The work of the Go master

Questions arose one after another in his mind, like many weights pressing on his fingers, making it impossible for him to pick up a chess piece for a moment.

The 138-piece piece seemed to have gained self-awareness, quickly burrowing into the black group's shape, gradually making the black group's shape ugly and tightening its liberties.

Eat it!

Eat it again!

Each hit was accompanied by a satisfying sound effect of flesh hitting flesh, as if punches were being landed on a sandbag. The previously weak chess piece was immediately solidified and became incredibly strong.

The fast-forward cuts to the last scene, where Ke Zhiguang raises his hand high and delivers a powerful blow!

Finally, they broke through the territory on the left side of Black's stones!

In the deeper realm of consciousness, he seemed to be running on a chessboard, holding a delicate scalpel upside down in his hand. Threads of light flowed from the tip of the scalpel behind him, and wherever he stepped, the ground was healed.

Once all the wounds have been healed, the arm will become a strong, muscular arm, ready to be used to clench a fist and strike hard.

The final strike is to cut off the cancerous growth that had previously parasitized the black pieces. The toxic, rotten flesh was stuffed into the opponent's mouth, while the essence was firmly held in one's own hands.

The essence has been exhausted and everything is now discarded.

"As expected, in order to protect its own position with very tight liberties on the right side, Black has no choice but to let White in. Now it depends on whether White can recover the loss of the stone it just sacrificed in Black's territory."

The elderly people upstairs couldn't explain what happened, but it seemed that after Ke Zhiguang yawned a few times, he suddenly became energetic.

But upon further reflection, Yabu realized that he had gone to the restroom to wash his face and then came to his senses.

"This game was of high quality. It's hard to imagine that such a brilliant game came from the hands of two teenagers who haven't even been ranked yet."

"Speaking of which, Suga Seiichi 9-dan is really pitiful. He gave up the opportunity to lie on the beach in Hawaii on public funds and devoted himself to helping his disciple study the game, but in the end he still couldn't defeat Saito's disciple."

"That's not how it works. The situation is still very close. I've pointed out that even if White manages to break through and make a living group to the greatest extent possible, the point difference between the two sides is still very close. The next game could be decided by half a point."

“I said, why don’t we stop cutting the chessboard? At times like this, watching the two players seems more interesting than looking at the chessboard.”

"Makes sense."

The camera zoomed out as instructed, bringing both players into the center of the frame. Every move they made exuded an atmosphere of fierce confrontation, a quiet yet violent tension like blue flames.

Those who are not good enough at chess cannot perceive this power.

After 172 moves, White has established a foothold and brought its dragon to its maximum potential. The sharp tail of the dragon crawls along the way, piercing towards the farthest point.

Ke Zhiguang was finally able to catch his breath.

My series of actions just now were like drawing a Winged Dragon, locking my health at 1.

LP1 remains a flickering candle in the wind.

The pieces are now in place, the danger has turned into safety, the board is solid, and now we can finally launch a counterattack.

He has the initiative.

Hold the chess piece tightly for a long time, putting all your strength into it, and then throw it out with the force of a baseball throw!

"Ke Zhiguang successfully placed his stones in the upper right corner, seizing the biggest endgame move in the entire game. This kind of move, where you make a living move first and then seize the biggest endgame move, is simply exhilarating." Naosaka smiled with relief.

The long endgame phase begins. At this stage, everything on the board can be quantified and calculated numerically. The optimal solution can be determined based on the size of the endgame moves and the order of play.

The number of people in the game room dwindled, and the light outside the window grew dimmer. From one o'clock in the afternoon to six o'clock, the game continued to progress slowly with the countdown ticking away, as the gears meshed together.

As the area outside the game grew quieter and the friction on the chessboard lessened, the background music, like war drums, grew louder and louder.

After collecting the last single document, the counting begins.

The timer stopped, the referee stepped forward, and the camera adjusted its shooting angle.

Yabu's perfect state ended at this moment; two hours had passed since he took the pill.

The moment the state ended, it was as if glass had shattered, and I was awakened by a piercing sound. It took a lot of effort for my soul to reassemble itself into my body.

Then came headaches, tinnitus, dizziness, and many other unpleasant symptoms.

—This symptom actually lasted for two weeks?

The thought of having to stay in such a miserable state for two weeks made him feel like he was about to collapse.

But upon closer inspection, it is indeed worthwhile.

He had come to a deep understanding of the strength of his opponent, Koji Mitsuaki. Although he was reluctant to admit it, Koji Mitsuaki's strength was indeed beyond his imagination, and he might even be stronger than himself. Yabu thought to himself.

But he quickly shook his head, dismissing the idea. The pill had only helped him reach his strongest state, meaning it was still his own power.

Since that's the case, his defeat of Ke Zhiguang proves that he is still stronger than him!

"Ke Zhiguang wins by half a point."

"Huh?" Upon hearing this news, Yabu was stunned and sat back in his chair, as if his brain had been hit hard.

"Thank you for your guidance."

Chapter Fifty-Nine: It's time for lavish meals and drinks at public expense again.

After a full day of matches, it was already 8 p.m.

All those who successfully achieved professional ranking gathered in the central auditorium of the Go Academy, which had been prepared as a banquet venue.

Above the auditorium, a white plaque with black lettering celebrated the successful completion of the 30th cohort of examinees' exams, resembling a graduation ceremony.

If it's your hometown, you'd probably use a red banner.

Xia Fuying once again held the microphone and climbed to the top: "Congratulations to everyone for successfully achieving professional status. From today onwards, you have officially become professional Go players, taking an important step on the path of Go. Please remember the emotions and original aspirations of tonight... That's all!"

