Chapter 1291, Showdown
Writer: StarReader

Proofreader: Silavin

Hu~

Black flames spread out, sizzling Zhuo Fan’s surroundings, but nothing changed as he withdrew them.

Chu Qingcheng panicked, “How is it? Can you break the barrier?”

“If only there was a barrier.”

Zhuo Fan frowned in doubt, “This doesn’t look like a barrier, or illusion. My thunderflame would’ve destroyed them by now.”

Chu Qingcheng hesitated, “This is really strange and absurd!”

“Qingcheng, did Sir Shui Jing say something to you?” Zhuo Fan asked.

Chu Qingcheng pondered and nodded, “He vowed on his Dao Heart that there’s no barrier or array. He also said that it’s my heart keeping me here, not him.”

“Heart trapping oneself?”

Zhuo Fan paced around, “Humans are plagued with complex desires and could never see their true selves beyond them. You need to remove them and clear your heart to see clearly…”

Zhuo Fan took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Chu Qingcheng cocked her head.

A hum was heard, and Zhuo Fan’s surroundings had ripples spreading out; each twisting reality, even himself.

Chu Qingcheng was baffled, but then a hand took hers.

She cried at the sudden force, stumbling. When she straightened, the surroundings left her speechless.

The valley was gone, as was the waterfall and pavilion. They were now before a small courtyard with a building and a side room.

Chu Qingcheng blinked at a loss, “T-this…”

“This is the valley you couldn’t leave.”

Zhuo Fan smirked, “It’s nothing but a courtyard, stuck running it in circles. No matter where you went, someone would have kept deceiving your perception. Unable to break the hold, you were kept here.

Chu Qingcheng gasped, “There’s a skill like that? Then how did you…”

Zhuo Fan’s right eye shone in three golden halos.

“Maybe I have the same skill as the user.” Zhuo Fan smiled as the rings faded, patting her hand.

A zither played that drew Chu Qingcheng’s attention and made her fearful, pulling on Zhuo Fan, “It’s him. It’s Shui Jing who trapped me.”

“It’s fine. What comes, comes.”

Zhuo Fan led her to the sounds, arriving behind the building before a youth in his twenties playing the zither.

Chu Qingcheng was scared, hiding behind Zhuo Fan, who bowed, “Greetings, Sir Shui Jing!”

The zither didn’t stop, with Shui Jing looking up at him.

“The life you lived helped broaden your heart and mind, escaping the hold on your heart so soon. Very good!” Shui Jing smiled.

Zhuo Fan smiled, “You’re too kind, sir, I still have a long way to go. I didn’t even realize when sir tampered with my heart. Sir is the true expert.”

“Ha-ha-ha, you’re not as cocky as before. You’ve matured a lot.”

Shui Jing nodded and stopped playing. He waved to a chessboard, “It’s been ages since our last game. Allow me to see your progress.”

Zhuo Fan nodded, “By your leave.”

He sat down with Chu Qingcheng next to him, looking at Shui Jing’s mysterious smile.

Pieces fell on the board, each fighting to overcome the other side. An hour later, the pieces looked entangled.

“You’re much calmer now and lost your rough edges.” Shui Jing placed a white piece.

Zhuo Fan placed a black piece, “I am grateful for your lecture. Gains and losses mattered not. One needs to see the big picture to succeed. I will never forget that lesson.”

“You not only held it close, but built on it. You’re an entirely different person.”

“You’re too kind, sir. It’s all thanks to you.”

“It’s a shame the same quirk remains.”

Shui Jing gave him a look and sighed, “You like to take risks and employ schemes. That’s very dangerous for a big player. The higher you go, the shrewder your opponent will become, just like you, if not above. By trying to be clever, you’re only revealing your weakness to be destroyed.”

Pa!

Shui Jing placed a piece, hard, removing many of Zhuo Fan’s. The outcome was obvious.

Zhuo Fan was dark, “Yeah, sir is right. I started off as a nobody, unable to contend with the big players. But why do you, big players, still bother with a nobody like me, Heavenly Sovereign?”

He followed with a white piece, not yet ready to give up the game and his life, despite being unable to change the outcome. But he believed the chance would present itself. It always had. And if it didn’t, he would just make one, like the times before.

“You finally figured it out.” Shui Jing replied with calm.

Only Chu Qingcheng gapped, “Heavenly Sovereign? The strongest of the ten ancient Sovereigns? No way! Didn’t they all fall? Even Nether Sovereign could only wander the Nether Sea as a lost soul. How can Heavenly Sovereign still be alive?”

“Yeah, they have, so how could the Heavenly Sovereign, who all fought against, still survive?”

Shui Jing chuckled, still staring at Zhuo Fan, “What makes you so sure?”

Zhuo Fan spoke, “Ever since I got sir’s Divine Eye of the Void, I felt apprehensive, afraid that one day you’ll come after me for stealing it. But then I thought to myself, that this was all a stage, as other Sovereigns showed themselves to me and started guiding me. I didn’t have such an overinflated ego to think myself special enough to warrant so many big players attention. That left only once conclusion, it was a set-up.”

“You’re far stronger and wiser now, and you can see the lining. Go on.” Shui Jing waved.

Zhuo Fan said, “Those freaks just now are from the mortal domain. I could feel the aura of the sacred weapons on them. At that moment, I knew that I would run into sir and end up at sir’s whim. But, when I heard they were your men, it all became clear. Heavenly Sovereign, you don’t want to kill me, but use me. You wouldn’t have helped me otherwise, guiding me on the demonic path.”

Shui Jing gave a slow clap, “Well said, but that’s on the basis that I’m Heavenly Sovereign. What if I’m not?”

“Moon mirror fades to void, to nothing, an obvious reference to the void path!” Zhuo Fan laughed, “Sir, you’ve stated who you are since the beginning. It’s just that none ever thought of it from that perspective. None would believe the first ever Sovereign to be walking among mortals and toying with them under the guise of Shui Jing. The skill you used to trap me and Qingcheng in the courtyard was the Divine Eye of the Void 3rd stage, Mirage World, right?”

Hum~

Zhuo Fan’s right eye shone in three halos, “But since I’m still weak and ignorant, still in the void path, I can only create illusion in a certain area, while sir is able to implant them in people’s minds. I could only escape because I know some of the void path.”

Heavenly Sovereign smiled, “You’ve done well going to the mortal domain this time. I’m impressed.”

[This time? What about the ‘other times?’ Do they exist? Am I reading too much into it?]

“You flatter me, but there’s still something I’ve yet to understand. Saving me and guiding me down the demonic path wasn’t just a coincidence, was it? I’m still unable to make sense as to why all the big players are interested in little old me.”

Zhuo Fan shouted in the lion’s den. He had no fear in demanding answers from Heavenly Sovereign, knowing fully well his life had yet to outlive its usefulness. He needed him, they all did. So, he found it a good idea to leverage the already bleak situation he was in to gain as much knowledge as he could and formulate a plan.