Chapter 1529: The Chess Game

Chapter 1529: The Chess Game

Lu Zhenming, the direct-line eldest son of the Lu Clan, wore an arrogant expression and a cold sneer as he said, “So, Mr. Mo, what brings you to the Lu Clan to sponge off us...”

But before he could finish, Madam Lu's expression turned slightly cold. “Ming'er!”

Lu Zhenming's demeanor faltered.

Madam Lu said in a grave tone, “Before our guest, you shall not be rude.”

Though Madam Lu's countenance was amiable, as the matriarch of the household, she carried an inherent authority.

Even Lu Zhenming, who was regarded as the favored successor, did not dare defy his mother's command. He could only lower his head slightly and say:

“Yes, Mother...”

Mo Hua's gaze shifted subtly.

Madam Lu looked at Mo Hua, the faint anger between her brows fading, replaced by a kind smile as she said softly:

“Ming'er has been spoiled since childhood and has lost his manners. I ask Young Master Mo to forgive him.”

Mo Hua nodded. “Madam Lu is too courteous.”

Madam Lu sighed. “It is Young Master Mo who is well-read, sensible, and understanding of propriety.”

With that, she turned to Lu Zhenming and said with pointed meaning:

“Among young people, a little scuffle, a bit of hot temper, these are all quite normal...”

“But as a scion of a great clan, one must be broad-minded and put the greater good first. Only then can one shoulder great responsibilities and achieve great things in the future.”

“Moreover, the great clans are all deeply intertwined, with marriage alliances spanning everywhere.”

“Go back a dozen or so generations, and we are all related by blood. In the end, we are all one family. Do not let trivial matters sour the mood. Harmony brings prosperity, and unity brings success...”

Madam Lu lectured earnestly.

Lu Zhenming sneered inwardly: Who is one family with this Mo Hua? One day, I will skin him alive and pull his tendons.

But in Madam Lu's presence, Lu Zhenming dared not act rashly. He lowered his head and said, “Yes, Mother. Your son has been taught well.”

Mo Hua was momentarily taken aback. As his thoughts turned, he deeply sensed just how intricately connected the great clans were.

Go back a dozen or so generations, and they were all related by blood... The degree to which the great clans of this world were intertwined was likely far beyond imagination.

But none of this had anything to do with him.

He was not a scion of any great clan. No matter how one tried to trace connections, he could never be related to these families.

Still, he had to give Madam Lu face.

Mo Hua said, “Madam Lu speaks wisely.”

Madam Lu nodded, then waved a hand at Lu Zhenming. “Go attend to your own affairs...”

Lu Zhenming cast one more deep glance at Mo Hua, his eyes concealing a hint of wariness and hostility, then bowed to Madam Lu and said:

“Mother, your son will take his leave.”

“Mm.”

Lu Zhenming bowed once more and departed.

After Lu Zhenming left, Madam Lu looked somewhat helpless and sighed to Mo Hua:

“Ming'er has grown up now. His cultivation has risen, and his temperament has become more stubborn, hard to rein in. I ask Young Master Mo to forgive him...”

Mo Hua said with a gentle expression, “Madam Lu is too modest. Young Master Lu is a fine figure with exceptional talent. A bit of pride is only natural. Which prodigy in this world is not proud and aloof?”

Madam Lu glanced at Mo Hua with slight surprise, and sighed inwardly:

This Young Master Mo is not only handsome but also speaks so gracefully.

He is not at all the arrogant, venom-tongued, and contemptuous to the end that others describe him to be...

It seems that the rumors of the world are mostly false and not to be trusted.

Madam Lu shook her head slightly and said, “Young Master Mo, please follow me.”

Mo Hua nodded and followed behind Madam Lu, passing through a lavish and resplendent garden of gold and jade, until they reached a pavilion.

In the pavilion was a blue jade table, upon which were placed fine wines, rare delicacies, and some chessboards and other small amusements.

