Last night, during his review, Jiang Wang noticed the Plague Department, the Primordial Earth Department, and the Ironwood Department subtly forming an encirclement around the Crimson Thunder Department. He predicted that these three factions would take action today.

At the time, Qing Huo Yuan Chen was even gloating, thinking that the Crimson Thunder Department would be dethroned today, or even eliminated entirely.

But now, the Plague Department and the Ironwood Department had vanished, and the fates of the extraterrestrial beings who controlled these two chess pieces were unknown.

Jiang Wang searched carefully and finally found the yellow light representing the Primordial Earth Department far away from the Crimson Thunder Department.

Fang Chong of the Four Seas Commerce League was still in the game! He had retreated but was not eliminated.

Of course, Jiang Wang wasn’t particularly concerned about Fang Chong. Rather, Fang Chong’s escape likely indicated one thing: Lei Zhangan’s strength was indeed formidable, but not to the point of despair, not so overwhelming that Fang Chong couldn’t even flee.

As for the clash between Lei Zhangan and Jiang Wuxie the previous day, the fact that Jiang Wuxie barely escaped didn’t reveal much, because no matter how antagonistic or competitive they were, Jiang Wuxie was still a prince of the Great Qi Dynasty. Lei Zhangan probably wouldn’t dare to kill him.

Looking at the various lights on the Imperial Authority Contract, there were sixty-three teams remaining in the entire Life-and-Death Chess Game.

A hundred teams had set out from the four directions of the game, heading towards the center point. After two and a half days, more than one-third of the teams had been eliminated.

The Crimson Thunder Department remained the most noteworthy.

Last night at nightfall, the Crimson Thunder Department was at the 312th position, and now it was at the 413th, having advanced 101 positions.

At first glance, this wasn’t as impressive as the Qing Huo Department’s advance of 180 positions.

However, the Crimson Thunder Department achieved this speed under the siege of the Plague Department, the Primordial Earth Department, and the Ironwood Department! This was truly terrifying.

Having broken through the encirclement of those three departments, who else would dare to stand in their way?

If they had a clear path ahead, how fast would they move? Would the Qing Huo Department still have a chance to catch up?

“Not enough,” Jiang Wang said, looking at the Imperial Authority Contract, shaking his head as he walked. “I need you to move at your absolute limit.”

He felt a sense of urgency.

All the Qing Huo Department warriors ran with all their might.

Their main contribution was their “rules-based vision,” and they didn’t want to become a burden in any way.

In truth, if other factors were disregarded, a chess master with extraordinary power could travel much faster alone.

But the reality was that many factors couldn’t be ignored.

First, there were the rules of the Life-and-Death Chess Game. Entering the game required all positions to be filled, and leaving the game meant either death or the entire team withdrawing together. There was no option for some to leave and others to stay. A lone chess master leading the way while the team slowly followed behind was also not feasible. The final destination required the “entire team” to arrive together. Those who arrived first had to wait for the others.

When Qing Huo Gao Chi initially chose a few old men to accompany Jiang Wang into the game, he intended for Jiang Wang to watch them die, thus allowing him to travel light.

But this wasn’t the optimal solution, due to the second factor.

In the Life-and-Death Chess Game, relying solely on the chess master’s vision was too narrow, and it was possible to miss “life points” or even pass them by. If one’s luck was bad, even with great personal strength, they could only retreat sadly during the night.

The third factor was that for opponents of similar strength, the advantage of going first or second was significant. The range of the “rules-based vision” sometimes determined life or death in an encounter.

Jiang Wang could rely on his strength to push through the teams at the rear. But in the final stage of competition, facing Lei Zhangan and others, he couldn’t afford to fall behind in terms of “rules-based vision.”

These three points were why he insisted on bringing the entire team forward.

Finally, he glanced again at the blue light representing the Pure Water Department on the Imperial Authority Contract. Li Fengyao had advanced a total of 387 positions.

Jiang Wang put away the Imperial Authority Contract, ending this opportunity to observe his opponents’ positions.

The Qing Huo Department advanced rapidly. Whatever obstacles they encountered along the way, Jiang Wang would eliminate them with a single sword strike. They hardly slowed down at all, and he didn’t stop to let the team rest.

