The situation that the sages did not want to see the most for the first round of painting Dao competition happened. They did not want Gu Hai to obtain a single recommendation talisman, but Gu Hai got all five hundred.
Although the sages were fuming with rage, they could not do anything about it. The deed was done; there was no reversing it.
Therefore, the painting Dao sages could only ask the other sages not to recommend Gu Hai.
The other sages were now resentful towards Gu Hai, especially the Go Dao sages.
The earlier displeasure had gradually turned into loathing. The earlier displeasure was due to Gu Hai not respecting the sages, humiliating them. Although they were not the ones humiliated, they could not countenance what he was doing, either. As a result, they did not want him to win. However, all his actions came like slaps to their faces, winning every match that he played. Now, he had reached the final match.
The Go Dao sages watched coldly as Gu Hai and Wu Yazi took their seats.
“Mister Gu, please!” Wu Yazi said with a faint smile.
“Mister Wu Yazi, please!” Gu Hai nodded.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
The two started placing Go stones.
“Oh? You are also using the starting moves of the Thirty Line-Pair World Go Puzzle?” Gu Hai frowned slightly.
“Mister Gu is a Go Dao expert, so this humble one will not hide it from Mister Gu. I have obtained Old Mister Guan Qi’s inheritance and studied it for a long time. I hope that Mister Gu will generously show me pointers,” Wu Yazi said gravely.
“Guan Qi’s nine inheritors?” Gu Hai raised his eyebrows and glanced at the presiding Ninth Young Master.
Ninth Young Master showed a calm and indifferent expression; evidently, he had known about this long ago.
However, the Go Dao cultivators in the surroundings goggled.
Guan Qi’s nine inheritors? The identity that Dan Wang tried to impersonate? This Wu Yazi is really one of Guan Qi’s nine inheritors?
“I don’t dare to claim to give pointers. Mister Wu Yazi, please play at your full strength,” Gu Hai said with a faint smile.
“There is no time limit for this match. The two of you may play however you please,” Ninth Young Master said.
Clack! Clack!
The two started playing Go.
The news of Wu Yazi being one of Guan Qi’s nine inheritors immediately spread, despite him not saying it loudly. All who heard it showed startled expressions.
Eight centuries ago, Old Mister Guan Qi faced heaven in Go, throwing the world into turmoil, and heaven ended up sending down punishment to destroy Old Mister Guan Qi.
Nearby, the Azure Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly. “Oh? You are one of Guan Qi’s nine inheritors too? After eight centuries, Guan Qi’s nine inheritors appear one after another. Is this a sign that something major will happen soon?”
Emperor Kong frowned slightly. “Guan Qi’s nine inheritors? Hah! Wu Yazi, to think that you hid it from me but told Gu Hai?”
The expressions of Yehua and Xuan En changed.
The five hundred million observers discussed this among themselves, creating a hubbub.
“Old Mister Guan Qi? The strongest Go Dao master in the world? Previously, no one was a match for him in the Go Dao. He even challenged heaven and faced heaven in Go!”
“What do you understand? Old Mister Guan Qi was challenging heaven to become immortal!”
“Old Mister Guan Qi died and split his inheritance into nine portions, so he would have nine inheritors appearing.”
“Wu Yazi is one of Guan Qi’s nine inheritors? His Go skills must be incredible.”
“How can this be? Didn’t he lose to Gu Hai previously?”
“Wu Yazi did not bring out his full skills then. After all, they started that game midway. This time, Wu Yazi is sure to bring out his full skills.”
“Mister Gu finally met his match!”
Just the name of being one of Guan Qi’s nine inheritors already caused a commotion in the surroundings.
The Future Buddha, the Supreme Genesis, and the Grand Mohist showed sullen expressions.
The sages in the sky had also heard what Wu Yazi said.
“Old Mister Guan Qi’s disciple?”
“Wasn’t Old Mister Guan Qi destroyed by heaven?”
“That is Old Mister Guan Qi’s inheritance. Do you still remember the last convention one thousand years ago, the one Old Mister Guan Qi was in?”
“Ah! That ferocious Guan Qi?”
“I had never submitted to anyone in the Go Dao before. However, I submitted to that Guan Qi!”
The sages immediately looked at Wu Yazi gravely.
Wu Yazi and Gu Hai continued playing.
Gu Hai glanced at Wu Yazi as they played. Indeed, Wu Yazi was much more skilled than Dan Wang, flexibly and familiarly using the Thirty Line-Pair World Go Puzzle. He could even tell that Wu Yazi’s Go skills were better than Mo Yike’s.
Mo Yike’s strongest suit was politics and national policy. Next was Go. However, Wu Yazi focused on the Go Dao, and his style was more aggressive.
“Mister Gu, have you thought about why the Go Dao is limited to a Go board despite being a cultural cultivation? It can bring out effects that can impact the world, like the music Dao, the calligraphy Dao, and the painting Dao, only after draining countless spirit stones to lay a Go Dao ritual array?” Wu Yazi asked with a smile.
“Oh?” Gu Hai appeared slightly puzzled.
“This was not the case eight centuries ago. Eight centuries ago, no one could win after the Go Dao appeared. It was just like the move I’m making now. One move could manifest a vast army, ready to charge,” Wu Yazi said gravely.
Clack!
Gu Hai raised his eyebrows when he saw Wu Yazi’s move. Given Gu Hai’s Go skills, he naturally could make out the intent of this move. However, Wu Yazi had said that it would manifest a vast army.
“Mister Wu Yazi, what do you mean by this? I don’t quite understand,” Gu Hai said in puzzlement.
“Does Mister Gu remember the Innate Puzzle World?” Wu Yazi asked with a smile.
