Chapter 1191: Second Round, Chess Battle

Translator: Lordbluefire

When the genie wearing an unbuttoned vest took form, and a pair of big hands pressed down on the Qi Emperor’s back, he immediately jumped up like a fish that had been tossed up onto the shores.

“What… What is this thing?”

The empress covered her mouth and asked in surprise.

“Great… Great Teacher Sun…”

The Qi Emperor felt a little scared. He almost called out for his men to protect him.

“This is the master masseur that is summoned when using the Ancient Dragon Capturing Hands. You’ll know after you give it a try!”

Sun Mo consoled him.

Gulp!

The Qi Emperor gulped and secretly thought to himself that it was unlikely Sun Mo would harm him. After all, he had great prospects, and even if he wished to harm someone, he’d have many means to do that. He didn’t need to use a big man to hammer him to death, right?

But…

(Looking at the genie’s glossy muscles, this… this Emperor feels really scared!)

(Although I’d occasionally shower my love on one or two elegant-looking eunuchs, this Emperor really can’t accept someone like this!)

The Qi Emperor was hesitant and wanted to refuse Sun Mo’s kind intention. However, he didn’t dare to do so either, fearing that Sun Mo would be enraged and refuse to give him treatment.

Sigh, he should just bear with it. He’d just close his eyes and let things get over with.

The Qi Emperor consoled himself.

Ten minutes later.

“Huh? It’s over?”

The Qi Emperor, who was having a wonderful dream, immediately looked stunned when Sun Mo woke him up. He recalled the comfortable feeling when the genie was giving him a massage and then looked at Sun Mo with a smile.

“Great Teacher Sun, can you do it again?”

“There won’t be any effect even if we continue with the massage!”

Sun Mo shook his head.

“It’s fine even if there’s no effect! I just want it to give me a massage!”

The Qi Emperor hesitated for a moment but didn’t really say this out.

“Your Majesty, I still have to guide Ziqi to prepare for her battle, so I’ll be taking my leave first!”

Sun Mo cupped his fists together.

“Oh, This Emperor will send you off!”

The Qi Emperor got up and the silk blanket slid off.

“Your Majesty!”

The empress was embarrassed and covered her eyes with her sleeves.

“Huh?”

The Qi Emperor also noticed that he wasn’t wearing clothes and it wasn’t appropriate for him to send people off. Therefore, he instructed, “Empress, go send Great Teacher Sun off on this Emperor’s behalf!”

“Hmm?”

The empress was surprised. (I’m a noble empress of a country, but you’re asking me to send off a guest?)

But after her beautiful eyes saw Sun Mo’s side face, the annoyance she felt disappeared. After all, women would always want to get close to handsome men.

“Make sure to take good care of Great Teacher Sun!”

The Qi Emperor instructed.

After the empress and Sun Mo left his palace, the refreshed Qi Emperor wanted to test his body to see if it had improved. When his gaze landed on a young palace maid not far away, a ball of fire rose in his heart.

“Let’s wait until the empress comes back!”

The Qi Emperor held it in. However, when the empress came back after sending Sun Mo off, she saw the Qi Emperor on top of a young palace maid.

“Your Majesty!”

The empress’s beautiful brows frowned.

“Haha, this is amazing! The God Hands is really true to its name!”

The Qi Emperor was elated and couldn’t help but boast to the empress, “This Emperor is the most amazing man in the world from now on!”

Before receiving the massage, the Qi Emperor would only be able to last for two to three minutes even after relying on strong nourishing alchemical pills. But now, he had been going for 15 minutes.

“I feel that I can go for seven rounds in a night!”

The Qi Emperor was proud.

Seeing how ferocious the Qi Emperor was, the empress couldn’t help but think of Sun Mo. (He’s definitely more amazing than you.)

“Oh right, I heard that Sun Mo’s God Hands can be used to perform cosmetic surgery as well?”

The empress then thought of something. “I wonder if I can…”

“You’re already very beautiful!”

The Qi Emperor frowned.

“Your Majesty, I want to become the most beautiful woman in the world!”

The empress said coyly, “Don’t you want to have a woman like that?”

“…”

The Qi Emperor wanted to say (No matter how beautiful you become, you don’t have enough knowledge in your brain.) He couldn’t help but think of the few young ladies by Sun Mo’s side on the Great Tang’s spectating stand.

Each of them had their own merits.

Moreover, Sun Mo’s fiancée seemed to be a beautiful great teacher who was ranked fifth on the Devastating Beauty Rankings.

This time around, Mei Ziyu and Murong Mingyue hadn’t come along to the Qi Country. Otherwise, the Qi Emperor would definitely feel a little jealous.

In terms of beauty, the Qi Emperor’s 3,000 concubines wouldn’t be bad, but in terms of intelligence and status, they couldn’t match up. An Xinhui alone would be able to get an instant win against all his concubines.

“Your Majesty, I’ve never asked you for anything before. Can’t you even agree to such a small request?”

The empress looked like she was on the verge of tears.

“Alright then!”

