The Game is Lost, the Heart Demon Arises  

On the eleventh day, as night fell, Huang Longshi's hand trembled as he held a Go stone. However, his eyes gleamed with excitement, and his face was flushed with uncontainable joy.

He placed the stone, a decisive move.

"Duke Jin, I am victorious."

The game concluded. Black had won.

Huang Longshi was drenched in sweat, but he had never felt so invigorated. He stared at the board, filled with pride, as if it were his greatest masterpiece.

Suddenly, the room was filled with spiritual energy, shimmering with rainbow-colored light. Faint music drifted through the air.

After a long and arduous battle, Huang Longshi had achieved a breakthrough.

Nascent Soul realm.

Second rank.

Third rank.

Fourth rank.

Fifth rank… all the way to the ninth rank!

His cultivation had soared to the peak of the Nascent Soul realm in a single bound.

"Holy crap?!"

Fan Li, the only spectator, was stunned.

As a transmigrator, he was saddened to realize that despite having a system, his cultivation speed seemed to lag behind most of the talented individuals in this world, like Huang Longshi, Han Yue, Qing Qiu, and Wang Ban. They weren't much older than him, but their cultivation levels far surpassed his own.

"System," he grumbled.

"Beep, beep. I'm here," the system replied.

"Can you explain what's wrong? Is the problem with you, or with me?" he asked, frustrated.

He suspected that his "Greatest Traitor System" might be better named the "Greatest Failure System."

"Friendly reminder: blaming others before examining oneself indicates a lack of critical thinking and accountability. This is a symptom of personality disorder. In the field of psychiatry, such individuals are diagnosed with…"

"Alright, shut up. Thank you." Fan Li interrupted.

He had to endure. It seemed everyone else was more talented than him. He had to get used to it. He had more important matters to attend to.

The system fell silent.

While crying, Huang Longshi turned to Fan Li. "Duke Jin, I… I… Now, with my current cultivation level, I can finally return to Lu City and visit my teacher with dignity."

Fan Li was speechless. Confucian cultivators always prioritized filial piety.

"Is it possible that Confucianism isn't suited to you? Focus on Go. You could become the greatest Go master in the world."

Huang Longshi's eyes widened as if struck by a bolt of lightning. He repeated the words "Go master" several times, savoring their meaning.

"Thank you for your guidance, Duke Jin!"

…

Within the Rotten Axe Go Board, Bai Shijiu writhed in agony. Even she, the owner of the spirit treasure, couldn't defy its rules.

Her willpower was shattered, her primordial spirit damaged.

She had never imagined she would lose. The price of her pride was a heavy blow to her soul.

She screamed, rolled on the ground, and abandoned all semblance of grace and decorum.

"I can't possibly lose to Fan Li! How could I lose to him? I'm the Sage Ruler of Chess! The leader of all Go players! Even the countless male Go players in the world can't defeat me!"

The more she clung to her pride, the more the Rotten Axe's rules tormented her.

Fan Li watched her struggle, a strange thought crossing his mind. He wanted to finish her off.

He waited, but she continued to writhe on the ground.

"System, is she going to die?" he whispered.

To his surprise, the system, unusually active today, answered.

"Analyzing target's status. Analysis complete."

"Rotten Axe Go Board rules."

"If the loser acknowledges their defeat, the victor becomes their heart demon. From that moment forward, the loser must avoid their inner demon. Otherwise, their cultivation will decrease by a major realm. Only when they are at least a hundred miles away from their inner heart demon will their cultivation recover."

Fan Li was stunned. Seriously? A heart demon was that powerful?

He wasn't sure what rank Bai Shijiu was, but dropping a major realm meant she would become a Unity realm cultivator.

"System, who is her heart demon? Me, or Huang Longshi?"

The system was silent for a moment, as if analyzing data.

"Demons are born from the heart. In Bai Shijiu's mind, you are the one who defeated her. Therefore, you are her heart demon. But if you reveal the truth, the heart demon connection will shift, and Huang Longshi will become her heart demon instead."

Fan Li nodded. This was good. The decision was his.

"Currently, Bai Shijiu is refusing to acknowledge defeat to prevent a heart demon from forming. According to the Rotten Axe's rules, she must endure three days and three nights of torment from the time distortion. If she survives, she can avoid a heart demon, but her cultivation will still decrease by one rank."

Fan Li chuckled coldly.

Avoid a heart demon?

Not a chance.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat and shouted, "Seriously? With those skills, you dare to call yourself the Sage Ruler of Chess? Everyone, you won't believe this! I actually defeated the Sage Ruler of Chess from the Brahma Sound Pure Land. And I'm only in my early twenties! Calling yourself a Chess Sage with that level of skill is a joke. I've eaten watered-down pork, but this is the first time I've seen a watered-down Chess Sage! What kind of water did you use? Surface water, or groundwater? Are you a porter for nature?"

The more he taunted her, the more Bai Shijiu writhed in agony.

She was putting up a good fight.

Fan Li realized that taunting someone was most effective when it struck at their core.

He regrouped, preparing for another round.

"Bai Shijiu, how about we forget that game and start over? You can play black this time. Don't let your surname limit you! If your skills aren't good enough, you can always change your name!"

Bai Shijiu suddenly coughed up blood, then collapsed, motionless.

"…Did she die?" Fan Li asked, hopeful.

"Analyzing Bai Shijiu's physical condition," the system replied. "Status: excessive blood loss, half-damaged primordial spirit, heart demon formed. Current realm: fifth rank of Unity realm."

Fan Li was impressed.

The world blurred around him as he was transported back to the gnarled tree on the dusty hill.

Qing Qiu, seeing him emerge, showed a rare flicker of emotion on her usually impassive face.

"You… won?" she asked, surprised.

She had never underestimated Fan Li, but she also understood Bai Shijiu's methods. Fan Li should have had little chance of winning within the Rotten Axe Go Board.

During her wait, she had been focused on finding a way to heal Fan Li's soul and help him overcome his heart demon.

She hadn't found a solution yet, but he had emerged unharmed.

Fan Li casually tossed an unconscious figure to the ground. It was Bai Shijiu, her white hair disheveled.

"You would have stopped me if I had killed her in front of you, wouldn't you?" he asked regrettably.

Bai Shijiu was now a Unity cultivator, unconscious and vulnerable. A single strike from him would be enough.

"Yes," Qing Qiu's expression was unusually conflicted. "The laws of the Pure Land dictate that the Sage Rulers are like sisters. We must…"

"Alright, alright. Let's not talk about unpleasant things."

He hadn't truly intended to kill Bai Shijiu. He had to consider not only Qing Qiu but also Emperor Yao Guang.

Another frustrating day had come to an end.