The work of the Go master

"Take this, teacher..." Ke Zhiguang's first move took a long time to land, and the cherry blossom tide was splashed away.

To be honest, Ke Zhiguang had always wanted to find an opportunity to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom, but he never had the time.

Within the realm of the Inari fox spirit, this wish seems to be fulfilled.

Star, star, small eye, small eye—

After the hook, a wide-open counter-attack! It's as if, after throwing a punch, you leap backward to create distance, using the force of your opponent's block.

“Here it is. This is the latest research result of Ke Zhiguang. We all call it the Flow of Light in Disguise. It goes a step further than the original Flow of Light,” Naosaka said.

"If I remember correctly, the original Light Flow was developed by Saito, but he didn't play much Go at that time, so he simply handed over the entire offensive and defensive system to Koji Hikaru. When he went to the tournament to test its effectiveness..."

"It seems so, but I didn't expect Ke Zhiguang to be so innovative. He came up with a different version in the blink of an eye. This battle between master and apprentice is bound to be very exciting."

On the chessboard, the "wind" character from the Feng Huo Shan Lin formation began to take effect.

The powerful wind from the layout, carrying the cherry blossom blade, slashed sharply towards Ke Zhiguang!

“Hanging corner, two-room clamp... Saito chose the extremely rare two-room high clamp..." But as he was setting it up, Naosaka realized something was wrong.

"What's going on with these two? They're playing this game way too fast!"

The chess pieces spread out rapidly on the board, not only demonstrating the high efficiency and speed of the pieces, but also suggesting a competition between the two players in terms of placement speed.

In less than five minutes, the two of them had already filled 20 hands.

"Two seasoned gunslingers, what's this?" Atsuki Oki asked in surprise.

“I remember now, Saito said that before Koji Mitsuaki became a professional player, the two of them often played rapid chess together. Maybe they had gotten used to playing games in this way,” Naosaka said.

On the chessboard, the surface appears calm and peaceful. A 66-year-old man is playing chess with an 18-year-old young man, just like in a corner of a park.

In the other world, two young, fast-fighting swordsmen of similar age are engaged in a passionate sword fight! Cherry blossoms are sliced ​​apart by the shockwave!

It wasn't that the two were competing to see who could place their pieces faster; rather, they tacitly agreed to spend less time thinking in the early game and more time fighting in the middle game.

Move 40! A sharp second-line attack pierces into Black's territory!

The wind has died down, the offensive is raging, begin!

At that moment, Ke Zhiguang also put away his sharp knife and, following his teacher's instructions, switched forms with a single breath.

He unconsciously leaned to one side, his fingers climbing up the hair on his forehead, twisting and pulling it.

From a scientific perspective, this is called enhancing thinking ability by stimulating the cerebral cortex.

After thinking it over, he began to place his pieces.

57th move, a sharp spike hangs upside down on the second line!

61 moves! A continuous downward trend!

Like two swords drawn from their sheaths, the first sword was thrown out, followed immediately by the second, and the series of brilliant moves extinguished the fire started by 40 moves.

Saito began to ponder for a long time, and everyone watching the game held their breath.

Yagami Kunikyo closed his eyes and sighed, looking out the window at Tokyo.

Today in Tokyo, it's another depressing rainy day.

"Saito's invasion of the game has not brought him any advantage; on the contrary, he will face a heavy ko fight that requires him to slow down his liberties. The advantage has shifted to Koji Mitsuhiro's side!"

One of the fox's tails was thrown into the sky—it was severed along with the cherry blossom tide.

After the slash from the cherry blossom tide, Ke Zhiguang's eyes were especially resolute.

Saito wore an expression that was both relieved and exhausted.

Wow, you've become this powerful...

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Classmates and Boys

"The 80th move! White pushes out, a strong move by Saito!"

"On the 81st move, Ke Zhiguang was very cautious before jumping out here. In the past, he would play this kind of move without thinking."

"In the 87th move, Ke Zhiguang seems to have gained an advantage and has firmly established himself on the second line. He looks very confident in the situation!"

Both sides have one hour remaining.

Like cherry blossoms that cannot be cut off, a long shamisen melody floats among the petals, like a lonely Noh stage, where swords clash like the sound of clappers, and sorrow echoes on the lines and intersections of the chessboard.

On move 103, Ke Zhiguang slowly pulled a chess piece from the chess box, drawing a ray of light in the air before it bloomed on the chessboard.

That was a perfect move that combined defense and offense; the massive three-space flight, in the form of a battle halberd, hurtled towards the opponent's form.

The second tail of the divine fox began to disintegrate and fall off.

Saito's eyes twitched.

Sure enough, nothing can be hidden from the other party's eyes.

Those hidden points, gleaming like jewels, lie deep beneath the intersections of the chessboard. The moment you select one, the piece seems to glow.

He suddenly thought of himself when he was young and learning chess. In those days, the means of obtaining information were quite limited. It would take half a month to get a book of life and death problems. When he found a chess manual in the old storage room of the library, he was as happy as if he had found a treasure.

