The work of the Go master

Because he is Harujima Isshin, Huang Longshi, a time traveler from his homeland, and someone who has been blessed by the gods, his special status is self-evident.

What's more, he's the father of Harushima Deer. Every father, when meeting his daughter, always brings out his most handsome and expensive outfit.

But Ke Zhiguang still had something to complain about: "Speaking of which, Go is still an Eastern art. Look at this, all the dragons in the East are righteous, while all the dragons in the West have been dragged into being villains."

Unfortunately, I thought Isshin's dragon was a two-headed dragon, so suddenly it's less fun... cough cough.

The sound of the chess pieces echoed in the empty classroom, and combined with the snow scene outside the window, it created a beautiful illusion for many people who didn't know much about Go.

But the truth is, the fighting has already begun!

Seventeen moves! A white piece suddenly flies out diagonally from the bottom right corner!

Force them to close the border!

That's right, "forcing the pass and controlling the edge" is the ancient name for this move, which comes from "The Guide to the Principles of Chess". Only the ancients would have been interested in giving such impressive-sounding names.

Of course, the naming of ancient Japanese Go is even more absurd. Dosaku once had a local survival technique called "Sleeping Dragon Ascending to Heaven," but in reality, it only took three moves.

The silver dragon soared into the air, then crashed down like a crescent moon towards the Dragon-Locking Pillar!

Eighteen, block the way!

Nineteen, sharp peak! Twenty, downward pull!

A magnificent battle is about to unfold in the lower right corner!

With the sounds of silk and bamboo instruments, sandalwood incense, a lakeside pavilion, and a gentle breeze, every move in the game carried a classical Chinese feel from the very beginning. It was as if the game between the two players was not taking place in a modern Japanese elementary school classroom, but rather in a palace from the Tang Dynasty, where red curtains were slashed open by sharp swords and candlelight was extinguished by the glint of blades.

Having learned in advance that the competition would be conducted using ancient chess rules, Harushima Shika has been studying ancient chess manuals recently.

The format and opening of the ancient score are quite different from those of the modern one, but time was of the essence, and she didn't have time to spend on fancy tricks or creating her own routine, so she simply followed the ancient opening.

She and Yixin reached a tacit consensus on this point. The opening moves, such as corner approach, corner defense with a large knight's move, and star-shaped side encirclement, were all works of art, giving the viewer the illusion of traveling through a time tunnel.

Speaking of which, Harushima Kashiwa recalled that Go world joke from almost a year ago—

Ke Zhiguang arrived at the fork in the road between art and sports. He cleverly swapped the signs at the two intersections and then drove the car toward the "art" side.

Immediately afterwards, Harushima Kashima arrived at the fork in the road. She glanced at the road sign and drove onto the "Racing" side.

—This is such a gem! It's been almost a year, and it's still not out of style!

White's 27th move was a decisive strike that pinned Black's top. It was at that very moment that Shinobu Harushima's shoulders twitched.

Each turn of the lever signifies the creation of a breakpoint...

Break it off!

The sparks from the cut scraped across the chessboard, and the sudden surge in temperature seemed to melt the snow outside the window.

"You're being too hasty. This... won't break that final chain." Isshin's voice carried a hint of etherealness, brushing past Harujima Shika's ear like a gentle caress.

Thirty-nine moves, an unexpected single retreat fell from Yixin's fingertips, and the entire area quickly cooled down!

An icy breath roared out from the silver dragon's neck and throat!

Amidst the chilling light, the icy cocoon-like vines climbed onto the Dragon-Locking Pillar, and the dragon's claws, which were about to erupt, were instantly frozen to the stone pillar.

The gray dragon raised its head, gazing silently at the silver dragon soaring in mid-air, its eyes burning with proud flames.

In front of the chessboard, Shiori Shika had unconsciously entered a state of deep thought. Her pupils began to constrict, her calculation power intensified, and the entire chessboard became her domain.

Outside the window, streaks of fire shot into the sky and fell, causing the earth to tremble, but they did not affect her thoughts in the slightest, nor did they attract her attention.

Finally, after a long period of deliberation, she drew her chess piece as easily as drawing a sword.

Seventy-six, a new breakpoint, continue breaking upwards!

Chapter Forty-Six: Ice and Red Lotus

Temperatures rose within the ice, and ferocious dragon claws emerged from beneath the ice!

The chessboard had barely cooled down before it was engulfed again by a resolute determination like a red lotus.

The second cut at move 76 was a decisive move, a truly bold and decisive one.

As if to express the weight of this move, Shiori Shika's finger lingered on the move for a while before withdrawing, leaving behind a trail of white mist—a phenomenon caused by melting ice and snow.

A soft sigh escaped from Shizuka's lips, and in that brief moment of adjustment, a clear and resolute determination shone in her eyes once more.

"Is that so? It seems this game will be decided soon." Isshin seemed to understand.

The determination behind a decisive move is naturally beautiful and worth appreciating, but the very act of releasing it speaks volumes... Only the disadvantaged side releases such a decisive move, signaling a do-or-die battle.

Yixin also calmed his breath, the nerves around his temples began to tighten, and his computing power gradually decreased, as if a samurai had lowered his center of gravity, gathering all his strength for the moment of drawing his sword.

The power of ice gradually rose within the silver dragon's chest, transmitting segment by segment to between its sharp teeth, while a hundred meters below, the raging flames of the crimson lotus also gathered between the upper and lower jaws of the dragon-locking pillar.

Seventy-seven! Beat them up!

Seventy-nine! Breakthrough!

Eighty-one! Another hit and remake!

