Chapter 856: Strange and Startling Transformation

Waaah—waaah—waaah—waaah—

The strange sound of weeping echoed, as if the heavens themselves were weeping.

Strange blood-red petals fell from the sky, like a rain of blood; the originally bright and clear sky turned utterly gloomy and dim.

A colossal phantom hand descended from the heavens, reaching for Wu Song!

Blood rained from the heavens, ghosts wailed in the night, and the blood rain fell like flowers.

Burying Flowers, One Cry!

Lin Daiyu's ultimate killing move of the Burying Flower Palm.

Wu Song clenched his fists tightly and thrust them upward in unison!

The mournful ghostly wails vanished, the sky full of blood rain faded away, Wu Song maintained his punching stance, and beneath his feet lay a shallow palm print.

He slowly withdrew his fists, looked at Lin Daiyu, closed his eyes, and collapsed.

"... I actually won!"

"She isn't even a grandmaster."

Murmurs of discussion rose and fell from the spectator stands.

The Weeping Death God defeated the Wanderer Wu Song!

One had not yet reached the grandmaster realm, while the other stood between grandmaster and grandmaster level.

Though everyone understood the vast gap in their abilities, no one expected the final victor to be Lin Daiyu.

Indeed, Wu Song had endured consecutive fierce battles, severely injuring several Jia family women before facing Lin Daiyu.

Yet Lin Daiyu had also defeated Dai Zong and the Nine-Tattooed Dragon Shi Jin in succession, and neither side was at peak condition.

After defeating Wu Song, Lin Daiyu simply sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and regulated her breath.

On the chessboard, only a few pieces remained.

On Liangshan's side, an old general Guan Sheng, two scholars and one advisor remained; with Wu Song fallen, the only one who could still cross the boundary to attack was Lin Chong.

On the Jia family side, the commander Luzi, one scholar and one advisor remained, along with Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai.

And there, standing motionless for a long time, untouched by anyone, was Sun Wukong.

The remaining pieces were all severely wounded and withdrawn from the field.

Interestingly, no one had died so far.

Possibly because the Jia family had not shown lethal intent at the start, and thus no true deaths occurred afterward.

But every person's injuries were severe, with many finding recovery difficult.

In the days to come, unless some miraculous encounter occurred, they would all have to endure the torment of their wounds.

"Withdraw from the field," Zhu Wu gestured, signaling Lin Chong to come to Lin Daiyu's position.

Lin Chong said to Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu nodded slightly; after the Burying Flower, One Cry, she had no strength left to fight, and even standing up was difficult.

She could not match Lin Chong, who was virtually uninjured.

Lin Chong looked toward Xue Baochai.

Although she was a chariot, she had never crossed the river boundary, serving only in defense, holding off three remnants of Liangshan's forces alone, and now bore slight injuries.

"Go ahead," Tang Luo said, ordering Xue Baochai to move one step, positioning herself before the commander.

She also blocked the fastest route Lin Chong would take as a general.

Lin Chong looked toward Zhu Wu.

Zhu Wu, whose chess skill was formidable but whose pieces lacked strength, nodded helplessly.

Though called a "chess warrior," with chess coming first and martial skill second, in the end, victory still depended on martial prowess.

If this were a normal game of chess, Jia Rong wouldn't even know how many times he had lost.

Given his chess level, Zhu Wu could let him play with one horse, one chariot, and one cannon, eyes closed, and still win.

Yet now they had reached this mutually damaging stalemate.

Lin Chong approached Xue Baochai: "Miss, please."

Xue Baochai smiled faintly: "Please, Chief Instructor."

"I haven't been that in a long time," Lin Chong said with a bitter laugh; he was a heroic middle-aged man, unlike Wu Song's face, which carried a hint of killing intent, Lin Chong's visage always bore a trace of sorrow.

His beard was messy and unkempt, carrying an air of dejection.

Lin Chong said nothing more, raised his spear, and thrust forward, the cold light flashing as he aimed for Xue Baochai's vital points.

Xue Baochai's wolf-tooth club spun in her hands, whistling as it generated wind, blocking in front of her body.

Lin Daiyu no longer used weapons, relying solely on her pair of "Burying Flower Palms" to strike, while Xue Baochai's weapon kept changing from one to another.

