Chapter 870 - 87: Seducing the Immortal

Chapter 870: Chapter 87: Seducing the Immortal

In the room, Li Xin was trimming the edges of his own set of chess pieces. A crystal-clear set of war chess was basically finished; he made the pieces a bit bigger so it’d be easier for the Immortal to use.

On the other side, as soon as the Jiuxiao Building competition ended, Wang Zhigao left, not willing to stay even a second longer, as if his ass was on fire. Tang Feng and Kui Ma, who had planned to chat a bit, were left hanging on the spot, and the other cultivators who’d wanted to ask him a few questions were also ignored. Fortunately, he treated everyone equally, so no one really felt slighted. After all, he didn’t even bother with Golden Core Elders; now that he didn’t bother with them either, that practically put them on the same level as Golden Core Elders.

Flying back to the Martial Heart Sect on his sword, Wang Zhigao looked up to the sky with a long sigh. Back in the day he’d been a storm-wielding big shot, walking sideways in the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, and he’d never imagined he’d one day fall to this point. Still, at least he’d earned some Spirit Stones. If you want the horse to run, it still has to eat grass. The Martial Heart Sect was dirt poor, so he had to figure something out himself. He really was both father and mother to them. But ranting was ranting; these brats’ foundations weren’t bad, the Martial Heart Technique was also a High-Level Cultivation Technique, and at present, among the sects of the Divine Land, none could prove their strength better than the Martial Heart Sect.

Suspended in the air, Wang Zhigao’s gaze was like a torch as he stared at the disciples training in the mountaintop courtyard. His good mood and soaring ambition instantly turned into raging anger.

Before he even landed, he let out a thunderous roar, then immediately started cursing them out, "Fang Chi, you little bastard, slacking off again! Cai Qingfeng, what the hell are you playing at, swinging that sword like that—are you wielding a sword or peddling your ass, why so damn limp...?"

No one knew when the Little Bamboo Whip had appeared in his hand; Wang Zhigao started spraying curses and lashing indiscriminately. The more he whipped, the angrier he got. He’d gone out and practically sold himself, and these little bastards still couldn’t focus.

With Wang Zhigao watching, everyone’s strings were pulled tight as a bow. When he wasn’t around, Fang Qingning couldn’t hold the field down at all. Even if she tried to act stern, she simply couldn’t reach Wang Zhigao’s level of intimidation; there was a big difference between the form and the spirit.

"So this is how you all want to play it, huh? Fine, fine! We’ll do a weekly evaluation. Fail to meet the standard three times, and you’re kicked out of the sect!" Wang Zhigao roared. "Anyone who makes my life hard, I sure as hell won’t let them off easy. Nobody sleeps tonight!"

Hearing Wang Zhigao’s bellowing, Gan Jiu and Shi Dazhu exchanged a glance, the corners of their mouths curling in satisfaction. They each silently let out a breath of relief—now that Old Wang was back, they could relax.

"Where do you think that brat Li Xin ran off to? I’ve just come up with another trick—might even be able to kill him. Then we can save our money," Gan Jiu said.

"Oh, give it a rest. Those fake meds of yours are worth shit."

"I just can’t get over it—such a nice little Mei Niang, and it was him who got to enjoy her, while we paid the bill. We took a huge loss."

"Huh, that’s true. Even draining him dry doesn’t feel like enough. We’ll scheme a bit more." Shi Dazhu frowned. A country bumpkin getting to sleep with a Divine Land seductive woman—unacceptable.

On the other side, Li Xin knew nothing about this. The Immortal had arrived, bringing greetings from the Dragon Capital. This had been prepared long ago: whether Li Xin went to Ma Liu, Xueyin, or Lin Fei, there would always be such a letter. The letter mainly reported that everything was safe. Lin Fei, leading the people of the Church Court and some of the Night Patrol, had set out toward the Netherworld Sea. The Dragon Capital itself had no big problems under the protection of Dean Philson. Moreover, Chen Rutang was still the Grand Governor. Chen Rutang had begun reforms, heavily promoting people with Canon Law School backgrounds, and had also implemented a major institutional change: officials of City Hall and the Council nationwide would now be selected through examinations. Eligibility for the exam was limited to citizens of the Li Long Kingdom, with nobles and Canon Law School students given priority in admission.

