The King of Curses

Chapter 73 "The Strongest"

Cen Dongsheng found the most upscale restaurant near his home and took the girl there. Passing by a cold drink shop, he bought two cups of ice cream of different flavors and ate them on the way.

"Did Dongsheng often hang out with his friends? ...Ah, I want to try the strawberry flavor, can you give it to me?"

The little girl scooped several mouthfuls of mango-flavored ice cream and put them in her mouth. It was sweet and icy, so comfortable that her eyes narrowed. She soon stared at the ice cream in the young man's hand.

"No, I don't have many friends. I usually stay at school." Cen Dongsheng handed over the ice cream and said, "Just like you, before college, my life was a straight line between 'home' and 'school'. In college, my life is a straight line between 'dormitory' and 'classroom'."

"That's the same as me. I don't have many friends either."

Yi Qingyan took a bite, her little face full of happiness, and handed over her ice cream.

"Come and taste mine too."

It seemed that she had rarely had the opportunity to eat ice cream before, let alone the experience of sharing it with others.

"Wait, Dongsheng, you said the dormitory and the classroom are a straight line, then what about weekends and holidays? Don't you go home?"

"There's nothing worth going back to. It's called 'home', but it's just a rental house for resting and storing things. It doesn't matter where you live."

"Eh? Where are the family members, Dongsheng's parents..."

"I don't have any parents." Cen Dongsheng answered calmly, "I have been an orphan since I was young and grew up in an orphanage."

"..."

Yi Qingyan was silent, speechless for a moment.

"Don't worry about it. I don't care about it anymore."

She carefully observed the young man's expression and found that he really didn't seem to care.

"Think about it, how old am I now?" Cen Dongsheng smiled, "The time to care is over."

He has actually experienced eight years more than his apparent age, and these eight years have had a huge impact on his ideas and mentality, making him no longer care about things like his background.

"That's it..."

Yi Qingyan stroked her chest gently and felt that she was closer to her brother.

*
After arriving at the restaurant where they had made a reservation, the two followed the waiter's instructions and took their seats.

Cen Dongsheng ordered from the menu with his eyes closed. Except for not drinking alcohol, he ordered the most expensive dishes.

The meal here is a set menu. The table has been set in advance with vases and candles. The decoration of a high-end restaurant and the elegant environment with someone playing the piano make the girl's eyes light up.

"Oh... I've only seen this on TV shows before. Is this a 'candlelight dinner' that only adults have?"

"Yes."

Yi Qingyan's excitement did not last long.

After the waiter brought a few dishes, her expression became noticeably restrained.

Cen Dongsheng, who was sitting opposite her, didn't care. He just picked up the whole steak with a fork and stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it. He couldn't tell whether it was good or bad. Expensive meat or cheap meat, as long as it was fresh, it was good to eat.

"what happened?"

He noticed that Yi Qingyan hadn't touched her knife and fork for a while, and asked curiously.

"Are you not used to the taste?"

"..."

Yi Qingyan shook her head slightly and spoke in a low voice.

"Suddenly I have a feeling... I feel like I am from a completely different world than I was before, sitting here. Is this considered a change? I don't seem to be as happy as I thought I would be."

Cen Dongsheng was stunned for a moment.

I see. Because she is a girl, she is particularly sensitive to impressions such as "class"? Although he has no idea what it is.

“It will become more and more obvious in the future.”

He said.

"Eh?"

Yi Qingyan opened her eyes wide.

"This is a fact. If people are divided into different classes based on whether they have power and status, blood ties, or money, then society will only become more cruel in the future."

In front of her, Cen Dongsheng's attitude was very frank.

"Will they be classified based on whether or not they are cursed?"

The girl said.

"Yes. Whether it is the life ban that is awakened naturally or the curse ban that is learned later, it requires talent. Ordinary people have no opportunity and can only be ordinary people for their whole lives. They are completely two classes from the curse master society."

He said this with certainty because this was indeed what he had seen with his own eyes and would happen in the future.

Moreover, what counts as "talented" has a large element of randomness, or in other words, it depends more on the vague and uncertain "fate".

