Chapter 127 - The Three Weiqi Kings
Outside the Ding Long Clan...
More and more cultivators started to swarm over, pointing at the center of a group from far away across from them.
At the center of that group, there were a fair number of cultivators jumping up and down, pulling down endgames for Gu Hai.
As for Gu Hai, there were five weiqi boards placed before him in a row. Next to him, almost a thousand high-grade stones were piled up.
Gu Hai suddenly waved his hand, sending five high-grade spirit stones flying towards the five cultivators who had pulled the weiqi boards down for Gu Hai just now.
"Thank you very much, Mister Gu!" the five cultivators caught their respective spirit stones and thanked Gu Hai sincerely.
Much to their surprise, Gu Hai had given each of them a high-grade spirit stone just for an insignificant amount of help. Naturally, the five cultivators were feeling extremely happy.
"Ding Long Clan disciples, why are not hurrying up? Mister Gu has solved five endgames once more, why have you not paid him the fifty high-grade spirit stones yet?"
"That"s right! Are you trying to go back on your words?"
"Why are you not hurrying?"...
Another ten cultivators suddenly started shouting, as if it was they who had won the spirit stones.
The cl.u.s.ter of Ding Long Clan disciples glanced at each other. In front of such an onslaught, all they could do was transfer a bunch of spirit stones right away.
Gu Hai waved his hand, sending another ten high-grade spirit stones flying out.
"Thank you, Mister Gu!" Everyone heartily thanked Gu Hai immediately.
At this moment, there were many cultivators surrounding Gu Hai. They were also itching to give it a try. When Gu Hai was being fierce and cruel, he would be cut-throat. But even with the captured Ascendant Hall Lord before him, he was still extremely generous, if the other party had not offended him.
Those are high-grade spirit stones! Each high-grade spirit stone is equivalent to ten thousand low-grade spirit stones. Gu Hai is actually rewarding them continuously without even batting an eye!?
How good it would be if our clanlord were just as generous!
As terrifying as Gu Hai"s ident.i.ty and notoriety had been, with Gu Hai acting so lavishly, everyone found Gu Hai more and more pleasing to be around.
While playing, Gu Hai would occasionally steal glances at everyone"s expressions. A sliver of a light smile was on his face. To be precise, Gu Hai wanted this effect. He had asked Chen Tianshan to recruit cultivators. It would be very difficult, to be sure. However, everything would start with his performance. He was very sincere and eager to recruit talented men. I have to take it slow.
"One vs five? We can"t even solve this endgame, whereas Mister Gu has solved five simultaneously! What a terrifying weiqi skill!" Everyone could not help but marvel, again and again, at his chess skills..
"In the Xiantian Endgame World, the strength of the cloud beasts was determined by your weiqi skills. At that time, Mister Gu alone forced a hundred thousand cultivators to back down, that in itself is solid proof of Mister Gu"s extraordinary weiqi skills!"
"That"s right, I think that not even the three weiqi kings are Mister Gu"s opponent!"
"Not necessarily, the three weiqi kings are also very good!"...
While everyone was locked in a debate, Gu Hai"s entire attention was focused on the five weiqi boards before him.
"This...!? They seem quite familiar!" Gu Hai furrowed his brow as he stared at the five endgames before him.
Not just these five games, over a hundred of the endgames before them felt quite familiar to Gu Hai as well, as if he had seen them somewhere.
But I don"t remember these endgames? Why do they feel so familiar?
While placing the pieces, Gu Hai recalled the games he had come in contact with.
After a while, Gu Hai"s face suddenly changed.
Gu Hai remembered why these endgames felt so familiar. I have indeed seen them. It"s just that they weren"t in this form.
"29x29 Heaven and Earth Weiqi Game!?" Gu Hai"s face darkened.
Gu Hai had already mastered the 28x28 Heaven and Earth Grand Array. It was a 29x29 game!?
In the Golden Tong, the game that was sealing the earth dragon vein was this game, to be precise. At that time, Gu Hai had only played it for a while, he didn"t finish it completely. Although later Chen Tianshan had reported that the playing it was dangerous and one might lose their life, Gu Hai had sensed the danger when he was playing already; an impending danger of getting mesmerized. Because of that very reason, Gu Hai had stopped just after winning a piece.
However, just that game had left a profound impression on Gu Hai"s mind. It was etched in his heart.
In that game, each move had thousands and thousands of permutations and combinations.
