The work of the Go master

"Sixth game! Shi Xinzi unleashed a divine move in the final moments, and the score remained close!"

More and more people have learned about this ten-game match. Although some of them may not understand what Go is, they have a feeling that they can gain strength just by watching the group of people's unwavering backs as they move towards their goal.

The craze for Go has surged once again, reaching from the front pages of newspapers all the way to television screens, and from the mouths of Go enthusiasts all the way to the after-school chatter among students, as if the prosperous era of Go is still continuing.

Perhaps it's the lingering effect of good fortune at work, or perhaps it's simply that it touches people's hearts.

On the battlefield of the seventh round—

It was still atop the tower of Youxuan Temple, and it was still the game between Ke Zhiguang and Shi Xin. However, the difference was that there were far more people watching the game, almost filling the entire space.

"Hey, how's the game going? Who's in the lead?" the person behind asked, craning their neck.

"I can't believe that the difference between these two is just a matter of a single thought. I might as well take a nap and just get up and wait for the results."

"Look! Ke Zhiguang is about to make his move!"

The chess pieces move by friction, like a swordsman shaking his scabbard before drawing his sword.

On the chessboard, the game has progressed to the middle and late stages, and the remaining space is becoming increasingly narrow, making the feeling of suffocation more and more intense.

"In this game, my brother's winning percentage is 37.1%," Zero whispered in the chess-playing team.

"Wait, can the win rate be given so precisely?" Bamboo Blade Forging was taken aback.

"Trust me, this is my brother's winning percentage right now." Zero nodded firmly.

The reason she was able to be here today is because the entry requirements have been relaxed, and anyone can come in, even cats and dogs.

"Does this mean he's in trouble?" Harushima Shika's heart clenched. Lately, she's been spending time with Zero and has found herself completely manipulated by him. No matter how mystical his words are, she never questions them immediately.

"That's not necessarily true. In the previous few games, it was clear that when the game turned into a highly complex and violent attack, my brother had a better chance of winning. But when it got to a close endgame battle, Shi Xin had a better chance of winning. And this game was a violent attack battle."

"But you said his win rate is less than 50%..."

"Win rate is a very illusory thing. Once humans enter the dragon-slaying mode, their win rate often slides at a low level, and it only takes a moment to climb to a high level."

"Stop! Human? What the hell are you talking about?"

Zero seemed to snap out of her daze, sticking out her tongue in a smile: "Well, just think of me as a cute little puppy, woof woof."

A crisp sound of a piece being placed broke the silence of the chessboard, and everyone's heart jumped.

Shi Xin breathed a sigh of relief: "You won this round."

"Thank you for your guidance... Are you just going to admit defeat like this? Aren't you going to consider making a few more moves?" Ke Zhiguang tried to ask.

“To take a few more steps… that’s called sorting out my feelings, but I prefer to skip this meaningless phase and save time for the subsequent review,” Shi Xin said with a stern look.

The referees took a moment to react: "In the seventh game of the ten-game match, Ke Zhiguang has won! The current score is 4 to 3!"

Another bustling night has arrived, and although it lacks the glow of lights, it at least has a tranquility that is rarely seen in the past.

On the night of May 1st, with the ninth game just two days away, Ke Zhiguang lay on a bench on the balcony, gazing at the bright moon and watching the wheel of fate slowly spin overhead.

The first eight games have ended, with the final result being a 4-4 tie, a result that many people probably already predicted.

Of course, he had already anticipated this outcome.

The so-called "evenly matched opponents" are like this in the end; there will be no result or conclusion until the very last moment.

"Have you figured out your next strategy for dealing with the enemy?" Zero's voice rang out from behind.

"How could there be something so useful? But I think I can already guess the ending." Ke Zhiguang's gaze drifted into the distance.

"A 5-5 tie, creating a legendary tale between fated rivals?" Zero asked with a smirk.

"6 to 4, that's my answer." Ke Zhiguang nodded calmly.

"Really? I thought you were going to say something about holding a hidden eleventh game to tie it 6 to 5." Zero's smile was undisguised.

"Oh? So that's a setting. I didn't notice..." After the joke, Ke Zhiguang became serious again. "Spring is almost over."

"Huh?" Even Ling didn't understand the sentence.

"May 4th is the beginning of summer, which is the day after tomorrow. Therefore, I want to finish this ten-game match on May 3rd and hold on to the last day of spring. So there will be no eleventh game."

Zero seemed completely baffled and chuckled, "Sure enough, I understand your thinking less and less. It seems you've indeed formed an unbreakable bond in this world and created a unique thought process that only exists in this world."

After laughing it off, Ke Zhiguang returned to the house and continued playing chess with Qingdaolu.

On the other side, Shi Xin was also watching over the bright moon, as if the star array was once again by his side.

On May 3rd, the ninth game began.

After a month, the ten-game match finally came to an end, and its impact was finally felt by everyone. Helicopters hovered over Yugenji Temple, and fireworks lit up the sky even before the match began. Go players from all over the country also traveled to support the game. It is said that the match was also broadcast live in China, with the title "The Battle of the Go Saint".

The character 聖 has finally been simplified.

With his momentum fully built up, a vast army had formed behind him, and the overwhelming force propelled Ke Zhiguang to the summit of the mountain!

Between the mysterious world!

"The ninth game of the Shike Ten-Game Match, begin!"

Chapter Thirteen: The Tribulation of Immortality

This solemn and grand ceremony has finally come to an end, the penultimate game!

"Let's start with a guessing game!"

Like the starting gun of a marathon, the momentum of both sides surged on the track!

