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.”


  Chapter 1192: Do You Have the Capability To Say That Someone Has Cheated, But Don’t Have the Capability To Point It Out?

  Translator: Lordbluefire

  Each match would be broadcast live on the wooden tablet, with professionals to explain the matches. Therefore, Sun Mo had noticed the few mistakes that Li Xuan had made.

  It’d be acceptable if it happened once or twice, but when he made mistakes every time they reached a crucial point, it was hard for one to not have any doubts. Therefore, Sun Mo paid extra attention to Li Xuan’s condition.

  “Teacher, what dirty trick did Xia Taikang use?”

  Qin Yaoguang’s voice rang out from outside the door.

  “Why did you guys not come in?”

  Sun Mo frowned.

  “We’re watching the door so that other people won’t listen to your conversation!”

  Lu Zhiruo wanted to do something for her eldest martial sister.

  “Even if you guys stay outside, you won’t be able to stop other people’s tricks!”

  Sun Mo laughed and continued to reply. “If my guess is correct, Xia Taikang used some kind of spiritual control technique to make Li Xuan make mistakes.”

  “Huh?”

  Hearing this term, Lu Zhiruo felt troubled. It was because this subject was very mysterious and it was too difficult for one to want to grasp the flaws.

  “Will my royal brother’s life be in danger?”

  Li Ziqi was worried.

  “I don’t think he’ll die!”

  Sun Mo wasn’t sure either. “Given how ‘well-prepared’ others are, haven’t you guys thought of similar tricks?”

  “My father has great trust in Great Teacher Han and thinks that he can deal with everything!”

  Li Ziqi smiled bitterly. “Moreover, who’d expect that Xia Taikang would be so despicable just to win?”

  “It’s better to make more preparations.”

  Sun Mo felt that Li Xuan might not do well in the next few matches either. ……

  In the afternoon, the matches started again!

  Li Xuan vs. Xiang Zhao, Li Ziqi vs. a prince from Qi Country.

  These two matches continued until the incense finished and then the players started a 10-second quick match.

  The victor wasn’t decided between Li Xuan and the Chu Crown Prince [1] even after 15 minutes had passed. In the end, when they counted the pieces, Xiang Zhao had won the match by just 1.5 moku.

  Li Ziqi played a quick match, making only 30 moves for it. This Qi Country’s prince then admitted his loss.

  Li Xuan’s mentality was crashing a little after having lost two consecutive rounds. Han Cangshui ignored him and left immediately.

  Li Xiu didn’t know what to say. She had thought that it was almost definite that he was going to clinch this match, but Li Xuan ended up making a lot of mistakes.

  “That Chu Crown Prince is very strong.”

  Lu Zhiruo was soft-hearted. When she saw Li Xuan’s eyes turning red and was so angry that he was biting his lips, she consoled him. “After you guys reach this phase in the match, all that’s left is dependent on your luck. And you’re slightly unlucky today.”

  “Shut up!”

  Li Xuan bellowed.

  The papaya girl’s neck shrank back and she hid behind Ying Baiwu.

  “Royal Brother!”

  Li Ziqi wanted to say something, but Li Xuan refused to listen and walked off quickly.

  “Looking at his state, his third match will be a goner too!”

  Qin Yaoguang mocked.

  “For this round, Li Xuan lost in his mentality. As he had lost one match in the morning, he had a great urgency to win this match. This led to him having an unstable mind and Xiang Zhao took this chance.”

  Sun Mo said a word in fairness and then looked at Li Ziqi.

  The little sunny egg lowered her head. She knew that her tricks had been seen through.

  “Ziqi, what is the reason you’ve come to participate in the Five Empires War Discussion?”

  Sun Mo looked toward the Xia Country’s spectators’ stand. Xia Taikang had won again and he left amidst the cheers.

  “To win! To show off the Great Tang’s prowess!”

  These were her heartfelt words. Li Ziqi wasn’t fighting for herself.

  “Then have you thought of how people would look at you and Li Xuan if he continues to lose like this and you’re winning with so much difficulty?”

