Chapter 451

What is chess?

There are many types of chess; Five-in-a-Row, Chinese chess, and others are all chess.

And the Go that Li Hao plays is also known as "sitting in seclusion," "hand-talk," or "yi."

On the chessboard, vertical and horizontal lines intersect to form squares; placing pieces into these squares and connecting them forms a game—this is the pattern on the board.

Those just beginning to explore the Dao of chess, familiarizing themselves with the rules and just getting started, place their pieces with practiced precision, attacking fiercely and focusing on the trade-offs.

But true masters of the Dao of chess value the momentum over the individual pieces; they are no longer constrained by capturing or killing, but instead focus on the layout of their own chess momentum.

Whether it is Chinese chess, Five-in-a-Row, Go, or others, all emphasize accumulating momentum!

When the momentum of the situation prevails, victory comes naturally, and nothing can stop it.

Previously, Li Hao's Seventh-Level Dao of chess had already glimpsed the way of chess momentum. But at this moment, Li Hao realized that relying solely on himself as the player to condense this momentum was too obvious to the eyes of a master. True chess momentum is as if formed by nature; it forms itself without needing to be condensed! From the moment the first piece is placed, the momentum is already there.

Every piece has its own mission. They may look like white pieces, but in reality, some are strong and some are weak; some white pieces are soldiers, while others are generals, their momentum fierce and seamless!

Clack!

Li Hao placed a white piece. Like a lone army, it struck deep into the black pieces, but its momentum was like a thunderclap, connecting and saving a previously blocked and desperate group of white pieces, while simultaneously piercing the opponent's momentum like a sharp blade.

This move was incredibly spiritual and indescribably marvelous, like sitting in a command tent, watching the clouds gather and disperse.

Shi Shi Huajin was stunned. The black piece she held between her fingers was about to be placed, but it paused. She stared at the board, and after a moment, she sighed softly and said:

"I have lost."

Originally, she intended to swallow that group of white pieces to expand her own momentum. With this path cut off, she had already calculated Li Hao's subsequent moves; if she played seven more, she would fall into a disadvantage, her chess momentum broken. Therefore, she decisively chose to concede.

In a duel between masters, the result is clear and obvious.

When amateurs peck at each other, however, life and death are unpredictable.

Until the very last moment, you never know what blunders or bizarre moves the opponent might make.

Seeing her concede, Li Hao also awakened from that epiphany. He retrieved the white pieces and immediately asked, "Another game?"

"No more. I haven't refined today's elixirs yet; you need to do the refining for me."

Shi Shi Huajin said with a huff.

"A small matter."

Li Hao smiled and immediately stood up to accompany her to the alchemy room.

On the way, he glanced at his panel and saw the latest notification; the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl into a slight smile.

Soon, utilizing refining through cooking, Li Hao helped Shi Shi Huajin refine all the medicinal herbs she needed to process.

Afterward, he sat outside to wait, not bothering to observe from the side. This left Shi Shi Huajin feeling deeply helpless; she was a high-level alchemist, and countless alchemists dreamed of observing her work. Being able to watch a high-level alchemist refine elixirs in person was a privilege equivalent to that of a direct disciple.

Yet, she offered such an opportunity to Li Hao for free, and he had no interest in it at all.

She could only summon her own disciples to help her with the chores.

Li Hao, meanwhile, found a quiet tree branch outside the alchemy room, lay down on it to rest, and pulled up his panel.

Dao of chess: Seventh Level.

Heart-mind state: Dao of chess enters the spiritual (usable).

Li Hao smiled slightly and, without hesitation, chose to apply this heart-mind state to his Sword Dao.

Soon, his Sword Dao, which had been stuck at the Sixth-Level bottleneck for a long time, finally broke through again.

Sword Dao: Seventh Level! A massive amount of Sword Dao information instantly flooded into his mind, and Li Hao quietly closed his eyes to absorb it.

Reaching the Seventh Level of Sword Dao actually had similarities to the Dao of chess. Previously, it was sword technique refined to the peak of perfection, but now, it was sword momentum!

He was no longer constrained by moves; the sword moved with his heart, and his heart moved with his intent! Every casual gesture was a supreme technique, and every casual strike could unleash the most powerful sword move! The many sword techniques on his panel were now also constantly evolving, undergoing new changes, moving from complexity to simplicity.

