One skill point per second, I turn fireballs into forbidden spells.

Chapter 995 Life Philosophy on the Chessboard
He was merely a lowly henchman, holding no indispensable position in the vast army of the Immortal King's lineage, nor had he performed any extraordinary feats for the Immortal King.

That's why, despite his young age, he was extremely cautious in his words and actions within the Immortal King's camp.

I might compromise myself on ordinary days, but I would never...

Now that the Celestial King has posed such a sensitive question to him, how should he answer it?

You cannot lie in front of the Celestial King.

But if I tell the truth, wouldn't that touch a nerve with the Celestial King?

The mighty Celestial King, the ruler of all the gods, made a mess of everything when the myriad realms truly needed unity, causing the gods of various factions to fight their own battles, allowing the weak and ineffective Dark Rising Organization to take advantage of the situation.

These are the truths, but if I were to actually say them, wouldn't that be courting death?

"Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles. Am I, the Immortal King, what you think?"

After the junior thug made his move, a smile finally appeared on the Immortal King's face.

Of the millions in the world, only the truth can truly hurt.

"I apologize for my intrusion, Immortal King."

Once his thoughts were exposed, the thug immediately panicked.

Out of respect for the Celestial King, he kept some things to himself, but how could the Celestial King, with his power, not see through what he wanted to say?

"All things under heaven return to oneness, just like this game of chess today. It seems that I have been forced into a dead end by you, but in fact, my chance of survival is right in front of me."

"How could a lowly thug like you possibly understand the intricacies of this?"

Is life on the horizon?

The thugs were utterly puzzled.

Normally, those who accompany the Immortal King in playing chess are mostly important members of the Immortal King's realm.

As a lowly henchman, I didn't have many opportunities to come into contact with these important members. The only thing I could hear about was the Immortal King's unparalleled chess skills and his extraordinary wisdom in strategizing.

As the leader of the gods, it is only natural that he possesses such wisdom.

But after fighting him today, the young thug suddenly realized that the rumors were far too exaggerated.

This little thug didn't grasp any of the grand wisdom of strategizing and winning battles. He only saw the Immortal King's impetuousness and carelessness halfway through the game.

At first, the junior thugs were wary of the difference in status between the two sides and dared not win too decisively. They even wanted to lose to the Immortal King by a few coins so that their leader could save face.

But the Immortal King's last words ignited the little thugs' competitive spirit.

Before becoming a member of the gods' camp, who wasn't already a top performer on their own planet?

Otherwise, it would have been impossible to comprehend divine power and ascend to this upper plane where powerful beings abound.

The second half of the game went smoothly for the underdog.

With only two crucial steps to secure the victory, he kept doing trivial things, all to save face for his superior.

Now that the leader looks down on him so much, the henchman doesn't intend to save face anymore.

He wanted to see where the Celestial King's confidence came from.

Snapped!
With one move, the victory is half secured.

The little thug's eyes were fixed on a single point where a piece would be placed.

All he needs to do in his next move is place his black piece in that spot, and everything will be settled.

"Heh, young man, you're upset by just one sentence? It's alright, we'll have some fun from now on."

The Immortal King's lips curled up slightly, and then, to the disbelief of the henchman, he placed a white piece in the spot he had chosen beforehand.

The moment the white piece landed, the young thug's confidence vanished by more than half.

But the next second, he felt himself wake up again.

"Your Majesty, your move is merely buying yourself three moves to survive and delaying the game. I'm afraid it won't change the outcome of this game."

The Celestial King ignored the henchman's words, merely smiling slightly as he continued speaking. "The myriad realms are a game of chess, and I am the player wielding it. We stand at different heights, so our perspectives are naturally different. What do you think?"

"I will lose this game. I don't just want you to think that way, I want others who are more advanced and have a broader perspective to think that way too."

The thug did not refute these words.

He knew what the Celestial King was implying.

But he didn't believe that the Immortal King could still turn the tide when he was at his wit's end and had no one else to rely on.

Without much thought, the little thug continued to place his pieces in pursuit, trying to eliminate the Celestial King as quickly as possible.

When it was the Celestial King's turn to make a move, the little thug's eyes widened.

This... isn't this a useless dead piece that the Celestial King placed not long after the game started?

How did it happen that after placing a white piece next to this seemingly useless piece, it ended up capturing four of its own pieces?

Unexpectedly, the Celestial King pulled off such a divine move.

Shocked, the henchmen immediately abandoned their pursuit and instead surrounded the living space that the Immortal King had just created.

"Come on, continue."

The Celestial King placed another piece, which, in conjunction with the dead piece, successfully captured three more of the Little Scout's pieces.

Seeing that the Celestial King's chess game was showing signs of revival, the henchman didn't think twice and immediately began to surround and intercept the Celestial King's pieces.

They wanted to completely crush the Celestial King's hopes.

At this point, the advantage of being the first to lay the foundation gradually becomes apparent.

Although the henchmen failed to subdue the Celestial King within three steps, they gradually extinguished the Celestial King's life force.

Just as the henchman was confident in eliminating all of the Celestial King's life force, his pupils suddenly contracted.

wrong!

How did I manage to cut off all my own escape routes?

In order to completely cut off the Immortal King's life force, he had used every means at his disposal.

Upon closer inspection, however, he realized that the encirclement he had set up had actually caused him a lot of trouble.

The black stones, covering about half a star, appear to be completely surrounded by the white stones, and the overall situation is about to be decided.

However, there is a position where, once the white piece is placed, the white piece, which is completely at a disadvantage, will level the gap between the two sides.

"Sometimes, a person's eyes can betray their thoughts."

"Sometimes, what people fear most is what will happen to them."

The Immortal King remained calm and placed a piece in the position that the little thugs feared most.

"The real show is just beginning."

Blindly pursuing and blocking will often lead to chaos.

As more and more pieces were placed, and the two sides continued to exchange pieces, the junior player realized that his earlier moves, intended to completely sever the chances of the Immortal King's game, had unknowingly created obstacles for his own pieces in different parts of the game.

As the game progressed, the Celestial King's advantage gradually became apparent.

However, he found himself constrained by his own cleverness and rash moves.

"Fifty rounds have passed. How about it? Have I not lost to you yet? Is there still hope on this chessboard?"

The little thug was momentarily at a loss for words in response to the Celestial King's question.

It was clearly because he held back, out of consideration for the Immortal King's face, and didn't deliver the decisive blow immediately, that the situation developed in the direction it is today.

If I had gone all out from the beginning, there wouldn't have been so much trouble.

"This is the philosophy of life."

(End of this chapter)