Chapter 430: Becoming His Pawn

The words had barely finished.

A long-dead supreme voice echoed.

“Your guess is correct. He once had another player in the game—and I was that player.”

The Three First Immortal Sovereigns of Jiuzhou: “What?!!”

At this moment.

Even their two-thousand-year-old composure shattered completely; their faces lost all expression.

Utterly shocking!

The long-dead one was a player.

The shock of this truth left the Three First Immortal Sovereigns of Jiuzhou reeling; their eyes never left the long-dead supreme, fixed on him with unblinking intensity.

They had never once considered that the long-dead supreme might lie or joke—because it was impossible. Such a joke could not be made, nor was there any reason to make it; lying held no meaning.

Gulp…

The terrifying truth made Xiang Hong feel his body flush hot, his mouth dry; he swallowed hard.

Throughout time, mortals had never ceased seeking Him, speculating about the player, the game, the hidden truths—because this was the ultimate secret.

The original battlefield, the conflict between past and future, the betrayal in ancient Babylonian myths—all involved the game, all sparked by the player’s moves.

All beings wanted to know: who, besides Him, was the player?

If they knew, perhaps they could unravel the game’s secrets.

But it was too hard. Even now, despite knowing so much, they had not a single clue about the player.

Now, one player stood right before them. Xiang Hong felt as if in a dream—he wanted to slap himself hard, just to see if he was dreaming.

In truth, he knew.

He was not dreaming. The long-dead supreme stood before him, real and undeniable.

This was the player!!!

The destined architect, the originator of the conflict between past and future,

How could they have imagined that the terrifying entity who viewed all beings as pawns and the world as a game board—was one of them? The long-dead supreme.

Including Xiang Hong and the others, everyone’s impression of the player was uniform.

The player regarded all as ants, saw nothing in the world as worthy of notice. To him, all beings and all worlds were merely tools of play—summoned at will, discarded without thought.

If one were to ask what was heaven in this world,

People would not think of the future supreme, but of the player.

Compared to the future supreme, the player was more like heaven itself—manipulating beings and worlds in his palm, never showing the slightest emotion. To him, even the supreme beings of the world were but important pawns.

And when the game demanded victory, even the supreme could be discarded.

The player—the greatest terror in the world, without equal.

And yet, this player—the very image in mortals’ minds—was the long-dead supreme.

No!!

He should not be called the long-dead supreme. Perhaps he should be called the Long-Dead Unique…

Such an entity could never be a supreme. Nine times out of ten, he had surpassed the supreme and achieved the Unique!

Unbelievable.

This man before them, warm and ever-smiling, like a kind uncle—was the player who manipulated all beings and the world as if they were pawns? Until now, they could never have linked the two.

A smiling tiger?

A dagger hidden behind a smile?

Xiang Hong and the others shook their heads.

The Long-Dead Unique could not be a smiling tiger. They could feel it—he was not faking his smile. His warmth and kindness were genuine, detectable even in the depths of their souls.

If his strength were so great they could not read him, that might be explainable—but still, he had no reason at all to tell them he was the player.

Such an entity would never care for mortals. Why would he lie to them?

It was like a human capturing an ant and then lying to it.

Since he was the player, he had no need to lie—yet here he was, gentle and kind, utterly unlike the heartless being who manipulates worlds and beings.

Where was the mistake?

A flash of insight struck them—they were not fools, and instantly understood where their understanding had gone wrong.

Wrong!

The Long-Dead Unique was the player—but not the heartless one they imagined. Only one possibility remained: their perception was flawed.

Mortals’ understanding of the player was mistaken.

Perhaps the player never truly saw beings as ants, never manipulated the world for sport.

But if not for sport, why then treat beings as pawns and the world as a game board?

The more truth they learned, the more confused they became.

The Long-Dead Unique had saved Su Daji because she was the last bloodline of Qingqiu—he could not be a cold-blooded being.

Then the question arose:

If the Long-Dead Unique was not cold-blooded, why then treat beings as pawns and the world as a game board?

There must be some reason.

As they sank into wild speculation, the Long-Dead Unique spoke:

“Meeting is fate. You are also my youngest son’s group members. I give you a gift.”

He flicked his finger.

Three glowing lights shot forth, landing in the hands of the Three First Immortal Sovereigns of Jiuzhou.

The light faded.

Nine identical tokens appeared—of unknown material, neither iron nor stone.

“Thank you, Long-Dead Unique, for this gift.”

They did not know what the tokens did—but they still thanked him. After all, this was a gift from the player—how could it be ordinary?

Nine?

Is he giving these to all group members? The group, excluding the owner, has exactly nine members.

“Long-Dead Unique, may we ask you some questions?”

Seeing the Long-Dead Unique about to leave, Xiang Hong could not help speaking up.

He was simply too curious—he needed answers.

Why did the player play the game? For what purpose? And how had He replaced the Long-Dead Unique’s position as player?

The Long-Dead Unique smiled—he had already seen what Xiang Hong wanted to ask, and spoke first:

“If you wish to know why the game is played, grow stronger. Become strong enough to become His pawn—and then you will know.”

He paused.

He glanced at Xiang Hong and the others, and smiled warmly:

“He replaced me because he was worthy. I could not defeat him. I needed someone to carry on my task—even though he has lost once before, I saw hope.”

He said no more.

The Long-Dead Unique stepped away. Though he walked slowly, calmly, as if strolling through a courtyard, he vanished within a few steps—gone without trace, leaving behind only a simple, tranquil back view for the Three First Immortal Sovereigns of Jiuzhou.

Long after.

The Three First Immortal Sovereigns of Jiuzhou came back to themselves.

The Long-Dead Unique’s two brief sentences held immense meaning—they could not help but ponder.

“Become His pawn…”

“Was the Long-Dead Unique willing to be replaced?”

“He had lost the game before? This…”

The three stood frozen.

Finally, they shook their heads. After much thought, they could not find answers—so they let it go.

“Shall we continue forward, or return?”

The Three First Immortal Sovereigns asked.

“Return. We came here only to deliver the message to the Long-Dead Unique. The message has been delivered. There is no reason to stay.”

…