And he carefully preserved his chess scores, hoping that more people would discover them in the future.

"Move 126! ​​Saito has begun his counterattack, using a sacrifice to penetrate into Black's territory. A fierce ko fight is expected to break out here."

"It is expected that this local battle will determine which side will stand on the final stage!"

"Stinky boy!"

"Teacher!"

The two on stage shed their polite facades and unleashed their Iaijutsu attacks on each other with an almost ink-painting-like wildness.

In move 170, amidst the brilliance of the blade, White eliminated the ko fight.

The momentum of "fire" has ended, and the final chapter of "forest" has begun.

The character “山” represents the caution and meticulousness during the countdown, with the gaps in the countdown meshing together like gears.

In the silence of the forest, the four-and-a-half-hour game of chess ended on the 291st move.

"Black wins! Congratulations to Ke Zhiguang's team for advancing to the final and challenging the reigning Dragon King, Koshikawa Tatsumi." The referee announced, the doors of the game room opened, and reporters poured in. Flashes and shutter sounds became the final backdrop of this game.

The divine fox gently closed its eyes and sank softly into the lake, its petals scattering across the entire surface.

On the Noh stage, Koji Hikaru also put away his sword.

After the Iai strike, his opponent had already fallen behind him, smiling at the night sky.

"Thank you for your guidance." Ke Zhiguang opened his folding fan, as if sheathing a sword.

Faced with the outcome of the game, Saito remained silent for a long time before smiling with relief: "The rest is up to you. Yagami Kunikyo has already explained the details to you... Hold on to this mission."

Just as Saito was about to get up and leave, Koji called out to him from behind: "Wait a minute."

Saito stopped in his tracks.

"Forget about the universe, I can't help with that. Watching more sci-fi movies is actually quite good, it helps you integrate into the culture of young people," Ke Zhiguang said in a casual tone, the flash of the shutter illuminating his calm expression.

"As for living another thirty years or so, I can still help out. I believe in myself and my teammates," Ke Zhiguang said.

Previously, Xingjia revealed the secrets of fortune, one of which is the master-disciple relationship. In the world of chess, the master-disciple relationship is a crucial relationship on par with that of parents and children, and is the primary recipient of the benefits and effects of fortune.

This is why 9-dan players are keen to take on strong disciples. During the New Star Cup, Suga Seiichi was able to tamper with the trophy on behalf of Shibu.

In other words, if Kojiro wins the Dragon Throne Championship, a miraculous night will come.

Ke Zhiguang looked at the other person with unwavering determination, making a silent promise.

The shutter sped up the flash, which they considered just ordinary post-match banter used to boost morale and encourage each other.

Saito was stunned for a moment, but then he understood. He laughed and shook his head.

"That's good, keep up the good work! First take down Tatsumi Koshikawa, then Kunikyo Yagami, and that cowardly Kitaro Hikaze, and finally... Ishikoshi, and the world will be yours!" He laughed fiercely, giving off the air of an old man suddenly feeling young again.

It truly feels like stepping back into my childhood.

The moment Saito turned and walked out of the match room, all the cameras and microphones were pointed at him. Although Koji Mitsuaki was the winner, Saito had previously stated publicly that this was his last match, and this might be his last interview opportunity.

"Mr. Saito, could you please evaluate this match, as it was your final game?"

"A truly brilliant game, a game record worth remembering for a lifetime."

"Excuse me! Who is Shi Xin? Why is he listed last?"

"Just a friend from the underworld... Alright, if you keep asking, your press pass might get revoked tomorrow."

"And another thing! What are your plans next? Whether it's taking on other apprentices, traveling, or continuing to invest in oil with loans, anything is welcome!"

"Cough! Cough!"

Faced with this question, Saito choked back a sharp pain.

Investing in oil with loans was something that happened about ten years ago.

The moment the money was invested, the oil crisis hit the very next day, and it took a long time to pay it all back.

Amidst a cacophony of noisy and trivial questions, Saito surprisingly found himself at peace, and for the first time, he didn't find these people so annoying.

His figure disappeared gracefully around the corner of the corridor, his clothes fluttering even without wind.

Since Saito had drawn all the reporters' attention, Koji Hikaru's side was able to quiet down, as if what had just taken place was just an ordinary training session in the school's gymnasium.

After stretching, Ke Zhiguang also pulled back his chair and got up.

My teammates were already waiting outside the door, along with other familiar faces.

In any case, now that we've won, we definitely need to celebrate.

......

......

At 10 p.m., the excitement of today's competition fades, the pace of life begins to slow down, and the sea breeze brings a refreshing feeling.

The moonlight disappeared behind the dark clouds, and the distant deep sea appeared desolate and terrifying, but fortunately there were many islands, and the lighthouses on the islands illuminated the way forward.

Public dining area.

"Cheers!" The glasses clinked together with a soft thud, and the wine sloshed out.