The rules of Spirit Chess stated that, even if almost all of the black pieces disappeared, as long as one still remained, it could still be a black victory.
Grandmaster Yu Ran grew increasingly anxious. The Third Boss had clearly seen through the game board. If she waited any longer, she would not even be able to enter.
She stopped hesitating and moved forward.
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. Grandmaster Yu Ran had not yet fully understood the Spirit Chess game board, which meant her entry was quite reckless. She was relying on luck. However, her luck proved decent. The sourceboxes’ danger zone was constantly changing, colliding and merging as it churned like a stormy sea that swept everything away. Both the black and white pieces were being wiped out.
At first, Lu Yin’s actions had allowed more of his black pieces to remain, but his advantage was quickly disappearing, rendering his previous actions irrelevant.
This won’t do.
Lu Yin lightly tapped a finger, guiding the turbulence of the danger zone towards Grandmaster Yu Ran.
The game board was formed from ten Boundless Advanced sourceboxes, and each one had its own danger zone.
One of the sourceboxes’ danger zone was similar to stones that were constantly piling up to form an ancient structure that would then crash down quite viciously.
Grandmaster Yu Ran gritted her teeth and moved to dodge the incoming danger zone.
Any changes in their positions would trigger further changes in the danger zone that formed the game board of Spirit Chess. Not even Lu Yin could easily predict the outcome of such changes, as the game board was far too complex.
If he wanted a certain outcome, he could easily defeat Grandmaster Yu Ran by attacking her with the danger zone, as she was incapable of blocking it.
However, that would go against the spirit of the game. After all, this was a battle of lockbreaking techniques and lockbreaking skill. Personal strength should take a backseat.
The main reason why Lu Yin was able to see through this complex game board was due to his superior strength, which gave him an inherently unfair advantage.
For this game of Spirit Chess, he wanted to give this particular opponent a fair chance.
Grandmaster Yu Ran counterattacked. She pulled out something that looked like a lockbreaking tool and then used it to guide the danger zone towards Lu Yin.
He retaliated at the same time, though he had no need to use any lockbreaking tools. The danger zone that formed the game board could not threaten him in the least.
This frustrated Grandmaster Yu Ran, but she also had no choice. Her only real option was to attack the black pieces, but she could not compare to Lu Yin’s speed.
As they continued to play the game, more and more of both the black and white pieces were consumed.
As time passed, the rate at which the white pieces were erased only sped up.
Even outsiders could see the difference.
“Grandmaster Yu Ran has lost.”
“Eh? Just how has this Third Boss cultivated? He’s such an amazing Spirit Treasure Master.”
“You’re wrong. He’s still brute-forcing things.”
“You can’t deny that the Third Boss still has the skills of a Spirit Treasure Grandmaster. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have gotten so far by relying on strength alone.”
No one refuted that. Lu Yin’s lockbreaking skill had been made evident to all.
Without adequate skill, even if Lu Yin could overpower the game board’s danger zone, he would not be able to use it to his advantage.
More and more white pieces were being erased. Grandmaster Yu Ran was quickly losing her patience. She had not even noticed that she had moved across the game board and was closing in on the eighth step of the Grandmaster's Trial, which was where the Heaven's Wrath, Earth's Ruin spirit treasure formation had once stood.
There was no crack of thunder to be heard until after the woman reacted.
Terrifying lightning erupted like a monster. It erupted in an instant, and it shot straight for her.
Grandmaster Yu Ran watched as the lightning raged towards her. She seemed to see two golden eyes that were about to swallow her whole. The burst of power behind this lightning was so great that her skin started to rip apart.
She tried to retreat, but she was completely surrounded by the game board’s danger zone, which meant that every step she took led to unpredictable danger.
Outside, the members of the Spirit Treasure Society grew alarmed. "Grandmaster Yu Ran, be careful!"
Zhi Shan was horrified.
Suddenly, a few drops of water appeared in front of Grandmaster Yu Ran. A mountain stacked atop another mountain as the water droplets transformed into mountains that blocked the lightning.
She immediately understood what was happening and pulled back, finally leaving the lightning’s range.
Is this... the Tomb of Mountains and Streams?
She looked over towards the seventh step and saw Lu Yin lower his hand. He had taken action, manipulating the Tomb of Mountains and Streams. The water dripping from the void had saved Grandmaster Yu Ran. Without Lu Yin’s actions, she would have died.
The danger zone formed from ten spirit treasures was powerful enough to compare to a sequence powerhouse, which was already rare. However, this game board was particularly potent as it was formed from a combination of ten spirit treasures as well as several spirit treasure formations. This was something that the Tianyuan Megaverse had never witnessed.
"Thank you." Grandmaster Yu Ran expressed her gratitude.
All the watching members of the Spirit Treasure Society shot looks of gratitude towards Lu Yin as well.
Grandmaster Yu Ran was regarded very highly in the Spirit Treasure Society. She enjoyed helping her juniors, and she was quite approachable. Most of the society's unity could be attributed to this one woman.
It could be said that, while the Spirit Treasure Society could lose Su Shidao, who was the greatest Spirit Treasure Grandmaster, it could not afford to lose Yu Ran.
She was the pillar that supported the Spirit Treasure Society.
By saving her with the Tomb of Mountains and Streams, Lu Yin had earned the respect and gratitude of the entire Spirit Treasure Society.
Their initial hostility had completely disappeared, and people were now admiring Lu Yin.
Zhi Hua even cheered loudly.
After being saved by Lu Yin, Grandmaster Yu Ran felt too embarrassed to try continuing to play, and so she retreated from the Spirit Chess’s game board.
The moment she left the boundaries of the game, she lost.
No one in the Spirit Treasure Society felt any spark of resentment. There was a gap in strength, as simple as that, and there was nothing to be done about it.