On the surface it still looked like nobles came first, but in fact it gave Canon Law School students the same opportunity. In the past, nobles had held most of the major posts in the state apparatus, and it had been very hard for Canon Law School students to move upward; some who did only managed it because they themselves were originally nobles.

After reading the letter, Li Xin smiled. "Lord Immortal, if you’re free, sit for a bit. I’ve invented a really fun game—want to give it a try?"

Li Xin was also killing two birds with one stone, because he knew Immortals were actually mind-numbingly bored. There wasn’t much they could really feel anymore. Things like food—they no longer needed it; tasting it once in a while was fine, but eating every day was out of the question. More importantly, he himself couldn’t afford that. But chess was different: ever-changing, endlessly replayable.

The Immortal stared woodenly at Li Xin, not quite understanding what he meant.

Li Xin immediately took out the board and pieces and set them up. "This is war chess. Two armies face off; the pieces are the same. The middle is the Spirit Realm, one side is the Abyss, one side is the Dao Yuan Continent. We fight each other..."

The rules of war chess were very simple, but Li Xin was still afraid the Immortal wouldn’t get it, so he explained in great detail. Immortals might not have much else, but they certainly had patience. After listening, the Immortal looked at Li Xin and tapped the board with a finger.

Li Xin’s lips crooked up. "You’re a newbie; you go first."

Li Xin had played a lot of war chess and had learned plenty of moves from computer programs. Playing a novice felt like playing a little kid. "Checkmate—double cannons, nothing in between!"

The Immortal looked at the board, then raised his head to look at Li Xin. The soul fire in his eyes flickered, then he tapped the board again.

Li Xin reset the pieces. "The first game was just to get used to the rules. How about this: I’ll give up my chariot, knight, and cannon, then we’ll be about even. Once you’re familiar with the game, we’ll play fair and square."

The Immortal rolled up his sleeves, revealing a pitch-black skeleton like carbon fiber, and nodded very seriously.

"No, you can’t do that—you’re blocking your horse’s leg; it can’t jump like that. This is a rule, a very important rule in war chess... The Bing can’t move backwards. How could a soldier on the battlefield retreat? And no, your elephant can’t cross the river!"

When it came to chess, the Immortal really wasn’t any different from an ordinary person. He made every basic mistake there was to make. After a few games, his soul fire burned brighter than usual. After each game, he would just stare fixedly at Li Xin.

"Don’t rush. Every newbie is like this. Among all the opponents I’ve met, you’re already considered quite talented. Here, replay the game in your head, go over the rules again. I’m going to cultivate for a bit—don’t let anyone disturb me," Li Xin said.

The Immortal nodded, then just stared at the board motionlessly, like he wanted to swallow the pieces with his eyes.

Seeing his plan succeed, Li Xin pulled out some Spirit Stones and started cultivating. After all, he was on unfamiliar turf, and his grasp of the Martial Heart Technique still wasn’t solid enough. If his Grand Circulation got interrupted, there really was a chance he’d suffer qi deviation—but with an Immortal as his protector, it was different.

Entering Introspection, and with no Jade and Silk scroll of the Martial Heart Technique, Li Xin was exceedingly cautious. He held two High Grade Spirit Stones in his hands; the gentle, warm power gave him a lot of confidence as he slowly set the Martial Heart Technique in motion.

Using the Small Circulation as the base, he began spiraling through the entire Grand Circulation. The sensation was a bit like coming to understand all things in the universe. It was truly a magical feeling. As the Spiritual Ability circulated, it broadened his meridians. He even felt that this might be why using the Nine-character True Words was so life-threatening each time—his meridians were too narrow, and the explosive burst of Energy just couldn’t get through.

At first he still had some stray thoughts, but very soon Li Xin completely forgot everything around him and entered entirely into his own world.

In the room, the Immortal just quietly stared at the board, motionless. After watching for a long time, he lifted his head to look at Li Xin on the bed, stared for a moment, then lowered his head and continued studying the board.

These few motions repeated over and over...