No narration was needed, nor any explanation from others. Everyone watching the images projected on the Heavenly Screen understood.
So that was it. All the preceding images had shown Lin Yi's shining moments, the resources that had nourished his cultivation. Now the prologue had ended, and the true Heaven and Earth Chess Game had begun.
"What a Heaven and Earth Chess Game! What a man Lin Yi is!"
Yun Ming's Soul Power leaked out involuntarily, and his presence rose steadily.
A gleam flashed through his eyes, and stormy waves surged in his heart.
"With heaven and earth as the board and all living beings as the pieces, he plays against a God King!"
At that moment, Yun Ming acknowledged that Lin Yi was unquestionably the most brilliant Soul Master he had ever seen.
Even though Lin Yi was the Sea God's enemy, Yun Ming almost wanted to see him win the game.
Douluo I.
As they gazed up at the sky and the curtain finally rose on the real spectacle, countless people held their breath.
The Heaven and Earth Chess Game appeared before their eyes, carrying the might of heaven and earth and the rolling tides of an era. It made even breathing difficult.
At that moment, everyone felt as though they were facing the changing heavens and earth, the shifting affairs of the world.
It was as if they could see all things rise and fall, seas turn into mulberry fields, in an instant.
"So this is the Heaven and Earth Chess Game."
"He takes heaven and earth as his board and all living beings as his pieces, bears the might of heaven and earth, stands atop the waves of fate, and ascends to the Divine Realm!"
Even Qian Daoliu's breathing grew heavy.
At that moment, he seemed to recall his own past.
With the Angel God's trials, Qian Daoliu's cultivation had been smooth sailing.
But in his era, there had been a Soul Master named Tang Chen who, without the aid of any god's trials, had reached the same heights as Qian Daoliu and could even hold the upper hand against him.
The two had once traveled to Sea God Island together and fallen in love with its high priestess, Bo Saixi.
The answer Bo Saixi gave them was to become a god!
Qian Daoliu knew he would never have that chance.
Tang Chen had disappeared after that, searching everywhere for a Godhood Inheritance.
He had been gone for who knew how many years.
As memories of the past surfaced, Qian Daoliu's feelings were beyond words.
Now, before his eyes, a forty-year-old Peerless Douluo had persevered through the Sea God's obstruction. Unable to obtain a Godhood Inheritance, he had established this godhood ritual and, with unparalleled bearing, set up the Heaven and Earth Chess Game to play against a god!
Faced with such ambition, Qian Daoliu felt inferior.
For some reason, he hoped Lin Yi would succeed.
"Is the livestream about to start?"
The prologue had ended. Lin Yi's heart stirred as he sensed a connection in the unseen.
It seemed that with a thought, he could livestream his current surroundings.
I wonder if I can delay the livestream.
Lin Yi thought to himself.
Without a delay, mistakes could easily happen.
The margin for error was a little too small.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Screen's projection really did allow him to delay the livestream!
After Lin Yi made some adjustments, the images on the Heavenly Screen continued without interruption, playing in real time from the moment he set up the Heaven and Earth Chess Game.
The constant succession of shining moments had ended, but no one looked away from the Heavenly Screen.
"Heaven and Earth Chess Game... how does this Lin Yi intend to play?"
Yun Ming stared at the images on the Heavenly Screen.
He recalled the situation on the continent ten thousand years ago.
All at once, an unbelievable thought surfaced in his mind.
A game meant each side placed its pieces, chose a side to invest in, and sent their forces into battle until one emerged victorious.
And given the situation on the continent ten thousand years ago, the best places to put pieces were not the various factions, but the empires!
"Which empire did he choose?"
Yun Ming fixed his gaze on the Heavenly Screen.
When he saw the massive steel city slowly come into view beneath Lin Yi's feet, even his breathing grew heavy.
"Mingdu!"
"The Sun Moon Empire!"
Lin Yi had actually placed his piece on the Sun Moon Empire.
What did that mean?
He was innately unassailable!
After all, even when the Sea God personally intervened and shouted the Sun Moon army into retreat, he had merely delayed Sun Moon's unification for one era.
The Sun Moon Empire's unification of the continent was an irresistible tide of heaven and earth. Yun Ming knew that perfectly well.
Ten thousand years had passed, and although Shrek Academy still held its status as a holy land for Soul Masters, the Federation could not possibly have emphasized the aggressive nature of Sun Moon's war of unification in its summary of history.
In the end, history's verdict was that the continent's unification had been the course of events.
After generations of accumulated understanding, by Yun Ming's era, people had long since recognized the significance of the continent's unification ten thousand years ago.
At that time, the Sun Moon Empire's foundations were far beyond anything the Douluo Three Kingdoms could match.
"He's only just set up the Heaven and Earth Chess Game and placed his first piece, and Lin Yi has already won," Yun Ming said with a quiet sigh.
It was not just Lin Yi. Countless experts in the Douluo Dalu III: The Legend of the Dragon King era, and even ordinary people still in school, now felt that Lin Yi was going to win.
Wasn't it obvious that the Sun Moon Empire would unify the continent?
Was this the foresight of an unrivaled expert capable of setting up the Heaven and Earth Chess Game?
Douluo I.
"What does this mean? How is he planning to play this Heaven and Earth Chess Game?"
"Looks like he's just wandering around."
Unlike people in the Douluo Dalu III: The Legend of the Dragon King era, those in the Douluo I era knew nothing of the situation in Lin Yi's time.
They did not know that the greatest source of tension on the continent was the conflict between empires.
So very few could grasp what the Heaven and Earth Chess Game might revolve around.
[Yu Xiaogang: Look at him. He's actually interested in a kid who hasn't even awakened his Martial Soul. And the thing is, that kid has eyes only for smithing.]
Yu Xiaogang's bullet comment appeared on the Heavenly Screen in the Douluo I era.
[What do you mean by that? You look down on blacksmiths?]
A flood of bullet comments immediately fired back.
They were all from the Douluo I era.
Yu Xiaogang saw the replies but did not respond at all. A look of disdain appeared on his face.
"Looks like they're all blacksmiths."
But the disdain did not last long before his expression froze.
[What backwater bumpkin did you crawl out of? How dare you look down on a distinguished master forger?]
A trace of bewilderment flashed through Yu Xiaogang's eyes.
What did they mean, master forger?
And distinguished?
Yu Xiaogang felt as though he were in a dream.
What nonsense were these people talking in their sleep?
A smith was actually calling himself a forger now.
A blacksmith was a blacksmith. What was this forger nonsense?
And he dared call himself a master?
How ridiculous.
Spirit City.
Qian Daoliu paid no attention to the wave of public opinion Yu Xiaogang had stirred up.
His gaze was fixed on Lin Yi's every move.
"There are too many metal buildings in that city, and all kinds of neon lights. Almost every shop along the way seems to have some sign of Soul Tools."
A terrifying suspicion rose in Qian Daoliu's heart.
"That's a great city built with Soul Tools."
Even though Soul Tools were not mainstream in the current era and were generally overlooked,
Qian Daoliu would not disregard what they could do.
After all, given his status, he had access to Soul Tools with offensive capabilities.