Chapter Thirty-Six: The Overturning of Supreme Destiny

The deck beneath Tianji Zi's feet shook violently; he couldn't tell if his body trembled from the quaking boards or from the rage that made him shudder all over.

"Even if what you say is true, how can you be certain I will lose?" Tianji Zi pointed at the two ingenious boxes. "One black, one white—any ordinary person choosing would have a fifty percent chance. Why should I be the one to lose?"

"No, you're wrong!" Hua Sheng crossed his arms over his chest, raising his chin. "The loser will always be you!"

Tianji Zi clenched his fists so tightly they seemed made of iron and stone. "Why? Even if it’s one out of two, you can’t beat me."

Hua Sheng said, "Then choose! Tell me: is it the black box or the white box?"

"Black..." Tianji Zi pointed at the black box, noticing his finger was shaking. "No! The white one!"

"Which is it—black or white?" Hua Sheng barked.

"White...black...no! White!" Tianji Zi bit his lip.

"Are you sure?"

"Hmph!"

"Very well, white it is." Hua Sheng walked to the black box. "Then the black box is mine."

"You—open it!" Tianji Zi jabbed a finger at Hua Sheng. "If you have the guts, open it!"

Hua Sheng strode to the black box. With a crisp snap, he opened it.

"Turn around!" Tianji Zi’s voice trembled with anger. "You can't have it, you never could!"

Hua Sheng turned, and Tianji Zi saw the black box open, Hua Sheng's hand reaching inside.

What was happening? How could the black box be glowing? It hadn’t shone before! Tianji Zi froze, dumbstruck.

Hua Sheng slowly withdrew his hand, holding a radiant talisman.

"A fine black box of the Enlightened Victory Buddha," Hua Sheng raised the talisman toward Tianji Zi.

Tianji Zi saw the glowing talisman inscribed with four bold characters: "Victory Buddha Pass."

"No! Impossible! It can’t be!" Tianji Zi shouted in fury. "You can’t win! I am the winner!"

"Wrong! In quantum space, we are equals. If you don’t believe it, open the white box; you’ll find nothing inside! The Victory Buddha Pass is with me."

Enraged and humiliated, Tianji Zi lunged for the white box, snatching it up.

"Do you want to know why, in a fair one-out-of-two, my luck is better than yours?" Hua Sheng, holding the Victory Buddha Pass, stepped before Tianji Zi. "Do you know why I said the winner would always be me?"

Tianji Zi glared murderously at Hua Sheng.

"I know you have feelings for Weiyu, and you knew her before I did. Not only that, you spend time together often. Your status is higher, your birth more distinguished. You are an immortal, I am merely human. So you must prevent me from being with her." Hua Sheng met Tianji Zi's stare, speaking each word deliberately. "But clearly, between you and me, Weiyu chose me! Not you!"

Hua Sheng pointed at Tianji Zi, shouting, "Because of this, I’ve known from the beginning—luck would never favor you!"

Tianji Zi’s eyes reddened with rage, the box in his hand crashing to the ground. "Damn you! You insect! You will never defeat me!"

Seeing Tianji Zi’s wrath, Hua Sheng leapt back, but Tianji Zi pounced straight at him. Hua Sheng dodged sideways, but Tianji Zi’s grasp was too swift—he tore a gash in Hua Sheng’s robe.

"You filthy insect, you beast! You cannot defeat an immortal!" Tianji Zi punched Hua Sheng in the chest, bending him over with pain. Seizing the moment, Tianji Zi snatched the Victory Buddha Pass from Hua Sheng’s grip.

He leapt back, laughing wildly. "Box snatching! Box snatching! That’s what this is—snatching! Who cares about luck? Quantum space, what nonsense! Strength, that’s what the Tianmu Trial is about! You’re just an insect! Just a worm! I am stronger than you, a thousandfold!"

