"Enough of that. Just now, I read something interesting in that guy's mind. Want me to enlighten you?" The Herrscher of Sentience led Chen Luo back to the basement as she spoke. It is normal for the Herrscher of Sentience to be able to read other people's minds, right?
Especially when the other person's strength is really average.
With the other person's strength, the Herrscher of Sentience really doubted who was protecting whom between him and Yun Xia.
Though the Herrscher of Sentience prided herself on never being inferior to others, she could still respect someone whose talents and items were priced just one Primogem below hers.
"Alright, stop keeping me in suspense. We're practically family."
"Tch. Fine. That bodyguard was weak, so he didn't know much—but he happened to recognize this thing." Faced with Chen Luo's coaxing, even the Herrscher of Sentience couldn't keep causing trouble unreasonably.
"This world isn't as peaceful as you think. You've seen glimpses of it now. That bodyguard didn't know much, but he understood the basics. For example, this thing can form with large amounts of negative emotions under low odds. It's called an Heart Demon." She pointed at the delinquent.
"Heart Demon? Sounds awesome." Chen Luo blinked.
"Yeah, it does sound impressive. Heart Demons have always been the bane of cultivators since ancient times. But right now, this one's at the lowest level."
"An Heart Demon is generated by negativity and feeds on negativity. It grows stronger by devouring its host's dark emotions. At first, the possessed gains a surge in physical abilities and the Heart Demon are almost undetectable. Only when enraged do their pupils turn fully black, leaving just a speck of red."
"And once born, the Heart Demon's first goal is to destroy the source of its own creation."
"Wait, hold on—that's confusing. If he's the Heart Demon, why would he want to destroy another Heart Demon?" Chen Luo interrupted.
"Think of it this way—Heart Demons are vengeful by nature. They embody their host's darkest desires. Only by fulfilling that vengeance can they fully take over, even jumping to a new host after the original dies."
"Now, think—who caused his Heart Demon to form in the first place?" The Herrscher of Sentience gave Chen Luo a meaningful look.
"Wait… you're saying I'm the Heart Demon?!" Chen Luo pointed at himself, horrified.
"No. To be precise, you're the Heart Demon's Heart Demon."
"..." Chen Luo was at a loss for words.
And here I thought I was a good person.
"Once an Heart Demon manifests, revenge becomes its primary drive. After succeeding, it enters an unrestrained growth phase—potentially evolving into a monster strong enough to threaten even S-rank talent holders," the Herrscher of Sentience continued.
"So… if he beats me up, he'll break his limits, become a true Heart Demon, and go on a rampage—meaning I'd be strangling a future calamity in its cradle?"
The more Chen Luo heard, the more unlucky he felt.
Both of his friends in this world—Yun Xia and Yun Lian'er—are S-rank talents. And now his first enemy is a future S-rank threat?
What kind of messed-up luck is this?
"No, you're misunderstanding. Heart Demons aren't the type to just 'beat you up.' From his memories, 90% of their targets end up dead," the Herrscher of Sentience corrected.
"Huh? What about the other 10%?" Chen Luo glanced at the delinquent, puzzled.
He didn't recall offending the guy that badly.
What had he even done?
When the guy shoved a classmate's head into a toilet, Chen Luo had the victim fight back with a shit-covered mop. It is normal to give him a taste of his own medicine.
When the guy bullied someone into depression and forced them to drop out, Chen Luo reported him to the police, landing him a 5-day detention and a fine of 500 Yuan. A light punishment, really.
And when the guy tried to break into his home to assault him, Chen Luo just… buried him in the yard for some quiet reflection.
Why is this person so petty?
"The other 10%? Worse than death..." The Herrscher of Sentience gave the snarling delinquent a complicated look.
"Oh, and almost all Heart Demons target their victim's family too," she added.
"..."
"What's on your mind? If you can't do it, I'll handle it. Letting him go isn't an option—even if you're fine with it, I'm not." She studied Chen Luo's silence with concern.
After all, Chen Luo had never taken a life before. Sure, he'd slaughtered zombies, Honkai beasts, and bandits in the consciousness space—but that wasn't real.
As his big sister, the Herrscher of Sentience felt responsible for correcting her little brother's wrong thinking.
After all, Heart Demons couldn't be erased by normal means. Even if temporarily purged, they'd just respawn unless the host was killed.
First time's a fluke. Second time's habit.
"I was just thinking—if we kill him now, wouldn't we become murder suspects? This world's forensics are no joke, especially since he followed me into the neighborhood..."
Unexpectedly, Chen Luo's thoughts were completely different from what she imagined.
"Why worry? Worst case, we flee to the Honkai world," the Herrscher of Sentience said, relieved he wasn't hesitating out of weakness.
He lived up to the devilish training she had given him in the mental space.
Though he was overcomplicating things.
"You absolute moron." Chen Luo rolled his eyes.
Your parents aren't in this world, but mine are!
And who'd want to abandon their home for no reason?
"You—! How dare you scold me—! Ugh, fine! If you're so smart, what's your genius plan, huh?!" Herrscher of Sentience said unconvinced.
You're the moron, your whole family is the moron.
I'm the Herrscher of Sentience—master of consciousness! How could I be a moron!
I'm absolutely brilliant!