Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Everyone on Chess Peak was feeling that they had not seen enough yet.
Two people broke the Celestial Dragon Chess Game consecutively within just a single day. No one thought that things would have come to this. With two people having broken the Celestial Dragon Chess Game, it was now a question of who the item left by the Chess Saint should belong to.
Many wore peculiar expressions on their faces as they looked at Yang Xiao and the others.
Probably Liu Zong.
After all, according to the rules, Liu Zong was the first one who broke the game. At the very moment the Celestial Dragon Chess Game was broken, the requirements were already fulfilled, which meant that the item that belonged to the Chess Saint should have been bestowed upon Liu Zong. However, since Ye Futian wanted to try his hand, the nine students of the Chess Saint gave him the chance at it. The rules were still as they were. It was something that the Chess Saint set, after all.
“Palace Lord Ye, you’re indeed extremely talented in chess. I was reluctant to believe it when Ninth Brother brought it up before, but you have indeed proven to be more exceptional than what Ninth Brother described. We at the Chess Saint Villa will always welcome you here should you find any chance to visit us in the days to come. You’re welcomed to borrow any materials related to chess found in Chess Saint Villa,” Li Kaishan said to Ye Futian in a calm, composed tone, showing immense admiration for him.
Ye Futian glanced at Li Kaishan and knew what Li Kaishan meant behind those words. While his talent at chess was acknowledged by all in Chess Saint Villa, there was simply no way he would be able to inherit the lineage of the Chess Saint. This had also verified Ye Futian’s speculations that Li Kaishan had indeed intended to help Liu Zong out.
“Thank you, Mr. Er.” Ye Futian nodded with a smile, not saying much. The lineage was something that had belonged to Chess Saint Villa and the game was indeed broken first by Liu Zong. As such, he saw no reason to forcefully demand the lineage, thinking only that the lineage was not fated to be his.
However, their trip to Chess Saint Villa and him staying behind to learn chess, neither proved to be a waste. Having developed such superb skills at the art of chess, Ye Futian felt he had gained a great deal out of the trip.
“The rules set by Chess Saint Villa state that the one to break the Celestial Dragon Chess Game is to be bestowed with an item belonging to our teacher. However, since both Liu Zong and Mr. Ye have both broken the game, I have to admit that it is quite troubling for me,” Yang Xiao smiled and said.
“Eldest Brother, all requirements were already fulfilled the very moment the game was broken. While Palace Lord Ye also broke the game, it was simply adding brilliance to a present splendor. Why should you feel troubled, Eldest Brother?” Li Kaishan said, looking at Yang Xiao.
“Both of them had demonstrated exceptional skills in chess. If it had not been Liu Zong who went to play the game first, it would have been Ye Futian who ended up breaking the game. But you’re right, Second Brother, rules are still rules. This chessboard was forged by our teacher, which is now to be given to Liu Zong,” Yang Xiao added.
Li Kaishan nodded and said, “In that case, let’s invite Liu Zong to come to Chess Saint Villa with us.”
Yang Xiao did not respond to that comment and went on to look at everyone present. “It was indeed a fortunate turn of events for Chess Saint Villa to have the Celestial Dragon Chess Game broken twice today. Any who have participated in breaking the game today are welcome to head to Chess Saint Villa with me. As for all the others, I will throw a banquet at Yujing House to entertain guests for all corners of the world, and you will be welcomed to stay.”
Chess Saint Villa had always been the place where the Chess Saint trained in peace. Yujing House below the mountain was Yang Xiao’s territory, and it was indeed the more suitable place to throw large scale events for entertaining guests.
“Alright.” Everyone present nodded and smiled. They too would have liked to see the ending of the event themselves.
It was rumored that the Chess Saint was to sit silently and pass in peace soon. However, it was something that had yet to be verified. No one actually knew much about the truth, even now, and Liu Zong was probably going to find out soon, which piqued the interests of those present.
“Both of you, if you’d please,” Yang Xiao said, looking at both Liu Zong and Ye Futian.