  Sun Mo asked.

  Li Ziqi fell silent.

  “Ziqi, sweeping out at your enemies with exhilaration and giving them a crushing defeat is even more relishing compared to an ordinary victory!”

  Sun Mo thought of those e-sports competitions he had seen in the past. People would always look at the gridlock matches as a fight between newbies, and no one would remember them. One would only be seen as the strongest if they were to have a crushing victory or turn the tables around in an amazing manner.

  “Think about it carefully!”

  Sun Mo patted the little sunny egg’s shoulder and walked off.

  “Eldest Martial Sister, what’s going on?”

  Lu Zhiruo couldn’t understand.

  “Ziqi, did you hold back?”

  Li Xiu had guessed the reason from Sun Mo’s words.

  “En!”

  Li Ziqi nodded. In order to number her opponents and make it hard for them to figure out her capabilities, she had intentionally played a gridlock match.

  The truth was that the match’s progress was all within the little sunny egg’s control.

  “Huh? This could be done too?”

  Xianyu Wei was surprised. “You aren’t scared that things will go wrong and you’ll lose?”

  “That won’t happen!”

  Li Ziqi was very confident.

  “Ziqi, what is your level in chess?”

  Li Xiu was astonished too. The fact that Li Ziqi could put up such a performance showed that she was a lot stronger than her opponent.

  “I don’t know!” Li Ziqi sighed. “I can’t win even if Teacher were to give me a six-stones handicap!”

  “.……”

  Li Xiu was stunned. A six-stones handicap was considered a very big advantage in Go.

  Could it be that Sun Mo was a national player?

  That couldn’t be, right?

  Even a grandmaster, that was one notch weaker than the national player, would be very reputable in the world of Go.

  In the Nine Provinces, a Chess Sage was worth more money than a Music Saint.

  The next day, the chess battles continued.

  This time around, it was Li Xuan vs. Jiang Yuzhen, while Li Ziqi was up against a prince from Chu Country.

  After Sun Mo had talked to the little sunny egg, her mentality had changed and she stopped holding back. Instead, she went all out and crushed her opponent just in time for one incense stick to finish burning.

  Li Xuan also managed to win this match and clear his humiliation.

  However, Li Xuan’s mood was still bad. It was because, like him, Jiang Yuzhen had also lost two consecutive matches yesterday. She was a weakling, so it wasn’t convincing at all to be winning against an opponent like her.

  The people from Qi Country didn’t mind it either. After all, Jiang Yuzhen’s reputation had been built up from her powerful battle prowess and military commanding capabilities. She was the only candidate to be a Military God amongst the younger generations across the different countries.

  After a short afternoon break, the fourth round started.

  Li Xuan was up against Wei Wu`an, while Li Ziqi was up against a princess from the Great Xia. Her name was Xia Qiyun.

  “Even if you’re a great teacher, I’m not afraid!”

  Li Xuan was ready to show off his skills, but after the match started, he realized that his opponent was quite capable.

  The two of them put up a strong battle, attacking fiercely or defending firmly. It was hard to decide a victor between them.

  On the other side, Li Ziqi also encountered trouble.

  At the start of the match, the little sunny egg had an advantage. However, after ten moves, she felt that the other party’s chess skills had surged up fiercely and her style changed. After 100 moves, she was put at a disadvantage!

  “This won’t do! If this continues, I’ll lose!”

  Li Ziqi thought very hard about how she could break out of this predicament.

  “This is bad! Eldest Martial Sister is going to lose!”

  Lu Zhiruo panicked when she saw Li Ziqi holding onto a chess piece but not placing it down after very long. The burning incense wasn’t going to wait for anyone.

  The match had just started, but to think that she was starting to think long about the match. She was clearly on the losing end.

  “Teacher, what do you think?”

  Qin Yaoguang asked.

  Li Xiu perked her ears.

  “In terms of chess skills, Ziqi will definitely lose. But if she can find the other party’s flaws, she’ll definitely win!”

  Sun Mo drank the tea.

  “Huh?”

