The work of the Go master

The sun rises and sets, and the city lights alternate between day and night.

Everyone's life is like a window on a building, passing by and disappearing in front of the camera, with no intersection between them, yet they are secretly connected.

Finally, the war drums sounded until the day of the war arrived, and the door to the grand feast was opened!

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The First Day of the War

On February 2nd, a strong fighting spirit surged towards Gobancho in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.

As buses and subways arrived, elegant leather shoes stepped up the stairs, making a resounding thud. Everyone strode confidently into the chess academy, and a camera nearby perfectly captured the graceful entrance of each player.

To use the same metaphor, it's like a ceremony held by a mafia group.

Today is the opening day of the Battle of Famous Generals. As is customary, there will be a ceremony similar to a pre-exam pep rally before the battle begins.

Ke Zhiguang leisurely rode over on a bicycle, made a turn to stop the bike, and then stepped onto the steps he had to take to get to work.

A large group of people around him stopped and stared at him in disbelief, and the camera lens also moved towards him.

"Huh? Why did you all stop?" Ke Zhiguang asked.

"Your entrance was so ordinary! You're a top seed in this tournament, how can you just ride in slowly on a bicycle like that?" Yamaoka said.

“That makes sense. I’ll definitely use a different motorcycle next time.”

Money is not the problem for motorcycles; the only problem is the technology.

So here's the question: can the skills for riding a snowmobile be converted to those for riding a regular motorcycle?

Just then, the sound of a motorcycle appeared.

It drove in from the other side of the street, screeched to a halt in front of the chess academy, and successfully attracted a lot of attention.

Zhu Daoduan stepped off the motorcycle, took off his helmet, and tossed aside his stylish bangs.

After returning from Hokkaido, he got a proper haircut, restoring his bangs to the length they were before his seclusion, making him look exceptionally presentable.

Yamaoka whispered to Koji Mitsu, "Hey, see? Your aura has been overshadowed."

"Don't panic. Just because he has a motorcycle, I'll have one soon too," Ke Zhiguang replied calmly.

As everyone knows, if you take a gamble, you might turn a bicycle into a motorcycle.

After you kill him, you will get it.

Just as we were about to enter the gates of the chess academy, the sound of a new engine came again.

This time it was a car, a gray Mercedes with a chevron logo gleaming on the hood.

The car door opened, and a pair of vintage wooden clogs stepped out from the back seat, followed by a woman in a light blue kimono.

Xuan Yuzhi, as the current holder of the title of Famous General, also had to attend the opening ceremony.

After he got out of the car, the Mercedes quickly drove away under the driver's control.

In terms of sheer presence... the guy on the motorcycle was clearly outshone.

Xuan Yuzhi calmly ascended the steps, even exchanging a glance with Zhu Daoduan as they passed each other. It seemed the two exchanged something as they passed.

But it was definitely not a friendly line. Judging from the tense expressions on their faces, the line was most likely a provocation.

The specific content may be...

"The car is pretty nice."

"Yours isn't bad either."

That's roughly the flavor, add a touch of fiery expression and tone, and you're done.

So here's the question: after defeating Xuan Yuzhi, will I get a Mercedes? Just like winning the MVP award in ESL One and getting a Mercedes voucher.

For a fleeting moment, Ke Zhiguang's gaze met Xuan Yuzhi's, and the two exchanged friendly glances.

Xuan Yuzhi's score was also 30, which was the same as that of Zhu Daoduan.

This is truly... unpredictable.

Ke Zhiguang and Zhu Daoduan had at least crossed paths before, but this was truly their first meeting with Xuan Yuzhi.

Ke Zhiguang no longer cares about the specific evaluation criteria for this score. He firmly believes that as long as he keeps cutting, he will be able to get the relevant explanation card and learn the specific calculation formula.

But just as Ke Zhiguang was about to continue forward, he paused.

Xuan Yuzhi's back view exuded an ominous aura.

It wasn't the kind of ominous aura associated with using underworld tools, but rather... the ominous aura symbolizing the overflowing corruption of spirits.

However, it only had an aura and no physical form appeared.

When Yamaoka saw that Koji Hikaru had suddenly stopped, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Ke Zhiguang shook his head.

It looks like there will be landmines in this battle of the famous generals.

Anyway, it's very interesting.

......

.......

Inside the chess academy, under the lights, each chess player sat in their seat, facing the high dais.

The seating arrangement is based on the importance of the players, with the higher the rank of the player being the seat closest to the podium from back to front.

