Knowing what the other party was worried about, Zhang Xuan said, "It's just a game of chess, so it shouldn't spoil the chessboard..."
Everything that happened before was due to... carelessness. This time, since he had learned of the rules beforehand, he would definitely be more careful. He would only play six moves... Keeping a low profile and humble, there shouldn't be any problems.
"Since that's the case, the older one will go first as well!"
Ignoring the other party's words, Hong Shi waved his hands grandly and laid down the rules.
I thought that it would be fine for the previous test, but who could have thought that the Book of Emptied River that I borrowed from the headquarters would be destroyed?
Ever since the start of the examination, I was nearly killed by you. Yet, you want to take the test first... Dream on!
"Alright then!"
Seeing how a 5-star master teacher was so frightened that he didn't even have a chance to explain himself, Zhang Xuan sighed helplessly.
It seemed like there was no way for him to rest first. He could only wait here.
"It's fortunate that Hong Shi is composed! Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to take the test anymore... "Pavilion Master Kang and the others wiped the cold sweat off their foreheads.
When Zhang Xuan said that he would go first, they were shocked as well.
Even though it seemed like there wouldn't be any problems with the chessboard, facing Zhang Xuan, who didn't play by the rules, no one could be certain of his actions!
No matter what, having him take the test last was the safest method.
While the rules were being laid down, Mingxia Empire's Liu Quan rolled his eyes.
He was the oldest in the group, but... who did he offend? Previously, he was the first one, and this time, he was the second one...
Isn't it just a matter of age? Do you have to make me do it every single time...
But then again, there wasn't much of a difference between being the first one and being the last one. It was just that the feeling was a little different.
Taking a deep breath, Liu Quan drove his state of mind and entered the state of Heart of Tranquil Water. Clasping his fist toward Hong Shi, he walked over to the gazebo.
Upon seeing Liu Quan enter, everyone immediately turned their gazes toward the gazebo.
Standing inside, Liu Quan scanned the four stone pillars one by one before falling into deep thought. Soon, an incense stick's time was up. Frowning, he walked over to the Go puppet, took out a chess piece, and placed it on an empty spot.
Huala!
The chess piece floated in the air before slowly falling down.
"He placed it..."
"Seems like his strategy is correct!"
Seeing the chess piece land on the chessboard, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
Just now, Hong Shi had said that as long as the Go piece was placed in the wrong place, it would not be able to be placed.
Whoosh!
The old man on the other side also placed a piece.
Seeing the position of this piece, Liu Quan frowned. He seemed to be stuck in a difficult situation. However, he did not hesitate for long before he placed another piece.
After a series of exchanges, the number soon exceeded six, reaching nine.
When it came to the tenth stone, it didn't go any further.
"Mingxia Empire's Liu Quan, ninth son, pass! Next, Fierce Wind Empire, Han Zhaoji … "
Hong Shi was the host.
Han Zhaoji walked up.
Not long after, he walked down with an excited look on his face. He placed seven stones and passed the examination.
Then came the next one.
Passing all five of them in a row gave many people a boost in confidence. However, when it came to the sixth person, their luck began to take a turn for the worse. They couldn't continue with the fourth person. Starting from him, four people in a row actually failed.
In the end, Luo Xuan broke the deadlock.
At this moment, the crowd also realized that the second person to go up would change the situation. Everyone would be facing a different situation, and it would be fair. Even if one were to memorize the previous person's strategy, it would be useless.
Time slowly passed, and just as Zhang Xuan had guessed, the sky gradually darkened. Finally, when the full moon rose from the east and hung in the sky, the first thirty-five master teachers were finally done with the examination.
Even though those who came to participate in the tournament were all geniuses, many of them were eliminated in this round. Even though it wasn't as exaggerated as the previous round, there were still nine of them!
Ruohuan gongzi and Song Chao didn't disappoint either. They both passed the examination.
The one who placed the most stones wasn't the strongest Fleeting Cloud Sect or the second strongest White Helios Sect. Instead, it was an empire that was on par with the League of Nations in terms of strength.
This master teacher's cultivation wasn't too impressive, and he could be considered to be at the bottom of the list. However, his intelligence wasn't too bad. He was able to place a total of sixteen stones with the puppet opposite him, causing the puppet elder to call him 'Great'.
"Zhang Shi, it's your turn!"
After everyone was done, Hong Shi turned to the bored Zhang Xuan and said apologetically.
The other party had intended to be the first one, but due to his fear, he ended up being forced to the last one. He felt a little embarrassed.
"Un!" Zhang Xuan stretched his tired body and walked over to the gazebo.
The gazebo wasn't large, only around the height of a human. Upon entering, he saw four words on the first stone pillar, 'East, South, West, North'.
These four words were extremely neat, and they didn't carry the artistic conception of painting. They were just ordinary words.
Turning to the second stone pillar, there were also four words on it … Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.
On the third stone pillar, there were only two words on it … Reciprocity!
On the fourth stone pillar, there were also two words on it … Logic!
"East, South, West, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Reciprocity, Logic? This … isn't related at all! "
Zhang Xuan frowned.
He thought that there would be some kind of hint, but he didn't expect it to be these words.
Four stone pillars and twelve words. They had nothing to do with chess, so how could he possibly comprehend them?
After examining the stone pillars, Zhang Xuan turned to look at the chessboard.