All of them were long weapons.

The one currently in use was a wolf-tooth club, its power astonishing.

The heavy wolf-tooth club in Xue Baochai's hands lacked the agility of Lin Chong's spear.

Lin Chong's spear technique was superb, far surpassing that of the Golden Spear General Xu Ning, containing myriad variations within.

Xue Baochai's method of response was to expend vast stamina to form a comprehensive defense, without attempting to pursue or block the cold light Lin Chong pointed out.

Though battered by countless blows, it remained firm—let the winds come from east, west, south, or north.

But this method consumed enormous stamina; likely, before long, she would be exhausted.

Lin Chong's spear was not so easily blocked.

The sound of ding-ding-dang-dang echoed continuously, urgent like falling rain.

Lin Chong narrowed his eyes slightly; he could not afford to waste too much time and energy here, for that furnace was still waiting for him to smash it.

The spear tip struck repeatedly, all blows landing on the same spot of the wolf-tooth club.

Xue Baochai's wolf-tooth club in her hand suddenly shattered, but the battle did not end there.

Throwing away the broken wolf-tooth club, Xue Baochai clenched her fists with both hands and threw a punch.

Lin Chong's thrusting spear suddenly swung around, blocking in front of him.

Clang!

The great bell-like resonance rang out, Xue Baochai's punch struck the spear shaft, and the spear trembled and sang incessantly.

"Indeed, what a heavy punch!"

Lin Chong secretly thought in his heart, just now he had held his spear to parry, precisely because he realized that thrust could gravely injure Xue Baochai, but her punch would also injure him.

Moreover, it would probably be no light injury.

Lin Chong could not eliminate this piece in this way; he must preserve his combat power to the greatest extent.

On the chessboard, it is not only the players who are contending; the pieces must also have their own considerations.

Some pieces are sent forward to be eaten, deliberately to consume the opponent.

Compared to simple chess, this living chess obviously requires far more considerations.

But Lin Chong's steady choice was mistaken.

Xue Baochai's punch gained momentum, instantly seizing the initiative, her fists raining down one after another, alternatingly bombarding Lin Chong.

Like waves crashing against the shore, giving no chance to catch a breath.

After three punches, Lin Chong fell into a state of passive defense, losing the initiative.

"This punch force, growing heavier and heavier..." Lin Chong's face turned grave, Xue Baochai's punches becoming faster and heavier.

At this moment, wanting to escape would inevitably require paying the price of injury; in that case, what could he use to shake that seemingly ordinary furnace?

In the midst of thought, Xue Baochai's punch speed suddenly slowed.

Yet when a punch was thrown, an immense, overwhelming pressure descended like a flood, suppressing Lin Chong so he could not dodge, only able to block.

"Not good!"

Lin Chong's heart startled, realizing he had thoroughly sunk into a mire.

Escaping to defeat Xue Baochai at minimal cost had become a luxury; only the path of mutual destruction lay before him.

However, Lin Chong hesitated repeatedly, still choosing defense, unable to make up his mind.

Zhu Wu on the pillar sighed.

Zhou Tong, who had become a spectator from a piece, also shook his head.

Lin Chong's martial arts talent is extraordinarily high, yet hindered by his character; if he had Wu Song's temperament, he would likely have already surpassed the grand master level, capable of becoming the number one martial artist of Great Yin, able to contend with Lu Bu.

Such a character not only affects Lin Chong's martial arts realm, but also prevents him from unleashing his true strength when facing strong opponents.

This is precisely the situation now.

Xue Baochai's punches became slower and slower, even to the point where, in ordinary people's eyes, this punch could be dodged.

The originally brought punch wind, however, became smaller and smaller.

Increasingly ordinary and unremarkable, the punch force Lin Chong blocked, yet had already reached the extreme of heaviness.

The punch weight is like a mountain!

Suddenly, all the pressure on Lin Chong's body abruptly lightened.

Xue Baochai clenched her right fist and punched upward!

Yes, not aimed at Lin Chong, this punch struck the sky, howling, terrifying punch force ripping through the thick cloud layer above.

Faintly, a huge punch print seemed left behind.

Lin Chong's spear tip stopped before Xue Baochai's throat, without piercing in.

"Thank you, Instructor Lin, I lost." Xue Baochai smiled freely, stepped back and actively admitted defeat.

