The work of the Go master

"Forget it, this isn't our business. Just focus on playing well and making money is the most important thing." The sixth dan patted the seventh dan on the shoulder and then continued patrolling the area.

.....

......

The post-mortem analysis for Kezhiguang has also concluded.

Zhong Liangsan burst into tears and collapsed onto the Go board: "I'm sorry, I was wrong. I'm terrible at Go and don't deserve to play!"

"Ok?"

What's going on?

I've been so dedicated and attentive in instructing this person, so why did they suddenly stop playing?

Can anyone else do what I do: be a dedicated opponent who meticulously points out the mistakes of their opponent in almost every move?

"Young man, although there was a problem with this move, your other move was excellent, for example... for example, this move, do you see it, this move..." Ke Zhiguang quickly reproduced the local diagram to help him regain his confidence.

"I think this move was a mistake on my part..."

“Look, you even know that this move is your losing move. Doesn’t that show how good you are?” Ke Zhiguang said.

"puff--"

After spitting out the blood, Nakajiro continued to ask, enduring the pain, "So, what exactly was so good about my move?"

"Commendable courage, daring to start a war."

Naka Ryozo withdrew from the game room.

Ke Zhi shrugged. Who knows what's wrong with this guy?

After leaving the game room, Ke Zhiguang made himself a cup of coffee in the rest area and took a quick break.

Although the cozy cabin helped me regain my energy, the competition was mentally taxing, so it was normal to yawn and have a cup of coffee.

At that moment, Yamaoka arrived, ordered a cup of coffee, and asked, "Did you win?"

"We won, and we even had a friendly debriefing session with our opponent, but I don't know why he ran away," Ke Zhiguang said, sipping his coffee.

"Hmm, it seems there are still more normal people in this world." Yamaoka nodded in satisfaction.

"What about over there?"

“Of course we won, otherwise I wouldn’t be here having coffee with you,” Yamaoka said matter-of-factly. “As for the others, they all landed safely, and we’ll probably run into them again.”

"That's great, I'm an expert at civil war."

Yamaoka coughed up his coffee.

While that's not entirely wrong—Ke Zhiguang has mastered the art of fighting these residents of Peach Blossom Abode to a high degree and knows everyone's weaknesses—something just seems off.

It sounds like they're talking about someone in a sarcastic way, saying they're the least good at external warfare.

—Heh, why don't you try losing all your foreign wars?

"Do you know someone named Yabu Ruijin?" Ke Zhiguang asked, hoping it might lead to some information about that strange pill.

"I know a little bit about him. He's a very unlikable third young master. Most of his junior brothers dislike him. If you intend to get rid of him, you might as well secretly contact his junior brothers and get his chess scores to study. I believe there will be a mole willing to help."

"It sounds like a great idea, but it's too much trouble to implement. Let's forget about it," Ke Zhiguang sighed.

"You should also be careful. I heard from his fellow students that he's been trying to take advantage of you lately, and he's even gotten hold of your game records. Be careful not to get targeted."

"That's great, bring us more of those."

"Hmph, I knew you'd say that. What kind of chess did you play in our country? You could call it chess! In our country, it's like Hawaii. Is surfing fun there?" Yamaoka sneered, twitching his cheek.

In Go, there's also the saying "to be reckless," which refers to someone who, despite having a clear advantage, insists on attacking the opponent's dragon and ends up losing their own piece as well.

Or they insist on squeezing into one of the few available spaces, only to end up getting themselves caught in the crossfire.

The desire to have a wild time is something everyone has.

"Alright, I'm not going to talk to you anymore. I need to go prepare for my next round. Our 18th round of matches is next week."

Ke Zhiguang threw his empty coffee cup into the trash can and was about to take one last look at the scenery outside the window when he suddenly noticed several suspicious figures lurking around outside.

Well......

It seems everyone has collectively become like a deer.

Chapter 54 Fast forward to solo

Bai Meng, Shui Cheng, and Shao Gong teamed up again, tiptoeing into the chess academy from outside, as if afraid of being discovered by acquaintances.

Aside from their normal casual attire, this action feels like a standard deer-like transformation.

Today is Sunday, a holiday, so they definitely have time to come out and act cute together.

"Do we really need to sneak around like this to come watch Xiaoguang's match?" Shuicheng felt something was off.

"I don't know either. I saw Bai Meng walking on tiptoe in front of me, so I couldn't help but follow suit." Shao Gong immediately shifted the blame onto Bai Meng.

"I...I don't know why, but I feel really nervous. Will it seem too abrupt for us to come here so suddenly? Like, will our sudden appearance affect his performance or something?"

"The president has suddenly become similar to Ms. Harushima. Last time Harushima came to see Hikaru's match, she also sneaked over like this, but she was more formal that time, and she even wore a mask and sunglasses."

