The man shook his hand tightly before leaving. Austin leaned back on the chair, his body crackling with lightning.
"To think someone of my esteem would be reduced to running errands."
He gazed at the luxurious hotel room before him. "Is wealth the new measurement of power? Are they now the true owners of the cultivation world?"
The crackling became even stronger, he was getting angrier. Even though he belonged to the so-called, "demonic cults", even though he was a rebel in the eyes of the Almighty Union, he still had his honour.
He would never forget the day he worshipped his master. The golden glow that emanated from his master filled him with such awe and adoration. He was just seven yet he vowed he would never do anything to besmirch his master's glory.
He laughed, his expression was dark and murderous but there was a tint of sadness between his brows.
'What glory?' Everything changed the moment Master accepted his third junior brother. Images of the entire sect fawning over his third junior brother appeared in his head and Austin resisted the urge to throw up. In the course of three years, Austin had fallen from the most valued and respected, main disciple of Blood Bridge Palace into an errand boy.
But it was not just the errands, that little sh** have no respect for his master and yet Master still tolerated him and coaxed him no matter what.
He hated him. Because of him, his home has become unfamiliar to him. Austin clenched his fist, one day, he would slay him, skin him, flay him before dismembering him into a thousand pieces.
His phone beeped, distracting him from his dark thoughts. It was a text message from an unknown number. It seems like the Police were tracking one of the girls and would be in Murch within two hours.
He stood up and downed a large bottle of water. He might not be able to kill his third junior brother in the next three years but he can definitely make him eat a large loss.
He left Murch with a smile on his face, a spring in his steps and an additional shadow beneath his feet.
______
"Nobody is above the law. It is the duty of the police to protect the citizen." Peter read aloud before dropping the newspaper on the table.
"Our little Mengmeng has grown, she now knows how to fight for justice."
Old Li scoffed, "She will keep on doing such dangerous things until she gets into trouble."
Lin Mengmeng was a master in coaxing her grandfather. She immediately leapt to her feet to rub his shoulders, whispering flattering words into his ears.
Raizel glanced at the newspaper on the table. Boldly written on the first, 'Police uncover Murch human trafficking ring, rescue 21 victims, arrests suspects.'
It seemed like she had solved the case. He looked at her, indeed the golden light of virtue between her brows had grown even stronger.
"What are you staring into space for?" Bill asked impatiently, "It is your turn, play!"
Raizel felt a little apologetic. The game was not a challenge to him so he had approached it with a laissez-faire attitude. He moved the rook, "Checkmate".
Bill gritted his teeth, he had lost again.
" Again. Let's play another game." His eyes were a little red as he gritted his teeth.
Raizel looked at him. He got along with stubborn people the least. "No"
Bill held a piece in his hand, "I will pay you."
Raizel gave him a strange look before sighing, "How many games have you lost?"
Bill's hand shook a bit as he moved the pieces to the starting point.
"25678 times." He said, his voice was calm and unflustered.
Everyone looked at him completely surprised.
"Bill, you stubborn old goat." Peter exclaimed. Ben and Old Lin exchanged a look. They could feel a new sort of respect for Bill's obstinance.
Raizel nodded, "How many times have you won?"
"None. I started playing chess eighteen years ago and I have not won a single game."
There is a saying, It takes 5 years to learn a skill and ten years to master it. This is a mundane saying and is not completely applicable to the cultivation world. It can take more than a 100 years to master a skill in the cultivation world. Many Cultivators will never master a skill in their lifetime.
Ben stroke his beard as a monk-like smile appeared on his face, "Old Bill. Have you heard there is a thin line between stubbornness and foolishness?"
Bill's eyes flickered slightly. Stubbornness? Foolishness? What are all that?
When he was younger brimming with vigour and ambition, he and a group of people had sneaked into the tomb of a Daomaster.
With most of the tombs, caves and domains under the control of the Union, tomb raiding was one of the quickest ways to make money or gain strength.
He had raided over ten tombs successfully carting away all kinds of cultivation methods, Dao skills, spiritual items and weapons.
Filled with confidence, he had jumped even higher. He, along with 15 others had raided a Daomaster's tomb. It was there that he discovered even though there was a chasm between every cultivation, the difference between a Dao Master realm and the lower cultivation realms was more than a charm, it was a sea, an ocean to be exact.
