Xuanxia

Chapter 466 Novels are all lies
"Play...play chess..."

Fu Qingzhou sat down at the stone table and started scratching his head.

A chessboard with 19 vertical and 19 horizontal lines, and black and white chess pieces, this is clearly Go.

But he asked anyway, just in case.

"Well, what are the rules of our game of chess? It shouldn't be that the five pieces are connected in a line?" Fu Qingzhou blinked.

"Haha, of course not."

Yuan Guan smiled and said, "The chessboard has 19 vertical and 19 horizontal pieces, and 361 black and white pieces. The black piece goes first, and both sides take turns placing pieces. They can place pieces where there are no pieces. The one who surrounds the most territory wins, and the pieces without energy are taken away... At the end of the game, the victory or defeat is determined by the territory."

"Okay, it's Go after all." Fu Qingzhou sighed, "Although I've learned it, I only know the rules..."

As he said this, he looked at Yuan Zhen for help: "Brother Zhen, can you do it?"

"Donor Fu..."

Yuan Zhen gave a bitter smile and said, "I have been concentrating on cultivation since I was young and have never learned the art of chess."

"..." Fu Qingzhou asked again in his mind: "Old man, what about you? You are so knowledgeable and talented, you should be able to play chess, right? How about you help me play?"

"I?"

The smoker said lazily, "You think too much. I have no interest in this stuff... Of course, with my ability, it is no problem for me to help you calculate the pieces, but if the old monk opposite is really a chess master, I will definitely not be able to win."

Fu Qingzhou sighed deeply.

On this side, Yuanguan has already extended his hand in a very graceful manner and said, "Donor, you are a guest from afar, so you can play black first."

Fu Qingzhou had no choice but to reach out his hand from the chess basket, picked up a black piece, and slowly placed it on the star position in the upper right corner.

Yuanguan smiled and held the white piece, which fell down.

This move landed on the small eye...a very simple and common opening strategy.

Fu Qingzhou pursed his lips, frowned, and the black piece in his hand seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

He tried to search for those long-lost Go skills from the depths of his memory... but he really hadn't put any effort into this area. Even if he went back to his previous life, an elementary school student who had studied Go seriously for a few months would probably be able to beat him.

Yuanguan is completely different.

The old monk always kept smiling and was calm and composed in every move he made.

He did not adopt any brilliant and sophisticated chess formations or chess manuals, but just followed the black and white moves in a bland manner, placing the white pieces one after another.

But in the blink of an eye, Fu Qingzhou lost several pieces inexplicably... He didn't even understand how Yuanguan did it.

Soon, the black and white pieces on the chessboard were intertwined. Yuanguan's territory was stable and orderly, while the black pieces seemed a little scattered and chaotic.

"No, I will definitely lose if I continue like this."

Fu Qingzhou held the chess piece in his hand for a long time without putting it down: "How about giving him some tricks?"

Seeing Yuanguan handling the game with ease, Fu Qingzhou suddenly recalled a scene he had seen in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils in his previous life - when Xuzhu was faced with the Zhenlong chess game, the brilliant move he made to break the game seemed like a stroke of genius.

He had an idea and tried to imitate Xu Zhu's technique, casually placing a piece on the chessboard.

After this move was made, Yuanguan said "Hmm?" with a puzzled look on his face.

"Oh?"

Fu Qingzhou was delighted: "Is there a chance?"

But soon, the Cigarette Smoker's angry curse rang in his mind: "What's wrong with you? Do you think you're not losing fast enough?"

Yuan Guan also asked in doubt: "Donor Fu, this move is really unreasonable... Do you need to think about it and make a new move?"

Fu Qingzhou covered his face.

Fairy tales are all lies...

He shamelessly picked up the chess piece and coughed dryly: "My hand slipped, my hand slipped, I actually wanted to move here..."

Having said this, he made his move again in an orderly manner.

The situation returned to its original state.

It's just that Fu Qingzhou started to come down slower and slower...

"Old man, please help me!"

He shouted in his mind, "You can see that there is something wrong with my move. You are at least better than me!"

"This old monk's chess style is too steady." The smoker said faintly, "I am definitely no match for him."

"That's better than me, right?"

Fu Qingzhou said helplessly: "Even if we lose, we have to lose gracefully, right?"

"Hmm...you have a point."

The smoker was finally persuaded: "Now, listen to me, three vertical and nine horizontal..."

