Chapter 377 Zhenlong Chess Game
According to Xin Zhen's estimation, Duan Yanqing had mastered the new Duan-style swordsmanship and had fully mastered the Yi Jin Gu Tang chapter. Even if he was not as good as the Four Great Masters of Tianlong, the gap was not far behind.

But dealing with Murong Fu, Ding Chunqiu and the like should be easy.

Tan Qing has also benefited a lot recently. His progress is even faster than Duan Yanqing's. Of course, that is because of the base number.

Duan Yanqing had a large base, so even though his progress was fast, it was still limited. Tan Qing had a low base, so his progress was somewhat rapid.

Duan Yanqing had only taught Tan Qing some unorthodox kung fu before and did not teach him anything of the Duan family. After being reminded by Xin Zhen, Duan Yanqing finally started to teach.

However, it was the new Duan family swordsmanship and the Yi Jin and Jian Gu Chapter that made Tan Qing make rapid progress.

Xin Zhen did not avoid Tan Qing when teaching Duan Yanqing. He even let Tan Qing practice swordplay during the teaching process to find out the mistakes and omissions as a way of teaching by example.

Tan Qing's comprehension was not bad, he just took the wrong path before. However, he was not too old, so it was not too late for him to learn. His comprehension of the new Duan style swordsmanship was not worse than Duan Yanqing's, and was even stronger than Duan Yanqing's.

After all, Duan Yanqing was still somewhat rigidly attached to the original Duan family swordsmanship, whereas Tan Qing had completely learned according to Xin Zhen's ideas. However, his attainments in the new Duan family swordsmanship were better than Duan Yanqing's.

However, the internal skills that Tan Qing practiced were slightly inferior, so his internal strength was not high. It was for this reason that Xin Zhen taught Tan Qing the Yi Jin Tang Gu Chapter, which led to his rapid progress.

Before Xin Zhen set off for Runan, Tan Qing was already on the verge of becoming a first-rate master. Of course, there was still one last step to go, but he had already secured the peak of the second-rate level.

Originally, Tan Qing might not even be third-rate, but now he has not only entered the second-rate, but even has the opportunity to go further.

Of course, the so-called first-rate is Xin Zhen’s classification, that is, the next level of masters below Murong Fu and others. For example, the four major ministers, the three evil men except Duan Yanqing, Mr. and Mrs. Tan, Zhao Qiansun, etc. are considered first-rate masters.

Originally, when facing these people, Tan Qing could only secretly say some words that were not conducive to unity in the crowd, but now he can compete with the weaker ones among them.

At the end of May, Xin Zhen took Duan Yanqing to Runan.

Gusu is relatively peaceful nowadays. The Beggars' Sect withdrew, and after Xin Zhen took down the Qianye Gang, it stopped expanding. The Murong family viewed this as a gesture of goodwill, so they strictly restrained their subordinates from conflicting with the Qianye Gang. Pingjiang Prefecture also ushered in a rare peace.

Xin Zhen entrusted the safety of his family to Tan Qing and Shen Liqiu. Tan Qing was responsible for dispatching the Qianye Gang to guard the periphery, while Shen Liqiu took his fellow apprentices to guard the inner area. Unless a great master attacked, ordinary martial arts masters would be enough to deal with it.

But it is not necessary. People in the martial arts world believe in not letting their families suffer any harm. If anyone breaks the rules, then the local people will not have to follow the rules either. Everyone is still afraid.

This is just Xin Zhen being more cautious. It's better to be cautious. If something really happens, it will be too late to regret.

It was much more convenient for Xin Zhen and Duan Yanqing to travel. Both of them were masters of lightness skills. If the road was easy to walk on, they would ride horses, and if it was difficult to walk, they would walk. Even Xin Zhen had to stay in a hotel every day, and sometimes he would eat some special local food. He would stop to look at the beautiful scenery. It only took them ten days to reach Leigushan in Runan.

Duan Yanqing had no objection. Although Xin Zhen only taught him the New Duan-style swordsmanship and the Yi Jin and Bones Strengthening Chapter, he answered all of Duan Yanqing's questions.

While on the road, Duan Yanqing asked Xin Zhen about his doubts in martial arts.

Xin Zhen had been a walking Musashi for several lifetimes, and his level of martial arts was already among the best in the history of martial arts development. Duan Yanqing's questions were nothing but child's play in his eyes.

When he is not in a good mood, he can answer questions casually, and when he is in a good mood, it is common for him to quote extensively.

This improvement to Duan Yanqing was no less than that of the New Duan-style Sword Technique and the Yi Jin Gong Gang Chapter. Following Xin Zhen, Duan Yanqing's horizons seemed to be opened all of a sudden.

It's like a frog that has been squatting at the bottom of a well for decades. Suddenly one day, it is mistakenly put into a bucket by someone who is fetching water and is taken out. Only then does it discover an extremely vast world!

Xin Zhen certainly did not mean it unintentionally. In Xin Zhen's opinion, Duan Yanqing's current cultivation level was not bad compared with the Four Great Masters of Tianlong, but the difference was in realm, or in mentality.

