Chen Xia Knows How to Play Chess

Ancestral Star.

This is the largest celestial body in the southeast of the Star Region, also known as the Southeast Center. It is the place where the Crimson Saint rose to power and the site of revival for the Three Thousand Flame Feather Crow Clan.

Detailed records about the Crimson Saint have long since disappeared from the Star Region. It's only known that he adopted the suffix "Saint" thousands of years ago.

This indicates that the Crimson Saint had already become a Quasi-Saint thousands of years ago, and has now reached the height of a Saint.

As for the Crimson Saint's true name and background, those are ancient history in the Star Region, known only to the old-timers.

But these old-timers never speak freely of such matters, out of respect for the Crimson Saint. After all, Saints don't want their past widely discussed, especially since the Crimson Saint has always been extremely low-key, rarely appearing except for a few major battles.

As time passed, the number of old-timers dwindled, and rumors about the Crimson Saint became increasingly scarce.

People only needed to know that there was a lofty Saint on the Ancestral Star, and that was enough.

Now, cultivators from all over the southeast of the Star Region are flocking to the Ancestral Star, hoping to make a name for themselves and achieve their own successes.

The ferry docked at the port on the outskirts of the Ancestral Star. Cultivators disembarked one after another, needing to verify their identities and pay the Star Entry Spirit Stones before they could be teleported to the outskirts of the Ancestral Star through the formation.

Cultivators with great power and background didn't need to do this; they could directly bypass the formation and enter the interior of the Ancestral Star.

But Chen Xia and his group of young cultivators naturally had neither power nor background, so they could only disembark from the ferry and queue up for inspection.

Chen Xia was in no hurry, so he queued up with the others, pondering how to speak to Chi Yu when they met.

Chi Yu was different from others; he was a sworn brother. If Chi Yu had really changed, how should he face him?

Chen Xia hadn't figured it out, but fortunately, there was plenty of time to prepare. He would wait for his main body to return and obtain the Half-Immortal Sword before it was time to return to the Blue Sky Sword Sea.

He queued up with several young people. The cultivator in charge of the inspection had a very poor attitude, full of disdain for cultivators from remote stars like them, and even used abusive language.

The young people looked timid, experiencing for the first time the cruelty of the cultivation path.

Chen Xia's expression remained calm as he passed the inspection with the others. The identity he gave was simple.

"Blue Sky Sword Sea, Chen Xia."

No one cared about his identity as long as he paid the spirit stones.

Chen Xia indeed had no spirit stones, so he could only stare at the inspecting cultivator.

"What are you looking at?" the inspector frowned and shouted.

"Looking at you," Chen Xia replied calmly, hands behind his back.

"What's the use of looking at me? Give me the spirit stones!" the cultivator shouted again.

Chen Xia's eyes flickered slightly with the River of Time, and spirit stones appeared in his hand. He extended his hand to the cultivator and said calmly,

"No need to make up the difference."

He was about to step forward.

"Make up my ass, you're still short twenty spirit stones!" The cultivator's words now carried a hint of anger.

"Don't get upset, I'll make up the difference for him, I'll make up the difference," Bai Lu quickly stepped forward and made up the remaining twenty spirit stones.

"Hmph, if you dare to do this again next time, don't blame me for losing my temper!"

"Alright, alright, thank you for your trouble." Bai Lu smiled apologetically again, cupping his hands and bowing to the cultivator in gratitude.

Chen Xia stood to the side, surprised that the spirit stones he had grabbed from the River of Time were insufficient. It seemed that the absence of his main body had a significant impact on him; his current remnant soul couldn't perfectly control supernatural techniques.

Overall, their entry to the star was relatively smooth.

The young cultivators all arrived at the outskirts of the Ancestral Star. Those who had pre-arranged with sects were taken away by their respective sects to prepare for the initiation ceremony.

Hao Lin, full of anticipation, left with an elder, his face brimming with satisfaction.

The girl Yu Jun was somewhat reluctant to leave, waving to Bai Lu saying,

"I'm leaving first, see you later."

Bai Lu wore a delighted smile, completely unaware that this was the first watershed moment in life between him and his two childhood friends.

Chen Xia leaned against a tree, tilting his head to watch, feeling a strange sense of nostalgia. It seemed that he, Chi Yu, and the yellow dog had parted in a similar way, just not as gently.

After most of the fellow cultivators had left, Bai Lu turned to look at Chen Xia, who was still leaning against the tree, and asked,

"Where are you going next?"

"Not sure, might wander around for a while longer," Chen Xia replied casually, arms crossed.

"Weren't you going to see an old friend?" Bai Lu inquired curiously.

"My old friend might not even know I'm still alive, and he seems to be busy too. I heard he's in seclusion, so I won't disturb him. I'll wait a few more days."

Chen Xia chuckled, his body swaying as he leaned against the old tree. He stood up straight again and asked the young man,

"What about you? Which sect are you planning to join?"

At this topic, Bai Lu immediately became interested and replied enthusiastically,

"I plan to take the test for the largest sect on the Ancestral Star, the Three Thousand Flame Feather Sect. I discussed it with the elders before I came. The Three Thousand Flame Feather Sect values comprehension more than talent. I think my comprehension is decent, so I might be chosen..."

Bai Lu excitedly shared a bunch of his plans.

Chen Xia listened half-heartedly. After Bai Lu finished speaking, he nodded and said,

"I believe you can do it."

"Really? Why?" Bai Lu asked happily, his youthful nature unable to remain calm.

"Think about it. The sect master of the Three Thousand Flame Feather Sect is Chi Yu, and your name is Bai Lu. How fitting! Not only are you both animals, but you also have colors in your names."

Chen Xia clapped his hands and commented,

"It's a match made in heaven."

"Tch." Bai Lu pouted, somewhat displeased with Chen Xia's words. He raised his eyebrows and continued,

"Anyway, I'll prepare first. When the Three Thousand Flame Feather Sect's selection comes, I'll have more confidence."

Young people are always full of passion for the future, unlike Chen Xia. Chen Xia now viewed the future as something to be endured, not in any hurry.

Neither of them knew where to go, so they decided to stick together for now. The pressure on the outskirts of the Ancestral Star wasn't great, and they could survive on very few spirit stones.

Chen Xia lived a life of idleness, not only slacking off himself but also dragging Bai Lu into his lazy lifestyle. Every day when Bai Lu wanted to work hard, he would call him to play chess together.

Playing chess was fine; Bai Lu originally had some understanding of chess strategy, and playing chess was beneficial for him.

But playing chess with Chen Xia wasn't necessarily beneficial.

After the opening move of advancing the horse, he witnessed some of Chen Xia's other tactics.

For instance, the chariot making turns, the cannon self-destructing, and even more absurdly, claiming victory with five pieces in a line.

In short, the tricks were endless, all depending on what Chen Xia said.

Bai Lu had a gentle nature and didn't like to argue with Chen Xia, silently accepting his chess skills.

Chen Xia became even more outrageous. After his chariot made a turn to capture Bai Lu's general, he would ask Bai Lu,

"Wasn't that a stroke of genius, a brilliant move?"

Bai Lu was stunned, his gentle nature preventing him from uttering vulgar words. After a long pause, he could only say,

"Once in a lifetime."

Thus, after half a year, Bai Lu's chess skills successfully declined.

And from then on, he never wanted to play chess with Chen Xia again.