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...Xuan Ming listened quietly to Qian Renxue's impassioned speech, watching her strive to play the role of savior and guide, attempting to Move him with grand blueprints and seemingly noble ideals.
Those words about unity, order, and peace might have once stirred a ripple in his heart, perhaps even showing him a glimmer of possibility to escape his desperate fate.
But now, hearing them, he only found them... laughable.
He felt no anger, did not interrupt, and even felt a trace of... nostalgia that surprised even himself.
Yes, nostalgia.
In this life, he always seemed to be moving forward under a heavy burden, every step on the edge of a blade, every day racing against death.
The increase in power and change in status brought not liberation, but even more massive, inescapable shackles and responsibilities.
He often unconsciously missed yesterday, feeling that past hardships weren't so bad, even occasionally wondering if choosing another path back then would have been easier.
Like the "past" presented by this illusion right now.
If he had truly believed Qian Renxue back then, chosen to rely on her, used Spirit Hall's power to solve his twin spirits' issues, and then become a pawn in her plan, toiling for that so-called "continental peace"... perhaps he wouldn't have had to experience the subsequent bloody slaughters, wouldn't have had to carry the sins of millions of dead souls, wouldn't have had to engage in such a dangerous gamble with the God Realm, and wouldn't be enduring the crushing weight of five God King wills right now.
That path seemed... much easier.
The thought was like a venomous snake, quietly slithering into his mind with seductive whispers.
Give up... why work so hard?
Accept the arrangement, integrate into the rules, and you can live more easily... look at the path you've walked, has there been a single day that wasn't getting worse?
The five God King wills keenly captured this minute emotional fluctuation.
It wasn't hesitation, but a deep exhaustion and a brief look back at "another possibility."
The Asura God's killing intent stirred slightly, as if mocking the weakness hidden in his heart.
The God of Evil's chaotic whispers became clearer, tempting him to follow this instinct of "seeking benefit and avoiding harm."
The God of Destruction's aura of annihilation spread quietly, as if implying that all struggle would eventually return to nothingness.
The God of Kindness's shackles of order flickered, as if saying, "Accept guidance to return to the right path."
The Goddess of Life's power of assimilation and nourishment also wrapped around him softly, seemingly soothing him to "return to the collective, let go of the self."
However, just as this "nostalgia" and "exhaustion" were about to be amplified into a crack in his mental defense—
Xuan Ming smiled.
The smile was faint, carrying a trace of World-weary wisdom, yet possessed an unquestionable clarity.
It's not that yesterday was good.
It's that today is even worse.
Yesterday's "good" was because of ignorance, because of weakness, because his vision only reached a tiny space, only needing to struggle for his own survival.
The troubles of that time were as insignificant as dust compared to the towering waves of today.
And today's "bad" is because he has seen the broader World, touched more fundamental rules, and taken on inescapable responsibilities.
The stronger the power and the higher one stands, the more darkness and complexity one sees, and the harder the choices that must be made.
This illusion is trying to use past "despair" to shake him? Using past "simplicity" to tempt him?
Laughable.
That so-called "despair" was merely the backlash of twin spirits, the helplessness of his own weakness.
But now, with a wave of his hand, he can decide the life and death of millions; with a single thought, he can cause the World to change color!
That ant-like struggle has long become a distant memory.
That so-called "simplicity" was crushed by his own hands long ago.
It was he who chose the most brutal method to force the continent into a new order.
It was he who stood before the chessboard to play against the God Realm.
There is no going back.
And... he doesn't want to go back.
When one has witnessed the vastness of the firmament, how could they be willing to be confined to the bottom of a well again?
When one has mastered the power to set rules, how could they be willing to return to a state of being bound by them?
"If this were before the Soul Master Competition, I might have actually fallen for it."
Xuan Ming slowly raised his head. In his ice-blue eyes, that trace of trance and nostalgia completely dissipated, replaced by an absolute coldness and calm that pierced through falsehood and looked down upon all living beings.
"Unfortunately, the same Move doesn't work a second time."
If he hadn't actively fallen into Shi Nian's nightmare back then, hadn't had that experience, hadn't felt that fear of the past, and hadn't had Gu Yuena hold him regardless of everything—if he had faced this interrogation directly, he believed he would have regretted, would have been lost, and would have given up that difficult pain to choose an easy future.
But there are no 'ifs' in reality.
He has come this far, and he will never turn back!
"..."
Qian Renxue stopped, her gaze looking at Xuan Ming was somewhat complex; she didn't speak.
In those golden eyes, emotions swirled that even she couldn't fully identify.
How she wished Xuan Ming would choose her here, choose that seemingly "easy" path guided by her.
That way, perhaps the deep-rooted rift between them could be mended. She could rightfully take him under her wing and shape him, possess him, in the way she deemed "correct."
But at the same time, a deeper fear gripped her.
If he really chose that... would he still be the Xuan Ming she knew?
The Xuan Ming who would rather carry monstrous sins just to carry out his own will in the most extreme way?
If he truly bowed his head at this moment, yielding to the longing for "ease," then that almost paranoid tenacity and strength—which she had always fought against, been angered by, and yet was secretly attracted to—wouldn't it become a joke?
What she feared seeing was a Xuan Ming whose edges were smoothed out, who had compromised; that would be even more unacceptable to her than a completely opposed enemy.
The calm on Xuan Ming's face, which saw through everything and carried a faint mockery, was like a cold needle piercing her last bit of unrealistic fantasy.
He saw through it—not only the nature of this illusion, but perhaps... also the true intention of her Divine Thought merging into this place.
No anger, no reproach, not even extra words.
That complete, condescending "indifference" made her feel more powerless than any heated rebuttal.
Her lips moved slightly, but in the end, she couldn't say anything.
The illusion quietly shattered like a popped bubble, without an earth-shattering sound, just silently annihilating.
Xuan Ming's consciousness was once again tossed into that familiar, anchorless void.
When he "opened" his eyes again, the memories of that confrontation and Qian Renxue's complex gaze had been quietly erased by an invisible hand, as if they had never existed... his consciousness re-anchored to reality.
The aura of energy, a mix of scorching heat and extreme cold, rushed at him, carrying the unique scent of sulfur and some kind of ultimate ice crystal.
In his ears was the wail of the mountain wind passing through the inverted cone-shaped mountain hollow, and the gurgling sound of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's spring water in the deep valley below.
He had returned to the starting point once again.
This time, it was the Sunset Forest, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—the turning point in his memory closest to both trouble and opportunity.
His vision focused, and he saw the Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo, beside him.
And he himself was standing on the edge of the hollow, overlooking the valley floor shrouded in misty vapor.
A thought surfaced uncontrollably, clear and tempting:
If... if he hadn't consumed those two Immortal Herbs, hadn't jumped into that lethal spring, and hadn't thus formed that deeply entangled destiny with the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King... if he had relied solely on the other Immortal Herbs at the edge of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and with his twin spirits and Innate Full Spirit Power, could he also have had a... perhaps not so tumultuous, but certainly bright future?
A path that seemed flatter, with fewer risks.
No need to face the Dragon Clan's troubles, no need to face the God Realm's pressure...