These endgames before him seemed to have many of those possibilities.
In other words, solving these endgames, Gu Hai seemed to be playing a game with a 29x29 grid.
"Is this another of those things left by Elder Guanqi?" Gu Hai locked his brow as he gazed at the distant floating island.
"Be that as it may, this 29x29 game is so full of unpredictable changes, I have to study it slowly!" Gu Hai said to himself.
There was not a moment when Gu Hai had no piece in his hand. He kept on placing the pieces again and again.
Right then, a white-haired old man walked out of the array nearby.
"Ding Long Clan patriarch, Ding Tong?" someone had recognized this white-haired old man.
Ding Tong was followed by a team of Ding Long Clan disciples. Very soon, they made their way to the front of the crowd, watching Gu Hai as he made his moves patiently.
Gu Hai, on the other hand, totally ignored them and slowly placed the pieces on the weiqi board.
Suddenly, a weiqi board trembled.
"Ahh, Mister Gu Has solved another game!"
Tok!
"Another living group, Mister Gu has solved another game!"
At the last moment, Gu Hai was solving a game with each move. Very soon, Gu Hai had solved another five endgames.
"Throne Master Gu!" Ding Tong spoke up suddenly.
"Hmm?" Gu Hai raised his head up.
All the cultivators in the surrounding area also quieted down.
"Patriarch Ding?" Gu Hai asked doubtfully.
"That"s right! Throne Master Gu, your weiqi skills are certainly marvelous!" Ding Tong answered with a smile on his lips.
"Patriarch Ding, you are being polite, I was just lucky!" Gu Hai said with a humble smile.
"Throne Master Gu, you can only touch a thousand endgames outside. If you are willing to come with me, you can choose from all three thousand endgames! Throne Master Gu, rest a.s.sured, just like before, you will be awarded ten high-grade spirit stones for solving an endgame! Furthermore, there are special courtyards inside where Throne Master Gu can take a rest!" Ding Tong proposed, smiling broadly.
"Oh? I have heard that the three weiqi kings had already been invited in, is that true?" asked Gu Hai, intrigued.
"The three weiqi kings have already entered the Entertainment Valley, where they are solving endgames every day, while exchanging pointers with one another! Does Throne Master Gu also wish to enter?" Ding Long replied with a smile.
"Did they go alone or did they bring others with them?" Gu Hai asked, looking at Ding Tong.
"Naturally, friends, families, disciples, entourages, they can bring each and every one of them with them!" a smiling Ding Tong answered.
"Alright!" Gu Hai nodded his acknowledgment.
Then, Gu Hai turned his head, looking at the cultivators all around him. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for staying with me, spectating this Gu"s games. Everyone here understands weiqi. If you are still interested, you can follow me into the Ding Long Clan, and bear witness to my weiqi games!"
"What?" Ding Tong was slightly taken aback for a moment.
The cultivators who had obtained Gu Hai"s spirit stones had their eyes light up upon hearing this. "Mister Gu, I will go with you!"
"I am willing to go with Mister Gu!"
"Ding Long Clan has been very mysterious, I still don"t know what they are doing inside. I also want to go in and take a look!"
"Earlier, we couldn"t enter, but going with Mister Gu, we can finally see what is going on inside!"...
Suddenly, countless cultivators started shouting.
At the beginning, when the Ding Long Clan had suddenly hosted this event, many cultivators were suspicious. Although a reward was being offered, it was just too strange. They found it extremely baffling that they were spending spirit stones just to solve endgames! They knew that the Ding Long Clan had some kind of purpose behind this generosity.
However, apart from the three weiqi kings, everyone else was stopped outside the Ding Long Clan. Everyone could only linger outside, depressed.
It was like the college entrance examination on Earth, when people had arrived at the venue, and were told they weren"t allowed to enter without a hall ticket. How could this not make everyone ill at ease?
Gu Hai"s invitation was like granting everyone a hall ticket. Suddenly, everyone looked at Gu Hai amicably.
"Patriarch Ding, these are my friends, is it alright for me to bring them with me?" Gu Hai asked as a smile appeared on his lips.
Gu Hai reckoned that Ding Rui was inside. He had to take extra precautions against Ding Rui. Although he didn"t know what Ding Rui was planning, he didn"t dare to go inside alone. He would rather bring everyone with him to create confusion.
As Ding Tong looked about at the eager cultivators, an ugly smile was presented on his face.
