Return of the King, Dominating the City-Chapter 1494 - 1479: Psychological Warfare

Song Yun’s heart suddenly wrenched, if he ran into Alexander now, he really would have no chance of fighting back, only getting beaten.

"What happened next?" Song Yun asked.

"I wounded him, and he fled!"

Kunpeng said calmly.

"Wounded him, and fled!"

Song Yun looked at Kunpeng in even greater shock. This Kunpeng could wound Alexander? Wasn’t Alexander supposed to be the top of the War God List? How could he be wounded by Kunpeng, and Kunpeng seemed perfectly fine.

"Yes!"

Kunpeng nodded and said, "Alexander is only perceived as the top of the War God List by you all. Actually, because I protect No. 1, I can’t make myself too famous, so I haven’t been consistently climbing up. Plus, among the top few in the War God List, it’s hard to truly distinguish who’s the best. At this level, people rarely fight to the death, so comparing strengths becomes even more difficult!"

"So you’re saying you’re stronger than both Alexander and Abe Jinming! And Azure Dragon?" Song Yun asked.

"Yes, I’m stronger than both of them, and as for Azure Dragon, I will surpass him!"

Kunpeng neither humbly nor arrogantly nodded, then said, "So, you’re not my match. If you reach Alexander’s level, then you have the qualification to be killed by me, otherwise, you don’t stand a chance!"

Song Yun clenched his fists tightly, this was the first time in his life he was thus struck down.

Originally, Song Yun thought he was strong enough. Imagine, even though he teamed up with Shi Huntian, they managed to take down Abe Jinming. He was one of the top three on the War God List, and Kunpeng was also just among the top few. So simply put, even if Song Yun couldn’t beat Kunpeng, he wouldn’t be as hopeless as before, he thought he’d at least have some fighting chance this time. But unexpectedly, Kunpeng said that other than Azure Dragon, everyone else could be easily beaten. Even Abe Jinming would only be toyed with, which was a big blow to Song Yun.

It’s like you’ve worked hard for a long time, finally feeling like you can catch up to a target, but it turns out the target seems to be much further away than before. The thing you thought was within your reach suddenly becomes far out of grasp, and this sense of disparity is enough to make someone feel terribly upset.

Damn, this is insane.

Song Yun thought in his mind, suddenly feeling powerless, as if no matter what he did, he’d never catch up to Kunpeng. Every time he made a bit of progress, he’d realize, damn it, Kunpeng was still so far ahead. Once or twice is okay, but if this keeps happening, a feeling of never being able to catch up starts haunting you.

Many times, it’s not that you’re afraid of not improving, but that even when you do, your opponent is also improving, sometimes faster than you.

Kunpeng glanced at Song Yun with a hint of peculiarity in his eyes, but didn’t speak further, just turned around and left.

Meanwhile, Chen Mengjie looked at Song Yun strangely, sensing a very gloomy aura around him; he looked completely dispirited, head lowered, not speaking at all.

"What’s wrong, Song Yun?"

Chen Mengjie asked.

"Nothing!"

Song Yun shook his head, then looked up feeling a bit forlorn, "No matter how hard I try, I can’t catch up, I’m so exhausted!"

"Catch up to what?"

Chen Mengjie asked.

"Kunpeng." Song Yun said frankly, "Before, there was a big gap between us, but now it seems the gap hasn’t narrowed!"

"Is he that strong?"

Chen Mengjie asked.

"Yes, very strong!"

Song Yun nodded, "He’s arguably one of the top few in the world!"

"Oh!"

Chen Mengjie nodded, and said, "But I’m a bit puzzled!"

"Puzzled about what?" Song Yun asked.

"If he’s as strong as you say, then why would he bother to demoralize you?" Chen Mengjie asked.

"Demoralize me!"

Song Yun was taken aback.

"Yes!"

Chen Mengjie nodded, "Everything he said just now was to bring you down. If someone is truly self-assured about their skills, they wouldn’t say those things. In my view, what he was doing just now is psychological manipulation!"

"Psychological manipulation!"

Song Yun’s eyes lit up.

"Yes, generally, there’s only one circumstance in which someone says such things to someone else for the purpose of psychological manipulation, and that’s when they’re not entirely confident about defeating that person, so they need another method to weaken their opponent’s strength, or simply demoralize them, as he was just now. Once a person’s confidence wavers, their performance falters." Chen Mengjie said earnestly.

Song Yun’s eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "How did I not think of that? Normally, Kunpeng wouldn’t waste so many words. Even if Alexander really ran off after being wounded by him, he wouldn’t come bragging to me. The purpose behind such actions is to project an image of invincibility, so that in my mind, he becomes unbeatable. Once this perception is entrenched in my mind, it disrupts my progress going forward! Yes, that’s definitely it! Mengjie, thank you. Without you, I might not have realized Kunpeng’s ploy!"

"Actually, Song Yun, in my view, instead of comparing yourself to others, it’s better to compare yourself to yourself." Chen Mengjie said, "If today you’re better than yesterday, that’s enough. Why always compare yourself to others? Being your best self is most important, everything else follows the natural course, you’re not a god, right?"

"Song Yun, try to think, have you progressed in the last few months, few weeks? If you have, that’s victory. Comparing to others is meaningless, everyone’s situation is different." Chen Mengjie said with a smile, "I used to like comparing myself to others when I was in school. There was someone who always scored better than me. I was always second, he was first, and so I strived to surpass him every time. But later I realized, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t achieve it, so I lost motivation and slacked off, my grades plummeted. Later our teacher reached out to me, talked to me, and I was motivated again. My teacher told me that your greatest enemy is always yourself. As long as today’s you is better than yesterday’s you, that’s enough. Accumulate progress gradually, you might never surpass him, but you can surpass your past self one step at a time, that’s what’s important!"

"Your teacher really knows a lot!"

Song Yun said with a smile, the dispiritedness around him had completely vanished, replaced by renewed determination.

"What you said might be right!"

Song Yun said, "Kunpeng saying so much to me must mean he’s not entirely confident, so he wants to demoralize me, to keep me forever underneath him! Even if he can’t kill me in the end, he wants me to live under his shadow forever. I was too foolish, my progress is greater than anyone. Back then, Kunpeng could utterly destroy me, but now he needs to use psychological manipulation to hurt me—that alone is my progress. Hmph, as long as today’s me is better than yesterday’s me, that’s enough. Mengjie, thank you so much!"