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

There are only two chapters left in Chapter 352.

A "fanqi" refers to a game in which two Go players compete in multiple rounds to determine the winner.

Normally, the number of players is usually odd, because this is necessary to determine the winner.

As is widely known among the people, the Danghu Ten Games were actually played thirteen times, but because the game records were lost, only ten games have been passed down, hence the name Danghu Ten Games.

This format is often used in the finals and semifinals of major competitions, such as the final of the Chess Saint Tournament that Yi Zheng just experienced.

For example, the Asian Cup semi-finals are also played in a best-of-three format, except that the semi-finals are best-of-three and the finals are best-of-five.

Most top players are evenly matched, and sometimes the outcome of a single game depends on who is in better form.

A best-of-three match tests a player's all-around qualities, including not only skill but also mentality, physical strength, and experience in major tournaments.

For example, a certain famous chess player always gives a handicap to Chinese players in the finals of world championships. Fortunately, there is also a player with the same surname and country who always gives him a handicap in the finals, otherwise his number of championships would probably be greatly reduced.

For example, a certain player once claimed to be undefeated in best-of-three matches, but once his invincibility was broken, he fell into a curse of always losing best-of-three matches.

Yi Zheng is now known as the undefeated champion in best-of-three matches because he has never lost a single best-of-three match in all the games he has played so far. However, many people believe that there are too few examples to follow, and apart from the Chess Saint Tournament, which is a tough battle, the other matches are relatively minor and still need to be observed.

For example, in the best-of-three match between the semi-final and final of this Asian Cup, many people were keeping a close eye on Yi Zheng.

After all, if Yi Zheng wins this championship, the value of his honor will completely surpass that of Ethan next door, except for the runner-up title in a world championship.

"Based on national team points, as long as you win the championship or runner-up title in an intercontinental tournament or above, you can get points, and then you can use those points to exchange for a seeded spot."

If I win these tournaments, I should be able to qualify for next year's World Championships without having to compete, which will free up time for invitational tournaments.

Yi Zheng sat on the sofa next to the vending machine in the lobby and began to plan his upcoming competitions. After becoming famous, Yi Zheng had a lot of invitational tournaments to participate in, but he couldn't attend many of them because his schedule was too full.

However, if Yi Zheng doesn't need to participate in the qualifiers for most of the competitions, he will have a considerable amount of free time.

Theoretically speaking, the invitational tournament is quite prestigious, because most of the people invited are either the most famous or the strongest, but the number of participants is very small, at most eight people, and sometimes even only two.

Since it was a performance, it was basically the sponsors paying for their own idol-chasing.

Yi Zheng didn't really want to go to these invitational tournaments most of the time because they didn't offer much in terms of prestige, but the bosses offered him so much.

Yi Zheng suddenly felt like he had too much money, as if he couldn't spend it all: "Old Ke, have you found a villa yet? We still need to renovate it after we buy it."

"That's superficial!"

Upon hearing this, Old Ke couldn't help but take a deep breath. He had only said those words to encourage Yi Zheng and never expected that he could buy a house in the capital so quickly.

After all, even his large villa, though said to be in the capital, is actually located in the suburbs. He simply couldn't afford to buy one inside the city; he only had another house within the inner ring road. And now, Yi Zheng has wiped out his entire life's work in just two years. Sigh!
However, although Old Ke thought this in his heart, he couldn't say it out loud: "Ah Zheng, you are a typical example of someone who has been poor for too long, with a nouveau riche mentality, inferiority complex, and a love of showing off!"

"Didn't I buy this for you?"

"Then I'll perform a three-person pig demonstration for you."

Seeing Yi Zheng sitting in the corner scrolling through his phone and muttering to himself, Jiang Mobai couldn't help but walk over: "Are you still working on life-and-death problems?"

Yi Zheng has been dubbed the "new generation exam king" within the national team. He even uses his phone to do life and death problems while eating in the cafeteria, bringing this bad habit to the national team and making everyone distracted even when playing cards at night.

"No, look at the other things."

Jiang Mobai raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, giving him a knowing look: "But this time it all depends on you. I have a feeling I'll lose this semi-final."

As he spoke, Jiang Mobai couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. Losing to Yi Zheng by a score of 3-0 was too painful, and Jiang Mobai still felt like he hadn't recovered.

He felt that his chances of winning against Teruto Kuroki in the semifinals were slim.

After Jiang Mobai finished speaking, he subconsciously sighed again and looked up at Yi Zheng.

There was an inexplicable expectation in his eyes. Was it the empathy and comfort between comrades? Or the mutual respect between two equally matched opponents?

Or perhaps some heartwarming and encouraging words like, "Your skill is definitely above his. Adjust your mindset and you'll be fine!" or "I was just lucky last time. If you had performed normally, I would have been eliminated long ago!"

Unfortunately, Yi Zheng completely missed Jiang Mobai's hidden meaning. He nodded quite seriously, his eyes full of confidence, and his tone even carried a sense of arrogance: "Don't worry, they haven't beaten me before. No matter who I face, this championship will definitely be mine."

Upon hearing Yi Zheng's words, Jiang Mobai felt as if an invisible chessboard had struck his chest! He almost spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot.

This bastard is getting more and more pretentious! And how did you manage to become so pretentious without even realizing it?

Normally, even if you don't do anything else, shouldn't you at least offer me some comfort? Why did you skip this crucial step and directly announce that the champion's surname is Yi?

The key point is that Yi Zheng's tone sounds particularly sincere, as if he's simply stating an objective truth like "the sun rises in the east!"
That hurts!

Yi Zheng was completely unaware of Jiang Mobai's momentary blankness followed by a look of grief and resentment, like that of a woman confined to her boudoir.

His gaze had already passed over Jiang Mobai's shoulder and landed on the main stage at the other end of the hall, where the trophy gleamed under the spotlight—the Asian Cup! That champion trophy, crafted from pure crystal, with smooth lines that seemed to freeze starlight.

In the Asian Cup, when I was young, I saw countless champions, whom I admired greatly, lift the trophy. This time, it's finally my turn!
There are only two opponents left to face in order to win the championship!
Meanwhile, Kuroki Teruto and Li Zongrui, who were sitting in the other two corners, also turned their attention to Yi Zheng.

Both of them had the same thought in mind: to win this year's championship, they had to defeat Yi Zheng!
(End of this chapter)