The sages became anxious.
Gu Hai played one thousand three hundred eighty-nine Go games simultaneously, placing his moves for all the games at the same time. That meant that that many Go games were going on in his mind. Everyone in the surroundings kept quiet.
In the north, Lifespan Beiming stared at the plaza’s center.
“In bearing, these sages are far inferior to Gu Hai and Old Mister Guan Qi,” Lifespan Beiming said indifferently.
“These sages? Hah! What do you think they are left with?” the Qian Heavenly Emperor said indifferently.
“Oh?”
“Cultural cultivators are mostly open and candid, not fearing power nor death. They remain indifferent to favors and humiliation, upholding their original intentions for the sake of righteousness. Why do you think so many of those outstanding cultural cultivators are unwilling to come to the Ten Thousand Sages Convention?” the Qian Heavenly Emperor asked indifferently.
“The Ten Thousand Sages Convention changed long ago?” Lifespan Beiming ventured with a frown.
“That’s right. While the Ten Thousand Sages Convention has ten thousand past sages as judges, these sages are no longer their past selves. Be it in bearing, character, self-restraint, or cultural cultivation, Heaven has taken them away. They are now just Heaven’s lackeys,” the Qian Heavenly Emperor said indifferently.
“Huh?”
“These sages are just the lackeys guarding the Cultural Dao Sage Palace. While they claim to be open to the whole world, it is actually just for the three holy lands. You saw it yourself. It was only Old Mister Guan Qi who figured it out and managed to exploit a loophole the last time. The Ten Thousand Sages Convention has long become a miasma,” the Qian Heavenly Emperor said seriously.
“That’s why the strongest experts in the cultural Dao refuse to come?”
“Since the victors are already predetermined to come from the three holy lands, what is the point? To humiliate themselves?” the Qian Heavenly Emperor said with a faint smile.
“Heaven?” Lifespan Beiming looked at the sky.
here’s no need to look. To Heaven, we are just ants. If mortals do not become immortal, they are helpless against Heaven,” the Qian Heavenly Emperor said.
“Right!” Lifespan Beiming nodded and turned his head to look at the plaza’s center.
Gu Hai seemed to have some difficulty deciding his moves. Of course, the sages did not dare underestimate him. Both sides continued playing. The densely packed together Go boards turned incredibly complex long ago. The countless cultural cultivators in the surroundings could no longer hold on.
In Gu Hai’s forehead space, the one thousand Go boards kept merging.
Boom!
After Gu Hai played the sages for one day and one night, a loud sound rang out as eight hundred of the Go boards in his forehead space merged into two hundred Go boards.
At this moment, Gu Hai and the one thousand-odd sages seemed even. As Gu Hai played, Ninth Young Master, Long Wanyu, Bing Ji, Sima Changkong, and others appeared worried.
The Go games were so complicated that Wu Yazi and the Azure Emperor narrowed their eyes.
“Back then, Old Mister Guan Qi used only two hours to defeat one thousand three hundred eighty-nine Go Dao sages. Gu Hai has already played for one day and one night, and there is still no victor. It looks like Gu Hai is far inferior to Old Mister Guan Qi,” Yehua sneered.
“Go skills of such a level are already extraordinary. There are not many in the world at his level,” the Supreme Genesis said indifferently.
Is this the limit?
No. Gu Hai felt that this was not the limit. It was not strong enough. The current situation was like rubber being stretched, not yet torn and changed. He felt that he still could make further breakthroughs.
“Host!” Gu Hai suddenly looked at Ninth Young Master.
“Huh?” Everyone felt slightly startled. They were only midway through the game. Why was Gu Hai calling for the host?
“Are you going to admit defeat?”
“Or are you trying to get the host to help you cheat?”
“You called out for the host in the middle of the game, are you done?”
Some sages immediately yelled.
“Mister Gu?” Ninth Young Master prompted, feeling puzzled.
“There are not enough people. Can I trouble you to get those defeated Go Dao sages to participate as well? If they lose, they don’t have to give me recommendation talismans. However, I will return their recommendation talismans if I lose,” Gu Hai said.
“What?”
This request caused an uproar among the sages.
The victor has not emerged yet, and you want to add more opponents? How reckless!
“Mister Gu, you are…” Ninth Young Master felt incredibly anxious.
Ninth Young Master turned his head to look at the Qian Heavenly Emperor, and the Qian Heavenly Emperor nodded.
Ninth Young Master stared blankly for a moment, then looked at the sky with a bitter smile. “Go Dao sages who have lost your recommendation talismans, are you willing to play again?”
The sages humiliated by Gu Hai were suddenly startled. There’s such a good thing?
“I’ll do it!”
“Humph! I want my recommendation talisman back!”
“Gu Hai, since you are seeking death, don’t blame me!”
The five hundred Go Dao sages from the first round and the one hundred eleven defeated Go Dao sages from the second round immediately rushed down.
Then, more Go boards were laid out.
Now, Gu Hai faced two thousand Go Dao sages simultaneously.
In the north, Lifespan Beiming said with a cold smile, “Indeed, Heaven has taken away the integrity of these sages. When Gu Hai tossed them a bone, they ran over like mad dogs?”
The Qian Heavenly Emperor nodded. “They are no longer their past selves.”
