The work of the Go master

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Several hours later, the fourth game was almost over, and the view outside the window turned into the colors of the sunset. Another day had passed.

Before anyone knew it, a group of people had gathered around the table, all of them worried for this seasoned chess player.

"What's going on? I remember this child wasn't this strong just a few days ago!"

"Although he won a lot of games on Sunday, his opponents weren't strong, and they seemed to be at most a first dan level. But now it looks like he's at least a third dan, right?"

"It's hard to say. Despite his excellent mid-game performance, his opening moves are really hard to describe."

Whispers rang out around them, but the sound was kept out of reach of the chessboard.

The white-tailed fox's forehead was covered in sweat, which it wiped away again and again.

His thoughts were the same as those of the onlookers: they felt that the boy was at most an amateur first dan, and that by his own standards, an amateur third dan should be able to easily defeat him.

With the intention of bullying its underlings, [White-tailed Fox] started by using complicated routines, but Ke Zhiguang responded to them all and did not mind leading the routines to the most complicated variations.

A small step back, a steady retreat, can turn into a massive avalanche.

Two high-pitched traps, steadily leading to the Muramasa Demon Blade.

Low-hanging, high-flying, steadily taking a steep incline.

These are three complex joseki in Go, all of which can lead to the collapse of the entire game if one move is wrong.

The one with a historical anecdote is the Great Diagonal, which is known as the Thousand Variations. In 1835, Jowa, one of the ancient Japanese Go masters, used this Great Diagonal joseki against his challenger, Akahoshi Intetsu. This was the first time the Great Diagonal joseki appeared in history.

Although Akahoshi Intetsu responded well, he ultimately lost this crucial game. After 246 moves, Intetsu knew that he had no hope of winning. Exhausted, he vomited blood on the board several times and died two months later. A brilliant talent had fallen.

This game was the most brutal in the history of Japanese Go. Although many works like to depict players who die on the Go board, in reality, only Akahoshi Intetsu died because of a game, and he passed away two months later.

If we had to name a specific one, there's a second story behind the Great Slash. In the anime "Go Master," Kuroki's Tenma Daikaku is based on the Great Slash.

Well, the second one can also be considered a classic story.

The first game ended in defeat due to a broken opening pattern, and the seasoned player only thought it was due to his momentary carelessness.

In the second game, he lost due to a rash attack that wiped out his entire group. He still felt that he had just gotten carried away and that he would correct this teahouse-style Go habit in the next game.

In the third game, he failed to slay the dragon, and his territory was completely wiped out.

After the third game, the veteran player was already sweating profusely, feeling that something was wrong and that his opponent was not at most an amateur first dan level.

He carefully recalled the games that Ke Zhiguang won on Sunday. His performance was not nearly as strong as it was today, but these games all had one thing in common.

Basically, the outcome of each game depends on the life or death of the dragon; either he slays the dragon, or his dragon survives on the spot.

Could it be that he is only good at offense, with deadly moves?

Chess players have a wide variety of playing styles, and some are indeed born to be masters of killing on the chessboard, with an exceptional sensitivity to life and death problems.

—To deal with someone like that, all you have to do is avoid getting entangled with him, right?

Guided by this idea, the fourth game began.

With simple and well-defined opening moves, securing territory, and proceeding step by step, yielding to areas that were unclear, the game progressed to the final endgame stage at an extremely gentle pace.

"Black wins, by five points," Harushima Shika announced from a distance.

Both Ke Zhiguang and his opponent relaxed.

"Thank you for your guidance," Ke Zhiguang said.

Old Qiyou was dejected but also felt relieved. After leaving behind the fourth 1000 yuan note, he went outside to breathe some fresh air.

"Has he now secured the title of the strongest player in our Go room?" someone said.

"That seems to be true, if we don't include the shop manager and Ms. Harushima."

"Damn it, I have to ask him how he played that game!"

A middle-aged man in a leather jacket walked up and put his arm around Ke Zhiguang's shoulder: "Your surname is Ke, right? May I ask why your opening moves look so weak, but your mid-game strength is so strong?"

Although I know it's not good to call someone weak, I can't think of any other adjectives right away, and I can't just use the same old thing all the time.

"Huh? Is my strategy really that weak?" Ke Zhiguang was taken aback.

"Yes." Everyone around nodded in agreement.

"Ugh, my heart aches so much. I thought my opening strategy was my strength and my mid-game was my weakness." Ke Zhiguang clutched his chest, looking like he'd been shot.

The people around them were even more speechless.

So you have absolutely no self-awareness about your strengths and weaknesses?

So he's won the title of the strongest player in this Go room?

Harushima Deer spoke up again from afar: "I think you might as well be more arrogant. You could say that the reason you like fighting and killing dragons in the middle game is because you don't like the endgame, so you have to end it in the middle game."

Ke Zhiguang thought for a moment, carefully reading the lines, and nodded: "Although it feels quite arrogant, it does express my true thoughts quite well."

The surrounding area remained silent.

Because I don't like the ending, I prefer to slay the dragon and fast-forward to victory?

Is that even a valid reason?

