"Of course," Zhang Xuan nodded as he sat down. Picking up a chess piece with his left hand, he raised his right hand and said, "Let's begin."
The Three Bearded Daoist nodded before placing his chess piece down.
With a smile on his face, a book appeared in Zhang Xuan's Library of Heaven's Path.
The board was densely filled with information. Every position of the board was marked with flaws and the like.
"First position, first position, flaw: … Second position, second position, flaw: …"
Some of the positions on the chessboard had more flaws than others, but there was only one position that was not marked.
"It works!"
Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up as a smile crept onto his lips.
After learning the rules of the chessboard, Zhang Xuan was able to find the flaws in the chessboard. As long as he played according to the perfect position, he should be able to achieve a good result.
"This move … is very stable!"
Zhang Jia and Qi Ling-er glanced at one another and heaved a sigh of relief.
They knew that the other party had only just understood the rules, so they did not have much hope for victory anymore. They just hoped that they would not lose too shamefully.
Even though both parties had only placed a single chess piece, they had followed the rules of the game. There was no awkward situation where a layman would make a mistake.
Hu hu hu!
The first few moves required little thought, and experience was more than enough to make up for it. The Three Bearded Daoist moved swiftly, and Zhang Xuan followed closely behind him. The faster the Three Bearded Daoist moved, the faster he moved as well.
In less than five minutes, they had already made more than thirty moves on the chessboard.
"This …"
Seeing the situation on the chessboard, Zhang Jia and Qi Ling-er were stunned.
Even though Zhang Xuan's moves seemed to be very simple, as if he did not have much experience in them, every single move he made felt as if it had been calculated beforehand. He had firmly sealed the Three Bearded Daoist's chess pieces within, making it difficult for the Three Bearded Daoist to break free.
"How can there be no flaws at all?"
While the crowd was perplexed, the Three Bearded Daoist could not believe his eyes.
He did not make too many moves, but this was the first time he had felt so stifled since he started playing chess.
Every step of the other party seemed to have been calculated, and all of his intentions were completely destroyed. If he were to be compared to a general who was leading an army, and the layout of his army was seen through by the other party, no matter where he went, he would be intercepted, chased, and surrounded in advance … not giving him the slightest chance!
Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Zhang Xuan had switched through eight formidable chess moves and twelve sets of chess manuals consecutively. Under normal circumstances, his opponent would be bewildered, unable to find his goal and direction … But as soon as he was done, his opponent immediately placed his chess piece down without any hesitation.
At first, he didn't realize the usefulness of this move, but after three moves, he realized the profoundness behind it. It was as if there was a fish bone stuck in his throat, and he couldn't spit it out even if he wanted to. He even had difficulty breathing.
"Impossible …"
His fingers trembled slightly.
He was extremely confident in his chess skills. No one in Dusklight City was a match for him. Even in the Royal City, there were only a handful of people who could defeat him.
Even if those famous chess masters were able to win, they would only be able to do so after a hundred moves. Yet, the young man before him had only played thirty moves, and he was already at his wit's end. This was truly inconceivable, and he dared not imagine it.
Most importantly, the other party seemed to have no loopholes at all. Every step he took was to completely seal off his escape route, not giving him any chance at all.
He wiped the sweat off his forehead and walked down a few more steps.
The other party still didn't think and casually swung down.
The Three Bearded Daoist's speed of playing chess became slower and slower.
"Not here … Not there …"
The Three Bearded Daoist held a chess piece in his hand, but he had no idea where to place it.
"Young Master's chess skills …"
Zhang Jia also noticed that something was amiss. He turned to Qi Ling-er and widened his eyes in astonishment.
He had thought that the Young Master's chess skills would be lacking, but after seeing it with his own eyes, he realized how naive he was.
It was as if the other party had calculated every single move innumerable times, leaving no openings at all. Even though the Three Bearded Daoist was skilled in chess, he was still unable to do anything about it.
"Did he really just learn it?"
Qi Ling-er's eyes widened in disbelief as well.
Zhang Jia was a divine beast, so even if he had some understanding of chess, it was impossible for him to know too much about it. On the other hand, Qi Ling-er was an offspring of the Qi Clan. Even though she had never studied chess before, she still knew quite a bit about it.
Even in the Qi Clan, the Three Bearded Daoist's chess skills could be considered to be at the very top. Yet, against the Young Master before him, not only was he unable to gain any advantage, he was even being completely suppressed.
It was as if a Conferred God King was fighting a low-tier God, and the latter was completely helpless against him.
How was he supposed to win?
Wasn't this a game that she had just taught him?
How could he be so formidable on his first try?
While Qi Ling-er was still recovering from her shock, the Three Bearded Daoist suddenly tossed down the chess piece in his hand and said with a bitter smile, "I've lost …"
He had no choice but to admit defeat. The other party had completely sealed off his path of advancement, leaving no openings at all. If he continued, he would only be humiliating himself.
"Thank you for going easy on me. Actually, I've only just learned the game, so there are still many rules that I don't understand yet. "
Zhang Xuan clasped his fist.
In truth, he had not been able to understand the game at all. All he had done was to follow the steps in the Library of Heaven's Path and place down the chess piece step by step.
And then … the other party admitted defeat!
Just thinking about it made him feel a little embarrassed.
