When did you realize it?
At this moment, Wei Zhanjie had regained his initial arrogant demeanor, and upon closer inspection, he exuded the air of a superior.
But Lu Zhaozhao just looked at him coldly; although she was thin, she was not overwhelmed by him in the slightest.
"If we're just talking about doubts, they've never been dispelled since I met you. But what really made me more suspicious of you was the period between returning to Qinghui and entering the back mountain."
Upon hearing this, Wei Zhanjie raised an eyebrow in surprise and continued listening to her speak.
“You are always thinking about death and the dissipation of your cultivation, and you often talk about defeating the heroes of cultivation. I was curious, if there really was such a person, the ancient books would have recorded it in detail. But I searched the library and did not find anyone who matched you. At that time, I even suspected that you were just bragging and that you did not actually have such ability.”
She paused at this point, and Wei Zhanjie let out a sneer.
Lu Zhaozhao ignored her and continued, "But the moves in the Zhili Yi are unpredictable and extremely murderous. Every move is worth recording. Therefore, its creator should not be an unknown person, but it cannot be found in official history. So, I asked my senior brother and borrowed the Qinghui Forbidden Book. In it, I found a demon lord from a thousand years ago. He was clearly a human, but he voluntarily entered the Western Region and killed people like flies. The moves he created were unpredictable and varied. More importantly, this person once fought against the Twelve Heroes of Cultivation without being defeated."
Upon hearing this, Wei Zhanjie raised the corner of his mouth, his sarcasm evident: "With just that, you probably wouldn't even think of me."
"Yes, but even the forbidden books know very little about you, and they don't even leave your name. Fortunately, the book records a demon king from the same period in detail. I'm sure you've already guessed it: Wen Sheng, the demon king of the Dijiang bloodline."
Lu Zhaozhao looked around as if searching for something, but Wei Zhanjie interrupted her, "Stop looking, he's not here."
Lu Zhaozhao withdrew her gaze and continued, "I met Wen Sheng on the outskirts of Pingyang and obtained the Zhili Yi. Such a coincidence made me suspicious. So, in order to test your identity, I concealed the matter of the forbidden book and, after leaving the library, followed your lead and entered the back mountain. But before entering the mountain, I had already instructed my senior brother. According to your plan, if you want me to complete your soul, I would need at least a higher level of cultivation."
“That’s right, at least your current cultivation level is not enough.” Wei Zhanjie frankly admitted, “So I forced you to advance your cultivation level under the guise of selection, but you made no progress after the Nascent Soul stage. Now that I think about it, you saw through it all long ago and deliberately didn’t cultivate.”
"Yes, I figured everything out after I got here. I stopped cultivating, and you made other arrangements, like sending me to the front lines. You never showed up, but you left behind countless Xuan Bird patterns throughout Ming Palace City, just so I would go all out to see you. To outsiders, I disappeared without a trace, so no matter how long I stayed here, I wouldn't be found. In order to go back, I would inevitably keep cultivating and eventually become your fertilizer. Unfortunately, you hastily abandoned this plan. I guess it was my senior brother who found me."
In the end, Lu Zhaozhao spoke with certainty that although Wei Zhanjie was powerful, he was nothing more than a remnant soul a thousand years later and was no match for Ying Che.
Wei Zhanjie looked at her with great interest and said, "If I learn about you here, at least I can take someone down with me, can't I?"
Lu Zhaozhao shook her head and said firmly, "I don't know why you chose me, but since you chose me, I must have an irreplaceable role. Even for your own sake, you wouldn't kill me."
"But there's one thing I just can't figure out." Lu Zhaozhao's brows furrowed with deep confusion, as if she had been puzzled for a long time. "There are so many talented people in the world, why did you choose me?"
This matter troubled Lu Zhaozhao for a long time. After transmigrating into the book, she only wanted to complete the mission as soon as possible, but the timeline in the story began to shift. She had never heard of many people and things, which brought her great psychological pressure.
Wei Zhanjie lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then sighed, turned his back and waved his sleeve. The entire space began to shake violently, as if it were the end of the world and was about to collapse.
Amidst the falling tiles, Wei Zhanjie spoke: "I was born different from others. Legend has it that my mother once encountered an extremely large footprint in the suburbs. After stepping on it, she suddenly felt something unusual, and upon returning home, she conceived me. I lost both my parents when I was young, and the neighbors all said that I was born through a supernatural process, which brought misfortune to my parents. So I found that footprint, engraved it in my mind, and after that, the footprint disappeared."
Later, during my wanderings in the martial world, I discovered my talent. Techniques that ordinary people couldn't master in a year, I could learn in a single glance. In tales of the strange and supernatural, someone with my birth and talent should be renowned for eternity and wield immense power. So, I continued to cultivate, learning all sorts of miscellaneous arts. In this process, I met two close friends, one of whom was Wen Sheng. We made a vow to stand together at the pinnacle of this world.
However, the cultivation world values etiquette, and many of the older generation are clearly incompetent, yet they use their seniority to suppress the more capable younger generations. Therefore, I went to the Western Region, where only the strong are respected. As a young man, I slew a dragon and subdued all those who refused to submit with an iron fist; the Western Region is now entirely under my control.
He let out a satisfied sigh as he spoke, but Lu Zhaozhao frowned as she listened: "So, you started a great war to conquer the human race?"
Wei Zhanjie snorted coldly and said disdainfully, "I'm not that bored. It's just that people are never satisfied. They want the cultivation secrets I have and came to cause trouble. I know that the eight clans have played a part in this, but since they've already come to me, how can I not fight back?"
“But you failed.” Lu Zhaozhao poured cold water on him.
“Yes, I have lost.” Wei Zhanjie’s eyes dimmed. “I thought I was chosen by the Heavenly Dao, but I never expected that I would be the last whetstone for the Son of Heaven.”
“But I’m not reconciled.” His eyes were bloodshot as he stared straight at Lu Zhaozhao. “So, I’m going to fight Heaven to the death! In the final battle, I should have disappeared from the world, but Wen Sheng exhausted his cultivation to preserve a wisp of my soul. Later, I had a chance to glimpse the secrets of Heaven, and I saw the variables in this world, namely you. After that, I fell into a deep sleep until you appeared.”
The ground was cracked, the world in front of us was blurred, and even Wei Zhanjie's figure appeared and disappeared intermittently.
“I know you will continue to cultivate, so I will wait for you to be the furnace for my return to the world!”
As soon as he finished speaking, seeing the world crumble, Lu Zhaozhao sensed something was wrong and shouted, "Wait, something's not right! Explain yourself! There's no way the two of you could have set up such a trap. Who else is helping you? And what exactly is this variable you've discovered?!"
"No rush, we will meet again in the future."
A soft laugh reached my ears, and then everything went completely dark.
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