  Lu Zhiruo looked stunned. It was just a game of chess, but there were flaws? It wasn’t as if this was a cultivation art!

  “You’re saying that the other party has cheated?”

  Qin Yaoguang was very smart and immediately understood what Sun Mo meant.

  “En!”

  Sun Mo’s impression of the princes and princesses from Xia Country was really bad.

  They were willing to use all kinds of despicable tricks just to win.

  Li Xiu’s nervous expression relaxed. With that, even if Li Xuan were to lose, they’d be able to win six rounds and would at least not be ranked last.

  But Li Xiu soon realized that something was amiss. Sun Mo was sitting steadily there, not showing any intention to expose Xia Qiyun.

  “Great Teacher Sun, it’s better to expose Xia Qiyun earlier. Once the results come out, others may think that we are a sore loser if we expose them then.”

  Li Xiu suggested.

  Moreover, she was also worried that once the match ended, the other party would stop cheating. This would make it even harder to expose them.

  “Why do I have to expose her?”

  Sun Mo asked.

  “Huh?”

  Many people were stunned. (What do you mean by that?)

  “Great Teacher Sun, this isn’t funny!”

  Li Xiu frowned.

  “I’m not joking!”

  Sun Mo looked at the arena where the little sunny egg was frowning and deep in thought. “This match is an experience for Ziqi. I hope that she can see through the opponent by herself. If she can’t, then she should accept this loss and withstand the regret from the lack of judgment and her inexperience! A person will only remember a lesson for life if the fall they went through is hard enough!”

  “.……”

  Li Xiu’s lips that were painted red almost cursed out.

  (You aren’t caring about our Great Tang’s honor by doing this.)

  “Eldest Princess, please be patient and watch. Ziqi is a lot more outstanding than you think!”

  Sun Mo believed in his eldest disciple.

  In the arena, Li Ziqi tossed the chess piece in her hand back into the holder.

  “If you’re throwing your piece to admit your loss, you should be putting two chess pieces here!”

  Xia Qiyun reached out her index finger and tapped on the lower right corner of the chessboard.

  Right now, she was looking at Li Ziqi with a gaze as if she was looking down on her. Her expression was filled with pride.

  “So what if you’re the youngest great teacher in the Nine Provinces? You still end up losing!”

  Xia Qiyun’s lips twitched. In this world, there was nothing better than dealing a blow to a genius who was in the limelight.

  Even though the crown princes were the main characters of the Five Empires War Discussion this time around, the most famous participant was Li Ziqi. She herself had not only broken the great teacher record, but the fact that she was Sun Mo’s personal disciple was enough to win her a lot of attention.

  It was because Sun Mo’s reputation was unparalleled amongst those with power and wealth!

  Who wouldn’t want to enjoy his God Hands?

  Who wouldn’t want his Skyward Spirit Rune?

  Look at how the Qi Emperor had chosen not to play host to the other countries’ crown princes and grand tutors, choosing to look for Sun Mo directly. He was also after his God Hands.

  “Li Ziqi, you’re just lucky that you’ve acknowledged a good teacher!”

  Xia Qiyun said in disdain. She wanted to take this chance to perform well and move Sun Mo, so she would be accepted to study under him. (By then, I’ll be the number one princess in the Nine Provinces.)

  “Who says that I’ve lost?”

  Li Ziqi smiled.

  “Hehe, I don’t care to quibble with you!” Xia Qiyun sneered, “You can continue to make your move!”

  “Do you think that other people can’t tell that you’ve cheated?”

  Li Ziqi sneered coldly.

  Bang!

  Xia Qiyun slammed her palm onto the table, looking furious. “Li Ziqi, you can eat whatever you want, but take care of what you say! Do you have any proof?”

  “Oh my, Princess Ziqi and Princess Qiyun seem to be having some conflicts!”

  The ceremonial officer immediately walked over, planning to give a live broadcast of the situation.

  The audience’s gazes turned over too.

  This abruptness was a selling point to hype up the atmosphere.

  “Why? Speak up. Do you have the capability to say that someone has cheated but don’t have the capability to point it out?

