The middle-aged man had a peculiar expression.
He hadn’t expected that Chen Nan would dare to risk his life, enduring his sword just to break through the barrier.
Indeed, only a person with deep and profound love could move the spirit-sensitive Concentration Fruit Tree, allowing him to successfully pick the Concentration Fruit to save his beloved’s life. The middle-aged man nodded and pointed to the left, saying, "Walk three thousand meters this way, then turn right for five hundred meters, and continue walking straight to the left front, then you can enter the next layer of the test."
Chen Nan turned and left.
He took out a pill for external injuries, crushed it, and sprinkled it on the wound.
Then he tore off a piece of Lingzhi, chewed it up, and circulated his Inner Strength to refine it and absorb the medicine’s effectiveness.
The sword strike from the middle-aged man had landed right on his left chest; if it weren’t for his heart being on the right side and also having the Ancient Shield for protection, that sword would have been enough to end his life.
The Black Feathered Chicken also uncommonly praised, "You’re really ruthless, kid, to dare to endure a sword strike from him."
Chen Nan shook his head, "Enduring his sword strike is nothing; I would not hesitate to lose my life as long as I can obtain the Concentration Fruit."
The Black Feathered Chicken shook its head, "I think you’re being foolish, kid. There are so many women in the world, why do you care so much about this one? Even if she really dies, don’t you still have your junior sister, Xiao Niang Huo, and Gongsun Xiao Niang among many others? What’s the rush?"
"I certainly cannot let Yiyi down, but if the girl dies because of me, I would only live in agony for the rest of my life." Chen Nan looked at the Black Feathered Chicken and sighed, "You wouldn’t understand this feeling."
The Black Feathered Chicken was filled with pride and said, "Lord Chicken does not deign to understand. Isn’t it just about flirting with girls? Back when Grandpa Chicken was flirting, your ancestors weren’t even born yet!"
Chen Nan was speechless.
Strictly speaking, he was too lazy to waste words on this chicken.
A chicken with absolutely no integrity, what does it know about feelings? Talking to it is like playing the lute to a cow, a waste of breath.
Before long, Chen Nan arrived in front of a Thatched House.
Yes, a Thatched House.
Logically, the Famous Medicine Mountain Villa should not lack funds; building a decent house wouldn’t be too costly, yet confusingly, the residence of the Fourth Challenge’s Supreme Elder was just a simple Thatched House.
Outside the Thatched House, an elder with white hair was sitting at a stone table, which held a Go board. The elder was holding a white stone in his left hand and a black stone in his right, playing against himself.
Playing chess against himself, multitasking, this level of spiritual state was astonishing.
The elder put down the chess pieces and looked up at Chen Nan, "Chen Nan, you have arrived."
"Old senior, you know me?"
The elder shook his head, "I knew you would come by calculating. If you can win against me on the chessboard, you will pass."
Chen Nan did not hesitate, striding forward to sit opposite the elder.
Regarding Go, Chen Nan was also quite a master.
Originally, when he was on the mountain bored, he played chess with Xuan Tianji. Although he lost more than he won, his chess skills were stronger than his martial arts.
After all, martial arts required continuous cultivation, bit by bit accumulation, needing both aptitude and time to achieve the Transformation Realm.
In contrast to martial arts, Go was different.
Go primarily relied on intelligence, on insight; a single epiphany could equal decades of practice.
Although Chen Nan hadn’t touched a chessboard for several months since coming down from the mountain, it didn’t significantly affect his chess skills. As soon as he sat down in front of the board, everything in his mind became as clear as a bright mirror.
The chessboard was cleared, and Chen Nan smiled at the elderly man, "Please, go ahead, elder."
The elderly man gazed deeply at Chen Nan, pinched a black piece, and placed it down; Chen Nan immediately followed, placing a white piece.
Move by move, half an hour later, the board was nearly half full. At this moment, Chen Nan’s white pieces already began taking shape, while the elderly man’s black pieces seemed scattered and disorganized, as if they were all dead stones.
However, Chen Nan had an intuition that within this chaos, the elderly man’s black pieces concealed a killing aura.
Yet for now, he could not discern the intricacies, only feeling an ominous premonition within him.
However, as each piece fell, when two-thirds of the game had passed, Chen Nan finally realized something was amiss — the elderly man began his counterattack, every piece he placed suddenly revived his previously ’dead’ stones, while Chen Nan’s turned into dead stones.
Indeed, he was a master!
Chen Nan inwardly praised the old man’s exceptional skill in the game.
He knew, this game, he was certain to lose.
However, Chen Nan did not give up; not aiming to turn the tables, but to fully understand the elderly man’s strategies to prepare for the next game.
The battle of this game took a full hour.
Chen Nan was utterly defeated, a sight too pitiful to bear, but he was also probing the elder’s depth, in some areas deliberately using deceptive moves to confuse the elderly man, preparing for the upcoming games.
The elderly man was an absolute Go master; after this game, Chen Nan’s understanding of Go had improved significantly.
Indeed, some of the elderly man’s moves provided Chen Nan with enlightening epiphanies.
"Young man, you possess outstanding talent!" As he collected the pieces, the elderly man couldn’t help but exclaim.
"You flatter me, elder."
Chen Nan was about to suggest another round, but the elderly man stood up and said, "I only play one game with someone each day. Come back tomorrow."
Having no choice, Chen Nan spent the night in the forest.
The Black Feathered Chicken clucked noisily, complaining that the old man was being pretentious and if it had its past Cultivation, it would definitely give the old man a good beating.
Early the next morning, Chen Nan arrived at the Thatched House.
The chess game began, both sides clashing fiercely.
This time, Chen Nan changed his style, fighting stillness with motion, and the elderly man did the same.
The first half of the game both sides played gently, the board showed no trace of killing aura, but in the latter half, as the situation unfolded, both sides gradually began their offensives.
Initially a plain and unremarkable game, suddenly surged with killing aura with each piece placed, the two sides locked in intense combat.
This game lasted the whole morning.
Until noon, the chessboard was almost full, yet no winner had been decided, culminating in a draw.
Looking at the chessboard, the old man continually nodded, "Young man, I hadn’t expected someone as young as you to have such profound skill in chess, truly admirable; today I shall break my rule, and play another game with you."
Chen Nan didn’t dally, tidied up the pieces, and the second game began.
With the experience from the previous two games, Chen Nan had basically figured out the elderly man’s moves and knew his style, so in this game, as soon as he placed his pieces, he began devising a strategy.
A strategy to counter the elderly man’s style, a shocking killing strategy!
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