[At that moment, you froze, as though you had truly seen the "Old Self" from back then.]
[With nowhere left to retreat, he would overturn this chessboard. Only victory offered a sliver of hope.]
[You had actually guessed his intentions long ago, but hearing him truly say it still stirred something in you.]
["So... was this how the [Devil Master] felt back then?"]
[You sighed inwardly,]
[Perhaps because you had been drenched in the rain yourself, you now harbored the desire to tear other people's umbrellas apart.]
[In an instant, overwhelming pressure descended with a thunderous crash. You seemed furious at hearing him say such a thing, your displayed "anger" almost tangible:]
["You have no idea how high heaven stands or how deep the earth runs! What gives you the power to overturn this game?"]
[You really resembled the [Devil Master] back then now. Had he been thinking the same thing at the time...?]
[Facing your interrogation, "Chen Hei" was neither servile nor arrogant as he said, word by word:]
["I have lost too many times. Or rather, I have never won at all."]
["I have tasted failure too many times. I have tried countless times, and even harbored far too many naive ideas, but in the end, there was only pain. Everything, absolutely everything that came before, paled before the pain of failure!"]
["How boundless my glory once was! I could even contend with the [Supreme Dao Immortal Venerable], who was unrivaled throughout history. But alas..."]
["I lost! I lost utterly, reduced to a beaten dog with a broken spine, trapped deep within a cage, unable to live freely or even die freely."]
[You stared blankly at him. Perhaps this was the first time you had seen him reveal himself so honestly, and you did not interrupt.]
[**"But I