Hiss——What is that golden giant? It looks so terrifying!" Kumoko instinctively shrank back into her nest.
The oppressive might of the golden thunder seemed to pierce through the firmament and fall down.
A crowd of demons, including Muzan Kibutsuji, were all trembling with fear.
It felt as though the Divine Lord's blade would slash down in the next second, obliterating them in the thunder.
"So General Jing Yuan is known for his strategic acumen." Kunikida Doppo jotted down this information.
"No wonder he is called the Divine Strategy General."
"Deftly deploying chains of schemes to encircle the Buli, stealing the wondrous flag by deceiving the heavens." Dazai Osamu pondered, "The Xianzhou's enemies are called Buli?"
"Buli... What a strange name?" Kunikida Doppo heard Dazai Osamu's voice, took note of the remark, and couldn't help but wonder what kind of enemies the Buli actually were.
"It should be related to the moon," Masamichi Yaga said, "Those purple moons represent the Buli on the chessboard."
"The moon..." Itadori Yuji's eyes lit up, "Could it be related to vampires and werewolves?"
Megumi Fushiguro's eyes flickered slightly as he said, "Hmm... Speaking of moon-related elements, it's indeed easy to think of vampires and werewolves."
"Such a big lion!" Rimuru's eyes sparkled, "It looks so fluffy and fun to pet."
"If Lord Rimuru likes it, I'll go catch it right now." Shion said as she started to walk outside.
Rimuru quickly stopped her.
"General Jing Yuan just gets better-looking the more you look at him." Sonoko and her equally looks-obsessed classmate danced around in excitement.
Ran looked at them and smiled helplessly.
Upon hearing the Cloud Knights shout majestically in the background, "Xianzhou soars high, the Cloud Knights are ever victorious!", everyone was deeply shaken.
Zhang Chulan even thought of the domestic military parades, which were equally shocking and made one's blood boil.
After the discussion concluded, the next video began to play.
[Amidst a beautiful Chinese-style composition, General Jing Yuan and Yanqing sat facing each other.]
General Jing Yuan leisurely let out a yawn, while Yanqing opposite him wore an expression of deep thought.
He leaned forward slightly, and a finch flew onto a chess piece.
Soon, another finch crawled out from General Jing Yuan's hair and landed on his shoulder.
He looked at Yanqing.
"What, haven't you figured it out yet?"
Yanqing frowned, then seemed to notice something, swiftly placed a piece down, and then looked up at General Jing Yuan:
"It's your turn, General."
Seeing this, General Jing Yuan clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"Such aggressiveness... Young people these days..."
The background music shifted.
General Jing Yuan's fingers pinched a flying ginkgo leaf.
"Still..."
His fingers suddenly descended onto the chessboard, placing the ginkgo leaf in a corner.
"Too naive."
General Jing Yuan stood up, holding his hands behind his back, and faced the incoming monsters head-on.
[Those monsters were covered in branches and leaves all over their bodies, clad in armor.]
Seeing this, many people felt their hearts skip a beat.
Why is this design so familiar?
Zhang Chulan put away his cheeky smile: "These monsters are Xianzhou natives... It's the same as the mutation of the Xianzhou natives in the previous video."
"After turning into monsters, do they become enemies of the Xianzhou?" Wang Ye furrowed his brows tightly.
If that really was the case, how could the Xianzhou natives bring themselves to strike against them?
Those were former comrades, family, and friends...
"After the Xianzhou natives turn into this appearance, do they actively become enemies with the Xianzhou, or is it passive?" Dazai Osamu pondered.
"However..." Dazai Osamu's tone shifted, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly, "General Jing Yuan just stole a chess piece, didn't he."
Dazai Osamu understood international chess, but he didn't understand the Chinese-side chess, and thus couldn't decipher this chess game.
But judging by the title of General Jing Yuan, the Divine Strategy General, his actions of placing down the ginkgo leaf and stealing the chess piece should carry a deeper meaning.