  When Xia Qiyun saw that Li Ziqi wasn’t saying anything, her words became more agitated, as if she was a fierce woman who had caught her husband’s mistress.

  Chapter 1193: I Know Gu Techniques Too. You Didn’t Expect That, Right?

  Translator: Lordbluefire

  “Huh? Turns out that Princess Ziqi is suspecting that Princess Qiyun has cheated! The problem is serious now!”

  The ceremonial officer’s voice rang through the sound amplification stone and clearly spread out across the Victory Public Square.

  The people from the Nine Provinces were like people from Ancient China. They viewed honor with high regard. This was especially so for the royalty. If a commoner dared to scold a member of the royalty, they’d be beheaded or in lighter cases, be exiled.

  “Eldest Martial Sister, go at her!”

  Qin Yaoguang wasn’t afraid to blow up the situation and shouted loudly. However, Lu Zhiruo and Xianyu Wei held onto Sun Mo’s sleeves worriedly.

  “Teacher, think of something!”

  Li Xiu was a little anxious too. Such reprimand might bring a diplomatic conflict. “Great Teacher Sun, if you know about it, then hurry up and expose Xia Qiyun’s cheating ways!”

  “Ziqi will take care of it.”

  Sun Mo’s composed look almost drove Li Xiu to death. Left with no choice, she could only look toward Han Cangshui with a hopeful look on her face.

  Han Cangshui looked to the front, pretending that he hadn’t seen anything.

  The truth was that he had no idea what Xia Qiyun had done.

  (It’s one thing for Li Ziqi to be able to notice Xia Qiyun’s cheating method because she is close to her. But how did Sun Mo, who is the same distance away from the arena as I am, notice it? Could it be that Sun Mo is really stronger than I am?)

  At the thought of this, Han Cangshui felt gloomy and so disgusted that he felt like puking as if he had eaten a fly.

  “You’re using Gu Technique to cheat!”

  When Li Ziqi said this, she looked very composed, as if everything was within her control. The truth was, she was secretly observing Xia Qiyun’s reactions and was even focusing on listening to Xia Qiyun’s heartbeat.

  As expected, for a short instant, Xia Qiyun’s pupils contracted abruptly and her right hand’s fingers paused for a moment. However, she immediately smiled coldly.

  “I can say that you’re using Gu Technique to cheat too!”

  Xia Qiyun was mentally prepared to be discovered for cheating. She had even practiced means to react to this a few times and used it very smoothly.

  However, she still showed some slight reactions. After all, Li Ziqi was on point in calling out her cheating method.

  This was really too astonishing.

  Therefore, Xia Qiyun revealed some reactions due to her inevitable jealousy toward Li Ziqi’s talent and experience.

  Most other people would definitely miss out on Xia Qiyun’s fine reactions, but Li Ziqi’s observational skills were too detailed.

  “The color of your face is too red compared to your neck. This is a sign of gu bugs’ frequent activities. Therefore, I can be sure that there are gu-bugs in your head!”

  Li Ziqi explained.

  There was one other thing. Xia Qiyun’s eyeballs would occasionally dart around subconsciously. This was an uncontrollable action from having one’s nerves interfered with by gu-bugs.

  “This is absurd! If I have gu-bugs in my brain, then won’t I be dead?”

  Xia Qiyun retorted.

  However, great turbulence rose in her heart. It was because Li Ziqi was spot on.

  There was an amazing gu-bug in her brain that was planted by a Gu Technique grandmaster. Its effect was to clearly transmit the Gu Technique grandmaster’s words clearly into her brain and not be overheard by others.

  Xia Qiyun’s cheating method was to have a grandmaster in Go watch the live broadcast on the wooden tablet and play the chess match for her.

  He would tell the Gu Technique grandmaster the move to make, and then the Gu Technique grandmaster would inform Xia Qiyun through the gu-bugs.

  If Xia Qiyun could win, she’d definitely not cheat. However, after ten or more moves, the Go grandmaster came to the assessment that Xia Qiyun wasn’t a match for her opponent and thus decisively took over.