“Of course, I remember it. As long as one obtained a golden Go stone there, one could control the heavenly laws and manifest a cloud beast to fight their enemies,” Gu Hai replied.
“I recall Ninth Young Master telling me that Mister Gu used one golden Go stone to manifest a vast army,” Wu Yazi said with a smile.
“Oh?” Gu Hai narrowed his eyes slightly.
When Wu Yazi reached this point, Gu Hai seemed to have already guessed something.
“The Go Dao is not the weakest among music, Go, calligraphy, and painting. On the contrary, the Go Dao has the strongest offensive power. Mister Gu, have you ever thought about the Dongfang Bubai, Zhang Sanfeng, and Dugu Qiubai that you manifested being able to go anywhere in the world without relying on the ritual arrays that you make with spirit stones?” Wu Yazi asked.
“Mister Wu Yazi, what do you mean by this?” Gu Hai asked.
“Mister Gu should have guessed it already. The Go Dao laws in the Innate Puzzle World were actually not laid by Old Mister Guan Qi. Instead, they were what was possible in the world previously. With sufficient Go skills, one could manifest powerful experts to protect oneself or a vast army to kill one’s enemies. The cultural Dao is not just a plaything. Lifespan, blessings, divine, cultural, and spiritual, none of these loses to each other,” Wu Yazi said while shaking his head.
“Hah! Mister Wu Yazi, what you are saying sounds like a dream. Unfortunately, I have studied countless books but never discovered a Go Dao law capable of manifesting powerful experts without spirit stones,” Gu Hai said.
“Can’t you do it with the Heavenly Go Stone?” Wu Yazi countered with a smile.
Gu Hai narrowed his eyes slightly. The Heavenly Go Stone could use the natural spiritual energy to power the Thirty Line-Pair World Ritual Array. This was so for the Life Trapper Saber that he formed using the Heavenly Go Stone fragments. The drain on spirit stones was especially low.
“Well, initially, it could. Unfortunately, it no longer does. That is because of Old Mister Guan Qi… Hah…” Wu Yazi looked at the sky.
“Old Mister Guan Qi? Are you saying that Old Mister Guan Qi’s challenge in Go angered heaven into destroying Old Mister Guan Qi and taking away the Go Dao laws of the world?” Gu Hai’s face sank slightly.
“Mister Gu is an intelligent person!”
“Hah! Taking away the Go Dao laws of the world, and that was just eight centuries ago? Why are there no records of this?” Gu Hai shook his head in disbelief.
“Because of heaven,” Wu Yazi said.
“Oh?”
“Just like how heaven took away the Go Dao laws, it also took away all records regarding the Go Dao laws. Heaven even took away nearly all the memories of the Go Dao laws,” Wu Yazi explained.
Gu Hai’s pupils constricted.
The expressions of the surrounding Go Dao cultivators changed. Has Wu Yazi gone mad?
Heaven took away all the memories about the Go Dao laws?
Only a few people showed grave looks. The Azure Emperor and Emperor Kong frowned.
“To think that Wu Yazi managed to keep that memory?” The Future Buddha appeared slightly shocked.
“It must have been left behind in Old Mister Guan Qi’s inheritance,” the Grand Mohist said with a sullen expression.
“Are Guan Qi’s nine inheritors going to start something?” The Supreme Genesis showed a faint, cold smile.
“Your Holy Eminence, this Wu Yazi speaks in an enigmatic manner. Is he criticizing heaven? He is not Old Mister Guan Qi; why does he dare to do that?” Lifespan Beiming said with a cold smile.
The Qian Heavenly Emperor gently tapped his throne with his fingers. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “Old Mister Guan Qi? Hah! Your scheme is really far-sighted. After one failure, you plan for another?”
Countless observers in the plaza’s surroundings showed disdain, not believing what Wu Yazi said. Only a few appeared curious.
Gu Hai stared at Wu Yazi.
“Mister Wu Yazi, why are you telling me this?” Gu Hai asked.
“The Go Dao is a cultural cultivation that requires an opponent. One can become stronger only by having a strong opponent. Mister Gu, I hope that you will not disappoint me,” Wu Yazi said gravely after taking a deep breath.
“Huh?” Gu Hai suddenly raised his head.
Something is not right. This is not how Wu Yazi speaks. Why…?
Gu Hai looked at Wu Yazi with a serious expression.
However, Wu Yazi kept his head lowered, not saying anything more.
Clack!
Suddenly, Wu Yazi played a Go stone away from the cluster of earlier Go stones, placing it in an empty region.
“The tengen position?” The expressions of the surrounding Go Dao cultivators changed.
“Why did Wu Yazi play the tengen position?”
“He already made many moves prior to this. Is he changing strategies midgame?”
“He is just seeking defeat with this. What is Wu Yazi doing?”
Surprised cries came from the surroundings.
The Azure Emperor’s expression suddenly changed as he inadvertently snapped the brush he held.
“That’s impossible! That is not Wu Yazi?” The Azure Emperor appeared shocked.
Emperor Kong raised his eyebrows, also appearing shocked.
Ninth Young Master’s expression changed as well, showing some fluster in his eyes.
“This is no longer the Thirty Line-Pair World Go Puzzle. Rather, this is the style of the Thirty-One Line-Pair World Go Puzzle?” Gu Hai’s pupils constricted.
“Something is not right. Why does that Wu Yazi suddenly feel different?” Lifespan Beiming looked at the Qian Heavenly Emperor in shock.
The Qian Heavenly Emperor showed shock in his eyes for the first time.
“You are still alive? You old thing.” The Qian Heavenly Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly.
The Qian Heavenly Emperor spoke softly, almost inaudibly.