Guess first, beat!

"Science holds light and black, stone holds white."

At the back of the crowd, someone slapped their thigh: "Damn it! We couldn't let Ke Zhiguang get his best piece, white!"

"Don't be afraid. The claim that his white pieces are better is just marketing hype. The truth is that he just happens to win more often with white!" Harushima Shika retorted.

"This...isn't it just that he's better at using white space...?"

Harushima Shika scratched her head, finding it difficult to explain the issue to this person. Clearly, the other was too inexperienced to understand. She simply gave the order: "Beat him!"

So a group of teammates punched and kicked the man, shutting him down completely, and no one discussed the issue of playing white or black anymore.

On the chessboard, Ke Zhiguang calmly placed his pieces, the only clear sound in the vast space being the sound of each piece being placed.

In his vision, the game mode seemed to have restarted. The surrounding area was a black curtain, obscuring all the spectators, with only himself and his opponent clearly visible.

The wheel of the ceremony had already been turned on, and a beam of pale blue light surged from above the chessboard, pointing towards the sky, standing like a torch above the earth, and everyone came to worship.

"Black's 36th move is to choose a large knight's move to drag these three stones out, while Ishishin chooses to play defensively and seize a large area." Naosaka frowned again from the official commentary seat.

The two players were moving their pieces too fast, as if they had rehearsed it.

However, it is clear that people tend to believe that the two players' chess skills far surpassed those of their contemporaries. What seemed unbelievable to outsiders was like a set pattern to them, requiring no further thought and simply following the established rules.

"Do you think someone will ever surpass them in chess?" Xingjia asked softly.

Bamboo Blade Forging's answer was surprisingly the quickest: "Of course! If you ask me, once I've studied their game records for a while, and then they take a break and stay put, I'll surpass them very quickly!"

Xuan Yu nodded in agreement: "I think so too. To be honest, I still don't think their strategy is anything special. It will only be a fleeting moment in the history of Go."

Zero smiled and said, "Then I'll ask you two to put in the best effort, shall we?"

Harushima Kashima sensed a dark undercurrent in Zero's smiling face...

Move 71! As if sensing the opportune moment to start the battle, Ke Zhiguang extended his piece and placed it above the white piece in the corner!

Move 72! White extends its territory, choosing the most aggressive approach to respond!

“Although we don’t know much about Shi Xin, judging from the games in the past few days, we can roughly tell that his playing style is relatively stable. I didn’t expect him to choose the most risky move at this moment. Is this the pressure that comes with the final stage of the ten-game match?” Naosaka asked in surprise.

Ke Zhiguang also began to think deeply because of this move.

As he expected, the ten-game match has progressed to this point, making it difficult to predict the opponent's thinking based on so-called playing style and tactics.

Shi Xin must have also been sleepless all night gazing at the bright moon, pondering things far into the future.

In the deep sea, the two sank at the same time.

The whole world was dark blue, and everyone's figures were shrouded in the shadow of the ocean, where the deepest part of the ocean shimmered with a treasure-like glimmer.

This was the umpteenth time they had come to this space. Every time they invested their computing power on the chessboard, the deepest part of their souls would sink to this place. Only when they sank to the deepest part and reached the place where the treasure was sealed would the door open for them.

Ke Zhiguang also asked Ling what kind of place that was.

Zero's answer was that this is the temple of the gods. Theoretically, everyone can reach this place by stacking layers of computing power, but it can only last for a few seconds. And in a person's lifetime, there may only be one chance to touch this door.

Ke Zhiguang recalled the scene when he last met Shi Xin here. During the battle with the Star Array, Shi Xin was able to easily settle here under its guidance.

Now, the two have arrived at this spot again. I wonder if the other feels any sense of nostalgia.

Ke Zhiguang lifted the piece to the highest point and sliced ​​it down like a knife!

Seventy-three, push! Seventy-four, cut! Without hesitation, he followed the opponent's complex moves and cut down. The sound of fragmented sparks came between the pieces, and the gears started spinning rapidly!

The door was flung open in an instant, and the two stepped inside at the same time!

The two floated in this metaphysical illusion, with chess pieces magnified hundreds or thousands of times below them, and turbulent currents of data surging around them.

On the empty intersections of the chessboard, fluorescent blue light flashes repeatedly, jumping back and forth, like a kaleidoscope without a changing lens. On each empty intersection, a percentage number is flowing, which is the change in the winning probability of each move!

Temple time is over!

Consciousness returned to reality, followed by waves of dizziness surging into the brain, as if it were overheating and going on strike.

Ke Zhiguang took the opportunity to glance at Shi Xin and found that the other party had the same expression and was shaking his head to clear his mind.

"What's going on? They both seem to be feeling unwell? Could it be that it's too crowded here and the air is stuffy?"

"Could it be that these two had a fierce battle of wits deep within their consciousness? Even if they are experts, they can't be that ridiculously powerful, can they?"

After a brief moment of discomfort, the two quickly regained their composure and continued making their moves.

Although it seems that the two of them arrived at the temple's domain at the same moment and foresaw the progress of the game, the outcome they saw may not be the same.

With each move, the two men moved toward the outcome they believed in.

Time slipped away quietly outside the balcony. The brilliant and beautiful sunset gradually spread towards the horizon, and the gentle breeze of spring and summer rustled the trees of Yugenji Temple, producing verdant notes.

The game of chess, too, slid towards an irreversible end under this setting sun!

Move 166! The black and white dragons intertwined and plummeted towards the far right of the board, towards the dead end!