The Long Journey to Immortality

The first round consists of three games, and the opponents are selected semi-randomly before the match.

Why is it described as semi-random?

Unfortunately, although most of the bird species are now living in harmony, there are still some conflicts between certain groups.

When arranging accommodations, they need to be kept away from each other so that they don't spend too much time together and ignite a powder keg.

During the competition, it's important to prevent them from turning against each other right from the start.

First, randomize the groups, then make minor adjustments; this is what is known as "semi-randomization".

Although Han Lu is Feng You's daughter, she did not receive any preferential treatment in terms of group assignments.

Her opponent in the first round was a famous chess player from the Peacock Clan.

Her name is "Que Jie".

In the peacock clan, males are surnamed Kong and females are surnamed Que, so naturally this Que Jie chess player is a female peacock.

He is over two thousand years old and has the cultivation level of the mid-Nascent Soul stage.

She participated in the chess competitions of the previous five Hundred Birds Games, and even won third place in the last major competition.

Among more than 800 potential opponents, Han Lu was fortunate to draw such an experienced and strong opponent.

If conspiracy theorists saw this, they would think that the Phoenix Clan did this on purpose to avoid suspicion.

Knowing that her opponent was such a highly skilled master, Han Lu's expectations for this competition changed from reaching the third round to showing her best.

She was very clear about her own limitations. She could be fierce in the Zhengyi Sect, but at the Hundred Birds Gathering, she was just an ordinary chess player.

Against such a formidable opponent, let alone the chances of victory, it would be a miracle if Han Lu didn't suffer a crushing defeat.

The final outcome was not far from Han Lu's prediction.

In the first game, she was cautious, only thinking about not having her large group of dragons slaughtered, but she still lost to Que Jie's profound "internal strength" by a full ten points.

In the second game, Han Lu went all out and launched a full-scale attack, but Que Jie countered her every move with a combination of strength and gentleness, launching a defensive counterattack. In the end, every time Han Lu attacked, she suffered a loss.

After only a little over 150 moves, in the middle game, Han Lu had no choice but to resign and admit defeat.

Accepting defeat gracefully, Han Lu politely praised Que Jie's chess skills before getting up and leaving the table.

Fortunately, Han Lu persevered a little longer in the first game and exchanged a few polite words with Que Jie at the end; otherwise, she would have been the first player to be eliminated in this tournament.

[Author's Note] This year, UEFA's Champions League draw will not only avoid teams from Russia and Ukraine, but also teams from Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Chapter 976 Spirit Rhinoceros Insect

Losing to such a strong opponent and being eliminated in the first round, Han Lu had no complaints. She could only lament her bad luck and lack of skill, and obediently leave the stage.

After achieving a first-round exit, Han Lu did not rush to leave, but instead went to sit in the spectator area on the sidelines, becoming a gentleman who watched the game in silence.

She wanted to sit in the spectator area, watch the top players play, and learn from them to improve her own chess skills.

Many of the other players who were eliminated in the first round, like Han Lu, shared the same thought.

Han Lu had just sat down when several more "unlucky" players who had been eliminated in the first round left the arena and took their seats in the spectator area.

Sitting next to Han Lu was a cultivator from the Spirit Rhinoceros Insect Clan, with a late-stage Transformation Realm cultivation. He was unremarkable in appearance, slightly overweight, and did not resemble a Transformation Realm expert at all.

Seeing that the person sitting next to him was a beautiful woman from the Phoenix Clan, the cultivator from the Spirit Rhinoceros Insect Clan greeted Han Lu in a friendly manner.

"Hello, is this Fairy Phoenix also unlucky and eliminated directly?"

Because both insectoid races arrived at the Three Phoenix Forest on the second-to-last day, this Spirit Rhinoceros insectoid cultivator was unaware of Han Lu's identity.

"Hmm," Han Lu nodded and asked, "How should I address you, fellow Daoist?"

“Just call me Wu Tou, Fairy,” the Spirit Rhinoceros Clan cultivator, though more powerful than Han Lu, remained polite even in Phoenix Clan territory. “How shall I address you, Fairy?”

"Han Lu," Han Lu replied simply.

Upon hearing Han Lu introduce herself, Wu Tou finally realized who was sitting next to him.

"Is the fairy the daughter of the Phoenix Clan Chief, and the only four-winged true phoenix in the Phoenix Clan?"

Han Lu nodded, feeling quite pleased. "What, Fellow Daoist Wutou, have you heard of my name?"

"Of course, of course. Although she may not be a household name, many friends have mentioned her name to me in the last thirty years."

"Having seen it today, it is indeed extraordinary."

Aconite is not good at praising people, so this statement is somewhat inappropriate.

"Is it the kind of extraordinary person who gets eliminated in the first round?" Han Lu joked with a smile.

Wu Tou paused for a moment, then noticed Han Lu's expression and realized that she was just joking.

Relieved, Wu Tou chuckled and said, "I used the wrong words. But I heard that Fairy Han is most skilled in music. It's quite normal that she's a little careless in chess."

After a few words, the two became acquainted.

“Fellow Daoist Wutou, you are hundreds of years older than me, so you should know which of the fellow Daoists present are chess masters. Why don’t you point them out to me so that I can observe and learn from you?”

Wu Tou said, "That's easy..."

This is Wutou's third time participating in the Hundred Birds Gathering. As a chess enthusiast, he has participated in every chess competition.

Although his best result was only reaching the second round, this poor performance did not dampen his enthusiasm for participating in the event.