Of course, the sofas in the first row should be reserved for industry professionals, managers from sponsors, and key officials in government work—collectively known as leaders.

Sitting on the platform were six 9-dan players from the Go Academy, led by Xia Fuying.

Xuan Yuzhi also sat down, acting as one of these ninth-dan members, and he kept his eyes closed to rest.

Ke Zhiguang sat in the second row. From time to time, leaders in the first row would turn around with smiles to talk to him and hand him a business card, saying that he could contact them if needed.

What kind of connection could a business manager possibly have with a chess player? This is indeed a thought-provoking question.

But people are generally happy to befriend these chess players.

Perhaps they wanted to try and ride on my good fortune.

From this moment on, the web of fortune attached to Go has begun to take effect, connecting everyone, and mysterious power flows through this web.

Just as the time was up, Xia Fuying began to speak: "The weather has been rather unusual lately, excessively cold, but the chess players here have shown me a fighting spirit that burns brighter than fire. I believe that you will all leave behind a chess record in this tournament that will be remembered for centuries... Now, let me introduce the rules of this competition."

The competition had a total of 128 participants, divided into two groups, A and B, with 64 participants in each group.

One player from each group advances to the final round-robin tournament.

To select one person from these 64, a total of 6 rounds of competition are needed, which will take a total of 12 days to complete.

Although it's a rapid chess tournament, it doesn't start with the full rapid chess format. Instead, the time is accelerated by one round for each round advanced.

The first round of the competition follows a standard format of 3 hours per side with 6 one-minute overtime periods.

The second round was shortened to 2 hours, with 3 sessions of 1 minute each.

The third round consists of one hour per side, with three 40-second intervals.

In the fourth round, each player has half an hour, with three 30-second intervals.

In the fifth round, each player has 10 minutes, with three 30-second intervals.

In the sixth round, each side only has 30 seconds left.

With each round forward, the time limit is reduced, increasing the pressure on the players.

Although it's a rapid chess tournament, if a player focuses all their skill points on speed, they're likely to lose in the first few rounds.

Therefore, being able to make it to the end in this competition format is quite prestigious and convincing.

"It's another challenge mode..." Ke Zhiguang recalled the Nova War, fighting his way up floor by floor until he finally reached the top floor.

It was quite a ritualistic thing to do.

The first round of the competition will be held inside the chess academy, while the following rounds will be held at locations designated by the sponsors.

Needless to say, Ke Zhiguang knew that the more money he paid, the more likely he was to get the right to designate the venue for the later rounds of the competition.

The later the round, the greater the benefit to one's fortune, right?

Once the final round is reached, the location will be moved to Gen-Ok-ji's own residence, which is a tradition of the Meijō Tournament, where the final round is held at the current owner's own home.

He lives in a traditional Japanese-style garden in Nerima Ward, which is said to have cherry blossom trees, making it a good venue for the finals.

Based on my past life experience, Japanese chess tournaments are often held in small courtyards, inns, or temples with rich historical heritage.

Just like in shogi, when Mr. Bayi first won the Dragon King title, it was in a hot spring hotel that he played and successfully tricked... well, I mean.

Thinking about it this way, could it be that once I make it to the finals and arrive at Xuan Yuzhi's house, I might also encounter someone... cough cough, cough cough.

"Finally, please have the contestant representatives come forward for a group photo," Xia Fuying said from the stage.

The players in the second row immediately stood up and went to the front of the stage.

Most of them were acquaintances: Taketsugi, Anaga Shin, Sasahara Noriyuki, and Narita Shunji.

Xiong Ying and Ying Mei also took the stage as representatives of the players. The Go world has never been stingy when it comes to giving women the green light.

Both of them are ranked level six.

Xuan Yuzhi also got up from his seat, walked straight to the center, and stood in the very center position without any politeness.

This is also a privilege he enjoys as the current holder of the title.

Ke Zhiguang and Zhudao Duan were positioned to the left and right, forming a three-way power structure.

"Quick! This is the shot! This shot is full of tension!"

"This... I'm so afraid that the three of them will start close-quarters combat on stage right before it even begins."

Xia Fuying said, "Now, please sign a contract to guarantee that the competition will be conducted in accordance with the principles of fairness and impartiality."

At this moment, all the chess players on the stage took out the folding fans hanging from their waists, pointed them forward in unison, and deliberately moved closer to the center.

Like knights, raising their swords together, the tips of their swords meeting to send signals.

Since Xuan Yuzhi was in the very center, he didn't need to adjust the position of the folding fan; he only needed to straighten his arm.