My Demon Friends-Chapter 458 - 454: Grow Up Fast

"This also determines their very nature."

Master Ming walked ahead leisurely, his eyes fondly fixed on Huai Xu in front of him while speaking to Zhou Li behind him, his voice unhurried. "From the moment of their birth—it was not just the birth of an individual, but of an entire race—they have always been the continuation of the world’s life and consciousness—

"With no competitive pressure, no natural predators.

"Nor do they need to consider the perpetuation of their race; even if they lacked ambition, no other race would wipe them out.

"This has shaped their peaceful and leisurely nature.

"Most of them prefer to quietly experience life and feel its essence. They form the purest connections with other lives, untainted by external interests, unaffected by extraneous factors. With hearts as clear as crystal, they pursue pure joy, pure happiness, and even pure aversion. But this makes them strong, and also makes them weak.

"It could be said that before they came to this world, at least half of the Demons couldn’t understand the concept of ’struggle.’ This was because they never knew what it was like for two races to encounter each other. They were caught unawares.

"This has also resulted in the extremely slow progress of their civilization.

"Although they had a glorious civilization before coming to our world, it undoubtedly took a very long, long time to develop. It was only in the past few thousand years, when they began to fight with humans, that they truly realized the cruelty of the world and started to accelerate their progress.

"But I still like them."

Zhou Li hummed in response, an acknowledgment to Master Ming, indicating that he had been listening attentively.

Humans are undoubtedly the opposite in this respect.

Humans were not favored by heaven from the beginning, nor were they flowers in a greenhouse. When life first emerged in this world, it was like a giant crucible where only the strongest survived, while the weak were constantly weeded out.

Humans, even before they were truly human, were always competing: with other races, with other human-like species, and even within their own. This process of natural selection was both lengthy and bloody.

The word ’evolution’ is beautiful, so much so that people assume we are always moving forward.

But in reality, it is a process of selection.

The offspring of each race may be weaker or stronger than their predecessors. The weak are eliminated, while the strong survive and continue to reproduce. On an individual level, this change is uncontrollable and random. But when looking at a race as a whole, it represents ongoing improvement, though many were sacrificed along the way.

Races that grew weaker, on the other hand, headed towards destruction.

Humans now dominate this world. Without rivals, not even potential ones, they have begun to protect the weak and show mercy. But over that long span of time, humans defeated countless enemies to reach their current position.

From this perspective, the strength of humans is beyond the comprehension of Demons.

This has also given rise to a different nature and way of thinking in humans.

As his voice trailed off, Master Ming’s steps slowed, and he began to look around this world.

He looked at the sky and clouds, the soil and green grass underfoot, the distant mountains and trees. And sometimes, he looked at Huai Xu.

He seemed to see places beyond others’ sight, occasionally stopping, his face pensive.

"Truly amazing..."

Zhou Li guessed he was talking about the Mirror Zone.

The wind in the Mirror Zone was growing stronger, making the grass and trees sway and thrash wildly.

After a long period of silent contemplation, Zhou Li asked, "Then your becoming a Demon, does that mean you are integrating into the Old Land World?"

"Yes."

"So, if Demons integrate into the human world, could they become human?"

"You are stronger than I am." Master Ming turned to look at Zhou Li, and after a few seconds, he nodded. "In theory, yes, but the process is a thousand times more difficult. This is because the Old Land World is already an isolated island fleeing its original universe, a solitary place. The human world, however, has a complete, young universe. Moreover, the human world rejects Demons, while the Old Land World welcomes me."

"I see..."

"Even so, I only managed to integrate with the help of the Great Demons, contributing less than twenty percent of the effort myself."

"Understood."

Zhou Li nodded, then fell silent again.

Master Ming didn’t mind and turned to talk to Huai Xu instead, mostly about their past.

As the rules of the Earth world continued to infiltrate the Mirror Zone, the Mirror Zone itself began to show clear signs of otherworldly phenomena. Zhou Li grimly followed, watching Master Ming’s smile grow wider, even as an increasing reluctance filled his eyes.

Finally, Master Ming stopped.

"Time is up."

"But that person... huh?"

Huai Xu, who had been speaking excitedly, was cut off and paused in surprise. She then looked around at this world, her brow gradually furrowing.

Master Ming still wore a smile, looking at her and saying, "Let’s stop here for today. I must go now."

"Where are you going? I’ll come with you!" Huai Xu said.

"Protect your friend well," Master Ming shook his head and replied.

"Then where can I find you?"

"You don’t need to find me. You’re not a child anymore; you’ve grown up." Master Ming paused. His hand trembled slightly as if hesitating, but finally, he raised it and patted Huai Xu’s head. "You have always been my pride, and I will always be proud."

"Wha..."

Huai Xu suddenly widened her eyes, instantly feeling the air of departure.

Though she had considered it before, even prepared for it, that it was happening today made it feel so unbelievable.

"So... I won’t be able to see you again, will I?"

"Who said that? I’m not that easy to kill," Master Ming said with a smile, then gestured towards Zhou Li. "I have to go now. I can’t say more, or your friend won’t be able to hold on much longer."

"Then..."

Huai Xu didn’t finish her sentence. Master Ming’s headshake interrupted her, and she clamped her mouth shut.

But in the blink of an eye, the space in front of her was empty.

The powerful presence that had filled heaven and earth subsided as if nothing had occurred. The grassland before her looked as if no one had ever stood there.

Such a departure was really quite abrupt.

Huai Xu stared blankly, rooted to the spot and lost in thought. She didn’t even notice Zhou Li tugging at her clothes. She simply let him pull, mechanically walking back as he led her.

「Half an hour later.」

Hong Ran approached them, toying with her staff. A hint of fatigue touched her brow, but her tone was deliberately nonchalant. "Did you have a pleasant chat?"

Then, glancing at Huai Xu, she added, "It seems you didn’t."

"Where has Teacher gone?" Huai Xu stood up and asked.

"You didn’t ask him, yet you come asking me?" Hong Ran chuckled. "How would I know?"

"You definitely know!" Huai Xu insisted. "He didn’t tell me because he’s afraid I’ll go looking for him. But he’s not afraid of you finding him!"

"An interesting perspective," Hong Ran chuckled again.

"Where has he gone?" Huai Xu asked again.

"Somewhere."

"Where?"

"Perhaps a place he likes."

"Which place?"

"I don’t know."

"Then how do you know all this?"

"A guess." Hong Ran picked up the cup Zhou Li had just been drinking from, took an elegant sip, and continued, "I know he will die there. Humans like to choose a favorite place to die, as if they can remain there forever."

"..."

Huai Xu silently sat back down in her chair.

"It’s getting late," Hong Ran told them. "I still have some things to attend to. If you’re not in a hurry, you can stay here for the night and go back tomorrow."

"No rush." Zhou Li glanced at her. "Is it something troublesome?"

"It’s alright."

As she said this, Hong Ran took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Finally, in front of Zhou Li, she let her guard down. In that instant, the light in her eyes seemed to dim considerably. "Alright, it’s actually very troublesome."

"I can’t help you with it yet," Zhou Li said quietly.

"You’re still young."

"I will grow up quickly," Zhou Li paused, then added, "Even faster than before."

"Sometimes, I’m very selfish," Hong Ran said, resting her hand on Zhou Li’s shoulder. "Sometimes I wish you could grow strong quickly, but other times I wish you would grow up slowly—the slower, the better."

"Why?"

"When you become strong, Master Ming will die," Hong Ran said softly. "After all, we’ve known each other for many years."

"I see..."

That’s just human nature, after all.