Chapter 2364: Game On
Not a thing that Xia Ziheng said was wrong, and not even Kui Luo could come up with a reasonable argument.
Lu Yin looked at Mu Shang. With a smile on his face and contempt in his eyes, he nodded. "It would be better to play a game of Stable Zone."
Lu Yin did not believe that Mu Shang was capable of beating Grandmaster Qiu Ling in Stable Zone. The woman had been an Array Grandmaster for much longer, and since Lu Yin possessed all of the woman’s lockbreaking knowledge and experience, there was no guarantee that Mu Shang would win.
Mu Shang believed that he had a firm grasp of Lu Yin’s capabilities, but Lu Yin had changed greatly since his last interaction with Mu Shang.
For a game of Stable Zone to be played by Realm Array Masters or Array Grandmasters, the board would naturally be made with Boundless Advanced sourceboxes.
"How many sourceboxes?" Mu Shang asked.
"How many do you want?"
Mu Shang was presenting himself as Lu Yin’s superior in every way when it came to lockbreaking. The Array Grandmaster was allowing Lu Yin to choose the time, manner of challenge, location, and everything else. Mu Shang had even cautioned Lu Yin away from Stable Zone. No matter how anyone looked at the situation, Mu Shang seemed to be a senior helping a junior.
Lu Yin was unconcerned. All he cared about was the final results, not the process in which they were achieved.
Mu Shang stared at Lu Yin. "I once played a game of Stable Zone with Grandmaster Qiu Ling where we used eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. Is that too much for you?"
Many of the people present let out gasps. Master Deng Guo and many others were badly startled—eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes? Master Deng Guo could play a game with his peers with no more than five souceboxes, but three or four was the normal number. Eight source boxes was something that only Array Grandmasters could use for a game.
"There’s a rumor that Grandmaster Gu Yan and Grandmaster Li once played a game of Stable Zone that used more than a dozen Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. Is that actually true?" a Lockbreaker next to Master Deng Guo asked. "Huh? Why didn’t Grandmaster Li didn't come?"
Master Deng Guo quietly answered, "It’s true, though I didn't see it for myself. Still, I do know that that rumor is true."
"Grandmaster Mu first proposed eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. Unless his opponent is another Array Grandmaster, it would be impossible to play a game of Stable Zone on such a field. In fact, even Grandmaster Mu himself might struggle a bit," an Array Master commented.
Master Deng Guo’s eyes never left the two men. It was true, as eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes would likely create a game board that even Grandmaster Mu might struggle with.
Grandmaster Qiu Ling’s eyebrows rose high. Eight? She had indeed played such a game of Stable Zone with Mu Shang, but there had been a massive battle before they could finish the game. After that, they had never resumed the game.
Even with Qiu Ling and Mu Shang's lockbreaking capabilities, a game of Stable Zone with eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes had been a huge struggle for them. Such a game board would be completely outside of Lu Xiaoxuan’s capabilities.
No one believed that Lu Yin was capable of using such a game board, and that included even Skymender. He was aware that Lu Yin was a very capable Lockbreaker, but, at best, Lu Yin was a Realm Array Master. Eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes was far beyond Lu Yin’s capabilities.
Lu Yin glanced over at Grandmaster Qiu Ling. "You played Stable Zone with Grandmaster Qiu Ling, right? I happen to have played a game with her as well, though we only used three sourceboxes."
"So, how about eight?" Mu Shang challenged. "If not, you can choose the number for yourself."
Lu Yin looked quite curious. "How did the game between you and Grandmaster Qiu Ling turn out?"
"We never finished," Mu Shang said.
"Do you think that you could have won?" Lu Yin continued.
Mu Shang frowned. "This game is between us. There’s no connection to that previous game."
"You won’t even answer? Then it seems like you don’t have any confidence in winning. You just said that, given your abilities, there’s no way I can beat you in a game of Stable Zone. I guess that that means that I can’t compare to Grandmaster Qiu Ling at all." Lu Yin shook his head, looking disappointed.
Mu Shang’s eyes narrowed. "Whether you’re better or worse doesn’t matter. Do you accept or not? Decide on how many sourceboxes."
Lu Yin nodded. "You suggested eight, so we should go with eight."
Skymender's expression turned somber. Eight? Throughout history, very few games of Stable Zone between Array Grandmasters had ever used eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. Each additional sourcebox made the game exponentially more difficult, and it was even possible for people to lose their lives during such a game.
