Yun Jin's gaze toward Su Lingling subtly shifted.
A new Heaven's Chosen heroine.
With Ye Danxia's decline, this world's Heavenly Dao had seized the chance to select another candidate. And now, that very heroine had been delivered right before her.
Yun Jin no longer believed Su Lingling's appearance was coincidence. This was the Heavenly Dao's deliberate arrangement. What exactly was the Heavenly Dao plotting? Did it want her to nurture its newly chosen heroine?
Yun Jin narrowed her eyes slightly.
She had already faintly realized something before.
The Demon Sovereign and Ye Danxia—this so-called male and female lead chosen by Heaven—had brought no positive benefit to this world. On the contrary, because of them, Qingxiao Pavilion rose to absolute dominance.
The book never dared to detail what came next, but Yun Jin could easily guess. After the pair ascended, the mortal realm they left behind must have become a broken mess, sure to fall into upheaval again.
And more.
The book claimed Yang Yun absorbed all of the demon race.
But what of Lin Xiao?
Yun Jin still could not confirm whether Lin Xiao truly was demon race, but at the very least, he was deeply entangled with them.
Yang Yun had left Lin Xiao alive, and preserved Qingxiao Pavilion.
The moment Yang Yun ascended, this world fell completely under Lin Xiao's control. At that time, Master Ji Wusi and the others would already be gone, and no one would remain capable of opposing him.
Where would Lin Xiao lead this world? Yun Jin hardly dared to imagine.
Would the Heavenly Dao truly be content watching its creation sink into ruin?
The Heavenly Dao had birthed this world. To it, the world was like its own child. If the world perished, so too would the Heavenly Dao.
Yun Jin harbored a chilling suspicion.
Yang Yun and Ye Danxia might not have been legitimate Heaven's Chosen leads at all.
Perhaps some mysterious entity had forcibly bestowed them with boundless Luck, making them the world's protagonists. And that hidden existence, by using the two of them as tools, truly sought to destroy this world.
What the Heavenly Dao had been doing all along was not guidance—it was self-preservation.
Qin Ping and others had received faint nudges of guidance.
Qin Ping had once told her that choosing to follow her was because of an inexplicable sense.
That, Yun Jin thought, was likely the Heavenly Dao's handiwork.
And now…
With Ye Danxia no longer the female lead, Heaven had hastily created a new one and placed her directly before Yun Jin.
And that heroine was only five years old.
A child at that age had yet to form a firm worldview or values. Perhaps fearing its new heroine would stray, the Heavenly Dao had let Su Lingling witness calamity, had arranged for her to be saved by Yun Jin, and let her see the efforts of Gao Jingxuan and the others.
It was all meant to plant a seed within this child's heart, to prevent her from walking a crooked path.
Yun Jin's mind flashed with countless thoughts in an instant.
She lifted her eyes to the heavens.
The artificial sun she had conjured still hung above, staining the sky with a fiery glow.
Inwardly, Yun Jin spoke in silence.
"If you truly exist, then speak with me."
There was no response.
As if her suspicions about the Heavenly Dao were nothing but imagination.
But Yun Jin did not grow impatient.
She continued calmly in her heart.
"Very well. Raising a five-year-old is far too troublesome. After all, I am still but a child myself. As for Su Lingling, let her be eliminated."
Yun Jin was just thinking this when suddenly—
A tense, almost nervous voice rang out. "Don't."
The corner of Yun Jin's lips curved in the faintest smile. The voice was soft, even a little childish. So this Heavenly Dao was rather young.
"And who are you, suddenly speaking in my mind?" Yun Jin asked deliberately. It seemed this Heavenly Dao wanted her help. Helping was not impossible. After all, their goals did align—for now.
But…
Since it was work, should it not also come with payment? Yun Jin had no intention of laboring for free.
"You already know who I am." The Heavenly Dao's voice carried a note of pitiful grievance.
For a moment, Yun Jin felt as though she were bullying a child.
That was… a little awkward.
She raised a brow. "Oh? Then perhaps you are the one from legend…"
The Heavenly Dao perked up, waiting for her words to continue.
"…the one utterly incompetent, who let outsiders wreak havoc in this world's heart?" Yun Jin said on purpose.
Heavenly Dao: "…"
It had rarely communicated directly with mortals. On those few occasions, humans had always been filled with terror and reverence. This woman's reaction was rather unusual. But the Heavenly Dao did not become angry. In truth, it was incapable of such emotions.
It only spoke steadily.
"You must have realized this world has changed. The true male and female leads were never meant to be the Demon Sovereign and Ye Danxia. An external power forcibly altered fate, making them Heaven's Chosen. Yet though they bore that title, their hearts were selfish and sly, never worthy of being children of Luck.
But with that outer interference, I could only watch as they devoured others' luck. After much effort, I divined the result. They would ascend, leaving only ruin behind. Soon after their departure, Qingxiao Pavilion would slaughter endlessly, turning the land into scorched earth. Then Lin Xiao, with the resentment of countless lives, would tear open the world's barrier. Outer-realm demons would invade. The world would end."
The Heavenly Dao's tone was slow and solemn.
Yun Jin narrowed her eyes.
Lin Xiao's ultimate goal was to break the world's barrier?
He was not human, nor of this world's demon race. He was… an outer-realm demon.
Yun Jin realized the truth instantly.
"If the world dies, I too perish. I cannot forcefully control the actions of all living beings. To alter fate, I can only choose certain individuals to aid me. Your death and rebirth was also by my power. Yet… I do not understand why, after your rebirth, something else—something mysterious—clung to you." In the Heavenly Dao's tone flickered a rare trace of confusion.
This Yun Jin before it was far too different from the one before her rebirth.
Yun Jin arched a brow. So her rebirth was the work of the Heavenly Dao. But once the System chose her to travel across worlds, the Heavenly Dao could no longer perceive her.
That made sense.
The System could carry her through endless worlds. In some, she had felt other Heavenly Daos. In one, she herself had become the Heavenly Dao.
Compared to that, the Heavenly Dao of this small world was far too weak.
Its failure to sense her change was only natural.
"You are the Heavenly Dao, yet even you cannot perceive it?" Yun Jin teased deliberately.
The Heavenly Dao fell briefly silent, then admitted honestly, "You give me an unsettling sense. As though within you lies something that could… destroy me."
Yun Jin's smile deepened.
Given enough time, destroying a Heavenly Dao was not impossible.
"In that case," she asked with curiosity, "you still dare to show yourself and speak with me?"
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Yun Jin, so cool (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