The work of the Go master

I don't know who suddenly "got better" and started clapping, but eventually everyone seemed to be infected and started clapping too.

"Thank you for your applause," Ke Zhiguang said, expressing his gratitude.

Well, everyone still really knows how to get the hype!

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Four Heavenly Kings, Come Out and Take Your Blow!

Applause does have a magical power; it can spread as quickly as a plague. Many large performances have clapping leaders in the front row. Once someone in a group claps, the whole group gets infected.

Taking advantage of this sudden shift in pace, Ke Zhiguang quickened his speech: "Recently, I've encountered all sorts of chess players: Buddhas who dedicate themselves to the way of chess, Asuras obsessed with winning and losing, proud and unruly foxes, tigers who retire after achieving success... and dragons who look exhausted, as well as some madmen who have passed away. Each of them has their own unique style of chess, their own personality, and their own set of beliefs."

Before anyone could react, Ke Zhiguang had already rattled off a whole bunch of titles that left most people bewildered, while his speech continued at breakneck speed, accompanied by the energetic electronic music rhythm.

"This is a wonderful world, but I am not satisfied with just surpassing them in chess skills. I want to defeat them outside the chessboard. So I choose not to drop out of school or take a break. I will keep my high school title for the last year and a half. This period will be the time for me to become the strongest chess player."

Cang Yuqiao, listening from below the stage, was speechless: "You...you mean you want to win the title of Yu Chengqi within a year and a half?"

After thinking for a moment, Cang Yuqiao added, "Or do you mean you want to defeat that monk?"

He only learned of the existence of this monk a little over a week ago.

"It's too early for monks, let's play Yucheng Chess first."

"This is ridiculous enough! This year's Imperial City Chess has already won 5 times in a row. If you win one more time, you'll be the Imperial City Chess for eternity. Are you sure you can break this winning streak against such a strong opponent?" Cang Yuqiao asked with wide eyes, thinking to himself, I know you're strong, but I didn't think you were this strong.

"Of course I'm sure, because just this afternoon, I successfully defeated Saito Sando 9-dan in a tiebreaker, proving my strength."

"What? You've already defeated Saito-senpai? And in a split-first match at that?" Aoba Bridge's worldview was further shaken.

"Yes, and according to the extra bet between us, after he loses to me, our teaching location will be moved to this gymnasium, and he'll need your help then."

"Stop, stop, stop! There's too much information for me to process! You mean Saito-senpai might be coming to be my colleague? Right here in this stadium?"

"You can ask him then."

Cang Yuqiao unconsciously turned his head and noticed a spark outside the stadium. It wasn't the spark of an ordinary cigarette, but a brighter spark of a cigar.

Saito's presence here means that what Koji Mitsuaki just said was true.

"That's all I wanted to say... Goodbye everyone, I have to go to the next event." Ke Zhiguang turned off the microphone, turned around and went backstage. The fiery dragon stopped, leaving the students still in a daze.

"What's going on now?" Shao Gong asked, speechless, his expression mirroring that of the students outside the arena.

"Well, I guess he just came here to spout some nonsense, that's all." Ke Zhiguang scratched his temple, unable to think of any other meaning.

"What exactly do you mean by neither dropping out nor taking a leave of absence... or how will you interact with us going forward?"

"It might happen in a strange way, but you'll get used to it... Anyway, I have to go now. Come to my housewarming party sometime."

Perhaps he himself felt it was difficult to explain, so he simply slipped away and ran off, and several times when he tried to stop him, he couldn't be stopped.

"He... he's not going to play chess with some weird things again, is he?" Bai Meng's eye twitched, a bad feeling rising within her.

"You'll get used to it. You should be glad that this kind of person isn't like the protagonist in a detective novel, constantly surrounded by murder cases, otherwise we'd be the ones suffering." Shao Gong shook his head and sighed.

"So what should we do next...?"

The three of them exchanged glances, feeling empty, weak, and exhausted.

"Sigh...maybe from now on, it'll just be the three of us as a couple." Shao Gong said, leaning against the wall, sighing again and again.

......

......

Night fell like a tidal wave, and the courtyard of Peach Blossom Studio was completely silent.

Yasuhiro Yamaoka sat in the room, absentmindedly setting up the chess pieces.

As it turns out, that person only hurriedly completed the tenth question this afternoon and then disappeared.

But the way that person looked as he left told Yamaoka that he would definitely come back today.

As a chess piece was placed, Matsunaga Teiko's voice suddenly came over the loudspeaker: "Please come to the garden, Yasuhiro Yamaoka, Shintaro Tamura, Masae Soma, and Hideo Morisaki. There are people here who want to see you."

Four pairs of eyes looked up at the same time, all knowing that this moment had finally arrived.

"Let's go meet that guy who claims he's going to move into 336."

The four of them walked out of the room one by one, met each other in the corridor, and stepped into the quiet courtyard together.

A beam of strong light shone in from outside the window, and the four people's first reaction was to raise their hands to shield their eyes from the light.

A figure dressed in a black suit stood tall in the moonlight, carrying a folding fan on his shoulder like a samurai carrying a sword, his entire body exuding a metallic, cinematic aura.

There was a beam of light coming from behind him, perhaps from the car that brought him here, and it was this beam of light that made the four of them squint.

Like a storm stirred up when a helicopter lands, the four Heavenly Kings of the bonsai felt a gust of air rushing towards them, and the bouquets around them swayed in the wind.

