As Chu Xingchen's posture became increasingly casual, the young man's expression grew increasingly uncomfortable.
Yet, his speed in placing pieces remained virtually the same. Facing a large dragon that was easy to kill, the young man made no delaying moves to disgust Chu Xingchen.
It was obvious.
Sometimes, it wasn't a matter of whether the young man wanted to, but whether he could.
The current situation was obvious; the young man was simply unable to make any malicious delays.
If failure brought no punishment.
Then… it would be Chu Xingchen's turn to punish this young man.
At this moment, the young man, a Challenger himself, felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles.
Meanwhile, Chu Xingchen, also a Challenger, felt as if he were bathing in a spring breeze.
The young man was playing a game of chess, but Chu Xingchen was playing a game of mentality.
Watching Chu Xingchen, who looked as if he was about to throw pieces onto the board with his toes, the young man finally couldn't help but say:
"You aren't playing chess at all! You've just been chatting with this woman the whole time!"
Chu Xingchen grinned: "What nonsense are you spouting? I'm just humoring her. Deep down, I've been playing chess seriously."
The young man glared, his hands clenched tight as he stared at Chu Xingchen. Enraged by this shameless statement, he could only resentfully place a single character.
Chu Xingchen slowly drew out a piece and gently placed it upon the board.
Actually, Chu Xingchen wasn't playing chess seriously, nor was he seriously idly chatting with Xie Lingyu.
After all, digging up a grave counted as being a thief in the eyes of the grave's owner.
No one has a good enough temper to wish for peace and harmony after having their grave violently dug open.
If something couldn't be obtained through force, could winning a game of chess secure it?
If no fighting happened here, could one really avoid fighting even after digging up to the coffin?
Moreover, this was clearly the first barrier. If it had to be passed one by one, god knows how long that would take.
So, while tormenting the young man, Chu Xingchen was constantly observing his surroundings; Wanban had long since transformed into an embroidery needle to scout the area.
After all, people are more likely to overlook small details when they are being agitated.
The feeling of the surrounding space was somewhat similar to the move Nine Palaces used by Daoist Yuyang when he teamed up with Chu Xingchen to fight the Sect Master of Fog Xuan View.
The space felt like it was being stretched.
If the one who came here was Chu Xingchen at the Nascent Soul cultivation level, he would be helpless right now.
If an ordinary Soul Formation cultivator came, they would also have to behave honestly.
But unfortunately, the one who came was Chu Xingchen, who possessed Soul Formation cultivation and Wanban.
Chu Xingchen's expression began to turn serious, and he no longer placed pieces casually:
"There's a question I've never understood."
The young man looked at Chu Xingchen with a hint of vigilance—he now understood a bit of this person's character. When this person started getting serious, it wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Chu Xingchen didn't care whether the young man replied or not, speaking on his own accord:
"Sometimes I think, if I ever build a grave in the future, I'll definitely set up some kind of quality test. If someone can blast right through the design, I'll just give them the stuff directly. It saves them from having to flip open my coffin lid to see if there's anything left."
The young man raised his head: "What are you trying to express?"
"I mean… do you think I can blast through this grave?" Chu Xingchen raised his hand slightly. Wanban condensed into a black stone and planted it directly in the center of the board (Tengen). A top-tier pressure rapidly spread towards the surroundings.
All the chess pieces were shattered by this pressure, scattering as streams of light.
Chu Xingchen looked straight at the young man and said:
"I definitely can't beat you in chess, but I am certain you can't beat me in a fight."
The young man's expression remained calm:
"Then make your move. What are you waiting for?"
Chu Xingchen relaxed his hand, allowing Wanban to emanate pressure within the chessboard:
"Of course I'm expressing that I am a reasonable person. I'm waiting for you to place a piece. Go ahead."
Looking at that Wanban which had transformed into a black chess piece, the young man naturally understood that the piece in his hand could absolutely not land on the board.
Chu Xingchen's expression remained calm.
