Ji Yuchuan’s interest deepened. He clasped his hands behind his back and asked, “Oh? Neither? Then tell me. I’d very much like to know when I gave myself away.”
Li Guanqi looked around the empty realm and replied softly, “To suspect someone, once is enough.”
Ji Yuchuan laughed even more heartily. He had concealed his identity so thoroughly that not even Long Hou knew who he truly was. No one could see through his aura, his methods, or anything else about him. Due to the peculiar nature of his cultivation technique and divine soul, each of his clones could be considered a completely independent individual. Every one of them was flawless.
Li Guanqi glanced at him and smiled. “The first time was at the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion’s Blue Tower. You shouldn’t have re-absorbed every clone inside the Blue Tower right in front of me. I was incredibly shocked back then. To me, each of the hundreds of people inside the Blue Tower had seemed like a completely separate individual. Yet you recalled every one of them before my eyes. From then on, I knew there was more to you than met the eye. I even wondered whether you might be a clone yourself.”
Ji Yuchuan smiled and nodded, though he still found the reasoning weak. “Is that all? Then all I can say is that your intuition is unusually accurate.”
He felt slightly disappointed.
Li Guanqi’s lips curled slightly. Even Meng Wanshu looked puzzled.
Li Guanqi continued, “The moment I truly confirmed there was something wrong with you was back when I opened everyone’s spirit voids.”
Ji Yuchuan’s eyes brightened as he recalled the events of that day. He had refused Li Guanqi’s offer to reopen his spirit void. He had never imagined that one decision would leave Li Guanqi suspicious for so many years.
Ji Yuchuan rubbed his forehead and sighed helplessly. “Who would have thought that refusing to open my spirit void would leave you suspicious all this time? No wonder some of the stones always seemed oddly familiar whenever I saw you playing out moves by yourself on that Go board. I can’t believe you really put me on it.”
Ji Yuchuan looked at him with open admiration. For the first time, he realized he had underestimated Li Guanqi. “So when you learned my name from Hong Zhi, you were already seventy percent certain?”
His burning gaze remained fixed on Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi met his gaze. An eerie smile played at his lips. He asked a seemingly nonsensical question, but it sent a chill down Ji Yuchuan’s spine. “Do the Eight Generals really number eight?”
Ji Yuchuan’s eyes widened. His chest heaved violently as his expression shifted again and again.
The game of Go spread across his mind. It suddenly seemed as though he had been trapped inside it all along. Even the other pieces on the board were connected in ways that had always encircled him.
After a long silence, Ji Yuchuan spoke softly. “That’s enough. This conversation ends here. Going any further would be rude.”
Li Guanqi merely smiled. That was answer enough. His guess had been correct.
The Eight Generals had only ever consisted of seven people. The final member, Wu Mian, was most likely another of Ji Yuchuan’s clones. And if that was true, then Ji Yuchuan’s true strength...
Ji Yuchuan seemed to read his mind. He turned to Li Guanqi with a smile that said, “Take a guess.”
Li Guanqi clicked his tongue and looked up, taking a deep breath. “Wanshu, unfreeze the domain. Let’s find somewhere private so I can have a proper talk with Brother Ji.”
Meng Wanshu nodded and raised a hand, lifting World Freeze from the domain.
No one inside knew what had happened. Their clothes were soaked through, and the cold lingering in their limbs made them shiver.
They looked up to find Li Guanqi’s tower in ruins. The mountains lay shattered, and the land was devastated. The remnants of the battle were horrifying, but no one knew what had occurred.
They knew that Ji Yuchuan had returned, and Pavilion Master Li Guanqi had attacked soon afterward. Explosions had followed. After that, they knew nothing.
In the void, Meng Wanshu sat cross-legged in the distance with her eyes closed in concentration. Her vital force was still churning violently from the previous battle.
Ji Yuchuan pressed a water-blue talisman against her back to help stabilize her cultivation. He then sat cross-legged and raised a five-colored barrier around them.
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. “A Five-Mixed Spirit Root?”
Ji Yuchuan smiled and shook his head. “No, no. This is called a Five Elements Spirit Root. In all the world, I alone lack none of the five elements.”
As he spoke, five different elemental forces danced across his fingertips. With a wave of his hand, five talismans appeared, each a different color.
Li Guanqi marveled at the sight. He had never imagined that anyone could possess a spirit root encompassing all five elements, much less reach such a terrifying level of cultivation.
He shrugged. “Then your cultivation must have been painfully slow.”
Ji Yuchuan’s mouth twitched. “Ahem. Let’s not talk about that. Come, let’s play a game.”
A standard nineteen-by-nineteen Go board appeared between them. Li Guanqi smiled and enlarged the board tenfold.
Ji Yuchuan’s eyes lit up. He had not expected Li Guanqi to have attained such skill. Controlling a game of that scale required astonishing ability.
Looking at the countless pieces scattered across the board, Ji Yuchuan’s eyes moved rapidly. Soon, his brows furrowed. “Excellent. A truly excellent idea. The only thing I don’t understand is your most critical move.”
Li Guanqi slowly extended his hand. “When the crucial moment arrives... help me.”
Ji Yuchuan froze, then pursed his lips. “But I’ve kept myself hidden for ten thousand years. You’re putting me in a very difficult position.”
Li Guanqi smiled and looked directly into his eyes. “When the time comes, simply appear under another identity. You can continue being Ji Yuchuan.”
Ji Yuchuan sighed and handed him a special five-colored talisman. “Fine. I also want to know who Sha really is.”
A hint of anticipation appeared in Ji Yuchuan’s eyes as he slowly rose and put away the board.
He stood before Li Guanqi and spoke softly. “What a shame. You actually figured it out. Otherwise, I would have loved to become sworn brothers with all of you and roam the world together...”
A rare trace of emotion crossed his face. It was as though Li Guanqi and his companions had tossed a pebble into the still lake of his heart, sending out ripples that refused to fade.
With a soft sigh, Ji Yuchuan turned away. “Go ahead with your plan. I’ll help you become the hidden hand moving the Six Territories.”
Li Guanqi nodded solemnly. He cupped his fists and bowed deeply toward Ji Yuchuan’s departing figure. “This junior will personally make amends afterward for forcing Senior to bear this temporary disgrace.”
Without turning, Ji Yuchuan waved dismissively and laughed with wild arrogance. “Hahahaha! Go play out this game of yours, Pavilion Master. I’ll be waiting to see how it ends.”
A smile slowly appeared on Li Guanqi’s face as he watched the man depart. “Then... let’s wait and see, Eighth General Wu Mian.”
As for the Sixth General, Yu Shan? That was naturally Ji Yuchuan as well. Wu Mian was Ji Yuchuan’s main body, or perhaps his primary self, hidden within the Eight Generals.
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