The Qi Emperor gave in. He wanted to see the effect of the cosmetic surgery, then get one for himself. However, he wasn’t targeting a change to his face. His status as the emperor allowed the Qi Emperor to have everything he wanted.

However, some parts of his body couldn’t be changed and were born as such.

“If Sun Mo can do that, this Emperor is willing to bestow upon him a city!”

The Qi Emperor was willing to pay a big price.

…

The next morning, Victory Public Square was congested by people once again. Many people came after having their breakfast, wanting to get a good seat.

At 9.30 a.m, the second round started on the dot.

“This round is a chess battle!”

The Qi Emperor announced the rules. “Each royal prince group will send out at least three people to participate in the battle. There’d be one lead attacker, one defense, and one as the back-up!”

“Ziqi, which position do you want?”

Sun Mo had learned about the rules beforehand.

The attacker would challenge the other four teams’ attackers and compete with them. The one with the most number of victories would come in the first place.

This was only the first round!

The second round would be to have every royal prince group concurrently compete against Chess Sage Qing Wuzi.

The three participants from each team could switch places at any time, but the one who was switched down wasn’t allowed to go again.

For this round, if the participants were to lose a match, it wouldn’t contribute to their losses. However, if they were to win against Qing Wuzi, it’d be considered as two wins for them.

“That’s the Chess Sage we’re talking about. No one can win against him, right?”

Xianyu Wei felt that this rule was very strange.

“Of course they won’t be able to win. This round is just providing an opportunity for the crown princes to display their talents!”

Qin Yaoguang explained.

To put it plainly, it was a performance-based round.

“Royal Brother, which one will you pick?”

Li Ziqi didn’t mind. She’d have to join for five rounds anyway.

“Of course, I have to play defense!”

The crown prince snorted coldly.

Usually, the attacker would have the strongest chess skills and would need to assure as many victories as possible. Also, this position would get the most limelight.

However, Li Xuan was going to choose the opposite path. As his performance in the first round was very bad, he wanted to turn things around this round and clear his humiliation.

“I knew you’d pick that!”

Li Ziqi’s lips twitched.

“To avoid anyone trying to drag out the time, the participants would have two incense sticks’ worth of time each match. Once the incense burns out, they must make the next move within ten breaths’ worth of time. Otherwise, it’d be considered their defeat.”

After taking a sip of tea, the Qi Emperor continued to announce the rules.

“If both parties have used up their time, then the match will forcibly come to an end in 15 minutes, and we’ll count the moku to decide the victory!”

Chess was something that took up too much time. Some people could continue playing one match for a few months. That was why the Qi Emperor came up with such a rule.

The time taken for two incense to burn was two hours.

The battle soon started.

Xia Taikang, Jiang Yuzhen, Wei Wu`an, and even Xiang Zhao had all chosen to become the main attackers. It was an unspoken rule for the crown princes to assume this role in the chess battle.

When the ceremonial officer was announcing that the Great Tang’s attacker was Li Ziqi and Li Xuan was the defense, many people were surprised.

What were they doing?

Was Crown Prince Li Xuan no longer trusted due to his horrible performance in the first round?

“Hmph, just you guys wait! I’ll let you guys witness what a national player is!”

Li Xuan walked up the arena with great confidence.

For the Great Tang’s first match, it was Li Xuan vs. Xia Taikang, and Li Ziqi vs. a princess from the Great Wei, Wei Ziyin.

The incense was lit and chess pieces landed on the chessboard, making crisp sounds.

Li Xuan and Xia Taikang didn’t say any crap and decided to meet each other in the match.

Ten minutes passed.

“I feel that the crown prince might end up going for wool and coming back shorn.”

Qin Yaoguang teased.

Li Xiu’s countenance was grim.

Although the Five Empires War Discussion was a competition between the five empires, it was also the stage for the five crown princes to prove themselves. In the past, when the crown princes took on the role of the attacker, most of them would clinch a beautiful win and earn a reputation for themselves.

As time passed, everyone gave their silent consensus to this hidden rule. Therefore, the chess battles became a performance. However, Li Xuan acted on his own accord today.

He was going to take on the other four countries’ crown princes and princesses.

“Sigh, I should have stopped him!”

Li Xiu felt a little regretful.

“Eldest Princess, there’s no need to worry. You’ve tested His Highness’s chess skills before!”

Han Cangshui stroked his beard, looking very confident.

“Is His Highness very amazing?”

Lu Zhiruo was curious.

“He’s a half-step grandmaster!”

Han Cangshui boasted, instantly bringing about a series of gasps. All the maids and imperial guards felt that they were sure to win this round. “But I wonder how Princess Ziqi’s level is.”

Swoosh!

Everyone’s gaze immediately turned over.

“I don’t know!”

Sun Mo spoke the truth. Although he had become a national-level chess player, it hadn’t been that long and he had only played with Li Ziqi before.

Moreover, it wasn’t that easy to meet Go grandmasters.

“You don’t know? You’re probably just too embarrassed to say it, right?”

Han Cangshui chuckled.

Just then, the ceremonial officer spoke out loud from the arena.

“Great Tang’s Princess Li Ziqi wins!”

Boom!

A commotion broke out on the Victory Public Square.

