"Hiss..."
Chen Kuang stared at the short line of text before him and drew in a sharp breath, muttering to himself.
"This passive... is kind of absurd."
Terrifying. There was no other word for it. This passive could only be described with one phrase:
Utterly outrageous.
Of all the passives he had obtained so far, perhaps only Flesh Reishi and Invincible Before the Divine combined could barely compare in terms of the overall effect.
"If the highest-grade passives I've seen so far were purple rarity, then this one is without a doubt a golden legendary."
His eyes were practically glowing as he fixated on the small line of text in front of him.
If the Refusal Stands passive had a consciousness, it would probably say: "But I refuse!"
"After all this suffering, finally something decent!"
The passive was just one short sentence, but concise and terrifying in its precision.
Once you refuse, it simply cannot happen.
What was this?
This was the law of causality!
If used correctly, the things it could help accomplish were practically limitless.
"Still... this passive's specific activation conditions are unclear. The right to interpret it lies with it, not with me. That's troublesome."
Chen Kuang frowned.
"'Refuse someone's request', how loosely or strictly that 'request' is interpreted makes a huge difference."
"For example, if someone wants me dead, and I refuse, is what I'm rejecting 'his wish for me to die,' or is it simply 'my death' itself?"
"Those two outcomes... are worlds apart."
That was his concern. He'd always had a habit of thinking the worst, especially in a high-cultivation world like this.
With a causality law this strong, it was entirely possible that other top-tier cultivators might detect its ripples.
Ever since he found out that Xi Mengquan had started planning for this moment ten years ago, just thinking about what those old monsters were capable of gave him chills.
"No matter how great this passive is... I'll have to use it cautiously."
Which also meant he could no longer refuse people casually.
What if he accidentally refused something he wasn't supposed to? That kind of mistake could cost him dearly.
"But... if I refuse one thing, then refuse its opposite too, would that... bug the system and cancel everything out?"
He suddenly had this dumb idea and got a little excited.
But almost instantly, Blood Premonition exploded in alarm.
A blinding headache assaulted him, followed by dizziness, even a moment of suffocating pressure.
It felt worse than when he was nearly killed before!
"Okay, okay! I won't think about it anymore!"
Chen Kuang hurriedly shook his head and dismissed the suicidal thought from his mind.
He wiped cold sweat from his brow.
"That's terrifying... Clearly, the consequences aren't as simple as just canceling each other out."
This passive was powerful, but dangerously so.
Strangely enough, though, such a powerful passive had activated under very casual circumstances.
Compared to the life-and-death situations he'd previously endured to get other passives, this one seemed laughably easy to trigger.
Chen Kuang rubbed his chin and began to ponder.
"Could it be... doing weird and unconventional things is actually the right way to get strong passives?"
Maybe he should try more strange behaviors in the future.
He sat down and adjusted his breathing, stabilizing his current cultivation.
Now that all nine apertures were open, his meridians surged with Spiritual Energy, like nine water pumps running at full strength.
The effect of the Fetal Breathing Technique became even more pronounced, with his meridians expanding and strengthening with each circulation.
There was even a faint sense of his Spiritual Energy beginning to condense and stabilize, an omen of stepping into the Innate Realm.
Even though he had only just opened his ninth aperture, the density and quality of his Spiritual Energy already matched that of a true Innate-level cultivator.
His First Aspect, Descent from Tusita Heaven, had compressed and refined his Spiritual Energy throughout battle. It truly was a supreme technique.
Chen Kuang had complicated feelings.
When he broke out of the Heavenly Prison, he'd needed the aid of the Carefree Wine to barely simulate an Innate-level strength.
Yet in only three short days, he now possessed the genuine equivalent of pseudo-Innate realm power.
He placed Longyin to the side, rose from the couch, and opened the window to look out toward the harbor.
The tower ship had already drifted slightly off course.
The current docking point was still some distance away from the main channel leading to Guandu Port.
The Wind and Rain Tower had come to receive the Great Zhou Enlightenment Envoy.
"Most likely, they want to settle this before the envoy arrives..."
