Coiling Dragon Secret Art

At the Dragon Lord's "Granted," the great hall fell silent in an instant. Every Great Demon turned its gaze toward them.

Something was off! Su Ziji keenly sensed it and realized he had misunderstood.

He had originally thought these Great Demons did not care about the game, which was why they had remained indifferent and silent. But now that they had suddenly taken an interest, all watching him and Ye Buhui, his original assumption was overturned.

"Perhaps it was not that they did not care about the game, but that the game was too difficult. The Great Demons knew ordinary people could not break it, so they seemed unconcerned."

"They were paying attention now because I had shown something exceptional."

"It seemed this game was more important than I had imagined."

Thinking this, Su Ziji secretly mused, If I can obtain the chess manual's complete inheritance and teach it to Bu Hui, perhaps she really can break this game.

Su Ziji did not believe that a chess manual the Dragon Lord watched over at all times could be an ordinary one.

As he thought this, faint light shone down. The Shell Maiden took the chess manual and passed it to Ye Buhui. Ye Buhui bowed in thanks, then sat down where she was and carefully studied the manual in her hands.

Su Ziji's heart rose to his throat. Especially when he saw Ye Buhui's expression shift from confusion to sudden realization, then to pallor, he understood that this manual was exceedingly difficult. This girl probably had not seen through its mysteries either.

That was not strange. Only with peerless talent, and a chess style that happened to fit the manual, could someone comprehend it at first glance.

If it did not suit them, even a genius chess player would need time to learn a new chess manual. Yet there was no chance of giving her several days, or even longer, to ponder it. She was defeated by having too little time and experience.

"Moo!"

A Great Demon with silver rings in its ears suddenly let out a cold snort. The phantom of a bull's head emerged in the air, overbearing and irresistible. It was clearly about to fly into a rage.

This is bad! Su Ziji's heart tightened. At that moment, Ye Buhui wiped away the fine sweat on her brow, suddenly rose, and carried the chess manual toward him.

"Hm? The girl is asking her brother for help."

"To understand it in a moment—even a genius could not do that."

Even within the Dragon Palace, the people below began whispering among themselves. Only when the demon official swept them with a glance did they quiet down.

Ye Buhui's little face was taut, her body trembling slightly and her steps unsteady. She was clearly under enormous pressure, yet she gritted her teeth and held firm, steadying her mind as she came before Su Ziji.

"I've already memorized this chess manual. You can keep it and study it carefully. If there's a chance, you can also show it to Father." As Ye Buhui spoke, her little face grew slightly pale.

She entrusted this chess manual to me. She could not possibly have understood my intention, because she does not know I possess the Rosewood Pendant.

Or perhaps she feared that, though I was not in the game now, I would be forced to break it later. Now that she has finished reading it, she has given this sole chance of survival to me, letting me use this time to comprehend it.

If we somehow make it out, I can bring this peerless chess manual with me as proof. Then her sacrifice would not have been in vain? Thinking this, Su Ziji was moved, yet also wanted to knock her on the head.

Could he really be someone who would watch her die right before his eyes? If he did, then even if he escaped this place, how could he ever face Uncle Ye?

"I'll accept this chess manual." Su Ziji took it in hand. Resisting the urge to look at Ye Buhui, he immediately began flipping through it. Then his gaze caught half the phantom of the Rosewood Pendant overlapping the chess manual, floating in his vision with a faint azure glow. A line of azure text appeared: "Ye Buhui has transferred [Coiling Dragon Secret Art] to you. Accept?"

Wait, this was the Coiling Dragon Secret Art, not a chess manual?

Su Ziji froze slightly, but knew this was no time to waste. The next moment, he answered, "Yes!"

In an instant, all manner of knowledge flowed into him. A layer of azure gauze seemed to veil his vision like a blue curtain, or like the cascading symbols of The Matrix!

Su Ziji felt that this knowledge was profoundly familiar. Every word imprinted itself upon his heart, combining with his memories and translating itself into concepts he could understand. Within the cognitive framework most comfortable to him, vast new knowledge rapidly accumulated, like floodwaters gathering behind a dam, and then...

"Boom!"

A thunderclap shook the air, and a mountain flood burst through and surged downward!

The author's entire train of thought and hidden mysteries unfolded clearly within his mind, as though enlightenment had been poured straight into his head, opening up an entirely new system of knowledge...

"It is the Chess Path, but it is also the Dragon Lord Legacy." While Su Ziji immersed himself in endless knowledge, Ye Buhui had already turned around and returned to sit before the chessboard.

Only after kneeling down again did she truly understand what the other players had felt.

It was not merely a matter of breaking the game. It was as though a pair of eyes had locked onto her from the void. Every movement she made, even every thought that arose in her heart, was seen through. The feeling was dreadful beyond words.

Yet at the same time, the pressure instantly stirred the stubborn resilience in Ye Buhui's nature. She worked to sort out her disrupted thoughts once more and focused on the chessboard before her.

"I am the chess player Father praised most. Even the county's masters said I had hopes of becoming a national champion. And now that I have read the chess manual and already gained an advantage, I must seek life from death and not disgrace the name of a chess player."

"Wow! The girl has placed a stone!" Just as all the demons and the remaining players thought Ye Buhui would, like the players before her, hesitate for a long time without daring to move, Ye Buhui raised a black stone and struck boldly.

With a "snap," not only were the demons present startled, but Su Ziji, immersed in the chess manual, was jolted awake as well.

"This girl actually placed a stone just like that!" He had originally planned to finish learning and absorbing the chess manual's contents, guide Ye Buhui, and then let her enter the game. He had not expected that while he was studying, she had already sat down and made her move. Su Ziji was shocked, his heart again leaping to his throat.

"The Dragon Lord before us is not the real Dragon Lord at all."

"These Great Demons are not true Great Demons either. They are merely afterimages left behind by time."

"And this chess game is the Sealing Recess of this place. Only one who can learn the Coiling Dragon Secret Art can unravel it."

Su Ziji's gaze shifted. The design and intentions of the one who had created the Sealing Recess surfaced in his mind one by one. With that hint, he swept his gaze around and indeed saw that though faint light shone down, the Great Demons cast no shadows at all.

But he had no time to inspect further and turned back to the chessboard. This stone had only stirred up a ripple of light; it had not triggered the rejection that came with a failed move.

Su Ziji inwardly relaxed. I never expected this girl Bu Hui's chess skill to be so high. Without any guidance, she is still walking the right path.

Even the Great Demons, who had originally given them only a little attention, became more focused. They discussed the game in low voices, seeming almost nothing like mere afterimages.

The Dragon Lord sat at the head, eyes lowered as he watched the chessboard, his expression indifferent.

After seven stones had been played, the game gradually reached a crucial point. Su Ziji's heart, which had only just settled, rose again with it.

At that moment, Ye Buhui, holding a stone and about to place it, suddenly changed expression.

Guided by a fine chess player's instinct, she stared fixedly at the board. Drops of sweat fell one after another from her forehead, as though she had realized that the next move was of utmost importance.

If she placed it wrongly, she might not lose immediately, but it would block off the path to survival ahead. Trying to recover afterward would be harder than climbing to the heavens.

But placing it correctly was just as difficult. The game's course was like mist, and she truly could not see the future. With the stone in her hand, she did not know where to place it to open a path to life.