The work of the Go master

An invisible force enveloped the small area around the chessboard, as if the conversation inside could not be heard by anyone outside.

It felt like stepping into another world.

"Mr. Guang, how did you know that such a thing as fortune exists?"

"I first heard it from Kiyonuma Yuzawa, and then Saito told me the details."

"I see. If it came from Saito-sensei, then there's no problem." Hoshino nodded in satisfaction.

"Will something bad happen if someone else tells me?"

Xingjia nodded: "Their luck in chess will be affected."

"What is luck in chess?" Ke Zhiguang asked.

After thinking for a moment, Hoshino replied, "If I had to explain it, I would say it is a towering tree. When it was still a seed, it was planted by Mr. Hanno himself and nurtured by countless Go players with their sweat and blood. In the end, it grew strong and prosperous along with Japan's postwar reconstruction, achieving the prosperity it enjoys today."

"When the nation prospers, so does the game of chess?" Ke Zhiguang naturally thought of this ancient saying.

"You could say that national fortune is the soil, chess fortune is the tree, and luck is the fruit that grows on the tree. Once you reach the level of fruit, it can truly affect people's real lives."

It's a very insightful metaphor that makes it instantly understandable.

National destiny and chess fortune, in the end, are both very abstract things, belonging to the realm of metaphysics.

Although fortune telling is also somewhat abstract, it does have a practical effect, as it can be displayed in the form of a frame. Therefore, strictly speaking, it is a physical thing, and of course it can influence the real world.

"I still don't understand why the game's luck is affected once the relevant secrets are revealed. Yagami Kunikyo also said that Koshikawa Tatsumi is threatening the game's luck," Ke Zhiguang continued to ask.

“Mr. Hikaru, you experienced the Snow Woman incident last time, so you should understand... the power of nature, right? If we just reveal the secret in such an ordinary way, they will be uneasy,” Hoshino said in a guiding tone.

After being enlightened, Ke Zhiguang suddenly understood.

The fate of the nation, the fate of the game, and fortune may sound like a beautiful, closed-loop utopia, but it is not without external threats.

This is naturally the external threat.

"Nature is a very fragile thing. It is like a sleeping giant. The laws of nature are like the self-function of the human body when it is asleep, such as heartbeat and breathing. But if you wake them up, they will get angry and collide with the tree of fortune. When fortune shakes, its roots will shake, and the national fortune, which is the soil, will also be damaged. The fruits of fortune will fall and break on the soil, but they will not nourish the earth, and may even damage the soil."

"It sounds like this Fortune Fruit is more like a battery; littering it will cause environmental pollution... and the giants are so grumpy when they wake up." Ke Zhiguang seriously complained.

Xingjia smiled and nodded, "It's just a simple metaphor, used to make it easier to understand."

As I mentally visualized this metaphorical scene, a new worldview and its operating logic began to take shape.

A metaphysical worldview, the true inner world of Go.

As the game of chess progresses, the story of Xingjia continues, unfolding like a slowly revealing ancient Eastern painting, depicting mountains and seas, monsters, and chess players.

Like an epic of the primordial era, or the cradle of civilization, towering trees symbolize spirits dwelling in their nests, vying for the fruits of their labor through chess-like battles.

When night falls, they cease their activity, look up at the vast blue Milky Way, and listen to the ancient, heavy breathing of the giants.

So beautiful, so very beautiful.

"Only those with special abilities like me can reveal the deepest secrets. As for the more basic secrets, even a 9-dan Go player like Saito-sensei is qualified to tell them personally, but of course, it also depends on whether the listener is qualified."

"Yagami Kunikyo, is he not qualified to tell these secrets?" Ke Zhiguang asked.

"Of course Mr. Oshiro has one, but he probably doesn't want to meet you on the chessboard so soon, so he entrusted this task to me."

If the higher the status of the symbolic spirit, the higher its position on this tree, then Yagami Kyo must have the best view at the top of the tree, just like his residence in the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion.

The game of chess, played while chatting, proceeded leisurely in the afternoon sun, with the temple bells occasionally ringing in the spring breeze, producing ethereal and tranquil sounds.

All questions were answered.

In addition, Ke Zhiguang also asked specifically whether the dog ears of the god of quantum mechanics were vertical or droopy.

The upright type is like a husky, and the droopy type is like a border collie.

The answer is the latter, the droopy type.

Sure enough, that makes sense. What's the difference between upright dog ears and cat ears? Only drooping ears can maintain the distinctive features of a dog.

As dusk approached in the afternoon, the last piece was placed, completing the puzzle of the game and finally bringing the worldview to fruition.

“Mr. Guang, you won by one and a half points,” Xingjia said respectfully.

The counting speed is quite fast. Although players often need to stop to count points and assess the situation during a game, Ke Zhiguang doesn't count points much in this kind of informal game.

Even after the game is over, the stage effect of the game does not disappear.

