The work of the Go master

Moreover, it's closer to Saito and Shinobu's residence, making it a win-win situation.

"Then let's begin today's lesson." Saito ended his gazing into the distance and placed a chess piece on the board.

Time flew by amidst the rapid sounds of pieces being placed.

Life, once it enters a fixed rhythm and pattern, passes by very quickly.

Under the cozy care of the little house, Ke Zhiguang's daily routine was very punctual. After waking up, he would go to the Taohuazhai restaurant for a buffet breakfast, which consisted of porridge, milk, and miso soup. This magical combination of Chinese, Western, and Japanese dishes eventually distorted the dining style of half of the apartment.

After breakfast, we leisurely went to the school's gymnasium to train with Saito, learning one move at a time, and so on, until we reached the second move.

Normally, the sound of students playing ball echoes here during the day, but due to special permission from the school, the entire gymnasium has been allocated to Ke Zhiguang, who has taken over the place.

But this is only a temporary arrangement, for a month only, and we'll return the place when it's done.

The lives of the others were also proceeding in an orderly manner. Bai Meng still spent most of her time studying, just like before. Qingdao Lu also had her own competitions and activities, and she could occasionally be seen on TV and in magazines, but the opportunities to see her were much fewer.

As Bai Meng's classmate, Shao Gong will also have to prepare for the entrance exam next year, so his time is becoming tight. In the end, Shui Cheng is the one who has more free time. Sometimes he can chat with Ke Zhiguang and walk home together.

Everything was running smoothly and normally. This was the typical life of an active high school Go player: usually studying Go in the gymnasium, sometimes appearing unexpectedly in class to change his mood and pace, and then returning to his apartment to start clearing the list from bottom to top, opening each treasure chest.

And so, more than a month passed, and there were only ten days left until the ranking tournament.

There is no sign of a second enemy yet.

Summer has arrived.

The cicadas chirped noisily on the playground, and the leaves of the trees outside the gymnasium looked as if they had been polished, radiating a translucent, crystalline green.

As usual, Ke Zhiguang arrived at the gymnasium with light steps. It was cool and shady even without air conditioning.

Saito Yawa waited as usual on the large platform, with a chessboard in front of him.

"Today is probably the last day," Ke Zhiguang said.

“Yes, time really flies. Nothing has happened yet, and you’ve already learned both moves.” Saito sat up.

"So, as the end of the semester, there should be a tense and exciting match, right?"

“Of course, but don’t think you can really beat me,” Saito said with a smile.

Without much pre-match banter, the game began with a coin toss to determine who would go first, and then the sound of the chess pieces echoed across the board.

Besides these two, Cang Yuqiao was also present, watching the game.

This month was naturally quite unforgettable for Aoba Hashi. Saito, whom he had always regarded as a senior, actually became his colleague and sometimes even served as a club teacher after school.

Of course, don't expect him to give a proper lecture. He doesn't care about the students' knowledge base at all, like giving a lecture on calculus to elementary school students.

Saito must have had a lot of fun this past month.

Back to the present, Cang Yuqiao is watching the game closely. This is the fifth time the two have played each other with different moves in the past month. The score is currently 2-2. This game will determine the outcome of the best-of-five match.

Time passed slowly, and Cangyu Bridge watched from the sidelines for the entire afternoon.

Finally, after 327 moves, the game came to an end.

After Cang Yuqiao finished counting, he said with a little excitement, "Ke Zhiguang... wins by half a point."

When the results came out, Saito couldn't help but chuckle to himself: "Congratulations on graduating."

Ke Zhiguang's tense shoulders relaxed, and he said in a deep voice, "Thank you for your guidance."

Let me post a message to calm my nerves after the book is released.

I've written over 33 words, and it's finally published! It wasn't easy.

As a newcomer who is challenging myself to write full-time, it's really disheartening that my work hasn't been published yet, and I can only make ends meet by relying on Alipay.

