Zhang Kaiming had gone out.
For the past six months, he had gone to the palace every day without fail to teach that noble person, turning down invitations from several old friends. Now he had finally found some free time. It would be unreasonable not to visit them any longer.
So, after receiving an invitation the day before from his old friend, Chess Saint Wang Qingyuan, he had set out early that morning. He rode in a carriage all the way to the Chess Saint Pavilion.
The Chess Saint Pavilion was a sacred place in the hearts of chess enthusiasts in Heaven Dou City—and even throughout the entire Heavenly Dou Empire.
Every Chess Saint of every generation had come from the Chess Saint Pavilion. More precisely, they had come from the line of the pavilion master.
That was because the pavilion master's line possessed a Martial Soul called the Heavenly Star Chessboard. Every Soul Master whose Martial Soul was a chessboard was born a chess prodigy, and naturally learned the Chess Path far more easily than other people.
Chess Saint's eldest disciple, Zhao Ye, had been waiting at the entrance to the Chess Saint Pavilion for quite some time. He evidently knew Zhang Kaiming, a grandmaster of the Chess Path. The moment he saw him step down from the carriage, he immediately smiled and went to greet him.
"Elder Zhang, you're here." Zhao Ye greeted him respectfully and politely.
"Ah, Xiao Ye. Is your teacher inside?" Zhang Kaiming asked with a cheerful smile, dressed in a smart, reddish-brown robe.
"He is." Zhao Ye hurriedly replied, "Allow me to show you the way."
"Mm, good." Zhang Kaiming nodded with a smile and followed Zhao Ye, who led him through the bustling go hall and up to the second floor, then into an elegantly decorated room.
There were three people in the room, all white-haired men over sixty. They could be called pillars of the Chess Path in Heaven Dou, with exceptional skill.
The most remarkable of them was the spirited old man dressed in a plain white robe. He was the foremost figure in Heaven Dou's Chess Path, Wang Qingyuan, known as the Chess Saint.
At that moment, the Chess Saint was playing against the other two old men, taking on both at once.
Yet the Chess Saint wore a calm, unruffled expression. The two men working together against him, on the other hand, looked grave and had been unable to make a move for quite some time.
The room was utterly quiet. Wang Qingyuan watched his two old friends looking as if they faced a formidable foe, then leisurely picked up the tea beside him and took a slow sip, not the least bit impatient.
Hearing the door open, he instinctively turned to look. A smile appeared on his aged, triumphant face, and he chided:
"Well, look who it is—Zhang Kaiming! I invited you several times, and you never came. Now you've finally decided to grace me with a visit."
Zhang Kaiming replied helplessly, "I had no choice. I've been teaching that noble person for the past six months and couldn't get away. You know that."
"Heh heh, have a seat." Wang Qingyuan wasn't truly angry. Smiling, he pointed to the seat beside him and gestured for Zhang Kaiming to sit.
Zhang Kaiming nodded and headed for the seat. Chess Saint's eldest disciple, Zhao Ye, respectfully excused himself and left.
Once seated, Zhang Kaiming glanced at his two old friends, who were staring wide-eyed at the black-and-white chessboard, completely absorbed in it. They hadn't even noticed his arrival.
He couldn't help turning to Chess Saint Wang Qingyuan. "How long have they been at it?"
"About half an hour." The corners of Wang Qingyuan's mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.
Zhang Kaiming grew interested. His gaze immediately fell on the board, and he joined his two old friends in searching for a way to break the deadlock.
Wang Qingyuan watched with a genial smile, saying nothing as he leisurely sipped his tea.
The longer Zhang Kaiming and the others remained silent, the more pronounced Wang Qingyuan's smile became. His chin lifted slightly, too.
The sun slowly crossed the sky from east to west, climbing until it stood directly overhead. Morning gave way to noon.
The whole morning passed. Zhang Kaiming and the other two remained as motionless as statues, their eyes bloodshot as they stared at the chessboard, which seemed trapped in an unsolvable deadlock.
Watching his three old friends, all pillars of the Chess Path, fail to break the deadlock even after an entire morning of working together, Wang Qingyuan's initial delight and triumph turned to boredom.
He shook his head slightly and sighed to himself. At my level, there's no one left to play against me. So lonely, so lonely.