Intermarriage between curse masters seems to increase the probability of the next generation having talent, but there is no strict statistical data to support this.

After all, the new human society has only been operating for a few years... If nothing unexpected happens, this situation will only become more solidified.

"Brother, it's as if you've seen it with your own eyes."

"If you think about it a little more deeply, you can come to this conclusion." Cen Dongsheng shrugged, "Let's take yourself as an example. Do you think that with your current abilities, apart from the curse, there is anyone in this world who can really pose a threat to you?"

"..."

Yi Qingyan didn't answer, but her expression already told the answer.

"Although most spell-forbidden masters cannot reach your level, this difference in natural talent is enough to overturn the past social system as long as the number of people is large enough."

Seeing that Yi Qingyan stopped talking, he stopped talking and continued eating.

To be honest, in front of the future "King of Equality", he can only be a narrator. He himself does not have such a broad mind. Perhaps only people like Yi Qingyan or An Zhizhen will think deeply about such social issues.

"money……"

After a while, the little girl suddenly spoke again.

"Ok?"

He wiped his mouth with his napkin.

"Money, is that okay? I saw my brother spent a lot of money today..."

Yi Qingyan asked with some concern.

"It's okay, my friend will pay. I used her card."

Cen Dongsheng said.

"Eh? That's even more embarrassing..."

"She is a very generous person, no problem."

Yi Qingyan discovered that Brother Dongsheng seemed to trust the "friend" whom he had never met.

"The friend you're talking about is the 'partner' I mentioned before, right?"

"Yes."

"Strong and reliable, right?"

"Yes."

Cen Dongsheng was about to ask someone to pay the bill, when he heard Yi Qingyan ask a somewhat abrupt question.

"I, of course I don't think I'm reliable... But if you say 'strong', how strong are you? Compared to me?"

"Well..."

He was really confused.

There are only a few curse masters in this world who can become "ancestors", and they all possess overwhelming power and domineering style in their respective fields.

Therefore, more than a few people are indeed curious about who would win if they fought to the death. It is more like gossip. Judging from the only existing examples, it is difficult to distinguish life and death between individual ancestors.

The reason why King Pingdeng fell at the hands of King Philosopher was mainly because she had fought with two other ancestors of the same level within a few days. She was severely exhausted after the rounds of fighting. Even so, she was still able to severely injure the last opponent.

As for the scene of two ancestors joining hands to fight against the enemy, such as "two against one", it is actually very rare. The main reason is that there is a lack of trust between the "ancestors". Moreover, when the power is exerted to the extreme, it is easy to overturn the world and the mountains and seas will collapse, so it is difficult for them to cooperate with each other.
There have been more than one "one-on-one" melee, but there has never been a "Zu" who died in such a battle.

In the previous life, Yi Qingyan was beheaded by An Zhizhen. If they were allowed to fight each other fairly and individually...

"Hard to say."

Cen Dongsheng could only answer this way.

“…Isn’t it hard to say?”

Now, it was Yi Qingyan's turn to be surprised.
Although she had little knowledge of the spell-binding master, she was well aware of the power within her body and the weight it contained.

That is another world that is opposite to the real space and is as empty as the abyss. Its name is "Avici Hell".

The essence of her ability is to use the various effects caused by the overlap, dislocation and even conflict between the two spaces to cause indelible damage to the real world.

Brother Dongsheng probably doesn't know about this, but he has an inexplicable trust and understanding of me...

"If my brother didn't guess wrong, then that person is really strong, right?"

Yi Qingyan thought.

Even so, she remains confident.

"elder brother."

She suddenly spoke with a serious expression.

"As I mentioned before, I want to find an 'answer' for my own power. Although I'm sure I won't find it so quickly, I actually have some ideas... I'd like you to listen to them."

Cen Dongsheng was not surprised. He nodded and replied:
"Okay, let's go for a walk."

*
When the brother and sister left the commercial street, it was gradually getting dark.

The two of them strolled in the afterglow of the sunset and walked up the stairs to the pedestrian overpass.

