The pinnacle truly offered a splendid view!
It was more than looking down to see all mountains dwarfed, more than One Glance Spans the Horizon.
It was that boundless, limitless freedom.
The freedom to say what one wished to say, do what one wished to do, speak the truths one had long wanted to speak—and now—
It was time for the listeners to know their place and their limits!
All along this road, he had been a student, a piece on the board that could be discarded at will, bait on an iron hook to lure in schools of fish. He had fought desperately, only to make the player weigh things a little more before discarding him. He had struggled desperately, only to make himself more conspicuous and more appetizing, drawing in more fish.
Too many times, he had been unwilling, had refused to accept it, yet could do nothing.
But now, he stood beyond the chessboard, proudly among the forest of pinnacles.
All under heaven was a game of chess, and no one could use him as a piece. The human world was a vast sea, and he too was a fisherman.
When you reached that position, what would you do?—Many people had asked him that question many times, in many different ways.
He had never answered it head-on. He had never even seriously considered it.
Because merely moving forward had already taken every ounce of his strength.
When he had first set out, he had not known he could come this far.
Now, it was time to truly face that question.
He would fulfill all the ideals of his youth, and as Zhongli Yan had said—settle the regrets of old.
The name Man-Demon had been heard in Heart-Devouring, seen in Hateful Heart, engraved deep in Wan'e, Flesh-Carving... Now,