He didn't want to wait any longer. He had already given his three old friends plenty of time, but they simply weren't up to the task.
So he reached out with his thin, withered hand, picked up a black stone between two fingers, and placed it precisely on the board.
At once, the deadlocked position before Zhang Kaiming and the other two sprang to life, brimming with possibility.
Staring intently at the black stone the Chess Saint had placed, the three men suddenly saw the answer. Their lips trembled as they murmured to themselves:
"So that's how it is. So that's how it is. The path to life was right there. How did I not think of that..."
"Heh heh, let's eat first. You can think it over properly when you get back." Wang Qingyuan spoke with a chuckle, then clapped his hands.
The door opened, and three maidservants in white dresses entered, carrying dishes. They set the food out, then quietly left.
At the table, Zhang Kaiming and the other two were still lost in thought over the game they had just seen, paying no attention to the food. Wang Qingyuan's eyes shifted toward Zhang Kaiming, and he asked with a smile:
"Kaiming, how's that noble person in the palace coming along with his chess?"
"I've taught him all I can. Otherwise, how would I have had time to accept your invitation?" Zhang Kaiming answered casually without even looking up.
Wang Qingyuan froze. Qian Feng and Liu Yuan, who had been deep in thought, raised their heads and looked at Zhang Kaiming in bafflement.
What did he mean, he'd taught him all he could?
They remembered that Zhang Kaiming had only been teaching that noble person the Chess Path for half a year. The man had probably yet to truly begin learning—or had only just started. How could Zhang Kaiming have taught him everything?
Wang Qingyuan furrowed his brow, puzzled. "Kaiming, what do you mean by that?"
Qian Feng and Liu Yuan also looked at Zhang Kaiming, utterly confused.
Zhang Kaiming raised his head. Looking at his three bewildered friends, he suddenly smiled mysteriously:
"Guess what level that young master has reached in the Chess Path?"
Wang Qingyuan, Qian Feng, and Liu Yuan exchanged glances. For Zhang Kaiming to act so mysterious, the noble person in the palace must be a chess prodigy. Otherwise, Zhang Kaiming would never look like this.
Qian Feng pondered for a moment. "He's only been learning chess for half a year. Even if his talent in the Chess Path matches mine, he could reach, at most, the second stage."
Zhang Kaiming smiled without a word, merely shaking his head.
Now Wang Qingyuan and the others were intrigued. Was he saying the man had reached beyond the second stage?
Liu Yuan ventured a bold guess, astonished. "Could he have reached the third stage? That would put his talent in the Chess Path beyond mine and Brother Qian's."
Zhang Kaiming said nothing. He shook his head again.
At that, Wang Qingyuan—the Chess Saint—furrowed his brows. Not the third stage, either? Could he have reached the fourth?
To reach the fourth stage after only half a year of learning chess—Wang Qingyuan himself hadn't managed that in his youth. After half a year, he had only come close to the fourth stage.
He didn't believe anyone in this world could have greater talent in the Chess Path than him. Even among the Chess Saints of past generations, he could confidently claim the top spot.
So he furrowed his brow and said, "Kaiming, stop keeping us in suspense. It's only been half a year. No matter how extraordinary that noble person in the palace's talent is, he can't surpass what I achieved back then and reach the fourth stage. That's impossible!"
Wang Qingyuan had absolute confidence in himself.
Zhang Kaiming looked at the self-assured Wang Qingyuan and sighed inwardly. He knew his friend would find what he was about to say impossible to accept, let alone believe.
If he hadn't spent the past six months seeing it with his own eyes, witnessing Qin Yuan's terrifying rate of progress, he would have found it hard to believe, too.
But he still had to say it.
After all, he was Qin Yuan's first teacher in the Chess Path. How could he not boast when his disciple was so outstanding? Let these three old fellows die of envy.
He chuckled to himself. Just thinking about what he was about to say made the corners of his mouth rise beyond his control.
Looking up at his three old friends, Zhang Kaiming said:
"First, understand this: I was Young Master Qin Yuan's first teacher in the Chess Path. That's an unalterable fact."
"You old rascal, are you looking for a beating? Stop keeping us in suspense and tell us!" Wang Qingyuan and the other two grumbled.
Zhang Kaiming stopped teasing them and said, word by word:
"He's at the half-step Chess Grandmaster realm."
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