Su Mo raised his head in a daze, only to see Min'an.
The newcomer was Prince Min'an-the very "himself" of those years...
Min'an looked at Su Mo, his expression full of humble eagerness to learn.
This was his first time seeing Su Mo, yet he did not recognize Su Mo's appearance. Su Mo had used River Moon and now looked like nothing more than an ordinary old man.
Su Mo looked at Min'an and shook his head hazily, asking in return, "Why can't one person play chess alone?"
He had seen far too many Confucian Sage Remnant Souls, all playing chess alone.
Even the Peach Sage he had seen last time in the illusion at the Ghost Gate had still been playing alone.
Hearing Su Mo's answer, Min'an asked in confusion, "But if you play against yourself, what does winning or losing mean? You are the winner, but you are still the loser too."
Looking at the bewildered, inquisitive Min'an, Su Mo could not help slowly explaining, "Every move I make is a contest against the person I was a moment before."
"As long as I keep playing, a winner and loser will eventually emerge."
"The moment they do, I will have won..."
This was a process of constantly setting up positions for oneself and unraveling them oneself, and this process was the most crucial part of playing chess alone.
In that hazy moment, Su Mo seemed to finally understand what the old man had said all those years ago. Following his own dawning understanding, he could not help continuing slowly.
"As long as there is a winner and a loser, I have actually won. The loser is the me of a moment ago, and the winner is the me of this moment."
"I am only ever this moment or