"Go take a look, and you’ll understand?"
Hearing this, Zhuang Fei was puzzled.
But since Ma Zhengyu had said as much, he didn’t press further. Taking a deep breath, his expression grew more serious as he turned and walked toward Table Five.
Soon, he arrived at the table and imdiately cast his gaze onto the board.
On the vast 19x19 Go board, black and white stones were scattered across the grid like stars dotting the Milky Way.
"Fang Haoxin played White, and that guy nad Su Yiming played Black. And right now, the situation is…"
Zhuang Fei remained silent, analyzing the board.
The ga had already reached an extrely complex state. Most players would struggle for a long ti to evaluate the position, but Zhuang Fei quickly ford a judgnt. A flicker of confusion crossed his face.
"Black has the advantage. White is at a disadvantage..."
But rather than resolving his doubts, this only deepened them.
"Yes, Black is ahead, but White isn’t far behind..."
"The position is still close. Even if it’s unfavorable, White can absolutely keep playing—there’s still a real chance for a coback."
"So why... why did the ga stop here?"
Zhuang Fei stared intently at the board, convinced that there had to be so subtle detail he was missing. But no matter how long he scrutinized it, he could only reach the sa conclusion: the ga was still close.
"Fang Haoxin… resigned here?"
"Why?"
"He could have kept playing. He definitely had a chance. No serious player would resign in this position. And more importantly—he's Fang Haoxin!"
Refusing to accept it, Zhuang Fei kept analyzing the ga. But in the end, he couldn’t make sense of it.
Finally, he lifted his gaze from the board, still full of unanswered questions, and turned back toward Ma Zhengyu.
“Uncle Ma.”
Zhuang Fei looked at him and asked, “I’ve seen it. Black has the upper hand, but White is only slightly behind. Why... why did Fang Haoxin resign?”
He waited for Ma Zhengyu’s response, but when he t the older man’s eyes, he suddenly froze.
Ma Zhengyu’s expression was unreadable—layered with emotions too complex to describe.
“Uncle Ma?”
Zhuang Fei was unsettled by that look and couldn’t help but press further.
“Sigh...”
After a long silence, Ma Zhengyu shook his head and let out a deep sigh.
“Let’s talk outside. We don’t want to disturb others.”
Zhuang Fei hesitated for a mont before nodding.
The two quickly left the playing room.
As soon as they stepped into the hotel lobby, Zhuang Fei couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Uncle Ma, in that position, anyone would keep fighting. Fang Haoxin just resigned?”
“Because… he couldn’t continue.”
After a long pause, Ma Zhengyu finally spoke. “If you were in his place, you would have resigned too.”
“?”
Zhuang Fei almost laughed at the absurdity of the statent. He imdiately shook his head.
“No way. That position was difficult, but there was still room to fight. I would’ve kept going.”
“If Fang Haoxin lost his fighting spirit in such a position, then he doesn’t deserve to be my rival. He—”
Before he could finish, Ma Zhengyu cut him off.
“No. There was no room to fight.”
His tone was firm. “Continuing the ga would only determine whether he lost by half a point or by one point. That’s all.”
“How is that possible?”
Zhuang Fei shook his head again. “Uncle Ma, in that position, it was still possible to—”
“But—”
Ma Zhengyu interrupted him again.
And this ti, he delivered the truth.
“That was a teaching ga.”
It was like a thunderclap in broad daylight.
Zhuang Fei froze on the spot, mind completely blank. His eyes widened, little by little.
“A… teaching ga?”
His mouth opened, but his throat was dry. He couldn’t get a single word out.
Ma Zhengyu looked at Zhuang Fei with a complicated expression.
He sighed softly. He understood Zhuang Fei’s shock—after all, he had watched that ga unfold firsthand. And even now, he couldn’t quite calm himself.
Leaving the stunned Zhuang Fei behind, Ma Zhengyu turned and walked back into the playing room.
Inside, the sound of stones being placed on boards continued to echo.
But sothing had changed.
Unlike before, the atmosphere was now heavy with tension. The news that Fang Haoxin had lost in the main tournant had shaken everyone to their core.
It wasn’t that Fang Haoxin was unbeatable. But the fact that he didn’t lose to Zhuang Fei, and instead lost to so unknown amateur player, was what made it so shocking.
How could an unremarkable amateur possibly defeat Fang Haoxin?
But that wasn’t even the most important part.
The real issue was—if soone capable of defeating Fang Haoxin had appeared, then their own chances of becoming professional players had just plumted.
Every year, the number of available professional slots was limited.
