Zayn might not be able to defeat Morax himself, but was there any rule that said he couldn't find someone else to do it?
And now, that "someone else" was the intelligent Go board he had personally created with the power of Manifestation.
Round it up a bit, and wasn't that equivalent to him battling Morax personally?
Combine like terms… Wasn't this the same as him defeating Morax?
Truly, he was a genius.
"This round, I concede."
As the intelligent board placed its final stone, every possible path to victory for Morax was sealed off.
The formation was complete—Morax had no moves left.
The board's skill was unfathomably deep. What Morax couldn't quite grasp, however, was this:
How could Zayn, a person whose Go skills were barely passable, create something that played at such an inhuman level?
It made no sense.
But then again… he remembered the Manifestation Authority.
With that in mind, everything suddenly did make sense.
"See? I told you, Sister Guizhong! Morax could never beat my intelligent Go board."
Zayn grinned from ear to ear.
If one didn't know better, they would have thought he had just defeated Morax in a direct match.
"The changes within the board are endlessly profound," Guizhong remarked softly.
"To think it could lure Morax step by step into a dead end… then close the formation and compress his living space until nothing remained. Such mastery is truly astonishing."
"And for such a tiny board to contain such wisdom… I truly wonder how this mechanism was constructed."
Guizhong's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
During the match, she had quietly grasped the essence of Go, her bright mind reading the flow of the board with ease. Subtle strategies, the board's intentions, the shifting momentum—she saw through it all.
A true lover of mechanisms and wisdom, she couldn't help being drawn in.
Morax, too, grew curious.
"Zayn, just how does it work?"
"It's actually very simple," Zayn replied with a proud grin.
"The board contains countless possible variations. Early on, the possibilities are nearly infinite—but as the game progresses, they gradually narrow. So the board's core function… is deduction."
"It can simulate thousands of future moves and select the best sequence. That way, it wins by sheer calculation."
Morax and Guizhong exchanged glances.
Thousands of future moves?
That meant Morax had been fighting… thousands of opponents at once.
A terrifying thought.
And a brilliant mechanism.
"Um… that…"
Guizhong hesitated, cheeks faintly pink.
"Could I… borrow it? Just to study?"
She knew it was an unreasonable request, but she couldn't control her urge to study the board's inner workings.
Zayn waved his hand generously.
"Of course! If Sister Guizhong wants it, just take it. Consider it a gift from me."
The Go board floated gently into her arms.
And in the next heartbeat, another faint white glow formed in Zayn's hands—a brand new intelligent board manifesting itself.
Even though she had seen it many times, Guizhong still felt her heart tremble.
What sort of authority… could create miracles so casually?
"Hehe, Sister Guizhong, we'll head back first," Zayn said cheerfully.
"Oh, right—take this."
He handed her a yellow talisman.
"This is a Message Talisman. Tear it in an emergency, and it will instantly send ten seconds of your voice to me."
Guizhong accepted it solemnly.
"I understand. You two should head back now."
She hugged the intelligent board tightly, barely containing her excitement.
The urge to dismantle it and examine its inner secrets was almost overwhelming.
Zayn was just as curious.
He had no idea whether something manifested could actually be reverse engineered by another person.
Morax gave him a small nod.
Two streaks of light shot into the sky, disappearing over Guizhong's territory.
She watched them leave, then hurried back into her palace to begin her research.
Back in Liyue, life returned to normal—meaning Zayn resumed his usual carefree lifestyle.
Well, mostly carefree.
He also created:
an intelligent Xiangqi board,
upgraded the Go board with a Gomoku mode,
and praised himself daily for his unparalleled genius.
A full year passed.
Liyue saw another bountiful harvest—granaries full, tables heavy with food.
For the first time, Liyuemen lived without worrying about famine.
That same year, Morax accepted two groups of refugees—victims of the nearby territorial wars between other gods.
Rumor had spread:
Up in the encircled mountains, there was a safe haven called Liyue.
Where two benevolent gods ruled—
Morax, the God of Rock,
and Zenos, the God of Manifestation.
Under their protection, no one starved.
No monsters invaded.
No tyrants oppressed.
So the refugees braved the mountains, seeking sanctuary.
Morax accepted them without hesitation, offering shelter and a new start.
And thanks to the infamous incident of the Wind-Sand Demon God being skewered through the chest, none of the surrounding gods dared cause trouble.
As long as Morax didn't expand his territory, they had no reason to risk a spear to the heart.
As for the refugees themselves?
They were inconsequential.
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