Gods and Buddhas Are All Mortal

In the northern borderlands, there is a lawless chaotic city called 'Wind Crossing City.' Backed by the Ancient Wasteland Mountains and straddling three trade routes, it is a paradise for desperadoes and a land of hope for the down-and-out. Two major families in the city, the Lin and the Shen, have been locked in open and covert struggles for decades, neither able to swallow the other nor willing to yield. Lin Xiaoxi, the eldest grandson of the Lin family's grand elder, is six years old and should have been the brightest rising star of the clan. But he is a waste with 'shattered soul veins.' Three years ago, at the clan assessment, a single 'zero' cast him from the clouds into the abyss. His father is utterly disappointed in him, the clan children regard him as a disgrace, and even his once-doting grandfather has moved into the rear mountain ancestral hall, no longer concerning himself with clan affairs. Since then, he has barely survived on his mother's tears and the cold stares of others. This year, the Lin and Shen families jointly hold the decennial 'Meridian Opening Ceremony,' which all eligible children must attend. Everyone is waiting to see Lin Xiaoxi make a public fool of himself and bring shame to the Lin family. But no one knows that on the night before the ceremony, a one-legged old beggar stuffs a tattered chess manual, half of its pages torn, into Lin Xiaoxi's arms. 'When the soul veins are shattered, heaven and earth open.'