Destiny is ashes

Chapter 1109 Only Resist, No Change

"Only resist... without changing?"

Huo Qing was stunned, and Nian Quan was also confused: "What...do you mean?"

"What I mean is, I don't know what's right either," An Jing said calmly. "In the end, there's nothing to hide from you. You know it's my destiny, right?"

Seeing the two nod, An Jing finished his energy drink in one gulp, folded the can, and said slowly, "But actually... I am a reincarnated person who has solved the mystery of my birth."

"I come from a world without celestial demons, without extraordinary powers, that is to say, without the paths of immortality and martial arts."

"In that world, there are no external invaders, and the world will not be destroyed, but people will still wage wars with the intention of destroying everything... There are no external forces, no corruption, no demonic invasion or contamination, and the root of everything is entirely humanity itself."

"In that war, both sides abused superweapons, bringing the world to the brink of destruction... Guess what happened?"

"The world is about to be destroyed, so everyone tries to understand each other so that they don't all perish... and is forced to make peace?" Huo Qing said hesitantly in a low voice, but he knew that even he himself did not believe what he was saying.

"Haha."

An Jing looked at Huo Qing and smiled lightly: "Because the world is about to be destroyed, everyone will unite as one, not oppress each other, not deceive their superiors or subordinates, and not be selfish?"

"What a joke, what fairy tale. They're fighting even harder, even more recklessly, because they have nothing left to lose, so they want to destroy everything to ensure that no one can win."

“I am a survivor of that war. I have seen too much… In that era of war when people were oppressed to the extreme, the whole world became ruins and deserts. People were alienated into forms they could not even imagine themselves in, to the point that people were content with just being alive and did not care whether they were oppressed or not.”

An Jing shook his head: "Just surviving, eating weeds that are worse than wild vegetables, consuming synthetic proteins, and even the flesh of despair... those forces that appear and disappear one after another..."

"To be honest, do you think the Tianyuan Realm is oppressed very badly now? Indeed, it is very bad, but in this world, people still have savings, they can drink water whenever they want, eat whatever they want, and they can even take a bath, cook, choose what they want to eat, and think about cultivation... People who have not experienced that era will not know that this can actually be considered 'happiness'."

"In the end, although the side representing the better future won, it was just good luck. It had nothing to do with any beautiful vision. It was simply because the enemy collapsed due to internal strife."

"And in the end, will the utopian world that is achieved be able to remain so forever? Can its experience be applied to this world?"

"I don't know, and I don't think it's possible."

"Why?"

Nianquan's voice carried a hint of urgency. He straightened up from the bench and stared at An Jing: "You clearly know about the situation in that utopian world, and you've even experienced it firsthand, so why... why can't its experience be applied here?"

“That’s what I meant.” An Jing looked at Nian Quan, his voice steady: “I know what’s wrong, so I rebel.”

"But is that system right? To tell you the truth, not necessarily, because in that world, most of humanity is immersed in the 'virtual world,' and only the most ambitious and capable can act as 'human beings' and use the resources of the entire civilization to achieve self-realization."

"For those who achieve self-actualization, this world may be worthy of being called a utopian society, but can't those who are immersed in virtual dreams be considered to be in a state of depravity?"

"There will definitely be such demons, so the systems and ideas of different worlds cannot be copied at all."

At this moment, the aluminum can in An Jing's hand had turned into a paper-thin sheet, and he folded it casually, folding it more than a dozen times in an instant. The already small metal sheet had now been compressed into an insignificant little dot.

Just as he finished speaking, the twentieth fold was completed.

An Jing continued to compress the particle, whose density was comparable to that of Geng metal essence and a dense star, as if playing with sand, and said, "But conversely, the error is more obvious than the correct one."

"If you let the Tianyuan Realm continue on its original trajectory, binding everyone to the war chariot in preparation for war with the Holy Demon or the Great Wilderness Realm, then you will eventually reach that point as well—completely oppressing people and turning them into numb slaves."

"So I came to stop everything from getting worse and to prevent it from going down that path and into the abyss."

"But this only prevented one 'mistake' from happening."

"What exactly constitutes 'correct'? In my world, without celestial demons or extraordinary powers, finding that answer was incredibly difficult, practically an impossible task. And in this world with celestial demons and endless variables... I simply cannot come up with an absolutely correct answer."

Even you…

Nianquan leaned back on the bench, gripping his sword, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. He wasn't sure if this disappointment was directed at himself or at his supposedly omnipotent friend: "Even you don't know?"

"Yes."

An Jing answered very easily, saying frankly, "But I know what is wrong, and that's enough. So, I rebel."

“I will continue to resist. I will use my power to help you overthrow the old order that is pressing down on you, and return the power of choice to you, to the people of this world—but what kind of world to build... I will not decide. That should be decided by you yourselves.”

"You may be wrong, you may be right, but in general, it is all your own choice. So you are the ones who suffer, and you are the ones who are happy. It is both your price and your reward. Only by taking responsibility can you have any meaningful reflection."

