Cha silently watched the young cultivator on the opposite end of the Benevolent Wave Chessboard.
At this moment, it was genuinely impressed.
For a teenage cultivator at the Essence Condensation realm to come this far, overcoming the mental requirements of the Benevolent Wave Chessboard to finish a game, that was indeed something worthy of commendation.
It was indeed as people said – looks were deceiving.
This young cultivator who appeared to be nothing special whatsoever actually had his own strengths as well.
Then again, perhaps it was to be expected of someone who had managed to create a mythical tier treasure.
Still, being impressed was one thing, but Cha had no doubt about the eventual results.
No matter how special, he was still a young cultivator at the Essence Gathering realm. It probably had more than a hundred times the amount of life experience that the young cultivator possessed.
To want to defeat it in chess, that was nothing but a pipe dream!
If it had to give a numerical value as a gauge, it had only given it around 70% in the practice game?
Even then, it had already managed to take out ten of the young cultivator’s fourteen pieces.
As long as it gave its all, the win was surely in the bag!
Cha was relaxed, composed, and all sorts of calm as the actual game started.
However, that quickly started to change.
One by one, it began to lose its pieces.
One by one, its plans were foiled.
It started to lose its cool, which only resulted in more mistakes.
It tried to confuse its opponent with unconventional moves, but its opponent confidently called its bluffs, resulting in even greater losses.
Cha could not remember the last time it faced such a formidable enemy!
“W-Wait!” Cha called out in desperation, but it was too late.
Thud-!
Zhao Yunxiao placed the chess piece down on the board.
“Checkmate.”
Cha fell silent in disbelief.
How was this possible?
How could it have possibly lost to a kid like that?
“I guess I got lucky this time, Senior Cha,” Zhao Yunxiao said with a faint smile on his face. “Thank you for your guidance. As for our bet...”
Despite his exhaustion from playing the game, Zhao Yunxiao still looked towards the neatly folded Azure Origin Robes with excitement in his eyes.
As of today, he would have a priceless treasure of his own!
What would Gu Qiansi think when he shows it to her?
To be honest, she would probably not believe a word about this, but it did not matter.
In any case, the Azure Origin Robes looked elegant at least, so that was already reason enough to show it off!
“Forget about it,” Cha’s words woke him from his daze.
“Hmm?” Zhao Yunxiao blinked blankly. “What did you just say, Senior Cha?”
“Forget about the Azure Origin Robes,” Cha said. “I can’t give that to you.”
“What do you mean, Senior Cha?” Zhao Yunxiao could not help but frown. “Are you going back on your word?”
“Even if I want to give it to you, I can’t. Doing that is beyond my level of authority,” Cha admitted. “You might not know this, but some of the items here are bound to the stone pedestals. Even I can’t just retrieve them without fulfilling certain requirements.”
“Stop joking with me, Senior Cha,” Zhao Yunxiao awkwardly tried to laugh it off. “Aren’t you the guardian spirit of the Origin Lake Sect? Aren’t you the only one here? Who else can retrieve these items if not you?”
“Back then, certain items have been locked in by that Yang Hong,” Cha said with a sigh. “Only specific events such as a change in sect leader or imminent destruction of the sect will trigger the criteria for unlocking these items.”
“...Then why did you agree initially?” Zhao Yunxiao asked in disbelief.
“Well, I never thought I would actually lose.”
Zhao Yunxiao: “...”
It was honest about that, at least.
But what good was honesty at this stage?
“All right, so the Azure Origin Robes are out of the question,” Zhao Yunxiao said through gritted teeth. “So, what are you able to give me in place of that, Senior Cha?”
He decided not to pursue the issue any further.
Even if they did not make an oath, cultivators usually kept to their word as it could affect their karma otherwise.
That was why Zhao Yunxiao had not doubted Cha’s words earlier.
And now that things had turned out this way, it was not as though Zhao Yunxiao could just force Cha to honour the bet either.
Not to mention the fact that the sea serpent would probably crush him in a fight, he still needed it to bring him out of here!
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If he were to upset the sea serpent, who knew how many years later it would be before he could finally leave this place, if ever?
This was the sad reality of this world – the strong dictated the rules while the weak followed!
“Hmm, let me think...” Cha was relieved to hear that Zhao Yunxiao had accepted the situation, and started to look around the room. “Ah, that’s it!”
Cha flicked a whisker, and something started flying over from another stone pedestal.
Zhao Yunxiao narrowed his eyes as he saw what it was.
A bowl.
To be specific, it was a white ceramic bowl. Its bottom half depicted prints of blue waters, while the top half was dotted with blue clouds.
Yes, the design was pretty for sure, but it was still a bowl nevertheless.
“Do you have something else, Senior Cha?” Zhao Yunxiao could not help but ask. “How about that fan over there? It suits me better! Or that pair of shoes? I happen to need some new shoes so that will be perfect!”
“You only say that because you have no idea how amazing this is!” Cha shook its head in disapproval. “It is your honour to have this treasure!”
“It’s not that I want to say this, Senior Cha, but are you just trying to dump trash on me through this?” Zhao Yunxiao asked unhappily.
“This is why it’s difficult to talk to kids,” Cha had to take a deep breath to compose itself. “You have to start learning to see beneath the surface! This is the Heaven’s Descent Bowl, a treasure no less than the Azure Origin Robes or the Sin Chaser!”
“Really?”
“Absolutely.”
“Are you willing to swear on that then, Senior Cha?” Zhao Yunxiao narrowed his eyes at Cha.
He had already learnt that Cha cared not about honouring its words, so how could he just take its words for it?
