Chapter 181: Bing.

"So, you're the Devil, I'm turning into?" Bing casually talked.

"I wouldn't describe myself as such. It would be more accurate to say that I'm an extension of your true self." A somewhat similar-looking clone of himself sat across from him.

  Bing and his Devil were sitting across from one another with their legs crossed. Around them was the surrounding of Ying's void world but he knew that this place wasn't real. The figure in front of him was his Heart Demon and to get out of this world, he would need to come to some understanding or overcome him in some way. But he wasn't interested in fighting or challenging Bing but simply talking to him!

  The Devil had large folded human hands as wings on his back, several mouths lining up and down his body that resembled the mouth on his hand when using Devil's Arms, and two extra pairs of arms under his original pair. Slightly darker skin but nowhere near as dark as the Empress's skin color. Besides those differences, he was perfectly identical to Bing! It was strange looking at somewhat that looked just like him as none of his familiar members looked similar to him on account of his weight. His father, mother, and sister looked like strangers when compared to Bing. That difference between him and his family actually prompted him to wonder several times if he was adopted by the Ai Clan or not.

"My true self? What do you mean by that?" Bing questioned.

"I am everything you repress and hide from your "friends."" He explained.

"Oh." Bing now understood. "So what?" He asked.

"Don't you feel tired hiding yourself away from your friends? Why not let me help you free yourself and become the true Bing, you've always been repressing?" Devil asked in a kind gesture.

"No. I don't feel tired at all. I hide you away from them for a reason. You and I both know this." Bing reasoned.

"What kind of cultivator can you call yourself by restricting yourself like this? In what world do you know of cultivators that hide a part of themself away from the world?" Devil tried to reason.

"I don't mind being an oddity. I don't care much for what strangers think of me either."

"Then what of your friends? Once they see the real you, you know how they are going to respond right?"

"I've thought about it, sure. But do I know for sure? Of course not. I can't see the future after all."

"So, you already know that you would be an outcast?"

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?" Bing wondered.

"Aren't they going to distance themselves from you and stop being friends with you?" Devil questioned.

"Are you sure, you're an extension of me? Because if so, you're not that much of an extension because you don't know my friends as well as I do." Bing peered deep into the Devil's figure.

"You doubt who I am?"

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter who or what you are really. I am aware of my strengths, my flaws, my fears, my passions, and my goals. When you spend most of your time training, socializing, or eating, you have a lot of time on your hand to think about things. Things exactly like, what if Ying saw the part of me that I try to hide away from the rest? What if I told Jing of my hatred and gratitude for her enslaving me? What if I don't ever get a girlfriend? You see, I know what kind of person I am, both inside and out. I know that I am not a good person, far from it actually. If half of the world's cultivators were wiped out, I wouldn't blink an eye as it wouldn't have anything to do with me. Unless some of my friends were involved in that half, then I would care and be saddened."

"Then I guess my job as a Heart Demon is quite useless, isn't it?" Devil sighed and propped up his face with his hand.

"Maybe if you tried putting me up against the Empress in a fight for my life but even then, the best option would be to bow my head and submit to my death. Uselessly struggling against a demonic freak like her is all but pointless. So, I don't see how I could've failed this portion of the test. My soul might be permanently tainted black, full of evil and selfishness, but that does not mean that it isn't balanced like a pure soul would be. I know that the dark desires that creep up in my mind from time to time are because of my Devil Arts but that doesn't mean I need to let them control my mind and body. Even the evilest man could be seen a savior and a friend to some." Bing patted him on the shoulder.

"So, you're aware of Ying's feelings for you?" The Heart Demon asked.

"Huh!?" What in the world was this Heart Demon talking about?!

"I see. As a virgin, it would make sense that you're blind to the feelings of the opposite sex."

"Hey! Just because I'm a virgin and never had a girlfriend doesn't mean that I don't know anything about girls!"

"What do you know of girls? The only girls you ever talked to before the group is your mother and sister. Those dreams you had where you had harems of naked women don't count either. Now that I think about it, you don't even know what a naked woman looks like, do you?"

"I'll find out eventually! What are you even getting at talking about this!? Leave already so I can return to the real world!" Bing was getting red.