Even with just Fang Haoxin and Zhuang Fei competing, the pressure had already been imnse.
Now, with Su Yiming suddenly erging as a contender, the road to becoming a professional player had beco even narrower.
More of them were dood to fail. More would be left behind, turning into re stepping stones for others to reach the professional level.
Failing to qualify ant settling for alternatives—playing in amateur tournants, becoming a Go comntator, teaching Go, refereeing, or even streaming Go matches.
But those were all just fallbacks.
Becoming a professional player was their true goal.
They had poured in countless hours of effort and dedication, all to climb this mountain—to reach the summit.
At Table 18, Jiang Xiahua took a deep breath, staring at his board.
But his mind kept drifting back to sothing Yu Shao had casually told him earlier—
“His na is Su Yiming. He’s pretty strong.”
At the ti, Jiang Xiahua hadn’t taken those words seriously.
After all, he had just assud Yu Shao was so lucky amateur who had stumbled his way into the main tournant.
Most dojo trainees didn’t think much of amateur players. That was only natural—after all, their goal was to turn professional, and the vast majority of amateur players simply weren’t on their level.
(Except for those who had failed to qualify and were forced into amateur tournants instead.)
But now…
Su Yiming wasn’t just “pretty strong.”
He was far too strong.
“No… not just Su Yiming.”
Jiang Xiahua’s fingers trembled slightly as he gripped his Go stone.
His gaze shifted, landing on another figure in the room.
“There’s also Yu Shao.”
Jiang Xiahua couldn’t help but recall the second round of the main tournant two days ago—the ga between Yu Shao and Zhu Yi.
"That move by White—attaching—was incredibly tenacious. Black’s counter with the atari after the kosumi was a local tesuji. I might have found that move too, but it would’ve taken so ti. But Yu Shao… he played it instantly."
"To find that move instantly, his positional judgnt must be unbelievably fast, and his life-and-death calculations must be incomparably precise."
"Since Yu Shao knows Su Yiming, could it be that… he also has the strength to defeat Fang Haoxin?"
The mont this thought surfaced, Jiang Xiahua imdiately dismissed it. He couldn’t think that way. He didn’t want to think that way.
"No way. That’s just ridiculous… If both of them are that strong, then what have I been doing in the dojo all these years?"
"Still… even so, Yu Shao is definitely not soone to underestimate. He’s a major contender for one of the remaining three spots."
His mind was in turmoil, and the weight on his shoulders grew heavier.
After a long mont, he finally forced himself to suppress his emotions, reached into his stone container, and placed his next move swiftly.
"No matter what, I have to earn my promotion this year. I can’t disappoint my teacher again!"
anwhile, at Table Two…
"I… I’m already 29."
Pu Weize closed his eyes and took a deep, slow breath.
"If I don’t promote this year, then next year I’ll be 30. I’ll be completely out of chances to beco a professional player."
"For the past three years, I’ve given up everything to chase this dream. I quit my job to focus entirely on Go. My wife has supported unconditionally, working alone to provide for our family, never once complaining."
"She believes in . She believes I can beco a professional."
"Every ti my son sees a Go match on TV, he points at the screen and asks when he’ll see there—so he can brag to his classmates."
"And every ti, I tell him, ‘Next year.’"
"But it’s already been… so many ‘next years.’"
Pu Weize opened his eyes and looked at the fourteen-year-old opponent sitting across from him.
He slowly reached into his stone container and pulled out a stone.
"I’m sorry, kid. You have plenty of years ahead of you. But this year… I need you to step aside."
Snap!
Move at Row 12, Column 13—Jump!
anwhile, at Table 13…
"Fang Haoxin… actually lost."
Bai Jingchuan glanced at the now-empty Table Five, unable to calm himself.
"How… is this possible?"
When he first saw that Su Yiming was paired against Fang Haoxin, he had felt bad for Su Yiming.
But in a twist he never could have predicted, Su Yiming had actually won.
He withdrew his gaze and looked back at his own board.
He was in a dominant position, yet he felt an unprecedented pressure weighing down on him.
There were only six professional slots available this year.
Fang Haoxin and Zhuang Fei were already considered locks for two of them.
Now, with Su Yiming erging as soone strong enough to defeat Fang Haoxin, that ant only three spots were left.
"Everyone’s called talented since I was a kid, but this is my third year trying to promote. If I fail again this year… do I even deserve to be called talented?"
Bai Jingchuan took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and reached into his stone container.
He slamd his next move onto the board without hesitation.
"No matter how difficult it is—this year, I will beco a professional player!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)