Surging clouds and fog suddenly appeared at This Street’s Best Zither Pavilion.
The moment the clouds and fog appeared, a bellow came from the interior: “I have the strength to pick up mountains, and my might conquers the world!”
As the bellow rang out, a halberd suddenly materialized in the fog, chopping down at Fang Minghou’s golden saber.
Boom!
A loud sound erupted as a storm instantly swept out in all directions.
Before everyone’s wide-opened eyes, the halberd blocked Fang Minghou’s golden saber. Furthermore, the powerful momentum even rebounded, instantly sending Fang Minghou crashing into the World’s Best Zither Pavilion’s ruins.
Rumble…!
The previous World’s Best Zither Pavilion suddenly collapsed.
“What?” Lu An’s expression changed.
On the ground, vomiting blood, Jiang Tianqi stammered with a horrified voice and wide eyes, “This is…this is?”
“Oh! This is the Twenty-Eight Line-Pair World Ritual Array. I recently earned a lot of spirit stones, so I laid a strengthened version,” Gu Hai said with a faint smile.
“The Twenty-Eight Line-Pair World Ritual Array? That’s impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could you possibly know the Twenty-Eight Line-Pair World Ritual Array?” Jiang Tianqi roared while glaring.
“I already said that the Twenty-Eight Line-Pair World Ritual Array is nothing much. However, you refused to believe me. There’s nothing I can do about that,” Gu Hai sighed while shaking his head.
“You know the Twenty-Eight Line-Pair World Ritual Array? You learned it long ago? Why didn’t you say so earlier?! Why?!” Jiang Tianqi depressedly vomited another mouthful of blood.Blargh!
The Go puzzles derived from the Twenty-Eight Line-Pair World Ritual Array that Jiang Tianqi felt proud of were just Gu Hai’s leftovers? Why didn’t you say so earlier? Why?!
Jiang Tianqi despaired.
Lu An goggled. He knew how strong Fang Minghou was. How did the ritual array completely block the attack? So, Gu Hai already comprehended the Twenty-Eight Line-Pair World Go Puzzle that Jiang Tianqi raved about. How could it be like this?
“Young Master An, it is time to stop before going too far,” Gu Hai said indifferently.
“You bastard! These businesses belong to my grandfather. Gu Hai, I will not let you off! I will not let you off! He Shikang, take down Gu Hai! Take him down! I want to seize everything he has!” Lu An roared while showing a ferocious expression.
Despite Lu An’s shouted order, he did not see He Shikang move. Instead, he saw a gray-clad old man giving him an icy glare.
“Ah? Mister Mo, why are you here?” Lu An’s expression changed as he shivered.
“Ha! So, Young Master An still remembers me. Young Master An, how capable of you! Does it feel good to squander the duke’s businesses?” Mo Yike smiled coldly.
“Ah? Mister Mo! Listen to me. It is all Gu Hai! He tricked us! Oh, right! Mister Mo, your Go Dao is extremely strong. You even played the Twenty-Nine Line-Pair World Go Puzzle before. You definitely can defeat him! You can win everything back!” Lu An ran over with excitement.
Slap!
However, Mo Yike slapped him.
This slap was very light but sounded resonant.
It was light because it was just an ordinary slap, resonant because everyone on the street fell quiet and inhaled sharply after that slap.
Who is this? Is he someone incredible? That is Young Master An, Duke Yang’s direct grandson! Yet, he slapped Young Master An?
Lu An held his cheek as he glared at Mo Yike. “You! You! How dare you hit me? I am…I am—”
“You are the duke’s direct grandson, the next successor to his position? Haha! Do you believe that all it takes is a word from me, and you will no longer be in line to succeed? Even your father can forget about succeeding the duke’s position. All your uncles and everyone else would immediately abandon you,” Mo Yike said coldly.
As Lu An held his cheek, he shivered. He looked at Mo Yike for a while before gritting his teeth and lowering his head.
Nearby, Long Wanqing whispered to Gu Hai, “This is Duke Lu Yang’s best adviser, Mo Yike. Duke Lu Yang values him greatly.”
“I can tell,” Gu Hai said with a bitter smile.
Lu An did not dare to say anything about the slap, instantly cowed into submission. This indicated Mo Yike’s status in Duke Lu Yang’s faction.
“Mister Mo, I…I was wrong. However, you still can win them back!” Lu An said politely in a soft voice while he held his cheek.
“It looks like you still have not learned your lesson. I will not help you gamble. Humph!” Mo Yike coldly eyed Lu An.
Lu An’s expression froze, appearing wronged.
“Ha! It looks like I will have to mention this to the duke. Are those teachers in the clan trash? To think that they produced you. Did the teachers never teach you how to gamble?” Mister Mo said coldly.
“How to gamble? Ah? Mister Mo, are you saying that Gu Hai cheated?” Lu An exclaimed while goggling.
Slap!
Mo Yike threw another slap.
The surroundings hushed. Lu An now held both cheeks as he looked at Mo Yike in horror.
“Humph! How to gamble refers to the knowledge you need to know when gambling. The first lesson is that you lose whenever you gamble. You cannot casually take up gambling. The second lesson is to know yourself and your opponent. With that, you will win every wager. Before initiating a wager, you need to understand the opponent’s situation. Do you know yourself and your opponent well?
