The work of the Go master

At times like this, one can only gracefully concede defeat, pretending that one is merely giving instructions and has not yet exerted all one's strength.

A chorus of "Eh!" echoed from all around.

"Is the teacher already admitting defeat? It's still early in the game, isn't it?"

"No matter what, the teacher's gesture of admitting defeat was so cool, so classy."

"Hmph, it's just a demonstration game."

Ke Zhiguang was also surprised that the other party had submitted the ball so early.

That's good, this way we can get the items dropped by Cangyu Bridge.

According to Ke Zhiguang's test, a game of chess must be played for more than 120 moves before the opponent resigns in order to obtain the item. If the number of moves is too low, the system will not recognize it and may even be suspected of score manipulation.

The items revealed by an amateur 5th dan are something to look forward to.

"Then, thank you for your guidance." Ke Zhiguang made a standard fist-and-palm salute.

He had been researching the appropriate gestures to express his gratitude, ranging from a simple nod to a more elaborate Lelouch-style face-covering gesture, but finally settled on this more traditional fist-and-palm salute.

It's still not quite right; this pairing still needs some adjustments.

Just as I was about to get up and leave, a classmate suddenly sat down opposite the chessboard, exuding a certain aura.

A male student with a contemptuous expression and spiky hair.

"You must be Ke Zhiguang, the one who tried to seduce our president?" he shouted.

Ok?

President?

Ke Zhiguang recalled carefully and realized that he seemed to have planned to take down the president of the Go club.

“That’s right… By the way, in Japanese, do ‘to touch’ and ‘to defeat’ mean the same thing?” Koji Hikaru had answered firmly, but then, realizing he might have misunderstood the context, he lowered his voice and asked the next question.

Upon hearing this, the hostility around them immediately intensified, turning into clusters of burning flames.

No one heard the last sentence clearly.

Bai Mengyin opened her mouth, took a step back, and her beautiful face paled slightly.

"So you really did come here to... to manipulate me?"

Chapter Thirty-Five: Fast forward to lying down

"President, don't panic, this person was just saying it casually." The vice president calmly patted Bai Mengyinyu on the shoulder.

The vice president has spent so much time with Ke Zhiguang over this period of time that he has come to understand Ke's way of thinking. When he makes some witty remarks, it's best to just ignore him.

"Huh? Is that so?" Bai Mengyinyu looked at the other person's calm face with doubt.

"Hikari, you were just saying... could you say that again?" Mizuki Yuuki maintained a stiff smile.

Her fists were clenched in front of her chest, her knuckles cracking.

this......

Ke Zhiguang gasped for breath, his heart pounding.

The atmosphere is off.

So everyone around here is selectively deaf and didn't hear my question at the end?

The boy with the 7UP hairstyle in front of me has already cleared the chess pieces from the board, revealing the attitude of a duelist. It looks like another round is going to be played.

Behind him stood three burly men; it should have been a four-wheeled vehicle.

Ke Zhiguang exhaled slightly and adjusted his non-existent glasses.

Perfectly in line, exactly what I wanted.

His goal is to participate in this team competition, which means he has to eliminate one of these four people. To do that, he naturally has to rely on his strength.

Sometimes a misunderstanding is good; it can speed things up and fast-forward to the point where they're lying on the ground. It's like watching the main story CG of "Yakuza," where the screen goes black, and when you cut to the next shot, the thug who was just provoking you is now lying at Kiryu Kazuma's feet.

At worst, you can clear up the misunderstanding after you've finished lying down, and they'll listen to your explanation then.

"Yes, I'm here to challenge your club president. If you're not happy, then defeat me now." Ke Zhiguang said in a calm tone, grabbing a handful of chess pieces and fast-forwarding to the coin toss.

Bai Mengyinyu stared blankly at the vice president, unable to voice her grievances.

You said it was just a casual remark?

This person loudly admitted it!

"Hikaru, what the hell are you talking about!" Mizuki Yuzuki quickly came over, grabbed Hikaru's collar and shook him.

"Shh, tactics, this is a tactical arrangement!"

"No one would believe this is a tactic!"

"Sure, that's great, let's get started!"

Upon hearing Ke Zhiguang's candid admission, the male student on the other side of the chessboard readily slammed a chess piece onto the table, guessing a single move.

But suddenly, he realized something was wrong.

"Wait a minute, I'm a senior from the third year of high school, I should be the one to pick the ball!"

Indeed, in the guessing game, the older person always takes the first piece, and the younger person guesses; this is a sign of proper respect.

But why are you, a lower grader, the one doing the catching?

It's like I'm the one showing you respect!

"Oh, I didn't notice. Let's leave it like this for now. Anyway, you've already guessed... it's an odd number. You guessed right, senior. Here, take the black pieces." Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ke Zhiguang broke free from Shuicheng Xiyue's grasp and immediately switched the black pieces, instantly making the situation a reality.

The male student was choked and speechless.