People looked at Lu Yin with mocking expressions. All of them either understood the current discussion themselves, or had received an explanation from a neighboring Lockbreaker. Thus, they all knew what a game of Stable Zone with eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes meant. Did Lu Xiaoxuan really believe that he could play such a game? He was being too arrogant.
"You can provide the sourceboxes," Mu Shang offered.
This game board would make the game of Stable Zone very challenging for Mu Shang as well, and whoever provided the sourceboxes would immediately gain an advantage. Unfortunately for Lu Yin, he only had four Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. "We’ll each provide half of the sourceboxes. I won't take advantage of you."
Kui Luo was left speechless. You don’t have enough, do you?
Boundless Advanced sourceboxes were not cabbages. Even Semi-Progenitors might not have one.
Mu Shang had not actually expected Lu Yin to be able to bring out four Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. After all, that was more than what even Mu Shang possessed. The Array Grandmaster had intended to borrow the necessary sourceboxes from Grandmaster Qiu Ling and the other guests, and he had only expected Lu Xiaoxuan to have one or two at most. However, Lu Yin had just pulled out four, and Mu Shang could provide the other four.
"Grandmaster Gu Yan, as the greatest Array Grandmaster in the Perennial World, would you mind acting as the judge for this game?" Mu Shang asked as he looked over at the Grandmaster Gu Yan.
The old man stepped forward, supported by Xiao Cui. He looked at the two young men. "I haven't been able to watch such a wonderful game for a long time. I don’t mind."
Lu Yin was quite relieved that Grandmaster Gu Yan would be the judge.
Grandmaster Gu Yan looked straight at Lu Yin and showed a bright smile as he stroked the cosmic ring on his hand. "Little guy, claiming to be this old man's apprentice helped you out quite a bit."
Lu Yin coughed. So the old man wanted to settle accounts with him after being taken advantage of when Lu Yin had been posing as Yu Hao. "Well, actually, this junior never specifically claimed to be your apprentice, Senior. Other people just pieced things together and made their own assumptions."
Xia Ziheng immediately grew angry. "Lu Xiaoxuan, you certainly admitted to being Grandmaster Gu Yan’s apprentice!"
Before Lu Yin could even respond, Kui Luo stepped forward. "Old man, you must have been too rigorous with one of your concubines, as you’re suffering from hallucinations. Did you really think that having countless descendants would be the same as having clones? If your ancestors found out, they’d be furious. Wait, does this mean that all the members of the Xia family are just clones of your ancestor?"
Xia Ziheng became furious. "Kui Luo, I swear that I will kill you!"
"Presumptuous!" A burst of blade qi appeared in the empty sky and dropped down, aimed precisely at Kui Luo.
Instantly, everyone felt their hair stand on end. The killing intent of a Progenitor left everyone trembling, even Mu Shang and Grandmaster Qiu Ling. Everyone attending the party grew pale from the pressure of the sudden attack.
Grandmaster Gu Yan's expression fell. Xia Shenji's killing intent was too terrifying, and that was merely what everyone else was experiencing. Kui Luo was the one being targeted, and the suppression he was facing had to be far worse than anyone else’s.
Kui Luo was lost in a daze. He had not expected a random insult to attract Xia Shenji’s attention and earn his wrath. Frozen by the killing intent within the descending blade, Kui Luo could not even try to dodge. He was completely suppressed by the terrifying power of a Progenitor. If not for his consistent cultivation in the Origin Sutra, Kui Luo would actually lose consciousness.
Lu Yin looked up, and the runes of a Progenitor moved out and protected Kui Luo. He then looked towards the Dominion Realm. "Xia Shenji, this is none of your business! Get lost!"
The stern shout caused the five array bases of the rear battlefield to shake. Countless people looked over, horrified. There was another clash between Progenitors. Why were they sensing a Progenitor’s power so frequently nowadays? What happened to all the Progenitors being in the Dominion Realm?
"If someone dares to be so audacious as to insult the ancestors of my Xia family, then they should die." As soon as Xia Shenji replied, countless people on the five array bases looked up to see a massive blade taking shape. Both the humans and the corpse kings on the battlefield stopped moving.
Xia Ziheng smiled cruelly. Here’s your damnation, you old bastard!.
Just as Lu Yin was about to take action, a glowing pebble appeared above his head. Mu Xie was stepping in. "Xia Shenji, do you intend to tear up the truce?"
