Anyone who heard the first sentence would think that this young man was challenging Jing Jiu to a duel.
It wasn't until they heard the second sentence that they realized what he really meant.
What else could it be if it wasn't an intentional humiliation?
Earlier in the Plum Garden, when Lo Huainan said she would break Jing Jiu's sword, Zhao Layue had a murderous intent toward him. According to the normal development of the story, she was furious at the moment, raising her sword-like inky eyebrows, a cold sword light flashing in her eyes. After uttering the famous saying of the Aoyama Sect, she wielded her sword to hack at the young man behind the table.
However, she had cultivated for a short period of time, and her Cultivation state wasn't as high as her opponent's, so she was in danger. Jing Jiu had no choice but to use his trump card and strike in person, cutting the young man in half in front of a grand scholar. The street was covered in blood; it was a horrible scene. The sect of the young man couldn't accept such a thing, so the Plum Meeting was halted immediately. The two most powerful orthodox sects in Chaotian had engaged in an all-out war. The swordsmen in the Broken Sea State could overturn the rivers and seas, and the swordsmen in the Heavenly Arrival State could destroy heaven and earth. Both sides suffered great casualties. The Western Sea Sword School took advantage of the situation to rise up. The swordsmen of the deviant sects such as Bulao Lin and the Mysterious Dark Sect colluded with the devil men of the Underworld to attack the alliance of the orthodox sects. Blood was everywhere, and the monsters of the Snowy Kingdom suddenly attacked the south. The Broadsword King couldn't handle the situation on his own, so he died in the battle. The Northern Army was slaughtered, and Zhaoge City was breached.
Fortunately, Jing Jiu stopped this part of history before it could appear in this time and space.
In fact, he had done something similar before, but few people in Chaotian knew about it.
Zhao Layue sensed his intention through the strength of her hand.
For the Cultivation practitioners, emotions were a meaningless and unnecessary thing.
It was better to kill him with a swing of the sword, or defeat him with a single blow.
If he couldn't do it, there was no need to be angry.
Jing Jiu let go of Zhao Layue's hand and walked to the chess stall under the peculiar gazes.
Zhao Layue felt surprised, wondering why he went there if he didn't care about it.
If she really didn't like him, even if she didn't slash at him, shouldn't she have just left? Why did she listen to him?
Glancing at Jing Jiu once, Grand Scholar Guo felt strange about the relationship between Jing Jiu and that young man, asking, "You play Go?"
Jing Jiu said, "Roughly."
The Grand Scholar Guo stopped thinking about this matter, because he needed to concentrate on it.
He had never played against a young man before, but he had seen many of his playing records.
He firmly believed that the other party was the most talented person in hundreds of years.
He was a national player in the chess world and was even known as the strongest player in the imperial court. Yet, he was not confident that he could defeat his opponent.
Against such a person, he had to focus all of his attention and isolate himself from all distractions in order to have a chance.
The young man stopped talking to Jing Jiu and closed his eyes to rest.
He didn't think he would lose, but Grand Scholar Guo was different from those stall owners.
The street was quiet and the atmosphere was tense.
Suddenly, the sound of carriages and horses could be heard from outside the crowd. There was even the sound of flying swords tearing through the air.
Then, the sound of hurried footsteps and conversation came from the street.
"Where?"
"Did you hear it right? Did Scholar Guo really say that? Is it really him? "
"Why would that person come to such a place?"
Dozens of people of different ages and wearing different clothes came to the scene.
Some of them looked dignified, wearing eye-catching official robes; some of them looked elegant, wearing long robes; some of them were merchants, and some of them were Cultivation practitioners riding on their swords.
These people knew each other. They were all highly achieved chess players in Zhaoge City, and some of them were even national players.
The stall owners recognized some of them, and they guessed the identities of the others. They were shocked speechless, and made way for them hastily.
Seeing Grand Scholar Guo and that young man sitting across from each other at the table, those highly achieved chess players realized that the rumor was true. They were excited, but they shut their mouths hastily, not daring to make any sound in case they disturbed the two of them. However, they couldn't help but feel puzzled when they saw the young man with the conical hat standing by the table, wondering who this person was.
The young man had his eyes closed, and it seemed that he was not affected by the situation.
A minute later, Grand Scholar Guo opened his eyes slowly, saying, "Let's begin."
His eyes were as deep as a well, and they were truly peaceful.
The young man opened his eyes and said, "Please."
With a word of invitation, he actually left Black to his opponent without any other explanation.
Those highly achieved chess players who came here to watch the game were stunned speechless, thinking that this young man was indeed as arrogant and confident as rumored.
Grand Scholar Guo was still calm. He didn't show any anger after being looked down upon, nor did he show any joy after taking advantage of his opponent. He picked up a Go piece and put it on the Go board gently.
The young man picked up a Go piece and put it on another spot on the Go board.
Many people noticed the difference in some details.
Grand Scholar Guo used his middle and index fingers to pick up the Go piece, and he put it down softly. His movement was very elegant, like a willow branch touching the water, making no sound.
The young man caught the Go piece with three fingers and put it down casually, his movement a bit ugly.
His Go piece collided with the Go board, making a "pah" sound. It didn't have any lethal intent, but was rather ordinary.
The Go piece landed on a very ordinary spot, and nothing special could be seen from it.
…
…
The so-called "special" was the "good" that could be seen.
The "good" was the "good" that could be predicted.
If one couldn't see the "good" of the first move, it was because there were too many empty spots on the Go board, and there was still a lot of room for improvement, so one couldn't predict the next move.
But if the next dozen or so moves were still in the same style, ordinary and as plain as water, without any "special" move, it meant that the spectators had no way to predict the next move.
It might be because the chess players were more skilled than the spectators, but it was mostly because everyone had a different way of thinking.
Those highly achieved chess players had stopped thinking about the intention of the young man's every move, thinking that they could predict the next move when the situation became more obvious.
Jing Jiu didn't do so.
Looking at the Go board, he calculated silently.
His way of playing Go was different from the others.
He was used to calculating from the first move until the end of the game.
This method was extreme and demanding, but it was suitable for Jing Jiu, who hadn't studied Go seriously.
He of course knew that there was a small problem with this method, but he hadn't had the chance to experience it before.
It wasn't until today that he finally experienced it.
The small problem was that it was tiring to play Go like this.
…
…
It was quiet.
Only the sound of the Go pieces landing on the Go board could be heard.
More and more people came after hearing the news. They were all famous people in Zhaoge City, and even a few state dukes came in person.
The game outside the old plum garden that day was destined to be a famous game recorded in the history of Go.
The number one national chess player of the imperial court against a young chess master. Who would win?
The Go pieces landed.
Time flew by.
The sunlight moved on.
Jing Jiu stood by the Go board.
Some gazes fell on him once in a while and then moved away.
Wearing the conical hat, he was merely the background of the game, so he was ignored.
Except for that young man, nobody knew that he was playing Go at the moment.
He was playing this game.
It was inevitable that he would feel tired after standing for a long time.
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