Shen Family, Why Do You Always Give Such Easy Questions

Your "marshal" was trampled to death by the old man's "knight."

You widened your eyes, your right hand sneaking about, trying to take back a move.

But the other party's terrifying pressure deterred you, making you dare not move.

"Old sir, your chess skills are formidable as well."

The old man smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

"It's just that I have a good memory. I've laid out all possible positions for every piece on the board and memorized them. I've seen every move you make, so naturally, it's easy to deal with."

"The number of permutations and combinations is terrifying. Have you been playing chess your whole life?"

The old man smiled without answering, pointing at the chessboard instead.

"Another game?"

"Alright! I'll definitely win this one!"

The warm breeze was gentle all around, the sunlight bright and beautiful.

The air was filled with the scent of flowers and the fragrance of earth. From time to time, a butterfly would fly between the two of you, briefly alighting on the chessboard before fluttering its wings and flying away.

This harmonious atmosphere made you doubt for a moment whether you had wronged the Shen family.

It seems very safe here, where's the danger?

"I need your body."

Damn it!

The old man's shocking statement caught you off guard. You were just about to use your cannon to take his knight, but upon hearing this, you almost switched to using your mouth to curse his mother.

"As expected, there's no such thing as a free lunch. The Shen family had ulterior motives."

The old man continued playing chess.

"You should know you have no choice."

You let out a bitter laugh.

"Of course. I presume you, old thing, are no pushover. I'm probably no match for you..."

The key point is, this old man still appears human. Although what he intends to do is quite inhumane, the tags can't classify him as a non-human.

He's not a ghost, but a living person.

Your two major combat tags cannot take effect. The only chance to fight is with the "Tag Sling."

But with such a large gap in cultivation and at such close range, it's highly likely that the moment you show any unusual movement, you'll be subdued by him immediately.

So you need to stay calm, bide your time, and look for the right opportunity to gamble.

"Why hasn't this old fossil made a move yet?"

Since things are out in the open, you dropped the politeness, calling him "old thing" one moment and "old fossil" the next.

The old man wasn't angry either. His emotions seemed never to change, his face perpetually wearing a composed smile.

"No hurry. I want to talk with you. I hope you can die with clarity, so I don't accumulate too much resentment on myself. Cleaning it up is quite troublesome."

Great!

In the simulations, you love doing two things the most.

First, improving cultivation, learning techniques, extending lifespan to draw tags, etc., because these can be inherited!

Second, gathering intelligence, obtaining information, to gain foresight!

Over the past ten years, the Shen family has already done the first thing for you. Now, let this old man before you do the second.

"Who are you?"

"I am the Ancestor of the Shen family. Everyone you've seen in the Shen family of the Star Domain are my descendants. The foundation of the Shen family exclusively occupying the Star Domain was also laid by me."

You gasped in shock.

"I heard the Shen family has a history of tens of thousands of years. You're the Ancestor, so how old are you?"

"Over thirty thousand years old... It's been too long, I can't quite remember clearly."

"How have you lived so long? Have you become an immortal?"

"Become an immortal? I wish, but unfortunately not. That's precisely why I need your body."

"You want to possess me?"

"To be precise, it's soul compatibility.

In our world, there is no method for possession.

I can achieve a similar effect and maintain my soul's vigor for tens of thousands of years because I created a set of techniques and secret arts based on the characteristics of my own bloodline.

As long as my descendants can cultivate the set of techniques I created, it means their bloodline shows signs of ancestral reversion. The faster they comprehend it, the more their bloodline has reverted.

In other words, the more compatible that body is with me.

In fact, the Shen family has perfected this secret art.

Did they have you participate in the 'Mirror Holder' selection? Did they give you many pills to boost cultivation and medicinal baths to improve physique?"

"That's right."

"Boosting cultivation and improving physique are just the surface. The essence of those medicines is to alter your constitution, making your bodily characteristics closer to my original form."

Cold sweat broke out on your back.

You didn't feel much from the pills.

But you did notice something off about those medicinal baths.

They were said to improve physique, but with small soaks every three days and big soaks every seven days, you didn't feel any significant change in your physique.

You thought improving physique was something that happened gradually, couldn't be rushed, so the effects weren't obvious.

Ancestor Shen Yang continued.

"The improved 'Soul Compatibility Secret Art' no longer requires selecting successors from my direct bloodline descendants.

They had clan members leave some 'seeds' during their training journeys in the Five Domains and Great Wilderness.

These are the so-called Dustline branches.

When my body is nearing its end, I go to the Dustline branches to select a batch of people, bring them up, and then meticulously choose one from among them to serve as my next vessel.

Unfortunately for you, you are the chosen one."

The calmer Ancestor Shen Yang spoke, the more certain you felt that today was your last day.

Gritting your teeth, you said,

"Relying on killing your descendants to achieve longevity, your long life is truly despicable!"

Ancestor Shen Yang smiled.

"I know. But it's the only way. I must live, so I can only sacrifice all of you."

You stood up angrily.

"You must live? I spit on that! Is the life of Ancestor Shen so precious, while we insignificant descendants are just dust? Life should not be measured!"

Ancestor Shen Yang remained seated, fiddling with the chess pieces.

It was as if, through the colossal entity of the Shen family, he extracted resources, nurtured descendants, using the world as his chessboard and living people as his pieces, to perpetuate his own life for millennia.

Everything you say is correct. But today you still must give your life to fulfill mine. After all, you are my descendant, Shen Yang.

Shen Yang? More like Harbin!

You mocked him inwardly.

However, you seized on a key point.

"You know I'm your descendant too. Why would you rather harm your own descendants than possess someone else? Couldn't the Shen family modify their physique to be compatible with you?"

Shen Yang shook his head.

"Impossible. The modifications must also be based on you being my descendant. If I forcibly possessed an outsider, my soul would suffer backlash, with unthinkable consequences."

Hearing this, your emotions immediately stabilized. You sat back down and continued playing chess with him.

"Hahaha!"

Outside the simulation, Chen Yi was overjoyed.

He could easily imagine how hard the simulated version of himself was struggling to hold back laughter right now.

"Shen family, oh Shen family, why do you keep handing out such easy questions?"