After being persecuted, Duan Yanqing fell into the obstacle of knowledge and perception. His heart was filled with hatred and he had lost the perception of other things. Xin Zhen used martial arts to break Duan Yanqing's paranoia.

In fact, Xin Zhen's method was proved to be effective. When they stepped into Leigushan Mountain, Duan Yanqing already had a feeling of enlightenment.

Duan Yanqing sighed, "Master, I have been with you for so long and listened to so many of your teachings. Today I find that my thoughts have become clearer. Many things were always vague to me before, but today, they seem particularly clear."

Xin Zhen laughed and said, "I have never done good deeds in my life, I only love to kill people and set fires. Suddenly, the golden rope was loosened, and the jade lock was broken. Hey! The tide is coming in the Qiantang River, and today you know who I am?"

Duan Yanqing was stunned after hearing what Xin Zhen said. After a long while, he became overjoyed. He quickly knocked the ground with a thin iron rod and laughed, "Not bad, not bad, that's exactly the truth. Today I know who I am. Hahahaha!"

Duan Yanqing was immersed in a state of joy of enlightenment, and Xin Zhen was also happy for him, but there were always people who spoiled the fun.

Just when Duan Yanqing was overjoyed, someone suddenly said in disgust: "Where did this cripple come from? He is so ugly and so noisy!"

Duan Yanqing looked over in surprise, only to see a team of eighty or ninety people coming in a mighty procession. At the head was a man with an immortal look, surrounded by many disciples.

Behind them were a dozen rope net carrying poles, with one person lying on each pole, carried by two people in front and behind.

The person who spoke was a thin man dressed in black, with a rat-like mustache and a fierce look.

The man carrying the burden at the back was wearing a khaki robe. He was also skinny, but tall, with drooping eyebrows, a sickly face, and a vicious look.

The next one was a man wearing a maroon robe, with a sturdy build, a square face, big ears, and a thick gray beard under his chin. He looked like a wealthy businessman.

The last person was wearing a dark blue scholar's robe, was about fifty years old, and had squinted his eyes, as if he had read too much and damaged his eyesight.

Aren’t they the four great ministers of the Murong family? The one who spoke was the belligerent Feng Bo’e.

Duan Yanqing was a little surprised because there were monks, some burly men, actors, beautiful women, etc. on the rope carrying pole at the back.

Originally he was a very smart person, but today he was lost in thought before his enlightenment, so he followed Xin Zhen with his head down, thinking about things, and neglected to observe his surroundings.

Of course, he was also certain in his heart that there would be no danger around Xin Zhen.

Duan Yanqing didn't know what was going on, but since Feng Bo was provoking him, he naturally couldn't show weakness. He was about to refute, but saw Xin Zhen shaking his head at him, so Duan Yanqing kept silent.

Feng Boye shouted again, "Ding Chunqiu, do you know who this cripple is, and who this young man is?"

Duan Yanqing was startled and looked at the old man in front of him. He was the old monster Ding Chunqiu from the Star Constellation?

Ding Chunqiu was lying on the sedan chair. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "I think it must be the evil Duan Yanqing, right?"

Feng Bo said with a chuckle: "It's good that you know. You, Xingxiu Old Monster, should be more humble in front of the evildoers. Otherwise, the Duan family's One Yang Finger is specifically designed to counter despicable people like you who use poison. This is no small matter!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the disciples of the old monster Xingxiu started to cheer one after another.

"Bullshit, the old immortal Xingxiu has boundless magical powers, how can a clown compare to him?"

"Master's power is unprecedented in history! Compared with Master, the rest of us are like fireflies competing with the sun and the moon!" "..."

Then all kinds of corny, exaggerated and childish words of praise came one after another.

Duan Yanqing understood at this time. Seeing that the people on the rope had miserable expressions, they were either injured or poisoned. They must have been captured by the Xingxiu old monster. Feng Boye wanted to provoke the young master to fight with the Xingxiu old monster in order to rescue them.

Duan Yanqing sneered.

Xin Zhen smiled and said, "Let's go in."

He ignored the stares of Xuan Nan, Doctor Xue and the others, and just walked ahead into the valley.

Ding Chunqiu also waved his hand, and the group set off and followed him into a valley.

The valley was full of pine trees, and the sound of the pine trees was like the sound of waves when the mountain wind blew past. After walking for a few miles in the forest, we arrived in front of three wooden houses.

I saw two people sitting opposite each other under a big tree in front of the house. Behind the left person stood three people.

Xin Zhen and Duan Yanqing stood not far away watching the chess game.

The group gradually approached and when they got closer, they saw a large stone between the two people sitting with a chessboard on it, and the two people were playing chess.

On the right was a short, thin, shriveled old man, and on the left was a young man. Bao Bu Tong recognized the young man as Duan Yu, and felt very annoyed, thinking: "I have always been very rude to this kid, and today he saw my miserable state, he will definitely make fun of me."

The chessboard was carved on a large bluestone. Both the black and white pieces were shining brightly. Both sides had already placed more than a hundred pieces.

