Breaking the Deadlock

"Dragon Lord, she and I are siblings; when one prospers, both prosper, and when one suffers, both suffer. Though I am not a player, if she loses, I am willing to die alongside her. Will you permit me to join her in the game?" Seeing this, Su Ziji made a swift decision and bowed to the Dragon Lord.

This request violated the principles of the chess match, yet on closer consideration, it was reasonable.

For this was not a true competition, but to unravel an endgame—or rather, to break a seal. Surely the Dragon Lord would permit it. As expected, after hearing him out, the Dragon Lord fixed him with a look and nodded again. "Granted."

"Thank you, Dragon Lord!" Su Ziji thanked him, then walked to Ye Buhui's side. Without even looking at the board, he unfolded the chess manual and began reciting it aloud.

Just now, he had only silently recited a small portion before Ye Buhui's move interrupted him. This time, he truly recited it from beginning to end.

Ye Buhui had already reached a critical juncture and had no other recourse. Hearing Su Ziji recite, she slowly focused all her attention on what he was saying.

Wherever Su Ziji's gaze fell, golden light continuously emerged. His voice rang clear and bright, changing from the voice of an ordinary mortal at first to one accompanied by faint thunder with every sentence.

This was not the teaching of chess; it was a cultivator wielding a secret art. A faint halo of light gradually enveloped Su Ziji's body.

Ordinary people could not see this halo, but the Dragon Lord, the Great Demons, and even Hu Xiyan could see it. Their expressions truly changed at once.

"How many years has it been? At last..." a Great Demon muttered, drawing a chorus of sharp breaths.

Hu Xiyan clenched her fists even tighter.

Yet even so, not a single Great Demon left their seat, making her thoughtful.

Nearby, Zheng Yingci and Zhang Modong also trembled, concentrating as they listened. Meanwhile, several chess players saw everyone listening and suddenly gathered the courage to flee outside.

Strangely enough, let alone the Great Demons, not even the soldiers watching them tried to stop them, allowing them to leave as they pleased.

The Shell Maiden likewise did not move. Her eyes remained fixed on Su Ziji, her body trembling faintly as she, too, listened intently.

Only after Su Ziji finished reciting everything did the faint rumble of thunder slowly cease.

"Dragon Lord!" the Shell Maiden cried out in delighted surprise. The Dragon Lord, who had been sitting, was already on her feet, her little mouth slightly open as she looked at Su Ziji in astonishment and barely concealed joy. Yet as though she recalled something, she sat back down.

"So that was it!" Before the chessboard, Ye Buhui felt her somewhat muddled mind turn lucid, as if enlightenment had been poured over her head. Countless insights surged into her heart.

The endgame before her had been a dead end, with no path forward. But now, the mist blocking her way had been swept aside, revealing a boundless open road. Heaven and earth had changed in an instant.

"Break the deadlock!" Ye Buhui hesitated no longer. With a snap, the black stone in her hand finally landed firmly on the crucial point.

Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In an instant, the earth shook and mountains swayed, and the entire palace trembled.

"Ah, run! Run!" Those near the palace doors saw that the Great Demons and soldiers were not stopping anyone, and that more people had escaped. With a shout, they all rushed out.

Su Ziji saw this scene and pondered for a moment. He looked at the utterly unmoved Great Demons, then grabbed Ye Buhui and let the others flee while remaining where he was.

In the blink of an eye, the hall was empty. Apart from the demons, the only humans left were Su Ziji, Ye Buhui, Zheng Yingci, and Zhang Modong. Zheng Yingci sat calmly without moving, while Zhang Modong hesitated for a long time, circling the chessboard from side to side before ultimately choosing to remain.

"Why have you not left?" the Dragon Lord asked, her gaze deep and shadowed as her fingers lightly tapped the jade table.

Zheng Yingci sat upright and answered solemnly, "Leaving without the Dragon Lord's permission would not only be discourteous, but could also incur punishment. How could this student depart so casually?"

"That makes sense. His skill at chess is no small thing either!"

As everyone watched, a chessboard appeared before Zheng Yingci. Except for the final move, it was unexpectedly identical to Ye Buhui's.

"However, there can only be one victor in the end." The Dragon Lord waved her hand. "Zhang Modong, you have talent, but your destiny is exceedingly thin. No matter how many times you take the imperial examinations, you will ultimately have no fate with becoming a Provincial Graduate."

"I can make up for it, but your blessings are meager. You will never rise to prominence and can go no further than the Provincial Examination."

Zhang Modong had calmed down by then. He prostrated himself and bowed. "Even if I can only make the provincial rankings, my heart will be satisfied."

"Very good!" With a snap, the Dragon Lord raised her hand, and a small, round bird flew out and plunged into Zhang Modong's body.

Zhang Modong had only just bowed in thanks when his figure abruptly vanished.

"That is a quail, of the ninth rank." Su Ziji's eyes gleamed as he recognized it immediately. Zhang Modong's disappearance left him deep in thought.

"As for you, you were born with fortune, but you failed to solve this game, so you have no fate with me. Very well, I shall reward you with a jade ruyi in thanks for the affinity of this game." The Dragon Lord lifted her dark brows and gave the order lazily. The Shell Maiden seemed somewhat reluctant, but still handed a jade ruyi to Zheng Yingci.

Zheng Yingci pondered for a moment, seeming somewhat disappointed, but still gave thanks. As soon as he bowed, his figure vanished as well.

Once Zheng Yingci was gone, the Great Demon rose and bowed respectfully. "Congratulations, Dragon Lord. We have waited for many years; to witness this is a comfort."

As they spoke, light invisible to the naked eye lit beneath their feet, layer upon layer. Looking closely, it consisted of seal-script characters as large as dippers, forming a ring. In the next moment, the wind outside could be heard again.

The wind blew against the ring, and the palace immediately dimmed, as though it had been covered in dust.

"Just as I expected, this palace is far from ordinary."

"The Coiling Dragon Secret Art was created several hundred years ago... If this truly is the Coiling Dragon Water Palace, everything before us may well be half real and half false—perhaps even events that truly occurred in the past."

"Perhaps some coincidental opportunity caused us to fall upon a point in the past, inadvertently entering this palace. If that is so, then once this matter ends, it may be time for us to return."

"I just do not know whether those who died here truly died, or whether it is all merely a nightmare."

Su Ziji came to some understanding. He grabbed Ye Buhui's hand, intending to pull her up, but the moment he exerted force, a power directly flung him away. Looking again, the ordinary-looking stone chessboard had transformed into a beam of light that wrapped Ye Buhui within it.

"This girl carries my bloodline. Though it is very thin, this is her opportunity." At some point, the Dragon Lord had come to his side and even offered an explanation. "She is opening her spiritual spark."

Though Su Ziji did not understand the meaning of a spiritual spark, he knew that opportunities generally brought benefits.

Of course, even if he believed this was not a good thing, he did not dare intervene rashly under these circumstances. If he injured Ye Buhui, regret would come too late.

A moment later, the radiance dispersed and the chessboard disappeared. Ye Buhui fell backward.

Alarmed, Su Ziji caught her in his arms. He reached out to check her and found her breathing normal, with no danger to her life. Only then did he look toward the Dragon Lord.

"Dragon Lord, the game has been solved. Can you send us back now?"

The Dragon Lord smiled, yet said, "No."

Wait, no?

Su Ziji froze, thinking he had misheard. He studied the Dragon Lord carefully, restrained himself, and only then asked again, "Dragon Lord, could it be that... you have some other command?"