Although my editor told me that others could get published with 20+ words, but I could get published with 30+ words and get a reverse V (verified payment option), I later consulted with some friends in a group, and they said that it would damage my reputation, so I thought about it and decided against it.

Let's just go back ten chapters symbolically, to create a small climax, just to give you a taste. For those dads who are lucky enough to read this far, just subscribe for the future.

As for the content, as you can see, it's just an ordinary light novel disguised as a Go game. If you replaced Go with mahjong, it would still be just as exciting.

As for the question of why my combat power system is unclear, let's just consider it a tribute to "Bleach". Let's indulge in some idealism and cheat some skills. Sometimes the fluctuations in combat power can also be a kind of beauty. A simple statement of being in good or bad condition can break everything down. And we can even call it a real sports competition. Why not?

Just treat it as a semi-invincible story. It guarantees that the protagonist will always crush opponents of the same level, occasionally fight opponents of a higher level to a draw, and then do some casual daily life, hold banquets, and advance to the next plot.

In terms of metaphysics, we should do what needs to be done, but no matter how we do it, it's all about playing a game of chess in the end, just like playing cards in Yu-Gi-Oh!.

As for the content that might elevate the main theme of this article later... just take a look, it might be a little awkward at most, but it won't hurt anything.

On December 1th, at 12:05 PM, it was promptly put on the shelves.

The update will also be released on time, but let's take a break tonight.

Dads, please subscribe!

Chapter 45 The Celebration Was Just Like That (Dads, Please Subscribe!)

At the ramen shop near the school gate, Koji Hikaru, Saito, and Aoba Hashi sat in a row, waiting for the steaming hot ramen to be served.

That's right, this is a graduation celebration. Keep it as simple as possible; plain and simple is the best.

As always, Koji Hikaru chose the spiciest flavor. When the bright red ramen was served, Aoba Hashi and Saito were terrified.

"So your teaching career has come to an end?" Koji Mitsuko said to Saito.

"Hey, why do you sound like I'm the one who got fired?" Saito raised an eyebrow, accidentally spilling some sauce in the process.

"Damn it! Every time I talk to you, something always spills out!" Saito complained.

During his time teaching here, Saito also brought his love of tea ceremony with him. Aobahashi shared the same hobby, and the two of them drank more tea than they played Go during this period.

What frustrated Saito was that every time he was about to pour tea, Shigemitsu would suddenly appear and startle him, causing the tea to spill out, giving Saito a feeling of his ritual being interrupted.

Before pouring tea each time, Saito would check to his left and right to see if he was there.

Aoba Bridge then said in a friendly tone, "Ko-kun, you successfully defeated Saito-senpai in the best-of-five match. Do you have any thoughts to share?"

"Of course it's awesome!" Ke Zhiguang said while munching on his noodles.

"You're talking while you're eating, it doesn't sound very convincing..." Cang Yuqiao said with a wry smile.

"Well, it's just a little bit of fun," Ke Zhiguang said calmly.

"Banqi" is a term specific to Go, roughly equivalent to BO3 or BO5 in sports competitions. In Go, it means a best-of-three or best-of-five game.

Although he played five games with Saito during this period, they could not be called a proper five-game match, and the first four games, in Saito's words, were "instructional games".

The fifth game will truly reveal the skill level.

However, Ke Zhiguang also proposed a rule: both sides only have 15 minutes of spare time, with 30 seconds of overtime x 3, which is considered a regular small rapid chess game. Rapid chess with 10 seconds per move only existed in online games in the previous life.

Maybe I inherited the feel for online blitz chess from my past life, which is why I can beat people so easily in blitz chess.

Although defeating Saito using the same rapid chess format might sound a bit like cheating, his own progress over the past month has been remarkable.

It's literally visible to the naked eye—the color alert level on Saito's body is already alternating between red and purple.

If you want to truly enjoy the game, you have to defeat him in a real match; practice matches are really not very exciting.

