Tang Wulin's heart jolted violently upon hearing the words "Shrek’s Seven Monsters". All of the situations that couldn't be explained in the past suddenly made sense. Furthermore, he could sense that this old man was telling the truth here. Both the old man and Old Demon Desire fell silent here.
It was quite clear that reminiscing about those past events was still a very painful experience for them.
Old Demon Desire sighed, "When we first arrived near the demonic islands, all of us were very shocked as the region of the sea here had transformed drastically. We were only able to descend onto the island with some technological support from the federation, and even at that time, the sea soul beasts here had become a lot more powerful and spiked drastically in numbers. The federation had introduced soul beast conservation laws as far back as 4,000 years ago, prohibiting people from engaging in senseless slaughter of soul beasts, so we refrained from killing any of the sea soul beasts here. After landing on the island, we began a series of investigations. I'm sure you also noticed when you first set foot on this island that it's completely devoid of vitality and filled with nothing but a fearsome destructive aura.
"We also sensed at the time that we wouldn't be able to survive here for long, but we had to continue our investigation, searching for any potential leads or any signs of life. In the end, we found the fragment of destruction. At the time, we were quite powerful; at the very least, we were far more powerful than you guys currently are. We found this valley, and we finally detected the existence of life force energy here. At the time, our first reaction was that we'd stumbled upon a miraculous oasis, so we remained in the valley to continue our investigation. However, what was different at the time was that the destructive energy was on the outskirts of the island, while the life energy was contained within the valley, and the fragment of destruction hadn't completely unleashed its power yet.
"Hence, we discovered the fragment of destruction, it was just a massive crystal that seemed to be imbued with boundless energy. Can you imagine what we felt at the time? We thought that we'd found something that contained an endless supply of energy! We belonged to Shrek Academy, so we naturally hoped to bring this treasure back to the academy for research. Thus, we tried to extricate the fragment of destruction, and that was when the tragedy took place."
The old man's face was filled with sorrow as he picked up a chicken drumstick from the table before taking a ferocious bite as if he were trying to vent his rage and sorrow.
A wry smile appeared on Old Demon Desire's face, and she took over the story from there. "We had almost no reaction time before all seven of us were obliterated by the destructive energy within the fragment. Our entire existences were wiped away in an instant."
The old man sighed, "At the time, we didn't experience any pain. We only felt as if everything had become blurry and indistinct; it was like we'd been plunged into an abstract world with nothing but alternating flashes of light and darkness. It was as if everything was distancing itself from us, but also rapidly approaching us at the same time."
Old Demon Desire continued, "After what seemed like an eternity, we finally gradually awakened, but we'd lost our bodies forever, so we could only continue to exist on this island as spiritual entities. We also gained control over part of the energies of life and destruction here. After that, we conducted extensive research and deduced that it was most likely the life energy here that saved us. The destructive energy annihilated our bodies, but the life energy protected our souls. That's why we're able to exist as these strange demons that are neither humans nor ghosts. The life energy here extended our lifespans, allowing us to live for over 1,000 years, and we've always guarded this place from curious explorers.
"From that point onward, these islands belonged to Shrek Academy. After all, we sacrificed our lives to secure these islands, and there's no way for us to leave. Without the life energy here to sustain us, our souls would dissipate, and we would die. Hence, we remained here and waited for Shrek Academy to send their brightest young talents to us for training."
After the old man and Old Demon Desire had told him their story, Tang Wulin chose to believe them. The story simply made everything make sense.
Old Demon Desire sat before the table in a dazed manner. "We've lived far longer than any human being ever has, but we'll never be able to return to Shrek Academy and witness the beauty of the Sea God's Island. We'll never be able to experience the joys of the human world, and we can only remain here as demons."
The old man said, "I'll admit that we're rather twisted and that we do derive some pleasure from torturing all of you, but if you think back, you'll discover that everything we've done has been for your benefit. Not only are we equipping you with more skills, we're also helping you to grow up more quickly. Only after suffering grueling hardships will you come to realize just how precious life is, and that will make you treat this world more seriously. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Tang Wulin slowly nodded. With the threats from Old Demon Nightmare looming over his head, he'd learned how to fly aircrafts and infused destructive energy into his own aura, thereby allowing him to travel freely through these waters.
The things that Old Demon Gluttony had forced him to eat were extremely disgusting, but the rich life force energy had bolstered his bloodline power significantly, and also neutralized all of the potential damage that the destructive energy may have inflicted on his body. He had experienced both creation and destruction, and the process had culminated in evolution.
Old Demon Hatred forced them to become stronger mentally through enduring physical pain and taught them how to not succumb to agony, and Old Demon Desire had taught them that it was important to maintain a shred of mental clarity at all times.
It was only through these extreme methods that they'd been able to evolve so rapidly within such a short time. They had truly become men and women who were equipped to handle anything that the world had to throw at them.
These lessons were truly immeasurable in value, and they couldn't be learned in the academy.
The old man smiled, and said, "You are the fastest to complete our training, so we can teach you some things in a much more peaceful manner now. After you've learned everything, you can remain on the island and wait for your friends. After they've passed all of their trials or given up along the way, you can all leave together. It's a rule of ours that all those who come here together must also leave together."
Tang Wulin nodded in response.
The trauma he'd suffered during the past six months meant that he still couldn't bring himself to extend any words of respect toward these old demons, but he'd already believed everything that they told him.
The old man stood up and nodded at Old Demon Desire before turning away. His rotund frame slowly disappeared into the forest.
"What should I refer to him as?" Tang Wulin asked.
Old Demon Desire shook her head. "There's no need for you to learn his name; you most likely won't be seeing him before you leave. Alright, let's begin now. I can teach you a lot of things, and even though many of them won't contribute to directly enhancing your combat prowess, they'll help you immensely in other areas."
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