The light around them faded; the wind-and-fire wheels encircling the group slowed and lost their heat. Rain resumed its heavy fall, wetting the earth and soaking their robes anew. The two wind-and-fire wheels descended from mid-air, landing gently in Mie Ying’s palms.

"Sigh..." Mie Ying let out a long breath.

Tianji Zi laughed triumphantly. "Tai Shang Young Lord, Mie Ying! One immortal, one spirit, yet you choose to associate with this insect! Now you’ve suffered for it, struggled in vain, and still lost! Helping an insect is always futile! I won—victory is mine!"

"No, Tianji Zi, you are not the winner! The winner is him!" Mie Ying pointed at Hua Sheng.

Tianji Zi raised the Victory Buddha Pass, shouting, "Look! The Victory Buddha Pass is in my hand!"

Mie Ying replied, "Since you have the Victory Buddha Pass, why isn’t the box snatching trial over?"

Tianji Zi found himself unable to answer. "How should I know? The immortal array is polluted, something must have gone wrong!"

Mie Ying gazed at the wind-and-fire wheels, speaking slowly, "I fear it’s not a malfunction. The box snatching trial simply isn’t finished."

Suddenly, laughter rang out—Hua Sheng clutched his chest, laughing aloud. He had been struck by Tianji Zi’s mighty blow, and only now seemed to recover. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but the pain did not stop him from straightening up and laughing heartily, as if he’d heard the world’s greatest joke.

"You insect! What are you laughing at?" Tianji Zi shouted.

"Box snatching, box snatching! You’re right—the essence is to seize the Victory Buddha Pass from the original holder." Hua Sheng pointed to the black box. "Look!"

Tianji Zi turned. The black box sat untouched.

Untouched?

"You clearly opened the black box!" Tianji Zi said. "Don’t think I didn’t see—it was open!"

"It was open," Hua Sheng agreed.

"Then how is it now closed..." Tianji Zi shouted, but didn’t finish.

Hua Sheng continued, "Because when another box is opened, the originally open box closes."

"And you, Tianji Zi," Hua Sheng crouched, picking up the white box. "You just opened the white box!"

Tianji Zi was stunned.

"The only trialer who can open the box containing the Victory Buddha Pass is you!" Hua Sheng raised the white box, revealing inside a small golden talisman.

Tianji Zi felt dizzy. "Impossible! The quantum space just now..."

"Ah, ignorance is frightening," Mie Ying tossed her hair. "But I’m not talking about you, Lord Registrar, I mean myself. If Hua Sheng hadn’t told me about quantum space, I’d never have known such a fascinating thing existed."

"Nonsense! How could Hua Sheng know the wind-and-fire wheels create quantum space? How could he know the Fire Wheel King’s..."

"Lord Registrar, are you still half asleep? Because... Hua Sheng made it up!" Mie Ying covered her mouth, giggling. "If it weren’t so entertaining, how would my Seventh Sister drag me into this drama with a mortal?"

Tianji Zi examined his talisman—just an ordinary illusion spell, nothing special. His teeth ground with fury. "You three! You conspired against me?"

"The Tianmu Trial is truly amusing!" Tai Shang Young Lord clapped. "Such splendid performances!"

"You wretches!" Tianji Zi roared, lunging at the Victory Buddha Pass in Hua Sheng’s hand.

Mie Ying, seeing Tianji Zi’s charge, cried, "Hua Sheng, beware!"

Hua Sheng tried to dodge, but it was too late—Tianji Zi was upon him. With no defense left, Hua Sheng grabbed the Victory Buddha Pass and swallowed it whole.

In an instant, the Blood Taiji shattered, the world collapsing inward, shrinking faster and faster until it became a black dot.

Moments before—

"Do you think your so-called quantum space trick can fool Tianji Zi in the Divine Mind Calculation trial?" Mie Ying glanced at Hua Sheng.

