595: Chapter 595 I've Played This Game

Early the next morning.

Kunlun Academy, Dean's Office.

Fang Yuan and Liu Lian walked in one after the other.

Both were somewhat confused.

Yesterday, news of the Dean's return had just come from Xie Wangsheng's side, and before they could celebrate, they were summoned here by an emergency order.

Moreover, the order specifically emphasized that only the two of them were needed.

The office was uncharacteristically quiet.

There was no sound of TV shows, nor the rustling of snack packaging.

Li Heng was sitting in that familiar, worn-out executive chair; he wasn't holding his phone or spicy stripss, just absentmindedly twirling a pen.

The pen was a ballpoint pen from the convenience store at the foot of the mountain, costing one yuan for two.

"Dean," Fang Yuan spoke first, sensing that the atmosphere today was a bit off.

Liu Lian just nodded, his white hair hanging over his shoulders, his eyes calmly watching Li Heng.

Li Heng stopped twirling the pen and tossed it onto the desk.

"Sit."

The two sat on the sofa opposite him as told.

Li Heng didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point: "I called you here to arrange an extracurricular activity."

Fang Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

He was all too familiar with the Dean's tone; every time he mentioned an "extracurricular activity" or "team building," what followed was enough to be recorded in the annals of the cultivation world.

Last time it was going to the Qingyun Realm, where they directly transformed a world on the brink of destruction into a Kunlun branch campus.

What was it this time?

Li Heng raised his hand and grabbed at the Void Realm.

A fist-sized crystal core, flowing with pure golden light, appeared in his palm.

It was the one brought back from the Chihuang Realm.

"Do you recognize this?"

Fang Yuan nodded: "You brought it out last time in the Qingyun Realm; it resonated with the Origin of the Nine Kings."

"Mhm." Li Heng placed the crystal core on the desk with a dull thud. "This thing, the Nine Kings of the Qingyun Realm, and the Guixu Organization that caused trouble on Earth before, all use the same kind of energy."

He spoke very flatly, as if he were saying the weather was nice today.

But Fang Yuan's and Liu Lian's expressions froze instantly.

Three completely different worlds, three seemingly independent events, and the root cause was actually the same?

"Xie Wangsheng made a calculation." Li Heng leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head. "The earliest layout was from 120,000 years ago. Some guy, or some organization, spent 120,000 years placing chess pieces in different worlds."

"The Little Heavenly Court of the Chihuang Realm is a harvester, specifically harvesting the top-tier Cultivators."

"The Primeval Prison of the Qingyun Realm is a power bank, constantly drawing energy from the Void Realm through the Nine Kings."

"The Guixu Organization on Earth is a construction crew, responsible for paving the way for something to descend."

Li Heng's tone didn't ripple in the slightest, yet every word was like a heavy hammer, smashing hard against Fang Yuan's and Liu Lian's hearts.

120,000 years!

What kind of time scale was this?

Nascent Soul Cultivators have a Lifespan of a thousand years, and even the Mahayana Stage is only ten thousand years.

120,000 years—how many generations of Cultivators' cycles of Reincarnation would that be?

And all of this was actually just a game of chess laid out by some existence.

Fang Yuan felt his breathing become somewhat labored. He thought that by shattering his core to form a Nascent Soul and wielding the five thunders shaking heaven drum, he was already a powerhouse, but before this chess game spanning 120,000 years, he was as tiny as a speck of dust.

Liu Lian's sword heart had always been stable, but at this moment, he couldn't help but clench his fists; the phantom of the divine osmanthus tree behind him seemed to dim for a moment.

"Dean..." Fang Yuan's voice was a bit dry. "What exactly does that entity who laid out the plan want to do?"

"I don't know," Li Heng's answer was blunt. "Maybe they want to be resurrected, maybe they want to become stronger, or maybe they're just plain bored. It's not important."

Not important?

Both Fang Yuan and Liu Lian were stunned.

This isn't important?

"What's important is that he's been playing this game for 120,000 years, which is a bit too long." Li Heng sat up straight, picked up the crystal core from the desk again, and tossed it in his hand. "I'm not a patient person; I don't like waiting."