In the Dominion Realm, Xia Shenji's expression fell.
To his side, Bai Wangyuan calmly stated, "This is not the time. Stop."
Xia Shenji took a deep breath as he stared at the entrance to the rear battlefield. "If you dare to speak such nonsense again, you will be killed without mercy."
The blade disappeared from the sky.
Just as quickly as it had appeared, the power of a Progenitor vanished. It was as though nothing had ever happened.
However, everyone found that their backs had become soaked with cold sweat.
When confronted by the incomparable power of a Progenitor, people found it difficult to even walk, and even the Semi-Progenitors present had suffered the same sort of suppression.
Kui Luo panted for breath. His teeth were bared as he glared upwards at the Dominion Realm.
Lu Yin glanced over at the old man. "I’ll make sure to find a chance for you to insult him in the future."
Kui Luo snorted. "I’ll plunder your Xia family's grave one day."
Xia Ziheng angrily shouted, "Kui Luo, you still dare to speak such nonsense?"
Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "Go play with your hundred concubines."
Xia Ziheng was furious.
"Enough!" Mu Shang's face was livid. "Please give me a bit of face and allow me to play this game of Stable Zone with Lu Xiaoxuan."
Xia Ziheng gave Kui Luo a cold glare and then very reluctantly stepped back.
Kui Luo finally stayed silent. He was more than a bit flustered by what had just happened.
In the past, he had been chased and hunted throughout the Perennial World, but only Semi-Progenitors had ever gone after him. This time, he had antagonized Xia Shenji himself! Kui Luo was already thinking about returning to the Fifth Mainland for some time so that Xia Shenji could not kill him.
Grandmaster Gu Yan simply ignored everything that had happened. "Time to begin."
He then raised a hand and pressed it down. Star energy filled the area in front of him. He had created the pieces for Stable Zone.
As one, both Mu Shang and Lu Yin pulled out four Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. Then, eight sourceboxes moved out at the same time. The various danger zones started overlapping and interacting with each other, and the void was torn apart. The strength of the combined danger zones was so powerful that even Xia Ziheng and the other Semi-Progenitors felt a bit of fear.
Liu Song stepped back. "Those danger zones are not simple."
Wu Yao stared at the four Boundless Advanced sourceboxes that Lu Yin had tossed out, and the Semi-Progenitor’s expression turned ugly. Three of those sourceboxes had come from him. They had been given as a gift when the Celestial Frost Sect had been trying to recruit Yu Hao, who had been Lu Yin in disguise.
While the Celestial Frost Sect had not been humiliated nearly as badly as the Xia family, Lu Yin had still passed the Celestial Frost Sect’s Sky Beyond the Sky trial. He had also received some benefits from the sect, causing the Celestial Frost Sect to also have suffered a loss to Lu Yin.
The danger zone created by the combination of eight boundless advanced sourceboxes was something that ordinary cultivators could not even see.
Between the two Array Masters, the danger zones overlapped to create a clear yet dark area. Even Gu Yan was wary of the game board in this game of Stable Zone.
The old man glanced over at Lu Yin. The kid was certainly ruthless enough. Three of the four Boundless Advanced sourceboxes that Lu Yin had brought out were five star Boundless Advanced sourceboxes, while Mu Shang had only thrown out three star Boundless Advanced sourceboxes.
Mu Shang had not expected Lu Yin to use three five star Boundless Advanced sourceboxes for their game. The resulting danger field was no longer something that was simply difficult to deal with in the game of Stable Zone; it was now powerful enough that it was questionable whether it could even be blocked.
Ordinary cultivators could only directly resist a danger zone, but Lockbreakers could also try to avoid a sourcebox’s danger zone. However, even a Lockbreaker would be in danger if they were fully surrounded by a danger zone.
The eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes each had a unique danger zone, and it took a full half hour for the game board to settle down. The final result was something that seemed similar to a Semi-Progenitor’s inner world. No one could observe anything within the combined danger zone, aside from Semi-Progenitors and Array Grandmasters.
Within this artificial inner world were the overlapping killing intent from the various sourceboxes, and the danger zones unexpectedly took on an actual form.
As for the star energy that Gu Yan had placed on the field before the sourceboxes appeared, the vast majority had been destroyed. All that remained were a few bits and pieces here and there.
Gu Yan waved a hand, and half of the star energy turned white, while the other half turned black. "Lu Xiaoxuan, as the challenger, you can choose your color."
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