The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 332 You Still Have Words? (5k)

The mighty heavens descended, and the sword light aimed straight for his vital point.

Zou Zi had nowhere to avoid it.

At this moment, almost all the cultivators in Kyoto thought they had found a way out.

But this hope was shattered in an instant.

In fact, when the "no-borrowing" agreement was formed, Zou Zidu was surprised to find that he no longer had the possibility of taking over.

Whether it's Tianxian or Jianguang, he can handle either one on its own, but when they're combined, it becomes a dead end.

This left him momentarily disappointed, but then he said to Wang Chengsi with full approval:
"My disciple, you have indeed surpassed your master!"

It was no longer Zou Zi's voice, but his master's voice.

Zou Zi's appearance remained unchanged, yet at this moment, he was remarkably similar to the master who had raised him from childhood and imparted his knowledge to him.

"Master?!"

Wang Chengsi was on the verge of collapse.

Why is it "master" instead of "teacher"?

Because that person is truly no different from his biological father!
A teacher is one who imparts knowledge and cares for one's body; a master is one who combines both.

The weight of their kindness is beyond description!
Upon hearing the word "Master," Wang Chengsi's mind was instantly thrown off balance. However, he immediately bit his tongue to straighten his mind and ensure that he, as the core of the formation, would not deviate in the slightest.

In order to maintain the momentum of 'not lending', so as to prevent Zou Zi from borrowing even a fraction of his fortune, and thus avoid a dead end.

"If you are my master, I will repay your great kindness by sacrificing my life. If you are not my master, you deserve to die even more today!"

Whether Zou Zi was his master or not, the answer is actually quite obvious, but the more obvious it is, the more he wants to kill him!
We must not allow him to lose his composure at such a time, thereby endangering the common people and ruining the ancestral temple's great path.

Seeing Wang Chengsi's resolute determination, Zou Zi admired him even more.

The Heavenly Mandate had already descended, and under the bombardment of endless thunder, Zou Zi's Dao foundation was visibly being worn down.

Although the sword light was still tightly wrapped by his Yin-Yang Net, it kept getting closer.

Perhaps just a few more breaths and Zou Zi will die here.

But with eyes full of admiration, he said to Wang Chengsi and those behind him:
"Even the one I personally kept an eye on was this troublesome. If I had killed him earlier back then, you would have had to find someone even more troublesome! It's just a pity that you ultimately lost to me by too much!"

Zou Zi was caught off guard by the "no lending" that the novelist master had specially prepared for him.

But he had other plans, and those plans involved Wang Chengsi's entire school of martial arts!
This was not merely to keep a close watch on Wang Chengsi, the novelist he had personally chosen as a successor to the late novel.

After the novelists were completely defeated and even their own ancestor's name was erased, Zou Zi single-handedly gave birth to the Wang Chengsi lineage.

This move was not only intended to completely break the novelist's backbone and crush their spirit, but also to silently steal the last bit of luck from the novelist.

What he wanted was to ensure they could never rise again!
Little did I expect that the arrangements of yesteryear would become the turning point of today.

Because if we don't lend it, we can't stop him from stealing that portion!

After all, this was originally his 'thing'!

Avoid cause and effect, evade the will of Heaven, attain the Great Way, and achieve freedom.

This path is indeed feasible, and it was indeed something that Grandmaster Wang Chengsi realized on his own after witnessing his family's defeat.

However, this was something he had been subtly helping him gain insight through repeated exchanges of skills. Then, when the time was right, he established himself in this position.

Not only did he cut off the novelist's last bit of luck, but he also kept a close eye on Wang Chengsi, the couplet he had personally chosen for himself.

Therefore, when he used this part, the huge chain composed of countless golden lightning bolts, just like before, suddenly deviated by a hair's breadth just as it was about to touch Zou Zi, narrowly missing him.

After dodging the most deadly Heavenly Mandate, Zou Zi simply released the borrowed sword light. In this situation, it was impossible to completely avoid it, so he only turned slightly to the side, allowing it to cleave his shoulder and nearly behead him.

The seemingly inescapable trap has been completely broken!
Zou Zi's head and neck had been put into a very strange position, as if they had been split in two, but not completely, so much of them were still connected.

For an ordinary person, this would certainly mean certain death, but he was Zou Zi.