Then again, with how Cha seemed to be insisting on the bowl, Zhao Yunxiao knew he would have no choice but to accept it anyway.
This was just him trying to express his unhappiness without being too harsh about it.
“You little brat...!” Cha took another deep breath. “Yes, I swear that this the Heaven’s Descent Bowl is no less a treasure than the Azure Origin Robes or the Sin Chaser!”
Zhao Yunxiao blinked his eyes in surprise, not expecting Cha to truly swear that.
Not honouring a casual promise was one thing, but not honouring an oath was another level altogether.
Even the most despicable cultivators would try to avoid doing the latter for fear of affecting their fortune in the future.
For Cha to do so, and so readily to boot, could this unimpressive looking bowl actually be as amazing as it had claimed?
“All right then,” Zhao Yunxiao finally agreed. “What is it called again? Heaven’s Descent Bowl?”
“That’s right! Heaven’s Descent Bowl!” Cha flicked a whisker, and the Heaven’s Descent Bowl slowly floated into Zhao Yunxiao’s hands.
It felt nice and cool to the touch.
In addition, Zhao Yunxiao could also sense a strange aura coming from it, though he could not put his finger to what it was exactly.
“This is a treasure, right? What is it capable of doing?” Zhao Yunxiao asked. “Surely it is not just a harder bowl to eat from?”
“Who knows? It is Yang Hong’s treasure, not mine,” Cha shrugged.
Zhao Yunxiao: “...”
Whenever he thought that this guardian spirit of the Origin Lake Sect had hit rock bottom and could not possibly lose any more credibility, it continued to surprise him.
“All right, that’s settled then,” Cha flicked a whisker and the pieces on the Benevolent Wave Chessboard rearranged themselves. “Time for a rematch!”
“A rematch?” Zhao Yunxiao raised an eyebrow. “Only if we are not betting again. Otherwise, I refuse.”
He had already earned a reward, and it was almost always a wise move to quit while ahead.
In addition, who knew what the sea serpent would give him as rewards this time?
A plate?
Or a spoon?
Putting his fortune on the line for something like that did not seem too worth it in Zhao Yunxiao’s eyes!
“You refuse?” Cha scoffed. “I am fine with that but let me ask you one thing. How are you intending to bring out the Heaven’s Descent Bowl without alarming those kids outside? How do you think they will react when they sense the presence of the bowl in your possession? From what I have seen earlier, you don’t seem to have a spatial item to hide it in, do you?”
Zhao Yunxiao: “...”
He had been so excited about receiving a treasure that he had neglected to consider this problem.
Indeed, if he entered the sect empty handed and left with a treasure that emanated a powerful aura, there was no way that he would not draw the attention of both He Luoxuan and the seniors of the Origin Lake Sect.
How would he explain himself then?
That the guardian spirit of the Origin Lake Sect had taken it from the sect treasury and lost it to him as a bet after he beat it in a game of chess?
Disregarding whether they would actually believe him in the first place... even if they did, what would they think of him then?
Would he not be regarded as a scammer who tricked the guardian spirit of the Origin Lake Sect’s treasures?
“Finally realised the situation that you are in?” Cha entwined its whiskers as though it was crossing its arms. “Don’t worry. With this second match, you don’t have to bet your fortune. All you have to bet is the Heaven’s Descent Bowl. In exchange, if you win, I will give you a spatial pouch to store the bowl in!”
Zhao Yunxiao felt his heart rate quicken when he heard that.
A spatial pouch!
Not to mention the fact that it would solve his problem of bringing away the Heaven’s Descent Bowl, it was something that Zhao Yunxiao had always wanted!
Having a spatial pouch would solve many of his logistical problems, as well as improve his overall combat efficiency.
The only reason he had yet to purchase one was because of the exorbitant price.
Getting one with a small space was still barely manageable, but that would not solve many of his problems. To do that would not be cost efficient at all.
However, those that were big enough to solve his problems were simply too expensive.
Therefore, to be able to get one for free was definitely an offer that he could not turn down!
On top of that, Cha was only asking for the Heaven’s Descent Bowl on his end this time.
The thing was that without the spatial pouch, Zhao Yunxiao would be unable to bring the Heaven’s Descent Bowl away with him anyway.
In a way, the bowl would be useless to him without the spatial pouch.
Considering that, there was no longer any reason for him to refuse.
Moreover, Zhao Yunxiao had already clearly analysed his opponent’s capabilities over the past two games.
Unless the sea serpent was a complete master at hiding its skills, in this game of chess, his chances of losing were close to nil!
Now then, there was only one issue left to confirm...
“May I know if you have the authority to retrieve the spatial pouch, Senior Cha?” Zhao Yunxiao asked.
He had been cheated once, so he was not intending to fall for the same thing again.
“How distrustful,” Cha shook its head in disapproval.
With a flick of its whisker, a small pouch flew over from another corner of the room.
There were indeed all sorts of things stored here.
Looking at the pouch hovering beside Cha, Zhao Yunxiao finally nodded. “I understand, Senior Cha. Let’s begin.”
“Good!” Cha had been waiting for those words. “You started last time, so it is my turn this time!”
With that, the sea serpent made its move with absolute confidence.
It believed that the only reason it lost the earlier game was because of sheer overconfidence.
After all, it was Cha the Fortune Devourer, guardian spirit of the Origin Lake Sect, a mighty sea serpent that had experienced countless battles over the years.
As long as it was being serious, how could such a young cultivator ever hope to beat its wealth of experience and come out on top against it in a battle of wits?
Simply impossible!