Normally, once a grave was discovered, to prevent the location from being leaked, the correct course of action wasn't to make people sign a non-disclosure agreement, but to ensure the discoverer couldn't get out.
So, this chess match, which appeared calm and waveless, actually harbored murderous intent.
The chess game was a ruse.
Chu Xingchen knew this, and the young man opposite him undoubtedly knew it too.
If there was a punishment for losing chess, then the young man shouldn't have lost his composure. So, what was the meaning of this game?
Waiting for him to make a move, or waiting for him to commit a foul?
Therefore, for Chu Xingchen, no matter when, if possible—make the opponent commit a foul first!
So, facing the current situation where he couldn't place a piece… what would he do?
The young man slowly stood up. Looking at that Wanban placed in the Tengen position, he gave a light laugh and said:
"She once promised me that if I solved the chess game, we could be together forever."
"But I have observed for god knows how long, and can only see a total loss on the board."
"I can't win at chess, just as I couldn't win her. However… protecting her is more important than chess."
Hearing this, Chu Xingchen instantly sneered, ruthlessly mocking him:
"I thought you were a chess player, but it turns out you're a simp. You can't even understand a rejection, yet you think you're being deeply affectionate. For all you know, her telling you to get lost is better than you protecting her."
The young man's face instantly darkened, staring intently at Chu Xingchen's mocking gaze.
"You can tolerate even that?" Chu Xingchen mocked him directly to his face, "No wonder she looks down on you."
The folding fan in the young man's hand transformed into a longsword. He stood up without hesitation and slashed towards Chu Xingchen.
Wanban arrived in an instant, a single embroidery needle blocking the young man's slashing sword.
The aftershock erupted, destroying everything in the surroundings, including the chessboard.
Chu Xingchen stared intently at the young man.
Immediately after, Chu Xingchen understood the meaning of this chess game.
The surrounding space shifted. Dozens of mirrors appeared behind Chu Xingchen.
In every mirror was Chu Xingchen picking up pieces to play chess, and it was every game of chess Chu Xingchen had played.
And every mirror had a thin, almost imperceptible thread connecting to Chu Xingchen.
Among them, the most obvious thread, glowing with red light, was connected to the first game where Chu Xingchen had been the most serious.
Although… he hadn't really been that serious.
Winning or losing didn't matter; rather, was it the mental energy devoted to the chess game?
More than thirty threads converged, transforming into energy that entered the young man's body.
And Chu Xingchen could also faintly perceive that a tiny bit of his own spiritual power was being extracted through some strange method.
However… it was far too minute.
Playing chess drains energy? Taking direct action is the optimal choice?
Chu Xingchen's gaze was calm. The next moment, several mirrors appeared behind the young man as well, extending different threads to hook onto him.
Seeing this scene, Chu Xingchen instantly understood.
This was likely mutual. Whoever devoted the most mental energy would have more energy extracted.
Moreover, looking at the young man's threads, they were about as thin as his own.
No wonder the young man was playing chess so fast; his attention wasn't on the chess either.
The next moment, another mirror appeared behind the young man. The scene inside the mirror was the young man, with an angry look on his face, drawing his sword to slash.
This scene was connected to the young man by a huge, thick thread.
Chu Xingchen understood instantly—this was a real mental breakdown.
And behind Chu Xingchen, a mirror appeared as well, with Wanban held in front of him, though it was still connected by a thin thread.
All of this was likely a rule.
And it was a simp rule: whoever put in the most heart was at the greatest disadvantage.
Although it was a bilateral rule, the cultivator buried in this grave was definitely not lower than the Mahayana Realm.
As the level boss, the only thing the young man could utilize was likely the time it took for the rules to take effect.
However, this rule was only useful for cultivators whose cultivation levels couldn't suppress the other. If one could suppress the other, any rule would turn to nothingness.
Just as the grave of a Mahayana cultivator could absolutely not withstand the hoe of a Tribulation Crossing cultivator.
If you can kill them with one sword, what is there to say?
"The outcome is decided, simp."
Chu Xingchen held Wanban, his gaze ice-cold.
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