What is chess?
Chess comes in many forms, including Go, Five-in-a-Row, and Xiangqi, among others.
The game of Go, which Li Hao plays, is also referred to as “sitting in seclusion,” “hand talk,” and “playing.”
On the chessboard, vertical and horizontal lines intersect to form squares, and place the pieces within these squares. Connecting pieces create the situation on the board.
For beginners in Chess Tao, familiarizing oneself with the rules, those who have mastered it place their pieces with skilled precision and fierce offensive strategies, focusing on the critical decisions of gains and losses.
But a true master of Chess Tao emphasizes overall momentum over individual pieces, no longer fixated on capturing or killing but orchestrating one’s strategy.
Whether it’s Xiangqi, Five-in-a-Row, Go, and so forth, all involve building incremental momentum!
When the momentum naturally develops, victory leads itself, and nothing can stop it.
Formerly, in Chess Tao of the Sixth Stage, Li Hao had already glimpsed the path of momentum, but now he realized that solely relying on himself as a player to gather momentum was too conspicuous in the eyes of masters. True Chess Tao appears naturally, without enforced momentum!
The moment the first piece is placed, there is already momentum.
Each piece has its mission, seemingly all white, yet with varied strengths. Some white pieces are soldiers, while others are generals, with ferociously cohesive prowess!
Clack!
Li Hao’s white piece landed, piercing deeply into the enemy’s black pieces like a lone army unit, but its impact was like thunder, reviving a previously trapped white piece and breaking the opponent’s stance like a sharp dagger.
This move was full of spiritual ingenuity, indescribably brilliant, commanding the situation like strategizing within a command tent, watching the clouds gather and disperse.
Shi Huajin was stunned, hesitating with her black piece in hand, wanting to make a move but stopping short. She gazed at the board, and after a moment let out a sigh,
“I lost.”
She had intended to capture that cluster of white pieces to bolster her offensive, but this path was cut off. She had predicted Li Hao’s next moves, realizing that in seven moves, she would be at a disadvantage with her position broken, thus decisively choosing to admit defeat.
In battles between masters, the outcome is clear.
It’s much less predictable in skirmishes between lesser players.
Until the final moment, you never know what desperate or peculiar moves your opponent might pull.
Seeing her concede, Li Hao also emerged from his epiphany, withdrew his white piece, and then asked, “Another round?”
“No more, I have not yet finished today’s alchemy. You need to help me refine it.”
Shi Huajin responded somewhat irritably.
“No problem.”
Li Hao smiled, immediately standing up to accompany her to the Alchemy Room.
Along the way, he glanced at his panel and saw a new prompt, his lips curving into a slight smile.
Soon, using culinary techniques to refine, Li Hao helped Shi Huajin process all the medicinal ingredients needed for her alchemy.
Afterward, he sat outside waiting, not choosing to observe by her side which made Shi Huajin feel a bit helpless. She was a high-level alchemist, and many alchemists dreamt of watching her refine pills at close quarters; having this opportunity was akin to being a Direct Disciple.
But Li Hao showed little interest in such an opportunity offered freely by her.
She could only call her own disciple to assist.
Meanwhile, Li Hao found a quiet branch outside the Alchemy Room, lying on it while resting and accessing his panel.
Chess Tao, Seventh Stage.
State of Mind: Chess Tao Spirit-Entering (usable).
Li Hao smiled slightly, without hesitation, chose to apply this State of Mind to Swordsmanship.
Soon, his Swordsmanship, which had been at the Sixth Stage bottleneck for a while, finally broke through.
Swordsmanship, Seventh Stage!
An influx of Swordsmanship information immediately flooded into his mind, which Li Hao absorbed tranquilly.
Reaching Seventh Stage in Swordsmanship shared a commonality with Chess Tao—previously it was about exquisite technique, but now it was about momentum!
No longer restrained by specific techniques, the sword follows the heart, and the heart follows the intent!
At will, he could perform ultimate moves, unleashing the strongest sword skills!
The numerous Sword Dao techniques in his panel were also evolving, simplifying from complexity.
