“No, there’s still a chance!”
“As long as I can keep the black stone stones in the middle alive, I can win.”
Toya Akira picked up a stone again and placed it down with a trembling hand.
Capture!
“You haven’t given up?”
Sai smiled slightly, “So tenacious. This is a path to life.”
“Oh? Sai, can Toya’s black stone stones live?”
Sai nodded, “In most cases, a group of Go stones with two eyes is considered alive.”
“Capturing the Tengen stone creates one eye. The maneuvering space in the middle is neither too big nor too small, so it might be possible to create another eye.”
Shindo Hikaru pressed, “Can’t the white stone at Tengen run?”
“This is an interesting point. The white stone’s only escape route is upwards, where there are black stone stones waiting to connect.”
“If it tries to run that way, the black stone stones can follow suit and connect back home.”
Sai pointed at the Go board with his folding fan, indicating several variations.
Seeing Toya Akira’s choice, Ao Ying rested his chin on one hand, stopping his move.
Toya Akira stared intently at Ao Ying, a fierce flame burning in his eyes.
Sai’s tapping of his folding fan paused.
“Young man, Toya is waiting for your response.”
“Don’t disappoint him, and don’t disappoint me.”
As if hearing his thoughts, Ao Ying made his move.
Clack!
Tenuki, again tenuki.
The white stone struck towards the black stone stones connecting above.
Whoosh—
A flurry of gazes shot over.
Toya Akira suddenly leaned forward, his brows tightly furrowed.
“What’s going on?”
“Can anyone explain?”
“Why did he leave the main battleground?”
The onlookers repeatedly asked, completely bewildered.
Sai held his folding fan to his mouth, an expression of confusion and doubt on his face.
He had just explained to Shindo Hikaru that after capturing the Tengen stone, there was a good chance of making another eye.
But instead, Ao Ying didn’t reduce the possibility of making an eye in the middle; he went to cut off the connection instead.
That was like wasting a move!
Without any politeness, Toya Akira gave a cold smile and captured the Tengen stone, taking it completely.
One eye achieved.
Sai’s gaze swept back and forth, searching for any miscalculation.
He didn’t believe Ao Ying would make such a basic mistake.
“Where is it? Where is it? Where is white’s fatal blow?”
Responding to Sai’s thoughts once more, Ao Ying calmly placed a stone.
Hmm?
Pressing the black stone stones.
It broke half an eye, but it wasn’t enough.
Several amateur high-dan onlookers noticed the anomaly and mumbled.
“Half an eye? What’s the point of breaking it?”
“No… this… it’s so complex.”
Sai pointed to a spot with his folding fan, his expression grave.
“The next move… a point-in, and you’re dead.”
Ao Ying tilted his head and slowly placed the white stone into the black stone territory.
“Wh-… what?!”
Clatter—
The Go stone in Toya Akira’s hand fell to the ground, his body trembling violently. He felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, as if an arrow had pierced his heart.
“This reading!”
“Sure enough.”
Sai’s eyes widened, filled with shock.
“Sai, what happened? Did Toya lose?”
Shindo Hikaru looked back at the empty space, muttering.
“This young man… his reading is astonishing.”
As the game progressed to this point, Sai fully understood the meaning, especially the first move to cut off the connection, which had seemed utterly inexplicable at the time.
“It turns out that the black stone stones’ only path to life was there; all other paths were dead ends, just disguised very well.”
“No wonder I thought that by shrinking the eye space, both sides could fight. That was white creating a false impression.”
“Terrifying. From the air drop on the left, or perhaps even earlier, all of black stone’s variations were calculated by white, without a single omission.”
Shindo Hikaru was completely confused and yelled, “Hey, Sai, speak in plain language.”
“Xiao Guang, I have a faint feeling that the second move, Tengen, was a test Ao Ying gave us.”
“The key to this test lies in emotional manipulation. Once you develop a killing intent for Tengen, you fall into a series of traps.”
“This young man’s calculation… probably involves hundreds of variations for each move.”
“Unconsciously, Xiao Liang became a puppet, every move and action only displayed with Ao Ying’s permission.”
“The black stone stones lost very thoroughly, a complete defeat.”
Sai lamented, this young man has the potential to dominate an era.
It is foreseeable that Xiao Liang, who should have shone brightly in the future, is now overshadowed by an even stronger light.
Time passed by minute by minute.
“I resign.”
Suddenly, Toya Akira bowed his head and placed two black stone stones on the Go board.
This was the gesture of resignation.
Plop, plop…
Large tears rolled down.
“You are not weak; you have a professional level.”
Ao Ying’s face was calm, his tone unhurried.
Toya Akira at this stage was on par with him in his previous life.
In the late 1990s, with this level of skill, there would be virtually no surprises in passing the professional exam.
“Professional level…”
Toya Akira braced himself with his hands on his thighs to keep from collapsing. “I can’t see your back. I can’t even manage to survive.”
“You set a trap from the second move, Tengen. It seemed unreasonable, but it constantly affected my pace.”
“The fact that this game lasted until the middle game was only because you needed me to perform for that long, not because my Go skill reached that level.”
“That’s right, this was a performance. I was like a clown, moving step by step along the path you arranged.”
As he spoke, Toya Akira’s crying grew louder.
Ao Ying did not offer any more comforting words. For aspiring professional Go players, getting beaten badly was a common occurrence.
In his previous life, he had failed miserably on his professional path and turned to being a Go streamer, so he could understand the pain of the weak.
And in this life, he would climb the path to the God of Go.
A God, fearless of challenges, invincible in the world.
“Xiao Liang Teacher actually lost, lost to a kid roughly his own age.”
“Who can wake me up?”
“A sixth-grader with professional Go skill is extremely rare in history.”
“With Toya Meijin as his backer, why would his son lose?”
“Did he Go easy?”
“The main black stone dragon in the middle was crushed; it didn’t last until the endgame. He resigned in the middle game, they are not on the same level.”
The onlookers erupted.
Even though it happened right before their eyes, they couldn’t believe the fact.
Some who arrived late and hadn’t seen the first half of the game kept asking others.
Others pushed and shoved, wanting to get a closer look.
“According to Xiao Liang Teacher, the entire game was controlled by his opponent.”
“It’s truly incredible.”
“Move aside, that arrogant kid won against Xiao Liang?”
The commotion attracted the front desk lady.
“Xiao Liang…”
“We’ll win it back next time.”
She quickly squatted down and gently patted Toya Akira’s back.
“Ao Ying, huh?”
Sai pondered, “Xiao Guang, I’m going to be serious now.”
“Sai?”
“Idiot, our game has just begun.”
Seeing Shindo Hikaru looking dazed, Sai said exasperatedly.
After a while, the crying fit eased slightly.
Shindo Hikaru hesitated, “Ao Ying, it’s your turn.”
“Apologies for the wait.”
Ao Ying looked at Shindo Hikaru, “I saw Xiao Liang giving his all, so I got a bit serious. Now, let’s continue.”
He was quite curious.
Fujiwara no Sai, the ultimate boss of the Go anime, the one closest to God’s Hand.
What kind of response would he give on the Go board?
Clack!
The white stone was placed.