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

Chapter 281 The New Wave!
No matter how much attention Yi Zheng generates or how many viral moments he has, the draft ceremony still has to be held, otherwise tomorrow's game cannot proceed.

With a look of regret, the host led Yi Zheng and Li Junhe to the matched area on the side, and then called up the contestant whose draw number was second.

The player who came up chose an older Japanese player, and the precision of his choice was a textbook example of a "classic guaranteed win in a major tournament"!

However, the second contestant was clearly well-versed in this matter. He showed no shame on his face and instead brought the microphone close to his mouth, solemnly beginning his dramatic performance: "I have been studying Kobayashi 9-dan's game records since I was a child. Other players will have the opportunity to play against him in the future, but it will be very difficult to play against Kobayashi-sensei."

High Emotional Intelligence: A Legendary Experience Card

Low Emotional Intelligence: Soft Persimmons Are Easy to Pluck

As a senior player, Kobayashi was, in a sense, the "first" to be delisted, which inevitably made him feel somewhat embarrassed at times.

But the white-haired but vigorous old chess player showed no anger at being offended or seen as a pushover. Instead, he let out a loud and hearty laugh: "I see many young faces here, but I can't match them. It's very pleasant to participate in such a world competition with young chess players."

These words drew applause from both the stage and the audience, with many praising the character and magnanimity of the older generation of chess players!

As more and more players took the stage, Miao Jun, the eighth player to enter the game, didn't hesitate for long, seemingly having already made up his mind backstage.

They went straight for a prestigious name on the display stand and took down a plaque representing a Chinese title.

"What A-Zheng did just now really inspired me. Professional Go players should be brave enough to challenge strong opponents. As a young person, that's the key."

Well done! Keep it up! Don't lose points!
There are 25 Chinese players who have qualified for the finals, so an internal battle is inevitable. I've never played against Teacher Chu before, and I'd love to play a match against him.

This afternoon when we played basketball together, he kept blocking me, preventing me from getting a single shot. Now I've tricked him; maybe it's fate.

Chu Tianjiao, the champion of the Northeast, laughed and said, "When we played basketball together this afternoon, I had a feeling that he was going to pick me, but it feels a bit too fast to pick me so quickly."

However, I want to say that you can't blame me for not having shooting opportunities; it's mainly because your physique makes you too inflexible.

Miao Jun's initiative to draw his sword and his "rebellious declaration" to challenge the top seniors in the country, coupled with Yi Zheng's initial declaration to tear apart the old monarchy, completely ignited the pent-up energy in the hearts of many young players!

It was as if an invisible courage potion had been injected into the air, and many of the chess players who took the stage next, regardless of nationality, made a miraculous reversal in their choices!

The "guaranteed admission" slots for seeds from small countries, which were originally expected to be highly sought after, have suddenly been neglected, with the proportion of those choosing them dropping sharply, much like expired discounted vegetables in a supermarket.

Instead, everyone actively chose strong opponents or established veterans.

The expressions on the faces of the professional chess players from other smaller countries, who were marked as having "guaranteed admission," were incredibly complex and varied, like the performance of a silent film.

At first, when no one was interested, you might have been a little relieved that you wouldn't be eliminated in the first round. But now, things have changed drastically! Suddenly, nobody cares about the "guaranteed admission card" anymore?!
Their expressions gradually shifted from initial embarrassment to genuine confusion and...a little bit of grievance.

What do you mean? Before, you were all scrambling to get your hands on me because there weren't enough to go around, but now you're looking down on me? So now I don't even qualify to be used as experience points anymore?!
This feeling... is even worse than being bullied! It's not very harmful, but it's incredibly humiliating.

It was already upsetting to be seen as a guaranteed admission ticket, but now that even that ticket is unwanted, it's even more upsetting.
Towards the end of the selection process, some players said they hadn't found a suitable opponent and just picked one randomly, so it didn't matter.

Even the last Indian contestant to be selected was a bit speechless, saying that being selected last was probably not a matter of my ability, but rather that my popularity and charm were not enough.

Yi Zheng's boastful statement at the end of the press conference, "The legend has come to an end," has a significance that transcends his personal declaration of challenge!

It's like an invisible key that has completely opened Pandora's box of "youthful vigor" and "unwillingness to lie low"!
He not only represented Yi Zheng in launching an attack against Li Junhe, but also single-handedly stirred up a massive wave of "anti-authoritarianism" and "challenge to the peak" that swept the entire chess world at the card-drawing ceremony!

This completely unleashed a new wave that impacted the old forces!

Scene after scene unfolded as the media below the stage took photos with great enthusiasm.

Many people even felt that they had never felt so excited before!

Is this a distortion of human nature or a decline in morality?

It's astonishing that everyone collectively went against their own human nature of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

Ultimately, it was the new wave that completely slapped the old wave to the shore, heralding the arrival of a new era.

The old forces remain as stable as ever, declaring that their era continues.

I'm so excited! I can't wait!

This spectacular night's explosive content has already transcended the boundaries of the Go community, igniting a buzz across the entire sports world and even the broader entertainment industry!

The live stream even experienced buffering issues midway through due to the large number of viewers, reaching tens of millions of views – a first in the history of the Asian Cup.

Reaching this number is truly terrifying.

The title sponsor of this competition must be ecstatic, having landed the biggest event in terms of viewership.