Fu Qingzhou breathed a sigh of relief and followed its instructions, placing the piece. "Huh?"

Yuanguan let out a light exclamation, and for the first time a serious look appeared on his face.

After thinking for a moment, he gently placed the white piece.

The Smoker was silent for a long time before continuing, "Next... seven vertical and sixteen horizontal."

Fu Qingzhou did not hesitate and immediately followed the instructions of the Smoker and made another move.

Gradually, the game that had been slowed down by him just now started to speed up a little bit.

The Smoker was not familiar with Go, but he possessed the spiritual strength of the Xuan Star level after all. Simply put, the "CPU" that supported the calculations was extremely powerful, and he relied on mental arithmetic to support the game.

In contrast, Yuanguan quickly adapted to the "new opponent".

Of course, in the old monk's opinion, Fu Qingzhou was probably just changing his method.

As for Yuan Zhen... he didn't understand, he just stood aside, looking quite nervous.

Soon, the black and white pieces had occupied half of the chessboard.

Although Fu Qingzhou was not very good at chess, he could at least understand the situation. Although he had relied on the advice of the smoker to barely make up for some disadvantages before, Yuanguan's chess was too stable, like a mountain or an ocean, standing still, and he soon regained the upper hand little by little.

"It can't go on like this..."

He muttered in his mind again.

"What else do you want? Are you counting on me to win?" The smoker cursed, "My soul is smoking! This old monk is too fucking powerful. There is no way I can beat him!"

"This is about the great feud between me and the Golden Cicada Temple!"

Fu Qingzhou gritted his teeth and said, "Should we think of another way? Isn't this monk at the fifth level? How about you do something to disturb him?"

"Bah, I do want to!" The Smoker said, "Didn't I say that this hall is connected to his soul? Buddhism is very prosperous here. If I were to cause trouble, I'd probably be finished on the spot!"

"..."

Fu Qingzhou had a bitter face and was very worried.

Of course, "losing in a more beautiful way" was just an excuse. He still hoped that the Smoker could beat Yuanguan.

After all, isn’t that how it’s written in novels? The protagonist’s grandfather is knowledgeable and wise, and when they encounter a chess game like this, he can win by just giving some pointers…

Oh, this isn't "Hikaru no Go"...

A cup of tea had passed since Yuanguan made his move, but Fu Qingzhou still held the black piece tightly in his hand, and it was even wet with his sweat.

The smoker...didn't speak for a long time.

It also seemed to be lost in deep thought.

Fu Qingzhou was a little anxious. He almost subconsciously reached his hand into his arms and touched the things he always had with him, wondering if they could be of any help.

"Hey, the Mingjian Zhishi card... Old thing, now that you possess it, can you give me some more help?"

He asked while touching the jade token.

The smoker said, "It's not a fight, it's useless."

"Oh..." Fu Qingzhou was disappointed and continued to touch around.

Suddenly, his fingers touched something cold and hard, and then he felt an itch between his eyebrows!
Fu Qingzhou had a deep impression of this itchy feeling. The last time he looked at the Xuanxing Divine Iron, he directly grew a third eye, and that was the feeling!

"Holy crap, did I just touch the sacred iron?! I didn't even look at it, why did it grow eyes again?!"

Fu Qingzhou was shocked.

Right now there are enemies everywhere in the Jinchan Temple. If the secret of the divine iron is exposed, it will be extremely dangerous.

Fortunately, he did not express his fear, and his face still maintained the look of frowning and thinking, but the hand in his arms had been retracted, and then slowly raised to his forehead, covering the part above his eyebrows.

The next second, a strange feeling came from the palm of my hand—the third eye had grown again.

"Alas, at a time like this..."

Fu Qingzhou sighed in his heart.

But just a moment later, his eyes widened!

In his eyes, an illusory big tree actually "grew" on that ordinary chessboard!

Yuan Guan, who was sitting opposite the stone table, Yuan Zhen, who was standing next to it, and even the Smoker... didn't react at all.

They cannot see this "big tree".

When Fu Qingzhou raised his eyes and looked towards the "big tree", every time his eyes fell on a branch, a possible change in the chess game would emerge in his mind!
At this moment, he could clearly see the direction of each move, and every possible change extended like a branch, forming an intricate chess game tree!
These changes are no longer flat and linear, but three-dimensional and all-round, as if the entire chess game space is presented before his eyes!

The third eye that he held under his hand blinked and blinked, taking in everything through the gaps between his fingers.

(End of this chapter)