"Go easy on me? I don't understand at all … "The Three Bearded Daoist thought that Zhang Xuan was just being humble, so his face reddened in embarrassment." Little brother, you're really flattering me. In truth, I already knew that I was going to lose by the tenth move. Everything that happened after that was nothing more than a last-ditch effort. To think that I've lost so miserably … There's no need to say anything like that anymore. If you say that you don't understand the game at all, what am I to you? "
It was one thing for the Three Bearded Daoist to say that he had gone easy on him, but the two of them were no longer on the same level. Even if he were to say that he had gone easy on a low-tier God, there was still a limit to how humble he could be.
Big brother, he was going a little too far with his act.
"Elder, you're being too polite," Zhang Xuan replied awkwardly.
"Alright, I admit defeat. Feel free to state your requests," the Three Bearded Daoist said with a wave of his hand.
"I would like to purchase some middle-tier God Essence Pills from you. I hope that you can sell them to me," Zhang Xuan said.
"You only want to purchase middle-tier God Essence Pills?" The Three Bearded Daoist was taken aback.
The other party had come all the way here to play a game of chess with him, and he had won so brilliantly. He thought that the other party would have some kind of difficult request, but who could have thought that it would be so simple?
While middle-tier God Essence Pills were priceless in Dusklight City, they were extremely easy to find. Most of the wealthy merchants and powerful clans would have a stockpile of them. Would a grandmaster of chess be willing to spend so much money on such a small matter?
Zhang Xuan nodded.
"There's no need to purchase them. I have thirty middle-tier God Essence Pills here, and I'll give them to you as a gift.
You don't have to spend a single cent, "the Three Bearded Daoist said as he passed three jade bottles to Zhang Xuan.
"Gift? How can I accept this? "Zhang Xuan hurriedly waved his hands.
He had looked into the price of middle-tier God Essence Pills, and it was at least a hundred times that of low-tier God Essence Pills. Furthermore, it was practically impossible to buy them. He really could not accept the other party's gift.
"I forged them myself, so the price isn't as high as I thought it would be. If you feel a little embarrassed, why don't you play two more games with me?" the Three Bearded Daoist said.
"I'm more than willing to play with you. However, didn't you say that you only play three games a day?" Zhang Xuan asked with a frown.
"That's because you haven't met a match yet. If you do, you can play thirty games with me," the Three Bearded Daoist replied with a reddened face.
Zhang Xuan replied with a smile.
Since the other party had given him so many pills as a gift, it was nothing much for him to play a few games with the other party.
In any case, he was just going to follow the instructions in the Library of Heaven's Path.
Thus, he placed one stone after another on the board.
Five minutes later, the Three Bearded Daoist's face reddened once more. "Another game …"
Another four minutes later. "Another game!"
Another three minutes later. "Another game …"
Yet another minute later. "Alright, I admit defeat …"
After several consecutive games, the Three Bearded Daoist was starting to doubt his very existence.
He thought that the other party was just lucky to be able to play the way he did previously, but who could have thought that no matter how he started the game, it was as if he had crashed into a wall. There was no way for him to retaliate at all.
The first loss could be attributed to his lack of skill, but the second loss could only mean that the gap between him and the other party was simply too huge.
"There aren't many people in the world who can match your skill in chess. You can definitely participate in the tournament and earn some rewards or cultivation resources …"
Knowing that he would only be embarrassing himself further if this continued, the Three Bearded Daoist turned to look at the young man before him expectantly.
Regardless of what occupation one was in, as long as one was able to reach the pinnacle, one would be able to reap great benefits.
"There's no need for that!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.
He was a layman when it came to chess, and he had only won with the help of the Library of Heaven's Path.
"That's a pity …" Seeing that Zhang Xuan was unwilling to continue down this path, the Three Bearded Daoist shook his head in disappointment.
After bidding farewell to Zhang Xuan, Zhang Xuan walked back to the main street. At this moment, Qi Ling-er suddenly turned to him and asked, "Why don't we find a quiet place to assimilate the middle-tier God Essence Pills first?"
She could tell that the other party was looking for the God Essence Pills in order to achieve a breakthrough in his cultivation.
Since that was the case, it was only right for him to find a quiet place to cultivate.
"There's no need for that," Zhang Xuan replied.
Qi Ling-er was perplexed.
What did he mean by that?
Could it be that the other party wasn't looking for the pills to achieve a breakthrough but had other uses for them?
Just as she was perplexed, she saw the young man taking out the thirty pills that he had just obtained from the jade bottle and tossing them into his mouth one by one, as if he was munching on jelly beans.
Qi Ling-er's eyebrows shot up.
Middle-tier God Essence Pills had miraculous effects even on Celestial Gods. Even ordinary high-tier Gods would have to spend at least a month to digest a single pill before they could fully assimilate the energy within. Yet, that fellow was actually eating them like jelly beans?
Was he sure that he wouldn't explode and die?
While she was still perplexed by the sight before her, the young man's aura suddenly surged swiftly.
High-tier God intermediate stage!
High-tier God advanced stage!
High-tier God pinnacle!
In less than two breaths, he had already achieved a breakthrough of three cultivation stages, leaving him just a step away from reaching Celestial God realm.
"…"
Qi Ling-er trembled in fear. She felt as if she was going insane.
As an offspring of the Qi Clan, she had seen her fair share of geniuses and experts.
This was the first time she had seen a young man casually consuming pills to raise his cultivation.
Was the bloodline of a God Monarch really that fearsome?
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