As they were advancing, an indescribable force suddenly descended.

Jiang Wang’s figure froze, and the scenery on both sides began to recede continuously.

Jiang Wang didn’t speak, only silently calculating the distance. In the Life-and-Death Chess Game, the rules of the game were something he couldn’t refuse.

As he counted silently, he was forced back a full twenty chess positions before the “forced regression” ended.

His team remained where they were.

The thing Jiang Wang had worried about had happened.

The Qing Huo Department’s rapid advance had been noticed by other teams at the rear, so some teams, after passing through checkpoints, chose to delay them by directly regressing the Qing Huo Department’s chess master, Jiang Wang, twenty positions.

Some teams had no ambition to advance, only wanting to rank slightly higher at the rear.

This regression wasn’t just a regression in chess positions. The obstacles they had previously encountered and overcome would reappear, without adhering to the rule that everything would be restored at night.

In other words, Jiang Wang needed to clear those twenty positions again.

There was no complaining, no cursing, not even anger.

Jiang Wang simply moved forward again, drawing his sword, striking, and striding forward.

There was no reason to be angry. In a competition, this was perfectly normal.

He had even prepared for this situation. When the chess master was “forced” to retreat, the others would follow previous orders, contracting to defend in place, guarding against possible attacks.

Jiang Wang quickly cleared those twenty chess positions again, returning to his original position and reuniting with the Qing Huo Department warriors.

The other party had made a mistake. Regressing a chess knight or a chess pawn twenty positions would have been better than regressing Jiang Wang. Because that would have required Jiang Wang to turn back to bring them along, unless the regressed individual committed suicide. Otherwise, the Qing Huo Department would have wasted even more time.

But Jiang Wang didn’t intend to forgive them because of this mistake.

“Everyone, spread out with maximum rules-based vision,” Jiang Wang ordered as soon as he returned to his original position. “According to the stone tablet rules we encountered earlier, the opposing team must be within a hundred positions if they chose to delay us. Find them!”

Finding this team was not difficult. The Life-and-Death Chess Game had been going on for two and a half days, and any team that could still tangle with them at this point wouldn’t be a strong team. Compared to Jiang Wang and his team, their speed could be described as extremely slow.

“I see them!” Qing Huo Yuan Chen shouted angrily.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Jiang Wang shot off like a flaming meteor, appearing before the eyes of the terrified team.

Without a word, he swung his sword and attacked.

Jiang Wang fully understood this team’s behavior, but only understood it.

He had already killed the chicken to warn the monkeys, but the monkeys were still unafraid, so he could only kill the monkeys.

A place like the Life-and-Death Chess Game was no different from a battlefield. He couldn’t waste too much time on tangling with these teams at the rear.

He had to establish enough deterrence to prevent other teams from delaying the Qing Huo Department, so that they could maintain their speed and have a chance to compete for first place.

Otherwise, they would struggle in the “quagmire,” watching the winners emerge from the first tier.

The Qing Huo Department was lucky. After eliminating this team, they quickly found a “life point.”

Occupying the “life point” gave them the confidence that they wouldn’t be eliminated today.

The Imperial Authority Contract recorded this “life point,” and the team continued to advance.

Jiang Wang didn’t consider how to suppress the Crimson Thunder Department’s speed, because no matter what, he couldn’t affect them for the time being. He would do what he could do well, and do his best within his abilities.

As for the other things, he would leave them to others!

Qing Huo Department, within the Fire Shrine.

The warrior guarding the stone tablet chess score reported the progress within the Life-and-Death Chess Game, and Qing Huo Heng remained silent.

Although the team seemed to be going smoothly and advancing at an astonishing speed, he couldn’t be happy.

“Is there still no news from the Wuzhi Grotto?” he asked.

The other warrior shook his head and said, “It hasn’t opened yet. They’re probably still fighting.”

“Have them continue to wait.”

Qing Huo Heng’s bushy beard trembled slightly.

Although the Life-and-Death Chess Game was often the time when grotto star beasts were most active, endless battles were not uncommon.

But for some reason, the feeling of unease in his heart lingered.