He tried to restore himself, but then discovered that although the sword light was borrowed, it ultimately came from a fundamental technique, and it was impossible to restore himself in a short time.

After shaking his head, he removed the Yin-Yang Net, and the yin-yang fish he was holding landed in front of Wang Chengsi.

The entire city of Kyoto was still being destroyed, and then the plane flew into it.

With his stomp, the already precarious "No Borrowing" vanished into thin air.

The immense power that had previously forced Wang Chengsi to turn the tide has returned to its former position, and from this moment on, Tianxian is no longer considered a threat.

Looking at the man before me, as withered as a dead tree.

Zou Zi said with immense pity:
"You and your ancestor are ultimately low-class!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zou Zi's last remaining injury was healed as the incense burned out.

"You...are you really my master?"

Zou Zi nodded slightly:

"Yes!"

Why not kill me?

Zou Zi shook his head and smiled:

"Kill you, then have him replace you with someone I can't see?

Wang Chengsi lowered his head in dejection:
"So, you really have absolutely no feelings for me?"

Zou Zi stopped laughing and said to him seriously:
"Do you have a fondness for chess pieces?"

However, he immediately added:
"But since you are my disciple, I can make an exception and bring you under the wing of my Yin-Yang School. At that time, you will be my personal disciple and the head of the Yin-Yang School. So, do you agree?"

Wang Chengsi struggled to lift his head.

But immediately, he lowered his head even more dejectedly.

This statement wasn't out of any affection for him, but simply a way to completely surpass his own ancestor.

"With such an obsession with winning and losing, you are truly unworthy of being the founder of a family."

This was Wang Chengsi's answer: to either die in the Northwest or to indulge in immense wealth and power.

He chose to die.

Seeing his stubbornness, Zou Zi shook his head and turned away, saying:
"You novelists, from top to bottom, are truly only fit to be considered second-rate. The great path is so narrow, and you are so stubborn and inflexible; it's truly laughable."

He didn't even think about stomping the bug to death, since he was about to die anyway.

Or rather, even he was puzzled as to why this person could still say so much to him at such a critical moment when the incense had burned out and the lamp was about to burn out.

But as he turned to leave, he heard a mocking laugh behind him:

"You say I, a novelist, am inferior to your Yin-Yang school. Yes, that's true, but can your Yin-Yang school compare to the Three Teachings? And are you even worthy of speaking with Confucianism?"

Zou Zi stamped his foot, then frowned:
"Do you really want me to stomp you to death?"

The other party laughed even harder:
"You really don't understand why I'm still alive?"

That laughter was terrifying, it pierced to the core.

Zou Zi immediately realized what was happening, and then turned around in shock.

Then, his pupils contracted slightly, and he disappeared into the high heavens in one step.

"You actually came back?!"

Behind Wang Chengsi, Du Yuan emerged from the void, leaning on her sword and gazing at the high sky.

"Yes, I found it."

Zou Zi was extremely astonished to see Du Yuan found intact.

He had expected Du Yuan to come back, but he hadn't expected it to be so fast, because he believed that even someone as skilled in deduction as himself couldn't have done it so quickly.

The only way is to slowly unravel the mystery under the layers of divine judgment, and then find it back in a day or two.

By then, the overall situation will have already been settled, and whether this variable can be recovered will be irrelevant.

But he came back so quickly!

It's beyond my imagination.

After frowning for a moment, Zou Zicheng asked earnestly:
"May I ask, how did you find it?"

Du Yuan raised her eyes, her tone light and cheerful:
“I got a character, ‘往’. So, I found it.”

Zou Zi was taken aback for a moment, then nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes! I had forgotten that you Confucians have such a troublesome and powerful supernatural power as 'natal character'."

The Confucian natal character is one of the most powerful supernatural abilities in the world, both intricate and cunning, making it extremely difficult to defend against.

But the next moment, a hint of curiosity and a touch of amusement flickered in Zou Zi's eyes as he smiled and pressed on:

"With your cultivation level and status, it's a pity that the natal character you received is just an ordinary '往' (wang)?"

Du Yuan gently shook her head: "There's nothing to regret."

“That’s true,” Zou Zi shrugged. “In your Confucian temples, at least half of the people don’t even have a birth character. To have one is already a stroke of luck.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he handed the yin-yang fish back to Huitian, and with a flick of his fingertips, he rewove the yin-yang net. This time, not only did the mountains and rivers churn within the net, but even the celestial phenomena of the starry sky and swirling clouds surged along with it!
This is far superior to the previous attempts to borrow the law; it is a genuine duel between people of the same realm.

