Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 550 - Heart Pulse Shattered

After Liu Wuxie moved his red pieces, the chessboard situation became clear: the layout shifted dramatically, and the black pieces lost their advantage.

Initially, the red pieces had been like a tiger trapped in a cage, all exits blocked, and any attempt to force their way out would have led to their self-destruction.

Liu Wuxie minimized his losses to the bare minimum because the red pieces were widely spread in the central region. Thus, he sacrificed a small portion of the red pieces to clear a path.

It was too late when Fan Yongfu figured out what Liu Wuxie was planning as he charged directly into the black pieces' camp. Fan Yongfu had no choice but to stick to a defensive approach.

"It's too late now!" Lu Ming sighed. If Fan Yongfu had realized this sooner, there might’ve been a chance for him to stop the comeback of the red pieces.

The red pieces had formed a formidable force, like a cavalry, while the black pieces struggled to keep up with their advance.

However, the situation had turned around and became disadvantageous for the black pieces. Liu Wuxie didn't charge into the base directly and took his time to wipe out half of the black pieces on the chessboard.

"It's all over now!" The Azure Crimson Gate disciples looked defeated because they didn't expect this outcome.

Qiu Baihao watched quietly before shifting his gaze to Liu Wuxie, wanting to see something from his face.

However, Liu Wuxie's eyes were terrifyingly calm. He maintained a peaceful demeanor despite the red pieces' advantages and disadvantages. His composure alone had surpassed everyone present, while Fan Yongfu had lost his sense of direction and made a few wrong moves.

When the red pieces finally occupied the black pieces' base, the crowd still hadn't pulled their attention from the chessboard.

"We lost!" Jia Fengmao whispered, unable to accept this outcome. He couldn't believe that Liu Wuxie had solved this impossible game.

"He cheated! The House of Tea Art must've told him the solution!" Many Azure Crimson Gate disciples couldn't accept this outcome and turned to look at Murong Yi, believing this to be a foul play on the House of Tea Art's side.

Everyone knew Liu Wuxie had a relationship with the House of Tea Art, and they had even intervened on his behalf several times. It was highly possible they had secretly told him the solution to this game beforehand.

Many people nodded in agreement. Although Azure Crimson Gate's reason was somewhat far-fetched, it did sound reasonable. This led many people to support the idea that the House of Tea Art had leaked the solution to Liu Wuxie in advance.

Murong Yi's face turned cold because she didn't even know the solution to this game, so how could the House of Tea Art have leaked the solution to him? However, no one would probably believe their explanation, and there was no need for an explanation since they chose to take on Liu Wuxie's side.

"Senior Brother Fan didn't lose! The House of Tea Art must've helped Liu Wuxie!" The Azure Crimson Gate disciples began to complain and refused to accept their loss.

Madam Li's face darkened with murderous intent against these people who accused the House of Tea Art of leaking the solution.

"What a bunch of garbage! You people aren't capable, and you want to blame it on others? If that's the case, let's not count this round, and I'll change to a different method. I'll make sure you people admit your loss!" Liu Wuxie sneered, humiliating the Azure Crimson Gate by calling them garbage once more.

"You said it!" After hearing that Liu Wuxie agreed to play another round, the Azure Crimson Gate disciples no longer complained. They were already familiar with the previous strategy, and the black pieces would win if they could seal off the red pieces.

The current chessboard was removed, and a new one was brought over from the nearby table. Liu Wuxie raised a chess piece and placed it on the chessboard.

Everyone expected Liu Wuxie to take the same position, but he placed his chess piece in the upper right corner, in the Qian position.

Everyone was baffled because they were already familiar with his patterns, but why did he abandon it? Fan Yongfu would've been prepared and ready to defend in advance if he had used the same strategy.

The two played back and forth, with the black pieces advancing cautiously. Fan Yongfu was more careful this time and even took a full minute to consider each move.

As time ticked away, the entire layout on the chessboard changed when they made their tenth move. This time, the red pieces suffered fewer losses than before and tore an opening in the black pieces' defenses, breaking into their territory.

The black pieces began falling in droves, and it was clear that they were barely hanging on even though the game wasn't over yet.

"How did this happen?" Fan Yongfu grabbed onto his head and couldn't accept this outcome. This time, even Lu Ming chose to remain silent.

Although he hadn't personally participated in the game, he could sense the intense struggle on the chessboard. He ran simulations with each move and concluded that the results would only mirror Fan Yongfu's decisions.

In other words, he would also lose if he was the one playing with Liu Wuxie.

"Do you want to continue?" Liu Wuxie asked in a mocking tone. He had used two strategies to achieve the same comeback, proving that the House of Tea Art hadn't leaked the solution to him.

Murong Yi might excel in the arts, but she wasn't invincible. She could only go neck and neck with Hua Chenye in poetry, Qiu Baihao in painting, and Fan Yongfu in chess. Even Fan Yongfu couldn't solve this game, which meant it was equally impossible for Murong Yi, who was evenly matched with him.

"Continue!" Fan Yongfu couldn't accept his defeat and asked for a new game to be set up. Strangely, Liu Wuxie didn't stop him and changed his approach to the new game.

About five minutes later, the black pieces had lost entirely, while the red pieces had only minimal losses. The surrounding mocking voices directed at Liu Wuxie had vanished, and the boat was engulfed in silence. The reality was undeniable when Liu Wuxie defeated Fan Yongfu with three strategies.

