Chapter 2532: Obsession
Shockingly, the actual scene playing out within the Hidden Mountain card was a stark contrast to everyone's expectations.
Unlike what Zhi Bing had mentioned earlier, not even Jiang Xiaodao had any confidence in being able to eke out a victory here.
"Xuan Qi, you're despicable!" A mountain pressed down upon him from above. He was struggling to hold it back with both hands, but another mountain came crashing down, followed by another. Each mountain pressed deeper and deeper into the ground.
Lu Yin looked around in astonishment. Was this the pocket dimension within the card? It looked exactly like one of the 3,000 hidden worlds of the Honor Zone. However, this card also had a special function. Every time Lu Yin waved his hand, a mountain would inexplicably appear and then fall onto Jiang Xiaodao. This was the card's battle technique. No wonder it was called Hidden Mountain.
He was growing increasingly intrigued by the Lost Clan’s cards. What sort of abilities did their other cards have?
"Xuan Qi, get over here and fight me fairly!" Jiang Xiaodao roared, glaring at Lu Yin as though he wanted to devour him.
The corners of Lu Yin's mouth curled upwards. "Sorry, but the gap between us is too big, and I won’t stand a chance in a fair fight."
Jiang Xiaodao coughed up blood. He looked completely pathetic, like someone who had just crawled out of a trash heap, and red rivulets ran from the corners of his mouth. "Stop pretending! Even with this Hidden Mountain card, you shouldn't be able to suppress me like this. You're definitely stronger than you claim."
Lu Yin chuckled. "Thanks for the compliment."
Rage coursed through Jiang Xiaodao's entire body, causing him to cough up blood once again. "Xuan Qi, let me go!"
"If I let you go, I’m sure to lose," Lu Yin replied.
Jiang Xiaodao's eyes turned bloodshot as he struggled to breathe beneath the mounting pressure. "You're despicable, so despicable! I won't let you off the hook! Once I take the position of Sage, I'll definitely get revenge!"
Lu Yin shook his head. "It's way too early to be thinking about that. Besides, whenever you become a Sage, I won't be far behind in the Voidforce Universe."
As soon as Jiang Xiaodao remembered Lu Yin's talent for voidforce, he grew increasingly agitated. As long as this guy did not die, his future accomplishments would be no less impressive than his own. Even when he faced off against Mu Mu or Shao Qingfeng, he had not felt as overwhelmingly frustrated as he was at this moment. Jiang Xiaodao howled in exasperation, "Xuan Qi, just what is it that you want?"
Lu Yin waved his hand again, and another mountain came crashing down. Jiang Xiaodao wailed as he coughed up even more blood.
"I know that you don't want to lose, as that would be embarrassing."
Jiang Xiaodao gritted his teeth. "Obviously."
Lu Yin sighed. "But you need to give me some reason to let you win. Otherwise, why should I?"
Jiang Xiaodao's eyes flickered. "You'll let me win?"
"Give me a reason."
Jiang Xiaodao's breathing quickened. He cared far more about his reputation than the outcome of this fight. As the son of Sage Jiang, he could not afford to be defeated by this person. Despite the fact that he had been taken by surprise, a loss was still a loss. Jiang Xiaodao’s defeat would be regarded as a disgrace to both him and Sage Jiang. "The calligraphy scroll is yours."
"Not enough, it'll already be mine when I win," Lu Yin replied.
Jiang Xiaodao clenched his teeth. "I'll give you more resources. Vast amounts of resources."
"The Voidforce Universe will provide me with that."
Jiang Xiaodao mentioned a few more things, but everything was rejected. "Then what do you want?"
Lu Yin stepped forward, only stopping when he was but a few meters away from Jiang Xiaodao. Such distance meant nothing for Jiang Xiaodao, and if not for the mountains pressing down on him, he could seize victory in a single move.
"I'm also struggling with this. What should I ask for? Why don’t you give me some advice?" Lu Yin countered.