However, the ultimate anchor of this celebration was firmly set on a game of chess that had not yet begun—Yi Zheng vs. Li Junhe.

Forget about the number of people who have booked for tomorrow's match; the back-end staff at the Muyefo website are about to explode.

The number of online players has skyrocketed, and the number of match registrations has expanded without limit, to the point that some match pages are now failing to load.

"Boss! The data traffic... the data traffic has exploded again!"

"Those who booked matches for tomorrow! Especially... especially... Yi Zheng's match! Their accounts have been wiped out!"

There are just too many people paying attention!

A young programmer's indignant roar came from nearby: "I hate Yi Zheng!!!"

The wails from backstage seemed to drift back to the hotel where the contestants were staying. "So, if they lose, it won't be easy for them to leave the stage."

Yun Linglei felt a headache coming on when he looked at Yi Zheng, who seemed completely indifferent and carefree. Yi Zheng had indeed spoken too confidently.

The attention and traffic have indeed reached their peak, even the limit, but if Yi Zheng loses, the ridicule he will face will probably be unprecedented.

They practically welded themselves to the forefront of the storm, leaving themselves no way out!

"How about I help you prepare? My style is quite similar to Lee Jun-hyuk's, so it can definitely be used as a reference."

Hearing Yun Linglei's kind offer of help, Yi Zheng just smiled and said, "It's alright. I prepared in advance before the competition. Now all I need to do is relax and get some sleep."

Having the right mindset for tomorrow's match is more important than anything else.

Jiang Mobai, who was standing to the side, remained silent for a long time before his face showed a mixture of extreme curiosity and even a desire to learn.

He took a deep breath and asked the question that had been nagging at him: "How did you come up with such a pretentious statement?"

This...this is the pinnacle of art in the art of the king of cool quotes! This ultimate expression is one that is domineering yet tragic, tragic yet arrogant, and arrogant enough to make people want to applaud!

This isn't just ordinary showing off! This is nuclear fusion technology in the world of showing off! What was your brain even working like?! How could you just so naturally… spew that out in front of everyone?! Teach me!

Yun Linglei was speechless when he heard this. Dude, your focus is too weird.
But then I realized it was Jiang Mobai, and it all seemed surprisingly normal.

After all, he's Jiang Mobai, the pretentious little white dragon and a walking collector of witty remarks.

"Never mind, don't bother them anymore, let's go."

Thinking of this, Yun Linglei grabbed Jiang Mobai by the neck and turned to leave Yi Zheng's room.

Jiang Mobai was clearly not as strong as Yun Linglei, and could only look at Yi Zheng with reluctance. I haven't even asked him how to show off even more yet!

"Wow! Let go! Let go! I haven't even gotten to the heart of the matter yet!!"

"Essence my foot! The essence is to get back to sleep!"

"Let me go! If I can't learn the art of showing off, if I can't elevate my words, what soul will my chess game have?! How can I dominate the chessboard?! Showing off is power!"

"If I can't learn how to show off, how am I supposed to play chess?!" Accompanied by Jiang Mobai's distorted and desperate gaze and his wailing, "I want to learn! Let me learn!" Yun Linglei finally dragged this "terminal patient with showing off cancer" out of Yi Zheng's room, and thoughtfully closed the door with his heel.

"Oh!"

The door shut out the noise, and the world instantly became quiet.

Yi Zheng let out a long, thorough breath, kicked off his shoes, and threw himself heavily into the huge, cloud-soft sofa in the suite's living room, sinking into it instantly.

A few seconds later, a very faint whisper, as if only he could hear it, escaped from his lips.

"My entire life has been built on my own hard work!"

"Old Ke! Set up the chessboard!"

"coming!"

Meanwhile, Li Junhe frowned more and more as he looked at Yi Zheng's chess score.

"picture……"

He pressed his knuckles firmly on a key turning point in the chess notation.

"so similar……"

Li Junhe's gaze swept across the unfamiliar moves like that of a hawk, the unconventional choices of points, and the seemingly illogical transitions in the mid-game that, in turn, formed a series of interconnected and overwhelming waves...

This feeling is so familiar! So familiar it's unsettling!
Regardless, Yi Zheng's game records are practically a miniature version of AlphaGo!

In every respect, they are practically identical.

Li Junhe even found it unbelievable; even in the master-disciple lineage, he had never heard of something being copied and pasted to this extent.

Even the most outstanding human teachers will inevitably bear a strong personal imprint and be limited by the times in which they teach. Their students' playing styles will also vary significantly depending on their upbringing and mindset. In the end, the styles of teachers and students often become vastly different or even diametrically opposed.

For example, the Gentle Breeze Quick Gun teacher turned out to be a stone Buddha, while the Little Li Flying Dagger teacher turned out to be a erratic knife.

"Both...are in...Lin'an?"

"Could it be his disciple from the same city?"

"in the case of……"

Lee Jun-hyuk unconsciously pressed his finger hard on the chess notation, leaving a shallow mark, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

In his mind, he seemed to see that cold, ruthless, unknown entity that he had tried his best to overcome but could not.

Li Junhe's thoughts took another step forward. A thought that even he himself found somewhat absurd, yet inexplicably carried a sense of...revengeful pleasure, suddenly ignited like a flame in a dark forest, scorching his nerves.

If I can't beat you, can't I beat your apprentice?
P.S.: Please vote for me, everyone!
(End of this chapter)