Chapter 20: The Duel

Although Liang Yan desperately craved the Barrier-Breaking Pill, he could not help but hesitate at this moment. One must realize that the value of a single Barrier-Breaking Pill lay between eighty and ninety spirit stones. To see the price soar to two hundred and sixty was an utterly ridiculous figure. Not only would he be playing the sucker, but he would also easily attract the scrutiny of others.

Liang Yan understood well the principle of not flaunting one's wealth. He was merely an ordinary miscellaneous disciple; being able to produce over a hundred spirit stones was already his limit. To bid any higher would likely draw the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Most crucially, the woman in white had maintained a composed and indifferent demeanor since the beginning, as if saying, "Bid whatever you want; if I don't raise the price, consider it my loss." How could this not make Liang Yan grit his teeth in resentment?

After much hesitation, Liang Yan ultimately decided not to bid. The black-faced man clearly had not expected a single Barrier-Breaking Pill to reach such a price, and he looked absolutely delighted. After a three-count countdown, he announced that the pill belonged to the woman in white.

The auction of this Barrier-Breaking Pill was like a brief interlude, sparking much discussion among the crowd below and pushing the atmosphere of the auction to a minor climax.

Unfortunately, Liang Yan had lost all interest. He cast a glance at the woman; though he felt a sense of unwilling frustration, he was helpless. He could only depart the venue in dissatisfaction.

The next day, Liang Yan returned to the sect with Lin Fei. Lin Fei was in high spirits and praised Liang Yan incessantly along the way, saying his formations were truly extraordinary, that there had been no mishaps during this auction assembly, and that he would record a great merit for him, and so on.

Though Liang Yan merely went through the motions on the surface, he was disappointed to the core. His primary objective for this trip had not been achieved, and the next opportunity would likely not come for another three years.

Upon returning to the sect, Liang Yan entered a state of selfless cultivation once again: working and reading during the day, and cultivating through the night.

Two more months passed in this manner. During these two months, Liang Yan attempted various methods to break through his bottleneck, even employing some unorthodox, hearsay techniques. However, his own aptitude acted like an invisible shackle, making it impossible for him to break through no matter what he did.

One afternoon, after completing his duties as a formation-vein miscellaneous disciple, Liang Yan did something unprecedented: instead of going to the Library to read, he wandered aimlessly through the valley alone.

Having failed countless times to break through his realm, a mental demon had unconsciously taken root in his heart. He felt that the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth was truly heartless. No matter how hard one struggled, it was ultimately difficult to defy one's destiny.

Lost in thought, Liang Yan wandered into a bamboo forest without realizing it. He strolled aimlessly, having lost all sense of direction, unaware of where he had arrived.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of stones clacking from deep within the bamboo forest. Driven by curiosity, Liang Yan followed the sound into the depths of the woods. When he found the source, he discovered two people standing there. One was a youth with green robes and white hair, his complexion as rosy as a young boy; the other was a tall, thin middle-aged man with a sallow complexion.

On the ground between them were straight, knife-cut grooves, nineteen lines wide and long in both directions, forming a Go board.

With a wave of his hand, the green-robed youth shaved off a small section of a nearby bamboo stalk, rubbed it in his hand, and as a spark rose, he tossed it onto the board. The small piece of bamboo burned into black charcoal, serving as the black stones.

The tall, thin middle-aged man raised his hand to draw a stone from the ground into his palm, rubbed it similarly, and when he cast it onto the board, it was crystal clear and exceptionally white, serving as the white stones.

At this moment, the board was already filled with black and white; clearly, this battle had reached a fever pitch. Both men remained in deep thought for a long time before finally placing a single stone.

Having nothing else to do, Liang Yan began to watch the match from the side. He had been clever since childhood and had once studied Go with a master from the town's academy; within two years, he had defeated his teacher decisively. However, he had been young and loved to play, never sticking to anything for long and often abandoning his studies halfway. Later, he found other amusements and cast Go to the back of his mind.

He watched the board for a long while, feeling that every move made by the two men was utterly inconceivable, completely overturning his previous understanding.

By the end, he could no longer understand the game at all.

Liang Yan had always been quite proud; he never considered the possibility that these two's skill might be far superior to his own. Instead, he felt they were likely just two mediocre players, learning halfway and playing haphazardly.