This time, the chessboard was even more chaotic than before. With just a glance, one would be baffled.
"Celestial Chess uses the world as the chessboard, and the stars as the chess pieces …"
Frowning, Zhang Xuan recalled what Hong Shi had said previously. "On the stone pillars, East, South, West, and North are Space, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter are Time, Reciprocity … is Orientation, and Logic … is the human heart!"
"Space, Time, Orientation, the human heart …"
As the knowledge that he had learned in the past flowed through his mind, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.
It was no wonder even Hong Shi was impressed. This Celestial Chess didn't just use the world as the chessboard in its name, it was the real deal.
To use the human heart as the foundation to construct a grand world and use it as the chessboard, it was indeed fearsome.
"Since I understand it, there's no need for me to use the Library of Heaven's Path or the Eye of Insight. Let's see how far I can go with my knowledge and intelligence!"
Understanding the rules of the Celestial Chess, Zhang Xuan chuckled lightly.
He had used the Library of Heaven's Path, the Eye of Insight, and even his Heaven's Path zhenqi in the previous rounds. Since this round was so simple, he might as well give it a try. At the same time, he could test how far his intelligence was.
Turning around, Zhang Xuan walked up to the stone table, picked up a chess piece, and placed it on the table.
…
"Do you all think that Zhang Shi will break the Celestial Chess in this round?"
"That's impossible. It's just a game of chess. It's not like we didn't see it earlier. If he makes a mistake, he won't be able to place the chess piece down."
"That's true. It seems like the Celestial Chess is safe … However, I still think that it won't be that simple. Why don't we make a bet?"
"What are we betting on?"
"I bet that Zhang Shi will break the Celestial Chess. If I win, you have to give me your Silk Fan. If I lose, I'll give you the Emerald Pearl!"
"Deal …"
…
Upon seeing Zhang Xuan walk into the gazebo, discussions broke out below. There were even some who made bets.
"Cough cough!"
Hearing the excited bets being placed, Zhao Feiwu, Pavilion Master Kang, and the others facepalmed. They didn't want others to know that they were acquainted with Zhang Shi.
He was here to participate in the Master Teacher Tournament, but in the end, he ended up being treated as the King of Destruction …
"After clearing the selection round, it's time for the final round. Even though I don't know what the rules are, for both Zhang Shi and Ruohuan gongzi to be able to enter the final round is already the best result in the history of our Myriad Kingdom City!"
Ling shi suddenly thought of something and said.
"Indeed!" Pavilion Master Kang nodded.
There were only 27 participants left in the selection round.
According to his observation, two contestants from seven forces had already been eliminated.
In other words, even if Zhang Shi and Ruohuan gongzi didn't achieve anything in the final round, they would still be ranked eighth from the bottom, surpassing all previous results.
If it was in the past, it would have been difficult for Ruohuan gongzi to clear the selection round. However, under Zhang Shi's help, his cultivation had reached Transcendent Mortal 4-dan pinnacle. Regardless of whether it was his guts or his other attributes, they had all been raised significantly, allowing him to clear the selection round.
It could be said that … Zhang Shi had played a huge role in his current results.
"Look, Zhang Shi is playing chess!"
Just as everyone was lamenting, Su shi's voice sounded. Lifting their heads, they saw Zhang Xuan sitting opposite the puppet and placing a chess piece on it.
Everyone held their breaths.
Upon seeing Zhang Xuan placing his chess piece, the elder also grabbed a chess piece and held it in his hand. However, even after a long time, he didn't seem to have any intention of placing it down.
"What's going on?"
"It can't be that … the Celestial Chess isn't broken but the puppet is, right?"
Seeing the elder's stiff body, the crowd stared at each other in bewilderment.
It was just a moment ago that they were still wondering if the Celestial Chess would be broken by Zhang Shi. Who knew that it would stop after a single move? Could it be that … it was really broken?
It couldn't be that tragic, right?
Turning to look at Hong Shi, they saw the other party frowning in bewilderment.
After staring for a moment longer, Hong Shi couldn't help but walk up to the gazebo and examine the puppet.
A moment later, he heaved a sigh of relief.
Just like the others, he thought that the puppet had been broken. However, upon walking up to it, he realized that it was perfectly fine.
"Please place your chess piece!"
Standing before the puppet, Zhang Xuan bowed.
Even though it was a puppet, it possessed sentience and was able to understand human language. The two of them often played chess together, so Zhang Xuan had always respected it.
"Un!"
The puppet hesitated for a moment before nodding its head. Then, it placed its chess piece on a certain spot.
Zhang Xuan was taken aback for a moment before picking up his second chess piece and placing it down.
Weng!
However, after the chess piece left his hand, it floated motionlessly in the air, refusing to move no matter what.
"Unable to place it down? Could it be that … he only placed a single chess piece? "
"He failed?"
Everyone was taken aback. Even Hong Shi found it hard to believe.
The rules stated that one had to have six chess pieces in order to pass the examination. Zhang Shi had only placed a single chess piece. Didn't that mean that … he had failed the examination?
"This is bad … Could it be that I misunderstood the rules?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
Gedeng! Zhang Xuan's heart skipped a beat.
He hadn't used the Library of Heaven's Path or the Eye of Insight in this examination. Could it be that … he had failed just like that?
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