Cao Xinghuai looked preoccupied as he reached into the Go bowl, grabbed a handful of white stones, and rubbed them in his palm. Yu Shao also took out two black stones and placed them on the board.
The turn-order guessing result: Yu Shao played black, Cao Xinghuai played white.
Both players retrieved their stones, bowed to each other, and the ga finally began.
“Cao Xinghuai, 6-dan, playing white. Yu Shao, 1-dan, playing black. If I rember correctly, Cao Xinghuai has a higher win rate when playing second.”
The female recorder noted silently in her mind.
Even though she was thinking, her hands didn’t stop moving. She quickly scrolled the mouse and lightly clicked the right button, recording which player was holding black and which was holding white.
Yu Shao lowered his gaze, quietly staring at the board. A mont later, he reached into the Go bowl, picked up a black stone, and slowly placed it down.
Click!
Column 17, Row 4—Small Point.
“Small Point…”
Seeing Yu Shao’s first move, Cao Xinghuai couldn’t help but glance at him. Yet, all he saw on Yu Shao’s face was a calmness as still as water. His expression subtly darkened.
“This is his first ti playing in the Handtalk Room. He should know that every move he makes is being watched by the world, and yet… he’s so composed. This guy…”
Cao Xinghuai’s mind involuntarily recalled what Niu Le and Wu Qiang had told him yesterday. His teeth clenched.
Ever since he lost to Le Haoqiang last year, he had been tirelessly honing his skills, waiting for the day he could get his revenge. Now, making it into the Hero’s Pride Cup main tournant, he felt he was finally on equal footing with Le Haoqiang.
But yesterday, Wu Qiang had completely humiliated him. The fire of resentnt had been smoldering in his chest ever since!
And then… in the first round, he just happened to draw Yu Shao as his opponent!
Cao Xinghuai’s hand reached into the Go bowl, his teeth clenched tighter and tighter, as if he were about to shatter them.
“Le Haoqiang, I won’t just destroy him for you. I’ll make sure you’re left in total ruin as well!”
The next mont, he finally pulled out a stone and slamd it down.
Smack!
Column 16, Row 16—Star Point!
A brief pause.
Yu Shao once again reached into the Go bowl, picked up a stone, and placed it down calmly.
Column 4, Row 4—Star Point!
Just as Yu Shao made his move, the door to the Handtalk Room was gently pushed open.
Monts later, Zhou Wei appeared at the doorway.
Zhou Wei scanned the room before stepping in lightly, making his way to stand behind the female recorder. His eyes fell on the board.
“Watching a ga in person really is different from watching online. The atmosphere is much stronger.”
As he thought this, his gaze sharpened.
“The winner of this match will face in the next round. I know Cao Xinghuai’s strength well, but Yu Shao…”
Just then, Cao Xinghuai made his move.
Click.
Column 3, Row 16—Small Point.
“Star-Small Point vs. Star-Small Point?”
Zhou Wei studied the board, deep in thought.
“Black’s next move will likely be a single-space corner enclosure or a small knight’s approach. Extending along the side is also possible. Or maybe…”
He lifted his head and looked at Yu Shao.
It would be a lie to say he knew nothing about him.
At the very least, Yu Shao had shown remarkable brilliance in his Fla Inheritance Match ga.
A second later, Yu Shao picked up a stone and placed it down gently.
Click!
Column 17, Row 17—3-3 Point!
Seeing this move, Cao Xinghuai’s expression shifted, while Zhou Wei took a dramatic deep breath, montarily stunned.
“He really dares to go for it?!”
anwhile, in the broadcast studio—
A young man in his early twenties with naturally wavy black hair stared at the ga displayed on the giant screen behind him. His face lit up in surprise.
“Oh? Qin Lang, 6-dan, is playing fast—already over ten moves in?”
Another player, Peng Zeyang, 6-dan, wasn’t falling behind either.
A refined young woman in her mid-twenties with long, scholarly hair smiled gently.
“Seems like losing to Qin Lang in the preliminary rounds really got to Peng Zeyang. He’s playing with a fire in his heart.”
“Agreed.”
Zhu Huaian stroked his chin with a grin.
“A North Academy internal battle right from round one. That’s exactly what Peng Zeyang wanted.”
“It’s Qin Lang’s turn now. Zhu Laoshi, how do you think he’ll play?”
Zeng Chenlu picked up a whiteboard marker, tapped the screen’s ‘Try Move’ button, then lightly pointed to a position.
“Will he extend along the side here?” she asked curiously.
"I don’t think so. Extending along the side is a solid move, but knowing Qin Lang, he won’t choose that option."
Zhu Huaian shook his head, studying the board for a mont before picking up the whiteboard marker. He tapped on the screen and placed a move.
"I’d say he plays here."
"Here?"
Zeng Chenlu’s eyes widened in surprise.
"Going in directly? Invading White’s formation like this? If he isn’t extrely confident, there’s no way he’d play that move."
"Qin Lang isn’t that simple."