This time, everyone actually applauded, and the applause was very sincere and touching. In the past, when people heard such a long speech, the only motivation for applauding was because the speech was finally over.

Everyone here has achieved success, so your mindset is naturally different. Many of you barely made it through on the last day and are still basking in the afterglow of your success.

The fatigue and exhaustion were written on everyone's faces. Seven days of intense matches, eighteen rounds in total, were enough to make anyone lose several kilograms.

"Well done, Koji Kō, eighteen wins out of eighteen, successfully securing the only third-dan spot... From today onwards, I'll call you Koji Kō 3-dan?" Yamaoka walked over, beaming, holding a glass of juice.

He narrowly defeated his opponent today, or rather, in the last game, and secured one of the few remaining spots for the second dan rank.

"Good evening, Shan Erduan." Ke Zhiguang returned the cup.

"You still like to break down other people's surnames and pronounce them... Well, it's not so bad." In the past, Yamaoka would have made a few sarcastic remarks, but today he didn't care about such trivial details.

The two of them fell silent for a while, savoring the peace and tranquility that followed their victory, sipping juice, and enjoying fruit and cake.

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Ke Zhiguang also remarked that banquets, no matter when they are held, always make people feel incredibly relaxed and comfortable.

The joy of successfully completing a certain stage goes without saying; if I weren't so tired, I would have wanted to twitch my lips and laugh out loud.

Today's final battle was extremely difficult; his opponent's strength far exceeded his expectations.

This is the strength of the red difficulty level enemies; they are quite difficult to deal with.

There are still some unclear and ambiguous points of doubt: the pill, the half-blackened sphinx, and the boss.

But none of that matters. What matters is winning. Maybe the mission review cards will have already appeared on the chessboard in the room.

No, there's still one more point of doubt.

What on earth is this three-headed lion of hell? Shouldn't it be Cerberus, the three-headed dog of hell? Is this lion trying to compete with the dog for the job of guarding the gates of hell?

Well, it's probably not an important mystery, let's just consider it an Easter egg.

After hearing the result of the defeat, Yabu himself sat quietly for a long time before leaving. He is not present at the party now, so he probably won't be there tonight.

The battle between black and white is brutally cruel.

"How are the others in our dorm doing?" Ke Zhiguang asked while forking a cake.

“I’ve inquired, and our apartment has reserved about 30 places for beginners. Half of the available spots are with us. I have to thank you for that. Your sudden arrival sparked fierce competition among us all, allowing most of us to improve significantly in a short period of time,” Yamaoka said.

"Wasn't this supposed to be a Reiwa era game? Now you're thanking me?"

"Our zero-sum game was only reflected in the competition for the ranking tournament spots. Now that the ranking tournament is over, we are a loving family."

Ultimately, the people living in Peach Blossom Abode are just a group of underage teenagers. They fight fiercely and play fiercely, and their friendship outweighs their rivalry.

From a rational perspective, this also highlights the importance of personal connections. Even if you can't make it big in the future, you can still get a job in the administrative department.

"Tamura also successfully achieved the 2-dan rank. It is said that he won because his opponent made a crucial mistake at the critical moment. He can be said to be the luckiest player in this ranking tournament. As for Morisaki, he performed a bit abnormally... well, it's not abnormal, it's just his normal level. Fortunately, he managed to retain his 1-dan rank. As for Soma, there is no need to say more. The rank of the women's rank was very easy to achieve. It is said that he achieved the 2-dan rank as the number one player."

"I've been wanting to ask this for a long time: why is Soma living in Peach Blossom Abode? Shouldn't she have been assigned to the women's dormitory?" Ke Zhiguang asked.

Yamaoka explained, "It's a complicated story. She initially moved inside, but after a while, the Go Association personally asked her to move here instead, on the grounds that she shouldn't affect the other students... I can't really explain how she was affected."

Ke Zhiguang thought for a moment.

Maybe they're afraid she'll turn half the building's residents gay.

"Senior Ke Zhiguang, congratulations on your promotion to the third dan."

Inoue also walked over here; her presence here indicates that she has successfully achieved her professional ranking.

When Yamaoka saw Inoue, he almost choked on half of the juice he had just swallowed. He naturally recognized her; she was the second daughter of the Inoue family, and her reputation was quite high.

Yamaoka gave Keiji a strange look again: "You again..."

"What's wrong?"

"Never mind, it's nothing." Yamaoka shook his head, indicating that he was used to it.

Just as Ke Zhiguang was about to ask Inoue, she shook her head first: "No need to ask, it's just the first stage. If I go back, I'll probably get a good talking-to from Harujima-senpai."

Hmm...

He seemed to have underperformed.

Based on Ke Zhiguang's current strength, he can still be classified as green, which means he is basically guaranteed to reach the dan rank. If he were a female player, his chances of reaching the second dan would be very high.

Of course, anything can happen. Female chess players' form often fluctuates greatly, and if they are not careful for even a moment, they may fall behind immediately.

"So what are your plans for the future? Are you still studying on Qingdao Island?" Ke Zhiguang asked.

Inoue shook his head: "Senior Harushima has also been busy. She flew to Nagoya a while ago to participate in the Women's Cup. The final is in a week."

"Has she made it to the finals?"

"Yes, she only won the title of princess at the beginning of this year, and she should maintain a very strong competitive state for the whole year. For the time being, no other woman should be able to stop her... As for me, I will focus on preparing for the exams. I still have the school's final exams coming up."

"You're still in school too?" Ke Zhiguang asked, somewhat surprised.