Wu Suowei smiled faintly, unconcerned.
His condescending attitude, emanating from within, deeply stung the grotesque figure, yet the figure was utterly powerless against Wu Suowei.
The grotesque figure could only glare at Wu Suowei through gritted teeth, saying fiercely, "You'd best pray you don't fall into my hands."
However, everyone knew in their hearts that these were mere empty threats, uttered out of wounded pride.
A flicker of light flashed in Wu Suowei's eyes.
This was the final worldline, a culmination achieved after countless failures, drawing lessons from each.
It was also a worldline for which he had meticulously prepared and laid the groundwork from the very beginning.
In this present worldline, a significant divergence had already occurred from its inception compared to others.
Most importantly, in this particular worldline, Duan Chen had not joined the side of the evil gods, but instead remained with the more righteous faction.
In a worldline around the 300th iteration, to prevent Duan Chen from joining the evil gods, Wu Suowei had personally taken Duan Chen under his wing, adopting him as a godson. However, Duan Chen had eventually rebelled, returning to the side of the evil gods.
At times, Wu Suowei had believed Duan Chen to be incorrigible, beyond redemption. Yet, he also felt a profound helplessness, for according to his calculations – or rather, his observations – Duan Chen was the Child of Destiny for this entire world.
Therefore.
In certain worldlines, to achieve a permanent solution, Wu Suowei had directly chosen to kill Duan Chen.
He had repeated this scenario, living through such worldlines, approximately seven or eight times.
Not a single one of these seven or eight worldlines had reached a successful conclusion; on the contrary, some had begun to collapse from the very outset.
By the time of the final collapse, Wu Suowei had become so experienced that he barely bothered to observe the world's end. He simply detached himself from the worldline and moved on to the next parallel universe.
His sole objective was to forge the best possible worldline within the scope of all available attempts in his game against the evil gods. Then, he would utilize his divine power to integrate this meticulously crafted worldline into all parallel universes.
Only in this way would the outcome of this worldline become the convergent end for all parallel universes.
This was what people commonly referred to as a happy ending.
A light, incomprehensible to others, flickered in Wu Suowei's eyes.
He could vaguely perceive it drawing nearer.
The tomorrow he yearned for, the ending he wished to possess, was drawing ever closer.
...
"What you spat out is rather interesting. But you appear to be human. Why would a human spit out such bizarre things?"
Before Duan Chen, the owner of the golden eyes was still asking with great curiosity, even pawing at the clump of black hair that had been coughed up.
Duan Chen had been thrown into a pristine lake by the owner of the golden eyes. He felt all his ailments vanish, especially the abundant energy within the lake that completely healed the accumulated injuries within Duan Chen's body.
But now, he was being fished out of the lake, dripping wet.
The owner of the golden eyes smiled a half-smile.
He spoke.
"Little fellow, don't think of staying in my lake forever. The energy here is indeed pure, but it's not something you can fully absorb or withstand. Don't be too greedy."
The golden giant python before him displayed an unexpectedly friendly disposition towards Duan Chen.
Duan Chen's heart involuntarily relaxed somewhat. He looked at the golden giant python that had pulled him out and tentatively inquired.
"Thank you, esteemed senior, for your great kindness. The energy from your lake has healed my body's injuries. May I ask your honorable name?"
"Senior?"
Upon hearing these words, a smile flashed in the golden giant python's eyes.
His voice was exceptionally deep, but even with his efforts to soften it, it still sounded like thunderclaps echoing in Duan Chen's ears.
Duan Chen even felt as if two tiny figures were relentlessly hammering his eardrums with hammers.
His ears soon felt engorged.
But he still managed to endure.
The golden giant python before him continued to speak with that peculiar, smiling tone.
"You address me as senior."
"Could it be that you know who I am?"
Duan Chen believed his eyes had not deceived him. As the golden giant python uttered these two sentences, an intense killing intent flickered within its bell-like eyes.
Duan Chen's mind raced. His thoughts spun rapidly as he pondered where he had misspoken. He quickly focused on a potential answer and adopted a posture of great humility.
"This junior dares not presume."
"However... this junior possesses a divine art called the Eye of God. Previously, I used this divine art to observe and found that your body is connected like that of a turtle and a snake."
"Regarding such a form, this junior can only think of the ancient legendary divine beast, Xuanwu! I wonder if I am correct."
Of course, it was impossible for it to be the divine beast Xuanwu.
If Xuanwu had fallen into such a pitiful state and could only provide such minor healing for injuries, it would not deserve to be called Xuanwu.
He spoke these words purely to test the waters.
Upon hearing Duan Chen's words, a clear look of astonishment appeared in the golden giant python's eyes, followed by a smile. It asked with what sounded like amusement.
"You think I am Xuanwu?"
Before Duan Chen could reply, it began to laugh to itself.
"Haha, hahahaha, you are quite the flatterer, but how could I possibly be Xuanwu?"
"It's not a big deal to tell you."
"My name is Jin An, and this place you stand on is called Wan Fu. Together, they form Wan Fu Jin An."
"You may address me as Lord Jin."
Duan Chen did not show any disrespect in his demeanor or emotions, despite the fact that the being addressing him as 'Lord' was a ferocious snake.
He immediately lowered his head and spoke with great reverence.
"Lord Jin!"
Putting aside everything else, considering that this golden python possessed such a large lake of pure energy and had let Duan Chen soak in it for free, this address of 'Lord' was certainly warranted.