Chapter 133: The Most Suitable Heir

Since someone has to become a waste, why not me?

Escaping is shameful but useful; reality is too hard—let me escape.

"Generate another me, and entrust everything to her."

Li En stared at Shaliman, who had pulled him inside, and froze upon hearing her words.

"You… could you repeat that?" Li En doubted he had heard correctly.

You're a dual cultivator of magic and mind arts, a mythic potential with Golden-tier bloodline—yet you tell me that acquiring the Hero Soul's power, at the cost of possible schizophrenia or even "possession," is just so you can hire yourself a life "chauffeur"?

"I mean, can it recreate a 'me' to handle some things on my behalf?"

The woman's face flushed red, as if slightly ashamed—but her words were plainly, "I don't want to be human anymore; I'm quitting and going AFK."

"That kind of thinking is dangerous," Li En considered carefully, weighed it thoroughly, then rejected it outright.

Mental confrontations are perilous; the weak-willed naturally lose. You cannot entrust your life's safety to the goodwill of a "newborn."

If you must have a dual personality, ensure the dominant personality remains strong.

"If you insist on this idea, I advise against accepting the Hero Soul inheritance. Without initiative, you'll very likely lose yourself in the mental clash, letting the newborn seize everything you are." That, effectively, is the death of the dominant personality.

Shaliman fell silent for a moment, murmured softly, then pouted in annoyance.

Li En was utterly bewildered—his "ability" had understood every word.

What Shaliman had whispered was:

"Being possessed and falling into eternal slumber? Isn't that a good thing?"

Li En fell silent—and then he grew furious.

"If you want to kill yourself, slit your own throat! The Hero Soul's power isn't meant to be used like this!" Li En's roar echoed outside the room.

That day, rumors of the ambassador and his wife quarreling spread through the diplomatic delegation.

No one could predict what would happen when a single Hero Soul inheritance split into seven.

But clearly, at least seven people's fates would now be altered.

"Phew, I hope they're easier to deal with." One of the Hero Soul candidates had just made a choice that changed his destiny.

Victoria V. Uniel took a deep breath and prepared to knock on the door of the temporary embassy.

She was a locally renowned alchemist and a member of the Uniel family, the most hawkish faction in the region. Her contact with the surface diplomats was bound to draw everyone's attention.

But she had no choice— if she wanted to leave the dark elf world, she needed an opportunity to approach the delegation and give them a reason to take her with them.

The moment she stepped through that door, no matter how she explained it afterward, she would have opposed her family's political stance.

She had never liked the dark elf world—but actually taking this step was incredibly difficult.

Ordinary dark elves might leave their families and cities relatively easily, but a dark elf noble? Especially one from a hawkish family? Fleeing meant being branded a family disgrace—and facing near-endless pursuit.

"Dark elf families can only be left through death." Dark elf deities are notoriously vengeful; if the shame reaches a certain level, they may even dispatch divine assassins.

But this invasion by the mind flayers gave her an opportunity.

Everyone could see that if Morodirkal could withstand this crisis, it would surely establish diplomatic ties with the cities above.

During this process, the dove faction would naturally gain the upper hand, and the hawk faction couldn't be ignored.

If she could seize this chance to forge a connection—whether as a "hostage" or a "sentinel" sent to the surface—it might be the legitimate opportunity Victoria, now a marginalized member of her family, needed to escape their control.

"Risk is necessary; otherwise, I'll just wait here to die."

For her, the main reason she hadn't fled directly was uncertainty about the future—she knew well the reputation dark elves held among other races, and surface dwellers weren't necessarily kind either.

Aligning herself with someone who seemed trustworthy among the Hero Soul inheritors might give her reliable connections on the surface—something vital to her. Her greatest hope and trust, ironically, was the very person she had first insulted: the clueless surface princess.

At least, their ability and status could protect her.

That foolish princess seemed like a "good person" who kept promises and valued fate.

Though Victoria despised dark elf culture and customs, her own thinking had always been deeply influenced by dark elf principles—rational and pragmatic.

"Is Countess Shaliman available? I'm Victoria, the alchemist scheduled for a visit."

To her surprise, she saw the mushroom man and the automaton, fellow candidates, opening the door for her.

In an instant, she realized: these candidates had already formed a group.

Her spirits lifted further—this was a group not bound by bloodline or race, yet seemingly capable of going much further.

So they wouldn't discriminate against her as a dark elf…? Victoria's greatest fear was truly being without a "place."

"Welcome, partner." Gugu's words stunned the female elf—then she smiled.

"Partner… yes, I'm very glad to meet you, partner."

Kuku's seeds sprouted one by one; the candidates' fates began to diverge from their original paths.

Even the deities' parables could not have foreseen this.

After all, any prophecy involving the Hero Soul Hall or the Thousand-Faced Dragon automatically fails—as if the person never existed (if prophecy worked, the Thousand-Faced Dragon wouldn't need reincarnation; it would be killed at birth).

When a fate-black hole appears, everything it affects naturally becomes impossible to predict precisely.

In truth, Victoria was overthinking—she had already avoided the most dangerous prophecy lock-in, and the accompanying dark elf assassins. Even if she ran blindfolded now, she needn't fear assassins knocking on her door one day.

The traits she gained from the Hero Soul had not yet fully awakened. As a third-ring alchemist specializing in logistics (akin to a weakened transmutation mage), her power exceeded her age—but as a Hero Soul inheritor, she was still insufficient.

Dark elves also had surface dwellers' occupational systems (many professions and spells originated with them), some powerful rare occupational lineages, and a certain degree of potion-enhancement system—but none matched the comprehensive evolution and high adaptability of surface beastfolk.

