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

Chapter 278 Private Li Junhe, step forward!
"They probably won't choose us."

Yun Linglei glanced at the eight Chinese seed players, including himself. The Chinese Asian Cup seed players basically included all the previous champions, as well as some players who had won major competitions last year.

As for why we're talking about the previous year, it's because Yun Linglei is no longer the holder of the title; it's been temporarily "lent" to Yi Zheng.

Yi Zheng also wrote an "IOU," stating that he would return the money as soon as he received the Chess Saint title a few months later.

China's seeded players are usually the last ones standing. Not to mention that these players are very tough to beat, there is a high chance that anyone could lose to one of China's eight seeded players.

Not to mention that Chinese people no longer fight Chinese people, Yi Zheng definitely wouldn't choose any of us.

Yun Linglei muttered to himself, "He definitely won't choose any of the eight of us. Those who choose other small countries will definitely be guaranteed admission. Li Zongrui is an exception, though. He's quite capable, but if he chooses that, people will easily criticize him for bullying the weak and fearing the strong."

Some of the other countries, including Japan and South Korea, are relatively weak, so Yi Zheng is likely to pass.

"You can't just be out of your mind and pick the strongest opponent."

Yun Linglei glanced at Li Junhe standing in the row in front of him, and a crazy idea suddenly popped into his head.

I hope Yi Zheng won't choose Li Junhe in the first round...

"If we really did that..."

Yun Linglei's Adam's apple bobbed, and several trending topics instantly appeared in his mind—#NewWaveSmashesOldIdols##TeenGodSlayerCountdown#.

"Probably not..."

Yun Linglei subconsciously dismissed his absurd idea, but upon closer reflection, it seemed that Yi Zheng often did things on a whim, so it wasn't impossible.

"If that's the case, then it will be the highlight showdown of the first round. Yi Zheng really is the center of attention wherever he goes."

The more Yun Linglei thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and the way he looked at Li Junhe even seemed a little off.

Li Junhe's keen intuition told him that someone seemed to be watching him, and when he turned around, he met Yun Linglei's gaze.

However, Li Junhe felt a little confused because Yun Linglei's gaze seemed to be filled with all sorts of complex emotions.

Worry, excitement, fear... and maybe even... pity?

What a strange look.

Li Junhe turned his head away without paying any attention. Even if he did run into Yun Linglei in the first round, he wasn't afraid at all.

Just like Kawaguchi, who is ranked second in Japan, is known for his cunning, Yun Linglei is also known for his cunning.

His overall record against Li Junhe is three wins and eleven losses, which can be described as one-sided, with a record of nine consecutive losses.

There's no way around it; these two have such similar styles. Li Junhe, the large hexagon, perfectly envelops Yun Linglei, the small hexagon, making it impossible for Yun Linglei to perform to his full potential.

Not to mention that Yun Linglei happened to be at the peak of Li Junhe's career when he was young, so his death was even more tragic.

Lee Jun-hyuk himself didn't care much. In his opinion, he might have to wait until the very end for a contestant to choose him out of necessity.

It's always the same; it's still boring to stand until the very end.

Thinking of this, Li Junhe closed his eyes and began to rest. After all, the process was quite long, and with all the back and forth and chatting, it might take more than an hour to stand there.

I've said so many times that I should put a chair down, but I still haven't. The efficiency of each and every one of them is so low, it's practically targeting the elderly.

I wonder if standing for an hour as I get older will cause varicose veins... I wonder how many people's legs will go numb in the end.

Park Ji-bin, who ranked third in the Silla rankings, was a little worried, his palms sweating profusely when he glanced at Yi Jung.

If you're worried about losing face by picking on the weak and getting hurt by the tough ones, you'll most likely end up choosing their "win and you'll get attention, lose and you won't be ashamed" option.

Many promising players from Japan are quite interested in Yi Zheng, after all, Ryuji Kuroki, a rising star in Japan, is practically Yi Zheng's biggest fan. Many young people also want to test Yi Zheng's abilities, having molded Ryuji Kuroki into such a strange shape.

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Yi Zheng walked straight to the display wall and stood in front of the nameplate wall.

As the world's number one ranked player, Lee Jun-hyuk's nameplate was nailed to the highest position, hanging alone like a throne.

Without any hesitation, Yi Zheng reached out and took down the sign with Li Junhe's name on it.

People in the audience gasped immediately, and even the host almost dropped the microphone.

Unexpected! Completely unexpected!

As if by telepathy, Li Junhe, who had been planning to close his eyes and rest until the end, opened his eyes the instant Yi Zheng took the sign.

The two people, who had never met in an official competition and seemed to have never formally crossed paths, stared at each other.

Their gazes clashed across the distance—Yi Zheng's eyes seemed to be filled with a raging fire, while Li Junhe's eyes were filled with frozen ice.

Water and fire are incompatible, and in an instant, a tense atmosphere of confrontation arose.

According to the tradition of Pokémon trainers, if their eyes meet, they must engage in a Pokémon battle.

Although the Go world hasn't reached such an outrageous level, the agreement was reached the moment Yi Zheng took the sign.

In the first match of the Round of 64 in the Asian Cup, Yi Zheng 8-dan faced off against Li Junhe 9-dan.

Even the host was stunned by this scene, and many reporters in the audience forgot to press the shutter.

Although some people had previously wondered if a young and impetuous person like Yi Zheng would take the initiative to challenge the strongest, it was still a possibility.

But then I thought about it and it seemed unlikely, since who would want to create trouble for themselves when they have nothing better to do?

Not to mention that this was Yi Zheng's first time participating in such a large-scale world-class event, and most people would naturally prioritize playing it safe.

Facing the world's number one directly is not just a tough nut to crack, it's like a stubborn kid banging his head against a city wall.

Furthermore, if the initial battle goes poorly, it can easily leave a psychological scar.

For example, when Ethan lost to Yi Zheng twice in a row, many people thought that Yi Zheng's strange behavior in the second half of the game was the key to his victory, but many others thought that Ethan's psychological shadow left by his previous bad start led to the two consecutive losses.

Therefore, it was still quite surprising that Yi Zheng actually chose Li Junhe.

Has the new wave already taken over the world's number one spot so quickly? Shouldn't we wait a little longer?

No one saw that Old Ke, who was accompanying him onto the stage, excitedly shouted, "Private Li Junhe, step forward!"

As the voice, which only this one person could hear, rang out, it seemed that everyone at the opening ceremony realized what was happening.

Countless flashes lit up instantly, as everyone tried to capture this historic moment.

The host immediately fanned the flames: "As the first player to be selected, Yi Zheng, the number one junior Go player in Asia, boldly chose Li Junhe, the number one ranked player in the world and a two-time Asian Cup champion!"
A match as intense as Mars colliding with Earth! At this moment, we seem to see the phrase "youthful spirit" become a complete reality!
The young hero brandished his sword at the dragon on the throne. Would it be a display of youthful vigor and ambition, or a crushing defeat and a chance for a better next time?

Please ask Li Junhe 9-dan to come down and do an interview with Yi Zheng 8-dan.

The host was surprised to hear such a big scoop right from the start; this would normally take more than ten minutes to tell.

This is absolutely newsworthy!

Easy to understand! YYDS! The god of topics!
PS: Please give me your monthly votes, brothers!

(End of this chapter)