I Am the Greatest Under Heaven

Have you ever been utterly crushed by a true genius?

Of course not.

In Zhu Jinming's eyes, she has always believed that she is the true genius.

She began refining qi at five, established her foundation at ten, formed her golden core at sixteen, and reached the peak of the Golden Core stage at eighteen, ready to break through to the Nascent Soul stage at any moment.

The looks she has seen most throughout her life are envy, jealousy, respect, and admiration.

Zhu Jinming certainly deserves to be called a genius.

But all of that comes to an abrupt end the day she joins Hengyang Sect.

Hengyang Sect is the greatest sect on the continent.

Its senior disciple, Ji Lingyun, courtesy name Yanzhi,

was born into the Ji family, one of the three most prominent clans on the continent.

He was already at the peak of qi refinement at birth, established his foundation at three, formed his golden core at eight, and reached the Nascent Soul stage at fifteen. Now eighteen, he is already ready to break through to the Golden Core stage.

Zhu Jinming refuses to accept it.

After joining Hengyang Sect, she cultivates tirelessly day and night. After six months in seclusion, she finally succeeds in reaching the Golden Core stage.

On the day she emerges from seclusion,

no one in the entire sect congratulates her. Everyone is saying that senior disciple Ji Lingyun has successfully reached the Deity Transformation stage today.

It's fine.

Few people know that, besides cultivation, she has also mastered the art of magical arrays.

But a month later, at the talisman cultivators' tournament, Ji Lingyun defeats Zhu Jinming with ease.

Only then does Zhu Jinming learn that the famous senior disciple of Hengyang Sect can refine pills, forge artifacts, draw talismans, and set up arrays.

In that instant, even Zhu Jinming feels a dejection and helplessness welling up from the depths of her heart.

She once spoke briefly with Ji Lingyun on Hengyang Peak, on Hengyang Mountain.

At the time, he stood atop the highest peak of Hengyang Mountain, smiling with carefree abandon and exuding an air of confidence that looked down on the world. "Zhu Jinming, I've met many geniuses. The only difference is, they all call me a genius."

Zhu Jinming was speechless.

Some peaks cannot be scaled; some people cannot be compared to.

She put in a hundredfold effort to climb from the foot of the mountain to the summit, while someone else had stood there from birth.

Perhaps some people really are favored by heaven from the moment they are born.

She hates Ji Lingyun. She cannot help but be jealous of and resent him.

After that,

whenever Zhu Jinming closes her eyes, she sees her parents' hopeful gazes and the eager admiration and praise in everyone's eyes.

She wakes from nightmares drenched in cold sweat.

She knows that she has developed a heart demon.

Ji Lingyun is the source of her heart demon.

She has to stay away from Ji Lingyun. She has to leave Hengyang Sect.

She bids farewell to Hengyang Sect, but before long, before her heart demon can be dispelled, the world undergoes a cataclysmic change and the demon race returns. The next time she hears news of Ji Lingyun, the greatest genius in all the lands has already died at the hands of the demon race.

The demon race advances in force, and most of humanity's territory falls into its hands. Before long, Zhu Jinming is also killed by a demonic cultivator.

Her heart is cut out, but when she opens her eyes again, she has returned to the age of sixteen, the year she first joined Hengyang Sect.

When she sees Ji Lingyun again,

she can only sigh over how this greatest genius in all the lands died so young, at nineteen.

This time,

her heart demon has yet to form. She no longer hates Ji Lingyun, but she still can't bring herself to like him.

However, after living her life over again and letting go of her jealousy and resentment, she seems to notice something unusual.

This greatest genius of Hengyang Sect, Ji Lingyun, seems to... like her?

Theme: I'm the greatest under heaven.