The butterfly queen, which had been resting on the flower, slowly took off and circled above Ke Zhiguang.

Two long antennae trembled, and star-like pollen fell down, creating a warm and surprisingly comfortable feeling.

Power surged into my body...

A blurry light and shadow were cast upon Ke Zhiguang.

【The Butterfly Queen's Blessing (1/30)】

[Teammates Only]

"This is......."

So that's how it is. No wonder Yagami Kunikyo said he might consider choosing her as his vice commander. It turns out she really can provide a buff to the team.

In fact, in "Godzilla II: King of the Monsters", Godzilla was sprayed with powder by Mothra, which is why he evolved into his Crimson form and defeated King Ghidorah.

As we were complaining, the conversation drifted back to this tokusatsu drama...

"From today onwards, remember to play a game of chess with me every day. After thirty days, you will have four months to be at your peak." Xingjia nodded gently.

It was only then that Ke Zhiguang noticed that the other person had two long tufts of hair on their head, but the effect was not very obvious and he did not notice it at first.

To be honest, those two tufts of hair look similar to the antennae on the Butterfly Queen's head...

Furthermore, considering the connection between Harushima Deer's dragon horns and her twin tails...

Got it. A female chess player's hairstyle directly determines what the horns on the symbolic spirit's head look like. I look forward to encountering a female chess player with double-drill-shaped horns someday.

So, I've already experienced the feel of the dragon horns of the Harushima deer; now, the feel of these butterfly antennae...

"Please don't make any strange jokes in your mind."

Tch, your little scheme has been exposed again.

With the pollen scattered, the Butterfly Queen disappeared into the darkness, and the match officially ended.

As darkness dissipates and the twilight sunlight streams in, it serves as a reminder that the day is drawing to a close.

"It's getting late, I should pack my bags and get ready to leave," Xingjia said.

"Before I set off, could you give me some time to explore this shrine by myself?" Koji Mitsu asked, as the most crucial item on his itinerary was the treasure map.

"Do you want to retrieve what the gods left for you? If so, I've already prepared it for you."

Xingjia picked up a small box wrapped in cloth from the side and placed it on the chessboard.

Somewhat surprisingly, I didn't expect the other party to even be able to detect this information.

"Have you... seen it inside?"

She shook her head and said, "No, the divine instruction I received was that this thing might be useful to you, but it didn't tell me to open it."

"Yes, thank you."

Ke Zhiguang took the small box, went to the wooden platform outside the main hall, sat cross-legged in the setting sun, and opened the box.

A document was found on the first layer of the box.

[Tatsumi Koshikawa's Personal Profile]

A whole stack of chess scores was piled up together.

Is this what you mean by the most complete collection of Tatsumi Koshikawa's past game records in history?

This did Ke Zhiguang a great favor. These days, it's not easy to find other players' game records; you can only search through the archives at the chess academy.

However, Koshikawa Tatsumi may have used some means to erase all of his past game records, leaving only his major tournament game records, which is not enough as material.

My work for the next two months is going to be pretty busy. Besides grinding through the God's Move series every day, I also have to study the boss.

He hurriedly opened the chess manual in the box and found that one of the manuals was stained with the aura of black fire.

Title: Tatsumi Koshikawa (15) VS Mother of Calamity

Indeed, only a match between charlatans like this qualifies one to get angry.

The box has several layers. After taking out the chess manual from the first layer, the second layer contains items dropped by Xingjia.

Perhaps this is the nature of a shrine maiden; while others' items are scattered across the board, hers are scattered here.

Butterfly Wings (The Road to the End 3/5)

The ultimate series items have indeed been delivered, and the upper limit for subsequent missions has changed from a question mark to a specific number.

[The other two items: the Mark of Despair + the Dream Paradise Trophy]

Here comes another instance of demanding something against one's will.

After defeating King Ghidorah last time, it dropped an item called "Proof of Entering the Door," and now another one has appeared: "Mark of Desperation."

The desperate situation echoed what Yagami Kunijō had said.

How exactly can one drive oneself into a corner?

A comeback from a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1?

Or should we first let a bunch of people die, and then turn the tide?

None of them seem very reliable.

Furthermore, it didn't specify in which match this mark should be obtained; it could be the Dragon Throne Tournament two months later, or it could be the Imperial Castle Tournament at the end of the year.

Even less reliable is the Dream Paradise Trophy.

Although Dream Paradise is also a 4500 million title, it seems to be just an entertainment event and has never been officially held. However, because the amount of money it offers is so high, the chess world has actually included it as one of the seven major titles, giving it official recognition.

Was this competition a foreshadowing?

As for when Dream Paradise will actually be held, there is no news yet, we can only wait and see.

But since the god of quantum mechanics specifically highlighted these two items at this time, it means that they are not far off.

Upon reaching the third level of the box, they finally found what was likely the most important item indicated by the treasure map.