Legend of Swordsman

Only on the chessboard did his advancement prove to be the most significant, surpassing his understanding of all things on the steps of transformations.

Indeed, his guess was correct.

In the mural, an elderly man with red hair walked out, startling everyone.

"Little folks, don't be afraid. This old man has been gone for who knows how many years," the old man said with a somewhat rough face. His skin was red, and his belly, just like when playing chess, was round.

Compared to the two before him, this First True King was more amiable.

Swoosh!

A chessboard soared into the air and appeared in front of everyone, with a sentence inscribed above.

"I am the founder of the Three Kings Court. Forget about my name; it's just a pseudonym. You can call me 'Grandmaster.' I have enjoyed watching and playing chess all my life. Becoming my successor is quite boring, so don't regret it!"

This passage was recorded earlier, similar to the two before him.

However, now, this First True King, Grandmaster, appeared before everyone, evidently different from the previous two.

After looking around, the others ultimately chose the paths of Soul Dao and Transformation Dao.

There was no time for them to consider now.

Facing the chessboard of this First True King, they found it perplexing, with no clue whatsoever.

The gains were not significant. It was better to try the paths of Soul Dao and Transformation Dao.

Hu Qing nodded to Jian Wushuang without saying much, leading Jiang Shang into the bronze furnace.

The majority chose the paths they had previously selected without much hesitation.

It was Wanderer Chishui who hesitated.

As a Special Life Form, neither Transformation Dao nor Soul Dao had much use for him.

One amplified the Origin Source, and the other amplified the soul, but both aspects held little significance for him.

A Special Life Form, the peculiarity lay in the divine body, the structure of the divine body.

The inheritance of cultivators held little utility for him.

Grandmaster also noticed Chishui's hesitation and unexpectedly spoke up, offering a reminder, "You're tough-skinned, quite similar to that one-eyed guy."

With that, he pointed his finger, and a beam of light transformed into a heavenly bridge.

"Here, only you can enter. Hurry up!"

Chishui was overjoyed and almost kneeled down on the spot. He quickly expressed his gratitude and plunged into it.

The people in the hall left one by one, leaving only Jian Wushuang.

"Youngster, care for another game with this old man?" Grandmaster waved his hand, and the chessboard flew over.

Jian Wushuang cupped his hands respectfully and said, "Honored to do so!"

Then the two played another round. This time, Jian Wushuang lost quickly and shook his head in the end.

At the beginning, he thought he belonged to the group of people with talent, but now it seemed his talent was average.

"Haha, don't be disheartened. Like you, I had an average start, and in the end, I couldn't figure out the mysteries of this chessboard."

Jian Wushuang asked in confusion, "Senior, your Origin Source seems to be inconsistent with the chessboard?"

"Yes, I am stubborn because of a supreme treasure, which delayed my entire life. I'm pleased that you can give up early. Consider it passing the first test. Youngster, do you want to be my successor?" Grandmaster looked at Jian Wushuang with a hint of interest.

This time, Jian Wushuang didn't hesitate at all and immediately said, "The junior is willing!"

Whoosh!

He also left the hall and entered the chessboard.

The spatial structure inside the chessboard was very stable. When Jian Wushuang entered, he descended from the sky, without the usual spatial transformation.

Clearly, he didn't leave the hall; the chessboard itself was in the hall, and he was still inside the hall.

Grandmaster then arrived as well.

Looking at Jian Wushuang, his tone changed from gentle to somewhat serious. "Jian Wushuang, a good name, an intimidating aura."

"Thank you for the praise, Senior!" Jian Wushuang replied with a faint smile.

Grandmaster gestured, and the two of them entered a massive beast-fighting arena.

"How is it? Real enough for you!!"

Jian Wushuang exclaimed in surprise, "The spatial changes, Senior's strength reaches the heavens!"

This particular space felt very real, with some figures indistinguishable from living beings.

"Haha, now it's up to you. The second round is challenging – fighting across realms!" The big official pointed to a giant beast in a cage below.

Judging by its strength, it should be at the Emperor level, considered an ancient exotic species, surpassing ordinary cultivator Emperors by a significant margin.

The giant beast appeared to be a tier 2 Emperor on the surface but could rival a tier 3 Emperor.

In the Ancient Era, fighting across realms was even more difficult than it is now.

During that time, Emperors were much stronger than the remnants of the ancient ones found in the Four Great Secret Realms.

They could slay tier 5 Emperors in the Ancient Era, whereas in the present Four Great Secret Realms, they could only match tier 5 Emperors at best.

There was a 1-tier difference, but it was sufficient.

The consciousness of the First True King left behind before falling should lack any discernment, unaware of Jian Wushuang's true combat power.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have summoned such a pathetic giant beast.

Merely comparable to a tier 3 Emperor, was this old man underestimating him?

Jian Wushuang flew directly, landing in the central area of the beast-fighting arena.

A heavy descent kicked up a cloud of dust.

The giant beast was released from its cage.

Jian Wushuang condensed a Sword Qi and, in an instant, flew out, directly piercing the giant beast's forehead.

The Sword Qi, upon entering the giant beast's body, transformed into tens of thousands of sword shadows, cutting the giant beast into thin slices in the most perfect manner.

The spectacle stunned Grandmaster.

For a moment, he couldn't gauge Jian Wushuang's true strength.

If he had merely killed the giant beast, it wouldn't be too shocking. However, to slay it in such a manner was beyond imagination.

Yet, the information circulating in the Three Kings Court clearly stated that Jian Wushuang was only a Dao Lord.

"Senior, what do you think?"

Jian Wushuang casually picked up a translucent piece of meat and handed it to Grandmaster.

Even he could see the tremor at the corners of Grandmaster's eyes.

Countless years had passed since the fall.

But the memories from yesterday seemed like ancient times.

Grandmaster carefully recalled the Dao Lords under his command. It appeared that the most extraordinary among them could rival a tier 4 Emperor.

"Cough, not bad. However, this is just an appetizer. Next, you won't be facing an Emperor but someone like you, just a Dao Lord. But don't be careless; this Dao Lord was the number one Dao Lord in our Three Kings Court during his lifetime!"

Saying this, a pointed finger brought forth a figure in the arena.

It was a young man clad in silver armor, wearing a tiger-headed war helmet.

Heroic and powerful.

This opponent was no ordinary one.

A Dao Lord who could be this strong should be the Ultimate Dao, and moreover, had reached the ninth level of the Dao Lord in the Ultimate Dao.

Jian Wushuang landed back in the arena, fixing his gaze on his opponent, and his Thought power spread throughout the field.

Facing an Ultimate Dao Lord, he wondered which Ultimate Dao the opponent had mastered.

"Are you challenging me?"

The silver-armored youth looked at Jian Wushuang.

Jian Wushuang felt a bit awkward; he hadn't expected the opponent to speak. He had initially thought it was just a manifestation.