Dazai Osamu looked toward the chat group, hoping someone could explain this chess game.
However, what was unexpected was that even the people from Zhonghuajia were completely in the dark and couldn't understand this chess game.
Come to think of it, young people nowadays really don't like those old antiques.
[Xiao Se: Although I don't know what this chess game is called, I can tell that if General Jing Yuan hadn't taken away the rook, this would be a draw.]
Kumoko: Spider raises her little hands, teacher, may I ask what a draw is?
Lu Mingfei: +1
Zhang Chulan: Teacher Xiao Se, please enlighten us.
Xiao Se:...
Xiao Se: Let me put it in the simplest and most straightforward words: it means both sides cannot completely defeat each other, resulting in no victor, a tie—that is a draw.
Xiao Se: I simulated it in my mind many times and found that this chess game is a permanent draw, unable to determine a winner or loser.
Lei Wujie: Learned something new.
Lu Mingfei: I feel like knowledge smoothly slipped right past my cerebral cortex.
Kumoko: +1+1+1
Xiao Se:...
Zhang Zhiwei: This is a classic endgame from Strategy and Tactics of the Origin called [Longevity].
Zhang Zhiwei: This chess game fits the current situation of the Xianzhou very well; it seems the Xianzhou has also fallen into a dilemma.]
"So it was the Longevity game; I knew it looked a bit familiar, I just couldn't recall it for a moment." Wang Ye suddenly understood.
"Zhang Zhiwei sounds so familiar, who is that?" Zhang Chulan scratched his head.
Zhuge Qing and Wang Ye looked at Zhang Chulan with unspeakable expressions.
Zhang Chulan: "?"
"Ahem," Xu Si said, "The Old Celestial Master is named Zhang Zhiwei."
Zhang Chulan: "!"
"I didn't expect a stinky chess player like you to know quite a lot." Lu Jin curled his lip.
"Just a little bit, just a little bit." The Old Celestial Master laughed, then said, "Who are you calling a stinky chess player? Does an old man of my level need to cheat? No way, today I must spar with you."
"I don't want to play chess with you at all, it's boring." Lu Jin refused without even thinking.
Playing chess with old Zhang wasn't as interesting as the firmament.
"However, I didn't expect you, old Zhang, to hide so deeply."
Zhang Lingyu was also shocked that his master could speak in the chat group, especially since the Old Celestial Master hadn't shown any presence at all.
"What hiding? Who's hiding? The chat group is full of youngsters, the old man just didn't want to get involved. If it weren't for seeing their strong desire for knowledge, I wouldn't have spoken up."
"Hmph." Lu Jin let out a huff and turned serious again, "You say General Jing Yuan took away his own rook and dropped a ginkgo leaf—what deeper meaning does that have?"
The Old Celestial Master plucked a handful of his beard, pondered for a moment, and said, "Taking away the rook perhaps represents change. And dropping the ginkgo leaf might represent the key to breaking the deadlock, a force from the outside."
"Then who do you think it will be?" Lu Jin pressed on.
Zhang Lingyu and Lu Linglong, standing behind the two men, were also pondering this question.
"Don't you already have an answer?"
Lu Jin smiled: "I just wanted to see your answer."
"Same as yours."
"You old Zhang, I knew it, you always love to steal my answers."
"Bah! You shameless old fellow!"
Seeing the two start cursing at each other, Zhang Lingyu and Lu Linglong exchanged glances with an expression of seeing it all before.General Jing Yuan PV + Silver Wolf PV
"Chess is like military combat."
"Within a single game, changes are infinite."
General Jing Yuan waved his hand, and like the character introductions before, his splash art appeared.
Golden light flashed, thunder crackled, and a huge Spirit-Consort stood behind him, exactly the one that had appeared in the previous video.
Unsurprisingly, General Jing Yuan's attribute was Lightning.
One of the Seven Arbiter-Generals of the Xianzhou, the Divine Foresight General.
