Volume 3 - Chapter 405: The Chess Realm — All Things Are Soldiers, Heaven and Earth a Chessboard (Part 3)
A trace of cold light flickered in Lin Zhexuan's eyes. His fingers curled slightly, but he quickly loosened his grip and said coldly:
"Understood. You may go now. Don’t bother me with trivial matters again."
"Trivial matters?"
The Lin family prodigy was stunned, staring at Lin Zhexuan in disbelief. His sister-in-law was about to be stolen away—how was this a trivial matter?
Lin Zhexuan snorted. "I know Muqing’s temperament well. She would never betray me. Besides, I’m on the verge of a breakthrough. Once I emerge from seclusion, I’ll handle it."
The Lin family prodigy hesitated. "But that person’s talent..."
Before he could finish, a chill swept across his entire body. Lin Zhexuan’s gaze shot out two razor-sharp beams, his aura—though faint—carried the unmistakable might of an emperor!
"Do you really think anyone can compare to me?"
The prodigy froze, silenced at once. "Of course not..."
"Go."
With that, the prodigy slunk away without another word.
Once he had left, Lin Zhexuan turned his gaze to the elder standing at the entrance to the ancestral grounds.
"Elder Xue, I’m about to enter seclusion to break through. I’ll trouble you to stand guard. Don’t let anyone disturb me."
The Lin elder sensed the surging immortal power within Lin Zhexuan and smiled. "Rest easy and focus on your cultivation. Completely refine that Blazing Candle Dragon power!"
…
Back at the Celestial Courtyard, Li Hao and Su Muqing had only just returned when Su Wanqing arrived in haste.
Her mind had been in turmoil the whole way. After much hesitation, she had decided to return the item to Li Hao to avoid any misunderstanding from her sister.
But Li Hao had no use for the Immortal Aura Purple Osmanthus. Since she was adamant about returning it, he had no intention of taking it back. He told her to toss it anywhere she liked.
Su Wanqing stared, dumbfounded, as Li Hao casually flung the branch away. Her heart clenched, and she hurried over to pick it up. Glancing back, she saw the young man still sitting there, calmly carving wood with a knife, as if he too were a block of wood.
Speechless, she gently brushed the dust from the osmanthus and tucked it away.
Truthfully, as a spiritual item, the Immortal Aura Purple Osmanthus wouldn’t gather dust in the first place.
She stole another glance at Li Hao. Seeing that he truly didn’t care, she had no choice but to accept it and quietly left.
The courtyard fell silent once more.
Li Hao used immortal power at his fingertips as a blade, carving the wood in his hand. Slowly, a figure began to take shape—it was Ying Xiaoxiao.
He carved with precision, and after studying the finished piece for a while, he decided it still hadn’t reached the twelfth level of the Sculpting Dao. It was far inferior to his drawings. So he stopped carving for now, planning to wait until he reached the twelfth level before trying again.
Creating an imperfect piece felt like desecration.
He returned to his game of chess. When fatigued or distracted, he would switch to sculpting. This alternating rhythm also helped him seek insights into the essence of carving.
And so, the days slipped by.
Time flowed swiftly for immortals. A single session of meditation or seclusion could last ten days or half a month. Some, caught at a bottleneck, might remain in seclusion for decades or even millennia.
Li Hao only hoped Su Muqing wouldn’t be gone that long. He lived each day steadily, making the most of every moment.
When hungry, he roasted ancient fiend meat. After eating, he played chess. When tired of chess, he carved. Occasionally, he would lift his head to enjoy the courtyard’s beauty. But whenever his gaze fell on those tightly shut palace doors, a hint of disappointment would flicker in his eyes.
From time to time, Lin Jinrou and Jiang Huanhuan would come to visit him at the Su residence.
Both sought him out to discuss painting and swordsmanship. At first, they had only respected him as a brilliant painter. But after learning of his profound mastery in the Sword Dao—at a level placing him among the elite—they now saw him as a fellow prodigy. Hence, they began coming to exchange insights.
To their surprise, however, while Li Hao grew animated discussing the Painting Dao, his energy seemed to drain the moment the topic shifted to the Sword Dao.
"Painter Haotian, your soul age is so young—how are you so accomplished in both the Sword Dao and the Painting Dao? What bloodline do you have?" Lin Jinrou couldn’t help asking, her curiosity piqued.
Even her own brother, hailed as a once-in-ten-thousand-years true dragon of the Lin clan, hadn’t been this accomplished by the time he reached a hundred years of soul age—he had only just entered the True Immortal realm.
Li Hao gave a wry smile. That question wasn’t easy to answer. Even if he told the truth, no one would believe him.
Realizing they had pried too deeply, the two women quickly fell silent. Every prodigy had their own secrets and fortuitous encounters.
"Painter Haotian, you play chess too?"
"And why aren’t you cultivating? Is Su Muqing really in that palace? She won’t see you?"
Compared to Lin Jinrou, Jiang Huanhuan was like a curious child, throwing out a barrage of questions. Li Hao didn’t know which to answer first.
Lin Jinrou was equally puzzled. Every time she visited, the young man was always the same—sitting quietly alone, just him, a chair, and a chessboard, placing black and white stones in silent solitude.
"Your family isn’t in the Northern Region, right? You live here alone?" Jiang Huanhuan asked.
"Aren’t you lonely?"
Li Hao shook his head and pointed at the chessboard. "Better to be lonely than bored. Luckily, everything I do is interesting."
Jiang Huanhuan, like Su Wanqing and the others, didn’t understand the Chess Dao and wasn’t very interested in it. She just gave a casual "Oh" in reply.
Time flowed on.
In the blink of an eye, another two years had passed.
There were no longer countless black and white stones scattered across the chessboard. Only two remained—one black, one white.
Each stone occupied a different spot on the board. If one counted carefully, they would find that the grid behind each stone formed a perfect balance. The chessboard was now evenly divided into two equal territories.
Li Hao stared silently at the board, lost in thought.
This balance had already emerged six months ago.
Once those two stones were placed, there had been no further moves. Every step had been calculated thousands of turns ahead. The end result: mutual encroachment, mutual containment—perfect equilibrium.
The black stone could not defeat the white. The white could not defeat the black.
Thus, with just two stones, the game had reached its final state.
But now the question lingered—
How does one break the endgame?
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