After a long while, Li Hao slowly opened his eyes, having absorbed all the insights of Swordsmanship. Suddenly, he recalled his previous battle with Jiang Lichen. Although he had won, the opponent’s swordsmanship had surpassed his, reaching the peak of Seventh Stage Sword Dao, his sword reflecting his heart, embodying a frenzied momentum.
“With the cultivation of Ultimate Study Realm to split open the Dao Domain, if I can advance another step and reach the Sword Dao Eighth Stage, I could probably split open even a ten-layer Dao Domain…”
A gleam flickered in Li Hao’s eyes. Seventh Stage Sword Dao was already at the level of a Mortal World Sword Saint, capable of cutting through thousands with a mere flick, the momentum like a rainbow. But for his current cultivation, such swordsmanship was still insufficient.
Recalling the Swordsmanship performed by Lin Qingyue in the courtyard earlier, Li Hao now realized that her seemingly simple practice was deeper than what he had initially perceived, even surpassing mere momentum to embody a distinct conception style—her Sword Dao was beyond Seventh Stage!
Li Hao silently thought to himself, adding points.
Soon, Sword Dao Seventh Stage sharply climbed to the Eighth Stage!
A surge of information entered his mind again, and Li Hao seemed to plunge into an ocean of Sword Dao, studying and swimming within.
After a long time…
Li Hao emerged from his realization, with a hint of enlightenment in his eyes.
Sword Dao Seventh Stage was about momentum, while Sword Dao Eighth Stage was about intent!
Intent was more refined than momentum; momentum was the exterior, while intent was the core.
Perhaps influenced by his own Dao Heart, Li Hao’s Sword Intent was simple: to cut whatever he aimed to cut.
All things in the world could be severed, as the heart thinks, so the sword moves!
Li Hao named this Sword Intent “Only Me.”
Understanding this Sword Intent, Li Hao reviewed his previous battle with Jiang Lichen, and immediately felt that his opponent was still confined to the superficial aspect of momentum. Should they fight again, he need only unleash a single sword stroke to break his momentum and sever his sword, easily defeating him.
Li Hao then revisited Lin Qingyue’s sword techniques, his eyes suddenly clearing—she indeed wielded Eighth Stage Sword Dao. Her slow practice involved both momentum and intent, with intent driving the momentum, and her Sword Intent embodied utmost gentleness.
“Utmost gentleness is ultimately tough; the utmost gentle cannot be broken…”
Li Hao’s eyes flickered, unsure if his “Only Me Sword Intent” could sever the opponent’s most gentle sword intent.
He had never compared their strengths, so he couldn’t judge which was stronger.
Li Hao’s gaze fell on the panel, and he tried to add points again.
[Adding points failed, please choose “Heart of Dao Entrance”.]
Indeed…
Li Hao sighed inwardly, just like the Physical Body Dao, it seemed necessary to elevate some artistic skill to the Ninth Stage.
Currently, his artistic skills in the Ninth Stage Entering Dao were limited to cooking.
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Now, having crossed the threshold of Spirit-Entering in Chess Path, he could continue to accrue experience, but the accumulation through Chess Path was too slow and depended on external conditions, requiring him to find opponents.
In comparison, the Artistic Path allowed him to accumulate experience on his own, much faster.
“The Ninth Stage of the Sword Path… what the Saints have mastered should be just this level.”
Li Hao’s eyes flickered again; the Ninth Stage of the Physical Body Dao corresponded to Tao Comprehension Realm, so the Tenth Stage would be becoming a Saint.
So goes Sword Dao; reaching the Tenth Stage Sword Dao meant one could take the Ritual Path to Saint Ascension, directly breaking through Saint Path obstacles with Sword Dao and becoming a Saint through the sword arts!
And this path was the hardest, even a Sword Saint from the Sword Ancestor Holy Land might have chosen the path of Incense Sainthood instead, which meant their Sword Dao Realm would still be at the Ninth Stage, not the Tenth.
It might seem not fit for their Sword Saint title, but actually reaching the Ninth Stage Sword Dao was incredibly rare and difficult, one in a billion.