  To put it simply, the current Xia Qiyun was just a tool.

  The audience whispered amongst themselves, feeling that Li Ziqi might have made a mistake. It was because gu-bugs were extremely dangerous, and a princess didn’t have to go to the extent of implanting one into her brain just to win in chess.

  “Since you aren’t willing to admit it, then I can only prove it by myself!”

  Li Ziqi let out a sigh, showing off a kind girl image as if she didn’t wish to do this but she was forced to.

  “Alright! Prove it!”

  Xia Qiyun’s voice was very loud and she didn’t cower. She then saw Li Ziqi taking out a translucent glass bottle, opening the cork. Then a strange scent immediately drifted out.

  “Hmm? What is this? It smells so good!”

  The ceremonial officer was very curious.

  “It’s ancient whale oil, the essence extracted from the ancient whale’s fats and bones, refined together with 16 precious medicinal herbs. It is for external applications. It can relieve pain and increase the sensitivity of the six senses. This is my teacher’s unique prescription and when used with the Ancient Dragon Capturing Hands, it has a huge benefit to the human body!”

  Li Ziqi explained, “To some gu-bugs, it is a great nourishment, like ambrosia of the immortals.”

  If an overdose of such whale oil was used, it’d corrode the nerves and produce an intense sense of excitement. It was like a stimulant.

  Gu-bugs had a sharp sense of smell and it’d be weird if they didn’t go crazy after smelling such a ‘delicacy’.

  When the Qi Emperor heard this, he felt unhappy.

  “Great Teacher Sun, if you have such good medicine, why didn’t you let this Emperor use it?”

  The Qi Emperor looked at Sun Mo with an aggrieved look, like a woman who had been abandoned. (Even if you want money, an official post, or beauties, this Emperor can give them to you! Even if you wish to marry one of this Emperor’s princesses, it is negotiable.)

  After the seven rounds last night, the Qi Emperor had become infatuated with the Ancient Dragon Capturing Hands. He was even thinking about how he could have Sun Mo stay in the palace for a long period.

  “Your Majesty, be mindful of your words!”

  Grand Tutor Su was shocked. (Isn’t it inappropriate for you to be saying such words in such a situation?) At the same time, he was also a little surprised.

  To think that Sun Mo’s God Hands were so amazing that he had conquered the Qi Emperor in just two hours?

  All the members of the upper echelon knew that the Qi Emperor had invited Sun Mo into the palace. After all, it wasn’t a difficult thing to bribe a couple of eunuchs.

  “Great Teacher Sun, His Majesty has great admiration for you. His Majesty will be so sad to find out that you’ve done this!”

  The empress complained.

  “.……”

  Grand Tutor Su wanted to curse. (So my advice earlier has fallen on deaf ears. I guess I don’t need any face, huh?)

  “Your Majesty, the ancient whale oil is too valuable and I usually don’t carry it on me!”

  Sun Mo explained.

  “So that’s how it is!”

  The Qi Emperor smiled. “I knew that Great Teacher Sun isn’t such a selfish person. If you’re free tonight, why don’t you come to the palace and join this Emperor for dinner?”

  “.……”

  The nobles and officials were all stunned. Although His Majesty was very easygoing, was it really a good idea to be saying such things in a situation like this?

  (You’re the host for this event! Right now, Xia Qiyun and Li Ziqi are in the midst of a conflict. Won’t others think that you’re biased toward the Great Tang if you do this?)

  (But how amazing is Sun Mo’s God Hands that His Majesty has become so impatient?)

  “Your Majesty!”

  Sun Mo felt a little helpless. The Qi Emperor’s actions would make ordinary citizens suspect that there was an inside story to this.

  Thankfully, Xia Qiyun suddenly let out a scream at this moment and it drew back everyone’s attention.

  This Great Xia’s princess was wearing a hideous expression, punching her head forcefully and repeatedly with her right hand.

  “Your Highness!”

  “Hurry up and save her!”

  “What did you do?”

  The Great Xia’s delegation all stood up, drawing their weapons.

  The people from the Great Tang didn’t cower either.