"This kid's position must have been adjusted, how can he be so photogenic!" Tamura pointed at Koji Hikaru and angrily retorted.

Well... Ke Zhiguang had to admit that he had actually arrived ten minutes earlier and spent ten minutes comparing his position to ensure he could perfectly align himself with the headlights of the cars behind him.

That was a miscalculation; the attempt to impress was too over the top, and the deception was exposed instantly.

"Hey! What's wrong with that guy?! Why is he even wearing a business suit?!"

"It seems we've been underestimated."

"Come on then! It's like everyone has a business suit and a folding fan!" Morisaki Hideo felt greatly provoked and couldn't stand it anymore, so he rushed back to his room.

"I'll change into another set too!"

With a camera cut, when the four reappeared, it was a completely new, gilded lineup.

Everyone's in suits!

Everyone's using folding fans!

Ultimately, the visual presentation is... everyone's a mafia member!

Indeed, the way of chess is also a way, and those who are involved in it often carry folding fans in their hands as if they were samurai swords hanging at their waists.

In addition, they were all young people dressed in suits, as if they would all ignite a deathly flame at any moment.

"Yamaoka-kun, you knew I was coming, didn't you?" Koji Hikaru patted his folding fan on his shoulder, and every wrinkle on his body looked like a ravine in the moonlight.

"Are you here to challenge all four of us at once?" Yamaoka's aura was in no way inferior, and he also started playing with the folding fan in his hand.

"Good to know. Let's do it then, consider it our first meeting as roommates!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ke Zhiguang raised his knee and took a very photogenic step towards the four Heavenly Kings in front of him—

To be counted!

Chapter Thirty-Three: Hideo Morisaki, you, step forward!

With a powerful stride, Ke Zhiguang also rubbed the multi-person challenge scroll.

Selecting the four orange-level powerhouses in front of him—just at the critical point of their strength limit—the challenge was successful!

The probability of succeeding in the challenge has increased.

Hideo Morisaki originally wanted to make things difficult for him, saying that someone who was no rank had no right to fight against the four strongest members of Honzai with such an superior attitude.

But just as he was about to speak, the [Multi-person Challenge Ticket] took effect.

He felt a surge of restlessness rising within him for no apparent reason, and he increasingly wanted to beat up the man in front of him who was full of provocative energy.

He has accepted this extraordinary challenge.

"Let me ask you a question before we start, Ke Zhiguang: why are you so obsessed with solving the puzzle at the entrance, and why are you so obsessed with challenging all four of us at the same time?" Yamaoka said, puffing out his chest. Although he was an artsy guy, he was more like a muscular man when it came to doing things.

This is also a characteristic of the chess world: the more refined a person is, the more aggressive they are; the more aggressive a person looks, the more timid their playing style is.

"Aren't these two issues?" Ke Zhiguang was taken aback.

After a brief moment of choking, Yamaoka regained his composure: "Ahem, let's just say there are two..."

"The reason I'm solving this problem is because it's right there, and I have no choice but to solve it. The reason I'm so determined to deal with all four of you at the same time is because... the four of you are right here, and I have no choice but to challenge you." Ke Zhiguang spoke with an air of righteous indignation.

The main reason is actually the requirements of the task.

The secondary reason was that I specifically came to experience the thrill of solo dungeons.

Oh, no, that's not right.

They must be deliberately trying to enjoy the thrill of being challenged in dungeons. They'll just leave the Three Heroes Against Lu Bu dungeon for later. Real players are the ones who take the Lu Bu dungeon and get challenged by the Eighteen Warlords.

"The game room has been cleaned and is ready for your use at any time," Matsunaga Tingko said respectfully from one side of the steps.

In this day and age, women with the Yamato Nadeshiko style are very rare. Although she is just a dormitory manager who works part-time, she exudes an aura more like the mistress of the house.

I don't know when she cleaned the room.

"Thank you, Miss Song Ning." Ke Zhiguang nodded in thanks.

The scene changes instantly.

In the bright and spacious match room, five people are seated, with incandescent lights falling from above to create the effect of a fighting arena.

Song Ningtingzi, acting as the referee, began: "Since this is a one-on-four situation, we will adopt special rules. Ke's preparation time is 45 minutes, with a countdown of 30 seconds x 3. The other four students' preparation time is 10 minutes, with a countdown of 20 seconds x 1. Does anyone have any objections to this rule?"

“No problem, it should only take about an hour and a half to download, and then I can watch the shows I want to watch when I get back,” said Hideo Morisaki, putting his hand in his pocket.

“However, if we simply calculate based on the cumulative time, he has a certain advantage, but there are four of us after all, so it is reasonable to give him a time discount.” Soma Masae nodded, indicating that she also agreed.

All five nodded in unison, and the game officially began!

"Please give me your guidance!" the four said in unison, quite politely, like well-trained young men.

"Yes, please advise." Ke Zhiguang closed his folding fan and nodded slightly in return.

After the coin toss, pieces were placed on all four chessboards simultaneously, and the four environmental effects merged together like a vortex.

Ke Zhiguang opened his eyes and found that four angry symbolic spirits had surrounded him, staring intently at him with their huge pupils.

Hideo Morisaki: [Deep-Sea Swordfish]

Soma Yae: [White Poplar]

Shintaro Tamura: [Koala]

Yasuhiro Yamaoka: [One-Horned Flame Steed]