This meant that, at the same rank, they were weaker overall due to inferior physical hardware—but stronger in certain areas (elf magic, rare divine arts, poison formulas).

Moreover, due to their weak hardware, their occupational advancement was much slower—attributes failed to meet thresholds, so they had to rely on time, potions, or illegal rituals to force upgrades, unlike beastfolk, who evolved easily and gained extra attributes and racial talents.

Even more problematic: their base attribute weaknesses, possible deficiencies compared to beastfolk, and the slow awakening of "soul abilities" born from the simultaneous cultivation of mind, body, and technique.

Essentially, elves and dwarves needed to reach Grand Knight or Grand Mage (fifth-rank or higher) to reliably awaken soul abilities.

Casters were slightly different; since they relied less on physical hardware, elves generally placed their spellcasters in power. Many local noble houses were led by priests and mages.

Combined, this was why Li En could slaughter dark elf and gray dwarf attackers (combat types) at the same rank.

This was also why they were driven off the surface—backward races naturally didn't deserve the richest lands.

Back to the matter at hand: Victoria entered the embassy and learned of the "ambassador couple's" quarrel—the ambassador was now locked in his room, quietly crying.

She wondered if she'd misheard—finally, she could only wait, muttering, "No wonder they're surface dwellers."

"Clack." At the same time, Li En set down his glass and sighed.

The underground bar of the inn had no outsiders—he poured himself a drink alone.

He felt immature; Kuku had just told him to lighten up, yet he'd flown into a rage so quickly.

Was it because the girl didn't value her own life? Or because she abused the Hero Soul's power? Li En didn't know—but he was deeply annoyed.

At that moment, a snake slithered over.

The familiar warmth and sweet fragrance—it was the woman he'd blocked earlier.

"Drinking alone harms your body. Anything you want to tell your sister?"

Li En turned—and there, indeed, was Purple Rose rubbing against him, while the giant snake had already slipped into the liquor cabinet and was effortlessly uncorking bottles.

"Have a drink?" Li En handed her his glass directly.

"I don't really know how… don't laugh at me if I get drunk," the girl blushed, clearly embarrassed.

Li En smiled, then watched as the girl extended her tongue—licked the liquor—and immediately grimaced, her face and skin turning bright red!

She truly couldn't drink at all!

"Then let's have some milk." Though surprised, Li En still switched her cup.

Meanwhile, the snake in the cabinet had already finished its fourth bottle in just a few minutes—clearly unrelated to the magical girl; this was purely personal.

The master's snake drank heavily; Purple Rose happily sipped milk, kicking her little feet in her chair.

Li En, for once, lowered his guard and enjoyed the pleasure of alcohol—in truth, before he was transported, he'd thought he could hold his liquor well.

"You came to talk about her, didn't you?" Li En cut straight to the point.

"Mm-hmm, I've never seen little Shaliman this angry. She's devastated—what happened?"

Li En considered—he had nothing to hide. Purple Rose would've known already if she wanted to; her pretending ignorance so far was already enough respect.

He mentioned the Hero Soul inheritance briefly, and Shaliman's disregard for her own life.

"Ah." At this, Purple Rose sighed—Li En confirmed then: she had known all along.

She set down her milk cup, pulled out a small beer, licked it—then turned completely red again, helplessly putting it down.

Clearly, she could no longer confide in anyone over alcohol.

But perhaps only she could speak this truth.

"This child has always had strong suicidal tendencies. More accurately, she has no hope for the future, and only pain in her memories." Purple Rose recalled the past—those memories were still a scar for her.

"She's from a noble family?" Li En was surprised—he'd never guessed it; Shaliman seemed like a naive, happy girl.

"Her high status was the source of her nightmare."

Purple Rose sighed; she had learned all this only after everything was over.

"Her mother—my sister—was killed by her father. And Shaliman personally avenged her mother." The words were brief, but the content was horrifying.

Li En set down his glass, face filled with shock.

The version he'd heard was that both parents died of illness, and Shaliman single-handedly held the family together.

"Shaliman isn't an only child—she had several younger sisters and brothers, all children of her father and his mistresses. Everyone betrayed her; she nearly died many times under mysterious circumstances."

This still wasn't the full story.

"I won't say how those people died. She trusted a steward—he helped her turn things around—only to later discover he was an ambitious schemer who nearly killed her."

"Similar things happened multiple times. Now, is the Sudar family really that empty? How could a viscount family have no branches, no relatives? She killed them all."

"Back then, I watched her from the shadows. She was a true venomous serpent—heartless, tearless, fearless. Too bad—after avenging herself, seizing power, gaining royal backing, she grew increasingly foolish, and now she's become a complete idiot-serpent."

As she spoke, Purple Rose set down her beer cup, her tone turning serious.

"I believe you can let her receive the inheritance and awaken a second personality."

"But isn't that just letting her destroy herself?" Those most prone to depression and suicide are often those with no hope for the future; Shaliman's past was nothing but pain—Li En believed she might truly escape into self-destruction.

Purple Rose shook her head.

"Don't underestimate her. She crawled out of a real hell. There are things she can't explain herself—I've seen too much."

Purple Rose smiled. The situation was far better than she'd expected; perhaps she would see that poisonous serpent that toyed with hearts once more.

"She never wanted to destroy herself. She only longed for a sister, a relative who would never betray her. Give it to her—it will stabilize her emotions. Besides—"

Purple Rose smiled again, but strangely.

"So much has happened—do you really think her naive, sweet act is normal? Those who toy with hearts are inevitably consumed by their own tricks. She may have already shattered mentally. Awakening her other personality might help her live better."

(End of Chapter)