Triumphant Return

Above the Nine Heavens, within a strange and magnificent Liuli hall, two figures sat facing each other, each holding black and white pieces as they played chess.

One wore a purple robe, his face imposing, his aura abyssal and unfathomable.

The other wore dark robes and possessed an equally powerful aura. His eyes were long and narrow, his skin fair and tender, his facial features nearly flawless. Though he was male, his appearance was enough to shame any woman.

Yet upon his smooth, full forehead were two tiny protrusions, like two ugly lumps of flesh. They ruined the overall beauty and made him look rather strange.

The purple-robed man slowly placed a white piece. A great black dragon upon the board was instantly slaughtered, leaving not a single black piece behind and no possibility whatsoever of turning the tide.

"You lost." He spoke slowly, his tone calm, as though this outcome had never been unexpected.

The dark-robed man frowned slightly, casually tossing his remaining pieces into the chess box. With a cold snort, he said, "I underestimated you. Even at such a juncture, you could still devise such a sinister method as detonating the Tribulation Cloud to turn the tables. Not only did it cost my Demon Race a future Demon Lord, it also destroyed my ten thousand li of dominion."

"That Black Flood Dragon was never Su Ding's match to begin with. Had it not consumed a drop of True Dragon blood from who knew where, I fear it would never have made it this far. What do you think, Fellow Daoist?" The purple-robed man looked at him indifferently, his eyes carrying the shrewdness of one who saw through everything.

The dark-robed man's gaze flickered. He had believed he had handled the matter discreetly enough, yet the other party