Chapter 500 - Entering the Game

“Fine, then keep waiting…What, what?”

Qinghuo Gaozhi’s voice suddenly rose.

Jiang Wang was about to set off, but he wasn’t ready for it.

Jiang Wang stopped and asked, “What’s wrong, I can’t go now?”

“Of course you can!” Qinghuo Gaozhi hurriedly said, “After fighting side by side for so long, you should have an understanding of the warriors’ strength.

Have a look at which warriors to take?”

Jiang Wang shook his head, “Haven’t you already selected people before?

Let’s go with them.”

Qinghuo Gaozhi gave a forced smile, “But isn’t that matter over?”

For the sake of the Celebrating Fire Division, he truly could let go of his pride.

Calling ‘sir’ again and again, bearing any blame and any grievance, he served Jiang Wang as if serving a master.

“Star General,” Qinghuo Yuanceng said somewhat disgruntled, “do you look down on our warriors?”

“It’s not about looking down on anyone,” Jiang Wang said, “it’s just that…

just having me is already enough.”

Qinghuo Gaozhi took a few steps to follow.

At this moment, Jiang Wang’s exceedingly strong confidence was different from the impression he had given people before.

After a few steps, Qinghuo Gaozhi had made his decision and then said, “Let Yuanceng accompany you.”

This time, Jiang Wang did not refuse again, “Then let’s go.”

Qinghuo Gaozhi made a meaningful glance at Qinghuo Yuanceng; of course, he wouldn’t let those old men accompany Jiang Wang to the game of life and death.

Jiang Wang had already proven his strength, and the Qinghuo Tribe was aiming for a ranking this time!

Qinghuo Yuanceng understood as well and immediately selected fifteen warriors, silently following Jiang Wang.

Together with him, these sixteen town guards of the Endless Earth Den became Qinghuo Tribe’s chosen participants for the game of life and death.

Jiang Wang indeed didn’t say anything.

He wouldn’t actually demand those sixteen elders to come over by force.

His reluctance to choose people, including his deliberate decision to not disclose his plans earlier, was to make these people anxious.

In essence, it was all to express the Resentment Qi that had arisen due to Qinghuo Qiming leaping down into Dark Heaven.

If Qinghuo Gaozhi hadn’t forced Qinghuo Qiming into the den, this would not have happened.

Qinghuo Gaozhi understood this too, hence his willingness to endure any scoldings and ridicule.

Even his conspicuous eagerness these past few days was arguably to vent Jiang Wang’s anger.

In the face of the “big picture” of the Qinghuo Tribe, he truly managed not to take personal honor or disgrace to heart.

Having spent several days in the Endless Earth Den, cycling between rest and battle, leaving the fortress felt almost like entering a different world.

It was afternoon in the Floating Land, the daylight still bright.

Qinghuo Yuanceng led the way in front, speeding along the route.

The group hurried to Qinghuo Tribe’s fire shrine at top speed, where Qinghuo Heng had recently been on standby, ready to send the chess player to the game of life and death at any moment.

Seeing the fire shrine, Jiang Wang almost had the illusion that Qinghuo Qiming was still around.

But rationality told him this was impossible.

A new Wu Zhu had already assumed the position, still wearing that exaggerated mask.

This Wu Zhu had no connection with Qinghuo Qiming’s lineage.

A Wu Zhu who couldn’t conquer their fear and dared not go down into the den was enough to be the tribe’s disgrace, and the Qinghuo Tribe had long been grooming a new Wu Zhu.

However, due to the special status associated with being a Wu Zhu, they couldn’t be replaced easily.

Jiang Wang said nothing to the new Wu Zhu.

Of course, the new Wu Zhu maintained the reserved demeanor of a Wu Zhu very well.

Guided by the new Wu Zhu, the group entered the inner chamber of the fire shrine.

After walking through a long corridor, one fork led to the Totem Pool Jiang Wang had visited last time, and the other to their current destination—another dark chamber with a door covered in flame patterns in the center.

Besides that, there was nothing else.

The new Wu Zhu stood before the door and made a welcoming gesture.

No ritual was needed, or perhaps the impatient Qinghuo Heng had already made all the preparations.