A nimble and ruthless technique flew from Isshin's fingers, like a top pianist manipulating musical notes, each beat transforming into awe-inspiring chess prowess.

The power of the thirteenth stage in the middle game!

The 130th move! The last chance was reflected in Shizuka's eyes; that spot was flashing with a breathtaking light!

On the left side of the board, the pieces of both sides were intertwined, their movements tightly linked, and their eye positions were complex. In this local area shrouded in mist, where no one could predict the next development, Shiori Shika vaguely discovered something.

A chess piece was moved down from the third line, like a giant axe chopping down on the tangled roots of a tree!

At the same time, the long-awaited breaths of the silver dragon and the dragon-locking pillar finally burst forth, and the collision of the red lotus and the ice radiated throughout the entire Shinjuku district!

The snow outside the window blossomed, transforming into poems that compose the tranquility of the night.

......

......

As the game unfolds, fortunes collide, life and death clash, computing power accumulates and explodes, and a divine inspiration flashes by; the other side of the world slowly rotates like a kaleidoscope.

It's 12:30 a.m. now. Affected by the snowy weather, Tokyo has fallen asleep early tonight. The streets are filled with the quiet sound of Christmas carols. Only the most die-hard Go fans are still glued to their televisions, watching game after game of the match come to an end.

Dao Ce placed his last chess piece, looking utterly exhausted and covered in sweat.

"As expected, you guys are really strong... I've lost this round," Dosaku said.

"Looking forward to the next match." Xuan Yu replied politely. This was a best-of-three series, and the opponent still had room to retaliate.

On the other side, the game between Shusaku and Taketogi came to a peaceful end, with the last single point filled in, completing the puzzle of the game.

At the moment the game ended, both players fell silent, closed their eyes, and remained seated cross-legged.

No one expected that such a thrilling battle of offense and defense from the very beginning would end up being a very close endgame fight, with the difference in score being a mere half point.

The referee took a long time to announce: "In this game, Katagiri Michihiro 3-dan wins by half a point."

Katagiri Michihiro is Shusaku's current name.

Shusaku, relieved of his near-death experience, loosened his shoulders and slumped onto the tatami mat: "Looks like I'm the better one, Bamboo Sword."

Bamboo Blade chuckled softly: "Don't be too happy yet. Be careful that you don't get swept in the next two games and end up with nothing to show for your efforts."

As his teammates finished their games one by one, Ke Zhiguang could see everything clearly from the Tokyo Tower. The outside world grew quieter and quieter, and it seemed as if the inner world was also entering its sleep period.

Nidhogg landed on the top of the tower, folding its iron spikes like a raven perched on a telephone pole.

It still gazes down upon the world, like a Warring States ruler sitting atop a castle tower.

Black rain poured down... but it wasn't rain, it was Nidhogg's blood.

Its entire body was riddled with divine spears, and every wound was bleeding, making it look particularly horrifying.

However, it doesn't evoke sympathy, but rather awe. Although it looks like it's on the verge of collapse, as long as its health bar hasn't completely reached zero, it means it still has a chance to fight back.

As is well known, for a skilled duelist, a single drop of blood can sometimes be more valuable than eight thousand points of health.

The situation on Kezhiguang's side is not necessarily better than that of the enemy; their weapons inventory is basically empty, in other words, they have run out of ammunition.

The good news is that the victory in this game is basically secured, and it was another extremely hard-fought win.

Compared to the victory in the previous game, this game was won in a much more complicated way.

Although the previous game was won by half a point in the endgame, Ke Zhiguang saw every point clearly, and it was an unshakeable half-point victory.

In today's game, although it seems like we won a little more, some key positions are still questionable, requiring courage and luck to overcome them.

The number of points gained is not related to how easy it is to win, nor is it related to the skill level of either player.

However, to be fair, winning the first two games in the best-of-five series was far beyond Ke Zhiguang's expectations, so smooth that it gave him a bad feeling.

Especially with so many spears stuck in Nidhogg's body, according to the first law of borrowing arrows with straw boats, when it returns in the third round, those spears will all become its weapons.

That will be the day of the true decisive battle.

"60...59...58..." The countdown had begun silently, each second like the striking of a bell.

As the countdown continued, Yagami Kunikyo remained expressionless, staring indifferently at the chessboard.

As the final countdown was about to reach zero, he pressed the timer, signifying his surrender of the game.

The pressure from the deep-sea vessel suddenly dissipated, and Ke Zhiguang immediately felt that he could breathe easily again.

The chess fans who were still watching on TV perked up instantly when they saw this scene, and wished they could light some fireworks on the spot to add to the excitement.

In most people's eyes, winning the first two games in a best-of-five series is considered a victory, and coming back from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2 is only a theoretical possibility.

"Is it really okay for you to lose to me two games like this?" Ke Zhiguang asked tentatively.

The background seemed to quiet down again, returning to the tranquility of a normal night, with only the howling north wind providing solace.

Yagami Kunikyo left the chessboard, took a few steps with his back to Koji Hikaru before answering, "You probably had this feeling from the beginning, didn't you? You'd better not lose a single game to me..."

"It seems that my premonition is coming true step by step," Ke Zhiguang said.

"It's good that you understand. This game is actually exceptionally fair. You have mastered the divine chess skills in advance, while I only need to win one game. Our starting lines are quite even... The third game the day after tomorrow will be held higher up."

After saying that, Yagami Kunikyo walked towards the elevator and left first.

Ke Zhiguang leaned back in his chair, the chessboard on the table still untied.

Only after this guy has gone far away can you truly relax.