Simply impossible!
Those were the words echoing through Cha's mind as it stared blankly at the state of the chessboard laid out before its eyes.
"This is checkmate, Senior Cha," Zhao Yunxiao said weakly.
That's right.
There had been no surprises in the rematch either.
Zhao Yunxiao had won yet again.
But at the same time, he was not exactly in the best state to celebrate his win right now.
Over the past three games, he had essentially lived forty two lifetimes, the equivalent of almost two thousand years, and dying a brutal death thirty times over in the process.
Even the toughest minds would falter when subjected to such prolonged torture, and Zhao Yunxiao was no exception.
His strong mental fortitude might have allowed him to barely withstand this long torture through time, but doing so had still left such a heavy strain on his psyche that it was simply impossible to just shrug it off like nothing.
His lips were pale, and his head felt light.
He could clearly feel his body trembling as he struggled to even remain seated.
Even then, all he could think about right now was the spatial pouch hovering beside Cha.
"It does seem that way, doesn't it?" Cha said reluctantly.
No matter how much it hated to acknowledge this outcome, there was just no way to do so when the end state of the chessboard was laid out clearly in front of it like that.
"Then, the spatial pouch..." Zhao Yunxiao asked timidly.
"Take it!" Cha flicked a whisker, and the spatial pouch fell into Zhao Yunxiao's open hands.
It was frustrating, but it could not be helped.
In any case, it was its fault for losing!
In contrast to the sea serpent, Zhao Yunxiao's current mood was the complete opposite right now.
Sending a wisp of essence energy into the spatial pouch, Zhao Yunxiao's heart almost skipped a beat when he saw the world within.
Spatial items served as a link to a separate space, with the size of this space varying from item to item, depending directly on the level of spatial properties imbued upon each individual spatial item.
And this separate space linked to his newly owned spatial pouch was enormous!
Zhao Yunxiao had never gotten the chance to use a spatial item himself, but he had done his research in the past when considering whether to purchase one of his own.
In comparison to those for sale at the Sect Market, he knew for sure that this spatial pouch in his possession was a level above them all!
This spatial pouch alone made the entire trip to the Origin Lake Sect more than worth the effort!
"Thank you, Senior Cha!" Zhao Yunxiao smiled while storing away the ceramic bowl.
After that, Zhao Yunxiao retrieved the bowl from the spatial pouch, and then stored it again.
Retrieve and store away.
Retrieve again and store away again.
Zhao Yunxiao smiled to himself while repeating these actions a few more times.
To be able to store an item away with a single thought was truly a satisfying feeling!
Cha merely looked on in silent disbelief.
To think that it actually lost to this kid...
"Is there anything else you would like to bet on, Senior Cha?" Zhao Yunxiao finally stopped with his repetitive actions after noticing Cha's gaze.
"Are you itching for a beating, you greedy kid?" Cha snapped.
Cha might have been overconfident in his abilities, but it was not stupid.
After losing three times in a row, it had no choice but to admit that its chess mastery was truly not as good as this childish young cultivator in front of him.
"No, no. Not at all!" Zhao Yunxiao hurriedly shook his head in response. "In that case, are we done here?"
"Tch! Why are you in such a hurry? Don't worry, I won't be taking back the things that I gave you!" Cha clicked its tongue in irritation before flying off. "Come, follow me. Instead of playing some meaningless games, let's just have a nice long chat over tea."
Zhao Yunxiao: "..."
A nice chat over tea was fine, but did it have to be long as well?
Of course, Zhao Yunxiao knew better than to voice out his thoughts lest he offends the already irritated Cha.
All he could do was helplessly follow the sea serpent as they headed deeper into the palace.
***
Back at the courtyard assigned to the members of the Black Tortoise Sect, He Luoxuan looked at the nervous Hu Nan and Zheng Biru standing before him.
"Yunxiao is not in his room? Where did he go?" He Luoxuan asked.
"Reporting to Elder He, the outer disciples do not know where Junior Martial Brother Zhao went either," Hu Nan answered. "Do you want me to go look for him?"
He Luoxuan revealed a look of surprise upon hearing that.
After returning from the long meeting with the upper echelons of the Origin Lake Sect, he had summoned Zhao Yunxiao to serve him some refreshments.
Who would have expected that this young disciple would actually be missing from his room this late into the night?
It would not be an issue if they were back at Purple Plum Mountain, but they were in someone else's territory right now.
To move around late at night did not reflect well on them as guests.
On top of that, he did not even inform his fellow disciples. That was indeed quite irresponsible of him.
"No need for that," He Luoxuan waved it off. "Just find out more about it from him when he returns. If he doesn't have a good reason, make sure to let him know what is expected of him. For now, have someone else prepare the refreshments."
