NABC Chapter 19: Chess Players Above the Clouds and the Game of Classes
Chapter 19: Chess Players Above the Clouds and the Game of Classes
Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, top floor of Mingde Tower.
This place boasts the highest level of soul-guided technology in the entire Sun Moon Federation. The moment you stand here, the air feels different; it's indescribable, just heavy, pressing down. The row of windows on the wall are made of level eleven defensive soul-guided glass—even a demigod couldn't penetrate it—but you can't stop the wind outside. It's a low, humming sound, and if you listen to it for too long, it sends chills down your spine; you don't even know what you're afraid of.
Xu Tianqi stood by the window, not wearing the dean's robe, but a simple blue cloth robe, like a schoolteacher. His hair was held back with a wooden hairpin, neither neat nor messy, just that kind of nonchalant air. Behind him was a zither, the Carefree Azure Phoenix Zither, suspended in mid-air, old, the lacquer on the surface dulled, but you didn't need to touch it to know what was underneath. There were no strings; it vibrated in the air on its own, and staring at it for too long would make your eyes blurry. The surrounding space moved slightly in concentric circles, like skipping stones, but you couldn't see the water; you sensed it from the distortion of the air.
He didn't look at Mingdu beneath his feet. He looked east. In front of him was a water mirror, formed from gathered soul power, slowly rotating. The mirror reflected Donghai City, the entrance to the Federal Public Soul Guidance Academy. There were many people, flags of various colors. Mo Runshu, dressed impeccably, stood there smiling. His smile seemed amiable, but if you knew what kind of person he was, you wouldn't dare think that.
"A calculated scheme," he muttered to himself.
His fingers tapped rhythmically on the windowsill. The rhythm wasn't one of happiness, but it wasn't anger either. It was more of a "you go your way, I'll watch" kind of tone. He tapped for a while, then stopped. He started talking to himself.
Mo Runshu, your move to undermine the sect's foundation is brilliant, but you're too hasty. You've destroyed the sect's very core, turning those who were originally loyal to the sect into mere contributors to the Federation. This is no longer just an economic issue. You're trying to replace the sect's rules with the nation's rules. Loyalty and righteousness can't put food on the table, but subsidies can. You've given those people hope, and that's how you gain influence. With influence, you have everything.
His hands stopped. He turned to look at the piano behind him. The piano played a single note, not loud, but it made your heart skip a beat, and then it stopped.
The door opened. The vice dean walked in, his hair gray, his face tense. He glanced at Shui Jing, then at Xu Tianqi's retreating figure, his lips moving as if he hesitated, unsure whether to speak. In the end, he did.
"Dean, news has come from the East China Sea. Mo Runshu has ordered that Tang Wulin undergo bloodline purification surgery at the Federal Soul Guidance Research Center tonight at midnight."
Xu Tianqi didn't turn around. A cup of tea had appeared in his hand without him noticing, and he blew on it. "Purification Surgery? That sounds like a nice name."
The vice dean stepped forward, lowering his voice. "Our analysis suggests that Mo Runshu plans to use the Golden Dragon Blood Essence submitted by the Spirit Pagoda as a catalyst, combined with the Federation's gene-locking technology, to remove the savagery from the Golden Dragon King's bloodline. He wants to turn this power into the Federation's, to nationalize it." He paused for a moment after saying the last four words.
Xu Tianqi took a sip of tea. It was cold. He put the cup down. "He wanted to turn himself into a knife. But he forgot that a knife needs a sheath. If the sheath is no good, the knife will hurt itself first."
"Dean," the vice-dean cried anxiously, "if we don't intervene soon, that child might be ruined. His Golden Dragon King bloodline has been forcibly altered; he'll have no potential left, and he might even go insane. Besides, this matter has offended too many people. Shrek Academy and the Spirit Pagoda are not to be trifled with; if we push this too far, will a fight break out?"
"Hit?" Xu Tianqi sneered, not at the vice dean, but at the sky outside the window. "How many years have you been with me?"
Thirty years? The moment the tax decree was issued, the war had already begun. It wasn't a question of whether to fight or not, but when to start.
He stood up, walked to the window, and flung it open. A gust of wind rushed in, making his clothes rustle and his hair fly. He stood there looking down. The light was everywhere; the house looked small.
"Mo Runshu is a talent, but also a madman. He thinks that if he has the Golden Dragon King in his grasp, he can win this battle. He's wrong. The Golden Dragon King is not something his instruments can manipulate. The more he tries to use technology to cleanse the bloodline, the stronger the bloodline will resist. That child is going to suffer."
He paused for a moment.
"He was a good teacher. He saw the problem in the child's bloodline and wanted to help him clear it away, to help him grasp that power. But he was too hasty. He wanted to use political methods to manage bloodline matters, to use his skills to conform to the rules of the divine realm. This was like pulling up seedlings to help them grow. The seedlings grow fast, but the roots are not deep. They will fall over when the wind comes."
The vice president then asked, "Should we stop them?"
"Stop him? Now is not the time." Xu Tianqi shook his head. "Besides, I can't stop him. This is the path he's meant to take. Wait until he's in that much pain, until he feels there's no way out—"
He stretched out one hand and drew a line in the air. A blue light flowed from his fingertips.
With a clang, the reflection in the water shattered.
"That's when I'll step in. Not to save his life, but to save his path."
He turned around, and his eyes were different. It wasn't cold; it was a kind of "You go your way, I'll watch. Don't be afraid."
"Pass down the order. The academy is on high alert. Not to guard against people, but to be ready to receive them at any time. Keep an eye on Shrek Academy. Yun Ming's money is gone, but his sword is still there. Mo Runshu is pressing hard now, and it's hard to say what Shrek Academy might do. It's best if things don't get chaotic tomorrow. If they do, we have to protect that child, and we also have to protect the Federation."
The vice dean responded and left. The door closed.
The room fell silent again. The wind was still pounding against the glass outside. Xu Tianqi sat back down, closed his eyes, and placed his fingers on the violin, but didn't pluck the strings. The violin remained silent. But there were ripples in the air, circles upon circles, invisible to the naked eye, yet they sent chills down your spine as you sat there.
He was waiting. Waiting for Mo Runshu to crash into a wall. Waiting for Tang Wulin to give up. Waiting for the time when he could intervene.
"Wu Lin," he said softly, almost to himself. The window behind him was closed, but the wind was still blowing outside.
"Your teacher wants to help you. But his method is wrong. It's not about suppression, it's about integration. Political unification is easy, but matters of bloodline depend on your own path. Endure it, and you'll stand firm. Then I'll teach you. That's not my skill, it's the path you were meant to take."
His hand finally moved, and he plucked a string.
Zheng—
A sound. Not a silent probe, but a clear, distinct sound. The sound didn't seem to come from a zither, but from the heavens. It traveled through the walls, through the tower, and down. The entire academy heard it. Students stopped writing, those in the corridors stopped, and everyone turned to look at the tower. Some saw a large bird in the clouds, blue, with wings so wide you couldn't count them. It didn't cry. Its shadow covered Mingdu. Standing below, you felt the sun dim for a moment. Just for a moment.
Xu Tianqi's eyes were open, but there was no sound within them. Like a well, deep and old, you could throw a stone in and hear no sound.
He said one last thing, very briefly.
"Child, don't be afraid. I'm here."