They could only honestly accept the fact that they were being taken advantage of.

Another team member from the training camp spoke up: "Let's be more formal and use a timer, 15 minutes per person, two 20-second rapid chess games. Any objections?"

"of course not."

Same as above

The reason for using this rapid chess format is to finish quickly this afternoon, so that all four of us can take turns playing, and we can finish by 6 o'clock and go out for barbecue after school.

They had thought it through clearly: they could only win if Teacher Cangyu gave them a two-stone handicap and was even giving them a coaching game. This level of skill was no match for their group of kings who had returned from a training camp.

Ke Zhiguang is at most an amateur 3-dan, while the other four are at least amateur 4-dan level, only moving upwards, not downwards.

"You guys..." Bai Mengyinyu wanted to step forward and remind her teammate Ke Zhiguang of his true chess strength, but she was immediately interrupted by her teammates.

"Don't worry, President. The four of us are more than enough to deal with him. There's no need for you to help." A broad arm blocked Bai Mengyinyu's path, accompanied by a confident smile as he turned around.

this......

Bai Mengyinyu vaguely saw the four of them lying on the ground.

At this moment, Cang Yuqiao greeted Bai Mengyinyu from the side: "Bai Meng, welcome back. I imagine your chess skills have improved a lot during this time."

"I wouldn't call it improvement, I'm just barely staying where I am." Bai Mengtian lowered her head, a strand of hair brushing against her ear.

“Alright, stop being modest. Let’s go play a game of chess on the other side. If you watch them play from here, they’ll get distracted,” Cang Yuqiao said.

I couldn't bear to see these young men get humiliated in front of the goddess, so the best solution was to get the goddess away from me.

Arriving at a chess table by the window in the corner, the other students didn't follow; they were more focused on the tense and exciting game of defending the club president.

"The team competition starts in three days. Are you confident of winning the championship?" Before playing chess, Cang Yuqiao first brewed a cup of tea, which was quite particular.

The game against Ke Zhiguang was too nerve-wracking. It's time to have a cup of tea and find a familiar opponent to play slowly to ease the pressure on my nerves.

"I'm not very confident. The players in Kansai are very strong, especially a girl I often play against. I've played several games with her, and I've almost never won," Bai Mengyinyu said in a low voice, full of apology.

In Japanese school competitions, the outcome is often a battle between Kanto and Kansai. Tokyo and Osaka have a daily love-hate relationship. If Bai Mengyinyu mentions the strong girls from Kansai now, it's easy to feel that the final champion of this team competition will be decided between the two sides, as if it were destiny.

"It's alright, there's still time to adjust. Your teacher believes you'll definitely be able to beat her later." Cang Yuqiao smiled and handed Bai Mengyinyu a cup of tea. She thanked him.

Cang Yuqiao continued to mutter to himself, "Speaking of which, female Go players these days are really amazing. Several very strong girls have emerged from the professional scene. It makes one really look forward to the future developments in the Go world."

Bai Mengyinyu nodded, then suddenly changed the subject: "Teacher, I have a question. In the game outside just now, did you give them a handicap or did you decide who went first?"

This question almost made Cangyu Bridge spill his tea.

He smiled wryly and said, "So you've noticed too. This isn't a handicap game for me."

Bai Mengyinyu nodded.

"Actually, my game of chess is..."

The Azure Feather Bridge is stuck.

As his teacher, he certainly wouldn't be embarrassed to admit that he lost the first round, but considering Bai Mengyin's pride, whether he should answer in that way is debatable.

Especially now, she just said that she lost many games to a girl from Kansai, which has severely damaged her confidence. We should help her regain some confidence.

“Yes, I gave him a handicap, but I really played with all my might. I didn’t let him win. Even so, he’s still very good. He should have no problem beating the four of them.” Cang Yuqiao chose a compromise.

Giving the first move means giving the opponent a piece advantage, allowing them to move first with black, but without needing to pay komi.

"Alright, enough talk, let's start. Maybe they'll finish by the time we're done." Cang Yuqiao sat across the chessboard, about to draw lots to decide who would go first.

"Teacher, there's something else I need to confess," Bai Mengyinyu suddenly spoke, as if she were about to reveal a secret.

"That's me. Actually, my skills haven't improved at all during this training camp..." She lowered her head and tugged at the fabric of her skirt on her knees.

He seemed quite unwilling to accept it.

This is not a humble remark, but a disheartening fact.

"Huh?" It took Cang Yuqiao a long time to react, and the tea spilled out.

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Setting Sun Like Blood

“My condition has been very bad since the start of the training camp. In the days leading up to the camp, I didn’t win a single game,” Bai Mengyinyu continued, her voice fading as she spoke.

Cang Yuqiao gave a thoughtful "oh," indicating that this was indeed a rather serious problem that warranted attention.

Although the training camp is also called seclusion, it does not necessarily mean that one's skills will greatly increase after leaving the camp. It is possible that some people may even regress after leaving the camp.