“Did you clarify Gu Hai’s situation before making this wager?
“I have never seen such an idiot at gambling as you. Despite being the initiator, you actually lost everything. To think you dare to mention gambling!
“Know yourself and your opponent well. Never mind not understanding Gu Hai’s situation, but you don’t even know your own situation?
“Do you think that this Jiang Tianqi’s Go Dao is undefeatable, and you can just casually find anyone to wager with?” Mo Yike said with a cold stare.
“I!” Lu An gaped.
“Jiang Tianyi!” Mo Yike looked at the nearby Jiang Tianyi.
“Present!” Jiang Tianyi responded in fear.
“How bold of you, making wagers in the duke’s name! Are you trying to make the duke an unjust person?!” Mo Yike glared.
“I…I…” Jiang Tianyi stammered bitterly.
“Mister Mo, I was the one who lost the businesses. However, we can’t just lose them like that, right?” Lu An said fearfully.
Mo Yike raised his right hand, and Lu An immediately shut up, covering his mouth.
“Humph! Even if you are shameless, the duke is not. A loss is a loss. Don’t tell me you want to snatch them away by force?” Mo Yike glared.
Slap!
Mo Yike slapped Lu An again.
“Good slap!”
“Mister Mo, good slap!”
“He is an embarrassment to the duke; he deserves to be slapped!”
The surrounding cultivators started laughing.
Although this scene seemed shocking at first, the crowd got used to it after a few slaps. As they watched Lu An get slapped by Mo Yike, they felt happy.
When Fang Minghou climbed out of the rumble and saw Mo Yike, he turned solemn and stood to the side extremely respectfully, not daring to step forward.
“Jiang Tianyi, I used to think highly of you. That was why I left Silver Moon City to you. Yet, you messed up like this?” Mo Yike coldly eyed Jiang Tianyi.
“Please punish me!” Jiang Tianyi said bitterly after kneeling.
“Do you know where you went wrong now?” Mo Yike looked at Jiang Tianyi coldly.
“Business has its rules. From the very beginning, I should not have let Young Master An do whatever he pleased in the World’s Best Zither Pavilion. From there, the mistakes just piled up. I failed to advise and stop Young Master An,” Jiang Tianyi admitted bitterly.
“Humph! You still can be saved. At least you understand that business has its rules. If you plant a seed of evil, you will harvest fruits of evil. I told you this long ago. You are not to involve other things with business. At least you have a good memory,” Mo Yike said coldly.
Jiang Tianyi remained kneeling, not daring to say anything.
After Mo Yike vented his anger, he turned his head and looked in Gu Hai’s direction.
His expression immediately turned warm. “Mo Yike greets Elite Hall Master and Mister Gu!”
This demeanor surprised Long Wanqing somewhat. Then, she responded, “Greetings, Mister Mo!”
Gu Hai nodded.
“Mister Gu, Young Master An is young and rash, ignorant. This humble one apologizes to Mister Gu on Young Master An’s behalf.” Mo Yike gave Gu Hai a slight bow.
Bowing to Gu Hai?
This instantly stunned the crowd. When Mo Yike arrived, he overbearingly slapped Lu An. Now, he bowed to Gu Hai?
This slightly surprised Gu Hai as well. “Mister Mo is too polite. There’s no need for this.”
“I need to. This humble one is just expressing a stance to Mister Gu. Lu An and his group’s actions do not represent the duke. Also, the duke has always been appreciative of talents like Mister Gu. This humble one is not talented and would just like to befriend Mister Gu. I sincerely invite Mister Gu to work with us,” Mo Yike said with a faint smile.
Long Wanqing goggled as she looked at Mo Yike. What is the situation? Is he poaching my men?
They just met, and he wants to recruit Gu Hai for Duke Lu Yang?
In a nearby pavilion, Sima Changkong narrowed his eyes. “This Mo Yike lives up to his reputation as Duke Lu Yang’s best adviser. He immediately saw Gu Hai’s value and wanted to recruit him for Duke Lu Yang? He acts fast!”
The surrounding cultivators were bewildered by this scene, unable to follow the situation. The two sides had been fighting to the death earlier. Then, they started showing respect for each other in the blink of an eye.
Gu Hai looked at Mo Yike in confusion. Then, he smiled bitterly. “Mister Mo must be joking. After today’s situation, wouldn’t Mister Mo’s effort be futile? Please don’t mention this again.”
“No, no. Mister Gu does not understand Duke Lu Yang’s attitude towards talents. As long as Mister Gu is willing to join the duke, this Young Master An? Haha! He will no longer be in the line of succession. Instead, he will just be an ordinary grandson of the duke. Mister Gu, there’s no need to worry about him bringing you trouble,” Mo Yike said.
Lu An’s expression changed, showing horror.
This statement caused a commotion among the surrounding cultivators. This Mo Yike had such great authority? Being a direct grandson meant that Lu An held the highest status among all of Duke Lu Yang’s grandchildren. If Duke Lu Yang passed away, the successor, Lu An’s father, would take over. If the successor passed away, the direct grandson would take over.
[TL Note: “Direct grandson” specifically refers to the first son of the first son, so the first grandson from the eldest son.]
Mo Yike could strike him from the line of succession with just his word?
