a wild pig.

Compared to that possible shortcut, Zheng Qing was more eager to prepare a contingency plan for the ever-looming risks.

”Belief.”

Surprisingly, the teacher gave him the answer quite readily, but this answer seemed overly broad: ”Many people want to know this method, and in fact, we’ve told many... That is belief.”

”Tracing back to its source, demonization is essentially a spiritual contamination. It’s like when you’re walking down the street and a stray dog bites you, a normal person would pick up a stone and throw it at the dog, but a person contaminated would lie down on the ground and bite back... He starts to believe he is also a dog. The dog pulls his intelligence down to its level.”

”Human hearts are fickle. Starting from the same thought, different experiences lead to vastly different worldviews, and radical changes can occur.”

”The position and the seat of one’s pants are different, and naturally, they lead to different conclusions.”

”This is the fundamental point in resisting the erosion of demonic energy. You must stand firm in your position and have a firm belief. This belief can be an adherence to bloodline and glory, a pursuit of the unknown and truth, an aspiration for victory, or a rock-solid faith. Use these beliefs to forge your fortress, better than repelling the invasive force with anger and battle spirit.”

Zheng Qing acutely sensed the subtle connections the teacher mentioned between the four colleges of First University. But he suppressed the desire to ask questions because the teacher had not finished speaking.

”... If your fortress is breached, and your faith is shattered and distorted, then your resistance to corruption will plummet unexpectedly. So low that even a Wild Demon could transform a top Registered wizard.”

”As the saying goes, ’different paths do not conspire together.’ The journey is long and vast, a little deviation at your feet can lead to a world of difference far away...”

The teacher’s voice was filled with emotion in the last sentence.

Zheng Qing could understand the teacher’s emotional tone, but he found it hard to grasp the effectiveness of ’belief’ against the contamination of demonic energy. In history, so many wizards bitten by demons, many of them brilliant and outstanding, collapsed under the erosion of demonic energy.

Compared to them, Zheng Qing did not think his ’belief’ was firmer.

Perhaps Xin Fat Man would have a higher chance of surviving a demon bite—at least, his belief in gourmet food was unwavering. Zheng Qing smiled bitterly in his heart, picturing the greasy round face of the fat man.

The teacher frowned, giving the young warlock a look.

”Fearless Brave is not merely knowing the truth without being crushed by its weight. It’s about bravely facing the truth,” he admonished earnestly: ”You’ve faced many demons, you should be well aware of their harm... What reason do you have to back down in front of them?”

”A true wizard will never lack courage in his heart.”