Frowning deeply, after watching for a while, he finally could not help but speak up from the side: "The white stone was placed incorrectly there; it's going to let the black stones wreak havoc!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt it was inappropriate. As the saying goes, "A true gentleman does not speak while watching a game." Although he did not consider himself a gentleman, he should not have done something that ruined the players' momentum.

Liang Yan looked up at the two men nervously, only to see that they still had furrowed brows, staring intently at the board as if they hadn't heard him at all.

"Are these two deaf?" Liang Yan thought to himself. "Well, whatever. Since they didn't hear me, I'll just pretend I didn't say anything."

Just as he felt relieved, a voice suddenly came from beside him: "Hee hee, I'm dying of laughter! Where did this mountain brat come from, pretending to know things he doesn't?"

The voice was crisp and pleasant, but it was clearly a woman's voice.

Liang Yan turned around to see a young girl in white standing not far behind him. She had a slender figure and skin as white as snow. Her face and features, in particular, were as exquisitely carved as a peerless treasure.

Though the girl was looking at him with a beaming smile, Liang Yan could see clear traces of mockery and ridicule within that smile.

"Why does this voice sound so familiar?"

Liang Yan was puzzled, then suddenly remembered something. "Right! It's her!"

It turned out this girl was none other than the masked woman from the auction who had intervened and snatched the Barrier-Breaking Pill from him.

The girl seemed to recognize him as well, smiling as she said, "So it's you—the poor boy from that night who had the audacity to compete with me for the Barrier-Breaking Pill."

From the moment they met, the girl had called him "mountain brat" and "poor boy." Even if Liang Yan were made of clay, he would have felt a surge of anger. He couldn't help but retort, "I wondered who it was. It turns out to be a village woman. Nowadays, even village women try to act refined by watching a game of Go?"

"You!" The girl let out a sharp cry, her face flushing red. However, her eyes darted around, and her loss of composure vanished in an instant, replaced once more by her previous smiling expression. She spoke up, "What? You're still indignant after I've said a few words to you? Do you even know who those two are? You're showing off your amateurish skills here."

"Oh? Why don't you tell me who they are?"

"Listen closely. These two are the first senior disciple, Lei Hao, and the third senior disciple, Xu Xian, of my sect's Chess Dao inner disciples!"

"Inner disciples!"

Liang Yan was startled and couldn't help but look toward the two men. They were still staring intently at the board in the middle, as if they hadn't noticed the two people nearby at all.

"Don't bother looking. Senior Brother Lei and Senior Brother Xu have already entered the 'Heart Chess' stage of the Chess Dao; they won't notice you."

Having his thoughts exposed, Liang Yan's face turned bright red, but he resolved to hold his ground. "Even inner disciples of the Chess Dao must make occasional mistakes. Isn't playing Go all about how the players are lost in the game while the onlookers see clearly?"

Upon hearing this, the woman in white actually couldn't help but burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.

"The 'onlooker' you're referring to is yourself, you mediocre player?"

Liang Yan's face turned ashen from her laughter. He said indignantly, "You know nothing! What right do you have to call me a mediocre player!"

The woman in white finally managed to stop laughing and continued, "Fine then. Since you say I know nothing, how about you and I wager a game of Go?"

Liang Yan was stunned. He hadn't expected her to challenge him, but since it concerned his dignity, he naturally could not back down. He immediately puffed out his chest and said, "Let's play. But let's settle it first—what is the wager?"

"If you win, I will give you that Barrier-Breaking Pill. But if you lose, you must respectfully kowtow to me three times and call me 'Grandmother' three times!"

"No way!" Liang Yan refused without a second thought. This concerned his personal dignity; he could not agree.

"You!" The woman in white hadn't expected him to refuse so decisively and was momentarily speechless. However, her eyes darted around, and she said with a smile, "It's not impossible to change the wager. How about this: I heard from Uncle Lin that you know a bit of the basics of formations. If you can teach me a few formations, we shall change the wager to you respectfully calling me 'Senior Sister' three times."

"Deal!"

This time, Liang Yan did not hesitate. He had been seething with resentment; he would settle both old and new grudges at once and make sure to teach this girl a lesson on the Go board.

(End of Chapter)