"Hiss!"
A collective gasp swept through the crowd.
Then, all eyes turned to the chessboard of the last elder.
This elder was the only one left playing against Ling Feng. However, his board showed no more moves than the others, merely thirty-six moves!
This didn't necessarily indicate his prowess, but rather his cautious or slow approach.
If the game had continued, he might have been able to hold Ling Feng off for a few more moves.
But it was all meaningless. After all, if six people couldn't withstand Ling Feng's killing aura, and only he remained,
He was already terrified.
To surrender early was a relatively wise choice.
However, such an act of surrender was seen as deeply shameful by everyone. If it were to spread, his reputation would be severely tarnished. Unless it was an absolute last resort, or the difference in strength was insurmountable, people would rather die fighting than surrender!
This further underscored the extraordinary height of Ling Feng's chess mastery, a level that most present could not even aspire to!
It was precisely because of this that those who had mocked Ling Feng earlier felt a burning sting on their faces.
The humiliation came as swiftly as a tornado...
Ling Feng slowly stood up. Besides looks of awe, the only other expressions surrounding him were those of envy!
Ling Feng was simply too young!
And at such a young age, he had reached a height that they might never attain in their lifetimes, which was despair-inducing and drove them to frenzied jealousy!
"Hmph, it was just a coincidence!"
"I think the six senior masters were going easy on him!"
"This kid must be rich. He bought off the six masters with money and is just here to build his reputation!"
...
Such voices emerged, but they were mere whispers from below, clearly not as loud as before. They could only vent their frustrations in such a manner.
"Can we move now?"
Ling Feng asked softly. Though his tone was casual, to the six opponents, he seemed like an undefeated war god wielding a spear within the chessboard.
The game had ended, but Ling Feng's killing intent had not dissipated at all.
The six, still shaken, exchanged glances and simultaneously took a step back, clearing a path.
"Please!"
The six made a "please" gesture in unison, their expressions incredibly respectful.
Ling Feng accepted their deference with great composure and walked step by step towards the chessboard on the wall.
"Does he really intend to break the chess formation?"
"No way. Even if his chess skills are formidable, this bizarre formation is no small matter. I couldn't break it even with computer algorithms!"
"Heh, he's still too arrogant. He thinks winning against six masters means he can break this wicked formation by himself?"
...
The surrounding discussions resurfaced, clearly showing they still didn't favor Ling Feng.
Yang Fei and Tang Ru followed behind Ling Feng, growing increasingly disgusted with the people around them.
Second Floor.
"This young man's chess has too much killing intent. He actually suppressed the six opponents with mere aura, causing them to fall so quickly!"
The butler exclaimed in admiration, his eyes shining as he stared at Ling Feng.
Hua Puti stroked his white beard and nodded with satisfaction, beckoning to the butler, "Let's go down to see clearly!"
The butler was taken aback and quickly followed Hua Puti down, marveling inwardly.
It had been agreed that he would only meet his master after the chess formation was solved, but now his master couldn't wait to go down.
It seemed his master held great expectations for this young man.
Ling Feng arrived before the chessboard and took it in with a single glance. The surrounding scene had already transformed into a dark and chilling passage.
This passage was not only winding and twisting, but its visibility was extremely low. Once one ventured deep into it, they would lose their way.
Ling Feng's brow furrowed slightly.
This chess formation was indeed masterfully crafted!
"Interesting!"
Ling Feng suddenly spoke these words.
The six masters beside him were stunned for a moment, then exchanged glances and shook their heads with wry smiles!
They had been studying it for a long time. This formation was incredibly tricky; the more they tried to break it, the deeper they became lost, unable to find a clue.
Moreover, after a prolonged period, they would even feel a sense of suffocation, causing their blood to surge. Therefore, they had no confidence in solving it and had named it the "Wicked Formation"!
And before such a wicked formation, Ling Feng had only offered such an evaluation.
"Interesting?"
His words carried a hint of disdain. Did this mean Ling Feng truly had the confidence to break the formation?
Tang Ru, who couldn't understand Go at all, stared at the chess pieces, each as large as a fist, and curiously asked Yang Fei, "Why are these chess pieces so big?"
"Heh, those are magnets, and the board is specially made to facilitate breaking the formation! If it can't be solved, the formation will reset directly!"
Yang Fei explained casually.
Tang Ru became even more curious, "Oh, so is this formation very powerful? I see the black and white pieces are almost equal in number."
"Heh, this is called a 'residual game,' meaning a game that's halfway through. It's also a formation specifically arranged by people. Those who enter can choose either black or white pieces, but the difficulty of solving it should be the same for both!"
As Yang Fei spoke, he studied it more closely. However, the more he looked, the tighter his brow furrowed, and he finally couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"Ah? Why are you sighing? Is this formation very difficult?" Tang Ru transformed into a thousand questions.
Yang Fei smiled bitterly and shook his head, "It's not very difficult, it's as difficult as ascending to heaven! To summarize in two words: it's wicked. I tried a few moves and found myself getting deeper and deeper, as if... entering a maze!"
Yang Fei's words were also heard by those around him.
Elder Sun chimed in, "That's right, it's just like entering a maze, which is why we call it the Wicked Formation!"
At this moment, a smile curved Ling Feng's lips, and a spark of fighting spirit flickered in his eyes.
He picked up a black stone and, with a flick of his sleeve, placed it down!
*Crack!*
The black stone adhered to the board, and an immediate uproar ensued.
"Damn, he actually dared to play!"
"And he's using black stones! We analyzed earlier that black stones have a win rate of thirty-two percent! In comparison, white stones have a much higher win rate!"
"Tch, hurry up and put away your broken computer. Putting aside whether you're cheating, your computer can't break this formation at all!"
"Hmph, this kid's style is all about killing intent. He's just a brute! He got lucky defeating the six masters with such a tactic. I doubt he can solve this wicked formation, which hides countless mysteries!"