Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 39: Success In Breaking Through

[T/n note on title]¹

On the way home, Ji Yuan kept thinking about Yin Qing.

If he could previously see the third master of the Luo family clearly through his eyes, it may have been that the opponent’s had high martial arts skills, or that his temperament was special. Yin Qing’s situation could only be attributed to either his talent or potential, but he couldn’t determine which one.

Although Ji Yuan guessed that Yin Qing was probably a person with the potential to cultivate immortality, he also felt that this conclusion was a bit narrow, since it was also possible for civil or military talents to be cultivated. He would just have to wait and see.

For Ji Yuan, the Yin family were his real first neighbors after settling in Ning’an County.

At dawn the next day, Yin Zhaoxian took Yin Qing to right outside of the courtyard of Ju’an Pavilion, carrying a box of flower cakes and two bottles of Huadiao wine.²

The father and son looked at the courtyard. It used to be gloomy, but now just standing outside the door gave off a fresh and natural feeling. Even their breathing felt exceptionally smooth, and the fear in their hearts disappeared.

Yin Zhaoxian transferred the rope handle of the box to his right hand. Just as he was about to knock on the door, he heard a strong, even voice coming from inside.

“Come in, the courtyard door is unlocked.”

Yin Zhaoxian was stunned for a moment. He hurriedly adjusted his clothes, then pushed open the courtyard door and stepped inside.

“Yin Zhaoxian and his son Yin Qing are here to visit Mr. Ji!”

“Haha, Master Yin, come in, come in. There was no need to bring anything.”

Ji Yuan put down the bamboo slips in his hands and bowed to Yin Zhaoxian, cupped his hands and bowed in return, still holding his items.

“It is our first visit, I should not be rude. Besides, Mr. Ji’s remarks yesterday enlightened me. I hope Mr. Ji will accept this small gift!”

After he finished speaking, Yin Zhaoxian took a few steps closer and placed the gift on the stone table. Naturally, he could clearly see the scrolls on the table, and could not help but let out a soft exclamation.

“Bamboo slips?”

In today’s time, paper had long been popular among scholars, and writing books on bamboo slips had become extremely rare, or had long since disappeared.

“Yes, it’s bamboo slips.”

Ji Yuan replied nonchalantly.

“The bamboo slips here are all gifts from friends. Due to my limited vision, I can’t read ordinary books. Master Yin and Xiao Yin Qing, don’t just stand there, please take a seat.”

Seeing Yin Zhaoxian leading Yin Qing to sit down at the stone table, Ji Yuan took the initiative to bring up the topic.

“I heard that Master Yin was going to be the head of the school in Ning’an County. I was remiss in congratulating you, but you nonetheless came in person. How are the preparations for the school now?”

“Well, thanks to the support from everyone in Ning’an County, the school is almost ready, and we will start teaching the new students in two days.”

This was something Yin Zhaoxian was extremely proud of, and he said it with a smile on his face. Yin Qing, to his side, kept staring at the well in the courtyard, which was currently covered by the wooden board and weighed down with stones.

“Mr. Ji, you have a well in your yard, why do you have to go outside to fetch water?”

There were two water tanks in front of the kitchen of Ju’an Pavilion, one large and one small. The large water tank was about a half-tank full, and the water inside was already ten days old, from when he had gone outside to fetch some.

Ji Yuan glanced at the well in the courtyard and replied casually.

“This well has been contaminated with some dirty things. Although I’m not a germophobe, I still don’t want to drink the water from this well.”

Some things didn’t need to be explained too clearly; smart people could always understand. Combined with the previous rumors of Ju’an Pavilion, Yin Zhaoxian realized something. He subconsciously turned his body to the side, slightly away from the mouth of the well. He then placed his hands on the table and, with one hand, touched the tip of a scroll of bamboo.

‘This bamboo slip is so cool! ’

Looking back, the words written in seal script on the bamboo slip were “The Thirty-Six Moves of Chess,” and he suddenly found more topics to chat about with Ji Yuan.

Yin Zhaoxian didn’t ask about ghosts or gods like the Lord City God. He had just one purpose: to establish a good relationship with Ji Yuan.

After the initial period of self-restraint had passed, Yin Zhaoxian also slowly let his tension go. Ji Yuan was really easy-going, and naturally made people gradually relax around him. This courtyard also gave people a comfortable feeling, whether sitting, standing, or lying down.

The two chatted about everything in that small courtyard, while Yin Qing listened quietly from the side.

The more they talked, the more Yin Zhaoxian felt that Mr. Ji was really unfathomable. He knew everything from astronomy to geography, and Yin Zhaoxian had never even heard of the vast majority of his insights before. Bu when he thought for a moment, they were really unique and insightful. However, although it seemed like he understood almost everything, he often fell short in worldly matters. He lacked common sense, and frequently turned to Yin Zhaoxian for advice.

The father and son did not leave until noon. Yin Zhaoxian was still reluctant to part, but Yin Qing had long grown bored.