Jiang Xiaodao opened his mouth to say something, but instead coughed up another mouthful of blood due to the pressure of the mountains. "How am I supposed to know what you want?"
Lu Yin said, "Well, I want to join the Central School, so I'll need to learn the power of four different universes. I might as well get a headstart and start now, so help me learn how to cultivate the power of the Cyclic Universe. That way, I can reach the threshold for their school as quickly as possible."
Jiang Xiaodao was surprised. "Is that it?"
"Is there something else?" Lu Yin's gaze flickered. "Is this too easy?"
Jiang Xiaodao quickly corrected himself, "No, what I meant was, that’s it!"
Everyone outside was staring at the location in the sky where the Hidden Mountain card had vanished, waiting for the battle to be decided. Before too long, the Hidden Mountain card reappeared, and two people emerged from the void. One person fell back, clearly in a sorry state, their complexion pale. As for the other, they soared through the air like a powerful expert.
Lu Yin was the one retreating, while Jiang Xiaodao stood in the sky with his head held high.
It was easy to tell who was the victor and who was the loser.
Jiang Xiaodao forcefully suppressed the need to cough up more blood, and suppressing his injuries caused his face to turn an unnatural shade of red. "Xuan Qi, you're not bad. You were able to hold out for so long against my Heavenly River. You'll achieve great things in the future."
Lu Yin returned the praise, "You are indeed Sage Jiang's son, the future Sage Jiang. That Heavenly River battle technique is truly profound. I admit defeat."
"Hahaha, there’s no need to be so modest. With your abilities, you’re able to surpass Shao Qingfeng and the others. While you’re clearly a bit inferior to me, work hard, and your future will be limitless."
"Thank you for the praise, Brother Jiang. Your open-mindedness clearly shows that you deserve to be a quasi-saint."
"Don't mention it. Hahaha, you’re the real genius."
"Please continue to guide me, Brother Jiang."
…
People felt utterly confused as they listened to the two men praise each other. What was going on? Had they not just been locked in a death match? Why were they suddenly being so friendly to each other?
Even Little Lian felt terribly confused. "Big Brother Xiaodao, you two…?"
Jiang Xiaodao waved the question off. "As we fought, we started to understand each other better. There’s no need to mention those little misunderstandings from before anymore. By the way, I've managed to obtain some sudden inspiration. Brother Xuan Qi, I'll come find you later."
"I'll be waiting for you, Brother Jiang."
Jiang Xiaodao turned around. His face turned a deep red as the blood rising in his throat threatened to come out. He fled.
After Jiang Xiaodao was gone, Lu Yin commented in a voice that betrayed a hint of admiration, "He truly is the rightful heir of a Sage with a remarkable demeanor. I admire him greatly."
He then turned to smile at Little Lian and Zhi Xiao. "I apologize for taking up so much of everyone's time."
Zhi Xiao was left puzzled. Based on what he knew of Jiang Xiaodao, the man would never step back so quickly. Exactly what had happened inside that card?
Little Lian asked, "Seventh Bro, what happened between you guys in that card? Brother Xiaodao isn't the kind of person to easily make new friends."
Lu Yin smiled. "He is the Sage's successor. No matter what, he still maintains proper bearing."
It was not long before everyone dispersed.
Lu Yin spotted Seruzen and went after him. "Excuse me, friend, could we chat for a moment?"
Seruzen turned to look at Lu Yin. "We’ve met before."
Lu Yin nodded. "In Cliff Town."
Seruzen shook his head, "No."
Lu Yin replied, "We met in Cliff Town, and then Jiang Xiaodao bumped into us."
Seruzen stared into Lu Yin's eyes. "Your eyes remind me of someone I used to know."
"Oh, really? That means there's some fate between us." Lu Yin smiled. He glanced at Seruzen's withered left arm and curiously asked, "What happened?"
Seruzen answered, "It's the manifestation of obsession. Don't worry about it. Did you seek me out because of this?"
