We Really Can't Be Together...

Time passed slowly, and no one in this world had yet been able to withstand the passage of the River of Time. In the blink of an eye, another two months had gone by. The so-called World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament was only a few days away.

Many major events had taken place during this time, most of them centered around Wang Chao. He had traveled across the world, gathering martial arts experts, and declared that he would round them all up before the tournament.

He Heng had nothing but disdain for this idea. Dragons did not consort with snakes, and he looked down on those so-called experts. By now, there were no more than three people in this world who could truly earn his attention. In a one-on-one fight, he was already invincible.

But that was not what He Heng sought. How could he let his sights be limited to this tiny world, where no extraordinary powers existed? His goal was the boundless Myriad Worlds of the Heavens, the endless worlds and the long, limitless Great Dao.

He did not care about the petty gains and losses of mortal life in a single world. If not for the major headache waiting for him in the Great Heaven World—a witch from the Crimson Fire Demonic Sect—he might have left this world long ago to explore other, mightier realms.

But it was precisely because that witch was there that He Heng had to accumulate even more power, so he could bring it back as his origin force and strengthen his true body in an instant, catching her off guard.

He also needed to comprehend more realms and make a breakthrough in the domain of the heart, entering the Human Law Realm, where one remained at the peak of one's power at all times. He would nurture an overwhelming momentum, gather it all, and unleash it in a single instant. Then, at his strongest, he would defeat the witch—the greatest tribulation blocking his path forward. He was determined to kill her!

Thinking this, He Heng felt an urge to return to the Great Heaven World at once and settle things with the witch, once and for all. It was the result of psychological pressure that had built up over a long time. He had been holding this back for twenty years, and it could erupt at any moment.

"I still need to be patient!" He Heng gently soothed his own heart. Clearly, he was still a little short of the Human Law Realm. A true expert of that realm had a mind as boundless as the heavens, vast as the Heavenly Dao, unmoved by gains or losses, and neither delighted by external things nor saddened by personal misfortune. How could such a person end up in He Heng's state?

"But I'm not far from that realm now. I'm just missing the slightest bit—a spark of opportunity." A glint suddenly flashed in He Heng's eyes. After years of tempering and accumulation, and more than a hundred years of experience across his three lifetimes, he had finally reached the threshold of the Human Law Realm. He could step across it at any moment.

"My opportunity lies in this Martial Dao Convention..." He Heng was the sort of person whose instincts were terrifyingly sharp. The slightest disturbance could stir his heart and alert him; his perceptions were astonishing, and he had a powerful intuition about his own circumstances.

Of course, this only worked well in a Small World like Dragon Snake. It would not be nearly as effective in the Great Heaven World. In a realm like the Great Heaven World, where immortals and gods existed, the workings of fate were heavily obscured and the laws were terrifying. On top of that, the world was enormous—tens of thousands of times larger than Earth—and teeming with countless living beings, producing far greater entanglements of cause and effect. There, even someone like He Heng could hardly rely on a sudden premonition; at most, he might vaguely sense danger to himself. He could do little else.

To sense fortune and misfortune in the Great Heaven World and perceive the workings of the universe, one had to attain the realm of perceiving World's Truth. Such a person could be called a True Man, and only the Sect Leader Supreme of a Great Mystic Sect possessed that level of cultivation.

It was said that upon reaching the so-called True Man realm, one perceived the truest aspects of the world and comprehended its most fundamental mysteries. Only then could one gradually verify them within oneself and attain the Immortal Realm, becoming one with Heaven and Earth. Such a person was a Pure Yang True Immortal.

True Men were also known as those of the Cave True Realm. They saw through every secret of the world's reality and grasped its fundamentals. They could even imitate Heaven and Earth, opening a Cave Heaven Blessed Land within themselves. The strongest could see through the mysteries of time and even Foresee Future.

Only people of this caliber could sense danger and avoid it without seeing or hearing anything in the Great Heaven World. Even so, countless True Men had perished over the ages. Heaven's will was a blade, and cultivation meant defying Heaven. Even those as mighty as Cave True experts could not escape its stroke!

Thus, a powerful world had its advantages, just as a weak one had its own. The Great Dao neither gained nor lost; it was fair and impartial. At the very least, in this world, Wang Chao and the others from God would basically never die—as long as they did not bring it upon themselves. They could live to a ripe old age.

That was unlike the powerhouses of the Great Heaven World. Even Pure Yang True Immortals, said to be immortal and indestructible, existing alongside Heaven and Earth and sharing the same lifespan as the sun and moon, had fallen in one wave after another over the ages. They generally did not die of old age; they perished in tribulations, struck down by Heaven's will.

"My goal is to transcend all this and behold the final truth of the Great Dao," He Heng said firmly.

Then he continued to... keep a low profile! In other words, he focused on building up his strength, preparing for the Martial Dao Convention and for the decisive battle with the female cultivator of the Crimson Red Demonic Sect after his return.