"Huh? Is that so? In that case, I have to be generous too, and not sneak around like her." Bai Meng immediately straightened up, displaying her natural elegance.

"Hey, can we stop talking behind those pillars? There are cameras pointed at us." Shui Cheng pointed to the side and realized that war correspondents were indeed watching them.

"Ahem, everyone, please stand up straight so that the cameras don't capture any rude or suspicious behavior... But speaking of which, I feel like a lot of people around us are watching us."

"They're just shut-ins. Don't be fooled by how well-dressed they look in their suits. They're actually only about 15 years old on average, and most of them haven't even held a girl's hand before."

"Well... never mind, let's not talk about that for now. Let's find out where Hikaru played."

"I've already finished this round, now it's my turn."

"Oh, I see. Then next—ah! Hikaru-kun, what are you doing here again!" Bai Meng jumped back.

Shao Gong was already used to it: "As expected, it's the same way you make your entrance. I have every reason to suspect that you've been eavesdropping all along, waiting for the right opportunity to break into the conversation."

"I've never actually done that before, although it does sound really interesting."

If it were Harujima Kashima, he would probably do this: eavesdrop on other people's conversations while looking for a suitable opportunity to show off and enter.

"It's been a long time, Hikaru-kun," Bai Meng said with a smile.

"Actually, it's only been about ten days."

Since the end of the Golden Week holiday, Bai Meng and Shao Gong have been preparing for their exams. The last time they met Bai Meng was by chance in the corridor, where she was carrying a large stack of books on politics and English as she returned from the library.

Ke Zhiguang still remembers why Bai Meng was so determined to challenge the Black Fang. It seems she said she wanted to spend more time on her youth, rather than on boring and tedious studies.

But now it seems that she has gone around in circles and returned to the old path of devoting all her time to studying.

That's good. If before it was forced learning, this time it was with extra options, and I still clicked on this option based on my own free will.

So, what motivated her to return to studying?

"How did you do? Are you confident you can take first place?" Shao Gong asked casually.

"There might be an obstacle, a very strong competitor."

“Well, I was actually prepared for you to dismissively say it was no problem at all,” Shao Gong said.

"No, this time there is a real formidable enemy. It's the senior disciple from the opposing sect. He's probably here to seek revenge."

"Finally, one day, others will come to challenge your establishment, instead of you challenging theirs?" Shao Gong said with a grin, interpreting it this way. In her view, challenging someone's establishment and seeking revenge were the same thing.

How should I put it?

Although Ke Zhiguang was formally the one being targeted for revenge, in practice, he was more like the one who actively provoked and sought revenge.

"This ranking tournament will last for a week, right?"

"Yes, a total of eighteen rounds."

"That's great! That way you'll have two weeks to prepare for your final exams," Shao Gong said with delight.

Shuicheng chimed in, "Yes, we've arranged a study plan for you. Every day is packed with activities, it'll definitely make you scream with frustration."

"Since you've already boasted about keeping the high school student's halo around, you have to pay a price, right? Don't think you can keep this rare attribute without paying anything." Bai Meng looked at Ke Zhiguang with an encouraging smile, and to be fair, he looked dark-skinned.

The three men's sinister smiles merged together, and in Ke Zhiguang's eyes, they all seemed to grow taller and their shadows loomed over him.

—This time you can't escape! ×3

That's roughly the feeling.

That looks terrifying.

I guess I'll just let it go and treat it as a way to enrich my little moments of happiness during my high school years.

"My next match is about to start, let's talk again tonight if you're free."

"Then I wish you good luck."

......

......

In the days that followed, the tension of the competition grew more intense each day, and countless drops of sweat accumulated on each chessboard.

Sometimes when Ke Zhiguang returned to Peach Blossom Studio, the first thing he would hear was all sorts of ghostly wails and pounding on the floor. Miss Song Ning would helplessly smile at Ke Zhiguang, indicating that this happened every year.

A 95% elimination rate—that's how brutal it is.

Ke Zhiguang simply nodded to indicate that he understood, then returned to his room to continue setting up the chess pieces and, incidentally, to see what else had come out that day.

The speed of item acquisition has increased dramatically, becoming the norm. It's possible that items will appear on the board the moment Ke Zhiguang wins a game.

As always, most of the items are used for eating and drinking, and occasionally some can add some strange attribute values ​​and help restore mental energy.

As Ke Zhiguang's chess skills improved, fewer and fewer opponents were able to produce good results. Ke Zhiguang suspected that if things continued like this, and one day he really broke through the entire path, the mission of the quantum mechanical chessboard would be over, and nothing would be able to be generated anymore.

Thinking about it, it's a reasonable ending.

On the other hand, besides the match, Yabu Ruijin also shuttled between the video store and Suga Seiichi's dojo, waiting for the match against Kazuki Shigemitsu.

And so the competition went on until the very last day.

......