They nodded and headed for Chess Saint Villa. The nine elders went on to clear their respective games. Everything thus far had ended.
The Chess Saint Villa was hidden in Jinghua Mountain, surrounded by matrixes and shrouded in misty clouds. If there was no one from the villa itself providing guidance, it would have been near impossible for anyone outside to find out the true location of the Chess Saint Villa.
After passing through the matrixes which generated the misty clouds, they saw a grand villa before their eyes, standing regal and divine. They arrived beneath the stairs and Yang Xiao looked up as he walked up the stairs, which led to the great hall at the highest point of the Chess Saint Villa. The place was the Chess Saint Palace, the very place where the Chess Saint trained in peace.
“Please.” Yang Xiao pointed his finger and guided, bringing all of them up. They all walked until they arrived beneath the stairs of the Chess Saint Palace before they stopped altogether.
Yang Xiao turned around and looked at his brothers in training, saying, “The Celestial Dragon Chess Game has been broken twice today. The chessboard left behind by our teacher shall be bestowed upon Liu Zong, but since Ye Futian also broke the game, I’d like to bring both of them to visit our teacher. I assume you all will not be against such a decision?”
Li Kaishan frowned slightly. Is Eldest Brother trying to let teacher decide the outcome himself?
“I don’t there is any reason for us to doubt your decision, Eldest Brother.” All the other students nodded in agreement. They saw no reason to object to having the Chess Saint make the decision instead. Even Li Kaishan found no reason to object to such a decision, and he stayed silent instead.
“Well then, since none of you are against the decision, that settles it.” Yang Xiao looked at the others and said, “While 18 people were involved in the breaking of the game this time, the ones who gave the instructions were Liu Zong and Ye Futian. As such, I can only bring those two to see my teacher. I assume none of you will mind that?”
“Naturally,” Zhou Ziyi said, and all the others nodded. While all of them had indeed wanted to see the Chess Saint, they knew that the ones who broke the game were indeed Liu Zong and Ye Futian. Going to see the Chess Saint personally was akin to having a shot at inheriting the lineage of a saint, and it was only natural for them to stay out of it.
The grand palace felt like stars scattered all over the heavens. The entire place felt like a game of chess with no boundary, with unpredictable changes lying about everywhere as soon as one stepped into the place.
Liu Zong and Ye Futian were both able to feel that the place was a terrifying grand matrix. If one were to simply intrude, there was no doubt that they would end up dead.
A figure was seen sitting on the floor at the front of the palace, looking like a statue totally devoid of life.
“Teacher,” Liu Zong bowed and greeted the figure sitting crossed-legged on the floor. Dazzling lights shimmered all over the place soon after. Blinding lights shone about the figure as if a great matrix had just been activated.
“Why are there two?” the figure said in a fleeting voice. He opened his eyes and gazed at Ye Futian and Liu Zong. Both were able to feel an extremely powerful pressure weighing down on them.
“Teacher, both of them broke the Celestial Dragon Chess Game, and as such, I brought them both before you,” Yang Xiao elaborated.
“My name is Liu Zong, pleased to make your acquaintance, elder,” Liu Zong bowed and said.
“My name is Ye Futian, pleased to make your acquaintance, elder.” Ye Futian cupped his hands.
“Liu Zong of Xihua Sacred Mountain.” The figure cast his gaze on Liu Zong. While he was at Saint Plane and concerned himself little with the affairs of his juniors, he knew a thing or two about Liu Zong from others. Liu Zong was a proud son of Xihua Sacred Mountain and was touted as a saint of the future. He was being tutored by three saints and the most renowned youth in all of the Eastern State.
“Indeed.” Liu Zong nodded.
“What about you? Where are you from?” the Chess Saint looked at Ye Futian and asked.
“I’m from the Holy Zhi Palace, sacred ground of the Barren State,” Ye Futian answered.
“The Barren State,” the Chess Saint murmured to himself.