A young lady, dressed in resplendent gold and jade like a flower of wealth, sat alone in the pavilion, listlessly playing chess.

When Mo Hua saw this young lady, he was both somewhat surprised and not entirely so.

This young lady was none other than Lu Zhenlong.

The direct-line daughter of Lu Chonglou, the head of the Lu Clan, and one of the most popular beauties on Kun Province's Top Ten Beauties Ranking List.

Lu Zhenlong, who had been resting her chin on her hand and playing chess alone in the pavilion, looked up at the sound of footsteps. Seeing it was Mo Hua, she immediately furrowed her brows, like a kitten spotting its ‘enemy,’ and let out an unhappy snort.

Madam Lu called out, “Zhenlong.”

Only then did Lu Zhenlong rise and bow to Madam Lu. “Mother.”

Madam Lu looked at Lu Zhenlong with great tenderness, then turned to Mo Hua and said to Lu Zhenlong:

“This is Young Master Mo. You should know him. Back then, you both studied in the Qianxue Prefecture realm. Though you were not from the same sect, you could still be said to share... some connection...”

Madam Lu smiled knowingly.

Lu Zhenlong was reminded of the humiliation of the fireball from back then, and she gritted her teeth inwardly, complaining, “Mother...”

Madam Lu said no more on the matter and continued, “I need to discuss some matters with your Aunt Bai. You entertain Young Master Mo for a while. You are of similar age, and both studied in Qian Province, so you should have things to talk about...”

Lu Zhenlong let out a reluctant “Yes.”

Madam Lu then looked at Mo Hua. “I ask Young Master Mo to wait here for a moment.”

Mo Hua glanced at Madam Lu, then at Lu Zhenlong, his expression somewhat complicated as he nodded. “I am in Madam Lu's care.”

Madam Lu smiled, then turned and left.

Inside the small pavilion, only Mo Hua and Lu Zhenlong remained.

Seeing that Madam Lu had left, Lu Zhenlong, now free of restraint, sat back down. She looked up and glanced at Mo Hua, saying:

“You may sit as well.”

Mo Hua found a spot and sat down across from Lu Zhenlong.

Lu Zhenlong gestured at the exquisite, crystal-clear wine and delicacies spread across the table. “Help yourself, no need to be polite.”

With that, she ignored Mo Hua and began playing chess on her own.

The small pavilion fell quiet for a moment.

Mo Hua looked around and realized this pavilion was an excellent vantage point, offering views of the jade-like gardens, the resplendent buildings, and all manner of picturesque landscapes.

But at the same time, it was also a place where one could be ‘observed.’

Mo Hua could sense several powerful yet subtle Divine-Senses in the distance, covertly watching everything within the pavilion.

Among them was his own martial aunt, True Person Bai.

But they didn't seem to be ‘snooping’ so much as simply keeping an eye on the two of them, in case anything unexpected happened.

The pavilion was also surrounded by a highly sophisticated Sound-Isolating Formation.

Whatever he and Lu Zhenlong said would not carry beyond it.

In this way, the space remained ‘open’ while still ensuring a degree of ‘privacy.’

He had to admit, these great clans really went to great lengths and took great care in such matters.

Mo Hua shook his head slightly.

Then he turned his gaze back to Lu Zhenlong.

Lu Zhenlong was playing chess by herself, her jade-white arm propping up her delicate chin, brows furrowed in deep thought.

On the board before her was a special kind of chess game.

This type of chess was called “Eight Trigrams Chess.” It shared the same essence as Five Elements Chess, but the pieces were more complex, involving the variations of the Eight Trigrams, with far more rule changes.

This was also a game used by the great clans to enlighten their Golden Core disciples and help them comprehend the changes of the Laws.

It was clear that Lu Zhenlong wasn't very skilled at chess. Each move was a struggle.

As Mo Hua watched, his old habit of being a terrible chess player began to itch. His hands grew restless, but it wasn't quite appropriate for him to speak up.