Zou Zi was naturally extremely serious.

Du Yuan didn't look at the earth-shattering changes above her head; instead, she focused her gaze on Wang Chengsi in front of her, filled with emotion.

He had only been gone for such a short time, yet the person before him had already undergone a complete transformation—from being hesitant, indecisive, and even avoiding the issue at all costs, to now being selfless and willing to sacrifice his life for righteousness.

Such a change is truly remarkable.

Noticing his gaze, Wang Chengsi smiled wryly and lowered his head, saying, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, senior."

Du Yuan shook her head solemnly:

"This is no joke. Rest assured, I am here today."

Having said that, Du Yuan turned to the dying Wang Chengsi and uttered a single word:
"pregnancy!"

In an instant, Wang Chengsi's life and death were reversed, his yin and yang reversed, and in the blink of an eye he returned from the brink of death to the world of the living!
Zou Zi, watching from the side, suddenly turned extremely pale, then spoke in shock:
"I knew it. Someone like you couldn't possibly have just the ordinary character '往' (wang). But I never expected you to also have the character '生' (sheng)!"

The word "life" carries immense weight. Especially when these two words are combined, they form the infinitely versatile phrase "rebirth."

Du Yuan looked up at him and smiled faintly: "You flatter me."

Zou Zi said no more, and with a sudden flick of his finger, the Yin-Yang Net above his head instantly closed, descending upon Du Yuan, wanting to test his strength first.

But the next moment, under his increasingly astonished gaze, Du Yuan casually uttered a single word:

"open!"

The Yin-Yang Net, which could even capture heaven and earth, shattered upon hearing this one word, unable to reassemble and slowly descending towards the ground of Kyoto, as if "leaving a way out" for the entire city.

Zou Zi stood there, stunned, and asked in a trembling voice:
"You even have the character 'open' in your name?"

Although “开” cannot compare to the weighty meaning of “生” and cannot be considered a top-tier “large character”, it is by no means an ordinary piece. It is only inferior to those extremely domineering characters.

Fortunately, this character cannot be combined with the previous two characters to form more complicated words or phrases.

He took a deep breath and sighed slowly, "Throughout history, almost half of the Confucian sages did not receive a birth character. Of the remaining half, most only had one. Only those exceptionally talented juniors occasionally received two, which can be considered an exception."

"I've never heard of more than one person in my life who can have more than two natal characters like you."

"If I had no other choice, I really wouldn't want to go up against you."

His greatest skill was using his ability to predict the future to lay traps and place pieces in advance, cutting off all of the enemy's escape routes thousands of years ago.

Kill the enemy invisibly, and win the battle from a thousand miles away.

But Du Yuan, an opponent full of variables and with extremely high cultivation, is exactly the kind of opponent he least wants to encounter—if he faces someone he can't figure out, all his skills will be wasted before they even begin.

At the same time, with the Yin-Yang Net broken, cultivators in various places finally saw the scene inside the capital city.

"The novelist has indeed lost!"

"Back when both companies were at their peak, the novelist couldn't win. Now that one company is dominant, there's even less chance of winning."

"Wait, this doesn't seem to be over yet?"

"The novelists have completely lost, but now it seems like the Confucian school is fighting the Yin-Yang school?"

"Is this a clash between the three religions and the nine schools of thought?"

After seeing the situation inside the city, the cultivators from all over the world were terrified.

The duel between the founders of the nine schools and ten sects was terrifying enough, but how come it's not over even after one battle, and even important figures from the Confucian school have been dragged into it?
Is this going to fly to the heavens?
Zou Zi suddenly raised his hand, and the net that had fallen to the ground abruptly contracted, rising into the air like a living thing and instantly flying into his palm.

The divine object that could once capture the heavens and the earth has now shrunk to the size of an ordinary fishing net, with only the hole in the net being particularly conspicuous.

He stared at the hole for a moment, a faint light gathering at his fingertips. Using his fingers as a brush and his breath as ink, he quickly drew across the hole.

In a matter of moments, he miraculously repaired the conspicuous hole with his great supernatural powers, restoring it to its original state. After doing all this, Zou Zi suddenly looked up, raised his arm, and once again cast the net across the land.

