Chapter 174: The Source of Li Yan’s Heart Demon

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Kill or be killed, this is an extremely difficult choice!

Instinctively, no one would choose to be killed. But in an environment where only one can survive, if you don’t want to be killed, there is only one path to take, and that is to kill others before you’re killed!

Human civilization has developed to modern times, and while it is not perfect or noble, at least there are some moral and legal norms recognized and followed by everyone. For instance, killing is a crime in every country and condemned by others. Li Yan was born in a peaceful era, not in a war-torn Yun Country. Now, the education in Yun Country, due to various reasons, has abandoned most of the traditional morals and etiquette, but basic norms still exist.

Everyone knows that killing is wrong. In this society, the only killing that might be sympathized with is the desperate act of taking down corrupt officials and certain power hierarchies, and this would evoke a sort of social emotional empathy.

A teenager like Li Yan faces this heavy dilemma. And now he must kill not an enemy, not corrupt officials or villains, but rather a partner with whom he has trained for a long time. Despite the lack of deep communication or profound friendship due to time and other factors, at the very least, they are familiar faces, living in the same environment every day, facing the same training, and equally helpless companions.

To personally kill such a partner, not for secrecy, not for clearing the door, but merely for assessment!

This is already extremely cruel, inhumane, and lacking any humanity, and throwing such a choice to teenagers makes it even more brutal.

But—

Those who have undergone training all know very well that they are being trained as professional assassins! This is not a Heaven; the ideal mystery and excitement have long been destroyed by the harsh reality. In this place akin to Hell, they have no way to leave and have entered a death game!

The only way to survive and emerge from this live-action death game is to adhere to the rules, abandon everything, and transform oneself into a truly cold-blooded assassin!

The success of a general is built upon countless bones!

Behind generals and heroes, there’s a pile of countless lives and deaths; mob bosses, professional assassins, mercenaries, terrorists—these people living in the dark side must face this process as well.

Heavy choices handed to young people are already cruel enough. They originally accepted assessments with excitement, wanting to see if they have become stronger after Hell-like training. Faced with this mood, they suddenly receive the assessment rules, with hardly any time to digest or consider, making it even more cruel and helpless.

...

I cannot die!

This is Li Yan’s only thought. The Hell-like brutal training has long made him realize that this is not a civilized environment, not a normal community. To survive in such a perverted milieu, one can only become more twisted!

No concept of day or night exists in this place filled only with overload and insane training. There’s no date, no weekday, no year and month concept. He doesn’t know how long he has stayed here, nor how much longer he needs to stay—he only knows that it seems like a lifetime has passed, distancing himself from his past teenage years.

Meeting parents and classmates requires leaving here; to leave here, he must first preserve his life; to preserve his life... the current hurdle is to kill his companion ahead!

This is not just his problem; it is everyone’s problem, everyone’s decision!

An hour is not a long time, and killing a companion of the same level and state within this period is not an easy task. If time exceeds, the result is both people being bitten and eaten by wolves; this desperate situation compels everyone to unleash the greatest potential and perseverance, fully erupting all the Hell-like training achievements in the small room.

This is Li Yan’s first opponent, first enemy, first target...

During multiple instances of hitting the vital spot and being hit by the opponent in the vital spot, he went insane, completely entering an unconscious state.

In that state, there’s no good and evil, no right and wrong, and not even win and loss!

There’s only one belief—to knock down, and furthermore, to kill the target ahead!

The people who set this assessment rule either perversely want to see them fighting each other for pleasure or use this method to crush their humanity! They want to turn them into professional assassins in tasks, possessing a persona detached from the normal, going through the rogue and bloodthirsty, and ultimately, adapt and surpass!

...

With Li Yan’s recollection, though a long time ago, this memory profoundly impacted him—always avoided—and his breathing became rapid and his whole body’s trembling more apparent.

Qiao Huanxuan was extremely worried. She wasn’t clear about what cruel ordeal Li Yan went through that year, but she could imagine the strong shadow on his psychology! Even now, he seems to have long put things aside, but once opened up, still remains unavoidable!

She hasn’t systematically studied psychology and cannot analyze or judge Li Yan’s current psychological state, but from the surface, it appears unlight. It has even affected his physiological state.

But as an architectural designer, designing a building is not enough to be self-satisfying; it also requires the approval of local leaders for construction and public satisfaction to establish a reputation. For instance, landmarks like the Cloud Island Mansion and the T City Building, during their design phase, took into account the local people’s psychological needs, including Feng Shui elements. For example, Cloud Island Convention Center was designed into the shape of a turtle, forming a Feng Shui pattern of a sea turtle dragging Cloud Island out to sea. Although it may not significantly impact local Feng Shui, it provides psychological comfort to the populace.

Also, the new building in Yundu, named "Wisdom Window," popularly known as "Big Underpants," becomes a joke if it turns into a crude piece.

Therefore, Qiao Huanxuan has certain insights and studies into some public psychology as well. Seeing Li Yan now, she felt since his shadow is uncovered, he must officially confront it to truly solve it. Constant avoidance leads to more madness when it erupts. She restrained herself from disturbing Li Yan and letting him calm a bit, but couldn’t bear to see him suffer, unsure of how to help him feel better.

Although Li Yan couldn’t be sure of whether his supernatural ability of ’Heart Demon’ controlling human consciousness and will was triggered due to those years of Hell-like training, it’s definitely not innate, nor did it appear out of nowhere. It surfaced under a minuscule probability after Hell-like physical training and non-human mental grinding. This is the only reliably conceivable result he could analyze.

Regarding Li Yan’s control over the aspect, through a series of experiments, he already possesses adept controllability. Yet, its reactive side effects are proportional and uncontrollable—at least he hasn’t yet found a fundamental method of control. He has always known it is related to the act of killing, clearly understanding its source!

Indeed, the source lies within the years spent under a humanity-destroying assessment system during his teenage years. Killing one’s own companions, teammates to survive, albeit helpless, forced, as training—while pushing one towards absolute calmness, coldness, and cold-bloodedness, it also plants a deep inner shadow.

This is Li Yan’s Heart Demon!

Every time Heart Demon is used to kill, although it harms others, it also arouses the Heart Demon within. His psychological shadow has always been unresolved, can’t nor is willing to talk or unleash it to others, always just avoided and buried deep within—resulting in the Heart Demon becoming heavier over time!

After acquiring freedom over the years and enjoying abilities, he hasn’t contacted past classmates, friends, and hasn’t even gone home—all because of this subconscious fear. Deep in his subconsciousness, he feels disconnected with the past, with his old self, and fears even meeting his parents!

Today’s attempt at relaxing the mind and harking back to the initial psychological shadow was his form of trial and challenge. But thinking back to the first killing, the partner now obscured in memory but was crystal clear then, causing him intense harm simultaneously being intensely harmed and beaten to death, alive... ultimately, he crawled out, full of wounds!

He is already brimming with savage energy, teetering on the edge of a frenzied rampage... (To be continued, for more details, please log in to www.qidian.com, more Chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)