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

Chapter 348 Remnants of the Old Heaven (4k)

The moment the words "remnants" were uttered, everyone present, including the young master, was taken aback.

Why do they refer to themselves as remnants?
Only after a brief moment of thought did the young master suddenly wake up, his back instantly breaking out in a cold sweat that trickled down his spine.

"You...you are...one of the Old Heavens?!"

The person opposite him merely gave a strange smile and made no further response.

After a long period of shock, the young master slowly sat back down and said in a deep voice:
"continue."

A hint of curiosity flashed in the other person's eyes, and they asked:
"Aren't you going to ask me who I really am?"

The young man gently shook his head:

"No need. Knowing which side you're on is enough. In that case, today, I will certainly not lose to you! Certainly!!!"

At this moment, his expression became extremely solemn, as if he had gained an additional reason why he absolutely could not lose.

"The world and humanity are two separate entities. Although I am a junior scholar, I have inherited the spirit of my predecessors. Now that we have met, I absolutely cannot lose to you, this remnant!"

Upon hearing this, the person opposite chuckled lightly, his tone tinged with mockery:
“Talking these things to a ‘remnant’—you people are still so self-righteous. You always keep talking about meaningless things and treat them like precious treasures.”

In its view, the outcome was already decided. This young master's obsession was nothing but self-deception.

What if we lose? What if we win? We're still just a remnant, clinging to life, and our former glory will never return.

The young master, however, remained unfazed and solemnly retorted:

"That's your opinion. I have my principles. In truth, that might be the root cause of your utter defeat back then!"

Upon hearing this, the other party laughed even harder, tilting their head back and loudly proclaiming:
"To actually bet on something so vague and unrealistic, you guys really haven't changed at all, still so ridiculous."

"You were able to win because you used your strength to beat the weak and your full strength to suppress the deficiencies. These are the facts, but you don't remember them. Instead, you try to find excuses to compensate. It's really incomprehensible."

Having said that, it picked up a chess piece and gently rubbed it between its fingertips:

"Enough, enough. The victor is king, the loser is villain. Say what you want. But—"

It looked up at the young master, its gaze carrying a hint of amusement and disdain:
How will you beat me?

“Your great dragon has been severed by me, just like how we were all slaughtered by you back then.”

As soon as it finished speaking, it stared intently at the young master and asked, word by word:
"Do you want to turn defeat into victory? Or do you think you can defy fate?"

The onlookers were completely bewildered; the confrontation had become a one-man show performed exclusively by the two men.

But they knew something else very well: an evil spirit that could speak so clearly and logically often meant that its power was enough to sweep across the world.

Normally, evil spirits have little intelligence and act purely on instinct. At most, they might utter a few logically coherent words when something is taboo, but afterwards they become completely muddled and disorderly.

If an evil spirit can defy this common sense, it means that its power has reached a terrifying level!

Thinking of this, many onlookers felt a chill run down their spines and couldn't help but back away in fear, not daring to even breathe loudly, for fear that they would be the next ones to be called.

The scholar grabbed the magistrate of Taotu County's hand and said urgently:
"Immediately arrange for the city's residents to evacuate and seek refuge!"

The magistrate of Taotu County's expression changed drastically, and he hesitated for a moment before saying:
"But how will these tens of thousands of people find a place to live once they leave the county seat?"

The scholar looked solemn and said in a deep voice, "There is no choice."

The magistrate of Taotu County was stunned on the spot—yes, there was no choice at all.

But gazing at the seemingly calm scene before him, and glancing at the unmoving yet inexplicably chilling expanse of sky outside the city, he still tried to plead his case:

"Shangguan, we may not be in such dire straits yet. If we relocate rashly, I fear it will only increase casualties!"

The scholar's expression turned solemn:
“We encountered a similar situation when we were in He’an County, Bingzhou. The county magistrate at the time, like you, thought that perhaps we hadn’t reached the end of our rope yet, but in the end, nine out of ten houses in He’an County were empty, a truly tragic sight!”

"Even the county magistrate committed suicide afterward to atone for his sins!"

The magistrate of Taotu County trembled and dared not utter another word. He immediately turned around and summoned his subordinates, who hurriedly arranged for the people to leave the city to seek refuge.

On the other side, the young master's spirits soared. Even though the dragon had been cut off by the evil spirit with its miraculous skills, he became more courageous with each setback and for a moment he actually had the momentum to turn defeat into victory!

