All nine of them stepped onto the Celestial Dragon Chess Game. Countless eyes on Chess Peak looked at them in mere moments.
Liu Zong invited the nine and stepped onto the game. Is this going to be better than just him playing alone?
"All of you please find your own opponents while I will take control of things in general," Liu Zong said. Everyone nodded and picked their opponents, standing on the chessboard.
"Let's begin," Liu Zong said. Yang Xiao nodded and waved his arm, bringing a piece down onto the board.
Liu Zong countered and then Li Kaishan dropped his second piece. Mo Jun, who was right beside Liu Zong, placed the second piece of their side as well.
18 people played one game at the same time. 18 power of rules of varying strengths permeated the entire board.
Ye Futian picked Jiu Gongzi as his opponent. Jiu Gongzi found the choice rather funny, yet he had no intentions of going easy on him, playing as carefully as he could.
"If one looks at things separately, it seems as if all nine of them are playing their own games. However, all nine on Yang Xiao's side are playing as one. All nine from that side play in a single formation. Liu Zong must have been able to tell what they were doing, and as such, attempted to break the game in a similar manner. Now, his play style remains the highest throughout the entire game, keeping his opponents in check. Things will get very intriguing," someone who was knowledgeable about chess said.
The game became obvious quickly. All nine from Liu Zong's side attempted to counter the play style of a player from the other side to keep their opponent's formations in check. Even though they were times where things looked grim on their side, Liu Zong covered it by looking at the entire game in general. There were even times where Liu Zong simply gave directions as to where to place one's piece.
Terrifying aura began to appear on the Celestial Dragon Chess Game. Ye Futian was in the thick of things, surrounded by sword aura as if he was caught in a powerful sword matrix. However, his pieces manifested powerful rules of stars, sealing all sword aura in a particular location while cutting it off from the other matrixes.
Violent auras whipped about on the Celestial Dragon Chess Game. Things looked terrifying but Liu Zong and the others remained standing toe-to-toe with their opponents.
"This truly works." The eyes of the spectators turned sharp. Even the nine who were playing the game were intensely focused, putting all of their energy into the game.
The chess battle grew increasingly intense. At that moment, Yang Xiao placed a piece and a terrifying force appeared on the chessboard, breaking the deadlock and returned the scattered game into a single form, as if a true dragon had just coiled on the board, waiting to strike with deadly force.
Liu Zong's expression turned unusually severe. He placed yet another piece and split the formations into nine again, breaking Yang Xiao's placement. Many could not help but gasp in awe. That move was really a godly one.
However, a path was carved out as soon as Li Kaishan placed his piece. Many black pieces were devoured immediately. Mo Jun lifted his hand with an incredibly severe expression. He laid his eyes on a spot and was about to place his piece.
"Not there. Go five by eight instead," Liu Zong interrupted Mo Jun. Mo Jun's eyes sparkled, finding Liu Zong's move to be a more intricate one. The piece was placed and several pieces of their opponents were gobbled up.
"Bravo." The expression of the spectators looked severe as if they themselves were playing the game. Even the elders from the Chess Saint Villa all fixed their gaze on the game. Things were getting too interesting to miss.
Yang Xiao's wife placed her next piece right afterward. A very obvious threat was seen on the board, as black clouds loomed over things. It seemed as if every piece to be placed from then on was imbued with decisive killer moves.
Zhou Ziyi lifted her arm and hesitated.
"Go six by three," Liu Zong said. Zhou Ziyi nodded and did as she was told, without doubt, placing her piece where Liu Zong told her to. The pressure was reduced somewhat right afterward.
The fourth, fifth, sixth students of the Chess Saint placed their pieces respectively, all of which were capable of deciding the outcome of the game. The killer moves were getting increasingly powerful and the pressure on the chessboard grew increasingly terrifying.
Liu Zong even gave up on some pieces. It was as if he was severing an arm to keep himself alive, to keep their game afloat. Forces vaguely gathered on their side, and from the perspective of the entire game, his side had too already come to have something tangible. Any mistakes from their opponents would have been exploited, turning the tables and gobbling up their opponents. All they were waiting for was simply a chance.
Other than Liu Zong, all players on Liu Zong's side were on guard and on edge. They felt rather elated and looked forward to how things would have turned out further. Will we be able to break the Celestial Dragon Chess Game this time?
When Jiu Gongzi placed his piece, the entire game seemed to have been revitalized. Sword aura circled about on the chessboard, vaguely taking the form of a dragon, taking apart everything that stood in its way. Things turned when that piece was placed as if everything had been set in that very moment. Terrifying pressure was brought to bear on the nine on Liu Zong's side. All of them felt an extremely dangerous aura looming about as if they were about to be devoured at any given moment, and it would have been game over for them all.
The next piece became incredibly crucial.
Countless eyes were locked onto Ye Futian. He activated Freedom Meditation at the moment, feeling caught in the middle of a terrifying battlefield. He felt as if he was at the very center of a storm with a true dragon looming right above him. Every single scale on that dragon seemed to be the sharpest blade ever made, all of which would have rained down on him at any given moment. While it seemed as if their opponent would take more time to gather their forces, the odds were actually stacked against them as their opponent had been waiting to strike.
All eyes were on Ye Futian, including Liu Zong, Zhou Ziyi, and the others who were playing. The pressure on the chessboard was frightening. It was as if it would bring everything crashing down on their heads at any given moment.
Ye Futian sighed deeply as he raised his hand. A piece was materialized and was prepared to be placed.