"Understood, Elder He," Hu Nan nodded. "Junior Martial Brother Zheng, can you prepare some late-night refreshments for Elder He?"
"Definitely, Senior Martial Brother Hu," Zheng Biru agreed while feeling relieved.
He had been afraid that He Luoxuan would blame them for not having noticed Zhao Yunxiao leaving, but it turned out that the elder was much more understanding than he had expected.
But still, that did not change the fact that Zhao Yunxiao's irresponsible actions could have easily gotten them in trouble.
When Zhao Yunxiao got back, he definitely had to sit down and give him a good talking to about this!
***
What Zheng Biru did not expect was that in another corner of the Origin Lake Sect territory, Zhao Yunxiao was already being given a good talking to right now.
Just that the kind of talk was slightly different from what Zheng Biru had in mind.
Of course, the concept of good or bad lay primarily in one's perspective as well.
"That year when the Violet Cloud Brigade humiliated some of our disciples who were out on a mission, Yang Hong did not hesitate to mobilise our troops to sweep through the lands, rooting out every member of the brigade without exception. I was one of the vanguards at that time, personally striking fear into our enemies and carving the name of our Origin Lake Sect into their hearts. How majestic were we then?" Cha spoke with gusto. "Do you think that brat Juexing would dare to do the same? Bah! That guy only knows how to say we should keep things peaceful!"
"Peace is a good thing, though," Zhao Yunxiao commented while sipping on a cup of hot tea.
The tea was good, as expected of tea leaves hidden away in this secret palace of the Origin Lake Sect.
"Bah! Peace is only good when there is no need for violence!" Cha argued. "What good is peace when you are sacrificing your dignity for it? Sometimes you just have to fight!"
Zhao Yunxiao could not help but look down at his naked body when he heard Cha mention sacrificing dignity.
"That brat Juexing simply doesn't understand how the world works," Cha continued without noticing Zhao Yunxiao's awkward expression. "His only redeeming point is that he is both talented and studious. Otherwise, how could he have climbed to where he is right now? I still remember when he was young, that kid did not stop reading even when Yang Hong told him to take a break and go have some fun. Who even does that? Is he sick in the mind or what? Speaking of which, that Ming Leishang is the complete opposite. He is extremely street smart, though a little too much for my liking..."
Just like that, Cha went on and on about everything and everyone from past to present, almost as though trying to prove that it had been bottling everything up for years.
It talked about the various members of the Origin Lake Sect, their traits that it liked or disliked, and then comparing them to the past members of the sect.
While doing so, it certainly did not neglect to talk about its past exploits, showing off the various contributions that it had made for the Origin Lake Sect.
Zhao Yunxiao listened on attentively, even asking some questions from time to time.
Initially, he had thought that Cha was just trying to show off its past exploits, but that thought of his quickly changed.
He realised that through the words of this big-mouthed sea serpent, he was actually learning a lot about the Origin Lake Sect, both in terms of its history and its members.
Even though Cha did not mention any sect secrets or anything of the sort, what it did share was still enough to provide an immense boost to Zhao Yunxiao's current knowledge of the sect.
At the same time, he also came to understand Cha a lot better.
The more he heard, the more Zhao Yunxiao felt relieved that he did not try to fight Cha earlier.
If what Cha said was true, then it could probably flatten Zhao Yunxiao with a single flick of its whisker!
"Forget it, the more I talk about them, the angrier I get. I guess I should not have too high an expectation for these useless descendants. There are infinite possibilities in this world so who knows? If even someone as talentless as you can come up with a way to create a mythical treasure and even beat me in chess, perhaps there is still hope for them after all," Cha concluded. "Well, that's a good talk we had! Unfortunately, it is getting early now so let's get you back where you came from before those kids outside start making a big fuss."
Zhao Yunxiao: "..."
I know I have mediocre talent, but do you have to keep harping on that?
In fact, is there even a need to bring the topic back to me at the end?
And what do you mean by early?
Wait a minute... early?
Shit! Don't tell me it's already morning!
Since they were in the underwater palace, Zhao Yunxiao naturally could not see the state of the sky outside.
As a cultivator, he would usually still be able to tell how much time had passed even if that was the case.
However, the previous experience of playing on the Benevolent Wave Chessboard had completely warped his sense of time.
He had imagined that only a single moment had passed every time he lived the life of one of his identities, but that was still just his assumption.
If that was not the case, then who knew how much time he had already spent here with Cha?
From what Cha said, probably only a single night had passed.
However, Zhao Yunxiao still could not help but panic.
At this point, he no longer cared about the fact that he did not manage to get any rest last night.
All he hoped right now was that it was still not too late, and that those from the Black Tortoise Sect had yet to gather up for the morning!
Otherwise, how would he ever explain himself if He Luoxuan were to ask him where he went?