Examples of players being invincible in training and utterly invincible in competition are everywhere, especially in the e-sports field.

Adjustment of status.

Pre-match research into the opponent's preparation.

And special moves prepared specifically for the competition.

There are also countless soft power factors beyond the chessboard.

If I had to name one, these strange spiritual objects would probably count too. I wonder if these charlatan contraptions would even pass the pre-match security check.

After finishing the soup in one gulp, Saito got back into work mode and said, "With your current strength, you can directly participate in the three major title competitions. The professional ranking tournament will be no problem for you. I will buy the latest issue of the Goin News newspaper on the beach in Hawaii. If you don't get into the second dan, be prepared to commit suicide."

"Your next travel destination is Hawaii?" Ke Zhiguang asked. "Can you buy the chess academy's newspaper there?"

Saito grinned crookedly: "What do you think? These days, all the Japanese are flocking to Hawaii. The Go Association has long since set up a base there for us group of 9-dan old men to relax and sunbathe. Many media people joke about this, saying that we are a resort, that we do nothing but go to Hawaiian beaches to vacation all day long."

this......

So that's how it is. Valve employee benefits, as seen in the famous meme "Valve employees working under the scorching sun to rush out the TI Battle Pass".

"I heard that this time, the highest possible rating is three levels, is that true?" Ke Zhiguang asked.

"There is indeed such a thing, but these three sections are most likely not prepared for you."

"Does that mean this spot has been pre-selected?"

"It can't be said to be predetermined. The number of ranking spots to be issued each year is decided by a group of us 8-dan and 9-dan players..."

Ke Zhiguang interjected, "Was it decided on a beach in Hawaii?"

Saito was taken aback: "That's really how it is... Last year we discussed and decided on this year's ranking spots, and this year we should be discussing next year's."

"Actually, I don't think the number of rank is that important. It's just a matter of playing one more rank-up tournament later on. The difference between starting with rank 1 and starting with rank 3 isn't that big," Ke Zhiguang said seriously.

In Ke Zhiguang's view, the only purpose of ranking is to participate in competitions. If it weren't for the fact that people wouldn't let you register for competitions if you hadn't ranked, he would definitely just go for it without any preparation.

"No, there is a difference. The initial rank you set is like a starting point. The higher the starting point, the more efficient you are at absorbing fortune. If I had to give an example, it would be like a parameter in a multiplication formula. The initial rank is equal to this parameter."

After hearing this, Ke Zhiguang understood.

Although reaching a certain rank allows you to participate in competitions, those who start at the beginner level and win the championship only receive one "luck bonus," while those who reach the third rank receive three bonuses.

Hmm... This world can be a little too scientific when necessary, even resorting to mathematical models.

"It can't be measured by such a precise multiple relationship. It should be more mysterious and hard to figure out... That's what Oshiro told us 9-dan players. Even 8-dan players don't know about this."

"In other words, it's best not to let outsiders know about this," Ke Zhiguang said, resting his chin on his hand.

"Yes, it's best not to let outsiders..."

At this point, the two of them turned their heads toward Cang Yuqiao, who was silently drinking his noodle soup, as if they had been electrocuted.

Cang Yuqiao was dumbfounded as he held the bowl of noodle soup.

As if to avoid being silenced for knowing too much, he quickly waved his hands: "No, I didn't hear anything, really nothing."

Hmm... she must have heard it clearly.

Of course, Koji Mitsuaki and Saito didn't care whether he heard clearly or not. Anyway, he was just a fishpond type of player. At most, he would use this secret as a topic of conversation to brag to the students, just like some professors in universities always talk about their love affairs from more than ten years ago to wake the students from their drowsiness and make them listen to the lecture.

Ke Zhiguang ignored him and continued asking confidential questions: "I've always had a question. The reason why the distribution of these ranks is strictly controlled is because luck itself... has a limited supply, right?"