Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor-Chapter 1440 Boundless Paragon III: Unexpected Visitor

Wang Wei continued his walk. His mind was temporarily free from the mechanical task of preserving his emotions, so he looked around, thinking about this test. An idea suddenly flashed in his mind, but it was too quick, and he did not immediately catch up. Wang Wei was about to focus on realizing whatever inspiration was coming, but something unexpected occurred that required his attention.

"It's you!"

"Long time no see," said a young man with the same visage as Wang Wei, except with a natural smirk and evil aura surrounding him.

"Aren't I too old to be having Heart Devil," Wang Wei asked calmly.

"I feel the same, but here I am," the Heart Devil sighed. Wang Wei looked at him before ignoring him. He continued walking, trying to catch the idea that eluded him.

"Don't be like this," the Heart Devil said. "Since I'm here, I must do my job."

"No one is stopping you," Wang Wei replied calmly. The Heart Devil walked side by side with him. "There is no point in attacking your character since you seem content with who you are — both the good and all the bad." Wang Wei said nothing.

"Maybe start with your relationship," it continued. "You consider many of your peers a friend, but you have no hesitation manipulating them or hurting their factions. I guess you probably wouldn't hesitate to kill them if they get in your way."

"That's how friendships in the cultivation world are," Wang Wei said calmly. "Factions are placed above everything, including interpersonal relationships."

"That's true," the Heart Devil nodded. "Let's take your ancestor, for example. Although she has a great relationship with Wu Hong, she would not hesitate to cut her down if it meant protecting the Dao Opening Sect."

Wang Wei did not take the obvious bait of trying to get him riled up. He simply nodded.

"But shouldn't you know better?" The Heart Devil continued after not eliciting any reaction. "You're not the same as these people. You have knowledge about another civilization with different values. So, shouldn't you be better than them?"

"What can I say? I have been assimilated," Wang Wei shrugged.

"So, that's it? You just used this weak reasoning to justify who you've become? Who you are!"

"Isn't it normal for me to become like this?" Wang Wei responded. "If I grew up as a loose cultivator and had to struggle for everything in my life, I may have preserved more of my morality and values from Earth. I might even have tried to change the cultivation world.

"However, I was born with a golden spoon. The world and system were designed to give me all the best advantages. So, isn't it normal that one of the aspects of my assimilation is that I acquired the values and mortality of the cultivation world?"

"No, no, no — you are speaking as if you have no free will," the Heart Devil countered. "As a man who pursues being 'free and unfettered,' shouldn't you resist this kind of assimilation? Shouldn't you be angry that such an aspect of your life has been slowly eroded over time?"

"That's where you made the mistake — you assume this was not a choice," Wang Wei stated. "I knew long ago assimilation was inevitable and actively chose which part to allow. I know that trying to change the system and preserving more of myself from Earth would make my goal of freedom a hundred times more challenging, so I chose to integrate into the system and used it to my benefit."

"So, you chose the easy way out."

"I chose the most efficient method — the one with the highest chance of success."

"But at what price?" the Heart Devil countered. "Even if you finally achieve your goal, the 'you' then will not be the same you from Earth."

"Tell me: do you think I can achieve my goal without sacrificing anything?" Wang Wei asked.

"It's possible."

"Be realistic."

"I stand by this statement — it's possible, albeit very challenging."

"Alright, let me rephrase my points in another way," Wang Wei stated. "Do you think I could perfectly preserve the person I was on Earth? The cultivation world's primary theme is power acquired through violence. It's a path destined to be full of death, meaning the moment I killed my first person, the innocent young man from Earth was gone."

Wang Wei has never forgotten his first kill. Although these prisoners were insignificant in the grand scheme of things, he still remembered their eyes vividly when the last light of life disappeared.

"That's different," the Heart Devil rebutted. "You were just adapting to this world."

"I can use the same argument," Wang Wei countered. "My decision was not to abandon my former self but mold it to adapt to this world. The core of who I am is still there, just now in a new package that allows me to thrive in this world."

The Heart Devil sighed: "I can't argue with your golden tongue. However," his eyes shone with a cunningness that indicated he hadn't truly conceded yet. "Since you value your sect or the system so much, what would you do if they turn on, let's say, your best friend — Li Jun. Would you support the sect or him?"

"That answer is obvious — I would choose Li Jun."

"It's not to me," the Heart Devil responded. "I thought you value the benefit of the system above everything — including your morality?"

"That's not what I said. I said I chose it because it benefits me the most."

"But your choice contradicts that."

