True Immortal Heart-Chapter 33: Attempt to Persuade

After the recent incident, Dusk could clearly see that Elias held deep feelings for Seraphine—something that could be exploited in the future.

But that future was still far off. For now, using her would bring him no tangible benefit.

"The future, huh? You mean we should start taking more action?" Viper asked, probing to see where he stood.

Dusk didn’t hesitate to nod. He, too, felt her current pace wasn’t fast enough.

"If we want the best position in the new era, we need to expand our influence before humanity discovers how to become Heart Masters."

His reasoning wasn’t exactly flawed, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was worrying too much.

"Aren’t you overthinking this? Humans aren’t suddenly going to start eating hearts out of nowhere. As for demons, that’s even more unlikely. I haven’t received any intel suggesting such beings even exist on Earth."

Silas and a few others nodded in agreement. Even cold-blooded mafia members like them wouldn’t stoop to something that disgraceful.

"You don’t understand," Dusk replied calmly, elaborating on the source of his concern.

"Becoming a Heart Master doesn’t necessarily require eating the hearts of humans or demons. If someone happens to consume a Spirit Fruit, they too could awaken as a Heart Master. And once they do, as long as they’re not mentally deficient, they’ll begin to understand the essence and value of hearts. If that person spreads this knowledge, it’ll put us at a disadvantage."

Viper furrowed her brow. The chances of someone accidentally eating a Spirit Fruit were astronomically low, but she believed that such things as luck truly existed in this world.

And if what Dusk said did come to pass, she would stand to lose a great deal.

"So, you must have a plan—or at least a direction—right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t just casually bring this up to me," she said.

But contrary to her expectations, Dusk shrugged and shook his head casually.

"Of course I don’t. I’m just a mentally unstable guy—how could I think that far ahead? I’m only saying this to encourage smart people like you to start thinking."

He crossed his legs smugly, a proud look on his face. Earlier, she had called him an idiot—fine, then he’d play the idiot just to get under her skin.

He wasn’t some enlightened sage. He had emotions too—he knew joy, he knew anger. It’s just that, to him, immortality came above all else.

Messing with her a little wasn’t going to fracture their partnership. He knew his value was too high for her to simply cut him loose.

Of course, Viper wasn’t blind to his thoughts. The moment she saw that self-satisfied grin of his, her face darkened.

"Hmph. Don’t think I don’t know that whatever you’re about to propose will benefit both of us. But if you’re so noble as to give up your share, then fine—do nothing. Just sit there and keep grinning," she said, her voice dripping with provocation and confidence.

Dusk didn’t look pleased. She had a point, and he couldn’t refute it. Even if he tried, it’d only make him look like a real fool.

"Fine then, let me speak."

"Hah! Trying to outplay me? Come back after training for another 300 years," Viper smirked.

"Cough, cough..."

Her words hit him so hard he nearly choked. Something wasn’t right—this wasn’t how the script was supposed to go. He was supposed to be the one with 300 years of experience, not her.

’Damn it... does that mean when I was her age, I really was an idiot? Even after 300 years, if I’m still not better than a brat like her, that’s pathetic. Sure, it’s not a big deal, but still—this stings.’

None of this nonsense affected his future plans, but the feeling of constantly being outdone by a cheeky kid wasn’t exactly pleasant.

"You need to have more people consuming hearts simultaneously. A single heart takes a week to absorb—ten hearts take ten weeks. If you go one by one, it’ll be incredibly time-consuming."

"No."

The moment he finished, Viper shot him down, leaving him visibly confused. He furrowed his brows and asked,

"Why not? Wouldn’t that speed things up and give you more high-level combatants in no time?"

"Are you speaking without thinking again? Suppose The Crimson Vow assigns ten people to this plan—then that’s ten murders a week! You think ten killings per week is normal? Not to mention it’d go on for ten weeks straight. The government would absolutely crack down hard. I can’t afford that kind of risk." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Dusk still had a mindset shaped by the future—a world where, even with the government still intact, murder had become relatively commonplace among criminals.

To him, her concerns seemed like overthinking. This level of risk was acceptable—trivial, even.

"What kind of logic is that? This is a perfectly reasonable price to pay for power that surpasses all of humanity. Let me tell you—if a rank-1 Heart Master fights a gunman head-on, as long as the gunman doesn’t go full-auto, the Heart Master can dodge every single bullet."

Dusk spoke confidently, hoping to ignite her ambition and force her to reconsider. But rather than seeing a spark in her eyes, he got something else entirely—a punch to the head.

"Why the hell did you hit me?!"

"Because you’re an idiot!" she snapped. "You think being in the mafia is all about violence? We want money and power too. If I follow your plan, we’re no longer a mafia—we’d be a terrorist group declaring war on the government! Do you think the rest of the organization would agree to that? Sure, they follow my orders, but they’re not stupid. A reckless move like this would bring the whole thing crashing down."

Silas and the other members in the vehicle nodded in silent agreement. They were criminals, yes, but they operated in the shadows—not crazy enough to take on the entire government.

Was Dusk going to back down?

Of course not. If he couldn’t win her with logic, he’d tempt her with value.

"You think being a Heart Master is just about gaining a bit of strength? No. It also extends your lifespan. Reaching rank 1 gives you fifty extra years of healthy life. And the higher you go, the more time you get. Immortality isn’t just a dream—it’s a goal. So tell me, why are you so afraid to take a gamble?"

The atmosphere inside the car suddenly froze.

Immortality.

What a beautiful word. A desire so ancient, even emperors of old could only dream of it—yet never attain it.