“Teacher, there was a shift in leadership in the sacred ground of the Barren State more than a year ago. Ye Futian took over the place of Palace Lord as a noble. He has exceptional talents. He single-handedly gathered people with nine different play styles in one place and went on to break the Celestial Dragon Chess Game,” Yang Xiao elaborated.
The Chess Saint glanced at Yang Xiao. It seemed that his first student held Ye Futian in very high esteem, which meant that the young man indeed sported incredibly exceptional skills at chess.
“For someone to inherit the place of Palace Lord while still a noble, I’d assume you to be of exceptional talent. What made you come all the way here to Chess Saint Villa in the Eastern State?” the Chess Saint asked.
“Barren State is at a weakened state for not having produced a saint for years. Having taken over as Palace Lord of the sacred ground of the Barren State, I’m compelled by my responsibilities to venture outside of the Barren State,” Ye Futian said with a calm voice, even if the one he was talking to was a saint. Of course, he already felt that the one he was talking to was not the actual saint.
The truth probably differed from the rumors, which said that the Chess Saint was about to pass in peace.
The Chess Saint nodded slightly and said, “Your responsibilities are heavy and the road ahead of you is long. If you’re willing, you’re welcomed to remain in Chess Saint Villa to train as one of us. There are many items that I have left behind in Chess Saint Villa, and you’re welcomed to use any of them to further your training.”
Ye Futian was dumbfounded as he looked at the Chess Saint. He had a sense of peace inside, knowing the choice of the Chess Saint.
The Chess Saint had allowed him to remain in the villa to train as one of his students, making him the tenth student in Chess Saint Villa. To many, the opportunity to become one of the students of the Chess Saint was incredibly tempting.
“I thank you for your generosity, but given that I now am the Palace Lord of the Holy Zhi Palace of the Barren State, it would be rather inappropriate for me to train here as one of your students. I hope you understand.”
“It is fine.” The Chess Saint nodded. “Please leave us for the moment.”
“Indeed, elder.” Ye Futian nodded and retreated, turning around to walk outside the hall.
Yang Xiao gazed at Ye Futian’s silhouette, which he thought looked rather bleak. He must be very disappointed.
However, it was an ending that Yang Xiao had predicted as well. Liu Zong of Xihua Sacred Mountain was taught personally by three saints. His prestige and status in Xihua Sacred Mountain, even in the Eastern State as a whole, were unlike any other. Talent aside, Liu Zong’s network of acquaintances and resources for training were not something Ye Futian would be able to compete with.
While it was true that Ye Futian was exceptionally talented and a palace Lord of a sacred ground in the Barren State, anyone in the Chess Saint’s shoes would have picked Liu Zong instead in such a situation.
Regardless of the ending, Yang Xiao believed he had given his best to intentionally speak in favor of Ye Futian. As he said, his teacher was the one to make the final decision.
Liu Zong was calm throughout the entire conversation. It was not a surprising end to him. While Ye Futian indeed had top-notch talent, and Liu Zong admired him as well, it was hardly able to change anything.
Ye Futian walked outside Chess Saint Palace and looked at the sky far away, taking a deep breath. While he never hoped for much out of this visit, he would have been lying to himself if he said that he did not feel dejected in any way. However, that feeling of dejection had little to do with not earning the lineage.
It was instead because, despite him being a Palace Lord of the Barren State, he was deemed insufficient compared to Liu Zong in the eyes of saints of the Eastern State. Like the Chess Saint said, Ye Futian’s responsibilities were heavy and the road ahead of him was long.
Ye Futian walked down the stairs after adjusting himself mentally. The ending was something entirely out of his hands, but at the very least, he worked hard and he got something in the end. He was able to tell that what he saw was not the actual body of the Chess Saint himself. The Chess Saint probably held secrets.
Everyone beneath the stairs saw Ye Futian walking down, and Zhou Ziyi smirked plainly. Things proceeded as expected and nobody was surprised.
Sage Wanxiang and the others sighed silently. He gave all he had and it still was not enough? This is probably the reality of things, and things look brutally real!