"At the end of the day, the sect is an institution, and if its safety and even prosperity is threatened, they will sacrifice anyone. Meanwhile, I know Li Jun, and he would not do anything to endanger the sect's safety or prosperity.

"I'm aware enough to understand I'm not yet above the institution, and since they can sacrifice Li Jun for their preservation, they can do the same to me. Meanwhile, I know Li Jun would give everything to me — including his life, love, and loyalty to the sect.

"The choice is obvious."

The Heart Devil was briefly silent before chuckling: "You were right — you have preserved the essence of your former self."

"Did you really need all this talking to understand that?"

"What can I say? You are not as weak as the last time we met, so the information I can gather on you is no longer perfect," the Heart Devil shrugged. "Plus, this is a tribulation, and I need to check."

"That would explain why I feel you're not as much of a threat as before."

"Your mind and Dao Heart are not as they used to be, so cut me some slack," the Heart Devil added. "But don't count me out yet. How are things going with Wu Hong?"

"Good."

"Are you two together yet?"

"We are still figuring out our situationship, but everything should be fine," Wang Wei answered nonchalantly.

"Not biting, huh?" the Heart Devil uttered as he looked at him. "Alright, let's try something else. You're about to become a Paragon. Do you know what that means?"

"What?"

"You can travel to the Prehistoric World — you can return to Earth."

"And?" Wang Wei asked calmly.

"Do you think your parents are alive? Do you even care?"

"Unless the time difference between the two worlds is extremely vast, their chances of being alive are slim," Wang Wei replied, still calm.

"So, you no longer care?"

Wang Wei looked at him: "You said it yourself — I'm a Paragon. So, I can just travel to their time period and meet them. They are mortals, so the consequences of saving them should have minimal backlash — especially if I do it correctly."

"What about Hongjun? Do you think he'll let you do as you wish?"

"How he responds to my actions will decide our relationship and how I will treat him. And in the worst-case scenario, I'll just have to wait until I'm more powerful than him before saving my parents."

"You have an answer for everything, don't you?"

"I've figured out since childhood that a powerful cultivation was the key to returning Earth and ever seeing them alive."

"Your words almost made me believe you care," the Heart Devil sneered.

"What makes you think I don't?"

"You have always been too logical about your Earth parents' affair," the Heart Devil explained. "You spent most of your life not thinking about them because you convinced yourself with pure logic that you could see them one day once you were powerful enough. Were there never moments of doubt? Moments of hesitation, moments of fear for their unknown fate, moments of longing for the past?"

"There were."

"Well, you could have fooled me or anyone who knows you."

Wang Wei sighed: "What do you think a child with an adult mind spends his time thinking after being reincarnated into a new world?" The Heart Devil did not answer.

"At first, there was the excitement of this new and magical world. But then, none of that mattered when the loneliness of knowing you have left many people you love and care about behind. Can you understand the fear of realizing your life will never be the same again?"

Wang Wei shook his head. Reincarnation is a complex thing with many challenges. Wang Wei's early days were not only full of jovial stories about his loving parents and loyal friends. He had his demons to overcome, and since he feared the consequences of revealing his reincarnation, he had to deal with it alone.

"I had to develop a coping mechanism, or with the laws of that world, I would have developed a Heart Devil as a child," he explained. "I had to preserve their memories for my deepest intimate and personal moments; I had to think about them logically — otherwise, I would have been driven insane.

"Of course, it also helped that I eventually unconsciously repressed many of their memories."

Wang Wei remembered the first time he lost the burden of his reincarnation. His family never publicly acknowledged his reincarnation except for one time when his grandmother, Yun Yaojun, had a conversation with him at the behest of his mother. That conversation not only lifted his burden but was the key for him to fully integrate into the sect and accept his new parents as his parents.

"Hmm, I want to believe you, but something tells me you're beautifying things."

"What makes you say that?"

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"Well, you didn't have the best relationship with them before your reincarnation," the Heart Devil continued. "Now, I know you have had plenty of time to think about your relationship and understand your emotions."

"What are you getting at?" Wang Wei asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I think you've abandoned these people. You no longer see them as your parents; when you see them again, you will all feel indifference. Maybe you'll repay their karma for raising you, but nothing more and nothing less."

"Maybe you're right."

"Oh?"

"You may also be wrong," Wang Wei added. "I don't know how I will respond when I see them again. That chapter of my life has yet to be written, and you are the last person who knows how it will go."

"That's—"

"I got it!"

"What?"

"The thought that eluded me — I finally caught it," Wang Wei said.