He understood the principle: a true gentleman watches chess without speaking.

Lu Zhenlong was stuck on a move when she looked up and suddenly saw Mo Hua staring intently at her board. Her heart tightened.

She knew that Mo Hua was someone with a mind nearly as cunning as a demon's. Back in the Qianxue debate tournament, he had toyed with the prodigies of the four sects and eight gates as if they were playthings in the palm of his hand.

With that kind of cunning, his chess skills must surely be among the best, so profound as to be unfathomable.

Seeing Mo Hua watching her play, his gaze carrying a hint of “provocation,” Lu Zhenlong's expression turned grave.

But she had always been someone who refused to admit defeat, especially when her opponent was the detestable Mo Hua.

After only a moment's thought, Lu Zhenlong steeled herself and, with the tone of one “facing certain death,” issued a challenge to the ‘master’:

“Mo Hua, a game?”

Having been watching for a while and feeling his hands itch, Mo Hua immediately nodded and calmly accepted:

“Sure.”

Mo Hua's composed demeanor weighed on Lu Zhenlong like a mountain.

After all, her opponent was that Mo Hua...

That freak—Mo Hua—who stood proud above the Qianxue Prefecture realm, suppressing the Four Great Sects, dominating the Eight Grand Gates, and intimidating the Twelve Schools.

Now, she was about to face off against such a freak on the chessboard, alone...

Lu Zhenlong's expression was solemn.

In the picturesque pavilion, the air seemed to thicken with the oppressive tension of a storm about to break.

The two then reset the board, arranged the pieces, and began their fierce battle on the Eight Trigrams board.

Lu Zhenlong's expression was grave, her gaze focused, bearing immense pressure. She barely dared to breathe, afraid that if she let her guard down for even a moment, the demonically cunning Mo Hua would annihilate her completely.

But as the game went on, Lu Zhenlong's expression began to change.

A little further in, Lu Zhenlong looked stunned.

A little more, and Lu Zhenlong's eyes were filled with disbelief.

Finally, at the end of the game, it was Lu Zhenlong who had utterly crushed Mo Hua. She stared at him with a deeply complicated expression.

Now it was Mo Hua's turn to furrow his brow.

Looking at the disastrously lost game, Mo Hua refused to accept it. “One more round?”

Having already won a game, Lu Zhenlong saw no reason to decline.

Besides, winning just one game didn't prove anything.

Victory and defeat were common affairs in battle; a single game couldn't settle the matter.

Perhaps Mo Hua had been careless, or perhaps she had simply gotten lucky...

But after the second game ended, with two games as reference, Lu Zhenlong understood clearly: it wasn't that Mo Hua had been careless, nor that she had been lucky.

Mo Hua hadn't been careless—he was just bad.

And she hadn't been lucky—she was simply stronger!

Lu Zhenlong felt a surge of vindication.

Mo Hua, meanwhile, wore a deep frown.

Lu Zhenlong was eager for more. “Another round!”

Mo Hua, unwilling to concede, replied, “Fine.”

The two then played a third game, battling fiercely until the heavens went dark. The result was no surprise—Mo Hua suffered another crushing defeat, utterly routed.

Looking at Mo Hua, whom she had thoroughly defeated, Lu Zhenlong felt as if she were dreaming.

Then, an indescribable surge of ambition and pride welled up within her.

In her heart... no, in the hearts of all the prodigies of Qianxue, Mo Hua was nothing short of a “dragon” — a vicious, untamable one.

No one could do anything to this dragon.

And now, she herself was like a heroic maiden who had single-handedly turned the tide, slain the vicious and ruthless dragon Mo Hua, and saved the world.

Even before this battle, she had never imagined she might actually win.

She never thought that she, Lu Zhenlong, could one day defeat Mo Hua with her own strength.

And not just once… three times!

Mo Hua was still staring at the chessboard, utterly bewildered.