"There's no need to continue any further. I've played with Lady Murong before, and she can't solve this game so smoothly with her skills," Lu Ming said. Such masterful strategies weren't something an ordinary person could pull off.

Lu Ming also prided himself on his chess skills and could foresee five moves ahead, but the difference was too vast compared to Liu Wuxie. From how Liu Wuxie moved, anyone could tell he had practically seen through the chessboard.

In other words, any changes in this game were within Liu Wuxie's grasp, and only a chess immortal could achieve such a level of skill.

"Do you want to continue?" Liu Wuxie asked again.

"Continue!" Fan Yongfu had gone all out, and his eyes were becoming bloodshot. He knew he had lost this contest but wanted to salvage some pride by winning at least one game.

A new game was quickly set up, and Liu Wuxie changed his style again with the red pieces. Fan Yongfu barely held his ground, but the game had ended in just three minutes.

None of the Azure Crimson Gate disciples dared to speak out, as Liu Wuxie had completely dominated all four rounds, leaving no room for dispute. His victories were so decisive that any attempt to challenge the outcome seemed pointless.

"Am I seeing things? How can this game be so easily solved?" When they were presented with the chessboard, they had simulated the possible moves in their minds but failed to find a solution.

"It's not because this game is easy, but Liu Wuxie's skills are too high. The first three moves are actually decoys to lure the opponent into making mistakes," Lu Ming finally saw some intricacies after four games.

Liu Wuxie played by luring Fan Yongfu to make a mistake before turning the tables. As long as he could maintain the situation, there was always an opportunity to reverse it.

"Decoys? Doesn't that mean that the first three moves don't matter?" Many people were baffled and waited for Lu Ming's further explanation.

"That's right!" Lu Ming nodded and confirmed that the first three moves were decoys. Only someone as skilled as Liu Wuxie could play such a risky move because the red pieces were already on the brink of defeat.

"Does that mean he has seen through the chessboard and could grasp every possible change?" Everyone looked at Liu Wuxie with shock and wondered if there was such a heaven-defying genius in the world.

After all, there were hundreds of pieces on the chessboard, and each move could diversify into tens of thousands of layouts. How did Liu Wuxie memorize them all? This made no sense, and this had defied reality.

"Do you still want another game?" Liu Wuxie asked with a devilish smile, aiming to crush Fan Yongfu's spirit. Since losing the second game, Fan Fongfu hadn't spoken a word and quietly watched the situation unfold.

The chess board was replaced with a new one, and Liu Wuxie continued to place his chess piece down. Everyone knew the first three moves were decoys, so they didn't even look at them.

Fan Yongfu's mind was in a mess, and his primordial spirit was severely injured after losing four rounds. When he placed a black piece down, the red pieces displayed an aggressive approach this time. Even though people thought that Liu Wuxie's first three moves were useless, they were quickly proven wrong.

When Liu Wuxie placed the first chess piece, Lu Ming's comment on the first three moves as decoys was quickly proven wrong. By the third move, the black pieces had suffered a crushing defeat.

"This..." Everyone was utterly stunned, including Lu Ming, who felt the heat rising in his cheeks. Despite Liu Wuxie showing them some consideration during the first round, the Azure Crimson Gate disciples were unwilling to admit defeat.

After all, the first round had ended after fifteen minutes, which was an honorable defeat for the black pieces. But the fifth round was an overwhelming defeat because the black pieces had lost terribly.

Even more unbelievable was that Liu Wuxie only used one minute to end the fifth round.

Fan Yongfu, overwhelmed by the defeat, coughed up a mouthful of blood. Liu Wuxie quickly stepped back, avoiding the splatter, but those standing nearby weren’t so fortunate and were covered in blood.

Fan Yongfu’s heart pulse had shattered from the sheer shock of the loss. His pride, deeply tied to his chess skills, had been utterly crushed by Liu Wuxie's mastery. There was no need for Liu Wuxie to strike him further—Fan Yongfu had already been destroyed by his own failure, leaving him disabled.

When they had competed in painting, Qiu Baihao had lost and coughed up a mouthful of blood. But in chess, Fan Yongfu's heart pulse had ruptured, and he was disabled.

Everyone recorded all five solutions to the game.

"Young lady, didn't you say no one can solve this game?" Lady Yan asked, shocked. Her young lady's talent in chess was heaven-defying, but she also couldn’t find a solution.

However, Liu Wuxie had grasped five solutions in less than two hours. This was unbelievable and had overturned their understanding.

"I now understand why they say there's always someone stronger in the world," Murong Yi sighed. She had always taken pride in her talents, believing herself to be on par with any man, but today had shattered that belief. The events had overturned her understanding, revealing just how vast the world truly was.

Liu Wuxie returned to his seat as if nothing had happened.

Liu Wuxie had crippled a pinnacle Astral River Realm of the Azure Crimson Gate without shedding a drop of blood. This made the remaining Azure Crimson Gate disciples look at Liu Wuxie with a hint of horror.

Without a doubt, the third round had ended with Liu Wuxie's crushing victory. More importantly, he had no intentions of participating in any contests but was only forced to join after being challenged by the Azure Crimson Gate.