Crazy bastard

"You talk too much. I think I should just kill you for wasting my time."

Suddenly, an invisible force clamped down on Ray's neck, pressing from all sides. It felt as though a hand of pure space itself was squeezing him, tighter and tighter with each passing second.

Damn it!

Ray's face twisted in pain, his breathing suddenly restricted. His instincts screamed at him this wasn't a bluff.

"Okay! Okay! Stop!" he yelled, feeling the crushing weight on his throat. "If you kill me, you'll lose the biggest opportunity of your life!"

The woman paused, her smirk widening at his desperation.

"Oh? And what might that be?" she asked, her tone amused.

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you! Just just stop choking me first! Or at least be gentle!" Ray shouted again, struggling to speak as the invisible force pressed harder.

Crazy woman! How does she expect me to explain if I can't even breathe?!

The woman let out a huff of amusement before releasing the pressure around his neck. She crossed her arms, her ice-blue eyes narrowing slightly.

"You better have a good answer," she said flatly. "Because this is your last chance."

Ray gasped for air, rubbing his throat in relief.

Damn… that was close.

He took a deep breath and steadied himself.

"Alright, listen up," he said.

The woman arched an eyebrow. "Go on. Enlighten me."

Ray took another breath, then smirked.

"First of all, let's think logically," he said. "What do you gain by killing me?"

The woman tilted her head, amused.

"Satisfaction?"

Ray's eye twitched. She's seriously considering that?!

"Right, but apart from that? Nothing." He crossed his arms, despite his body still being restrained. "You kill me, and that's it. I'm gone. No reward. No benefit. Just wasted effort."

The woman sighed dramatically. "And how exactly do I benefit from letting you live?"

Ray smirked slightly. "Because I'll owe you a favor. A debt."

She raised an eyebrow. "A debt?"

Ray hated saying it. The words made his stomach churn. But this was about survival.

He had to use this crazy woman to his advantage.

"You?" she scoffed, looking him up and down before laughing loudly.

She laughed hard.

Like she had just heard the funniest joke in existence.

Ray's face darkened.

Her laugh grated on his ears.

He let her finish, his expression turning serious.

"Remember something, woman," he said, his voice firm. "I'm not begging."

The air around them suddenly grew tense.

"I'm making a deal," he continued. "If you want to take it, fine. If not, go ahead kill me. But remember this…" His obsidian-black eyes locked onto hers. "You have no idea what you'll be losing."

The woman's laughter stopped.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, analyzing him again.

He's serious.

For the first time, she actually looked into his eyes.

They weren't the eyes of a desperate man.

They were the eyes of someone who refused to kneel.

"Hmmm…" she murmured, tapping her chin. "Alright. I won't laugh anymore. Go on, then. Convince me, oh mighty mortal."

Ray clenched his jaw. This woman…

"You're going to pay for this once I regain my strength," he muttered under his breath.

The woman smirked. "Oh? Big words for someone who can't even move."

Ray ignored her.

Instead, he asked, "What exactly do you do? What's your profession?"

The woman blinked. "What?"

Ray sighed. "I need to know what you need before I can make a proper deal. Basic business logic. I can already tell you suck at business."

The woman's smirk vanished for a second.

Cough.

She cleared her throat, regaining her composure. "I was just about to create my own sect."

Ray's eyebrow lifted slightly.

A sect, huh?

Interesting.

He studied her face carefully before breaking into a smirk.

"Oh? Perfect."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ray grinned.

"Here's the deal I'll be the sect leader, and you can be my vice sect leader."

Silence.

The air froze.

The woman stared at him, expression unreadable.

Then, slowly

Her ice-blue hair began to rise, as if responding to her rage.

A cold gust blew past.

And then calm.

Her hair fell back down, her expression neutral once more.

"…You really want to die, don't you?" she said, her tone dangerously calm.

Ray kept smirking.

He truly believed this crazy woman should be thanking him for such an opportunity.

"I'm giving you the biggest opportunity of your life," he said confidently. "With me as the leader, your sect will become the strongest in the world."

The woman's eye twitched.

Flick.

A small crack formed in the space near Ray's body.

Ray felt a slight pressure, but he didn't falter.

"…And why," she asked, voice cold, "do you think you're even capable of that?"

She scoffed. "First of all, you're a mortal. You're completely useless to me."

Ray gritted his teeth.

Her words cut deep, but he didn't let it show.

She continued, her tone sharper.

"Having a mortal as a sect leader? Bullshit."

She should have killed him by now.

But for some reason…

She didn't.

Instead, she found herself debating.

Why?

Because she was too intrigued.

Ray took a breath. "You asked for a reason. I'll give you one."

He locked eyes with her.

"First of all you are not suited to be a sect leader."

The woman's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Ray continued.

"You're not an alchemist I can tell by your breathing and hand posture. You're not a formation master you haven't scanned your surroundings deeply even once."

He smirked slightly. "And you're definitely not a politician. Your way of speaking, the way you react to words you're hotheaded, impatient, and terrible at business."

The woman's expression slowly turned gloomy.

Ray kept going.

"You're a warrior. A good one. A damn good one, actually." His voice dropped slightly. "But you're injured. I don't know how weak you are now… but I can tell your current strength isn't enough for you."

Not even close

His words cut deep.

The woman… didn't react.

Instead, she simply stared at him.

Completely calm.

"Hmmm," she murmured.

"Interesting that you can tell this much just by watching me for two minutes."

She paused.

"…I've never met someone with such sharp eyes before."

Ray smirked. Good. He had her attention.

"But," she continued, "you forgot one thing."

Her expression darkened slightly.

"In the world of cultivation… strength is everything."

She took a slow step forward.

"As long as someone is strong enough, they can do whatever they want."