"How does it feel knowing that you would even be willing to sacrifice your body to Jing just so that you could climb the stairs of adulthood? Isn't that pathetic? Someone of your strength can't even attract or flirt with the opposite sex."

"Were you serious about the Ying thing?" Bing got real close to the Heart Demon and asked.

"Why? So, you can use her for her body and then drop her like a sack of potatoes? Hahahaha! You and I both know that Ying isn't your preferred type of woman. She's too violent. Everyone knows how often you go on about having a gentle and cute wife to spoil and take care of. In what way is Ying anything gentle and cute? Hell, that freak Wan Qing is more of your ideal type of woman even if she's a bitch sometimes."

"You know, they say love changes a woman." Bing argued.

"You really are desperate to lose your virginity..." The Heart Demon looked at him as if he was trash.

"I'm 18 years old and haven't even had my first kiss yet! Do you know how shameful that is for a man?! Even Lei Zhi has had multiple sexual partners in his youth at an age even younger than me! His talent was even worse than mine, I think!"

"I didn't realize how much of a sensitive subject this was for you... It is pretty pathetic compared to the person I was talking to earlier."

"Shut up. Don't underestimate a young virgin."

"Now that I think about it, you even had a dream about having sex with Jing, didn't you? Multiple times even though you think she's the ugliest and most lackluster girl you've ever seen."

"Don't bring that up. Dreams should stay as they are. Simply dreams."

"Some would consider it a nightmare to have someone like her forcing themselves on them. That skin, it's just so repulsive from the standard view of beauty. Her face is nothing decent either. It really is a shame that someone so powerful can't just make themselves more beautiful."

"Hey, why do you think Ying is interested in me?" Bing suddenly changed the subject.

"How am I supposed to know fatty? It definitely isn't because of your looks though. I can say that much."

"What the hell? I'm pretty handsome for a man of my size, you know? A random girl from the Inner Court even told me that she would have been willing to have me warm her bed if my stomach wasn't so large." Bing boasted.

"To think that you would be satisfied with something like that... Truly pathetic. I feel bad for the poor girl. Being interested in someone like you who will only care about her body. Not her needs, wants, likes, dislikes, and personality."

"Ying's my friend! Of course, I wouldn't treat her like trash. Because now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure she'll cripple me if I don't satisfy her in a relationship or think about breaking up with her."

"Do you even like her in that way?"

"I don't know but at this point, I'm willing to give almost anything a shot. Maybe I'll start to fall in love with her as we spend more time together. I'm already in love with her baking skills but of course, there is more to Ying than just how well she can bake cakes. While in my selfish heart, sex may be the main goal, I have to realize that if things go well, I can have sex whenever I want if I don't fuck it up! If I do fall in love with Ying and be a great boyfriend, she'll be willing to have sex with me whenever!"

"Scum." The Heart Demon shook his head and disappeared, leaving Bing alone.

"Maybe there's another side to Ying, I could find out through our relationship... She can't be all violence, confrontation, and aggression... Right?" Bing blinked and found himself at the top of the stairs.

"Looks like you finally made it Bing." Ying slapped his shoulder using way more force than she needed to.

"Ow!" Bing couldn't help but cry out. "And thanks..." He rubbed his sore shoulder.

"Oh, come on, I barely used any strength in that. Don't be such a girl." She smiled.

  This smile of hers wasn't the first time he's ever looked at Ying as a woman. But after his experience with his Heart Demon, it certainly made his heart unstable. It made him question how long has she liked him. Why did she like him? As a man, he should properly respond to her feelings but she hasn't even told him about her feelings!? What if that Heart Demon was screwing with him?! If he suddenly talked to her about becoming her boyfriend or accepting her as his woman and she rejected him, the embarrassment he would feel would be something that would follow him for years. So, why doesn't he just act as nothing happened at all and see what fate has in store for him? Knowing his luck, it could just be his delusions because of how friendly she's gotten because of her interest in making Spirit Cakes.

"I'm surprised Lei and Jing are still struggling. I'd imagine that those two would be the first ones up here..." Bing commented.

"You aren't alone." Qing muttered.