They were just waiting for Jiang Wang to arrive.

Qinghuo Yuanceng walked to the front and pushed the door open.

There was a wall of fire behind the door.

Qinghuo Yuanceng didn’t hesitate and stepped directly into the “fire wall.”

Jiang Wang was the second one to enter.

“The fire wall” doesn’t burn people; with one step through, the scene has completely changed.

The first thing they saw was a giant stone gate.

The stone gate was suffused with a hazy, pale light, making it impossible to see inside.

Next to the stone gate stood a tall stele, which must be the “Stele Chess Manual.”

The entire Life and Death chessboard was condensed onto the stele, with different positions emitting lights of different shapes, colors, and intensities.

The most numerous among these were the small glowing dots, all of which had the same intensity and were continuously moving.

These were the participants of Life and Death Chess.

One couldn’t see what they were facing; one could only observe their location and who they encountered.

After an encounter, the dot that continued to move forward was naturally the winner.

The Fire Clan was represented by red dots, the Water Clan by blue dots, the Earth Clan by yellow dots, the Plague Clan by black dots… and there were many others.

Only the native residents of the Floating Land could accurately distinguish the subtle differences between each tribe.

This stone gate was the entry for the Celebrating Fire Division’s participants in the chess game.

Several warriors of the Qinghuo Tribe stood guard here, constantly watching the “Stele Chess Manual.”

Seeing Qinghuo Yuanceng and others arrive, they were all very pleased.

According to the traditions handed down by the elders, they needed to confirm their “identity” for entering the game on the Stele Chess Manual.

For instance, Jiang Wang, as the Chess player, would press his hand into the palm print designated for the Chess player.

And Qinghuo Yuanceng was one of the two Chess players.

After confirming, Qinghuo Yuanceng glanced at the sky and suggested, “Chess player, sir, there’s not much time left.

How about we set off tomorrow?”

Jiang Wang asked, “How long until it gets dark?”

“During Life and Death Chess, the sky darkens very punctually,” answered Qinghuo Yuanceng.

“There’s about half an hour left.”

“Let’s go in,” Jiang Wang said.

Entering now meant that if they couldn’t occupy a Life Point within half an hour, then the outcome would be failure.

They would be directly erased by Life and Death Chess.

Alternatively, one could choose to give up and exit the chess game before that time; once they exited, they couldn’t re-enter.

The decision was undoubtedly adventurous.

But, including Qinghuo Yuanceng, none of the sixteen Qinghuo warriors raised any further objections.

Jiang Wang was the Chess player; his decision was the command.

Regardless of their stance, they were all very qualified warriors who had fought for many years in the most significant and dangerous Endless Earth Den within the domain of the Qinghuo Tribe.

Stepping through the stone gate, the hazy pale light carried a mysterious set of rules.

Jiang Wang felt it; his already scant Totem Power completely vanished without a trace— this was why the strong inhabitants of the Floating Land couldn’t exert their Transcendent powers in the Life and Death Chess game.

What relieved him was that the “Star Power” stored within his Totem of Fire remained unaffected.

This meant his preparations hadn’t been in vain.

Indeed, Life and Death Chess only targeted Totem Power.

With Path Origin within him, the disappearance of a trivial amount of Totem Power didn’t affect Jiang Wang at all.

And the sixteen warriors following him all looked alright as well.

Before coming to Life and Death Chess, they had already left most of their Totem Power in the totem pool at the Fire Shrine.

It was said to be a matter repeatedly emphasized by Qinghuo Gaozhi…

truly frugal.

But while Qinghuo Gaozhi’s starting point might have been stinginess, the final effect was quite positive.

At least these sixteen warriors skipped a lot of adaptation time.

Upon entering the Life and Death Chess game, Jiang Wang and his group were within a light circle, likely the range of the starting point.

Before them was a road paved with enormous stone slabs.

Each stone slab was exactly the same size, sixteen zhang in both length and width.

And one slab represented “one position,” namely, “one move” in the Life and Death Chess game.

The visible area was not very broad, in fact, it could be called narrow.

Most of the environment was hidden in fog.

ps: Why are the recommendation tickets always around 800 in number?

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