Spirit Chess was an intellectual game used by the Silver Moon Clan to train their younger generations.
But the difficulty of the chess matches was extPrevious Chapter | | Next Chapterremely high, impossible to fully master. Even the elder scholars of the Silver Moon Clan were still studying the rules of Spirit Chess.
A whole school of thought on Spirit Chess had even developed from this.
From the murals, Feng Qi learned that Spirit Chess had already existed long before the Silver Moon Clan, back in the days of the Silver Serpent Clan.
For the Silver Serpent Clan.
The concept of the chessboard symbolized the great world in their design. The pieces were made up of three hundred sixty types of natural elements, representing the three hundred sixty elemental law lines that formed the world, while the crisscrossing lines on the board represented the framework in which everything operated.
And the rules of Spirit Chess were the rules of the world.
In essence, the Spirit Chess board was a miniature world, following the same influences of element fusion, opposition, and so on.
The player of the game was a user of these rules, never able to make decisions outside of them.
For example, in an elemental match, the player could not suddenly produce a chess piece holding a gun and just shoot the opponent's elemental pieces.
Going along with the rules of the world, pulling order from chaos, was the core of Spirit Chess.
Within the rules, the player could still be flexible.
To win in a match, not only did one need a strong understanding of elements, but also solid mental strength, constantly engaging in multi-faceted mind games with the opponent.
As the commander of an elemental army, one wrong move could lead to total defeat.
That's why Spirit Chess could also help train military talent.
Promoting Spirit Chess among humans was something Feng Qi had always wanted to do.
He believed Spirit Chess suited humanity too, helping the younger generation understand elements and develop a broader strategic mindset.
But one problem had always limited its spread.
The gameplay of Spirit Chess had a threshold.
Forming elemental pieces was easy for members of the Silver Moon Clan, but most humans simply couldn't do it.
Even students from the top one hundred academies still had poor control over elements.
Humans hadn't yet reached that level of mastery and understanding of elements.
Only the new generation in spellcraft research could qualify to play Spirit Chess.
Feng Qi had thought about creating a simulation board to solve this.
But Spirit Chess was crafted in line with the rules of heaven and earth, and a simulation board couldn't perfectly replicate that.
Spirit Chess was also affected by its environment.
For example, if the chessboard was set near the sea, water-element pieces would get a strength boost during the match.
So the environment was another factor to consider in Spirit Chess.
Using a simulation board would only blur students' understanding of elements.
There was a clear gap in element perception between virtual and real.
Because of this, while waiting on Mu Yan's path, Feng Qi chose to further develop knowledge in elemental domains, trying to create a simple and universal elemental cognition system.
This was one of the key tasks he had given to Breaking Dawn Academy.
And Breaking Dawn Academy didn't let him down. They successfully compiled three basic books on elemental cognition and control.
From this point in the timeline, the new textbooks on element perception had already started to be rolled out early in Star City.
Spirit Chess would also begin its spread along this sacrificial line.
As he thought about these things, Feng Qi turned his gaze to Lei Ting, who was now standing before the ultimate machine, playing Spirit Chess.
After more than ten matches, Lei Ting had clearly grasped the rules of Spirit Chess.
Eager, he had volunteered to join the match.
Maybe Lei Ting had great talent and experience in leading armies.
But his control over elements was lacking.
In his first match, Lei Ting fully relied on forming lightning-element pieces, building a lightning-element army with his best skill, launching a three-lane attack against the preset chess path within the ultimate machine.
But using the same kind of pieces made him easy to counter. In the first round, he lasted just over ten minutes before suffering a total defeat, the lightning on the board fading away, leaving Lei Ting with a crushing loss.
Unwilling to admit defeat, Lei Ting quickly started a second round.
This time, he didn't stick to lightning-element pieces and began to follow the principles of elemental opposition in the match.
But he still didn't last long before losing again.
Despite repeated failures, Lei Ting was improving quickly.
He wasn't playing against an AI, but against the wisdom of the Silver Serpent Clan priests who had set the chessboard.
To win, he had to beat the intelligence of those priests.
But compared to the Silver Serpent priests, Lei Ting had one clear advantage—he could try endlessly.
As long as Lei Ting could find the mistake in his previous move, he could push forward to victory, much like Feng Qi's ability to rewind time.
Noticing that Lei Ting kept replaying the chess match, Feng Qi suddenly felt that victory was within reach.
But as hopeful as that thought was, reality quickly slapped him in the face.
Very soon, Feng Qi realized Lei Ting's strategy wasn't working.