Ding Chunqiu slowly approached to watch the game. The short old man picked up the black piece and made a move. Suddenly, his eyebrows furrowed, as if he saw a strange and urgent change in the game.

Duan Yu was holding a white piece in his hand, and was still pondering when Bao Bu Tong called out, "Hey, kid Duan, you've already lost. Now, admit defeat together with your fellow sufferer Bao."

The three people behind Duan Yu turned around and glared at him. They were Zhu Danchen and the other three guards.

Suddenly, Kang Guangling, Fan Bailing and the other Eight Friends of Hangu struggled out of the rope net one by one, walked to a place about ten feet away from the bluestone chessboard, and knelt down together.

Bao Bu Tong was startled and said, "What the hell?" As soon as he said these four words, he immediately realized that this thin and skinny old man was the deaf-mute old man "Mr. Congbian", who was also the master of Kang Guangling and other eight people.

But he is the mortal enemy of the old monster Ding Chunqiu. How can he still play chess with others calmly when a powerful enemy comes? And the opponent is not an important character, but just a nerd who can't do martial arts?

Kang Guangling said, "You are healthier than ever, and the eight of us are so happy." After the Eight Friends of Hangu were expelled from their school by Mr. Congbian Su Xinghe, they dared not address each other as master and disciple. Fan Bailing said, "Master Xuannan of the Shaolin School has come to see you."

Su Xinghe stood up, bowed deeply to everyone, and said, "Master Xuannan has arrived, and I, Su Xinghe, have failed to welcome him. I am sinning very badly, very badly!" He glanced at everyone and turned back to look at the chess game.

Everyone had heard Xue Muhua talk about the reason why his master was forced to pretend to be deaf and dumb. Now that he actually spoke, it meant that he was determined to fight Ding Chunqiu to the death.

Kang Guangling, Xue Muhua and others couldn't help but look at Ding Chunqiu, feeling excited and worried.

Xuan Nan said, "Okay, okay!" Seeing that Su Xinghe took this game of chess so seriously, he thought, "This person has too many chores. He is good at calligraphy, painting, chess, and everything else. No wonder his martial arts skills are not as good as my junior brother's."

Amidst the silence, Duan Yu suddenly said, "Okay, let's do it this way!" Then he placed a white piece on the chessboard.

Su Xinghe's face showed joy, he nodded, as if to express his approval, and made a black move.

Duan Yu had figured out more than ten moves, and then he made a white move. Su Xinghe then made a black move. After the two had made more than ten moves, Duan Yu heaved a long sigh, shook his head and said, "The moves made by the old gentleman are extremely profound and ingenious. I cannot decipher them."

Seeing that Su Xinghe had won, he showed a sad look on his face and said, "Young Master's chess thinking is very precise. These dozen moves have already reached a very high level. It's just that he failed to think a step further. What a pity. What a pity. What a pity, what a pity!"

He said "what a pity" four times in a row, and his regret was indeed very sincere.

Duan Yu picked up the dozen or so white pieces he had placed from the chessboard and put them into a wooden box.

Su Xinghe also picked up more than ten black pieces.

The chessboard still retains its original position.

Su Xinghe saw that Fan Bailing, the second disciple of the Eight Friends of Hangu, wanted to see more clearly, so he ordered: "Bai Ling, come over and take a good look to see if you can crack it."

Fan Bailing agreed with great joy and went up to watch. After a while, he vomited a mouthful of blood. After holding on for a while, he vomited blood again, which shocked everyone.

Su Xinghe sighed and said, "Bai Ling, please step down."

Fan Bailing retreated with a face full of shame.

Su Xinghe said: "This Zhenlong chess game was created by my master. My master spent three years of hard work to create it. I sincerely hope that the knowledgeable people in the world of chess can decipher it. I have studied it diligently for thirty years, but I have not been able to fully understand it."

At this point, he glanced at Xin Zhen, Duan Yanqing, Xuan Nan, Duan Yu, Fan Bailing and others, and said: "Master Xuan Nan is well versed in Zen principles and knows that the essence of Zen is 'sudden enlightenment'.

Years of hard work may not be as effective as the instant enlightenment of a person with innate wisdom. The same is true for chess. A talented eight or nine-year-old child can often beat a top-notch master on the chessboard.

Although I have not studied it thoroughly, there are many talented people in the world, and they may not be unable to decipher it.

My master left this wish behind. If someone could decipher it and fulfill his wish, even though he is no longer in this world, he would certainly be very pleased if he knew about it in the afterlife.

Mr. Xin, how about you give it a try too?"

Xin Zhen smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll take a look."

As soon as he finished speaking, a clear voice came from the pine branches: "Master Murong, you are here to crack the Zhenlong. I will do two things for you. Please don't blame me for being so presumptuous."

The branches and leaves swayed slightly, the breeze blew, and a monk appeared next to the chessboard.

The monk was wearing a grey robe, had a bright aura, a solemn appearance and a slight smile on his face.

Duan Yanqing transmitted the message: "Sir, this man is the Tibetan national teacher Jiumozhi. His martial arts skills are very strong. You need to be careful."

Xin Zhen smiled and nodded.

(End of this chapter)