The room fell into a deathly silence.
Steam rose from the dishes on the table, filling the air with their rich aroma.
Wang Qingyuan, Qian Feng, and Liu Yuan all fell silent for a long while before finally looking up at Zhang Kaiming, whose lips curled into a smug smile.
Their three pairs of aged eyes were filled with worry and pity for their old friend.
Zhang Kaiming was only sixty-five. How had his mind already gone? He was even starting to talk nonsense.
Sigh. It seemed they'd have to find him a healing-type Soul Master.
Zhang Kaiming waited and waited, but the three old friends never gave him the shocked, envious looks he'd expected. Instead, they gazed at him with worry and pity, leaving him at a loss.
"You..." Zhang Kaiming began, hoping to say something, but Wang Qingyuan interrupted him with a sigh.
"Kaiming, I know a pretty good healing-type Soul Master. If you need one, just let me know. Don't be shy." Wang Qingyuan looked at Zhang Kaiming with complete sincerity.
"..." Zhang Kaiming was baffled. "Qingyuan, what nonsense are you talking about? Why bring that up out of nowhere?"
"It's not me talking nonsense. You're the one talking nonsense." Wang Qingyuan sighed softly.
"Do you know what you just said? Reaching the realm of a Half-Step Chess Path Grandmaster in half a year—is that something a normal person could say? And it's even less fitting coming from you, a Chess Path Grandmaster!"
As he spoke, he let out a disdainful snort.
"Across the entire Douluo Continent, I dare call myself second in the Chess Path, and no one would dare claim first.
"I began studying chess at four, and I was nearly thirty before I reached the realm of a Half-Step Chess Path Grandmaster.
"Then, after three years of enlightenment, I finally comprehended the Chess Heart. At thirty-three, I ascended to the rank of Chess Path Grandmaster! That achievement surpassed every Chess Saint throughout history. No one could match it.
"And this Qin Yuan you just mentioned reached the realm of a Half-Step Chess Path Grandmaster after studying chess for only half a year. Do you think that's possible?
"Such a monster couldn't possibly exist in this world!"
Wang Qingyuan spoke with absolute conviction.
"Exactly. If a monster like that really existed, what would that make us, when we spent decades just reaching the realm of a Half-Step Chess Path Grandmaster?" Qian Feng shook his head helplessly, not believing a single word Zhang Kaiming had said.
Liu Yuan shook his head. "Kaiming, I think your mind's gone muddled. Stop spouting nonsense!"
Wang Qingyuan looked at Zhang Kaiming and sighed.
"Kaiming, I know you want to show off your disciple. We understand, but don't exaggerate too much. If those words get out, people will laugh at you, and your reputation will suffer.
"We three will pretend we didn't hear what you said just now. Don't ever say it again. It's for your own good."
As he spoke, Wang Qingyuan raised his chin, his face brimming with pride.
"No one in this world is better than me at the Chess Path. My Martial Soul is the Heavenly Star Chessboard, and I'm the greatest Chess Saint in history!
"Who dares challenge me in the Chess Path? Who?! No one dares! And no one can!"
Seeing Wang Qingyuan react as if someone had touched a raw nerve, Zhang Kaiming said no more. If he kept going, he might lose his friends.
He knew the old friend in front of him all too well: Wang Qingyuan loved chess as much as life itself and was incredibly proud, especially when it came to the Chess Path. He wouldn't tolerate anyone questioning him.
Seeing Zhang Kaiming fall silent, Wang Qingyuan, Qian Feng, and Liu Yuan became even more certain that he'd been exaggerating. He was probably just trying to curry favor with that important person in the palace.
A trace of disdain and sorrow rose in their hearts. Zhang Kaiming had fallen so low. The proud spirit of a Chess Path Grandmaster had yielded to the powerful. They'd been wrong about him!
Zhang Kaiming had no idea that his kind-hearted reluctance to lose his old friends had made him look, in their eyes, like he was currying favor with the powerful.
He was merely puzzled by their attitude toward him. They seemed more distant, and he couldn't quite understand why. But mild-tempered as he was, he didn't take it to heart or assume the worst.
Qin Yuan had been stuck at the pinnacle of the sixth rank in the Chess Path for ten days.
He had no idea how to proceed. He felt that studying behind closed doors wouldn't work; he needed to go out and play against other chess players. Only by absorbing the different approaches to the Chess Path and letting their ideas collide could he spark an epiphany.
So he left the Imperial Palace.