Even the three weiqi kings had brought a hundred people at most, and you want to bring over a thousand people with you!?
While Ding Tong was distressed over what to do, a voice was suddenly transmitted to his ear.
"Let them come!" Ding Ru"s voice rang out in his ear..
Ding Tong"s expression froze before he nodded and said, "I guess they can come! Throne Master Gu, please!"
"Oh? Very well!" Gu Hai locked his brow into a furrow as he nodded.
Originally, he wanted to create confusion, but he had never thought that Ding Tong would agree so easily. Gu Hai became even more careful.
"Thank you very much, Mister Gu!" All the cultivators cried out in grat.i.tude.
Gu Hai, closely followed by over fifteen hundred cultivators, slowly made his way into the grand array.
Inside the array stood a peak with clouds circling around it. On it were several palaces.
Standing at the entrance of one such palace was Ding Tui, watching the distant Gu Hai as he entered the array with a large crowd of cultivators.
"Your Grace, that Gu Hai has brought a large crowd with him!" a subordinate reported, puzzled.
"A clever man can be killed by their own cleverness. Let him bring as many as he wishes, they are nothing in my eyes!" Ding Rui stated coldly.
"Is Your Grace planning to use Gu Hai?"
"When Gu Hai has solved the endgame, these people will be buried with Gu Hai!" Ding Rui promised as her voice grew colder.
"Yes, your Grace!"
"Keep a close eye on Gu Hai!" Ding Rui ordered in a deep voice.
"Yes, your Grace!"
Gu Hai, with over a thousand men, entered the Ding Long Clan. Very soon, the crowd arrived at the sect"s Entertainment Valley. Inside the Entertainment Valley many buildings were standing in a circle.
The center region was divided into three small groups of people, each group circling a player.
A red group, a blue, and a black one.
"Throne Master Gu, among the three people who are playing weiqi, the red-robed man is the Northern Weiqi King, the blue-robed man is the Southern Weiqi King, and the black-robed man is the Butcher King. The group surrounding them consists of their disciples and servants!"
Gu Hai glanced ahead. The crowd surrounding the red-robed old man and the blue-robed old man was still pretty normal. They were just wearing robes of special colors, that was all. However, the black-robed Butcher King was strangely covered in black. Even his head was covered, so no one could see his appearance. The same went for his disciples and servants.
"Hmm?" Gu Hai looked at the group with a curious gaze.
The three weiqi kings" disciples also looked at Gu Hai curiously, for Gu Hai had come in with ten times the number of people that they had.
"Everyone, you will temporarily reside with Mister Gu here, however, it is my Ding Long Clan at the end of the day, please don"t cause any disturbances!" Ding Tong exhorted them.
"Patriarch Ding, don"t worry!" the crowd of cultivators immediately answered, cracking smiles.
Everyone raised their heads to look at the sky. As expected, there were twice the amount of endgames floating in the sky.
"Mister Gu, I will help you choose the endgame again!" Immediately after, some cultivator volunteered to jump up and retrieve the endgames.
Gu Hai, on the other hand, looked about and found a place. He temporarily sat down. At the same time, he was curiously looking at the three weiqi kings.
Northern Weiqi King and Southern Weiqi King kept on placing their pieces, looking extremely anxious. In contrast, the Butcher King was playing slowly. Occasionally, he would raise his head, gauging Gu Hai.
In a nearby loft, a cold smile emerged on Ninth Young Master"s face as he watched Gu Hai.
"So, you have come here, that"s good! You go and inform Northern and Southern Weiqi King, they don"t need to compete anymore. I did not promise anything to them then, but now, I am promising, as long as they defeat Gu Hai at weiqi, I will comply with their requests!" Ninth Young Master said in a deep voice.
"Ah, Ninth Young Master, all they have to do is defeat Gu Hai?" a nearby cultivator blurted out, curious.
Hearing this, a sneer showed up Ninth Young Master"s lips as he said, "All they have to? You think that Gu Hai, who has comprehended the 28x28 Heaven and Earth Grand Array has poor weiqi skills? Had his cultivation not been weaker at the time, just with his weiqi skills, he had all the qualifications to become my subst.i.tute. However, the intel I have received over this time says Gu Hai"s potential is huge! You go and tell them, they can cooperate to deal with Gu Hai! I want to see Gu Hai"s potential!"
"Ah? Yes!"