Rise of the Demon God

'This doesn't seem like a Battle of strength. As for this chess-like thing, this should be the main component of the trial. Should I stand in the king's position and battle in the way of chess? But it's not chess. I don't know the rules and anything else either. The number of boxes is wrong too,' Long Chen thought as he frowned.

"What are we supposed to do here?" Long Chen asked the red-haired disciple that was standing on the other side of the room.

"Are you an idiot? What else can we do when there's a Liangyi Board before us? We are supposed to battle using Liangyi and the pieces that we have. Only the King that survives can go ahead. Shut up now and step on the king's position so that I can start the battle and kill you!" The Red-Haired Disciples said in anger as he scolded Long Chen.

"I don't know the rules, though," Long Chen replied with a wry smile on his face.

" It doesn't matter! Just step on the King's position and begin the battle. If you don't even have that much courage, then crush your crystal and scram out of here! Don't waste my time with your stupidity!" The Red-Haired Guy let out in annoyance.

" This bastard is making me really angry," Long Chen muttered as he felt his blood boil and his anger rising.

"Ignore him. Don't lose your temper. If he knew your true strength and how many Cultivators like him you have killed, he would never have dared to open his mouth before you. Just think of him as an ant and ignore him," Xun said in order to calm Long Chen down.

' Do you know anything about this game? I have no clue, and without any knowledge, I'll just be looking to die if I step there,' Long Chen asked Xun as he looked at the king's empty box on his side on the ground.

****

" There is Liangyi there? I didn't even teach him anything about Liangyi after his accident, and he probably forgot everything he knew with his memories," Mu Yun exclaimed with concern on her face.

" Crush that, Crystal. Please Crush that crystal!" She muttered as she looked towards the screen, hoping that her son would take the right decision and leave the trial.

"True. Without any Knowledge of  Liangyi, he can't win.  He would only be looking for death if he stepped on the board. He needs to crush the crystal," Ruan Yi let out as she stared at Long Chen on the screen.

' Hmph, that's where his journey ends. I knew this bastard could never finish the trial. So what if he killed some people and finished some trials. Anyone can finish a few if they're lucky. Only in the later stages can the true talent of a disciple be shown,' Elder Fu Min thought with a subtle smile on her face as if she was enjoying Long Chen's misfortune. She didn't like Long Chen just because he was supported by Ruan Yi, who insulted her and her candidate.

****

"I think I have seen this game in the upper realm, and I can probably help you move your pieces, but I can't guarantee that I can get us to win," Xun said to Long Chen as she appeared near him.

'Whatever is better than nothing. Just tell me the rules of the game. I'll handle everything else,' Long Chen told Xun.

In his previous life, Long Chen was a young college student when he had died. He was good at his studies, but he was not great. It was not because he couldn't understand anything, but because he put more of his effort on other things instead of only academics.

He was also a part of the chess club and one of the top Chess Players of the college. If he knew the rules and if they were similar to chess, he believed that he could win using his own plan.

"Okay. Let me explain the rules in short then. Each of the Puppets on your side is supposed to reflect a piece of Liangyi. If you look carefully, the pieces have a number on their body. The first piece has number one on his body, and the 17th piece has the number seventeen. You will probably be considered number eighteen," Xun started explaining.

"Hey, you trash! What the hell are you doing standing there! Get your ass on the board or scram the hell out of here. Don't waste my time here! I didn't clear my trials so fast only to wait for a worthless kid to make a decision! I need to catch up to the others!" The Red-Haired Disciples kept screaming on the side in anger, but Long Chen ignored his words and focused on Xun.

' Ignore him and continue what you were saying,' He told Xun as he folded his arms while keeping his eyes on the board to pretend as if he was lost in thought about his decision.

****

Outside the Hall of Death, everyone that was watching the telecast was wondering why Long Chen was talking so long. All he needed to do was crush the Crystal since he had no hopes of finishing this trial.

"Maybe he's trying to remember? If he can remember something from his lost memory about Liangyi, he might have a chance to win," Ruan Yi muttered as he placed her hand on her chin and stared at Long Chen's face with great interest.

'Why do I feel that he's not thinking seriously? Was I wrong? Is he intentionally wasting time?' She thought as she observed Long Chen's expressions.

****

" It's a turn by turn game. The number of one to nine pieces are normal pieces that can only move one step forward each turn. Only when your piece reaches the spot right before the other player's piece can they kill the opponent's piece," Xun said.

'That sounds like the pawns of the chess, but she didn't mention anything about killing in cross boxes like pawns could do,' Long Chen wondered as he looked at the puppets standing on the front line.

'Are there any rules about the front pieces? Can they move in the cross when an opponent is there?' Long Chen asked Xun.

"They can't. They can only move front and kill the ones on the front," Xun let out as she shook her head.

'That changes the game by a lot and the strategy as well. I guess it won't be that simple after all,' Long Chen thought as he sighed.

'Tell me about other pieces,' Long Chen asked Xun using his thoughts.

" The tenth to the fifteenth piece can only move two steps in cross. If they end up before the opponent's piece, they can kill it. They can kill before them or on cross one step," Xun explained about the other pieces.

"So I have five Bishops that have limitations and some advantages," Long Chen muttered as he nodded his head.

The Red-Haired Man kept screaming at Long Chen as if he was going mad because he was ignoring him.

Long Chen kept ignoring him and focused on understanding his pieces better.

"The 16th and the 17th piece can move three steps in any direction; front or cross. The other killing methods are the same," Xun explained about the rest of the pieces.

'So they are just crippled queens. I understand. How many steps can the king move?' Long Chen asked Xun as he was the only piece he didn't know about now.

" The King can not move in the game, so if your pieces die first, the opponent can kill you easily, and you won't be able to escape either. So make sure to use your pieces carefully. I'll advise you as well if I see something," Xun told Long Chen.