Bodhisattva Zi Zhu showed a sullen expression. “Lord Buddha, although Gu Hai is taking longer than Old Mister Guan Qi, he is facing more sages than Old Mister Guan Qi did.”
The Future Buddha held his palms together. “Gu Hai? He is good at making use of opportunities. He is using the sages’ Go skills to temper his Go skills. After this match, Gu Hai’s Go skills will again improve dramatically.”
“Huh?” Bodhisattva Zi Zhu felt slightly startled.
Indeed, when the number of sages playing increased to two thousand, Gu Hai found it more difficult to decide his moves. He took longer to think, but the longer he took, the greater the benefit to his Go skills.
Boom!
Suddenly, the large merged Go boards in his forehead space condensed and shrank.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Gu Hai had been playing for three days and three nights. The two hundred large Go boards slowly shrank until they all became small Go boards.
The complexity of these Go puzzles had reached a whole new level.
Gu Hai’s play style changed from the initial strained to casual, then relaxed. He started playing faster as time went by, and the sages took longer to think.
“Mister Wu Yazi, Gu Hai has already played for five days and five nights. Simultaneously playing two thousand sages raised the difficulty to the level of the Thirty-Two, right?” Emperor Kong asked.
“Thirty-Two? About there.” Praise flashed in Wu Yazi’s eyes.
Now, four hundred small Go boards remained in Gu Hai’s forehead space. Each Go board had a Go soul clone. They now looked clear and appeared material. All of them showed cold expressions as they analyzed the many Go games.
Now, Gu Hai seemed like he did not even need to think. His Go skills had undergone a qualitative improvement. When he looked at these Go games, it now seemed easy. Gu Hai could play his moves immediately after the sages played theirs, not even needing a breath of time to consider. Furthermore, the sages had to ponder for a long time after Gu Hai played his move.
Four hundred Go soul clones. With these Go puzzles, can the Cycle Saber Technique reach the Sixth Cycle? Some excitement flashed in Gu Hai’s eyes.
“Sages, many thanks for the lesson!” Gu Hai shouted.
As Gu Hai spoke, he tossed out two thousand Go stones.
Boom!
When the Go stones landed, countless sages shook. Several of them even fainted.
“How is this possible?! How is this possible?! Why did your Go skills suddenly improve by so much?” a sage cried out in startlement.
“Thank you for going easy, everyone!” Gu Hai said gravely.
Most of the sages saw the signs of their defeat; only a small portion did not. They discovered that there was no way to continue the game. Even if they forced it, they would only last a few moves before losing.
“Gu Hai, are you cheating?!”
“That’s impossible! How did you defeat us?!”
Many Go Dao sages clamored in a rage.
On the platform in the north, Lifespan Beiming smiled coldly. “Indeed. There is no sign of their past bearing and moral integrity at all. Heaven has entirely taken those away. With such ugliness, are they worthy of being called sages?”
“As the Go Dao host, I report to heaven that the sages have all lost to participant Gu Hai. Please bestow the recommendation talismans!” Ninth Young Master shouted.
Rumble…!
The noble spirit sea churned. No matter what the sages said, the recommendation talismans immediately came out of the noble spirit sea and emitted beams of light on Gu Hai.
Buzz!
Bright white light encased Gu Hai as the sages continued protesting in dissatisfaction.
Ninth Young Master said, “The victor is already decided. Sages, please return. You have already lost. Even if you play again, you won’t win.”
The sages glared at Gu Hai in silence.
“Humph!”
The sages flung out their sleeves and soared into the sky.
Gu Hai had faced two thousand Go Dao sages by himself. His Go skills shocked the entire Heavenly Yin City.
During the first round, everyone just thought that Gu Hai possessed incredible Go skills. Now, they felt that Gu Hai was invincible.
Two thousand Go sages. They were all people with outstanding accomplishments in the Go Dao in the past, yet they actually could not defeat Gu Hai when working together?
Boom!
After some silence, Heavenly Yin City erupted in vociferous discussions.
“Brother-in-Law, you are truly incredible!” Long Wanyu said excitedly. It was as though she was the one who had played.
“Gu Hai, you already have Go skills of the Thirty-Two’s level?” The Azure Emperor narrowed his eyes as he stared at Gu Hai.
In a restaurant not far from the plaza:
A group of men sat there. The leader was the Lord Tang who rescued Seven Kills and Gong Tian from Gu Hai in the Silver Moon Sea back then.
Lord Tang held up his cup as he coldly watched the plaza.
“Lord Tang, that Gu Hai’s Go skills are stupendous!” a subordinate at the side said in shock.
Lord Tang’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Indeed. The old man’s Go skills are very strong. I already knew he was incredible in the past. Unexpectedly, he is this incredible.”
“Ah? Old man? That Gu Hai does not seem to be over a hundred. How is he an old man?” that subordinate asked curiously.
“I’m saying he looks like an old man. Isn’t that so? Haha!” Lord Tang laughed.
“Uh…perhaps. However, his Go skills are really incredible!”
“Incredible? He is standing out too much. Without sufficient strength, one will have to pay a price if one stands out too much. Everyone will stare at him to discover what treasures he has. He will not be able to protect them even if he wants to, just like that Han Royal Dynasty. Hah!” Lord Tang showed a faint, cold smile.
