Chapter 49: Life is Like a Game of Chess (Second Update)

Yang Ying stood at the entrance of the hall, her forehead glistening with sweat after completing a set of sword dance moves. At this moment, she exuded a unique beauty. A female sword cultivator hurriedly handed her a towel (high-quality text, first published here).

"Report, Senior Sister, there's news from Zhang Liang."

"Oh, let me see."

Yang Ying was practicing the "Phoenix Dance in Nine Heavens and Yellow Springs" sword technique, a skill on par with the Nine Heavens Departed Fire Sword. However, the difficulty of this technique was extremely high, and even with her current 19th-layer essence energy, it was still challenging. The continuous changes in her life marks caused her essence energy to fluctuate, distorting her movements. This made her even more impressed by Li Tianyi, who could forcefully cultivate the Nine Heavens Departed Fire Sword at the 15th layer.

Only at this level did one truly understand the difficulty. The outside world's baseless rumors about Li Tianyi were quite laughable.

Zhang Liang's intelligence was reliable. Although his strength was average, he had a knack for gathering information, often uncovering obscure news.

When she saw the message, Yang Ying was taken aback. In her view, among the current generation of the Holy Hall, the only ones who could match her were Li Tianyi and Ning Zhiyuan from the Dao Guang Hall. Why would Li Tianyi be interested in Tang Wei from the Hengshan Hall?

That guy was just a simple-minded brute.

The analysis at the end of the message suggested that the person Li Tianyi had been looking for might appear at this event.

A faint smile appeared on Yang Ying's lips, stunning the female disciples around her. Beauty, when it reached a certain level, transcended gender.

In fact, with Yang Ying's talent, if she were a male cultivator, she would be the best choice for cultivation.

Yang Ying was hailed as the most beautiful sword cultivator in the Flying Phoenix Hall in recent decades. Women were often gossipy, and they privately discussed who would ultimately win her heart. Whoever it was, winning Yang Ying would make them a public enemy among the male cultivators of the Holy Hall.

Thunderlight Hall...

Every expression of Yang Ying's was captivating. Fortunately, the Flying Phoenix Hall was a female cultivator's branch; otherwise, the male disciples would be so entranced that they wouldn't be able to focus on their cultivation.

Since there was a spectacle, why not join in and see if Li Tianyi was truly exceptional.

Dao Guang Hall, as the branch that had consistently ranked first in overall strength for many years, held a special status. Many cultivators with some knowledge and connections were proud to enter the Dao Guang Hall.

Here, the competition was undoubtedly fierce, but the improvement was also rapid, and the conditions in all aspects were the best.

Every year, the Dao Guang Hall received about as many spirit stones from the main hall as the other branches combined, which solidified its unyielding strength.

The Dao Guang Hall was the pearl of the Holy Hall, and as its senior disciple, Ning Zhiyuan was undoubtedly the highest-ranking among the Nine Heroes of the Holy Hall.

Even if their strength was comparable, over time, Ning Zhiyuan would inevitably pull ahead because he was the senior disciple of the Dao Guang Hall (high-quality text, first published here)!

Whether in the main hall or among the many Holy Hall disciples outside, the Dao Guang Hall was the strongest. This was a circle where the pride of being part of the Dao Guang Hall was deeply ingrained. Strong helping the strong made them even stronger.

Perhaps this mutual assistance wasn't as emotionally driven as in the Lingyin Hall, nor as thuggish as in the Hengshan Hall. It was a recognition among the strong, regardless of whether you were a senior or a junior, there would be a day when you would need each other.

In this positive atmosphere, the strength of the Dao Guang Hall was naturally justified. Many of the current elders in the main hall were from the Dao Guang Hall, which was a force supporting its continued growth.

Ning Zhiyuan, the leader of the young generation, was also one of the Nine Heroes of the Holy Hall. What Zhao Guang enjoyed in the Thunderlight Hall was nothing compared to Ning Zhiyuan's treatment.