A Dao Master realm expert is someone who had undergone the three tribulations of the Dao Tribulation Realm. He had crossed the Body Tribulation, the Heart tribulation and the Soul tribulation, in doing that he had mastered a Dao and created a Dao Domain. Bill didn't know all that then.
He just knew that the 15 people on his team had died most grievously. Even the early stage Dao Tribulation expert on their team had perished.
Bill shivered, it had been eighteen years yet the sight of that day still caused fear to envelop his body. Those fifteen experts had picked the weapons in the tomb and hacked each other to death. They did not use any hand seal or spiritual essence. Just like a butcher cutting a lump of fatty meat. They just used the knives to kill each other. If it was not for the little white chess piece he had picked at the entrance, he would not have been seating right here.
After that sight, he did not have the mind to go even further, he had collected the nearest treasure and fled. The only thing he could show from the tomb was the little white chess piece and a jade scroll.
That jade scroll. Merely looking at it had taken away his ability to breathe. He did not have any control over his body, he was like a puppet waiting to be ordered. It was the little white chess piece that saved him again.
The calligraphy on the scroll was bold and powerful. The words written were even more domineering. "Using the world as a chess game, and it's people, as chess pieces."
It was like a bomb in his heart, the sheer power and will behind it. It made him, an ordinary Dao Flowering Realm Cultivator generate a great interest. ...What if... I become a Chess Dao Master…
The thought suddenly appeared in Bill's mind and began to grow. Like a seed, it grew into a huge tree.
That tree had given him the strength to continue to play chess. no matter how much he lost, he continued game after game, day after day, all year round to seek for people to play against.
It was not stubbornness neither was it foolishness. It was just greed. He wanted to be strong. He wanted to go outside without the fear of the Union. He wanted to be in control of his destiny and the destinies of those around him.
He had never spoken these words to anyone, he had kept them buried in his heart for eighteen years.
Raizel stared at him. An old song appeared in his mind,
"Fair and bright
The young lady from Tang City
Strong and wise
The young lady from Tang City
With a single axe
She took off the Devil's head"
Alisa was the first to die in the Devil World. She had lived a glorious life as the first female sect master of the Blood Axe sect. Countless stories and songs were written about her. However, people only saw the result, not the hard work.
Alisa was born to the previous sect master of the Blood Axe sect. The Axe was a weapon mostly used by men as soon the sect favoured male disciples. Alisa's father had wanted to send her to another sect to cultivate but she refused.
Intending to demoralise her, as soon as she clocked seven, her father took her to the mountains not far from the sect. He gave her an axe and directed her to an old boulder that had stood strong for hundreds of years. He told her that if she cuts down the boulder, she can return to the sect and be accepted as the young sect master.
Perhaps he thought she would not last a single week, for he entered seclusion as soon as he returned to the sect. Alisa persisted, chopping and chopping, only leaving the boulder to eat.
After thirty years, the old boulder fell and she returned to her sect only to see a spear thrust into her father's heart. Mad with grief, she rushed forward and with a single strike, she took off the Devil commander's head. She was just a Dao Budding Realm Cultivator then.
People do not see the scars of heroes but Raizel saw. The calluses on Alisa's hands were nothing but proof of her dedication and hard work.
He sighed. That sigh broke to pieces in the quiet room. "What is the most important piece in chess?"
"The queen is the most powerful piece but the king is the most important."
Raizel nodded at his reply. "My master once said the most important piece in chess is the player. To master the Dao of chess, you must first win against yourself."
Bill's eyes widened. He was quite talented and did not need further explanation. "Splitting consciousness. You are saying I should split my consciousness and play against myself?"
Ben's eyes glistened and his aura immediately turned peaceful and calm, "Fellow Daoist, this old fellow is in possession of such a Dao skill. It is authentic and cheap."
Peter rolled his eyes so hard it almost popped out, "Authentic my foot. Scum! Old Bill, you know I never sell bad goods unlike some. I have a Dao skill tailored to your purpose. What do you say? Should we go over there and discuss?"
"Everyone knows that Old Peter loves money too much and his goods are overpriced." Feeling a hot glare at his back, he put his hands together and whispered, "Amitabha."