Zhu Huaian exited the trial move mode, looked at the big screen, and said, "Just watch."
As soon as he finished speaking, the black stone fell onto the board.
Column 5, Row 8—Small Knight’s Move!
It was exactly the sa move Zhu Huaian predicted!
Zeng Chenlu was visibly shocked.
"He actually invaded!"
"Qin Lang has an incredible sense for opportunities. His instincts are sharp, and his ability to handle weak groups is outstanding. He often marches deep into enemy lines and sohow manages to escape unscathed. His play is full of life."
Zhu Huaian wasn’t surprised in the least.
"I’ve studied his ga records. His handling of weak groups has taught a lot."
"Zhu Laoshi, you’re too humble."
Zeng Chenlu, intrigued, asked, "You’ve never played against Qin Lang, have you?"
"No, but I’m looking forward to it. Facing a genius like him, I’ll have to give it my all. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee a win."
"Speaking of geniuses, aren't you the real genius here?"
Zeng Chenlu chuckled.
"You earned your professional rank at thirteen and made it to the Go Sage Title Match at fifteen!"
"Sure, I got into the title match early, but it took six years of grinding through tournant after tournant before I finally won a title. And whether I can defend it this year is still uncertain."
Zhu Huaian smiled faintly.
"Besides, this year, two 1-dan players made it into the Hero’s Pride Cup main tournant. That’s insane."
"Agreed."
Zeng Chenlu was still amazed.
Even now, seeing two freshly promoted 1-dan players on the main tournant list felt surreal.
The Hero’s Pride Cup was a battlefield for true prodigies.
Most competitors here had already defeated 9-dan professionals multiple tis. Even the top-tier players wouldn’t dare claim easy victories.
Yet, two players who had just earned their professional status this year fought their way into the main tournant!
At that mont, the screen in front of them flickered and switched to another match.
Seven gas were being played simultaneously in this round, and there wasn’t enough ti to analyze each in full. The broadcast rotated between gas periodically.
"This ga…"
Zeng Chenlu turned her gaze to the screen but froze mid-sentence.
She stared at the screen, completely stunned.
Even Zhu Huaian, puzzled by her reaction, looked over. The mont he saw the board, a strange light flashed in his eyes.
"He actually played 3-3 Point?"
"You expected this?!"
Zeng Chenlu turned her head sharply, disbelief written all over her face.
"I thought it was possible," Zhu Huaian admitted, frowning slightly. "But I didn’t think he’d actually go through with it."
"In preliminary rounds, so players experinted with 3-3 Point early in the ga, but…" Zeng Chenlu was in shock.
"But it’s never been played in a major tournant before, right?"
"Yeah, this should be the first ti."
Zhu Huaian nodded, confirming her thoughts.
"Does he really believe that 3-3 Point is viable at this stage?"
Zeng Chenlu stared at the screen in confusion.
"The idea behind it has rits, sure—but it’s just a concept."
"Instead of playing hane-connect, he’s continuously crawling on the second line, leaving himself thin, then playing tenuki, essentially declaring a battle for central control… Even Zhuang Weisheng suffered when he first encountered this style—but that was only because he had never seen it before."
"Crawling on the second line is a loss in terms of points, and it hands the initiative to the opponent. As long as White strengthens its outer influence, doesn’t it feel like White has the upper hand?"
Zhu Huaian remained silent.
"Zhu Laoshi?"
Zeng Chenlu hesitated, then suddenly her expression changed.
"Wait—you don’t think it’s bad?"
"I don’t know."
Zhu Huaian shook his head and hesitated.
"I’ve studied 3-3 Point invasions in the opening before, but since no one actually played it, my research wasn’t deep. This approach… I really can’t say."
"‘Can’t say’?"
Zeng Chenlu was floored.
Was Zhu Huaian implying that 3-3 Point wasn’t necessarily a bad move?
If it turned out that playing 3-3 Point in the opening was correct, then every professional Go player would have to relearn the ga!
On the big screen, Black and White played rapidly.
White played hane, Black crawled twice on the second line, White pressed down, and then Black ignored the local fight and completed a corner joseki in the lower-right.
Zhu Huaian remained silent, deep in thought, rather than comnting on the sequence.
Just then, the screen switched again, jumping from Ga 7 back to Ga 1.
And the mont they saw the board, everyone was stunned.
Not just the people in the broadcast studio—
Even in the official Hero’s Pride Cup live stream, the previously flooded chat suddenly went dead silent.
This ga—
Chu Jiang playing Black. Su Yiming playing White.
And in this ga—
Both players had set up a Double Star vs. Star-Small Point formation.
Then Black played a Small Knight’s Approach, leading to an identical pattern in the upper-right corner as the previous ga!
White invaded with 3-3 Point, Black blocked, White crawled twice on the second line, Black pressed down, and then White ignored the fight and completed a corner joseki.
The only difference—
One ga had Black playing 3-3.
The other had White playing 3-3.
But the sa pattern erged in both gas.
They all chose to invade 3-3!
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