"Yes, everything I've done is all in vain, my centuries of effort turned into bubbles at this moment..." the old Demon King continued to say.

"Betrayal by family, betrayal by trusted followers, betrayal by the nation, betrayal by the people... everyone has stood against me."

The old Demon King looked at the light source coming down from the sky in the Consciousness Space and sighed, "I stopped the ritual of blood sacrifice to heaven and earth, an evil ceremony needing human sacrifices for power, which I banned, and then I was reviled by the people."

"I let scholars manage those war fanatics who only knew killing, so my trusted followers betrayed me."

"I gathered all the Combat Magic across the world, then strongly advocated the widespread use of Life Magic, including the Bridge Building Technique, Earth Flipping Technique, Rain Praying Technique, all these techniques clearly able to improve livelihoods. But they only believed that without power in hand, they would only be slaughtered by others..."

Xue Dili: "..."

Too foolish, Xue Dili looked at the old Demon King. Although he had major problems, many of the issues from his perspective and power weren't really problems, but these issues accumulated and exploded.

At the same time, one could say every step he took was problematic.

Xue Dili suddenly felt something; this old Demon King seemed like a madman far exceeding their era. When this madman wanted to implement policies far ahead of the current era, even if these policies were good, they would invariably turn into rotten policies.

Commonly known as: The step taken was too large, and it tore underneath...

Just like in their world, which didn't even count as a slave society, directly a primitive society, and then this old Demon King wanted to leap from a primitive society to a feudal society all at once...

Those old relics still living in the primitive society weren't dead yet, and even people's mindsets hadn't changed. He began a sweeping reform from top to bottom, making a complete transformation.

Although Xue Dili understood that harsh measures must be used in chaotic times, this sudden huge step made everyone live in unfamiliar fear, naturally accumulating all small problems into an explosion.

He wanted to speak but suddenly looked at this old Demon King and was speechless.

Xue Dili suddenly felt it was normal.

This old Demon King had hardly read any books, went to battle at age six, became a Legend at twelve, reached Mythic Level at twenty-eight, and in his fifties single-handedly killed the previous Devil King, seized the throne, and began singly pushing the progress of the entire world.

All his life was either spent honing his strength or fighting wars, from age six to over a hundred, killing not just a few million but tens of thousands, to the point where the entire world had to listen to him.

But such a person honestly had little time to learn culture, and in their world, culture was only so-so, comprised entirely of madmen who couldn't live without fighting.

Wars originally would spur technological development, but their world's technological advances all developed into how to research more brutal Murder Magic, how to kill most efficiently with the least Magic Power...

Regarding killing and how to efficiently kill entire clans, their world's "technology" was considered the highest by Xue Dili, making the Super Iron Curtain pale in comparison...

He had no historical precedents to consult, could only proceed one step at a time, often doubting whether each step was correct or wrong, only knowing if the step should've been taken once the result appeared.

And Xue Dili also understood why trusted followers would betray him. It was because his fists were big and they gained merit by following him, willing to follow such a Demon King. But once he unified, this original military war chariot had to come to an abrupt stop, and all original war fanatics were discarded.

The original heroes, the former pillars, in an instant became people who were no longer needed, a drastic disparity not easy for everyone to accept.

Those war fanatics must have panicked. They didn't dare create trouble when the old Demon King was around, but without him, who could say.

...

Finally, the old Demon King sighed, "I don't understand, clearly all people need is to farm and rear livestock, and a world where everyone is peaceful will appear, a world where no one needs to go to the battlefield for slaughter at age six, a world where everyone can be warm and fed, but why do they insist on not living their little lives? Preferring instead to return to that endless era of war..."

"Likewise, why do they chase after the evil power of blood sacrifices? Do they only want to see themselves as beneficiaries of blood sacrifice, not the one being sacrificed? I don't understand..."

The old Demon King's words reveal the confusion of an illiterate.

He seemingly really believed that as long as he provided everyone the opportunity to be fed and clothed, that no one would want war.

But the fact remained, even if he allowed everyone to be fed and clothed, the entire Empire began collapsing from the inside. The speed of collapse was astonishing, and likewise, those originally fed and clothed quickly stood in opposition to him.

"So, I'm seeking a way to eternal peace and tranquility. Since my first path failed, but I'm still young, I still have a chance to pursue a second path to eternal peace." He seemed hardly defeated, though appearing to be lost at the crossroads of life, unable to find the direction of the future.

Xue Dili: "..."

Did this old Demon King suddenly understand? He wasn't eager to return to his world, no matter how chaotic it was. He only wanted to continue seeking the way to eternal peace.

However, eternal peace is impossible, Xue Dili could guarantee to tell him, as long as creatures possess "desire," eternal peace cannot be achieved, times progress in spirals, new things will inevitably replace the old.