It could be said that the power and resources Ning Zhiyuan could command were more than those of an elder in a regular branch.

Not an exaggeration.

"Senior Brother, the Lingyin Hall has been very arrogant lately. They are reportedly taking on the sixth-ranked mission again, acting as if we don't exist. Should we give them a taste of our strength?"

Ning Zhiyuan smiled faintly, "If Li Tianyi has the ability, I hope they become stronger. Otherwise, it would be boring, don't you think?"

"Ah, that's true. We've been hiding our strength and still taking first place, which is a bit too boring."

"The main hall also considers this. They don't want us to be too sharp. A moderate gap can boost motivation, making them strive to catch up. But if the gap is too large, they might give up. So, we need to give them hope."

Ning Zhiyuan said, feeling even more isolated.

"Hehe, that's true. We just need to focus on the Dao Guang Hall, while Senior Brother needs to consider the overall situation of the Holy Hall."

"Enough, stop flattering me. Did you come to me because there's some trouble?"

"It's Zhao Guang again. This guy has been forming his own clique since he came to our Dao Guang Hall. Even though he's from the Zhao family, he needs to follow the rules of the Dao Guang Hall. There's no distinction of lineage here."

Lü Yi said.

"Handle it as you see fit."

"Yes, Senior Brother. There's one more thing to note. Elder Zhou went to the Thunderlight Hall. Could the main hall be planning to support the Thunderlight Hall?"

Ning Zhiyuan shook his head, "Elder Zhou has a peculiar temperament. This is likely his own decision. Xu Huang must take responsibility for the decline of the Thunderlight Hall and has joined the expeditionary force, a sign of its impending dissolution. However, the main hall must consider the face of Ancestor Lei, so this might take some time (high-quality text, first published here)."

Lü Yi nodded, knowing that such matters from the main hall were rarely hidden from the senior disciple.

Without the Sword Tomb, the Thunderlight Hall was truly in a precarious position.

"Wang Meng, you're really relaxed. I heard the hall battle is coming up. Are you that confident?"

Zhou Feng and Wang Meng were playing chess in a field, with Lingxi basking in the sun nearby.

"Relaxed or not, we still have to fight. There's no difference." Wang Meng smiled, "Old Zhou, I didn't expect you to be quite good at chess."

"Brat, you're really arrogant. I'm known in the Holy Hall for my expertise in both alchemy and chess. Chess is like life!"

Zhou Feng didn't expect Wang Meng to be so skilled at chess. Wang Meng had finally found a worthy opponent, as Hu Jing and Zhang Xiaojiang were no match for him.

For cultivators, playing chess was not just about the game itself but also a reflection of their recent insights and state of mind.

Some cultivators were fond of calligraphy and painting, others of music. The principles were the same.

Those who focused solely on cultivation often ended up going astray.

"Hehe, although I don't pay much attention to the branches, I know the Thunderlight Hall always comes in last."

*Slap*, a move landed, clearly Zhou Feng was trying to shake Wang Meng's confidence.

Wang Meng responded calmly, "Old Zhou, nothing is set in stone. When things reach an extreme, they must change."

*Slap*, a white piece landed, trapping a large group of black pieces. Clearly, Zhou Feng was worried about this move, but his interference strategy had no effect.

"Hehe, the strength disparity is clear. Creating a miracle isn't that easy!"

*Slap*~

Although the large group of black pieces was trapped, the black pieces still held the initiative in the overall game, with the attacker taking the lead.

"The difference between humans and beasts is human wisdom. Seizing the key point, the weak can overcome the strong."

*Slap*...

The white piece landed steadily in what seemed to be a dead spot, but suddenly the entire game came alive, forming a brilliant counter-encirclement.

Zhou Feng stared intently at the board, his eyes almost popping out, "Haha, the weather is nice today. Oh, I suddenly remembered I have an ancient formula to organize. Let's play again tomorrow."

Chapter 49: Life is Like a Game of Chess (Second Update) is now complete!

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