He looked at his two most prized Disciples before him.

"So, I've decided to finish this game for him."

Fang Yuan's and Liu Lian's minds went blank.

The Dean wants to... take over this game?

"A plan laid out for so long must have many hidden lines and backup moves. It's too much trouble to find them one by one." Li Heng tossed the crystal core into Fang Yuan's arms.

Fang Yuan caught it instinctively; the warm touch and the terrifying energy contained within made his palms feel heavy.

"This crystal core is the catalyst; it shares the same source as the Origin of the Nine Kings."

"The two of you, go to the Qingyun Realm right now."

"Your task is very simple."

Li Heng held up one finger.

"Wake up all seven remaining 'Kings' for me."

The office fell into a deathly silence.

Fang Yuan held the crystal core, feeling as if he weren't holding a treasure but a bomb capable of detonating the entire Universe.

Awakening just one King of Eternal Night had already caused the Laws of the Qingyun Realm to fluctuate.

Now, the Dean wanted them to wake up all seven of the remaining ones?

This wasn't playing a game; this was clearly flipping the table!

"Dean, if we do this..." Fang Yuan spoke with difficulty, "the Seal of the Qingyun Realm will completely collapse. Once all nine of those beings are free, I'm afraid..."

"The point is to let it collapse," Li Heng interrupted him.

"Think about it: nine of the biggest fish are kept in a fishpond, usually hiding at the bottom. If you want to lure out the pond owner, what's the fastest way?"

Fang Yuan answered instinctively: "Blow up the fishpond?"

"Smart." Li Heng nodded approvingly. "The Nine Kings are those nine fish, and they're also the batteries that keep the entire Primeval Prison running. Activate them all, and the entire energy-gathering array will overload. When that happens, no matter which corner the guy behind the scenes is sleeping in, he'll be jolted awake by the commotion."

Fang Yuan understood.

He completely understood.

The Dean's logic was always this simple, crude, and effective.

What conspiracies, what eternal layouts—before absolute power, just smash it with one punch and be done with it.

Light shone in Liu Lian's eyes again.

His sword path was about protection, but also about cutting through all delusions.

The Dean's approach perfectly aligned with his sword heart.

No matter the chess game, I shall break it with a single sword strike.

"Understood." Liu Lian stood up, his voice steady and powerful.

Fang Yuan also took a deep breath, carefully stowed the crystal core, and stood up solemnly. "Mission guaranteed."

"Go on then." Li Heng waved his hand as if shooing away two flies, his body lazily sinking back into the chair.

Just as the two turned to leave, Li Heng's voice rang out again.

"Wait a moment."

The two turned back.

They saw Li Heng slowly pluck two hairs from his head.

The hair was jet-black and shiny, looking utterly ordinary.

With a flick of his finger, the two hairs flew toward Fang Yuan and Liu Lian respectively, floating before them.

"Take this."

"You're going to flip the table this time, and the commotion might be a bit loud. If you accidentally break a table leg, just throw this thing out."

Fang Yuan and Liu Lian looked at the hair before them, thinner than spider silk, both a bit dazed.

What kind of... Magic Treasure is this?

"Dean, what is this?"

"A protective talisman." Li Heng pulled a bag of potato chips from a drawer and tore open the packaging with a crisp "crack." "It's one-time use; once it's gone, it's gone."

He added a sentence indistinctly while eating the chips.

"It should... be able to save your lives once."

After saying that, he ignored the two of them, focusing intently on the chips in his hand, as if the earth-shattering conversation from moments ago had never happened.

Fang Yuan and Liu Lian exchanged a look, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

They carefully stowed the hair, gave Li Heng a deep bow, then turned and tore through space, disappearing from the office.

The office returned to silence, leaving only the "crunch" of chips being chewed.

Li Heng leaned back in his chair, his gaze falling outside the window.

Outside the window, the Kunlun Immortal Mountain was shrouded in mist, with cranes flying about, a scene of total peace.

"120,000 years..."

He muttered softly, then grabbed another chip and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Since you love playing chess so much, I'll play along for a bit."