  Li Xiu was thinking of defending her niece when Sun Mo lashed out.

  “We’re in public. Isn’t everyone seeing it for themselves whether or not Ziqi has played any tricks? Or are you guys blind?”

  Here it was, here it was. It had been very long since their teacher had lashed out at others like a wild dog that had broken free from all reins.

  Qin Yaoguang was very agitated. She even took out a little notebook, wanting to take down the words Sun Mo used to lash out at others.

  “Someone come and help her down! We’ll give up this match!”

  Xia Taikang threw a glance at his younger sister and then instructed.

  However, it was too late. Before the maid came, Xia Qiyun bent over and smashed her forehead hard into the chessboard.

  Splash!

  All the chess pieces were messed up.

  When she raised her head again, a huge gush of blood shot out from her mouth and nose. Then, a green bean-sized blood droplet immediately shot toward the glass bottle in Li Ziqi’s hands.

  Pffft!

  The blood droplet flew in, and Li Ziqi corked up the bottle.

  “Xia Qiyun, the evidence is right here. What more do you have to say?”

  Li Ziqi raised the bottle. The blood droplet in it was washed off by the ancient whale oil and then a small beetle could be seen.

  Xia Qiyun’s countenance was pale and she wanted to seek help from her royal brother. However, at the thought of Xia Taikang’s brutal nature, she instinctively held it in.

  Xia Taikang’s countenance was very grim.

  Right now, there were two choices placed in front of him.

  The first one was to refuse to admit it no matter what. He could claim that this was done by the Dark Dawn’s dark great teachers, and both he and his royal sister didn’t know about it at all. They were victims too and she didn’t cheat.

  The second one was to sacrifice the rook to save the king, letting Xia Qiyun take the blame.

  People would find it hard to believe the first scenario. Even if they didn’t say anything, they’d have an idea what kind of character the Xia Country had. However, if he were to pick the second choice, Xia Qiyun’s life would be over.

  As a princess, if she had such a stain to her name, it’d be hard for her to get a good marriage, let alone acknowledge a good great teacher.

  Xia Taikang got up and walked over.

  “Royal…… Royal Brother!”

  Xia Qiyun didn’t even dare to meet Xia Taikang’s eyes.

  Pa!

  Xia Taikang slapped hard on her face.

  “To think that you used such despicable means just to win! You really disappoint me!”

  Xia Taikang reproached, “Apologize to your opponent and then scram back, shut yourself up and reflect on your mistakes!”

  “I……”

  Xia Qiyun felt very aggrieved.

  “Apologize!”

  Xia Taikang insisted.

  “I’m sorry!”

  After saying that, Xia Qiyun dashed down the arena unsteadily.

  Xia Taikang took a long look at Li Ziqi because this was his first time assessing this young girl seriously.

  She was very pretty and had a small and sharp face that showed a hint of her charm. She’d definitely become a devastating beauty in the future.

  Of course, her looks were nothing compared to her intelligence and talent.

  “I will remember you!”

  The princes and princesses who were in the midst of chess matches near them raised their heads in surprise when they heard this. It was because they knew that Xia Taikang was too arrogant and never cared for those in his generation.

  His words meant that he was treating Li Ziqi as his rival.

  Li Xuan was very disappointed and angry. (I’m the one who should be Xia Taikang’s fated rival.)

  Seeing that the incense continued to burn but Xia Taikang still didn’t show any intention of returning to his seat, the Great Xia’s delegation was very worried. However, none of them dared to speak up to persuade him.

  “Your Highness, please continue with the match!”

  The ceremonial officer stepped in and then smiled as he looked toward Li Ziqi. “As everyone knows, Gu Technique is Nanyue’s secret art that isn’t passed down to outsiders. How did Your Highness detect it?”

  This was also something that everyone felt was strange.

  All sorts of Gu Technique were precious secret arts and it wasn’t even accessible to just any student in the Myriad Spirits Academy. They’d at most be able to understand some simple Gu Technique briefly.

