Hikaru no Go: I taught you Go, and you made the Kisei cry?

Su Ran walked over from the door and said with a smile, "Sorry, sorry, there was a traffic jam on the way."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Su Ran arrive.

"Where is Akira Touya?"

The moment the teacher asked the question, Akira Toya's voice rang out.

"I'm sorry, teacher, something happened at home last night, but I managed to get here before nine o'clock."

Panting heavily, Akira Touya arrived at the Go Academy right behind Su Ran.

His eyes were a little dark, obviously he hadn't slept all night, and his brows were tightly furrowed, making him look like he had something on his mind.

Teacher Motomura looked at Akira Touya with some concern: "Touya... are you alright? It's just a cub battle, there's no need to put so much pressure on yourself."

"It's alright, teacher. It wasn't because of the cub battle, I..."

Akira Touya hesitated for a long time before continuing, "Teacher, I have been waiting for this day for a long time. No matter what the outcome of today's battle is, I must fulfill my promise to Su Ran-kun!"

Akira Touya gave a forced smile.

Just last night, while studying music scores at home, Touya Kouhiro suddenly collapsed and was rushed to the intensive care unit.

This matter has not been disclosed to any media outlets except for Akira Touya and Seiji Ogata; otherwise, the entire Go world in Japan would likely be in turmoil.

Fortunately.

After a whole night of emergency treatment, Touya Kouhiro is now out of danger. According to the doctor, he should be fine and will wake up soon.

For this reason, Akira Touya hesitated for a long time, but still decided to come and participate in the Lion Cub Battle.

What he was waiting for was not the Cub Battle, but rather a battle with Su Ran in the Cub Battle!

The village teacher finally breathed a sigh of relief once everyone had arrived.

Su Ran looked around the competition venue. The chess room was packed with people and bustling with noise. A banner hung on the referee's table that read "Ruo Lion Battle".

The professional Go players stood on the other side of the students, chatting amongst themselves.

"Very few people wear ties."

Afu was excited as it was his first time at the Cub Battle.

"Because the cub battle is just a game to them," Kazuya said calmly.

In a formal competition, professional chess players will definitely wear ties and suits, giving their all.

"Hello everyone, it's been a long time."

A young man walked over and greeted the students.

Uchida's eyes lit up, and he waved, saying, "Yao-senpai, it's been a long time."

Yasu smiled and glanced at everyone, then at Touya Akira and Su Ran, her eyes constantly shifting between the two.

"Um... you're new students, right?"

Su Ran was slightly taken aback, then nodded and said, "Yes, please give me your guidance."

Akira Toya also bowed and smiled, "I've always heard of Yao-senpai, and I'm so glad to finally meet you today."

Yasu looked intently at Su Ran and Akira Touya, hesitated for a long time, and then asked, "Um... excuse me, which of you is Akira Touya?"

Akira Touya paused for a moment, then replied, "That's me. May I ask what brings you here?"

"Oh no, it's nothing, just curious."

Wu Xu smiled awkwardly and turned to leave.

Unbeknownst to them, all eyes of the professional Go players had turned to Akira Touya.

"Is he Akira Touya? The rising star of Go?"

"Is it true that he became an insei? The son of Touya Meijin is becoming an insei?"

"Hey, I heard he's aiming to win the lion cub competition. Don't you think that's a bit of a challenge?"

"Huh? Are you kidding me? You really think you can compare to a professional Go player?"

"He's definitely comparable, isn't he? His father is Touya Kouyo."

"Some people even say that he already had the skill of a professional Go player a year ago."

"Maybe it's true?"

"Shouldn't you let him see the strength of a real professional Go player?"

"Of course, I'll definitely give him a good beating when I get on the field, hahaha."

Ashihara, a disciple of Touya, emerged from the crowd and waved excitedly when he saw Touya Akira: "Touya!"

"Ashihara-senpai."

Although Akira Touya already knew that Ashihara would participate in the Young Lions Battle, he was still pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face.

Ashihara walked over and whispered a reminder: "Ryo, you have to be careful. You're seen as a thorn in the side by many professional Go players."

"I?"

Akira Touya was a little confused, then looked up and glanced at the professional players.

Upon seeing Akira Touya looking over, all the professional Go players immediately averted their gazes.