Every time he was eliminated, he would watch the entire match from the sidelines, so he naturally knew which of the remaining 750 or so True Spirits and Beast Cultivators were top experts.

With expert guidance, Wu Tou introduced Han Lu to ten top players and recommended two ongoing matches.

While playing the game, the two exchanged ideas about chess and chatted happily.

Just as a high-level match ended, the two chatted and laughed as they reviewed the game. Han Lu suddenly changed the subject and brought up the Lingxi insect clan to which Wutou belonged.

“Fellow Daoist Wutou, I have heard that the Spirit Rhinoceros Insect Clan has a secret technique.”

"Can people of the same clan communicate with each other through supernatural powers and secret techniques, regardless of how far apart they are?"

Is this true?

Wu Tou nodded and said, "What Fairy Han said is correct, it is indeed true. Why, Fairy Han, are you curious about this supernatural power?"

Han Lu's expression was serious, completely different from her previous demeanor. "I am somewhat curious, Fellow Daoist Wutou, could you answer a question for me?"

Aconite looked slightly puzzled. "Please, Fairy Han, do as you please."

"Fellow Daoist Wutou, if you were transported to another world, in a different time and space, would it be possible to communicate with your companions using your innate supernatural abilities?"

Han Lu asked the question to find out whether, if a scout team were sent to the Eastern World, it would be possible to maintain contact between the two worlds by arranging a Lingxi Clan cultivator in the team, and to transmit the information obtained by the scouts back to the Central Plains-Dayu Dynasty world as soon as possible.

“This…” Han Lu’s question stumped Wu Tou.

“I’m not sure about that,” Wutou explained the characteristics of the Spirit Rhinoceros insectoid’s supernatural abilities. “To use the Spirit Rhinoceros technique, you need to consume a lot of spiritual power and there are also requirements for the user’s cultivation level.”

“If a message is transmitted from the Great Yu direction to the Three Phoenix Forest, even a Foundation Establishment stage clansman can completely transmit a message to another clansman within an hour.”

"With my full strength, I can transmit messages between the Great Yu Dynasty and the Central Plains using my supernatural powers."

"But I've never heard of what Fairy Han is talking about. Could it be that she's trying to send a message from the upper realm to the lower realm?"

To make sure the other party understood her meaning, Han Lu gave a detailed explanation, telling Wu Tou about the existence of countless parallel human realms in the world. She wanted to know if it was feasible to transmit messages between these parallel human realms.

After a moment of contemplation, Wutou recalled an incident from thousands of years ago.

“Back then, a member of my clan with a cultivation level comparable to mine accidentally entered a small world.”

"He tried everything but couldn't find a way to escape, so he had no choice but to try using his supernatural powers to ask a powerful figure in his clan for help."

"Finally, the message was delivered, and we also organized a large number of people. In the end, with the help of some external forces, we were able to rescue that clansman from that small world that was about to be destroyed."

After a brief pause, Wutou delivered several important messages.

"According to him, he used up 90% of his spiritual power to successfully transmit the message."

"And that information took a full seven days to be received by our clan chief."

"Even this alone presents numerous difficulties."

"If what Fairy Han said is true, and it is possible to transmit messages from another human realm using our clan's 'telepathic connection' supernatural power, then at least a member of the clan at the Nascent Soul stage would have to exert all their spiritual power to do so."

Finally, Wu Tou emphasized, "This is just my speculation; I don't know the specifics."

At this point, Wu Tou could roughly guess why Han Lu had asked that question.

"Fairy Han, is something important that requires the use of our clan's supernatural powers for communication?"

The matter of the "Eastern World" was still not suitable for public dissemination, so Han Lu simply nodded and did not elaborate.

Seeing Han Lu's mysterious demeanor, Wu Tou didn't ask any more questions and changed the subject, continuing to talk to Han Lu about chess.

Chapter 977 Judges

The chess tournament lasted for a full four hours. When the moon was high in the sky, the last game of the first round finally came to an end.

Although both sides were magical beasts comparable to the Nascent Soul Realm, and the final outcome could be easily calculated, both sides still followed the rules, with the referee helping to count the points and declare the winner.

Ultimately, even considering the six and a half points conceded, the black player still came out on top.

The two chess players bowed to each other, and the remaining 30% of the audience in the stands applauded in unison, bringing the first day of the Bird Festival to a close.

The remaining 30% of the audience in the stands then left, and Han Lu stayed behind to say a few more words.

“Fellow Daoist Wutou, a group of human cultivators may visit your clan’s territory in the future.”

"I hope you can provide some guidance at that time to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings."

Wu Tou nodded slightly before turning and leaving.

Han Lu managed to contribute some effort to the affairs of the "Eastern World" in her spare time. On her way back to her residence, she pondered whether she could find another opportunity to communicate with the bird that her father had mentioned was proficient in spatial magic.

"If teleportation is not a problem, then sending scouts to the Eastern World is not unfounded."

Although Han Lu held the idea of ​​"harmony is the most important thing", she was still supportive of taking the initiative to learn more about the Eastern Lands.

Not to mention that if an "envoy" were to be sent to communicate directly with the Eastern Lands, the issues of "teleportation" and "communication" would need to be resolved.

Now that there are conditions to try to solve the problem, Han Lu is naturally taking the initiative to deal with it, hoping to contribute to the world.

Back at her lodgings, Han Lu's day came to an end, but the guests at Sanfenglin continued their nightlife.