Lu Zhenlong's brows danced with glee, the corners of her mouth impossible to suppress, her face brimming with smug satisfaction as she looked at Mo Hua.

In her heart, she thought: *Damn you, Mo Hua, look at you now...*

Unable to contain her delight, Lu Zhenlong burst into a few loud laughs. Then, suddenly, her brow furrowed. Something felt off. She asked Mo Hua:

“You're not deliberately letting me win, are you?”

Mo Hua only responded with a cold sneer.

Seeing that sneer, Lu Zhenlong nodded to herself. Right, that made sense.

Someone as deranged as Mo Hua—a madman who would blast her face with a Fireball Technique—how could he possibly let her win?

He wasn't letting her win. He was just plain bad at this.

A lousy chess player, that Mo Hua.

Lu Zhenlong's joy climbed to her brows.

But as she reveled in her glee, her gaze shifted, and she still felt something was off.

Someone like Mo Hua, with his powerful Divine-Sense, his deep and scheming mind, his belly full of plots and treachery, sinister and unpredictable as Wuchang himself...

How could he possibly play chess this badly?

He was a brilliant Formation Master, a genius of Formations.

Could chess really be harder than Formations?

Something wasn't right...

Lu Zhenlong frowned, studying the endgame before her, and in her mind, replayed Mo Hua's moves from the previous two games...

In the first game, she had been tense under Mo Hua's pressure and hadn't thought it through.

In the second, she had been too stunned by the unbelievable fact that Mo Hua was a novice to think carefully.

In the third, she had been too immersed in the joy of slaughtering Mo Hua to spare it a thought.

But now, with her mind calmed, as she carefully replayed the games in her head, she gradually began to notice something wrong...

When Mo Hua played chess, there seemed to be something wrong with his brain.

His approach was different from everyone else's.

Other people played by the rules of the board itself, calculating every step to maximize their own advantage.

But those self-maximizing moves… Mo Hua never made them.

In fact, he didn't even follow the board's rules all that much.

It was as if, in his mind, he would automatically generate his own set of rules based on the board, and he only played by those rules.

Lu Zhenlong's brows knitted together.

This kind of play—ignoring the rules of the board, ignoring his opponent's strategy, only following his own rules—was clearly the play of a deranged mind. It would be a miracle if he ever won.

Lu Zhenlong turned to glance at Mo Hua again. He was frowning, deep in thought, as if puzzled by why he could never win...

Lu Zhenlong didn't know what to say.

Indeed, the mind of a monster like him was beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

Structurally, it was just different from a normal person's.

Mo Hua was still racking his brain, utterly perplexed. He looked up at Lu Zhenlong and said:

“Another round?”

Lu Zhenlong very much wanted to nod and agree.

After all, the feeling of slaughtering Mo Hua was far too satisfying, even if only on a chessboard.

But she was also afraid that if they played too many games, Mo Hua might suddenly wake up, break through his “delusion,” and turn around to crush her utterly. That wouldn't be good.

Better to quit while she was ahead and protect her record.

Maintaining her “undefeated record” against Mo Hua in Eight Trigrams Chess...

This record… while perhaps not unprecedented, at least few who came after would match it.

And she was the chess grandmaster who had triumphed over Mo Hua — Lu Zhenlong!

At that thought, Lu Zhenlong's heart swelled with joy. She shook her head and said: “Chess is too draining on the mind. My Divine-Sense is exhausted. I need to rest.”

With that, she sat down with a smile, extended her jade-like hand, picked up a translucent emerald fruit, and popped it into her mouth, looking utterly content.

Today's emerald fruit was especially sweet.

Mo Hua let out a soft sigh. He could only sit where he was, quietly drinking his wine, his heart full of confusion:

“Am I not a master of the Heavenly Secret? How can I not even beat a mere Lu Zhenlong?”

“Or is there something wrong with the way I play...”

(End of Chapter)