Her ice-blue eyes pierced into his soul.

"And you?" she said, voice low.

"You've failed in that."

The air grew colder.

She let out a small breath. "You have no Qi. No spiritual energy. Your body is weak. Even if you wanted to, you can't cultivate."

Her words were sharp.

And then, with a slight smirk

"You're not even worthy of being a handyman disciple.

So tell me, mortal…

Why do you think you can be a sect leader?"

"I can cultivate," Ray said, his voice firm as he looked straight into her eyes.

The woman narrowed her gaze, her lips curling into a smirk.

"You don't even have a speck of spiritual energy, yet you stand here making empty claims? Where is your arrogance now?" She shook her head. "Lowering yourself to such cheap tricks… disappointing."

Ray, however, only smirked in response.

"I will be able to," he said simply. "This is just the beginning."

The woman paused.

Something about his confidence felt off.

No hesitation. No doubt.

She stared at him for a long moment, searching for even a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.

And yet… there was none.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Even if, by some miracle, you gain the ability to cultivate…" she trailed off, shaking her head with mild pity, "you're still going to die in five years."

Ray's smirk faded. His brows furrowed.

"What?"

The woman crossed her arms, watching his reaction. "So you really didn't know?"

Ray remained silent, waiting for her explanation.

She sighed. "Of course you wouldn't. You don't have Qi or spiritual energy, so you can't even sense it."

Then, in a calm yet definitive voice, she spoke the words that sealed his fate.

"The world is rejecting you."

Ray's eyes darkened.

She continued, "Your body structure is too… unnatural. It's as if you don't belong in this world."

Her gaze swept over him, as if reevaluating what stood before her.

"Even if you miraculously manage to cultivate, your body will continue to degrade. As time passes, it will get worse."

Her voice was matter-of-fact. Cold. Final.

"You have… at most, five years left."

Silence.

Ray stood still, absorbing her words.

His expression didn't change. No anger. No despair.

He just… stayed expressionless.

The woman studied his reaction, expecting something shock, denial, even fear.

But there was nothing.

A slight flicker of amusement crossed her face.

"Sadly enough," she said, "I liked your arrogance. Your pride entertained me ill Spare you for that... don't get wrong idea that i pity yout."

I know you'll hate that.

She sighed, snapping her fingers.

The space around Ray shattered.

The invisible force vanished.

Ray's body, suddenly freed, almost stumbled forward from the abrupt release but he caught himself.

The woman turned her back to him, casually walking away.

"Enjoy what little time you have left," she murmured, her voice drifting through the air. "It's truly terrifying… and yet, thrilling to know the exact time of your death."

She smirked to herself, expecting silence from behind her.

But instead

"I won't die."

huh...

Her steps halted.

Her brows lifted slightly surprised to say the least.

Ray's voice wasn't desperate.

It wasn't pleading.

It wasn't even angry.

It was calm. Absolute. Certain.

She turned her head slightly, intrigued.

Ray took a deep breath, his eyes burning with something far beyond confidence.

It was madness.

"Isn't it just a body?" he muttered to himself before looking up at her.

His lips started deforming into a unnatural grin.

"I'll rebuild it."

"I will become a Great Emperor in less than five years."(one can rebuild themselves from atoms when become Great emperor only)

She just kept looking at him.

His face expressions and his smile

She felt a shiver running down her spine just looking into his clear black eyes.

What did he just say?

For the first time, her expression completely broke.

The pure insanity of those words

She turned, her ice-blue eyes locking onto his.

Her lips curled into an uncontrollable grin.

"Say that again," she whispered, her voice low but trembling with excitement.

Ray saw her grinning.

Shes a monster too.

Mad women

He thought.

"I will become a Great Emperor in the next five years."

The air grew thick.

The world itself seemed to pause.

A flash of light flickered within the woman's eyes.

For the first time, she truly saw him.

A boy who could barely stand.

A mortal whose breath was shaky.

Yet

His eyes held no doubt.

Not even the slightest.

It was as if he were declaring an undeniable truth.

He believed it.

No, more than that

He knew it.

The woman felt something deep inside her shake.

What… is this feeling?

She swallowed.

She, who had never doubted her own strength.

She, who had never once thought of challenging the impossible.

Even she…

Even she would never dare say she could make her sect one of the top ten on this continent within the next few decades.

Even she had uncertainty.

Like little confusion...not that she don't believe in her its just...like she have plans for if failed.

And yet…

This boy, who didn't even have the ability to cultivate, who couldn't even feel Qi…

Had just declared, with absolute certainty, that he would become a Great Emperor.

The thought echoed in the woman's mind.

Something that takes millions of years even for geniuses yet this boy had just declared it as if it were a mere stepping stone.

Hehe… and when one speaks of geniuses…

She smirked to herself.

One must understand every Great Emperor is a genius among geniuses.

A level of talent that cannot be defined, cannot be measured.

Even those with divine bloodlines, celestial inheritances, and heaven-defying destinies take endless years to reach that peak.

And yet

Even geniusness among them takes millions of years...one can just imagine.

five years is just fraction of time

And this arrogant bastard?

He had no talent. No Qi. No cultivation.

Yet he said it without hesitation.

With that crazy certainty in his eyes.

The woman suddenly

Her hands were trembling.

She stared down at them.

Excitement.

How long has it been… since I've felt this?

She clenched her fists, her lips parting slightly.

She couldn't help but laugh softly.

"This… this is what it feels like to challenge the entire world, huh?"

Her ice-blue hair swayed gently as she looked up at the sky.

For the first time in a long time, she felt alive.

Her gaze flickered back to Ray.

What a crazy boy.

Her lips curled once more, her grin wild and untamed.

"Great Emperor in five years, huh…?"

She chuckled to herself.

"Sounds like a good starting goal."