Chapter 157: Those Who Defy Heavenly Will and Act Regardless Are the True Heroes

On the chessboard, which was simple yet carried a hint of mystery, Gu Jiangming's slightly handsome face bore a sharp, wicked aura.

He raised his hand.

A black piece, circling above the board, fell heavily.

The gaze of the Taicang elder was not fixed on the game, but focused on Gu Jiangming.

His previously expressionless face now held a touch of anticipation.

Immediately, he dropped a white piece.

【Through the game on the Lanke Chessboard, your ambition has increased by 50 points, and your demonic thoughts and desires have been heightened once again.】

【You have obtained a new trait—"Seeking the Demon in a Single Thought."】

【Do you choose to embark on a new path of cultivation to break the shackles of Heaven and Earth Enlightenment?】

Gu Jiangming did not overthink it; in this situation, pursuing strength was always the right choice, just as when he performed Reincarnation Simulation, he focused solely on strength.

What he lacked now was strength, what he lacked was combat power.

【You choose to embark on a new path of cultivation.】

【"Seeking the Demon in a Single Thought": Your focus has increased, your ambition has increased, your willpower has increased, and your cultivation speed for heterodox paths has increased significantly. After demonization, all your attributes increase by four times, and you gain a brand-new combat trait—"My Demon is Compassionate."】

【"My Demon is Compassionate": Gain 200% maximum health, additional damage resistance, and temporarily increase willpower by 30 points. When in a state of critical injury, you will experience a final burst of vitality to recover full health. When attacked, demonic thoughts will automatically rebound. This state lasts for 30 minutes.】

【Mie Changsheng recommends the current reincarnation trend—Demon Venerable Path.】

The Taicang elder stroked his beard and chuckled, "A good move."

As he finished speaking, the lush trees all around suddenly trembled and swayed, and in an instant, they appeared before Gu Jiangming's eyes.

Gu Jiangming made another move, and the black-mist-like demonic thoughts swallowed the surrounding giant trees and greenery as if corroding them.

"Chess is like life; winning is certainly important, but every move one makes, ensuring one has no regrets, is what truly makes this game brilliant."

"The result is never important; what matters is the process."

"How does my young friend feel about my view?" the Taicang elder said leisurely.

"That is merely the consolation of the defeated," Gu Jiangming said, his gaze piercing the old man before him, "If the result is not important, then where does the process begin?"

"If you are destined to lose, then why bother trying?"

"Since I have already chosen this path, since I have already chosen to make this move, then I must win."

"The process and the outcome are equally important."

"If it were not for the sake of a definitive answer, who would desperately throw themselves into this process?"

The Taicang elder's eyebrows lifted slightly, as if reminiscing, but he shook his head and said, "Sometimes, Heavenly Will cannot be defied."

"So, must a man of honor only act in accordance with the timing of Heaven?" Gu Jiangming's gaze looked straight at the Taicang elder once again.

"Those who defy Heavenly Will and act regardless are the true heroes."

"To know Heavenly Will and yet do nothing—how is that any different from a coward? I play chess with you, Senior, knowing full well my skills are lacking, yet why do I persist?"

"To let go of obsession is the mark of a great man, but is one who cannot let go not a great man?"

"If your path, Senior, is to abandon, to let go, to refuse to act when you know it cannot be done, then we walk different paths and cannot conspire together."

"Since I harbor the ambition to hold up the sky, hiding away in this place would be a disrespect to myself."

Gu Jiangming placed another piece.

"I will still lose this game."

"But who can say for sure about the next one?"

"And there will be a game where I can win."

The Taicang elder narrowed his eyes and stood up abruptly. He stared fixedly at the demonic thoughts that had almost solidified into substance, at the single-minded desire to win that seemed to be pouring out of him, focused entirely on the board before him.

A smile finally appeared on his tense, aged face. He glanced sideways and laughed heartily, "Liu Junru is quite lucky."

"To have someone like you as his granddaughter's husband, the Liu Family will surely flourish for three more generations."

"This sword was the one I carried in my youth. I am no longer worthy of the high spirits of those days, but you... you are the best possible wielder for it."

The Taicang elder flicked the sword, and it landed gently in Gu Jiangming's hand.

"The sword is named 'North Attack', later renamed 'South Guard'," the Taicang elder spoke calmly of the past, "When it was named 'North Attack', I had the same soaring ambition as you—to carve a bloody path through the Nan Si Zhou where the Demon Race ran rampant, to strike north from the south, and to drive out those barbarian demon beasts."

"It is a pity that I fell halfway, my Dao heart shattered, and my cultivation could no longer progress. I could not use Nan Si Zhou as a foundation to make the Human Race flourish."

"Thus, I could only guard the safety of the Human Race in the south from scattered locations, and so from then on, this sword was called 'South Guard'."

"Yet, guarding the southern province for a hundred years was ultimately but a dream of Lanke, and I was powerless to turn the tide."

"Now, I have no use for this sword, nor the ability to wield it." The Taicang elder looked at you, "One day, I wish to see this sword become famous throughout the Nine Provinces alongside you."

"Let me see where your mettle truly lies!"

Gu Jiangming took the long sword and immediately remembered that this was the Taicang Sword buried with him in the Taicang Ruins.

Only, that sword had been full of decay and mottled rust, devoid of any edge, while the precious sword he held now was exceptionally sharp.

The words Gu Jiangming had just spoken were his core philosophy; he admired such men of honor who would act even when they knew it was impossible. But in reality, he had long been bound by many ties, ignoring many, many things he should have done.

Having come through reincarnation, those scenes appeared in Gu Jiangming's mind once again.

Those humans crawling and struggling to survive under the feet of the Demon Race, even being driven at will by those with profound cultivation, living lives as miserable as dogs or cattle.

What is the Great Harmony of Heaven and Earth?

Gu Jiangming suddenly understood why he had proposed the concept of Great Harmony of Heaven and Earth to Liu Moran.

Because this was his own idea, Gu Jiangming's idea.

No matter the process of reincarnation, no matter the number of reincarnations, no matter the method of reincarnation, a person's ideas, a person's nature, and a person's way of thinking will not change.

Gu Jiangming opened his eyes slightly.

He suddenly realized the meaning of reincarnation; it was not to return to the past and get tangled up in his relationships with many lovers.

Because no matter what, the stories that happened between these wives and Gu Jiangming were already established facts.

He was constantly entangled in matters of the heart, which instead made him appear narrow-minded.

The greatest significance of Reincarnation is to make up for all the regrets of things left undone or not done well within the Reincarnation Simulation.

And how could his regrets be limited to just one knot in his heart about not being able to be with his Junior Martial Sister forever?

First, trample the harmful Hua Yu Sect, then find the aggressive Qilin Clan to settle the score, and protect everything he ought to protect.

That is what a real man like Gu Jiangming should do.

As for the matter of Gu Mingyue.

As a great Demon Lord, why would I need to explain my actions to others?

If asked, it is simply because I took a fancy to her.

It is not as if I am henpecked, so how could I fear the pressure exerted by my Junior Martial Sister?

(End of this chapter)