Even though the moves were exactly the same as before, at the crucial moment, the ultimate machine actually changed its next move.
This caused the almost certain victory to collapse again.
Watching Lei Ting's pieces being devoured on the board, Feng Qi felt helpless.
If only Lin Ran were here now, maybe she really could break this game.
Lin Ran had only been studying Spirit Chess for a few months, yet her skill had already surpassed Yin Ling, who taught her the rules.
But there was no way to contact Lin Ran now.
Not to mention he didn't have a communicator with him—even if he did, it wouldn't work.
The area he was in was packed with domain fields, and the signal would have to pass through who knows how many domain fields to reach Star City. The current communicators just couldn't do that.
He could only hope that Lei Ting would grow quickly through these failures and break the game.
Lei Ting's match continued.
The process was long.
Roughly every twenty minutes, Lei Ting would reset the game.
Feng Qi stood by, fully focused, learning from Lei Ting's formations and battle tactics.
On his shoulder, Xiao You was already dozing off, her head tilted in sleep.
At his feet, Taihang was lying on the ground, completely uninterested in Spirit Chess.
But Po Jia was different—he was also learning the techniques of Spirit Chess, and from his expression and gaze, it was clear he found it very interesting.
Time passed.
Hungry, Xiao You woke from her nap, yawning and whining, "I'm starving."
There was no helping it. Feng Qi lit a fire on the spot, then took out some ingredients from Xiao You's personal space and started cooking.
After they ate, Feng Qi looked up and saw Lei Ting still fully focused on playing Spirit Chess.
"Should I give it a try?"
Without even turning his head, Lei Ting replied, "No need, I've figured out the trick, I'm about to win, just wait."
And so they waited—for thirteen days.
On the thirteenth day at the Silver Serpent ruins, Feng Qi woke from his rest.
Opening his eyes and looking up, he saw Lei Ting with dark circles under his eyes, his face pale, looking like a warrior who had spent nights gaming in an internet cafe. His hand was trembling as he placed pieces, and even his control over elements seemed weak.
If this went on, Feng Qi didn't doubt Lei Ting would drop dead from exhaustion.
That damned pride was pushing Lei Ting to refuse to admit defeat.
Feng Qi stood up. He decided to make Lei Ting take a proper break for a few days, let him recover before continuing the fight.
If they really couldn't crack it, then so be it.
He had already roughly memorized the location of this domain field relative to Star City.
Later in the timeline, if conditions allowed, he could bring Lin Ran here and let her try breaking the game.
Walking over to Lei Ting, Feng Qi looked at the chessboard.
The four corners of the board were covered by fire, ocean, forest, and lightning, while Lei Ting's pieces were trapped in the center, completely surrounded and in danger.
This match was practically a dead end.
Just as Feng Qi expected, when Lei Ting placed a wood-element piece, a strong elemental fluctuation surged from the Spirit Chess board. A fire-element piece dropped, instantly sweeping over, burning away a third of Lei Ting's pieces.
And the chain reaction didn't stop.
The moment the position was lost, the siege formed by the other three corners activated.
The chessboard pulsed with spiritual energy as Lei Ting's pieces were swallowed one after another.
Facing defeat, Lei Ting decisively slapped the chessboard, resetting the game before it could fully end.
It looked just like those old men in the park who couldn't take losing and flipped the board.
The elements on the reset board scattered, and the chessboard restarted, with its crisscrossing rule lines clearly displayed.
"Take a break."
Feng Qi placed his hand on Lei Ting's shoulder.
Lei Ting lifted his head, looking exhausted, and said, "Don't worry, I'm about to win. That broken machine only has a few moves left. I've figured them all out. I'll crush it in the next round."
Seeing Lei Ting talking tough with those black circles under his eyes, Feng Qi nearly laughed.
Lei Ting wasn't just stubborn with his words—his actions were just as hard-headed.
After losing for over ten days, he still wouldn't admit defeat and wanted to keep playing.
Feng Qi figured Lei Ting's personality was completely shaped by his upbringing.
According to Lei Ting, before he became the Lei Ting King, his father held that title, and he inherited it.
Unlike those who rose from nothing through hardship.
Lei Ting had grown up in the best environment, and his family had instilled in him the pride and confidence a king should have.
In the Lei Clan, his word was law.
Now, even though Lei Ting had joined the team Feng Qi had built, this part of his personality had never been smoothed out.
It showed from time to time.
But Feng Qi hadn't expected Lei Ting's pride to be this strong.
