Chapter 3498: For A Person, For An Affair
Chapter 3498: For A Person, For An Affair
The rules of Spirit Chess stated that, even if almost all of the black pieces disappeared, as long as one still remained, it could still be a black victory.
Grandmaster Yu Ran grew increasingly anxious. The Third Boss had clearly seen through the game board. If she waited any longer, she would not even be able to enter.
She stopped hesitating and moved forward.
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. Grandmaster Yu Ran had not yet fully understood the Spirit Chess game board, which meant her entry was quite reckless. She was relying on luck. However, her luck proved decent. The sourceboxes’ danger zone was constantly changing, colliding and merging as it churned like a stormy sea that swept everything away. Both the black and white pieces were being wiped out.
At first, Lu Yin’s actions had allowed more of his black pieces to remain, but his advantage was quickly disappearing, rendering his previous actions irrelevant.
This won’t do.
Lu Yin lightly tapped a finger, guiding the turbulence of the danger zone towards Grandmaster Yu Ran.
The game board was formed from ten Boundless Advanced sourceboxes, and each one had its own danger zone.
One of the sourceboxes’ danger zone was similar to stones that were constantly piling up to form an ancient structure that would then crash down quite viciously.
Grandmaster Yu Ran gritted her teeth and moved to dodge the incoming danger zone.
Any changes in their positions would trigger further changes in the danger zone that formed the game board of Spirit Chess. Not even Lu Yin could easily predict the outcome of such changes, as the game board was far too complex.
If he wanted a certain outcome, he could easily defeat Grandmaster Yu Ran by attacking her with the danger zone, as she was incapable of blocking it.
However, that would go against the spirit of the game. After all, this was a battle of lockbreaking techniques and lockbreaking skill. Personal strength should take a backseat.
The main reason why Lu Yin was able to see through this complex game board was due to his superior strength, which gave him an inherently unfair advantage.
For this game of Spirit Chess, he wanted to give this particular opponent a fair chance.
Grandmaster Yu Ran counterattacked. She pulled out something that looked like a lockbreaking tool and then used it to guide the danger zone towards Lu Yin.
He retaliated at the same time, though he had no need to use any lockbreaking tools. The danger zone that formed the game board could not threaten him in the least.
This frustrated Grandmaster Yu Ran, but she also had no choice. Her only real option was to attack the black pieces, but she could not compare to Lu Yin’s speed.
As they continued to play the game, more and more of both the black and white pieces were consumed.
As time passed, the rate at which the white pieces were erased only sped up.
Even outsiders could see the difference.
“Grandmaster Yu Ran has lost.”
“Eh? Just how has this Third Boss cultivated? He’s such an amazing Spirit Treasure Master.”
“You’re wrong. He’s still brute-forcing things.”
“You can’t deny that the Third Boss still has the skills of a Spirit Treasure Grandmaster. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have gotten so far by relying on strength alone.”
No one refuted that. Lu Yin’s lockbreaking skill had been made evident to all.
Without adequate skill, even if Lu Yin could overpower the game board’s danger zone, he would not be able to use it to his advantage.
More and more white pieces were being erased. Grandmaster Yu Ran was quickly losing her patience. She had not even noticed that she had moved across the game board and was closing in on the eighth step of the Grandmaster's Trial, which was where the Heaven's Wrath, Earth's Ruin spirit treasure formation had once stood.
There was no crack of thunder to be heard until after the woman reacted.
Terrifying lightning erupted like a monster. It erupted in an instant, and it shot straight for her.
Grandmaster Yu Ran watched as the lightning raged towards her. She seemed to see two golden eyes that were about to swallow her whole. The burst of power behind this lightning was so great that her skin started to rip apart.
She tried to retreat, but she was completely surrounded by the game board’s danger zone, which meant that every step she took led to unpredictable danger.
Outside, the members of the Spirit Treasure Society grew alarmed. "Grandmaster Yu Ran, be careful!"
Zhi Shan was horrified.
Suddenly, a few drops of water appeared in front of Grandmaster Yu Ran. A mountain stacked atop another mountain as the water droplets transformed into mountains that blocked the lightning.
She immediately understood what was happening and pulled back, finally leaving the lightning’s range.
Is this... the Tomb of Mountains and Streams?
She looked over towards the seventh step and saw Lu Yin lower his hand. He had taken action, manipulating the Tomb of Mountains and Streams. The water dripping from the void had saved Grandmaster Yu Ran. Without Lu Yin’s actions, she would have died.