Lu Yin replied, "Actually, I wanted to ask you about arranging the interior of a card. Not many people are here in the Lost Clan School, and I remembered that in Cliff Town, you mentioned that you were a student here. I assume that you've been here a while, so I wanted to ask you for your advice."
Seruzen always maintained a calm demeanor. He also looked much older than the other students and resembled a middle-aged man. His presence in the Lost Clan School was outside of everyone’s expectations, so no one approached him to speak to him. This was why he found it quite surprising that Lu Yin had sought him out.
Seruzen was not good with words, so he could only make his best attempt to share his knowledge with Lu Yin. He made no attempts to hide anything at all, nor did he ask Lu Yin why he had not approached someone else.
Humans were curious creatures. Some people would change due to their obsessions or beliefs. Seruzen was a typical example of this, though he had changed from the person that Lu Yin had met on Earth.
On Earth, Seruzen had raised his left arm because of his beliefs, but in the Sixverse Academy, he claimed that it was due to obsession. It was a significant difference.
The two men found a place where they could talk without any disturbances.
Lu Yin had created quite a commotion by pulling the village from the Voidforce School into the Lost Clan School. However, Xu Xiangyin settled all of that easily.
The old man had not revealed himself this time, as he felt that it was inappropriate for him to praise “Xuan Qi” every time.
Zhi Bing had also wanted to approach and offer Xuan Qi a bit of praise, but Xu Xiangyin had stopped the old man. Not only was Xu Xiangyin worried that too much praise would overinflate the youth’s ego, but he was also afraid that Zhi Bing would not be able to hold himself back from trying to steal Xuan Qi away.
Lu Yin remained with Seruzen for several days in a row. A few people sought him out during this time but were unable to find him.
"What kind of card do you have?" Lu Yin asked curiously.
Seruzen lifted his hand, and a card appeared, a three-star Seasonal card. It could not be considered either good or bad. Being able to meet the Lost Clan School’s requirements was an achievement in and of itself.
"Have you already set things up inside?" Lu Yin asked.
"You can go in and take a look."
"Thank you." Most people would not allow anyone into their cards, unless they were enemies. After all, a card’s layout was absolutely crucial to the owner. The main reason why Seruzen was willing to allow Lu Yin to enter was because of his personality. As long as someone was not his enemy, Seruzen would almost never refuse anyone who expressed a desire to visit his card.
After Lu Yin was pulled into the card, he was met by the sight of an endlessly vast lake. Its surface was serene. It was completely still, and there was no sign of any sort of life.
He initially believed that Seruzen must have set up some kind of offensive mechanism, but upon closer inspection, he found nothing at all. There was just the lake.
Given Seruzen's strength, it was impossible for him to hide anything from Lu Yin. His card truly did just contain the solitary lake.
Seruzen entered and explained, "The methods of the Lost Clan are quite peculiar, but they don’t suit me. This card’s only purpose is to provide me with a quiet place to contemplate life."
"Contemplate life?" Lu Yin found this a strange description. The words seemed to hold a deeper meaning.
Seruzen's gaze remained calm. "A person's life is wondrous. From birth to death, everything that they experience, see, and obtain seems to be predestined. I want to understand the lives of others. I want to understand the lives of everyone."
"You will go mad," Lu Yin reflexively commented.
Seruzen did not seem to understand. "Why?"
Lu Yin thought of Astral-10’s insane headmaster. "Eventually, one will go mad from seeing too much."
Seruzen considered the idea. "An interesting philosophy."
Lu Yin smiled. "Everyone is different, so perhaps you won't."
Seruzen looked back at Lu Yin. "Madness is also a way of life."
Lu Yin had never considered this possibility before, and the idea weighed heavily on him.
"Have you ever seen a mad person?" Seruzen asked.
Lu Yin replied, "Too many, you can just find a mental hospital on any random planet."
"I mean, someone who goes mad in order to achieve their desired realm," Seruzen said.
Just as Lu Yin was about to speak, he caught a glimmer of the lake's reflection, and he blurted out, "Tranquil like water?"
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