Even though his body was trembling, clearly on the verge of collapse, he was still clenching his teeth, refusing to admit defeat.
This kind of personality could indeed help someone push through despair and find hope at times, but more often, it was like being a stubborn fool asking for trouble.
Just like when he faced the Blood Soul Clan.
From Lei Ting's conversation with the Blood Soul Clan member, it was clear he knew he was in the weaker position and wanted to trade benefits for peace.
But after being refused, he still chose to start a war.
Maybe the outcome wouldn't have changed, but Lei Ting's decision definitely sped up the Lei Clan's downfall.
"Forget it, take a day off and come back."
As he spoke, Feng Qi pulled Lei Ting away, and as soon as he did, it was like flipping a sleep switch—Lei Ting suddenly shut his eyes.
Watching Lei Ting's breathing slowly steady, Feng Qi couldn't help but shake his head.
In terms of military skill, Lei Ting was definitely impressive, but his mindset was still way too immature.
Compared to him, Feng Qi at just 17 felt much more mature.
Just then, the Demon Blade's voice echoed in his mind, "I checked Lei Ting's physical condition. His clan's natural lifespan can easily reach 1,000 years, so his 200 years, from a human perspective, isn't even 20 yet."
"You can't compare it like that. He's still had 200 years to grow, hasn't he?"
"You're wrong. Mindset has nothing to do with age, only with environment…"
After a short debate with the Demon Blade about age and maturity, Feng Qi turned his gaze to the chessboard.
Next, he planned to try breaking the game again.
He waved his hand and formed a dark-element piece, placing it in the center of the board. Instantly, black mist spread in all directions.
The ultimate machine's response was fast. Right after his move, a fire-element piece came down, pressing directly on top of his dark-element piece…
Just like Lei Ting, Feng Qi kept failing throughout the match.
But his understanding of Spirit Chess was also improving with each game.
Two days later, Lei Ting woke from his deep sleep, devoured a huge meal, then slowly walked to the chessboard with his hands behind his back.
Watching Feng Qi play, Lei Ting managed to stay quiet at first, but soon started pointing things out.
He didn't have that virtue of "no talking while watching chess."
Feng Qi sometimes took his advice, but mostly ignored it.
At those times, Lei Ting would get really annoyed, slapping his thigh angrily, cursing under his breath, and kicking Taihang for good measure.
On the third day, Feng Qi gave up his seat and let Lei Ting continue the match.
This time, Feng Qi gave Lei Ting 10 days.
If he couldn't break the game by then, they would leave.
The main goal of this sacrifice timeline was the God Ascension Challenge. The ultimate machine could wait for the next timeline to find a way to win.
Hearing he only had 10 days, Lei Ting took the match even more seriously.
Maybe because he was well-rested, Lei Ting's skill clearly improved.
Several times, the element traps he set almost turned the tide.
On the ninth day.
Just when Feng Qi was about to give up, he heard Lei Ting slap his thigh excitedly.
Feeding Xiao You at the time, Feng Qi turned curiously toward Lei Ting and the chessboard.
He saw the Spirit Chess board flash with silver light, the ultimate machine's element pieces rapidly linking up, splitting into two armies sweeping across the board.
With just that move, almost half of Lei Ting's pieces were devoured.
Facing defeat, Lei Ting didn't get discouraged. Instead, he grinned and shouted, "Finally, I've been waiting for this! Die!"
As he spoke, Lei Ting formed a light-element piece and placed it right in the center of the board. At once, his pieces fused together, forming a seven-colored piece.
With the fusion complete, the board pulsed with intense elemental waves.
The seven-colored piece swept across the board like a force of nature, destroying the ultimate machine's pieces.
All the earlier disadvantage was turned around when Lei Ting held on until the end and formed the seven-colored piece.
That was the terrifying power of element fusion.
Completing a seven-element fusion was as hard as lining up five pieces in a row in Five-in-a-Row chess, nearly guaranteeing victory. The explosive elemental power wasn't something normal pieces could resist.
Victory was sealed.
Any new piece the ultimate machine placed would be devoured by the seven-colored piece.
When Lei Ting's pieces covered the whole board, it was like he had conquered the world. The Spirit Chess board shattered with a loud crash.
At the same time, the ultimate machine's eyes suddenly lit up with red light.
Shaking, the ultimate machine floated into the air, ignoring gravity.
Hearing Lei Ting's triumphant laughter ringing in his ears, Feng Qi couldn't help but grin too.
Over twenty days of effort had finally paid off.