Chapter 3049 Destiny at the Fingertips

"I heard you, but the Shadow is nothing more than a whetstone."

Unfortunately, as everyone knew, good advice rarely swayed the stubborn.

Realizing that Professor Fu was actually an advocate for lying flat, Jiang En reacted exactly as expected. A confident smile touched his lips, and he spoke with absolute conviction.

"If this were a few months ago, I wouldn't have believed those words so easily. But now, I am absolutely certain.

"Those who don't know the road I've walked have no right to tell me to stop."

'Actually, maybe, probably... I really do know?'

Brother Jiang En's confidence was undoubtedly infectious, and Fu Qian completely understood where it came from.

He was a fallen genius who had plunged from Paradise to hell in a single day, finding himself on the brink of total despair. Yet, by clinging to his last shred of perseverance, he ended up finding a way out of a desperate situation and discovered the ancient mystical restriction left inside the Arm Ring.

In the end, he swept away years of gloom and officially stepped onto a broad, triumphant path.

Anyone with such an experience would inevitably believe that man can conquer nature, exaggerating the power of their own agency to the absolute extreme.

The only problem was that the road he had walked had actually been paved by Wen Li, at Professor Fu's own instruction.

And now, regardless of his subjective willingness, Jiang En had still joined the Greed Worms and partaken of their communal pot. The impact of his personal efforts was truly minimal by this point.

"Why do I feel like something isn't right?" Fu Qian asked. "Does this determination of his actually have any effect?"

Keeping his criticisms to himself was one thing, but blurting out the truth would simply be too devastating to the young man's morale.

Fu Qian didn't reveal the truth. Instead, he looked at Corvos at that moment to once again ask for his opinion.

Perhaps because the earlier advice to lie flat had triggered his rebellious streak, a visible change was occurring in Jiang En the moment he spoke those bold words.

However, even to an amateur's eyes, it was hard to call it a change for the better.

Though the wounds on his body didn't tear open any further, his eyes became visibly clouded, losing their inner light.

In fact, precisely because the situation looked so grim, Fu Qian deliberately turned sideways when he asked his question, doing his best to keep the exchange private behind Jiang En's back.

"It appears to be a side effect," Corvos said.

As expected, Corvos bluntly confirmed Fu Qian's concerns, indicating that this sheer determination was only making Jiang En's Destiny even bleaker.

'Even with the Greed Worms acting as a buffer, it's inevitably getting bleaker? He must have stirred up quite a massive disaster, then.'

Fu Qian clicked his tongue in amazement as he listened.

In contrast, of course, the person in question clearly didn't feel the same way, remaining emotionally stable. The slight attempt at concealment seemed to have quite a deceptive effect on Destiny; the contents of their earlier exchange clearly hadn't dealt any blow to Jiang En.

"Makes sense... but is it possible he knows the road you've walked?"

But what was meant to come could never be avoided. Picking up right where they left off, Fu Qian pointed at Jiang En's fated rival, Taylor.

...

The one who cares about you the most will always be your enemy.

Though the saying was a bit absolute, it was genuinely the truth for Jiang En.

Long before he had been schemed against by the Greed Worms and had set his heart entirely on making a comeback, Taylor had already discovered that he frequently ran off to gatherings in the Underground.

In short, even knowing full well that Professor Fu was just trying to crush his enthusiasm, Jiang En still couldn't stop himself from locking eyes with Taylor in that moment.

A single glance lasting ten thousand years.

The phrasing was slightly dramatic, but Fu Qian still felt it was quite fitting for the moment.

As their eyes met, Fu Qian almost saw sparks of electricity arcing through the air.

Then, a seemingly familiar scene unfolded. Though neither spoke a word, an endless stream of information seemed to surge back and forth between them. Because this was a physical manifestation of Destiny itself, the surging effect was even more visceral than it had been with the young couple earlier.

In that moment, Jiang En and Taylor were like the tide, their complexions surging back and forth in a highly rhythmic manner.

Fluctuating between good and bad, strong and weak, it gave everyone a profound sense of how unpredictable Destiny truly was.

Even for Taylor, a member of the Blood Clan who always prioritized his appearance, there was a moment when the hair on his head visibly thinned out, bringing to mind the old saying that "even peerless masters can go bald."

In short, it was as if Professor Fu's single remark had twisted the live and neutral wires together, sparking a relentless, explosive clash of fated fists.

Looking on the bright side, of course, the two of them at least hadn't turned into butterflies like the young couple from before.

"So what is their Destiny now?"

After watching with keen interest for a moment, Fu Qian admitted that an amateur was still an amateur. In the end, he turned to ask Excellency Corvos for guidance.

"Complex, fickle, and difficult to predict."

To his surprise, even Corvos admitted it was rather difficult this time. The profound look he gave him while speaking suggested he was slightly shocked by Professor Fu's sheer talent for finding amusement in chaos.

"I see. No wonder everyone loves finding a fated rival. It looks like a highly effective way to spice up a monotonous life."

Fu Qian wasn't disappointed in the slightest; instead, he nodded faintly as he extracted a philosophy of life from the scene.

"And what about him? Why is he glowing with health again?"

Without wasting a second, he pointed at Gan Zuoxun beside them as soon as he finished speaking.

He wasn't speaking nonsense. As the short circuit of Destiny sparked, it wasn't just the two main participants whose faces were shifting colors like chameleons; even the bystanders were dragged into the crossfire.

For example, Gan Zuoxun, who previously looked as if he were plagued by chronic exhaustion and severe internal injuries, suddenly had a clear and vibrant complexion again. He looked even more energetic than when he first arrived.

"The entanglements of Destiny are far more complicated than they appear on the surface. It seems the fierce rivalry between these two young men is a good thing for the municipal officer... He should now have more time to watch his daughter grow up."

This time, Corvos even rubbed the First Birthday a few times, making a minor calculation of fate before answering—a clear testament to just how complex a situation Professor Fu had engineered.

But looking on the bright side, the outcome was at least highly ideal.

When Excellency Corvos had asked about the order of Shangjing earlier, Fu Qian's answer had focused squarely on the municipal officer's soaring ambitions and the young people's fierce determination to forge ahead.

Now, not only were both of those things on full display, but they even seemed to be mutually promoting each other in a positive feedback loop.

"Give up."

Though the actual dialogue from the person in question wasn't quite as fitting.

After a rather long stare-down, it was Taylor who finally broke the silence, and his opening words were also an attempt to persuade his rival to lie flat.

"When it comes to talent, you can't beat me."

His reasoning was nakedly straightforward, boldly declaring that the deep foundations of the Blood Clan were simply beyond anything a person from a humble background like Jiang En could ever match.

"Heh... what do you have left besides your talent?"

Some facts were laid out bare for all to see, and Jiang En clearly wasn't cowardly enough to deny them.

At the same time, his soaring ambition didn't suffer the slightest color loss. He instantly fired back with a sharp retort—tap, tap-tap!

However, their war of words had barely lasted a single round before it was interrupted by a familiar sound.

Corvos was lightly tapping his fingers against the pages of the book. With every tap, the scene before their eyes blurred just a fraction more.

A perfectly good drama of Shangjing's shifting winds and clouds was being forcefully brought to an end.

"So, Professor Fu, which other place's order do you admire?"

Acting as if he had merely done something completely trivial, Corvos looked back toward Fu Qian and asked him what other themes he enjoyed.