But in the alternation between old and new, conflict is unavoidable.

This was content Xue Dili had just finished from a book. He didn't know how to share these theories with the Demon King, and even felt unqualified to preach these pretentiously grand principles.

After all, I'm just a dumb college student. I've never really run a country before, and maybe my theories seem impressive, but when it comes to practical execution, I might just be all talk, not even as good as this old Demon King.

"Ring, ring, ring..." Just then, the class bell rang.

Xue Dili realized he had been chatting with the old Demon King for too long. In the absence of major issues, he still preferred to act like a proper student.

However, seeing the college students in the corridor chatting and laughing while running, the old Demon King was actually stunned.

"You don't have any magic power here?" He immediately noticed the issue.

"Yeah, the entire world is absolutely without magic, but we've taken an alternative route of magic-based technology," Xue Dili shrugged. After all, the technology on Blue Star was like an enhanced version of magic-based tech, so he wasn't wrong.

Xue Dili hurriedly put on the Faceless Mask that turned into a face mask and returned to class.

On the podium, the old professor started lecturing: "Students, please turn to Chapter Four of your textbook. Today's topic is establishing the correct values. Note, this is a key point for the final exam, and it will definitely be tested in any future exams like grad school entry!"

The teacher's words made all the students who were planning to play with their phones or sleep sit up immediately. Although many people relaxed after entering university, since it's a key university like Ke University, many at least harbored the ambition to make something of themselves.

But Xue Dili didn't care about this part of the knowledge at all. When he had lectured Fafnir on this topic, he had already analyzed it enough, even to the point where he could roughly recite the textbook points.

Plus, with the memories of a Parallel World Doctor, he felt incredibly strong, the kind who could pass the Ke University line for grad school directly.

Just as Xue Dili was thinking about chatting with the old Demon King again, he noticed that this Demon King was seriously listening to the teacher's lecture, with a scroll in his hand, diligently copying vast amounts of knowledge points.

"Hey, you're..."

"Don't disturb me, I'm thinking. This is valuable knowledge; everything else can wait." The old Demon King immediately interrupted rudely.

Xue Dili: "?"

He suddenly realized something. Although both were Quasi-5th Tier, the Great Sage had traveled through countless worlds. He had seen various civilizations and knowledge, collecting countless cultures and learning, essentially a walking library, so he was indifferent to everything on Blue Star.

He visited more than one world centered around magic-based technology.

But the old Demon King was different. He was a complete illiterate, spending his life either fighting or on the way to fight, and the knowledge and history of their world were shockingly scarce.

All knowledge basically pointed to more efficient ways of killing.

So even though both were Quasi-5th Tier, the difference in their perspectives and scopes was enormous. This didn't affect their strength or power, but it meant a huge difference in their inner world.

Just like now, the old Demon King appeared as if he'd discovered a treasure. He was intensely focused on the teacher's lecture, his notes overflowing with intricate details, missing not a single knowledge point or phrase.

Even when the teacher broke away from the textbook and blackboard to recount a personal story to support a knowledge point, this old Demon King meticulously noted down every bit of the teacher's story without missing a word.

He even added extensive notes and thoughts of his own on each sentence and knowledge point. Instantly, a previously blank scroll became densely packed with words and his own annotations.

Xue Dili: "???"

Even after half the class was over, during the mid-class break, the old Demon King continued furiously taking notes. He even set down the scroll and started inscribing characters in thin air, recording every piece of external knowledge, his pupils filled with those handwritten words.

"Alright, what was it you wanted to say earlier?" The old Demon King seemed to have finally completed his recording and asked.

"Actually, you don't need to take notes. Whatever you need, I've got it..." Xue Dili snapped his fingers, and a textbook appeared in front of the old Demon King.

Then with another snap, books on philosophy, history, moral and legal education, and overviews appeared, scattering across the floor...

He had made many copies of these books using Fantasy Materialization and stored plenty. Each morning, he'd use Bread Technique to turn a book into bread to eat, letting the power of knowledge flow into his stomach.

Old Demon King: "..."

The air suddenly felt a bit quiet.

He silently picked up the books from the floor, cradling them in his hands as if they were treasures, making Xue Dili feel uncomfortable in contrast.

What seemed casually obtainable to them was more precious than artifacts to the old Demon King.

"In your world... can such knowledge that could easily overthrow old regimes be freely distributed? And I saw those people, without urgency or tension on their faces, completely different from the spirit of people in my world..."

"Is your world a peaceful one? Can you tell me the way to achieve eternal peace?" The old Demon King looked at Xue Dili, his pupils seemingly ignited again with something called 'ambition.'

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