  Since Xia Qiyun dared to cheat in front of so many people, it showed just how amazing this Gu Technique was and that it wouldn’t be easily discovered. Hence, how did Li Ziqi know of it?

  “My teacher taught it to me.”

  Li Ziqi explained.

  “Great Teacher Sun?”

  The ceremonial officer wasn’t the only one who was surprised. Many people had gotten to know of Sun Mo’s information by now, and Gu Technique wasn’t listed on it.

  “I repeat. Right now and in the future, I’ll only have Sun Mo as my personal teacher to whom I’m indebted!”

  Li Ziqi frowned. “And the outstandingness of my teacher isn’t something that you guys can imagine. He has no limits!”

  Wow!

  A commotion broke out. It was because Li Ziqi’s boast was too exaggerated.

  In fact, when Sun Mo imparted Li Ziqi with the knowledge about Gu Technique, she was surprised too. This was especially when those contents were very detailed and comprehensive. She felt that even Gu Technique grandmasters in the Myriad Spirits Academy wouldn’t know about the details of the foundational knowledge as much as her teacher did.

  The little sunny egg was right. The [First Glimpse into the Origin of Gu] that Sun Mo had received from the system was the most detailed entry-level book in the Nine Provinces.

  “Alright, I won’t be disturbing everyone’s matches then.”

  Li Ziqi came down from the arena and returned to the spectators’ stand. She immediately hugged Sun Mo’s arm.

  “Teacher, I’ve won!”

  The little sunny egg added in her heart. (I didn’t embarrass Teacher.)

  “Eldest Martial Sister, you’ll be up against the Chess Sage Qing Wuzi next. If you win against him, your reputation will spread across the world!”

  Lu Zhiruo encouraged.

  “If Secondary Saint Zhou could see this scene, he’d probably feel extremely regretful.”

  Many high star-level great teachers gloated a little. They would very much want a student like Li Ziqi.

  Wei Wu`an hadn’t planned on using his great teacher halos. But after seeing how outstanding Li Ziqi was, he didn’t wish to lose to her and thus applied Sudden Insight and Composed Calm onto himself.

  The former could let him be struck with a sudden inspiration when he was thinking, giving him a very high chance of making an amazing move. The latter would ensure that he wouldn’t be affected by the external environment and could constantly maintain his composure, being in his optimal battle state.

  Li Xuan’s chess skill was a little better than Wei Wu`an, but his improvising skills were too weak. He lost again for this match.

  His original plan was to defeat three crown princes and one princess, shooting to fame. However, he ended up losing three matches. He only won against Jiang Yuzhen but no one took that very seriously.

  As a result, he brought himself great embarrassment.

  On the contrary, Li Ziqi’s performance was exemplary and won her a lot of cheers.

  Thankfully, Li Ziqi was a girl. Otherwise, Li Xuan was afraid that his position as the Great Tang’s crown prince would be unstable.

  In the first round, Xia Country won the most number of matches and only lost once in which Xia Qiyun was up against Li Ziqi. Wei Country came in second, with Wei Wu`an winning all his matches. The Great Tang came in third, all thanks to Li Ziqi’s great effort in winning his matches. Qi Country was ranked last.

  “If we win against the Chess Sage, we still have a chance to turn the tables around!”

  At dinner, Li Xiu encouraged her nephew, but Li Xuan looked very dispirited.

  (Win against a Chess Sage?)

  (You’re thinking too much. Moreover, taking into consideration of the Xia Country’s morals, they’ll probably use some dirty tricks again.) ……

  Right now, at the base of the Great Xia’s delegation.

  In the bedroom, Xia Taikang sat by the window ledge, looking up at the starry sky. “How are the preparations going?”

  “We’ll definitely win tomorrow. But will it be too much of an exaggeration to be doing this?”

  There wasn’t anyone in the bedroom except Xia Taikang. However, there was another person’s voice ringing out.

  “My goal is to have a tie. But if Li Ziqi were to show an outburst, then I must win the match.”

  Xia Taikang didn’t want to have such a high profile either. However, this Great Tang’s princess kept giving her a very dangerous feeling…… He had to keep his guards up against her.