Wednesday evening.
"Xiao Yingzi, how's your Go study going? Have you learned any powerful moves?"
"Grandpa, I've replayed dozens of games according to the Go records, and I've gained a lot."
"Oh? Another new move like the 3-3 Point from last time? Shirakawa Sensei even praised you for that!"
Seeing the beaming old man, Ao Ying smiled shyly. Living together for more than ten days, he truly felt the other's care.
Like the professional exam, he supported him without question.
On the surface, he was only an amateur 5-dan, and while China's overall Go strength was greater than Sakura Country's, it wasn't strong enough for an amateur 5-dan to pass the professional exam.
His strength was even inferior to the main player of Kaiou, that guy who loved bitter coffee and was eliminated from the Insei program.
"Xiao Yingzi, come play a game with Grandpa. Let me see if you've been slacking off."
"Grandpa—I've been studying hard!"
"If you satisfy Grandpa later, Grandpa will give you a gift."
Grandpa Ao had a mysterious look on his face.
"What gift?" Ao Ying asked cooperatively, feigning curiosity.
"Play Go first."
"Uh… Grandpa, your Go addiction is acting up again, isn't it?"
"You brat, less nonsense."
"Yes, sir!"
Ao Ying saluted and ran off to prepare.
The Go board was set.
"Please guide me."
"Please guide me."
As the junior and an amateur 5-dan, Ao Ying played white first, with a komi of 5.5 points.
Clack, clack…
Both sides quickly finished the first five moves.
"Xiao Yingzi, Triple Star Formation? Is this the new move you learned?"
Ao Ying nodded, "Triple Star Formation is popular recently. I saw an interesting move in the Go records and thought I'd try it out."
"Then Grandpa will have to see it for himself."
Row three, column fourteen, Small Knight's Move Capping Attack.
Seeing white's move, Ao Ying picked up a black stone and lifted it.
Clack!
Column five, row five, a sharp move.
Grandpa Ao looked up, "Do you also want to pursue romance on the Go board?"
"This move was used by the founder of Cosmic Style, Mr. Takemiya. It has quite a visual impact."
"However, as the world of Go became more competitive, these moves are on the verge of being eliminated."
"Grandpa wants to remind you, it's fine to play around with, but absolutely don't use it against professionals."
Ao Ying chuckled, "My calculation ability is my strong suit. The reason Cosmic Style moves were eliminated was due to insufficient calculation ability."
He didn't mention one thing: his calculation ability was more than just a strong suit. If the system continued to evolve and optimize algorithms, all Go players combined wouldn't be able to compare.
When calculation ability far surpassed others, one could possess the ability to turn decay into wonder.
There were no bad moves, only bad users.
"Calculation ability?"
Grandpa Ao chuckled as he placed a stone.
Row three, column seventeen, 3-3 Point.
"Xiao Yingzi, how will you respond now? If you block on the outside according to joseki, the sharp move at column five, row five, is clearly redundant."
"So… why block?"
Ao Ying immediately gave his answer.
Row sixteen, column ten, a side star point.
"A side star point?"
Grandpa Ao was startled, leaning closer to the board to scrutinize it.
His gaze slowly changed from confusion to brightness, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Xiao Yingzi, you really did learn something."
Grandpa Ao said with satisfaction, looking as if he also deserved some credit.
"A very interesting move, carrying the romance to the end, moving along the influence line, rapidly advancing on the lower side."
With his amateur Rokudan strength, he could understand the general idea.
"Moreover, the sharp move at column five, row five, is on the influence line, making it not easily attacked for now. white is in a local dilemma: attack or not attack?"
"This move… you deliberately built fortifications to engage, then turned and ran, leaving a mess behind."
"What a perfect cicada shedding its shell."
"No, perhaps the cicada was a fake from the beginning."
Grandpa Ao's fighting spirit was ignited, determined to compete with his grandson.
Row four, column seventeen, attaching.
He simply took the upper right corner, taking the opportunity to invade the right side.
Both sides played their moves quickly.
As the game progressed, Ao Ying entered his zone.
In this game, he reined in most of his calculation ability, relying more on his Go intuition to fight.
Mid-game.
Black and white intertwined, I am in you, and you are in me.
Another black stone was placed.
"Cut?"
Grandpa Ao was startled, "This series of entangling attacks was also learned from the Go records?"
"Yes, yes, it's recorded in the Go records."
"Really? How come I don't remember!"
It was no wonder he was confused; entangling attacks were a high-level strategy, controlling the tempo by grasping the opponent's weaknesses.
This strategy wouldn't kill someone with one blow; it would slowly bleed them dry, gaining long-term benefits, somewhat like a high-interest loan.
The downside was that it was not easy to control.
After all, you had to make the opponent follow your intentions, and Go players were not like cats and dogs; they would resist.
"Oh, I saw it in the Go salon, and there was something similar in the Go records, so I adapted it for use."
Ao Ying added, hoping his grandpa wouldn't press for details.
"So it was something you saw in the Go salon."
Grandpa Ao suddenly understood, "There are many strong players there; you should watch and learn carefully."
"In most cases, even high-dan amateurs can't master it, often failing to calculate precisely and getting counterattacked."
"The Go atmosphere here is really good; even amateurs are diligently studying entangling strategies."
Ao Ying tilted his head. The atmosphere was indeed good; not only did he meet Hikaru and Akari, but also the professional high-dan Wrapped-Head Man, Toya Meijin.
It seemed professionals also frequented Go salons?
Grandpa Ao spoke as he placed his stone, "In our generation, we had no opportunities; we were busy working for a living every day."
Ao Ying quietly listened.
In his memory, Grandpa had a dream of being a professional Go player. Back then, due to realistic constraints, he stopped at amateur Rokudan.
So, he had some lingering thoughts. What if his obedient grandson passed the professional exam?!
"If you, my boy, can become a professional, then Go fulfill Grandpa's dream."
Grandpa Ao paused, "Uh… actually, it's Nie Qisheng's dream, but it resonated with most Go enthusiasts and became everyone's dream."
"Nie Qisheng's dream? The one who swept the three-country team match?"
Ao Ying asked in a low voice.
"That's right, he once proposed two dreams."
Grandpa Ao cleared his throat and sat up straight, "One is the China Dream, wishing for the nation's prosperity."
"The other is the Go Dream: to win the World Champion title, popularize the game of Go, develop the public's intelligence, improve spiritual civilization, and let Go, this traditional Chinese culture, Go global."
Upon hearing this, Ao Ying straightened his posture, "I will work hard."
In later generations, Go's popularity among the general public was decent, neither particularly high nor low, neither good nor bad.
However, professional Go lacked sponsors, and being a niche sport, it showed overall signs of decline.
Grandpa Ao said in a deep voice, "If you have the ability, Go for it. Grandpa is old; the Go Dream can only be thought of in sleep."
"Even if you can't reach Nie Qisheng's Go strength, you can still take these two dreams as your direction for effort. It's never bad to look towards positive energy."
Ao Ying continued to play Go, thinking about his grandpa's words.
"Nie Qisheng never won the World Champion title in his life. It must have been a great regret."
"I will become a professional Go player."
"Fujiwara no Sai, Toya Koyo, hurry up and break through."
"I need more pressure. Once I defeat the strongest of you, that will be the moment to advance to the world stage."
"I will not leave any regrets."
Ding-dong, ding-dong…
The doorbell interrupted the game.