"Go seven by nine," Liu Zong said, keeping Ye Futian from placing the piece.
Ye Futian's eyes sparkled and he looked at the spot. A chessboard appeared in his mind. The very game before him manifested in his mind. If the piece was placed on the very spot Liu Zong told him to place it, their side would be able to gather massive force.
"Magnificent." Zhou Zichao and the others praised in awe. That spot Liu Zong suggested was no doubt the best spot to place a piece at that time. However, Ye Futian hesitated in placing the piece as told. A feeling welled up inside him. If that piece were to be placed right there, it might have looked as if the odds would be on their side, but it would have also plunged them all into an abyss that they could never recover from, costing them the game right there and then.
"What are you hesitating for?" Zhou Ziyi asked Ye Futian. The spot that Liu Zong told him to place his piece was definitely the best spot. There was no doubt about it, yet Ye Futian continued doubting it. The others turned to look at Ye Futian as well, not knowing what was there to hesitate about.
"No, the piece cannot be placed there," Ye Futian said.
Many at Chess Peak looked baffled as soon as he said that. Ye Futian actually said that a place designated by Liu Zong was not good? That is the best spot to place the piece no matter how you look at it.
However, Ye Futian remained hesitant, not wanting to place that piece there.
Many frowned. Is he trying to make a statement here? Saying he is different from everyone else or something?
Sage Wanxiang gazed at the game and ran simulations as well in his mind. He also made a postulation that the spot Ye Futian was about to place his piece was a trap.
Ye Futian was indeed correct. That spot looked to be an intricate move, yet it was one that could not be used. While he had yet to be able to find out precisely why it was so, it nonetheless looked to be a move that seemed incredibly advantageous at the moment.
The Celestial Dragon Chess Game was indeed an intricate, profound game like none other. He was troubled just by placing one piece, and that move also went on to misguide everyone watching the game. Even Liu Zong thought it best to place a piece there.
"Is there any other place more suitable than that one?" Han Jing said, "Just place it."
Ye Futian shook his head lightly.
"What do you mean by that?" Zhou Ziyi looked at Ye Futian and asked doubtfully.
"Go." Ye Futian moved his hand and dropped the piece. Countless eyes gazed at the spot the piece was placed on. The pupils of many people dilated as they stared at Ye Futian.
That spot was not the spot that Liu Zong asked him to place his piece on. Worse still, the piece seemed to have been wasted placed on such a spot.
Liu Zong looked at Ye Futian. Everyone on the chessboard stared at Ye Futian as well. Yang Xiao's eyes looked deeply at him as well, before he waved and placed another piece. That piece went on to devour a small area. The tables had been truly turned against Liu Zong's side.
Many awoke from that move and stopped thinking about the piece placed by Ye Futian. The game was still on.
However, their loss seemed to have been inevitable. Several rounds later, many pieces on Liu Zong's side were devoured. Yang Xiao and his people continued to spread their influence, and eventually, they won. Liu Zong and the other eight with him eventually lost the game. They were unable to break the Celestial Dragon Chess Game.
Countless eyes turned to the game. The loss had been a soft one. From the looks of how the battle went, it was truly a battle between two sides of equal caliber and it looked incredibly stunning. It was a pity that no one was able to break the Celestial Dragon Chess Game just yet.
Many could not help but recall the piece that Ye Futian placed. If he were to place his piece according to Liu Zong's advice, what would have actually happened? Would the have broken the Celestial Dragon Chess Game?
No one knew for sure, but the outcome was set. There was nothing anyone could have done to reverse it.
Liu Zong looked at the game before turning around and leaving, saying nothing more. The others remained standing on the chessboard staring at what lied before them, feeling rather frustrated.
Cold eyes locked onto Ye Futian. The eyes belonged to Liu Zong's junior, Mo Jun, of Xihua Sacred Mountain, as well as Zhou Ziyi of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty. Li Mu, Han Jing, and Goddess Qingni all looked at Ye Futian as well. Their gazes however, were comparatively peaceful ones.
"You went against Liu Zong's will just to show off your own, didn't you?" Zhou Ziyi said coldly. She felt that they were near breaking the Celestial Dragon Chess Game at that very turn and everything had been ruined by just one move. Her mood was extremely bad.
Ye Futian looked at Zhou Ziyi's cold eyes and replied calmly, "If the piece were to be placed there, we would have been defeated even quicker and the defeat would have been even more humiliating."
"Is that so?" Zhou Ziyi wore a sarcastic smirk on her face and said coldly, "So you're saying that you're better at chess than Liu Zong?"
Ye Futian did not answer. The game was over. No one knew what would have happened if that piece was placed as Liu Zong intended, and thus, there was nothing to explain.
"Don't you have any clue where your proficiency in the art of chess is?" Zhou Ziyi continued to jab sarcastically before taking her leave. Zhou Zichao glanced at Ye Futian plainly as well.
"Palace Lord Ye." Mo Jun's eyes turned to Ye Futian at that moment. He recalled how Ye Futian played before and found it astonishing that Ye Futian actually doubted his senior.
"Do you know how to play chess?" Mo Jun's voice was a peaceful one, yet the sarcasm beneath it was unmistakably thicker.
Ye Futian looked at Mo Jun, who then said, "It is quite a feat for you, Palace Lord Ye, to come all the way here to join in the fun. We at Xihua Sacred Mountain will be holding the Nine State Forum soon. If Palace Lord Ye likes being at fun places so much, I can ask my teacher to allow you to bring your people to the event and watch from the grandstands."