A long time later, Li Hao slowly opened his eyes, having digested and absorbed all the Sword Dao insights. In his mind, the battle with Jiang Jiang Lichen suddenly surfaced. Although he had won, the opponent's sword technique in that battle had surpassed his own—it was at the peak Seventh-Level Sword Dao standard, the sword reflecting the heart, possessing a crazed sword momentum.

"With the cultivation of the Supreme Technique Realm, I can split a Dao Domain. If I go one step further and reach the Eighth Level of Sword Dao, even a Tenth-Level Dao Domain should be splittable..."

Light flickered in Li Hao's eyes. Seventh-Level Sword Dao was already the level of a mortal Master Master Jian Sheng; one could cut down an army with a plucked flower, the sword momentum like a rainbow. But for his current cultivation, such sword technique was still not enough.

Recalling the sword technique Lin Lin Qingying had practiced in the courtyard, Li Hao now realized that her seemingly simple practice was deeper than what he had originally seen. It even surpassed sword momentum, possessing its own unique style of artistic conception; her Sword Dao was more than just Seventh Level!

Li Hao silently recited: "Add points."

Soon, his Seventh-Level Sword Dao surged to the Eighth Level!

A massive amount of information flooded his mind again, and Li Hao seemed to fall into an ocean of Sword Dao, swimming and practicing within it.

A long time passed.

Li Hao finally awakened from his enlightenment, a trace of realization appearing in his eyes.

Seventh-Level Sword Dao is momentum, while Eighth-Level Sword Dao is intent! Intent is more refined than momentum; momentum is the appearance, while intent is the core.

Perhaps influenced by his own Dao heart, Li Hao's sword intent was relatively simple: just cut down whatever he wished to cut down.

All things in the world can be cut; where the heart desires, the sword follows!

Li Hao named this sword intent "Self-Existence."

Having grasped this sword intent, Li Hao looked back at the sword technique Jiang Jiang Lichen had used against him, and he instantly felt that the opponent was still stuck at the appearance of sword momentum. If they were to fight again, he would only need a casual strike to break his momentum, snap his sword, and easily defeat him.

Li Hao recalled Lin Lin Qingying's sword technique again, and a sense of understanding appeared in his eyes. She was indeed at the Eighth Level of Sword Dao; the slowly practiced sword technique was training both momentum and intent, using intent to drive momentum, and her sword intent was "Supreme Softness."

"Supreme softness is supreme hardness; supreme softness cannot be broken..."

Li Hao's eyes flickered. He wondered if his "Self-Existence" sword intent could cut through her "Supreme Softness" sword intent.

Without having competed, it was impossible to judge which was stronger or weaker.

Li Hao's gaze fell on the panel, and he attempted to add points again.

【Point addition failed. Please select a Heart of Entering the Dao.】

As expected... Li Hao sighed inwardly. Just like the physical body Dao, it seemed he had to raise a certain art or skill to the Ninth Level to succeed.

Currently, the only art he had at the Ninth Level of Entering the Dao was cooking.

Now that the Dao of chess had crossed the threshold of "entering the spiritual," he could continue to accumulate experience, but the accumulation of experience in the Dao of chess was too slow, and it required external conditions—he had to find someone to play against.

By comparison, the Dao of painting could be handled on his own, allowing for rapid accumulation of experience.

"Ninth-Level Sword Dao... that should be the level mastered by Sages."

Li Hao's eyes flickered. Ninth Level of the physical body Dao corresponds to the Wen Dao Realm, so the Tenth Level is becoming a Sage.

The same is true for Sword Dao. At the Tenth Level of Sword Dao, one could walk the path of "sacrificing the Dao to become a Sage," directly breaking through the obstacles of the Sage Dao with Sword Dao, becoming a Sage through the sword! This path is the most difficult; even the Sword Saints of the Sword Ancestor Holy Land might be following the path of "becoming a Sage through incense," in which case their Sword Dao realm remains at the Ninth Level, not the Tenth.

It sounds like it doesn't match the title of Master Master Jian Sheng, but in reality, reaching the Ninth Level of Sword Dao is one in a billion, extremely difficult.

