Chapter 344: Chapter 344: A Glimpse Beyond the Sky.

Meanwhile outside the secret realm,

Under the beautiful moonlit sky, the four Major Sects flying ships could be seen floating gently under the night air.

Despite their massive size, the decks were nearly empty as all of the disciples had already left for the secret realm, leaving only a handful of elders behind.

Some sat cross legged in silent meditation,

Others leaned against the railings, robes swaying in the night breeze as they chatted idly like old friends.

But on the deck of the Azure Moon Sect’s flying ship, the atmosphere was anything but peaceful.

“Ha! You dare challenge me with that move again?!”

A loud voice shattered the quiet night.

At the center of the deck,

A square stone table had been set up, illuminated by a softly glowing spirit lamp.

Four elders currently sat around it,

Their expressions grave and sleeves rolled up as if preparing for battle.

Between them was a spirit formation board, its surface carved with intricate lines that shimmered with spiritual light.

Black and white pieces hovered slightly above it, emitting subtle fluctuations of qi.

This was no ordinary chess.

It was Heavenly Battle Chess, a game where each piece represented strategy, spiritual flow, territory, and suppression.

A single misstep could lead to total collapse.

“Elder Mo, you’ve already lost three rounds,” Elder Shentian snorted, stroking his beard. “At your age, you should focus on cultivating instead of embarrassing yourself.”

“Bullshit!” Elder Mo from the Azure Moon Sect slammed the table, causing several pieces to tremble mid-air.

“This round, I’ve already sealed your Spirit Gate. Let’s see how you escape!”

Beside them, a beautiful mature woman in her thirties narrowed her eyes.

Threads of spiritual energy extended from her fingertips as she hovered over the board.

“…You’re all too slow.”

With a flick of her finger, Elder Lu from the Waterflow Sect dropped a white piece.

Buzz!

The entire board lit up as lines of light surged like flowing rivers, instantly cutting through the previous formations.

“WHAT?! Impossible!”

“You broke through all three layers?!”

Meanwhile, the fourth elder, Elder Mountain Crasher, who had been silent until now, finally chuckled.

“You were all so focused on attacking each other that you forgot one thing.”

He lifted his teacup calmly and took a slow sip.

“…This is a four-player game.”

The board shifted again.

Black and white light clashed and formations collided.

Invisible pressure spread outward, stirring everyone’s robes.

From a distance, it looked no different from a real battlefield.

Then—

Crack.

A thin fracture spread across one corner of the spirit board.

Elder Mo’s expression froze.

“No… that’s—”

Before he could finish—

BOOM!

A surge of white light erupted as Elder Lu’s piece completed its descent.

What had seemed like a simple breakthrough was merely the first step of something far more vicious.

Threads of spiritual light twisted, overlapped, and devoured the surrounding formations like a tide swallowing scattered boats.

Elder Shentian’s beard trembled. “You… you weren’t breaking through—”

“I was guiding you… to your demise,” Elder Lu replied softly, her lips curling into a faint, dangerous smile.

Her fingers moved again and another piece fell.

Buzz!

This time, the entire board shifted as territory collapsed.

Pathways reversed and the very flow of qi twisted violently.

Elder Mo’s formation, his so-called sealed Spirit Gate was torn open in an instant.

And his pieces scattered as if struck by an unseen hammer.

“Damn it!”

He shot to his feet, robes flaring.

At the same time, Elder Shentian gritted his teeth and slammed his palm down to stabilize his own side before it collapsed.

“You crazy woman..! You’re dragging all of us down with you!”

Elder Lu only chuckled.

“If I fall… you think I’ll fall alone?”

The pressure intensified.

Even the spirit lamp flickered wildly.

And yet, amidst the chaos…

Elder Mountain Crasher remained seated, was completely unshaken.

He took another slow sip of tea, as if the storm before him was nothing more than a passing breeze.

“…Children quarreling,” he muttered.

Then, without even looking down, he placed a single piece.

Tap.

There was no surge… Just… a quiet sound.

But in the next instant—

Everything stopped.

The raging currents of qi froze mid-flow and Elder Lu’s advancing formation halted as if gripped by an invisible hand.

The countless threads of light she had woven trembled…then began to unravel.

“…What?” Her smile faded for the first time.

Elder Shentian blinked and Elder Mo’s jaw went slack.

A single, simple move.

Yet it sat at the exact center of the board, cutting through every pathway, severing every connection, turning the entire chaotic battlefield into a dead, silent zone.

Elder Mountain Crasher finally set his teacup down.

“Your formations are clever,” he said calmly. “But you mistake complexity for control.”

He lightly tapped the table.

“In Heavenly Battle Chess… the more you struggle…”

The lone piece pulsed once.

“…the easier it is to break you.”

Crack.

One by one—

Elder Lu’s pieces dimmed.

Elder Shentian’s defenses collapsed.

Elder Mo’s remaining formation shattered like fragile glass.

…and silence fell.

It was a complete and suffocating defeat.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

“THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!!!”

Elder Mo’s roar finally tore through the night as he flipped the table.

BANG!

The spirt board spun into the air, its formation lights flickering wildly before dimming out completely.

“This chess set must’ve been tampered with!” he fumed, face flushed red with humiliation.

“There’s no way a muscle-headed brute like you keeps winning so overwhelmingly three time in a row!!”

Elder Shentian coughed awkwardly.

“…He does have a point.”

Elder Lu crossed her arms beneath her ample chest, eyes narrowing as she studied the fallen board, then shifted her gaze toward the silent giant.

“…That last move wasn’t normal.”

All eyes turned toward Elder Mountain Crasher, who remained seated.

For a moment, he said nothing.

Then, Elder Mountain Crasher stood up and struck a dramatic pose.

His naked upper body full of bulging powerful muscle shine under the moon light as he turned sideways, one arm raised, the other flexed.

“Who says we’re just muscle brutes?” he scoffed as his chest expanded and his biceps bulged.

“…You don’t understand,” he continued, voice suddenly filled with pride.

“My muscles… are not ordinary.”

He flexed again.

POP.

A vein throbbed dramatically.

“They think,” he declared “…they observe.”

Another flex.

“…they adapt.”

Elder Mo stared at him, face still red from rage… but now slowly turning into something else.

“…You’ve gone insane.”

“INSANE?!” Elder Mountain Crasher barked.

He suddenly stomped forward—

THUD!

And the deck trembled.

“My left pectoral alone can calculate three moves ahead!” he shouted, slapping his chest.

SMACK!

“My right arm specializes in defense formations!”

He flexed it.

“…while my back muscles—”

He turned around abruptly and twisted his torso in an unnecessarily dramatic fashion.

“—handle long-term strategy!”

Elder Shentian face twitched violently.

“…Your back… plays chess?”

“Of course!” Elder Mountain Crasher snapped, as if offended. “Do you think I won just now with my brain?!”

“…Yes??”

“Wrong!”

He pointed at his head dismissively.

“This thing is just for decoration.”

Then he hooked a thumb over his shoulder proudly.

“THE REAL GENIUS IS BACK HERE!”

“””THAT’S BULLSHIT!!!”””

All three elders shouted at the same time.

_

Meanwhile, a short distance away on another deck,

Qing Lianhua watched the chaotic group of elders quarreling with bright, curious eyes.

“…Seems like they’re having fun.”

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