Go: Is the portable old man the nine-time champion?

Chapter 195 Hurricane Landing
"It has only been a little over a year since you became a professional player through the National Amateur Competition last year, and you have already won the national championship. Does it feel unreal?"
I've seen many chess fans online saying it feels like a dream; your progress is so fast, it's impossible for anyone to keep up.

Yi Zheng couldn't help but laugh when he heard the reporter's question. "You think it's too fast, but I think it's too slow. Tell me, which chess player would complain about their progress being too fast?"

This isn't some fantasy novel where someone forcibly raises their cultivation level because their foundation isn't solid enough to break through to the Emperor Realm.

In reality, all progress comes naturally; you can only progress when you reach the point where you are ready.

Of course, this excludes those who use powers that do not belong to them.

"There is no sense of unreality, because I know where every effort I put in is directed, and my strength is a real improvement resulting from every drop of sweat I shed and the help of my teachers and friends."

I have a deep impression of everything I have done to get to where I am today. I remember every step I have taken and every move I have made is still vivid in my mind.

Things earned through one's own efforts don't feel unreal; only things won by luck, like winning the lottery, feel illusory.

I won this championship through my own strength, not through any other means, so I believe I truly deserve it!

Upon hearing this, Old Ke couldn't help but nod. Yi Zheng had indeed put in far more effort than the average person over the past year.

Yi Zheng is indeed a troublemaker. This can be proven by him, Miao Jun and Shi Yuhan who share a room with him, and others he came into contact with during the national team training camp.

But this is also a kind of talent. Not everyone can do hard work and persevere. Most people just give up halfway through what they do.

The saying goes that the last mile is the hardest, but in reality, most people give up after only three miles.

Not to mention that most efforts have their limits. A normal person can only study for about eight hours a day at most, but Yi Zheng can study more than others. Isn't that a kind of talent?

With his Go genius, hard work, and guidance ahead of his time, Yi Zheng was able to achieve this level in just over a year, which surprised but was not unexpected by Coach Ke.

It's a speed that humans can't achieve, but it's certainly an achievement that Yi Zheng rightfully deserves.

How do you feel about your performance this year? How would you rate yourself? Do you have any other goals for this year?

"I am generally satisfied with my performance this year. I feel that I was lucky because my hard work paid off. I received feedback as soon as I reached the required level, and winning this championship gave me a lot of confidence."

Many chess players often get discouraged after their efforts fail to yield good results, creating a vicious cycle. I'm lucky I haven't experienced this.

I don't like the act of objectifying myself by giving myself a score. I can only say that I will do my best in every game and leave no regrets.

This year, I definitely want to do well in other competitions, win more championships, and strive for success in all other competitions, especially future world-class competitions.

Finally, the most important game for me at the end of this year will definitely be the final match of the World Go Championship.

I mean what I say, so I'll fight ten of them! I'll be the one to end this year's junior division tournament; everyone else can just sit back and wait to win. I'll do my best.

After speaking, Yi Zheng nodded and, escorted by others, turned and left. Of course, he wasn't going back to the hotel. There was a fan meeting and autograph session after the match. Want to leave? No way!

However, Yi Zheng's interviews will also be transmitted to other countries via the internet in a timely manner.

In the internet age, nothing is faster than news; of course, it's hard to tell whether it's true or false.

For example, the phrase "blood splattered five steps" swept through the world of Go in Japan like a typhoon.

Although Japan is indeed currently being swept by typhoons at this time of year.

"You dared to look down on them? Now they're going to make you bleed five steps away! One, two, three, four, five, that long? Can your blood really spray that far?"

Kuroki Shino took five steps to the side, realizing that while five steps seemed short, it was actually quite a long distance. If she were really stabbed, the blood wouldn't splatter that far. However, severing a major artery was possible, but that would be far too gruesome!

Upon hearing this, Kuroki Teruto couldn't help but roll his eyes: "If someone stabbed me with a knife, I'd throw you out like a projectile!"

Kuroki Teruto felt he desperately needed a recycling platform to recycle his sister and get a new one.

She took the blame for everything in the family, and then she kept betraying her. The days when her younger siblings were cute were only a short time; the rest of the time were like hell.

Looking at her calm older brother, Kuroki Utaha said unexpectedly, "I thought you would be angry."

After all, Yi Zheng's words were quite provocative, and Kuroki Teruto is usually a guy who's extremely proud.

"It's long been a common practice for Go players to exchange harsh words before a match, so what's there to be angry about?"

But I don't need to think about it; the chess academy will have someone specifically provide me with response sentences for me to choose from when retaliating against him.

Kuroki Teruto calmly sipped his tea. Go in this world had long since developed into a complete system, and this kind of pre-match provocation had long been one of the highlights.

If you don't try to get the audience excited before the game, relying solely on the black and white pieces during the game is really not very entertaining.

But you can't expect chess players to spout brilliant quotes off the cuff, after all, their main job is playing chess.

Even if you watch stand-up comedians and crosstalk performers spouting witty remarks on stage, you don't know how many scriptwriters and backstage staff are actually working behind the scenes to write their scripts.

Therefore, the drafts that rely on verbal skills will be handled by a dedicated person. All Kuroki Teruto needs to do is read them aloud to the media when he receives them.

"And no matter how much we say, everything still depends on that game of chess before the Chinese New Year this year. If we win, everything we say is right; if we lose... otherwise, the more we say, the harder we'll be proven wrong."

Blood splattered five steps away—it felt like the kid came up with it himself, since he shouldn't have been given a prepared script beforehand. He's quite eloquent, isn't he?

I'd better focus on practicing Go. I've lost the Agon Chess Tournament to Japan year after year; if I keep losing, I'll lose all face. The rise and fall of the empire is a constant struggle; the burden of one capital, one prefecture, two counties, and forty-three districts all rests on my shoulders!

Kuroki Teruto turned and left immediately. No matter how much he said, the outcome would still be decided on the chessboard; everything else was just trivial.

However, before that, Teruto Kuroki was more looking forward to the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival night, since everyone had been anticipating these games for more than half a year.

AlphaGo hasn't been online for a long time. Can Lee Jun-hyuk cause them some trouble?

This is a match that everyone in the world is eagerly anticipating this year.

A battle for the world's best.

"That's boring. I want to see rivers of blood."

Seeing her older brother turn and leave after his attempt to provoke her failed, Kuroki Shiba couldn't help but shake her head. They hadn't even started fighting yet. Weren't men supposed to have a lot of tempers?
"However, it seems that this year's China-Japan competition will be held in China, so I can go and watch it then."

Pandas and Mapo Tofu... I wish they could have a performance in China! Wearing cheongsams and with their hair in a bun!

Shinobu Kuroki couldn't help but fantasize about becoming a big star and holding a world tour!
It must be said that no matter how strong a country's soft power and hard power are, other countries' impressions of that country will always be the most typical stereotypes.

For example, when people think of Japan, they think of anime and brothels; when they think of China, they think of pandas and Mapo tofu.

(End of this chapter)