The work of the Go master

"That's a lucky charm your mother left me. No matter how much time passes, it should always be with me whenever I face a major competition."

The son had no choice but to nod in agreement and went to the old storage room to find the handmade red scarf that was nearly forty years old.

This scarf, so thin and light, felt surprisingly heavy in his hands, reminding him of many things.

After taking out his scarf and going into the living room, he found his father staring intently at the night sky outside the window.

"Dad, you're looking at the stars again. Are you still thinking about that universe you mentioned?" his son asked with a smile, already used to it.

“Yes, this may be the last time I have the chance to see it again. After I finish this Dragon Throne battle, I will retire and promise not to worry you anymore.” Saito took the scarf and then gazed deeply at the red memory.

"Don't say that. If you do, you really won't be able to come back," the son said with a wry smile.

Saito seemed to realize something and nodded with a chuckle: "That's true, you can't just say things like that."

The granddaughter tilted her head to the side, not understanding what the two adults were talking about.

Just as the family was enjoying a happy time together, the moonlight outside the window began to crumble, and dark clouds rolled in.

.......

.......

In mid-to-late April, torrential rains had been pouring down for several days, and the cherry blossoms had been battered and broken, leaving only withered petals drifting forlornly on the puddles.

Dramatic climate change has already begun. Logically, this time of year is called the Qingming Festival, and the rainfall should be mild.

However, the reality is that it seems as if a dragon is drawing water from the sea in the clouds, pouring out tens of thousands of tons of seawater.

A normal El Niño event will either result in torrential rain or severe drought.

Everything comes from a mysterious force from the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Inside the game room, the bamboo swordsmith stood ready, prepared for battle.

Today is Xingcai's assessment period, so he should naturally be the chief examiner. If someone else were to take the role, it would inevitably raise suspicions of leniency.

In order to break the curse that he couldn't beat women, he deliberately put a KFC paper bag over his head to block his vision and focus solely on the chessboard.

To be fair, putting a KFC paper bag over your head is a bit of a sham, using a comical effect to distract the other person's thinking.

However, Xingcai was not significantly disturbed.

Lower your gaze, calm your breathing, and earnestly display what you have learned and thought over the past month on the chessboard.

And so, the pieces were placed steadily.

The game is basically over.

Bamboo swordsmith frowned, deep in thought, as he stared at the finished chess game.

Although he won this round, the opponent's skill level seemed...not bad?

Shi Quan confidently asked from the side, "Well, Mr. Bamboo Knife?"

"Surprisingly, surprisingly not bad." Zhu Daoteng had no reason to criticize, and Xingcai felt much more at ease after hearing this.

But soon, Zhu Daoduan's gaze turned to Shi Quan in astonishment: "How exactly have you been teaching her all this time? Have you been giving her medicine?"

Shi Quan waved his hand kindly: "I only did a small favor. It's mainly because Miss Xingcai has recently broken through her bottleneck and is making good progress."

While the bamboo sword forging was being tested on Xingcai, in the next room, Kezhiguang was also training with Qingdaolu.

With only a month left until the race, it's time to use up the x2 item on the Harushima Deer.

After calculating, he unleashed a "nonsensical" move!

Snapped!

--Um?

Harushima Kashima's eyebrows twitched, as if she felt provoked, so she snapped a quick shot in a fit of pique to punish the other party's "unreasonable hand".

It's now!

Ke Zhiguang countered with an even faster move, striking again!

And so, with a series of slaps, Harushima Kashiwagi was eliminated in this round.

"Uh, no, no, there's a point in this game that I didn't think about carefully, so this game doesn't count!" Harushima Shika immediately rolled her face across the chessboard, her two ponytails spinning like a helicopter.

The ×2 effect is in effect, and your table is expected to be filled with a huge number of small chess notation records at this moment.

However, after using this ×2 font, it simply became permanently grayed out.

There was no sudden update to the new score.

Hmm... So, the points displayed for Harushima Deer have become a permanent mystery?

Ke Zhiguang pondered for a moment.

I always feel that if there really is a god making settings for everyone from a high, unreachable place, then it must love the deer of Sunny Island far too much, with the mystery of the Dragon-Locking Pillar and the mystery of the points system.

The more mysterious something is, the more people want to explore it.

"W-What's wrong?" After being stared at by Ke Zhiguang for so long, Qingdao Lu retreated with a flushed face.

"Uh, it's okay, it's okay, you can continue."

This "continue" refers to continuing to swing your pigtails, which creates a strangely cool visual effect.

"Continue my ass!"

Suddenly, Ke Zhiguang seemed to remember something and asked, "By the way, are you interested in soaking in a cool spring?"