Lin Chong held his spear, gave a bitter smile and shook his head, saying nothing.

The Xue Baochai before him had already reached the master level!

After the Weeping Death God crossed several levels to defeat Wu Song, the Smiling Yama borrowed Lin Chong's hand, breaking through to master level in the heat of battle.

The Jia family has successors!

"Cannot be stopped." Zhuge Liang whispered softly.

The Jia family rose, becoming the world's arbiters, already unstoppable, unless the Great Cauldron, Great Yin, and Great Qian three sides unite, using the world's grand situation to block.

But this is impossible.

Not to mention Great Yin has actually been half-ruined by Jia Rong; the representatives of Great Qian, Li Lin Dao and Mei Qing Sheng, both with their utterly laissez-faire attitudes.

Even if they were the Great Cauldron, the three kings among them could not possibly cooperate closely.

On the other side, Zhou Yu looked over and exchanged a glance with Zhuge Liang, both letting out a light sigh.

The shadow of the sword hanging high in the sky had become increasingly clear.

On the chessboard, Lin Chong faced the opposing commander directly—a furnace, frankly speaking, he could not muster much fighting spirit.

Even if he valued it more, this is merely a furnace after all.

Having been checkmated, under normal circumstances he should certainly be blocked by a senior officer and a senior minister.

At the very least, he should be made to consume some of Lin Chong's strength.

Tang Luo, on the other hand, had become a minister, but acted contrarily, sending the minister to the other side, a purely useless step, indicating Lin Chong should come fight.

Lin Chong spat out a mouthful of turbid air, calmed his breath, gathered strength, then leapt up, holding his spear diagonally downward, charging toward the furnace.

Falling Star!

A move named "Luo Xing" is the most powerful technique in Lin Chong's spear art, also extremely rarely used.

Because suitable opportunities to execute this move are rarely found.

The furnace is an immobile, undodging target, which gave Lin Chong the opportunity to exert full force and execute this move.

"Collapse!"

With a crisp sound, the spearhead spun into the sky.

The spear shaft kept shattering; Lin Chong's hands were injured by the recoil, dripping with blood.

He flew backward, retreating several dozen steps before barely steadying himself, only a broken spear shaft left in his hand; the spearhead smashed into the high "spectator stands," embedding deep.

Near the furnace lay the shattered fragments of most of the spear shaft.

On the furnace body, where Lin Chong's "Falling Star" had struck, there wasn't even a single white mark.

Truly unscathed in the slightest, let alone damaged, let alone shaking this furnace.

"Master, you're bullying them." Ao Yulie said amid the gray mist.

Others thought the previous furnace was a "concession" — you couldn't break my last furnace, showing your strength?

Actually no, this furnace is the strongest defense.

This is the Supreme Old Lord's Eight Trigrams Furnace!

"Huu—" Lin Chong suppressed his surging qi and blood, about to advance again.

Without a spear, he still had his hands, still had his fists!

"We concede." At this moment, Zhu Wu's voice rang out.

The situation was already very clear; in this game, they could not win — with the opponent holding back in every way, lowering conditions again and again, and even Sun Dawang not moving, they still had no chance of victory whatsoever.

Not even a shred.

They were avengers, yet not shameless people.

"Since that's the case..." Tang Luo had only spoken half his words when he suddenly stopped, looking toward Xue Baochai.

Over there, Sun Wukong also abruptly turned around.

The Howling Celestial Dog crouching on the Eight Trigrams Furnace also stood up, seemingly sensing a disturbance from Yang Jian inside.

The gazes of the three fell on Xue Baochai simultaneously.

Xue Baochai's complexion abruptly changed; her aura became unstable, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.

She actually fell directly from the Grandmaster realm!

"What's going on, I didn't leave any backup moves." Lin Chong looked bewildered; he hadn't left any hidden force on Xue Baochai to erupt at this moment.

"Cough cough cough!"

Over there Zhuge Liang coughed loudly, coughing heart-rendingly, even the hat on his head skewing askew, revealing a few strands of hair hanging down.

He raised a hand to cover his mouth and nose; his palm brushed those few strands of hair, the hair fluttered, and fell to the ground.

"Chancellor!"

Guan Yu and the others all started up in alarm.