129: Haoran Palace, chessboard shattered

Three incense sticks later.

Xie Weilou had caught a total of seven Starry Fish.

"Eerie!"

Song Shenfeng secretly uttered two words. It was impossible to catch Starry Fish with ordinary worms; this kid definitely had something special about him.

Xie Weilou pointed at the fish basket: "I want three."

"Alright."

Song Shenfeng smiled faintly, put away four of them, and handed the remaining bamboo basket to Xie Weilou.

Xie Weilou took the bamboo basket with a beaming smile: "These fish will surely be delicious when roasted."

"Of course."

Song Shenfeng chuckled. He had also snagged two Starry Fish from the Dean before, and their taste remained unforgettable to this day.

Xie Weilou looked at Song Shenfeng: "Aren't you going to take me somewhere?"

Song Shenfeng put away his fishing rod, waved his hand, and a force enveloped Xie Weilou, instantly carrying him far away.

A moment later.

The two appeared in a mysterious area. There were seven grand halls here: three on the left, three on the right, and one in front. The hall in front was fiery red and even more extraordinary.

"Hmm?"

Xie Weilou stared at the fiery red hall in front. The Heavenly Book actually stirred slightly, indicating that there must be something good hidden within that hall.

Song Shenfeng saw Xie Weilou staring at the fiery red hall and shook his head: "That hall is the Fallen Heaven Hall, but you have no cultivation, so I cannot take you inside. I can only take you to another hall..."

He walked towards a hall on the right.

Xie Weilou suppressed his inner emotions and followed Song Shenfeng towards the hall on the right.

The two then entered a hall on the right.

Inside the hall.

There were more than a dozen statues, each depicting a scholar. They held poetry books in their hands and exuded Vast Righteous Qi, appearing exceptionally remarkable.

Song Shenfeng looked at the surrounding statues and mused: "This is the Haoran Hall, one of the Holy Courtyard's Confucian Dao inheritance grounds. The Confucian Dao is extremely extraordinary. If you can obtain the inheritance of a great Confucian, perhaps you can transform your waste bones into spirit bones with the power of Haoran, thereby defying fate and changing your destiny."

This hall would not test cultivation; ordinary people could also enter. For Xie Weilou, it was currently the most suitable First Hall. It remained to be seen whether this opportunity to defy fate and change destiny would fall upon this young man.

"This is possible too?"

Xie Weilou was somewhat surprised.

Song Shenfeng said in a deep voice: "Vast Righteous Qi is naturally extraordinary. In the Holy Courtyard, there was once a person born with waste bones, destined to be without cultivation. However, he loved to read poetry and studied diligently for thirty years, eventually comprehending Haoran, and in a single thought, reached the peak of the Dragon Transformation realm. Now, he is even more unfathomable. He is the Grandmaster of the Holy Courtyard..."

Xie Weilou asked in surprise: "Then what should I do?"

Song Shenfeng said: "Walk past these statues. If you are fated, the statues will naturally show an anomaly."

Normally, as long as one possessed scholarly aura, approaching the statues would cause an anomaly, merely a matter of strength or weakness.

If the anomaly was significant, there was a high probability of comprehending the power of Haoran.

"Then I'll try."

Xie Weilou walked past these statues one by one; there were thirteen in total.

However, after he finished walking.

Not a single statue showed any anomaly.

"It seems... it's not working."

Xie Weilou turned around and looked at Song Shenfeng in confusion.

Song Shenfeng raised an eyebrow. Could it be that this kid truly had no scholarly aura at all?

He pointed to the table at the very front: "There's a game of chess on it. Go try it."

"Forget it! I don't know how to play chess."

Xie Weilou glanced at the table and shook his head.

"Try it."

Song Shenfeng said with a serious expression.

"Alright."

Xie Weilou stepped forward, sat down casually, and looked at the chessboard on the table.

"He can get close."

Song Shenfeng was shocked. This chess game was very peculiar, containing a strange power that even he found difficult to approach, yet this kid Xie Weilou could get close?

Could it be that this kid had a chance to comprehend the power of Haoran?

Xie Weilou was unaware of Song Shenfeng's thoughts. He simply picked up a chess piece at random and placed it on the board.

Crack!

The chessboard instantly cracked, and a powerful force directly sent Xie Weilou flying.

Song Shenfeng's eyes narrowed, and he immediately reached out his hand, a surge of power touching Xie Weilou.

After Xie Weilou stabilized his body, he looked at Song Shenfeng in confusion: "What's going on? This chessboard broke? It can't be that it doesn't want to play chess with me, right?"

Song Shenfeng was silent for a second: "This chess game was left by the founder of the Haoran Branch. The fact that the chessboard shattered means you truly have no affinity with the Haoran Hall..."

He could get close to the chessboard, yet the chessboard shattered, which left Song Shenfeng somewhat puzzled.

Xie Weilou said: "Perhaps this so-called founder's chess skills were too low, and he felt unworthy of playing against me, so he shattered the chessboard himself."

Song Shenfeng was somewhat speechless. He directly pulled Xie Weilou and walked out of the hall.

After arriving outside the hall.

Xie Weilou looked at the fiery red hall: "Can't you really let me go inside and have a look around?"

"No!"

Song Shenfeng shook his head. With a wave of his hand, he instantly vanished from the spot with Xie Weilou.

They reappeared.

The two arrived at a plaza.

Song Shenfeng pondered for a moment, then took out a token from his 懷 and handed it to Xie Weilou: "This token is for you. With it, you can freely enter and exit the Holy Courtyard."

Xie Weilou took the token and glanced at it. There was a character 'Shen' on it, clearly indicating that it was Song Shenfeng's identity token.

Song Shenfeng looked at Xie Weilou: "Although I've given you the token, you are not one of The Holy Courtyard's Disciples; you merely have the qualification to enter and exit..."

Xie Weilou chuckled awkwardly: "Then will you still take me as a disciple?"

"Cough cough! What disciple? I, Song Shenfeng, never take disciples. I alone can defeat all under heaven."

Song Shenfeng coughed lightly.

"Heh heh!"

Xie Weilou walked away speechless.

"......"

Song Shenfeng said nothing more and flew away directly.

Xie Weilou played with Song Shenfeng's token, a playful smile on his face. He then looked in a certain direction: "There are good things in that great hall!"

------

Holy Courtyard.

A pavilion, shrouded in mist, covered with ancient and mysterious runes, contained the aura of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, making it extraordinary.

"How is it?"

Zhou Xuantian looked at Song Shenfeng.

Song Shenfeng shook his head: "That kid is very strange!"

"Oh?"

Zhou Xuantian was somewhat surprised.

Song Shenfeng said: "That kid caught seven Starry Fish. I took him to the Haoran Hall. The great Confucian statues showed no anomaly, but he approached that chess game..."

"Could he make a move?"

Zhou Xuantian asked.

Being able to catch seven Starry Fish was not simple, and being able to approach that chess game was even more extraordinary. For many years, many people had caused anomalies in the statues, but only two people had been able to approach that chess game: him and the Grandmaster.

Now, another person had been added!

Song Shenfeng said with a strange expression: "He made one move, and the chessboard shattered..."

"It seems he has no affinity with the Confucian Dao..."

Zhou Xuantian sighed.

Song Shenfeng shook his head and said: "Perhaps you are overthinking it. That kid might have something special, but he might not be as amazing as you imagine."

Zhou Xuantian said: "If it's gold, it will always shine. Observe him more! If not, there will be no loss to the Holy Courtyard."

"I gave him the token. As for whether he can become one of The Holy Courtyard's Disciples, that depends on his own fortune."

Song Shenfeng smiled faintly.