Two days later, he had amassed power to his peak. When he emerged from seclusion, his Essence, Qi, and Spirit had reached an unprecedented limit. His cultivation had attained the same state of Unity of Heaven and Man that God maintained at all times, and he had cultivated a momentum no less formidable than Wang Chao's. This momentum would reach its peak after he defeated everyone at the Martial Dao Convention!

Then all He Heng needed to do was carry that momentum back to the Great Heaven World and face the witch in a decisive battle. One of them would have to die. He Heng was certain that he would not be the one left standing.

When He Heng came out, the first person he saw was, unexpectedly, someone he knew very well—Yan Yuanyi.

"Hey, I heard you didn't die at Wang Chao's hands. I was disappointed for ages." He Heng's mouth was as foul as ever. One sentence was enough to make Yan Yuanyi want to beat the smiling fool to death.

"Don't look at me like that. I know I'm handsome, young, rich, and the best fighter under Heaven. It's only natural that you're into me. Any woman who knows me long enough will fall in love with me. You can admire me all you want, but please keep your distance. We really aren't right for each other..." His words made Yan Yuanyi, whose composure had improved and who had decided not to argue with him, jump straight out of her skin.

"He Heng, can you stop being so full of yourself? 'Any woman who knows you long enough will fall in love with you'—sure, I believe that. Any woman who knows you long enough will want to kick you to death!" Yan Yuanyi shouted, looking ready to attack.

"Hey, calm down, calm down. I know women can't stay calm around me, and I understand. But the question is, do you even count as a woman?" He Heng continued farther down the road to ruin, his figure looking so very forlorn...

Yan Yuanyi: "@#$..."

After the farce, Yan Yuanyi glared coldly at He Heng. "You bastard, why is it that every time I talk to you, I can't help wanting to hit you? Is my self-control really that bad, or are you just asking for it?"

"It's definitely the former." He Heng replied with absolute conviction, without the slightest blush. Yan Yuanyi stared daggers at him, her gaze icy, but... He Heng didn't move an inch!

As if! He was a man who had trained his Golden Bell Shield Iron Cloth Shirt right onto his face!

"Not bad. You really do have a thick skin." In the end, Yan Yuanyi reluctantly conceded.

"Enough, I'm done joking around. Let's talk business." Yan Yuanyi suddenly turned serious.

"Sure, go ahead." In an instant, He Heng dropped all his joking around. His expression grew grave and solemn.

"Fine, you can turn serious just like that. What a quick change of face. I really wonder which one is the real you." Yan Yuanyi watched He Heng's expression change and sighed.

"Yuanyi, actually, the real me comes out in bed..." He Heng gazed at Yan Yuanyi with tender affection.

"Get lost..." Yan Yuanyi shouted angrily. She really shouldn't have believed this guy was capable of being serious. That solemn act just now had definitely been an illusion.

"Alas, the world laughs at me for being mad; I laugh at them for not seeing through it." He Heng shook his head as if lamenting.

In the end, Yan Yuanyi didn't want to keep playing along. Otherwise, even the great terror and calm she had just experienced after facing life and death would be stirred up by this guy. She spoke up directly. "Enough, He Heng. Stop this. Tell me, what do you think of this Martial Dao Convention?"

"What do you think? It's a martial arts tournament, so of course we fight. If you can win, fight. If you can't, concede. What else is there?" He Heng replied casually.

"That makes sense," Yan Yuanyi agreed, then continued, "With your skills, you have a very good chance of winning this Martial Dao Convention. Can you really not be bothered to go?"

"Who said I wasn't going?" He Heng leapt up at once and shouted, "I'm going to be Number One Under Heaven!"

"Right!" Yan Yuanyi had just nodded when she heard what he said next.

"The prize money is over a billion! Think how many years that'll keep me going!"

Yan Yuanyi's face turned black. Could this guy really be up to it? Wang Chao seemed far more reliable.

"Besides the prize money, have you ever thought about the glory and status of being Number One Under Heaven?" Yan Yuanyi asked, unwilling to give up.

"Of course I have. Being Number One Under Heaven should mean plenty of beautiful young women will offer themselves to me. But I'm a steadfast man, devoted to the pursuit of martial arts. I'd never fall for any of them. Yuanyi, you can stop hoping. There's no chance for you and me. We really can't be together..." He Heng told Yan Yuanyi with great solemnity, his expression serious.

Yan Yuanyi froze, momentarily speechless. What could you do with a guy whose shamelessness was boundless and whose martial arts were outrageously powerful?

"Too bad. Why didn't I realize what kind of guy he was when he was little? If I had, I'd have beaten his backside into eight pieces." Yan Yuanyi fretted, momentarily forgetting why she had come to find He Heng.

"Alas, a man as handsome and graceful as I am, gentle as jade, and the best fighter under Heaven—how could any woman not be moved? Yuanyi, I understand how you feel, but my whole heart already belongs to martial arts. There's no room for anything else!" At He Heng's final words, Yan Yuanyi collapsed on the spot. She had never met anyone so shameless!

P.S. As I've said before, this frivolous banter is only temporary. The slaughter you've been waiting for is almost here...