“This is a respectable Go player.”
Sai looked at Ogata, his purple lips slightly parted, revealing a joyful smile.
“Sai?”
Shindo Hikaru blinked, not understanding why Sai suddenly praised the Wrapped-Head Man.
“I saw in him a devotion to Go; the tireless desire to pursue victory and defeat is deeply moving.”
“Every Go player who loves Go connects the distant past with the distant future.”
“Xiao Liang, you will also become such a Go player in the future.”
“Me?” Shindo Hikaru pointed to himself, his face full of confusion.
Go is a competition with a long history.
He couldn't even complete a single game independently; could he become the Go player Sai spoke of?
At this moment, Toya Akira glanced at Shindo Hikaru, a strange look in his eyes.
“Xiao Liang, from beginning to end, this Wrapped-Head Man's mind was pure; he never doubted that he would win.”
Sai folded his fan to his mouth and said with a slight smile, “He is an excellent professional Go player.”
“Perhaps he was temporarily confused by Ao Ying's novel moves, but his true heart was not shaken.”
“This jump by black stone into the center is very aggressive, and at the same time, it strengthens itself to become resilient.”
“It's hard to attack; it's better not to attack.”
“If he doesn't capture the Tengen stone, can white win?” Shindo Hikaru's mouth dropped open; he knew how to count territory, and white was just a tiny bit behind on the board?
Sai put down his fan, “white has a lot of territory, and the right side is not black stone's actual territory.”
“If he can restrain his desire to fight, taking a step back will open up a new world.”
“This person's Go strength is not weaker than Ao Ying's; in a normal game, the chances of victory are fifty-fifty.”
“Here will be the watershed of victory and defeat.”
His folding fan pointed to a spot.
Sai squinted at Ao Ying; aside from the small oversight of the local absolute sente becoming a global gote, this young man was flawless.
But in a high-level game, a small oversight is enough to create a fatal threat.
Losing a sente seemingly can actually affect the entire game's offense and defense, and a reversal of the situation is very common.
“However… the Tengen jump combined with playing elsewhere, did you prepare for this when you first played the corner star?”
“A plan from dozens of moves ago, very few top professionals can achieve that.”
Half an hour later.
Ogata exhaled, picked up a white stone, and placed it.
With this move, his eyes grew even more resolute.
Eleventh line, eleventh column, shoulder hit.
Fight!
He followed through on his previous thoughts, capturing the Tengen black stone stone.
“This, this…”
“A dragon-slaying battle! The Wrapped-Head Man is so bold, proactively initiating a fight when the situation is unclear.”
“Fighting means complexity. Clearly, both sides are similar. Teacher Ao Ying playing elsewhere is a risk, and the Wrapped-Head Man's attack is also. Why?”
This question of 'why' stumped many onlookers.
Amateurs can play Go for fun, however they want; if they lose, they can just play again.
Professionals, however, cannot be whimsical; they should prioritize victory and defeat. Why complicate things when there's a simple winning method?
“Because we are professional Go players.”
A deep voice sounded.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice.
Toya Koyo said gravely, “Every professional Go player has a persistent Go path. One deviation will cause them to stray from their original route.”
“If it happens too many times, they might even give up on persistence. What then is the meaning of playing Go?”
“We are enlightened.”
Several Middle-aged Men bowed.
Toya Koyo nodded, returning his attention to the Go board.
The scene suddenly fell silent.
Clack, clack…
Only the continuous sound of stones being placed by both sides could be heard.
A few minutes later.
Whispers started again.
“Teacher Ao Ying is really strong. Who can win this chaotic battle in the center?”
“I can't tell. black stone is very flexible and doesn't look like a dead stone, but it really doesn't have two true eyes. This kind of intersection that separates and then needs to connect is not easy to form, let alone two.”
“That's right. Besides a co-existence state, a group of stones is only considered alive if it makes two true eyes. white can only place one stone at a time and cannot simultaneously place two eyes to capture black stone.”
“black stone is in a difficult situation, and it's also Teacher Ao Ying's own fault. How much better it would have been if he hadn't played elsewhere.”
“Haha, he's just a kid; being a bit greedy is more fitting for his age.”
“Hehe, if Teacher Ao Ying hadn't played elsewhere, we wouldn't have seen this exciting game. A fierce battle is always more interesting than basic training.”
The discussions gradually increased.
Whispering is not forbidden during outdoor Go games, as long as it's not too excessive, like running onto the board to give pointers.
“Look, Teacher Ao Ying placed a stone on the eighth line, eighth column, continuing his advance into the center, preparing to make life on the spot.”
“Goodness, the Wrapped-Head Man played into the true eye that was about to form.”
“How will Teacher Ao Ying respond?”
“Will he honestly connect?”
Ao Ying's face was calm as he gently placed a stone.
Clack—
On the Go board, an invisible ripple seemed to spread outwards.
Ninth line, tenth column, push!
Immediately, all eyes focused.
A group of Middle-aged Men were dumbfounded, their breathing quickening.
“Push?”
“He's giving up the jumping stone?”
“Sacrifice… sacrifice a stone!”
“Offense and defense reversed!”
Exclamations followed one after another.
Toya Koyo showed a moved expression for the first time.
Although he was surprised when the 3-3 Point joseki was disproven earlier, it was far less significant than this series of moves.
Joseki can be studied and re-studied in advance, even discussed with others; historical joseki came about this way.
But during a game, resolving an opponent's move can only rely on personal calculation and Go intuition; there's no trickery.
“Sacrifice, push…”
“Very keen Go intuition, very terrifying calculation.”
A series of variation diagrams flashed through his mind.
Toya Koyo quickly analyzed the subsequent moves, vaguely seeing deeper.
Tengen, jump, sacrifice and push—a combination punch, each move striking at the opponent's vital points.
“Ao Ying, I remember your name.”
Hearing Toya Koyo speak, Ao Ying was stunned.
Toya Akira looked at his father, puzzled.
The onlookers were suspicious. Why would Toya Meijin interrupt the game?
“Would you like to join my study group?”
Toya Koyo's lips twitched into a smile.
!!!
The onlookers' mouths dropped open in disbelief.
That was Toya Meijin's study group; besides his direct disciples, no one else had ever joined.
Toya Koyo!
Meijin Toya Koyo, holder of four major titles, the number one Go player in Sakura Country.
“Toya… Toya Meijin is inviting Ao Ying? A child who hasn't even become a professional yet.”
“Is he looking favorably upon Ao Ying's future?”
Everyone held their breath, waiting for an answer.
A glint flashed in Ogata's eyes; he understood his teacher better than Xiao Liang.
This child was exceptionally talented; his teacher was moved to take him as a disciple.
“Thank you for your kindness, but I refuse.”
Ao Ying stood up and bowed.
“Rather than joining your study group, I hope to defeat you in a title match.”
Title match?
Toya Koyo smiled, “Very good, I will sit on the throne and wait for your challenge.”
After speaking, he said no more, his gaze returning to the Go board.
“Arrogant…”
A Middle-aged Man was about to scold Ao Ying but then remembered his performance today and obediently shut his mouth.
That's right!
Could someone invited by Toya Meijin be ordinary?
In the realm of Go, Ao Ying already stood at a height, looking down on them.