Chen Kuang muttered.
But strangely, since the afternoon, the warnings from Blood Premonition had gradually weakened, and now, they had vanished altogether.
Backtracking a bit, he tried to pinpoint when the change occurred.
It seemed to be when he was contemplating Anonymous, and his spiritual sense had expanded to perceive the ship's interior and exterior.
Two things happened then:
1. Lin Eryou finished his conversation with Di Wu, and they parted.
2. Zhou Yanwei had revealed an intention to help Chen Kuang.
"Lin Eryou..."
Chen Kuang closed his eyes and recalled the conversation they'd had.
"If we had met earlier, you and I would surely be the best of friends."
"It's not too late now."
"Indeed, not too late..."
He'd meant it. He truly considered Chen Kuang a friend.
But could a friend so casually sell someone out?
In the brief time he'd spent with Lin Eryou, Chen Kuang didn't get that impression.
The two incomplete scores from the Music Saint were evidence of that.
If Lin Eryou were truly just a profit-seeker, there was no reason to give those priceless scores away.
And if his goal had simply been to stall Chen Kuang, he could've handed them over just before disembarkation to delay him. No need to increase his own risk so early.
He knew how to manipulate expectations. He wouldn't waste such a basic trick.
Wait...
Chen Kuang remembered overhearing a bit of Lin Eryou's conversation with Di Wu.
What was it again?
He focused, trying to recall.
The dialogue became clear in his memory.
"You're sure it's him?"
"Eighty to ninety percent sure."
Eighty to ninety percent... That line was a lie.
Chen Kuang froze.
He tugged at the corner of his mouth.
It was a fake?
Lin Eryou had knowingly fed Di Wu a false target?
Then... who did he point to?
There were only three male passengers on the ship: Chen Kuang, Qi Sibai, and Zhou Yanwei.
Chen Kuang was the real one and so obviously not the scapegoat.
Qi Sibai was well-known and difficult to impersonate.
Which left... Zhou Yanwei.
Low cultivation. No fame. And coincidentally, he was at the Sea-Cleaving Realm.
Even worse, Canglang Evaluation's editors had publicly listed "Chen Kuang" as an assumed Sea-Cleaving Realm.
Chen Kuang's expression grew incredibly strange.
"Although they've been traveling together for over a month, the tower ship was only recently rented by the Wind and Rain Tower... Di Wu probably isn't aware of the earlier passengers."
He stared blankly toward the sky.
Even the moon had nothing to say.
"Surely... it can't be this absurd, right?"
Why were there so many scheming old foxes in this world?
Was it too much to ask for a little honesty?
"But... why would Lin Eryou help me?"
He blinked in confusion.
Could it really be just for friendship? That seemed unlikely.
More like... Lin Eryou had been targeting Zhou Yanwei from the start.
The Next Morning.
The tower ship slowly approached the shore.
Several people gathered on the deck, breathing in the crisp morning air.
Below them, members of the Wind and Rain Tower stood silently in the corridor, blocking all access to the upper decks.
Di Wu stepped out of his cabin, looking up with eyes like lightning.
A wave of killing intent surged into the air.
Zhou Yanwei appeared, accompanied by his elderly attendant. When he saw Chen Kuang carrying his zither approaching, he stepped forward with a determined expression.
He clapped Chen Kuang on the shoulder, speaking with solemnity:
"Fellow Daoist Ruogu, do you remember what I said yesterday?"
"There are many matters in this world that people don't want to intervene in, either because they have no compassion, or because they lack the strength."
"But there are always some people who are different. They're willing to challenge the indifference of this world."
Chen Kuang twitched the corner of his mouth.
Looking at that earnest face, he nearly said something, but bit it back.
What a huge, hapless fool...
Blood Premonition was now completely silent, and his suspicions had all but been confirmed.
After a pause, he clapped Zhou Yanwei's shoulder in return and said with deep sincerity:
"There really are good people in this world."
"Brother Yanwei, if you ever run into trouble, I swear, I will never hesitate to help you!"