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.
Itâd 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 Xuanâs condition.
âTeacher, what dirty trick did Xia Taikang use?â
Qin Yaoguangâs voice rang out from outside the door.
âWhy did you guys not come in?â
Sun Mo frowned.
âWeâre watching the door so that other people wonât listen to your conversation!â
Lu Zhiruo wanted to do something for her eldest martial sister.
âEven if you guys stay outside, you wonât be able to stop other peopleâs tricks!â
Sun Mo laughed and continued to reply. âIf my guess is correct, Xia Taikang used some kind of spiritual control technique to make Li Xuan make mistakes.â
âHuh?â
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.
âWill my royal brotherâs life be in danger?â
Li Ziqi was worried.
âI donât think heâll die!â
Sun Mo wasnât sure either. âGiven how âwell-preparedâ others are, havenât you guys thought of similar tricks?â
âMy father has great trust in Great Teacher Han and thinks that he can deal with everything!â
Li Ziqi smiled bitterly. âMoreover, whoâd expect that Xia Taikang would be so despicable just to win?â
âItâs better to make more preparations.â
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 wasnât 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 Countryâs prince then admitted his loss.
Li Xuanâs mentality was crashing a little after having lost two consecutive rounds. Han Cangshui ignored him and left immediately.
Li Xiu didnât 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.
âThat Chu Crown Prince is very strong.â
Lu Zhiruo was soft-hearted. When she saw Li Xuanâs eyes turning red and was so angry that he was biting his lips, she consoled him. âAfter you guys reach this phase in the match, all thatâs left is dependent on your luck. And youâre slightly unlucky today.â
âShut up!â
Li Xuan bellowed.
The papaya girlâs neck shrank back and she hid behind Ying Baiwu.
âRoyal Brother!â
Li Ziqi wanted to say something, but Li Xuan refused to listen and walked off quickly.
âLooking at his state, his third match will be a goner too!â
Qin Yaoguang mocked.
âFor 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.â
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.
âZiqi, what is the reason youâve come to participate in the Five Empires War Discussion?â
Sun Mo looked toward the Xia Countryâs spectatorsâ stand. Xia Taikang had won again and he left amidst the cheers.
âTo win! To show off the Great Tangâs prowess!â
These were her heartfelt words. Li Ziqi wasnât fighting for herself.
âThen have you thought of how people would look at you and Li Xuan if he continues to lose like this and youâre winning with so much difficulty?â
Sun Mo asked.
Li Ziqi fell silent.
âZiqi, sweeping out at your enemies with exhilaration and giving them a crushing defeat is even more relishing compared to an ordinary victory!â
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.
âThink about it carefully!â
Sun Mo patted the little sunny eggâs shoulder and walked off.
âEldest Martial Sister, whatâs going on?â
Lu Zhiruo couldnât understand.
âZiqi, did you hold back?â
Li Xiu had guessed the reason from Sun Moâs words.
âEn!â
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 matchâs progress was all within the little sunny eggâs control.
âHuh? This could be done too?â
Xianyu Wei was surprised. âYou arenât scared that things will go wrong and youâll lose?â
âThat wonât happen!â
Li Ziqi was very confident.
âZiqi, what is your level in chess?â
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.
âI donât know!â Li Ziqi sighed. âI canât win even if Teacher were to give me a six-stones handicap!â
â...â
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 couldnât 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 Xuanâs mood was still bad. It was because, like him, Jiang Yuzhen had also lost two consecutive matches yesterday. She was a weakling, so it wasnât convincing at all to be winning against an opponent like her.
The people from Qi Country didnât mind it either. After all, Jiang Yuzhenâs 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.
âEven if youâre a great teacher, Iâm not afraid!â
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 partyâs chess skills had surged up fiercely and her style changed. After 100 moves, she was put at a disadvantage!
âThis wonât do! If this continues, Iâll lose!â
Li Ziqi thought very hard about how she could break out of this predicament.
âThis is bad! Eldest Martial Sister is going to lose!â
Lu Zhiruo panicked when she saw Li Ziqi holding onto a chess piece but not placing it down after very long. The burning incense wasnât 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.
âTeacher, what do you think?â
Qin Yaoguang asked.
Li Xiu perked her ears.
âIn terms of chess skills, Ziqi will definitely lose. But if she can find the other partyâs flaws, sheâll definitely win!â
Sun Mo drank the tea.
âHuh?â
Lu Zhiruo looked stunned. It was just a game of chess, but there were flaws? It wasnât as if this was a cultivation art!
âYouâre saying that the other party has cheated?â
Qin Yaoguang was very smart and immediately understood what Sun Mo meant.
âEn!â
Sun Moâs 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 Xiuâs nervous expression relaxed. With that, even if Li Xuan were to lose, theyâd 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.
âGreat Teacher Sun, itâs 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.â
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.
âWhy do I have to expose her?â
Sun Mo asked.
âHuh?â
Many people were stunned. (What do you mean by that?)
âGreat Teacher Sun, this isnât funny!â
Li Xiu frowned.
âIâm not joking!â
Sun Mo looked at the arena where the little sunny egg was frowning and deep in thought. âThis match is an experience for Ziqi. I hope that she can see through the opponent by herself. If she canât, 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!â
â...â
Li Xiuâs lips that were painted red almost cursed out.
(You arenât caring about our Great Tangâs honor by doing this.)
âEldest Princess, please be patient and watch. Ziqi is a lot more outstanding than you think!â
Sun Mo believed in his eldest disciple.
In the arena, Li Ziqi tossed the chess piece in her hand back into the holder.
âIf youâre throwing your piece to admit your loss, you should be putting two chess pieces here!â
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.
âSo what if youâre the youngest great teacher in the Nine Provinces? You still end up losing!â
Xia Qiyunâs 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 Moâs personal disciple was enough to win her a lot of attention.
It was because Sun Moâs reputation was unparalleled amongst those with power and wealth!
Who wouldnât want to enjoy his God Hands?
Who wouldnât want his Skyward Spirit Rune?
Look at how the Qi Emperor had chosen not to play host to the other countriesâ crown princes and grand tutors, choosing to look for Sun Mo directly. He was also after his God Hands.
âLi Ziqi, youâre just lucky that youâve acknowledged a good teacher!â
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, Iâll be the number one princess in the Nine Provinces.)
âWho says that Iâve lost?â
Li Ziqi smiled.
âHehe, I donât care to quibble with you!â Xia Qiyun sneered, âYou can continue to make your move!â
âDo you think that other people canât tell that youâve cheated?â
Li Ziqi sneered coldly.
Bang!
Xia Qiyun slammed her palm onto the table, looking furious. âLi Ziqi, you can eat whatever you want, but take care of what you say! Do you have any proof?â
âOh my, Princess Ziqi and Princess Qiyun seem to be having some conflicts!â
The ceremonial officer immediately walked over, planning to give a live broadcast of the situation.
The audienceâs gazes turned over too.
This abruptness was a selling point to hype up the atmosphere.
âWhy? Speak up. Do you have the capability to say that someone has cheated but donât have the capability to point it out?
When Xia Qiyun saw that Li Ziqi wasnât saying anything, her words became more agitated, as if she was a fierce woman who had caught her husbandâs mistress.
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