The danger zone formed from ten spirit treasures was powerful enough to compare to a sequence powerhouse, which was already rare. However, this game board was particularly potent as it was formed from a combination of ten spirit treasures as well as several spirit treasure formations. This was something that the Tianyuan Megaverse had never witnessed.
"Thank you." Grandmaster Yu Ran expressed her gratitude.
All the watching members of the Spirit Treasure Society shot looks of gratitude towards Lu Yin as well.
Grandmaster Yu Ran was regarded very highly in the Spirit Treasure Society. She enjoyed helping her juniors, and she was quite approachable. Most of the society's unity could be attributed to this one woman.
It could be said that, while the Spirit Treasure Society could lose Su Shidao, who was the greatest Spirit Treasure Grandmaster, it could not afford to lose Yu Ran.
She was the pillar that supported the Spirit Treasure Society.
By saving her with the Tomb of Mountains and Streams, Lu Yin had earned the respect and gratitude of the entire Spirit Treasure Society.
Their initial hostility had completely disappeared, and people were now admiring Lu Yin.
Zhi Hua even cheered loudly.
After being saved by Lu Yin, Grandmaster Yu Ran felt too embarrassed to try continuing to play, and so she retreated from the Spirit Chess’s game board.
The moment she left the boundaries of the game, she lost.
No one in the Spirit Treasure Society felt any spark of resentment. There was a gap in strength, as simple as that, and there was nothing to be done about it.
"Third Boss, I admit defeat. You can also step out," Grandmaster Yu Ran spoke politely.
Lu Yin looked around. "If this game board remains here, you’ll have trouble dealing with it, won’t you?"
Grandmaster Yu Ran said, "You don’t need to worry about that. Our Spirit Treasure Society can handle this."
Lu Yin had intended to help by removing the game board, but since Grandmaster Yu Ran had made such a claim, he decided to leave the matter to her.
She might be grateful to Lu Yin for saving her life, but the Spirit Treasure Society could not be looked down upon. If they could not even clean up after a game of Spirit Chess, it would be too embarrassing.
Lu Yin left the boundaries of the game to stand on the ninth step of the Grandmaster's Trial.
He had successfully conquered the Grandmaster's Trial.
The Spirit Treasure Society remained silent. People glanced at each other with complex expressions. What should their Spirit Treasure Society do next? Accept the Third Boss as a titled Spirit Treasure Grandmaster?
As people remembered all the taboos that the Grandverse Manor had violated, as well as all that the Third Boss had done, they felt their scalps grow numb.
If the Third Boss joined the Spirit Treasure Society, it would mean that their society would be forced to stand against the Spirit Nidus’s major forces for his sake. To do otherwise would be to destroy the society’s unity.
No one wanted this, but they also could not refuse, especially since the Third Boss had managed to earn their admiration.
Just what was this person doing? Could he ever avoid causing trouble?
If the Third Boss was just a bit more normal, then everyone in the Spirit Treasure Society would greet him with open arms.
Grandmaster Yu Ran was feeling even more distressed. If the Third Boss was not an enemy of the Ascendant Hall, she would have gladly surrendered the position of society president to him.
Why did someone like him have to conquer the Grandmaster's Trial? While they had mutually agreed before the game of Spirit Chess that he could not join the Spirit Master Society due to being seen as an evil person, could the society really reject the Third Boss? Was he truly evil? After all, he had saved her life, and her conscience would not allow her to reject him.
The Spirit Treasure Society had been forced into an unprecedentedly awkward situation.
Grandmaster Yu Ran was also facing an unprecedented conundrum.
In such a situation, the more conscientious a person was, the more guilt they would feel. However, how many such people were there among cultivators?
Most cultivators’ integrity had been worn down by the intrigues and schemes that ran rampant in the world of cultivators.
The people of the Spirit Treasure Society were able to maintain a purer mindset due to their unique situation.
Spirit Treasure Masters did not need to compete for resources with outsiders. All the spirit treasures across the entire Spirit Nidus were sent to the Spirit Treasure Domain, which meant that they had no need to stay in contact with the outside world.
Had the Wisdom Domain foreseen this future long ago? The Spirit Treasure Society looked like a pure land within the cultivation world. While the occasional stain could be found, such people did not hurt the overall integrity of the society.
Lu Yin stood atop the Grandmaster's Trial and looked over in a particular direction. From that direction, he could sense a bit of danger. There was some sort of indescribable power there.