This unexpected turn of events slightly surprised the evil spirit, who let out a soft exclamation:
"interesting."

The young man appeared outwardly calm, but his fingers, hidden beneath his body, were trembling slightly. He seemed to have the upper hand, but in reality, he was in grave danger; the slightest misstep could lead to total defeat, and a defeat even more humiliating than before.

After all, having your large group of stones cut off even when you have the initiative shows a huge disparity in skill!

But he absolutely cannot lose.

His cultivation was inferior to others, and his talent was also inferior. If he were to lose to these remnants of the old heavens even on the chessboard, the only thing he was proud of, he would absolutely not accept it!
However, after a brief stalemate, he realized with dismay that he seemed to have no power to reverse the situation.

Just then, the evil spirit suddenly picked up where it left off: "So, do you want to expand the disk?"

The young man remained silent for a long time, then gritted his teeth and said, word by word, "Expand!!!"

Expanding the board means removing the original boundary restrictions of the chessboard. As for how much to expand, it is entirely up to the players to decide.

The larger the chessboard, the more rigorous the test of a player's calculation and control abilities, and the difficulty of the calculations within it more than doubles.
The evil spirit merely smiled faintly upon hearing this and waved its hand.

The chessboard in front of the two instantly increased several times in size. The young master glanced at it and realized that his opponent had added eight extra chessboards.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and continued his battle against the evil spirits.

With more room to maneuver, his expression and response became much more composed. The two sides exchanged moves swiftly, creating quite a lively scene.

Even the scholars standing nearby couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope upon seeing this: perhaps there really was still a chance for things to turn around?

But in the next moment, the young master's face suddenly turned deathly pale.

He caught a glimpse of a fatal weakness!
He was certain that the other party could not possibly have overlooked this—because he could see that this fatal weakness of his was actually built up piece by piece by himself under the guidance of the other party!

"you!"

The evil spirit picked up a chess piece, its gaze sweeping over the fatal weakness, a smile playing on its lips:
"I can see that. Never mind then! Let's continue!"

Having said that, he casually placed his hand down and personally helped the young master eliminate that fatal hidden danger.

This seemingly yielding move, in the eyes of the young master, was more humiliating than any sharp attack—this was not a concession, but an extreme insult!

But he was utterly helpless, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, his lips trembling as he murmured, "I...I..."

The evil spirit spoke the rest of the sentence for him: "You want to concede? Heh heh—!"

The leaky bellows, however, delivered the most devastating mockery. The young master's face turned ashen. He desperately wanted to say "no," and even knew he could repeatedly request an expansion of the operation, stalling for time and delaying his inevitable downfall.

But, but, he couldn't get over his own conscience.

His lips trembled incessantly, and finally the young master slumped down, lowered his head, raised his hand to throw down the pieces, and uttered a dry sentence:
"I surrender!"

Upon hearing this, the evil spirit immediately grinned and sneered, its laughter filled with undisguised mockery that lingered for a long time.

"I told you long ago, you bunch of guys, instead of exploring your own strengths, you insist on getting bogged down in these trivial details. You're utterly foolish!"

It crouched down, its gaze sharp as a knife, and said, word by word:

"Let me tell you, if I were in your shoes, what would I do right now!"

"I will immediately abandon this group of insignificant mortals, call upon my friends and comrades, summon countless heroes, or find a few figures standing atop the mountain. That's what it means to be pragmatic!"

"After all, this world belongs to you now, so why are you arguing with me about a game of chess?"

The young master remained silent throughout, his fingertips turning white. Faced with such sarcasm, he finally uttered only a cold, "You and I are on different paths, and cannot work together. Kill me or torture me, it's all up to you!"

The evil spirit slowly shook its head, its tone tinged with amusement: "Kill you? No, no, no, that would be too boring. I want you to live, I want you to remember this day forever!"

Upon hearing this, the young master's heart skipped a beat, then he inexplicably felt a sense of relief—who would truly want to die if they could live? But when he realized his own instinctive desire to live, the shame and indignation in his heart intensified.

In the past, when he was trying to escape calamity, he always comforted himself, saying that he wasn't inferior to Li Shiyi, but simply unwilling to waste his efforts. Now it seems that he is inferior to that man in every way.
The evil spirit took in every change in his expression, its laughter growing even more gleeful. It had deliberately spared his life precisely because it had seen through his competitiveness and pride. If this young master had felt no shame, it would have killed him long ago.

After all, that's what makes it interesting.