General Jing Yuan stood there calmly, and then the ground beneath him and the monsters turned into a chessboard.
The man and the monster began to fight on the chessboard.
"Lightning... is here."
With General Jing Yuan's command, that huge Spirit-Consort suddenly slashed down with a blow, annihilating the enemies completely.
General Jing Yuan walked forward holding his glaive, then suddenly looked back.
"Only thus can victory be secured."
Then, those monsters that had fallen earlier stood up again, which couldn't help but make everyone's hair stand on end.
Following that, at the end of the monsters was a huge deer, and its body was actually overgrown with branches.
Seeing such a huge monster, General Jing Yuan remained calm, as if everything was under control.
"It is time to deploy the surprise troops."
General Jing Yuan hovered in mid-air, raising his right hand.
The glaive appeared in his hand once more, with golden lightning and floating scrolls swirling around him.
And the Spirit-Consort appeared behind him again, making synchronized movements with General Jing Yuan.
"Brilliant spirit, heed my decree."
"Execute without pardon!"
He swung his blade down with a slash.
The battle ended.
Ginkgo leaves drifted down.
They returned to that small bamboo courtyard.
General Jing Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, asking Yanqing who walked over: "Did you remember it all, Yanqing?"
"I remember it, General," Yanqing said.
General Jing Yuan walked over and patted Yanqing's shoulder.
"Very good. When you have forgotten it all, your apprenticeship is complete."
General Jing Yuan said as he tossed a chess piece.
"Eh? Then Yanqing..."
Before Yanqing could finish speaking, he caught sight of General Jing Yuan's action and couldn't help shouting: "Ah! You're stealing chess pieces again, General!"
"Holy stand user! Is the Spirit-Consort actually General Jing Yuan's stand? Damn, I call it damn." Lu Mingfei slapped his thigh excitedly, instantly hurting so much that tears almost fell out of his eyes.
Wincing and rubbing his thigh while staring brightly at General Jing Yuan's Spirit-Consort.
It was really too handsome!
Not only was General Jing Yuan good-looking, but even his combat skills were so handsome.
"General Jing Yuan is truly worthy of being a general of one of the six Xianzhou ships. Not only is his tactical genius unmatched, but he is also so powerful," Xu San sighed.
"There are still six such powerful generals... No, five, and an even more powerful Marshal," Zhang Chulan clicked his tongue twice. "With this configuration, ordinary people probably wouldn't dare to harbor ideas about the Xianzhou."
"What if someone does?" Xu Si asked.
"Then they wouldn't be ordinary people."
"Wait! Are those defeated monsters reviving?" Wu Xiangnan widened his eyes.
The others also noticed this and couldn't help looking at each other in dismay.
Really? They can still revive after being beaten to death?
Are these the monsters that Xianzhou natives turn into? That's too overpowered.
Lin Qiye also gained a profound understanding of the longevity bestowed by Abundance.
If those monsters could revive infinitely, wouldn't that be completely doomed?
Abundance and longevity are truly terrifying.
"Gosh, what a huge deer," Shiyilie pointed at the mysterious deer, "And it's covered in branches. It wouldn't happen to be a transformed Xianzhou native too, right?"
"Obviously not. They aren't even the same species," Jiuyue rolled her eyes at Shiyilie.
"However, this deer just gives off a feeling of being unkillable... It's probably related to Abundance as well," Lielei said.
Jiuyue nodded, and seeing General Jing Yuan appear, she quickly continued taking pictures.
Such a handsome guy was rare to see.
"So strong!" Seeing General Jing Yuan slay the mysterious deer, Itadori Yuji couldn't help exclaiming.
"You mean there are six other people as strong as General Jing Yuan, or perhaps even stronger than him?" Panda was so shocked that his food dropped to the ground.
"Is this the Xianzhou? Truly terrifying," Zenin Maki sighed, but a fighting spirit surged within her heart.