Why was it so fast?

Although everyone didn’t know much about Go, they knew that one match would generally take at least half an hour. How did she manage to win against her opponent in just ten or so minutes?

“What?”

Han Cangshui was stunned too. (What kind of person did you guys from Wei Country send? Did this person come to give a free win?)

“Mmmmmmm!”

In the arena, Wei Ziyin clearly realized that she had made a fool of herself. She grabbed her head with both hands and started crying.

“Sister Ziyin, you aren’t bad at chess. You just fell for my trap.”

Li Ziqi consoled her.

“…”

Wei Ziyin frowned.

“Everyone would want to clinch a beautiful victory in the first match to get a good start. I made use of this mentality that you had and purposely had a quick match with you!”

Li Ziqi had placed her pieces very quickly, in addition to saying things to agitate her opponent, causing Wei Ziyin to subconsciously follow her pace.

However, the little sunny egg was born with a photographic memory and had unparalleled mental calculation abilities. Therefore, she could plan out moves that were 50 steps ahead. However, Wei Ziyin couldn’t do that. By the time she realized that the situation wasn’t looking good for her, it was already too late.

“I specially trained in playing fast chest. It’s not an unjustified loss for you!”

Li Ziqi explained.

“So that’s how it is!”

Hearing this, Wei Ziyin felt a little better. She immediately felt unconvinced by this outcome and wanted a rematch. However, Li Ziqi had left the arena.

“Stop looking around and play quickly!”

Xia Taikang reproached.

Li Xuan frowned and withdrew his gaze from his royal sister. He suddenly felt a little regretful of his decision since Xia Taikang wasn’t a weakling who could be easily pushed around.

“I’d get a sure win if I were up against Wei Ziyin as well!”

Li Xuan felt that it was a pity.

…

“Teacher, I’m sorry, I lost!”

Wei Ziyin returned to the spectating stand and first apologized to the grand tutor.

“You can’t have believed what Li Ziqi said, right?”

Grand Tutor Su’s eyes narrowed.

“Huh?”

Wei Ziyin couldn’t understand.

“The reason Li Ziqi said that is to numb the other opponents so that they’d let down their guards!”

Grand Tutor Su let out a cold snort. “Think about how strong you are in chess. She’s at least a half-step grandmaster to be able to win against you in 20 minutes!”

“Huh?”

Wei Ziyin was stunned, but she soon came around to things. She was very strong in chess. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been sent out to represent the Wei Country.

“The reason I’m telling you these things is so that you can put away your naivety and innocence, and take the chessboard as a battlefield. Treat each time you land a piece as if there’d be a soldier who’d die over the decision.”

Grand Tutor Su preached.

Buzz!

Priceless Advice had erupted.

Wei Ziyin, who was shone by the golden light spots, seemed as if she was enlightened.

…

Chess was very boring. To ease this situation, the Qi Emperor had set up a huge wooden tablet on another high platform that was 50 meters away. It was inscribed with the exciting battle situation.

A grandmaster was explaining the matches.

“Ah, Prince Li Xuan’s move is too conservative.”

As expected, three minutes after the grandmaster said this, the ceremonial officer mentioned that Xia Taikang had won.

Li Xuan sat there with a dazed look, looking at the chessboard as if he was a stone statue.

“He couldn’t be having a mental breakdown, could he?”

Tantai Yutang chuckled.

“Go and help him down!”

Han Cangshui ordered. He couldn’t stand leaving Li Xuan there to embarrass himself in the arena.

“One win and one loss. It’s still acceptable!”

When Li Xiu saw that Li Xuan had come back, she consoled him. However, she was unsatisfied with this outcome.

“Aunt!”

Li Xuan felt very aggrieved. He couldn’t understand how he had lost either. (Xia Taikang is clearly not comparable to me in chess!)

“Take your emotions in check and continue the battle in the afternoon!”

Li Xiu consoled him.

“You were too conservative in this round. Be more daring! You’re a half-step grandmaster!”

Han Cangshui encouraged him.

When Sun Mo heard this, he couldn’t help but throw a glance at Han Cangshui. (Someone like you who couldn’t even see through Xia Taikang’s background dares to give commands? You guys might just continue to lose for the next match!)

The Great Tang’s two matches had ended so they left the place first.

After returning to the hotel, Li Ziqi entered Sun Mo’s guest room.

“Teacher, did Xia Taikang use some tricks?”

Li Ziqi frowned.

“Why did you say that?”

Sun Mo drank the tea.

“Although my brother is mediocre in most areas, he’s extremely good at chess.”

Li Ziqi thought about it. “I don’t believe that he’d lose to someone like Xia Taikang!”

This Great Xia’s crown prince was clearly not a dignified person and had no sense of literary air at all. There was no way that he’d waste time mastering chess.

And to raise one’s capability in chess, one must accumulate years of experience to compete with others.

“You’ve guessed it right! Xia Taikang did use a dirty trick!”

Sun Mo asked, “Did you notice that each time they reached a crucial point in the match, your brother would always make the wrong move? It’s as if the lucky goddess despised him so much that she spat thick phlegm onto his entire face.”