They stood on a high place and looked into the distance. The city was still bustling and noisy, the streets under their feet were full of people, and the colorful lights changed rapidly. Only at this moment was it quiet.

The fiery red sun had not yet set, and the end of the sky looked like a bucket of paint had been overturned, with half of the sky being orange-red.
In the near distance, the shadows cast by nearby buildings at dusk are real and clear, but if the distance is a little further, it is easy to make out people's faces.

He and she stood side by side at the railing, quietly enjoying a moment of peace.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence, maybe I'm the only one who thinks this way..."

Yi Qingyan said in a low voice.

"Everyone I've met recently is particularly concerned about the issue of strength and weakness. As long as you become a strong person, you can do whatever you want, while the weak can only endure humiliation silently. They all agree with this."

Whether it is the curse-master who uses ordinary people as stepping stones, or in the miniature society of the campus, it is everywhere like air.

"It's not your problem," he said.

Even though people know that there is no real "equality for all", in modern countries where citizens do not have basic survival pressure, this "inequality" most of the time seems too tender compared to any period in history;
However, the law of survival of the fittest has not disappeared. It is like a ghost floating above modern civilization. The cornerstone of human society is fragile, and the existing order may be overturned at any time.

Once you get into a difficult situation, all kinds of situations will be exposed.

"For example, if a group of people are accidentally locked in a haunted house with dangerous ghosts everywhere, it is easy for people to become cruel."

Cen Dongsheng said.

"So, brother, what you mean is that things like this...will become more and more frequent?"

"It's entirely possible."

Rather, this is the reality I witnessed with my own eyes.

"……hehe."

After a moment's silence, Yi Qingyan suddenly laughed softly.

"Brother, every time you talk about the future, your tone is so certain."

She grabbed the railing, letting the wind blow her hair, looking down at the people below, and whispered.

"But what I like, what I need... is a brother like this."

...Wait, did she just—

Cen Dongsheng was about to speak when Yi Qingyan continued talking on her own.

"If I don't hear such a firm answer, a person as indecisive as me will surely make mistakes one day because I am at a loss."

He opened his mouth, but still couldn't speak.

"Indecisive"...the King of Equality?
To be honest, if I had to choose between him and Yi Qingyan who is more nagging, that person would definitely be myself.

After all, when it came to the issue of how to deal with Yi Qingyan, he was unable to see his own heart clearly for a long time, and only made up his mind after he had that dream.

And what about King Pingdeng?
The King of Equality in people’s minds is a demon who kills people for pleasure without restraint, but he may not be the most free and easy-going person in the world.

Of course, Cen Dongsheng no longer thinks so now.

"I have an idea. It may not carry any weight when I say it, but I really think this way..."

The brilliant sunset was reflected in her eyes.

"If this world is one where the strong are respected and the weak are preyed upon, then I will use the rules of this world to change it."

……

She heard no answer.

Yi Qingyan turned her head and saw the expression on the young man's face. He didn't seem surprised at all, and looked more like... missing someone.

"I see." he said.

"Brother, don't you think I'm weird?"

"Not surprisingly."

Cen Dongsheng was even in the mood to joke.

"Actually, high school students are the ones who would think about this kind of thing..."

"I, I'm serious!"

"Just kidding, I know you're serious."

He laughed.

"No matter what, this is the answer you found yourself, so I will definitely support you."

Cen Dongsheng looked at her, but what appeared in his mind was her future self. The figures of the two people slowly overlapped in his eyes.

It turned out to be the case.

It turned out that it was from this moment that King Pingdeng became King Pingdeng.

In this life, he is the first witness.

"But you should know what is the most important thing to do if you want to achieve what you said."

……

Ok, I know.

Yi Qingyan looked at the sunset in the sky, and she couldn't help but stretch out her hand, as if she wanted to grasp the last ray of light in her palm.

The girl's seemingly fragile body hides an entire dead world.

From the moment she was born, when she was still a newborn, the world whispered to her...

——Accept me, and you will become the “strongest”.

(End of this chapter)