Ji Yuan also had a very pleasant chat. After the last time, when he had gone to the temple and the outer temple building, this was the most he had talked in days. Moreover, chatting with a scholar like Yin Zhaoxian, someone knowledgeable but not pedantic, really was better. Compared to other people, they shared a common language,³ and he didn’t have to be as restrained as when he had questioned the City God.

Looking at the Huadiao wine on the stone table, Ji Yuan grabbed a jar and pulled out the red stopper to smell it. He found that the smell of alcohol was very light, so he picked it up and took a sip.

“Although the alcohol is weak, it doesn’t taste too bad!”

Ji Yuan murmured to himself. He remembered that, although he occasionally drank with his grandfather in his previous life, he never thought that wine tasted good.

Putting down the wine bottle, he stretched out his finger, touched the mouth of the jar, and gently pulled his finger upwards.

A thin line of wine floated out from the jar, and as Ji Yuan’s fingers curled, it flew around in the air and entered his mouth.

‘Well, this little water control technique⁴ can be regarded as just an introduction.’

The small water control technique could barely be regarded as a kind of water-governing technique, but Ji Yuan was extremely satisfied with this move!

. . .

On the second day of April, the beginning of summer, the jujube tree in Ju’an Pavilion bloomed.

. . .

More than 200 miles from Niu Kui Mountain, crossing the edge of Desheng Prefecture, through Dingyuan Prefecture, and passing into Tianyue Prefecture, covering over that distance three prefectures in total…

That night, in the depths of Niu Kui Mountain in Dingyuan Prefecture:⁵

“ROOOOOAAAR!”

The tiger’s roar sounded for miles, hundreds of birds and beasts fled!

“Rumble…”

Faint, dark clouds were gathering in the sky, with lightning and thunder rolling inside of them. After more than an hour, they gradually dissipated, leaving only a burst of mountain rain.

On the top of the City God Temple in Chengze County, Dingyuan Province, Jin Gaoguan⁶ stared at the nearby Niu Kui Mountain, his line of sight extending towards the gradually dispersing rain clouds.

“Hey, I’m afraid there’s a demon that is about break through!”

After he shook his head and sighed, the City God’s incarnation body disappeared where he stood.

In the mountains, an eye-catching tiger, two or three times the size of a normal tiger, gazed up at the moon. It was none other than the Tiger Spirit Lu Shan Jun.

The thunderclouds gathering at the top of the mountain, covering it in the rain, made Lu Shan Jun’s heart race, and he was extremely excited.

Cultivation is an act against heaven,⁷ and the thunder was a symbol of the power of heaven. Plants, trees, and animals were all especially afraid of thunder. Some enlightened spirits with spiritual intelligence would instinctively hide and avoid thunderstorms. It was as if there was a deep fear in their souls.

And once these spirits, especially monsters, were about to break through in their cultivation, it was more likely that they would cause thunderstorms wherever they were located, and sometimes even out of season, if it was against heaven’s will.

Of course, no matter how terrifying the thunder was, it was still only weather. Most of the monsters and demons that caused thunderstorms were very smart, and there were ways to avoid it. That was not to say that there weren’t some unlucky few who were killed in the strikes, but they were rare, like those who lacked common sense. For example, those who would hide in a tree during a thunderstorm, and their tree being struck by lightning.

At this moment, the tiger spirit calmed down, and jumped down from the rock where he was perched. In his heart, he thought that maybe in a dozen years, or perhaps just a few, he would have the key to break through the shackles of monsters,⁸ and then he would really be able to travel in the outside world!

At the same time, at the border between Tianyue Prefecture and Niu Kui Mountain, two groups of martial arts warriors were in hot pursuit of one another, fighting all the way into Niu Kui Mountain, competing to gain clues to a certain martial arts treasure.

1. The phrase specifically used is 成气候了 (chéng qìhòu liǎo) which means achieving the next stage or becoming powerful. It’s translated in a LOT of other cultivation novels as “breaking through,” indicating breaking through a barrier of power into the next stage, so that’s what I will be sticking with. ↩︎
2. High quality wine made from glutinous rice ↩︎
3. Presumably referring to the language of academics/erudition, so they can have more in-depth conversations about scholarly subjects ↩︎
4. The literal translation is “water avoidance technique” (避 bì – to avoid/to shun/to flee/to escape) but that really doesn’t translate well. The only reason why this matters enough for me to put a footnote is that in the next sentence he explains that it’s not full water control (which I translated as “water governing”) it’s just the basics, hence “avoidance” instead of the actual Chinese for “control” ↩︎
5. T/n: no, I don’t know why they described passing through 3 entire prefectures when they just went back to the 2nd one. Oh well. ↩︎
6. His name literally translates to “golden crown” 😀 In case you couldn’t tell by the context (or the next couple sentences) this is the City God of Chengze County in Dingyuan Prefecture. ↩︎
7. Because immortality is against the rules of heaven/natural law ↩︎
8. T/n: reminder: this means he would gain the ability to transform his shape into that of a human ↩︎