Inside Jade Void Palace, there was dead silence.
That Heavenly Dao Announcement was like an invisible shackle wrapped around the primordial spirits of every Chan Sect Golden Immortal.
After a long while.
Guangchengzi slowly opened his eyes.
There was no collapse or despair in those ancient well-still eyes of his—only an even deeper madness, frozen beneath ice.
"Buy them."
He said only one word.
"Senior Brother!" True Person Taiyi cried out. "One set costs a hundred thousand Merit! With so many of us, this... this will empty Kunlun Mountain's reserves!"
"Buy them."
Guangchengzi repeated himself. His voice was not loud, but it carried unquestionable resolve.
He swept his gaze over the stunned faces, his voice icy.
"Do you think those hundred thousand Merit are buying books?"
"No."
"What we're buying is an entry ticket."
"The right to stay at the same table as Chen Changsheng and keep playing!"
He drew a deep breath. The fire of competition that had been extinguished within him reignited in an even more obsessive form.
"If he sets the questions, then we solve them."
"If he marks the key points, then we memorize the books until they fall apart!"
"If he wants to use 'knowledge' to build a high wall, then we'll use Merit to smash that wall down by force!"
He looked at True Person Taiyi.
"Gather all the disciples and take stock of the Merit treasury. If it isn't enough, borrow from every cave abode throughout the Three Realms that is friendly with our Chan Sect!"
"Tell them that the Chan Sect will repay this Merit twice over!"
Then he looked at Jiang Ziya.
"Junior Brother, come with me to Golden Ao Island."
"I want Chen Changsheng to see the Chan Sect's resolve with his own eyes."
Outside Golden Ao Island.
When Guangchengzi