Even knowing she couldn't win, she still wanted to spar with them.
After all, what Yanqing said earlier was very right; every battle would prompt her growth.
"Turns out the two of them are master and apprentice?" Tohsaka Rin nibbled on a pastry, speaking vaguely, "No wonder General Jing Yuan would watch Yanqing's practice earlier."
"What does it mean that his apprenticeship is complete once he forgets everything?" Saber pondered.
The others shook their heads; they didn't know either.
Xianzhou natives were really hard to understand.
Their speech was also overly ornate and somewhat difficult to comprehend.
Next video, starting.
Everyone quickly reined in their minds and focused on the firmament.
[Beep beep, beep beep, beep beep beep.
The sound of playing a game rang out.
A pair of hands wearing fingerless gloves could be seen operating on a translucent keyboard.
The next second, a game interface appeared, with people on it fighting against monsters.
Then the owner of the hands, a little girl with silver-gray hair, stared unblinkingly at the game interface.
At this time, Kafka sent a message: Babe, are you there?
When no one replied, she continued sending: Are you there, are you there, are you there, are you there, are you there?!
Annoyed by the questioning, the little girl replied directly: Not here.
And her name was also revealed: Silver Wolf.
Then Kafka said: You're going to lose, Elio said so.
Seeing this, Silver Wolf impatiently swiped away Kafka's chat and continued playing her game.
However, with her operations, the game character's HP got lower and lower, until YOU LOSE appeared and the game ended.
Silver Wolf stretched lazily and said lazily, "Tasks and things like that are best when settled in a couple of moves."
Silver Wolf's splash art appeared.
Silver Wolf
Stellaron Hunters, [@Banned Player]
"Stellaron Hunters... She was with another woman named Kafka before, and with Kafka appearing this time, she and the man named Blade should be a group. Oh right, plus a person named Elio," Kurapika took notes.
Leorio also said, "Following the Astral Express, Belobog, and the Xianzhou, another Stellaron Hunter has appeared... There really are so many factions."
"It's a galactic world, so having many is normal," Kurapika looked at him. "Our world is much smaller than the galaxy, and doesn't it also have so many faction organizations?"
Leorio smiled: "You're right."
"I thought she was a gaming pro, but it turned out to be just this?" Finger shook his head.
Nono also chimed in, "You're much better at gaming than her."
Lu Mingfei smiled sheepishly.
"Yo, is Junior Brother shy?" Finger teased him lewdly with a poke.
Lu Mingfei: "..."
If you don't speak, nobody will treat you as a mute.
"Did Elio know Silver Wolf was going to lose because they are colleagues, and they both knew she was terrible at gaming, so he knew she was going to lose?" Caesar said.
"They need to contact each other via the internet, so they probably aren't staying together," Chu Zihang said. "Therefore, they shouldn't be able to see Silver Wolf's operations, yet the person named Elio knew Silver Wolf was going to lose. Is it precognition or something else?"
"Could he be constantly monitoring Silver Wolf?" Lu Mingfei asked. "After all, Silver Wolf still looks like a kid, so it's normal for a guardian to control her gaming time."
Lu Mingfei felt that no one would use precognition capabilities to see if someone else was going to lose a game.
"Makes sense," Finger gave a thumbs up. "Junior Brother is really smart."
Lu Mingfei: "..."
"What the heck is the banned player in Silver Wolf's introduction?" Jiuyue scratched her head.
"Banned means confiscated and prohibited. In network management, it specifically refers to disciplinary measures for rule violations," Lielei looked at his phone and said. "Silver Wolf probably had rule-breaking operations, so her account was banned."
Xiaotian couldn't believe it: "She still uses rule-breaking methods while playing games? Didn't she lose?"
For a moment, everyone looked at each other in dismay.
Ah this, she still lost even with rule-breaking operations? How bad can she be?
Silver Wolf: I'll have someone deal with you guys!
Silver Wolf rolling around: My account is not banned!