"What is that?"

"Forget it, I shouldn't have asked that... Are you interested in vodka?" Ke Zhiguang suddenly realized the correct way to ask a question.

“?” Harushima Deer slowly typed out.

......

.......

In early May, on a stormy night, the cruise ship rose and fell restlessly with the waves.

A glass of strong red wine swirls under the light, the ice cubes in the wine reflecting Xuan Yuzhi's thoughtful expression.

His opponent in this round is Tatsumi Koshikawa.

At this moment, Tatsumi Koshikawa was sitting sideways in a chair, his posture both strange and dashing, and he even had the energy to spit out two mouthfuls of wine.

In terms of training, Tatsumi Koshikawa kept his word and launched a training plan just two months before the competition.

During this period, he mostly played against Xuan Yuzhi.

Xuan Yu would only understand the strength of the man before him after they actually fought.

monster.

This man is a monster in every sense of the word.

It was definitely the right decision to board this ship; only by associating with monsters can one improve their strength.

"Tomo, you played very well this game, but there are still a few issues that need to be pointed out." Tatsumi Koshikawa began to seriously review the game.

Stripped of all the nonsensical jargon, the most basic Go terminology and the most straightforward way of explaining the game—only in such situations would Gen-okichi realize that his opponent was human, not a monster returned from the deep sea.

After the debriefing session, Tatsumi Koshikawa stretched and got up, then stepped lightly onto the deck to admire the terrifying darkness of the deep sea.

Xuan Yuzhi accompanied him with proper etiquette.

This isn't Odaiba; artificial floating islands resembling seashells adorn the night sea.

Here, there is only the purest sense of darkness over the sea. In the first few days after boarding the ship, Xuan Yu was interested in gazing at the night sea and experiencing the thrill that sent shivers down his spine.

But after staring at it for a long time, all that's left is the most primal fear of living beings.

Koshikawa Tatsumi often gazed at that spot with a sincere expression, like a lonely, handsome man longing for his wife far away.

Especially tonight, which is also a stormy night, the sea is even more unsettled.

At that moment, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the distant sea and the shadow of Tatsumi Koshikawa trailing on the deck.

A... gigantic, deformed monster, the only clear thing being the dragon's wings.

Xuan Yuzhi shuddered.

"Oh, sorry, Tomokazu, forget what you just saw." Koshikawa Tatsumi turned around with a witty smile, his tall figure resembling a cross on the deck.

The eerie, the intriguing, the powerful, the evil, and the justice and the light—all these contradictory and intertwined destinies unfold in the continuous drizzle.

Finally, on May 5.28th, everyone gathered under the banner of the Dragon Throne Battle.

Chapter Seventy-One: On the Way to the Great Voyage!

In the port during the night rain, the lighthouse beams cut through the rain curtain, while a television helicopter hovered high in the sky, offering close-up views of the overwhelming fighting spirit below.

"We are now broadcasting live from the Dragon Throne Battle, where a team of over 300 players is ready to go and step onto the battlefield at any moment!" On the helicopter, reporters provided a rapid-fire commentary despite the torrential rain.

The helicopter zoomed out to its highest point, swooping down to take in a close-up view of the entire cruise ship.

With a length of over 200 meters, a height and width of over 50 meters, and a capacity of over a thousand people, it may not be comparable to the world's top giant luxury cruise ships, but it can still be considered a small floating city.

Its predecessor was called Princess Avery, which seems to belong to an American cruise company. The company's most notable characteristic is that it likes to name its ships after princesses.

But now, for the sake of this chess battle, it has a new name: Dragon Palace.

The Dragon Palace of the East Sea—this is the best explanation for it.

The restless waves crashed in, and the rain poured down. The colossal structure before us resembled a fully armed castle, ready to go into battle at any moment.

Hundreds of hearts were pounding, sending signals of friendliness or hostility to one another, while others came with the mindset of tourists.

Yamaoka was panting heavily, leaning on his knees, probably from being too nervous. Soma Masae patted his back to help him recover.

There's also the gay duo, Shunji Narita and Noriyuki Sasahara, who are chatting and laughing freely in front of the interview camera.

There was also An Yongxin, Da Mu Jungui, many fellow Daoists from Taohuazhai... and every colleague from the chess academy. Looking around, there were familiar faces everywhere, and everyone was present.

Everyone was wearing raincoats, which shimmered in the rain, and the downpour could not dampen the enthusiasm in everyone's hearts.

Ke Zhiguang took a moment to appreciate the atmosphere before him.

He could hear the surging, stirring sound of war drums beating in everyone's heart, playing against the sound of rain and drifting into the distance with the wind.