His fingers twitched, and a spiral of karma spun out from a flick of his hand, shooting towards the perceived danger.
No matter what kind of powerful creature might await in that direction, none were able to see through Lu Yin’s spirals of karma. This was a power that even the High Seraph feared, and it was the reason why he had personally traveled to the Tianyuan Megaverse.
A landscape of ink-washed mountains and rivers, yet the figure within was alive.
The spiral of karma entered the painting, stirring up ripples.
An old man by a lake was pierced by the spiral, and Lu Yin saw both the High Seraph and himself. This old man had a karmic connection with Lu Yin.
The old man turned his head to look over at Lu Yin. There was surprise, confusion, and a hint of a smile in his eyes. "I am Su Shidao. I’ve heard of the Third Boss’s great name for quite some time. Please, come. Let’s talk.
"Yu Ran, show the Third Boss over."
Grandmaster Yu Ran heard the old man’s orders and politely said to Lu Yin, "Third Boss, please follow me to speak with Senior Su."
The spiral of karma dissipated, and Lu Yin looked away. Was that old man Su Shidao? He was quite impressive. Even if Lu Yin’s spirals of karma could not be seen by others, just like Mr. Li, Su Shidao could have avoided it. He should have sensed something before the spiral touched him, but he had not tried to evade it. The old man had simply allowed Lu Yin’s spiral of karma to pierce his body.
What was he thinking?
Lu Yin could choose to meet with Su Shidao or not. His goal in visiting the Spirit Treasure Society was to find Bao Qi. The Phantom Reach had reported that Bao Qi was under the Grandmaster's Trial, which had forced Lu Yin to visit.
Since Su Shidao would not compete for the title of Seraph, and because Lu Yin also had a favorable impression of the Spirit Treasure Society, he saw no need to create trouble.
However, he had become curious.
Why had Su Shidao not chosen to avoid the spiral of karma? Normally, a person would avoid an invisible attack. Such a reaction was instinctive. Regardless of whether a person knew what the unseen attack represented, they would still avoid it. Why was Su Shidao an exception?
Everyone from the Spirit Treasure Society watched in silence as Lu Yin followed Grandmaster Yu Ran to Su Shidao’s location. There were many complex expressions, as people were unsure of how to look at the Third Boss.
In the plaza, Old Tao and the rest of Lu Yin’s escorts felt their hearts sink yet again.
They had initially thought that, once he successfully conquered the Grandmaster's Trial, he would simply leave. They knew that Lu Yin's goal was to find Bao Qi beneath the Grandmaster's Trial, which meant that it was not necessary to meet with Su Shidao.
Despite that, Lu Yin had still followed Grandmaster Yu Ran to meet the old man. What would happen? No one could guess.
Would the Third Boss act the same way he had with Qian, the Worryless Elder, and Hu Wu and Tian Ya?
No one could even imagine what a battle between the Third Boss and Su Shidao might look like.
Would it change the Spirit Treasure Society’s attitude towards the Third Boss and his entourage?
Su Shidao stood above all others in the Spirit Treasure Society.
Even the High Seraph needed to be respectful to the old man when they met.
Lu Yin already knew where Su Shidao was, but he still followed behind Grandmaster Yu Ran. They walked, moving neither quickly nor slowly.
As they moved alone, Grandmaster Yu Ran spoke. "Third Boss, did you come to the Spirit Treasure Society just to meet with Senior Su?"
Lu Yin calmly replied, "I did not come here for any matters, but rather for a person."
He actually sought Bao Qi, but Grandmaster Yu Ran interpreted Lu Yin’s answer as that he was seeking Su Shidao.
"Third Boss, what is your purpose in challenging the megaverse’s top experts?"
"Are you curious?"
"A bit."
"I don’t have any real purpose. I just want to see if there are any experts in the Spirit Nidus who can stop me."
Grandmaster Yu Ran stopped and turned to look at Lu Yin. "Are there no experts in the Tianyuan Megaverse who can stop you?"
After the battle in the Consciousness Domain, it had become clear where Lu Yin and those with him were from: the Tianyuan Megaverse. However, no one mentioned this matter, as they were all awaiting the Ascendant Hall’s formal position on the matter.
If the Grandverse Manor were even a slight bit weaker, it would have been surrounded and eliminated long ago. However, the Grandverse Manor was not weak, and Lu Yin’s terrifying display of strength prevented anyone from taking action. All that anyone could do was continue to wait.