This time, his target wasn't Du Yuan himself, but his fate!

He still didn't want to fight Du Yuan head-on—this person was too much of a nemesis to him.

He was the founder of the Yin-Yang School, and his expertise lay in predicting the heavens and the earth. He was even more adept at altering fate and reversing cause and effect.

Since Du Yuan returned here by relying on the word "Wang", then he will first "net" this "Wang", grasp the cause and effect of his return, and then send him back!
Out of sight, out of mind.

Seeing this, Du Yuan used the same trick again, and softly shouted, "Open!"

But this time, the net remained completely still. The next second, the net suddenly expanded, obscuring the entire sky above his head. The surrounding world began to distort, and even his own existence became flickering, as if he were about to disappear from this place at any moment.

Gazing at this strange and dangerous scene, Du Yuan's eyes flashed with amazement, and she exclaimed in praise:
"What a trick!"

These words made Zou Zi's heart sink: he had clearly seen through my scheme, yet he remained completely calm; it seemed he still had some trump card up his sleeve.
He guessed that Du Yuan either intended to unleash an even more powerful supernatural ability or to attach the character "开" (open) to her sword in order to break the deadlock.

But to his utter surprise, Du Yuan simply looked up at him and uttered a single word: "Fate!"

Zou Zi wanted to use his great supernatural powers to disrupt his fate and distort his cause and effect, but Du Yuan directly settled the matter with the word "fate"—the word settled the matter, as if the law of heaven had fallen, directly fixing her own fate here, which no one could alter!

Upon uttering this word, even the well-informed Zou Zi couldn't help but exclaim in surprise:
"You actually have the word 'fate' in your name?!"

"Life" and "fate" are both top-tier "big words".

A single word can have endless uses.

Given Du Yuan's cultivation level and knowledge, these two words are definitely a trump card to be used as a last resort.

To take it to an extreme, his entire cultivation and supernatural abilities are probably built around these two "big" concepts—just like how he always relies on his unparalleled divination and calculation methods to set up his strategies when he fights.

But this person in front of me not only has two "big" characters in his name, but also two not bad characters, "going" and "opening," which is simply outrageous!
The cultivators watching from afar were also in an uproar, all of them extremely excited:
"It's the Confucian character that represents one's birth chart!"

"It's 'fate'! It's actually 'fate'!"

"It's been so many years since I've seen a Confucian scholar have such an important birth character!"

"Wait, why did Mr. Zou just say 'return'?"

"Huh? It already has 'fate' in it, so it has other characters?"

The cultivators from all walks of life were in an uproar. The Confucian natal character was already a great supernatural power. It was astonishing enough for a Celestial Being to obtain just one "great" character. How could they have obtained not only "life" but also other characters?
This leaves absolutely no way for small fry like them to survive!

Therefore, many cultivators sighed in unison:

"Are you trying to make a living?!"

Zou Zi, who was confronting Du Yuan, felt his eyelids twitching wildly—"life" and "fate" coming together really meant there was no way out for anyone!

He paused for a moment, looked at Du Yuan, and spoke with a complex mix of teasing and sarcasm:
"Since you've already got those two words, why not try harder and get 'death' as ​​well? That way, life and death will be entirely in your control. Wouldn't that be much more satisfying?"

Du Yuan gently shook her head:

"The world is inherently incomplete; how can I, alone, have the right to control life and death?"

Zou Zi chuckled and shook his head:

"You seem to have a good outlook, but does this mean we really have to fight to the bitter end?"

Du Yuan, sword in hand, walked past Wang Chengsi, blocking the path of the entire capital, and said to Zou Zi:

"From the very beginning, this was the only way for us!"

Zou Zi exhaled a stream of foul air, and the chessboard he had placed in front of him instantly crumbled.

However, the two pieces, one black and one white, that had been placed on the board floated into the sky one after the other.

Then, the heavens and earth were used as the chessboard!

"Since that's the case, I'd like to see if I'm up to the task of head-on combat!"

Then, Zou Zi looked down at Du Yuan and said:

"In the past, during the great battle between water and fire, two ancient gods used heaven and earth as a chessboard and the sun and moon as pieces. Now, I will follow suit and use heaven and earth as a chessboard as well. I wonder if you can accept my challenge?"

(End of this chapter)