Hua Sheng exchanged a look with Tai Shang Young Lord, who leaned in. Hua Sheng lowered his voice. "Yes. Tianji Zi may not trust me, but if you, Third Sister, produce the wind-and-fire wheels, he will at least waver."

Tai Shang Young Lord said, "What good is wavering? He has Supreme Luck. No matter what he thinks, events always turn to his advantage."

Hua Sheng winked. "My aim is to make Tianji Zi waver."

Mie Ying asked, "Then what?"

Hua Sheng replied, "At first I had no absolute confidence, nor words to describe it. But later, in a dream, someone told me that only one thing in this world defeats all—logic. Logic defeats everything. And to defeat logic, you must use logic itself. That’s when I realized what I sought was to employ ‘logic.’"

"Wait! We all know what logic means, but what does it have to do with Supreme Luck?" Tai Shang Young Lord asked.

"First, we’re not trying to break his luck, but as long as we believe he has luck, he always will. We can’t defeat a foe whom we ourselves believe to possess ultimate luck, for we always think he will acquire what everyone desires." Hua Sheng continued, "But have you ever wondered, what does Supreme Luck, the utmost good fortune, truly mean?"

He looked at the puzzled faces of Mie Ying and Tai Shang Young Lord, then went on, "Good fortune isn’t truly about good events happening. It’s about an event that the person regards as lucky—that’s good fortune."

Tai Shang Young Lord’s expression stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"For example, someone’s mother leaves him a keepsake before passing, cheap but rich in memories, the most precious thing in his life. One day he wins the lottery, a huge sum. But while collecting his winnings, he loses his mother’s keepsake. Was winning the lottery good or bad?"

"Only the person knows for sure?"

"We’ve all heard the saying: ‘Misfortune is where fortune rests, fortune is where misfortune hides.’ Everything has two sides; how you feel determines luck. There are no absolute good or bad events—only the joy or sorrow of those involved. If something seems bad but truly makes the person happy..."

Tai Shang Young Lord interjected, "Then it’s good?"

Hua Sheng gave no direct answer, continuing, "So-called good and bad luck is not absolute, but rooted in ‘personal belief.’ Luck is a subjective feeling, not necessarily matching everyone else’s view. That is ‘logic.’"

Mie Ying asked, "How does this relate to quantum space?"

Hua Sheng explained, "Since it’s about personal belief, we must shake Tianji Zi, make him feel he’s lost the power of Supreme Luck! Once he loses faith in it, he’ll misjudge even obviously good things as bad."

Mie Ying said, "So make Tianji Zi doubt himself, give up luck, and treat the act of giving up luck itself as his own good fortune?"

"Though your phrasing is a bit convoluted, that’s right." Hua Sheng nodded. "Since luck relies on personal belief, Tianji Zi’s abilities and perceptions set the limits of Supreme Luck."

Mie Ying nodded. "I see! That’s why you needed the quantum space illusion!"

Hua Sheng said, "I read about it in a science magazine. I’m not sure Tianji Zi really understands it, but if he doesn’t, we can explain. I’m certain he can’t know whether the wind-and-fire wheels create quantum space, since I guess Nezha last used them in the Tang Dynasty, before the term even existed..."

Mie Ying nodded, "Luck is not causality, only belief."

Hua Sheng said, "I’ll do my utmost to provoke him, make him lose his composure in rage. In the end, his confusion will lead him to mistake a simple talisman for the Victory Buddha Pass."

"Ah, Hua Sheng, you’re wicked! Cunning! But I like you for it, haha!" Tai Shang Young Lord pushed Hua Sheng. "Hey, I see Tianji Zi heading for the Blood Taiji. No matter what, we must let him obtain the Victory Buddha Pass, then have him hand it over to us."

Hua Sheng replied, "Mie Ying, Tai Shang Young Lord, Hua Sheng thanks you both for your help! Let us finish this year’s Tianmu Trial together, and return to the true Institute of Dao Arts!"