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

Chapter 279 The Majesty of the King Cannot Be Offended

After Lee Jun-hyuk came down, the two smiled at each other and shook hands, which has always been a tradition for them to take photos for the media.

The media in the audience naturally didn't hold back, frantically pressing their shutters.

Yi Zheng is no longer a novice; he is almost a professional Go player who has been practicing for nearly two years.

When taking photos, Yi Zheng's lips would reflexively curl into a 15-degree professional smile. He had practiced this curve hundreds of times in front of the bathroom mirror. His muscle memory was more solid than memorizing a fixed posture, and his professional fake smile was already a master.

Unfortunately, Yi Zheng is often dragged to shoot some strange covers, and then the photographer instructs him on how to pose and smile. If he doesn't smile well, the shoot won't be completed.

Sometimes, in order to take a photo, you even have to do something very abstract, like moving around a lot and then having the photographer capture it.

After taking the photos, Yi Zheng seemed to have a strange realization: does everything originate from abstraction?
After shaking hands for about ten or twenty seconds, the two withdrew their hands, and Yi Zheng subconsciously wiped them on his clothes.

It's not that they dislike it; except for certain groups in certain places, most men seem to not want to have physical contact with other men.

It was pure screaming from a straight man's soul. It was already hot and they were sweating, and when two grown men's sweaty palms were pressed together, the sweating got even worse. The sensation was comparable to catching a live slug with bare hands...

Yi Zheng recalled the last time he was forced to pose with his senior brother for a brotherhood poster, and afterwards the two of them rubbed their fingerprints with alcohol wipes backstage until they almost disappeared.

When the host saw that the photos below had been taken enough, he stepped forward and asked a question: "First of all, let's ask Yi Zheng, the 8-dan who made an unexpected choice. In a sense, as the first player to make a choice, why did you choose Li Junhe, the 9-dan who is currently ranked number one in the world?"

In a situation almost unprecedented in the history of this Asian Cup, where Lee Jun-hyuk 9-dan once stayed until the very end, today he was the first to be chosen.

Upon hearing this, many netizens commented on the large screen of the live broadcast, saying things like "an ant trying to shake a tree" and "overestimating one's own strength."

Even now, Lee Jun-hyuk's status as the world's number one remains deeply ingrained in people's minds.

Yi Zheng took the microphone handed to him by the staff, patted it to make sure the sound was working properly, and then said: "Actually, the reason is very simple. Just now, when I was listening to Li Junhe, a 9-dan player, chatting with a few others downstairs, he complained that this delisting system is not very friendly to them, the older generation."

They said he'd been standing for so long his veins were practically bulging, and out of respect for his age, I couldn't let Li Junhe, 9th Dan, stand for so long. Since I was the first one there, I chose Li Junhe, 9th Dan.

Seeing Yi Zheng put down the microphone, the host asked, looking bewildered, "That's it?"

Not only were the hosts dumbfounded, but even the viewers watching the live stream online were stunned, with comments flooding in.

"That's it?" (Panda head scratching its head)

"What happened to the oath to slay the dragon?" (Cat smashes keyboard)

"This generation of young people lacks martial ethics!"

Yi Zheng nodded matter-of-factly: "Yeah, what else could it be?"

I was definitely showing consideration for my senior, not mocking them for being old and needing to leave! Absolutely not!

The host was speechless upon hearing this. Shouldn't you have said something like you were looking forward to playing against the world's number one, that you could only feel his strength through game records and now you could experience it directly for the first time, or that your desire to challenge for the world's number one ranking prompted your choice?

What the heck is this "respecting the elderly and caring for the young" nonsense?

Li Junhe laughed when he heard this reason, but he didn't feel that Yi Zheng was just saying it casually, nor did he think it was about respecting the elderly and caring for the young. Instead, he felt that Yi Zheng was subtly mocking him for being old.

The subtext is: Old man, you can't even stand up anymore, it's time for you to step down.

"Was Li Junhe, 9-dan, even a little moved by Yi Zheng's 8-dan answer?"

So when he took the microphone from the host, Lee Jun-hyuk said expressionlessly, "I think I'm quite firmly in my position. Young people are overthinking it. You don't understand how much experience it takes to be in this position unless you're actually in it. Recently, Silla players haven't performed well in international competitions, and I feel pressure and a sense of mission to play well this time and restore Silla's reputation."

Seeing these young Chinese chess players now competing at the world level, my memories seem to go back to a long time ago, when many people were also constantly trying to challenge me.

But I defeated them wave after wave, and I think there will be no exception now, it will always be the same.

For young Asian chess players, the Asian Cup is arguably the best stage to showcase their achievements. Personally, I hope to play a good game.

But for newcomers, just participating in the Asian Cup is already a great honor, and even winning only one game wouldn't be something to be dissatisfied with.

Lee Jun-hyuk is usually not aggressive, but when it comes to things like getting old, he will have some stress reactions.

I even recalled a line from a TV series I'd seen: "Do you want to test the sharpness of my sword?"
There's no way around it; chess players, like famous generals throughout history, are not allowed to grow old in the mortal world.

As athletes reach a certain age, a decline in their performance becomes inevitable. Even the most dominant athletes, once reigning supreme in the world, may one day worry about losing their dominance due to fluctuations in their performance.

Therefore, it's inevitable that people will become increasingly anxious and sensitive at this time.

Just like emperors, even many incredibly wise and powerful emperors in history would become sensitive, suspicious, and even turbulent as they grew old.

The most famous one, needless to say, was killing three sons in one day; he truly loved his people like his own children.

As they get older, they clearly feel that something is slipping away, and even if they control the world, they still can't hold onto it.

You can't make the sun stop, but the sun won't stop for you.

No one stays young forever, but there will always be young people.

The only way to achieve true perfection is to remain forever young.

That's why Huo Qubing is the one who leaves countless people with a deep sense of regret, because he died at the peak of his life and at the youngest age, leaving room for countless people's imaginations.

The best feeling is when you feel like you haven't had enough, like the unseen feeling that "if xxx hadn't died so young, he would definitely have had even more amazing works or achievements."

If he were really alive, he might have run out of creative ideas, and his later unremarkable performances would have only diluted the initial感动 and shock.

Such people are also quite common.

For example, many readers think, why couldn't that guy just get hit by a truck and die right after the third book was finished?

What about a fully insured semi-trailer? Please help!

Therefore, when facing Yi Zheng, who is younger than him, Li Junhe inevitably felt some imbalance and even jealousy.

I envy these young and vibrant lives, because I was once like that myself.

He didn't want to admit he was old; he still felt young.

However, reality does not change according to subjective will. Lee Jun-hyuk also knows that he has reached the end. This year, he seems to have returned to his peak, but it is only because of AlphaGo that he is experiencing a brief resurgence.

Even if it's just a final burst of energy, he must prove that even if the king is old, his dignity is still inviolable!

P.S.: Please vote for me, everyone!

(End of this chapter)