"Perhaps this is the world of the strong. They live in a different dimension from us who just want to play chess for fun."

"Let's go have dinner."

Dinner time had long passed, and the guests were bustling out of the Go room, which would soon become much quieter.

Ke Zhiguang yawned, rubbed his shoulders, and stood up, only to suddenly realize that Qingdaolu had been staring at him.

His gaze seemed to carry a hint of aggression.

"What's wrong, Qingdao?" Ke Zhiguang asked.

"No, it's nothing. I'm just surprised by how much you improve every now and then... You, have you really only been learning chess for a few days?"

“Okay, I admit it. Actually, I studied Go for a long time back in my hometown, but I forgot it later. Now I’m learning it again from memory, so of course I’ll improve much faster.” Ke Zhiguang replied with a smile, gently rubbing the back of his head.

“I don’t believe such nonsense. Whether it was the first time you came to me to learn the basics, the second time you came to me to punish Yoshida, or the third time now, you have shown the best of your ability. You... have been giving it your all from the very beginning. I can see that.”

Lightning suddenly flashed outside the window.

Then came thunder, followed by a torrential downpour, the dense sound of rain instantly filling the entire world.

The traffic lights at the crossroads flickered uneasily, birds sheltering from the rain under the eaves peered warily into the room, and through the window watched the two people facing each other from afar in the Go room.

After a long, silent stare between Kazuya and Harujima, Ke Zhiguang finally understood the source of the aggression in her eyes.

Yes, we were rivals to begin with, weren't we? And there was still half a game left to play.

When she sees her opponent suddenly become stronger, shouldn't she also have a strong desire to fight?

My heartbeat, my blood, my nerves—everything felt tingly and ignited.

“Hey, Harushima, although there’s still some time before the one-month time limit I casually mentioned, why don’t we… take out that game of chess and continue playing?” Ke Zhiguang slowly uttered the words, his breath gradually tightening, “My first game of chess in my life.”

Chapter Twenty-Six: Dragon's Breath (Dads, please vote and add to your favorites!)

After reviewing the game, the board position returned to what it was a little over a week ago.

Darkness descended upon us like an iron curtain.

When vision returned, the [Dragon-Locking Pillar] reappeared behind Qingdaolu. The dragon's gaze was fixed intently on Kezhiguang, its claws scratching and creaking against the stone pillar.

Sure enough, no matter how many times I watch it, I still find this scene incredible.

Looking up, five black rhombus-shaped crystals floated in mid-air, forming a semi-encircling confrontation with the [Dragon Locking Pillar]. Only now did Ke Zhiguang notice the existence of these five rhombuses.

These five crystals must represent his remaining five-piece advantage.

This anime is starting to resemble a cultivation-themed anime more and more.

"Let me confirm first, is this game going straight to the end?" Harushima Shika asked, her fair face now radiating an aura of aggression.

"I don't deny that it will eventually finish," Ke Zhiguang said.

"Hmph, so that means there's a possibility that the 'cheating' might continue."

"Maybe, after all, the final time limit is one month."

Just then, Ke Zhiguang made his move.

Xiao Fei was stationed in the bottom left corner, the furthest point from the upper right corner of the battlefield.

—As expected, they chose to leave first.

Harujima Kashiwa thought to herself.

The top right corner is already immobilized. In this situation, the wisest thing to do is not to play if you don't know how, which means to discard the first move.

Harushima Shika's gaze swept across the chessboard, and he immediately placed his piece, continuing his corner-attacking strategy.

Despite the fighting spirit surging within him, Ke Zhiguang remained remarkably calm on the chessboard.

His goal is to win this game. Winning by half a point is a win, and winning by dozens of points is also a win. There is no difference in essence.

Just maintain the advantage of having five pieces.

All of them... should stay!

Then, strike again, aiming at the tip, and then quickly pass through, securing a high-ranking piece.

Touch it, it grows longer; stick it, it grows even longer!

What were a few minutes in reality seemed like only a few moments in Ke Zhiguang's mind; the static chess game transformed into a swift and fierce exchange of blows.

The game suddenly became incredibly complex. There was a corner attack in the lower right, a push in the lower left, and an invasion and forced dismantling on the top. The board was shattered into many pieces. The wind-like offensive was no longer confined to the local area, but unfolded with the entire board as the fulcrum.

In the past few days, Ke Zhiguang has been learning from Mr. Cang Yuqiao in the Go room. He learned that the so-called handicap game between the superior and inferior players is played by touching and leaning on each other all over the board. If a local area cannot be opened up, then another local area is opened up, stirring up the whole game. This is the correct way to play handicap games.

Suddenly, the dragon chained to the pillar twitched its whiskers and spewed flames toward the other end of the sky.

The target was five black rhombuses floating in the sky. One of the rhombuses was instantly destroyed in the flames, scattering into sparks as it fell to the ground.

So that's how it is. As the game progressed, the advantage of five pieces was reduced by one, is that right?

A scene suddenly flashed through Ke Zhiguang's mind—the game continued to run smoothly until the end, and in the final stage, the score was slowly swept away like a trickle of water.