Two beautiful maids wanted to accompany him, but he refused and allowed only Li Fu to go with him.
Li Fu was an old man in his sixties, a seventy-two-level Soul Saint whose Martial Soul was the Shadow Leopard.
He wasn't a member of the Imperial Palace. And ever since he'd awakened with only half a level of Innate Soul Power, Xue Ye the Great had treated him coldly. He certainly wouldn't arrange for a Soul Saint to protect him.
Li Fu had been saved by Qin Yuan when Qin Yuan was seven. At the time, Li Fu was gravely injured and on the verge of death, with strength only at the peak of the Soul Emperor level.
After learning that Li Fu's entire family had been brutally murdered by an old enemy, Qin Yuan had used Qian Renxue's influence to help him take revenge, allowing him to kill his enemy with his own hands.
With no family left in the world and nowhere else to go, Li Fu became Qin Yuan's most loyal bodyguard, answering to Qin Yuan alone.
A luxurious carriage rolled along the bustling street, carrying Qin Yuan toward the Chess Saint Pavilion.
Qin Yuan had once heard Zhang Kaiming say that the Chess Saint Pavilion brought together the finest Chess Path experts in the Heavenly Dou Empire. Playing against them might inspire him and help him comprehend the Chess Heart.
When passersby saw the pure-white swan, the royal emblem on the carriage, they respectfully cleared the way and watched it pass with envy.
Li Fu drove the carriage up front, as silent as a stone.
The three sturdy white horses trotted along, pulling the carriage. As they passed a dessert shop, they slowed to a stop.
The curtain was lifted, and Qin Yuan stepped down from the carriage. Dressed in luxurious black, his small face was as finely sculpted as a work of art. He entered the dessert shop.
Li Fu followed close behind, never leaving his side.
The dessert shop stood in a prime location in Heaven Dou City. It was busy and bustling, with enough room for over a hundred people, yet it was packed to the brim at that moment.
Qin Yuan glanced at the thriving shop and nodded with satisfaction. The staff were so busy that none of them had even noticed him.
He didn't mind and headed straight upstairs.
The second floor was much quieter. Qin Yuan and Li Fu entered the room at the end of the corridor.
He pushed open the door and stepped inside. The room was spacious and bright, simply furnished with just a table, four chairs, and a sofa.
A beautiful girl of seventeen or eighteen sat behind the table, looking down at something. Hearing the noise, she raised her head. Her delicate, fair face immediately lit up with delight.
"Benefactor, you're here!"
Xue Rou shot to her feet and ran from behind the table to Qin Yuan. Her tall, curvaceous figure bounced with every step.
"I've told you so many times—call me Young Master." Qin Yuan sighed helplessly.
"All right, Benefactor." Xue Rou nodded earnestly.
"..." Qin Yuan's mouth twitched. He couldn't be bothered to correct her again, so he said, "I happened to be passing by, so I came in to check on you. How are things? Any difficulties?"
"No." Xue Rou shook her head. "Everyone's doing well, all thanks to you, Benefactor."
"Good. I'm glad there aren't any problems." Qin Yuan nodded and chatted with her for a few more moments. Then, with Xue Rou seeing him off reluctantly, he climbed back into the carriage and continued on to the Chess Saint Pavilion.
The dessert shop belonged to Qin Yuan. But he wasn't counting on it to make money, even with business booming.
He wasn't short on money, either. There were over a million Gold Soul Coins sitting in his Storage Soul Tool.
They were birthday gifts he'd received over the years from the princes and nobles, and not one had been cheap.
Even though Xue Ye the Great didn't value him and treated him coldly, every noble in the Heavenly Dou Empire knew that Crown Prince Xue Qinghe doted on his younger brother. Who would dare slight him? They all competed to curry favor with him, hoping to leave a good impression on Xue Qinghe.
The dessert shop's employees were all destitute beggars and people with disabilities who could barely survive, along with some homeless orphans.
In his previous life, Qin Yuan had been an orphan. He'd grown up struggling to survive and knew all too well how hard life was for those at the bottom.
Having been caught in the rain himself, he wanted to hold up an umbrella for others in the same plight and do what he could to help.
He paid them the average wage in Heaven Dou City and provided room and board, giving them the chance to support themselves through their own work.
The shop owner, Xue Rou, was the girl he'd rescued from bandits when he was eight. She could read and do arithmetic, so he'd made her the shopkeeper. That way, he didn't have to worry about the place.
The luxurious carriage traveled unhindered and soon stopped outside the Chess Saint Pavilion.
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