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

Chapter 241 How many steps can your blood splatter?

"You're Yi Zheng, the one who beat Ethan... a first-dan?"

In the fifth round of the World Go League, Genta Kawaguchi knew he would be facing Mirai Kuroki as his opponent when he received the match schedule the day before. This time, the League's newcomer was Yi Zheng.

Kawaguchi Genta had heard quite a few legends about the other party, such as the new changes that had occurred under the Heavenly Demon Transformation, the good relationship with the second son of the Kuroki family, and even the ambiguous relationship with the daughter of the Kuroki family.

This is something that many people in the Japanese Go world are gnashing their teeth over, since being a son-in-law or adopted son in Japan is not considered shameful, and is even seen as a super path to instant success.

After all, many people have become heirs to other families and reached the pinnacle of their lives through their sons-in-law.

This perfectly good road is now blocked by foreigners! It's utterly ridiculous!
However, Yi Zheng, as a rising star in the Chinese Go world, won both the Newcomer King and the Chinese Championship of Agon Kiriyama, defeating Ethan 9-dan, who is ranked among the top in the world.

Even in Japanese Go magazines, there have been numerous reports about Yi Zheng, with many magazines praising him as the most promising future leader of Chinese Go and calling him the "nemesis of Ethan."

Ethan was reportedly so angry after seeing the report that he tore up the magazine.

What do you take me for?! My nemesis?!

Seeing is believing, and Kawaguchi felt that the other person was quite good-looking, although not as outrageously handsome as Yun Linglei.

Thinking of Yun Linglei, Kawaguchi immediately felt annoyed again. After all, who would be happy about someone who constantly uses their own stats to boost their own? Even a good brother would be tempted to stab him in the back.

Not to mention that Yun Linglei gained a large number of fans in Japan just because of his face, which made Kawaguchi grit his teeth. Could it be that men like him who look honest are so unpopular?
However, what Kawaguchi never expected was that Yi Zheng, who had achieved so much, had a sign next to him indicating his rank as... 1 dan?
Kawaguchi was a little dazed for a moment because the interviews he had seen did not seem to mention Yi Zheng's level. His subconscious feeling was that he should be about the same as the Three Musketeers, or at most slightly lower, after all, he had not been in the industry for long.

But what's with this "initial stage"?

It can't be that their own official website made a mistake and printed their own character's rank incorrectly, right? How could such a basic error happen? This is just too ridiculous!

Don't think that such things don't exist; in fact, many people do. What you think is a very professional national organization may actually be just a makeshift operation that only collects money and issues certificates but can't do anything right.

For example, a league was recruiting spectators for its opening ceremony, but the schedule wasn't arranged, and everyone was only told a day in advance that they didn't need to be approved to attend.

They held an opening ceremony to recruit audience members, but there were no other activities throughout the entire event. They just had the audience listen to the leaders' speeches. There were no autographs, not even a group photo. I really don't know what the point of recruiting audience members is.

Should the audience be allowed to hear the leader's teachings?
They even printed the name of the previous champion team incorrectly. Not only did they print the wrong character, but they also printed the fourth-place team as the champion.

This is utterly outrageous, so outrageous that you don't even know how to describe it. Even if you printed the runner-up as the champion, people would just think you made a mistake.

I wonder what the fourth-place team felt when they saw their name appear below the previous champion's name at the event.

Our team won the championship last time? When was that? Have I traveled back in time again?
To put it bluntly, even a middle school sports meet wouldn't have so many problems or so much trouble.

"First paragraph..."

"I am indeed a first-dan."

"what……"

Kawaguchi didn't know what to say. You're telling me that a first-dan can win the national championship and defeat several ninth-dan players?

This isn't right, is it? Do you think this is the manga Naruto? Are you Naruto or Sasuke?
When did reality develop to this extent?
"sharp."

After a moment of silence, Kawaguchi could only shake his head. He could roughly guess what had happened and could only sigh at how individualistic kids these days are.

I really don't understand kids these days. Doesn't a higher rank mean more bragging rights? What's the point of keeping a low rank? Besides being looked down upon by strangers, it just leaves those who know them bewildered. Wait, if a novice defeats a 9th dan, doesn't that seem even more impressive and generate more buzz?

Soudesu ni!

Is this what Chinese people often call "pretending to be weak to catch a tiger"? Truly, one is never too old to learn!
"Kawaguchi, you little brat, you actually gave up your captaincy and refused to play against me! You bastard! You're dead!"

While Kawaguchi was lost in his own imagination, he suddenly felt someone strangle his neck, and his face instantly turned red.

Yun Linglei appeared behind him without him noticing, suddenly grabbing him by the throat and starting to complain through gritted teeth.

I was so confident that I could improve my stats, but now I can still do it, but the quality of my performance is completely different!
Your status as the second-best person in Japan is completely different from that of a lowly Japanese soldier!
Kawaguchi, you little brat, you deserted! Where's your Bushido spirit?! Draw your sword at me, you bastard!
After Kawaguchi clearly saw who was behind him, he couldn't help but roll his eyes and began to talk at length: "Baka! Yun Linglei, you idiot, this is tactics, don't you understand! This is called Tian Ji's horse racing! The best horse against the middle horse, the middle horse against the worst horse, and the worst horse against the best horse!"

"Bullshit, you're just too scared to play against me! We've already lost so many games, it doesn't matter if we lose one more."

"You fart!"

Watching the two bickering, Yi Zheng didn't know what to say. It felt like elementary school kids were arguing, with no aggression at all.

What's going on with you guys?!
However, the two did not linger for long. After exchanging a few words, Yun Linglei returned to his seat because the competition was about to begin.

The once noisy stadium gradually quieted down as everyone took their seats, and even the reporters around couldn't help but shut their mouths.

Kawaguchi looked up at Yi Zheng sitting opposite him. Just now, Yun Linglei said that his strategy had gone wrong and that he had kicked a hornet's nest.

Kawaguchi didn't think so. On the contrary, he felt that his strategy was the most correct because he was the only one in the team with the best chance of beating their mid-level player, Ma Yizheng.

If it were someone else, the chances of success would be at most 40-50%, and the probability of failure would still be quite high. Only by taking the risk yourself can you have the greatest chance of success.

As for Yi Zheng's two consecutive victories against Ethan, who was significantly higher in rank than him, Kawaguchi didn't really take it too seriously.

Yi Zheng's personal rating isn't particularly high, but given his youthful energy and drive, it's not surprising that he's achieved some victories.

Furthermore, it's possible that Yi Zheng's style is a counter to Ethan's, just as Yun Linglei counters himself, so it doesn't necessarily mean that Yi Zheng's strength has reached an outrageous level.

Kawaguchi silently made a judgment in his mind: "This guy's strategy is just like a copy of AlphaGo. Perhaps his strength is because he is currently the one who learns most like AlphaGo."

And like most young Chinese chess players, his calculation ability is also quite strong, but his experience is not as rich as mine.

Therefore, the focus should be on the mid-game, waiting for the opponent to make a mistake, and then striking decisively.

I can win. If I win, I have at least a 50% chance of winning today!

Hearing the start signal for the match, Kawaguchi immediately turned on the timer next to him, and the match time began to tick away.

Without any hesitation, Yi Zheng placed his piece on the chessboard.

After making his move, Yi Zheng glanced at Kawaguchi. "The second best in Japan? I'll be playing against your best player later, so I'll start with you."

I wonder how far your blood will splatter.

PS: Please give me your monthly votes, brothers!

(End of this chapter)