To make the "game" even more interesting, it pointed to the dense crowd of refugees in front of and behind the young master, its tone casual:

"However, their lives, and the life of the person you just replaced, are all mine to take. Who told you to lose?"

"You didn't mention these conditions beforehand!" The young master suddenly looked up, retorting in a trembling voice, his face instantly turning red.

The evil spirit chuckled, its tone brimming with an air of self-righteous arrogance:
"The strong take all, need I say more? I could have killed them all, but I gave you a chance to turn the tables. You were too arrogant, but you didn't have the ability!"

"Although it wasn't explicitly stated, we both know that if you had won, I would have simply turned and left without harming anyone. But you lost! Heh!"

It paused, then uttered a sentence that was half provocative and half sarcastic:
"Of course, you can try to kill me outside the chessboard. If you can, I'll still admit defeat!"

Seeing the evil spirit's mocking face, the young master's face turned pale and then red, and his whole body trembled violently.

The initial sense of ease and contentment upon entering the human world has now been utterly shattered and vanished.

"I, I, I!" His throat bobbed, but he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

The evil spirit pressed closer, its smile growing increasingly mocking.

"What do you want to say? Are you going to admit defeat and slink away, or do you want me to help you kill these 'dead men' who know about today's shameful deeds, and eliminate any future troubles?"

The last half-sentence struck the young man's heart like a heavy hammer, almost making him faint.

He could only extend his finger, trembling, pointing at the evil spirit, and repeat:

"you you!"

The more embarrassed he became, the more smug the evil spirit became: "Tell me, what's your choice? Will you continue to be your glamorous 'wandering immortal,' or become a dead dog trampled on by the roadside?"

At this moment, the young master felt like a small boat adrift in a raging storm, on the verge of being swallowed by his inner demons. Two conflicting thoughts clashed fiercely in his mind, a battle between heaven and man, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Finally, his face turned deathly pale, and he managed to utter a single word: "I."

Before he could finish speaking, a warm hand suddenly rested gently on his shoulder—just like he had done on the shoulder of that Martial Marquis earlier.

"Bullying the younger generation is no fun at all." A light voice came from behind, tinged with amusement. "Come on, I'll play a game with you. I can't guarantee you won't regret it, but it'll definitely broaden your horizons!"

The young man turned around in surprise, only to see Du Yuan standing behind him with a smile on her face and a calm expression.

"You...who are you?" He was completely confused, momentarily forgetting his earlier embarrassment.

Du Yuan didn't answer, but patted his shoulder and said gently:

"It's alright, you can go and rest. Leave this to me."

For some reason, the young master almost instinctively stood up, but the evil spirit opposite him said:
"You come and go as you please? Don't you take me too seriously?"

Upon hearing this, Du Yuan ignored the young man and pushed his way past him, then sat down opposite him and said:
"Didn't you want to have some fun? Isn't this much more interesting than before?"

Upon hearing this, the evil spirit opposite was also taken aback, then burst into laughter:
"Interesting, indeed interesting! Fine, I agree! But this time, if you lose, what I want won't just be the lives of the people in this mere county!"

Du Yuan looked at it with pity and said:

"If that's the case, then you'll have to use my chessboard!"

The evil spirit found it amusing, and with a wave of its hand, the chessboard vanished without a trace. Only the wooden table that had held up the chessboard remained.

"Sure, but this kid is probably the best chess player among you all. So, do you think you know more about chess than him?"

Du Yuan stated the truth:

"No, I don't know how to play chess."

These words stunned not only the others, but even the evil spirit itself, for a moment, followed by even greater mockery.

"My goodness, you dare to come here without even knowing how to play chess? Well, that makes it more interesting. I just wonder, what kind of chessboard do you have?"

As it spoke, it pointed to its own head and chuckled, saying:

"Is it going to be a hammer that hits me on the head?"

Du Yuan shook her head:

"It's a genuine chessboard, of course!"

After saying that, Du Yuan took out the chessboard from the mountain seal and placed it in front of it.

The moment it saw the chessboard, all the mockery and sarcasm in its eyes vanished, leaving only incomprehensible astonishment:

"How could it be this?"

Du Yuan ignored all of that. He simply imitated the evil spirit's previous actions, grabbing a handful of chess pieces and holding them in front of it, saying:
"Come on, guess first!"

The evil spirit stared in astonishment, its lips trembling. In an instant, it seemed as if the two poles had been reversed!

(End of this chapter)