The Ninth Stage meant entering the path of Sword Dao, except for some obsessed individuals, the majority of martial artists focused their efforts on cultivation realms. Being able to step into the Tao Comprehension Realm was already among the few gifted ones, let alone integrating Sword Dao into Entering Dao, which required tremendous dedication.
Even if there were such individuals, they were rare and mostly at the Semi-Saint level.
Understanding all this, Li Hao gathered his thoughts. Having been continuously battling before, his various artistic skills were lagging far behind. If he could now have three artistic skills reaching the Ninth Stage Entering Dao, his strength would increase to an unimaginable level.
At this moment, Li Hao noticed that Shi Huajin’s pills were ready.
He jumped down from the tree branch and approached the Alchemy Room, greeting Shi Huajin before ambling back to Lin Shanhai’s Pill Refining Institute.
They were separated by merely a thousand miles, and within a few hundred miles around, besides his own attendant disciples and servants, there were hardly any idlers, offering a very quiet and comfortable environment.
Alchemists often needed to study pill formulas on their own and truly required a peaceful setting.
“You’re back, and you seem to be in a good mood today.”
Lin Shanhai saw Li Hao returning and said cheerfully.
Li Hao glanced around the courtyard, noticing Lin Qingyue practicing swordsmanship, as always.
She showed no response to his arrival, still focused on her practice.
Li Hao didn’t disturb her and walked around through the corridor to sit next to Mr. Lin, who was tasting medicinal ingredients, and said,
“I won a few games from her.”
“You ah…”
Lin Shanhai, feeling helpless, had heard about Li Hao’s exploits from his old friends during this period; going to help them purify materials was indeed just a favor—he asked for nothing in return, nor did he take the gifted pills or look at the pill formulas.
He didn’t know if Li Hao had any concerns or if he truly wasn’t interested.
But dealing with Li Hao, he felt that this young man had an unusual mindset, different from those he had met before.
“Oh right, I casually brought some Five Tones Tea for you from her.”
Li Hao seemed to remember something and took out a pack of tea from the Heaven and Earth Space to give to Lin Shanhai.
Lin Shanhai was stunned, quickly taking it as he had no hobbies other than alchemy expecting to enjoy a cup of tea.
“Good fellow, she gave you Five Tones Tea. It seems the Mistress really likes you. I’ve asked her many times and never got it; several hundred years of friendship and she prefers you over me!”
Lin Shanhai opened it to confirm it was Five Tones Tea, his eyes lighting up as he exclaimed.
Li Hao couldn’t help but give him a sideways glance and said, “Is there a possibility that she didn’t give it to you not because of your friendship?”
“What could it be then?”
“You could try changing how you address her next time.”
“A Mistress? I’ve called her that for hundreds of years, how else should I call her?”
“…”
Li Hao gave him another look, amazed that he hadn’t been killed for such a habit after hundreds of years—it truly indicated deep friendship.
Lin Shanhai eventually caught the hint, with the common saying that women don’t like being regarded as old, he suspiciously asked Li Hao,
“Then what do you call her?”
“Sister Shi.”
Li Hao said calmly and smoothly.
“…”
Lin Shanhai’s eyes widened in shock, “You really are bold! She’s old enough to be your grandmother, and that address is far too frivolous!”
“That’s what she told me to call her,” Li Hao explained.
“¿”
Lin Shanhai was astonished.
Li Hao simply shrugged without saying more, his gaze casually falling onto the courtyard, watching the figure dancing gracefully like a sword dance.
Now, watching her practice swordsmanship, Li Hao realized he could completely understand it.
“This sword is a bit too gentle.”
When he saw a specific soft twist in her sword momentum, Li Hao couldn’t help shaking his head.
In other areas, he hadn’t compared and didn’t know if he could sever it, but he believed that he definitely could sever such a gentle dispersing sword.
She was pursuing ultimate gentleness, but excessive pursuit leads to dispersion.
“Huh?”
Although Li Hao spoke softly, the woman in the courtyard had already stopped her sword play.