“Otherwise, if I were to do it, you could shift the blame if you lose, and feel that it was all my fault if you win—of course, I am indeed very important—but most importantly, some pain, you will never remember if you don’t experience it yourself.”

"So I only rebel."

An Jing's voice was calm and firm: "I will only guarantee one thing, that is, if you go down the wrong path, there will always be people who resist, and there will always be opportunities to correct mistakes." "Nian Quan, Huo Qing, let me tell you the truth. Making mistakes is not terrible, not knowing what is right is also okay. What is most terrible in this world is not daring to resist, but numbness, fear, despair, confusion, and forgetting... and what I fear most."

It is 'acceptance' and 'compliance'.

"Accepting destined suffering and submitting to an unjust fate. This is the true source of the Heavenly Demon. There are too many people in the Heavenly Origin Realm like this. How to resolve this trend of thought is the truly important thing we need to do."

“You are not like that, so what does it matter if you are a little weak now? If I leave in the future, you should take over my work and continue to resist.”

"...I understand." "I know."

After a period of silence, Huo Qing nodded slightly, while Nian Quan closed his eyes.

To be honest, they all knew very well that An Jing's meaning was quite simple.

Whether or not he possesses strength is something An Jing doesn't care about at all, because he already has strength of his own and doesn't need anyone else to supplement it.

However, what he needs are people who can understand him and inherit his will to 'rebel'.

Because resistance is extremely difficult to err on the side of error.

As long as there is no oppression, as long as there is no will of others, there will be no resistance; resistance is the worst thing ever...

It is merely an existence, not an error.

An Jing knew that he couldn't stay in one place forever. It wouldn't be surprising if the Heavenly Demons launched a counterattack after he left. What would it matter if he had won before if there was no successor?
The battle against the Heavenly Demon is endless; winning just once is simply not enough! We must find a way to fight against it.

"However, speaking of the Heavenly Demon."

Huo Qing composed himself and changed the subject: "Nianquan and I have some things we want to tell you about the Heavenly Demon and the Great Wilderness Realm."

"Yes." Nianquan also snapped out of his reverie.

So the two of them told An Jing in detail about their discoveries during this period, such as the movements of the Heavenly Demon and the situation in the Great Wilderness Realm.

"Oh?"

After listening to their accounts, An Jing raised an eyebrow and fell into deep thought: "It's not surprising that the Heavenly Demons are taking the initiative to approach the Great Wilderness Realm. The Great Wilderness Realm is obviously in chaos right now, so they're bound to stir things up... But it's quite interesting that we can't see any Heavenly Demons within the Great Wilderness Realm."

He remembered that the fragment of the Demon-Subduing Piece in the Great Wilderness Realm was severely polluted. Since the Heavenly Demon was heading towards the Great Wilderness Realm, it was clearly related to that fragment.

"What do you think?"

An Jing asked Fu Xie in his heart, while Fu Xie also fell into deep thought: "Now, I can actually vaguely connect with my other fragments, but the range of the connection is not large. I can't connect with the part of the Great Wilderness Realm because it is too far away, but I can connect with the part of the Tianyuan Realm."

"Oh? Where?" An Jing asked, while Fu Xie shook his head: "Don't rush, let me sense it first... I can only tell you that Fu Xie here in Tianyuan is relatively free, while in the Great Wilderness Realm, it has obviously developed its own consciousness, and there might even be another Sword Master!"

“You said it before.” An Jing smiled. “I’m quite looking forward to seeing what kind of person the Sword Master from the Great Wilderness Realm is… I hope he doesn’t disappoint me too much.”

This matter cannot be rushed.

After finishing his conversation with Fu Xie, An Jing stood up from the bench, and with a flash of calamity mist in his hand, he absorbed the golden essence condensed from the soda can in his hand. He said to Huo Qing and Nian Quan, "In short, that's about it. I have shared my experience and thoughts with you."

"Now, I'm going into seclusion to cultivate and fully experience the Five Emperors' Method that I just acquired. If you have any questions about cultivation, you can come to me directly."

As he said this, he handed the two bronze coin holders from his palm to the two men respectively.

"These two Hundred Forms of the Furnace are among the most active, powerful, and eager to see the outside world in my cave. Keeping them with you can not only assist in your cultivation of the Ascension Path and the Cave Heaven Method, but also serve as a communication device for direct contact with me."

"Row."

Now that An Jing has returned and clarified many things, Huo Qing and Nian Quan are much more relaxed.

"However, what are you going to do next?" Huo Qing took the Furnace of a Hundred Images and asked curiously, "We all know that the Celestial Venerables will soon go to cause trouble for the Holy Demon, and it would be best if they could completely eliminate it."

"how about you?"

"I want to cultivate myself and search for the fragments to subdue evil."

An Jing smiled and said, "Also, a group of my friends from Huai Xu Realm will be coming over later. We'll go to the Great Wilderness Realm together then—Huo Qing, we'll need you to be our guide."

"It's been so long since I've seen my master. I'm sure that both I, Sister Jin, and True Lord Ye Po are all looking forward to this reunion."

(End of this chapter)