The Ninth Level means entering the Dao of the sword. Apart from a few fanatics, the vast majority of martial artists focus their minds on cultivation realms; being able to step into the Wen Dao Realm is already a minority among geniuses, let alone grasping the Dao of the sword—that requires too much energy.

Even if such people exist, they are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, mostly at the level of Half-Sages.

Having figured this out, Li Hao withdrew his thoughts. After successive battles, the levels of his many arts had fallen too far behind. If he could have three arts reach the Ninth Level of Entering the Dao right now, his strength would increase to an unimaginable degree.

At this moment, Li Hao noticed that Shi Shi Huajin's elixirs were finished.

He jumped down from the tree branch, came outside the alchemy room, greeted Shi Shi Huajin, and strolled back to Lin Lin Shanhai's alchemy courtyard.

They were only a thousand miles apart. Within a radius of several hundred miles, apart from his own medicine boys, disciples, and servants, there were basically no other idlers; the environment was quite quiet and comfortable.

Alchemists often have to study prescriptions themselves, and they do indeed need a quiet environment.

"You're back. You seem to be in a good mood today."

Seeing Li Hao return, Lin Lin Shanhai said with a chuckle.

Li Hao scanned the courtyard and saw Lin Lin Qingying practicing her sword, as always.

She did not react to his arrival, remaining focused on her sword practice.

Li Hao did not disturb her either; he bypassed the corridor, walked to the side of Old Man Lin, who was tasting medicinal herbs, sat down, and said:

"I won a few games against her."

"You..."

Lin Lin Shanhai felt helpless. During this time, he had heard of Li Hao's deeds from those old friends; he went to help them refine herbs, but he really just helped, asking for nothing in return, not taking the elixirs they offered, and not even looking at their prescriptions.

He didn't know if Li Hao was worried about something or if he truly had no interest.

But after interacting with Li Hao, he felt that this young man's mind was indeed a bit unconventional, quite different from anyone he had encountered before.

"Oh, right, I brought you some Five-Tone Tea from her while I was at it."

Li Hao seemed to remember something, took a bag of tea leaves from his Heaven and Earth space, and handed it to Lin Lin Shanhai.

Lin Lin Shanhai was stunned and quickly took it. He had no other hobbies; apart from alchemy, he just loved a good cup of tea.

"Good fellow, she even gave you Five-Tone Tea? It seems Old Hag Shi really likes you. I've begged her many times and she never gave me any; our friendship of several hundred years isn't even as good as yours!"

Lin Lin Shanhai opened it to confirm it was Five-Tone Tea, his eyes lighting up, and he couldn't help but click his tongue.

Li Hao couldn't help but glance at him and said, "Is there a possibility that she doesn't give it to you not because of the friendship?"

"Then what is it?"

"You could try changing how you address her next time."

"Old Hag Shi? I've been calling her that for hundreds of years; if I don't call her that, what should I call her?"

"..."

Li Hao couldn't help but glance at him. Calling her that for hundreds of years without being beaten to death—that really counts as a deep friendship.

Lin Lin Shanhai realized it now, too. Everyone says women don't like being called old. He looked at Li Hao suspiciously:

"Then how do you address her?"

"Sister Shi."

Li Hao said calmly, without blushing or skipping a beat.

"..."

Lin Lin Shanhai couldn't help but widen his eyes: "You are simply bold! Her age could make her your great-grandmother; this address is too frivolous!"

"She's the one who told me to call her that," Li Hao said.

""

Lin Lin Shanhai was dumbfounded.

Li Hao shrugged slightly and didn't say anything more, his gaze falling casually into the courtyard, watching that cold, elegant figure dancing like a butterfly.

Now, watching her practice her sword again, Li Hao realized he could fully understand it.

"This strike is a bit too soft."

When he saw her sword momentum turn in one place, Li Hao couldn't help but shake his head and say.

He hadn't competed with her in other areas and didn't know if he could cut through them, but this strike just now was too soft and scattered; he believed he could definitely cut through it.

She was pursuing supreme softness, but by pursuing it too much, it became easy to scatter.

"Hmm?"

Although Li Hao's voice was soft, the woman in the courtyard had already stopped her sword.

(End of chapter)