"Tch... that traitor Ashihara."

"You can't say that, can you? He's a student of a famous person, but we aren't."

"In short, we can't let a young lion be defeated by an academy student, can we? If the academy student advances to the semi-finals, we'll lose face."

Meanwhile, Akira Touya withdrew his gaze, a smile playing on his lips.

Do you see me as a thorn in your side?

"I think so too."

"And I... didn't I also see them as thorns in my flesh!"

Hearing Akira's words, Ashihara was a little stunned and hurriedly said, "Akira, you can't underestimate your opponents. For example, Kyōshin from the previous competition. Didn't Ogata-senpai tell you about him?"

In an instant, Akira Touya resumed his previous humble demeanor, lowered his head, and smiled, "Yes, I remember."

"That's good. It's a good thing we didn't meet in the first round. Otherwise, as fellow students of famous people, I would have been helpless."

Lu Yuan smiled, as if he had suddenly thought of something, and continued, "In the first round, I think I encountered a student named Su Ran. I was quite lucky. I heard he was ranked fifteenth among the students. It seems like I'm destined to win."

Upon hearing this, Akira Touya was about to speak when Ashihara waved his hand, then slipped back into the group of professional players, whispering, "Good luck, Akira! See you next round!"

Seeing this, Akira Touya looked conflicted and didn't know what to say. He could only shake his head and return to the group of innkeepers.

"As expected of Touya, even professional Go players don't attract this much attention."

He Gu spoke in a sarcastic tone.

Isumi nudged Kazuya with his elbow: "We're both students, don't say that, hahaha, sorry, Touya-kun."

Isumi didn't understand why Waya was so hostile towards Touya Akira. After all, Su Ran's father was also a Go master, but he had a harmonious relationship with Waya.

Akira Touya shook his head understandingly: "It's alright."

At that moment, Akira Touya took the battle list and looked at it, only then realizing why Yao-senpai had asked him who he was.

Because in the first round, Akira Touya will face Yao.

"Ah... I'm facing that Kyoto Shinichi..."

Ah Fu looked miserable. It was his first time participating in the young lion competition, and he had actually encountered what everyone called the strongest opponent.

At this moment, the referee on the referee's stand stood up with a microphone in his hand.

"Now, let's begin the eighth round of the Cub Battle. The match time is almost up, please take your seats in an orderly manner."

Compared to the middle school Go league held by Haiwang Middle School, this one is obviously much more formal.

The crowd proceeded in an orderly fashion towards the competition venue.

Meanwhile, reporters were taking pictures with their Canon DSLRs. A familiar face to everyone, the president of Yomiuri Shimbun, Ryukawa, was also present at the scene.

He was searching for the right angle on site and directing his subordinates to take photos.

Su Ran pulled out a chair and was just about to sit down.

At the same time, a young man with curly hair across from him pulled out a chair, extended his hand, and smiled, saying, "Hello, my name is Ashihara."

Su Ran was stunned for a moment. He couldn't remember who Ashihara was either. He reached out and shook hands with him before sitting down in the chair.

His memory of the original work was actually rather vague, after all, it was an old anime from more than ten years ago. He only remembered the important plots and characters, but he had no memory of supporting characters like Ashihara who might have only appeared in a few scenes.

"That guy, is it... Kyōyūma?"

"Really? This Go master is so different from what I imagined. He looks like a delinquent."

"I think so too..."

Hearing the whispers of Kazuya and Isumi beside her, Su Ran looked toward Afu's table.

A young man with white hair, wearing an earring and yawning, sat opposite Afu, looking drowsy.

"Has this grasped the true essence of Kuwabara Honinbo's dreamlike Go playing?"

Su Ran was speechless. Grandpa Sangyuan liked to feign weakness and play psychological warfare, but she didn't expect that his disciple would be like that too.

……

Psychological warfare? You guys are making me look stupid!

"Well then... contestants, please check your timers first. If everything is in order, you can start guessing. The competition will begin in one minute."

Su Ran regained her composure, checked the timer, and finding everything normal, reached into the chess box.

Ashihara also released his grip, and a go stone fell onto the board.

"Two, four, six."

Su Ran has two pieces in his hand, and this time he will play black and move first.

"Please give me more advice."