When Yin Yan’ang said those words, the room fell silent.
Everyone knew Yu Shao was strong. But he’d never gone up against a high-dan pro before. And now, facing Yin Yan’ang, a 9-dan, the ga he played...
Yu Shao quietly stared at the board in front of him. He didn’t bow imdiately. Only after a mont did he finally withdraw his gaze from the Go board and bow to Yin Yan’ang.
Yin Yan’ang stood silently for a few seconds before returning the bow.
The onlookers watched this scene, montarily speechless.
“Huuuh...”
Su Yiming let out a long breath, gave Yu Shao a deep look, and then turned to glance at Zheng Qin—who was still frozen in front of the board, seemingly in shock.
Seeing this, Su Yiming couldn’t help but ask, “You still feel like playing?”
“Huh? Play? Of course I do!”
Zheng Qin finally snapped out of it, like waking from a dream. He nodded and, after glancing at Yu Shao who was packing up his stones, said, “Let’s... let’s go.”
Before long, the two of them left the Playing Room.
“That block after the flying press... could that really beco a new joseki?”
Zheng Qin walked along, but his mind kept replaying the match between Yu Shao and Yin Yan’ang. “And that influence-breaking in the midga—it was almost uncanny. Where exactly did Black go wrong?”
Su Yiming stopped at the door of an empty Review Room. Seeing Zheng Qin still dazed, he asked again, “Want to play so other ti?”
“No, let’s do it today.”
Zheng Qin snapped back to attention and quickly shook his head. “I’ve been wanting to play you for a long ti.”
Su Yiming gave him a look, didn’t say much more, nodded, then pushed open the door. They both walked inside.
Soon, the two were seated across from each other at the Go board.
Zheng Qin gathered himself, his expression turning serious—perhaps more focused than ever before.
Back in the High School Go League, he’d already known Su Yiming by na. But after all this ti, he still hadn’t had a chance to play against him.
He had long looked forward to this match. Even though it wasn’t an official tournant ga, he planned to give it his all.
Clack.
The sound of stone grabbing echoed.
Zheng Qin reached into his Go bowl first and grabbed a handful of White stones. Su Yiming also pulled out one Black stone and placed it on the board.
Seeing this, Zheng Qin released his hand. The stones scattered onto the board.
“Eight stones. Even.”
Zheng Qin quickly counted and said, “You play White, I’ll take Black.”
Su Yiming nodded, returned the Black stone to the bowl, exchanged bowls with Zheng Qin, then bowed respectfully.
“Please guide .”
“Please go easy.”
The White stones bowed in return.
The ga began!
“I’m finally playing him.”
Zheng Qin stared at the board, thoughts flashing back to the gas Su Yiming had played with Yu Shao. He took a deep breath and played his first stone.
Clack!
Column 16, Row 4 — Star Point!
“Thickness and thinness... territory and influence...”
Su Yiming looked at the board. Images of Yu Shao’s recent ga with Yin Yan’ang flickered through his mind. After a mont, he reached into the bowl and placed a stone.
Clack!
Column 4, Row 17 — Small Point!
Seeing Su Yiming open with a Small Point, Zheng Qin looked at the board thoughtfully, then gently placed his next stone.
Column 16, Row 17 — Small Point!
“He played in the China-Japan-Korea Youth Team Tournant. There’ll be a selection match soon to decide the main player...”
Su Yiming’s mind lit up like a carousel, running through all the ga records Yu Shao had played.
“That will be our next ga.”
A mont later, Su Yiming placed his second stone.
Column 4, Row 4 — Star Point!
On the board: Black had one Small Point and one Star Point. White mirrored with one Small Point and one Star Point.
“Star and Small Point vs. Star and Small Point...”
Zheng Qin stared at the board, hesitated a bit, but eventually played his move:
Clack!
Column 3, Row 3 — 3-3 Point!
Seeing this, Su Yiming’s expression didn’t change. He calmly placed the next stone:
Clack!
Column 3, Row 4 — Block!
Zheng Qin imdiately responded:
Clack!
Column 4, Row 3 — Extend!
Su Yiming looked at the upper-right corner, staring at the newly played Black stone. He didn’t play right away. Instead, after a mont—he slowly closed his eyes.
“Long contemplation?”
Zheng Qin was a little puzzled, but didn’t show any impatience. He calmly watched the board and waited for Su Yiming’s next move.
Ti passed, minute by minute.
Clack!
The sound of a stone striking the board echoed once more.
“There’s more than just thickness and thinness... more than just territory and influence...”
Su Yiming opened his eyes, reached into the bowl, and pulled out a White stone.
“In Go, there is also life and death.”
The next instant, he dropped the stone with force!
Clack!
With a crisp, tallic sound, the White stone landed on the board, gleaming brightly!
Su Yiming stared at that stone on the board, his eyes sharp as a blade.
“Yu Shao, I’m waiting for our next ga.”
Over forty minutes later.
In another Review Room, a group of pro players finally finished analyzing the entire ga between Yu Shao and Yin Yan’ang. One by one, they began to leave—each with a complex mood.
“That might really beco a brand-new Flying Press Joseki...”
One young man finally broke the silence. “And White’s follow-up to break influence was mind-bending. But Black also played so subtle missteps that White seized instantly.”
Everyone else fell silent.
White’s influence-breaking moves seed completely unreasonable, and Black’s downfall was full of mysteries no one could quite explain.
Only after extensive review did they spot Black’s flaws—but those errors took many of them to piece together. Yet White had spotted them in an instant.
“If Black hadn’t made those slip-ups, White probably would’ve been punished. But the problem is... except for him, no one saw through those errors.”
Soone spoke up, dazed. “The gap in judgnt is too big.”
With those words, the room beca even more silent.
At that mont, soone noticed Zheng Qin out in the corridor—head tilted, staring up at the sky, lost in thought.
“Zheng Qin?”
A young man with naturally curly hair walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “Why haven’t you left yet?”
Zheng Qin returned to his senses, paused, then answered, “I just played a ga with Su Yiming.”
“With Su Yiming?” The curly-haired guy was surprised. “Why’d you want to play him?”
“I’ve read a lot of his ga records... but I’ve never actually played him myself. I wanted to experience his strength firsthand.”
Zheng Qin said softly, “So I asked to play.”
“Then... you guys finished already?” the curly-haired youth asked in surprise. “Didn’t you start right after Yu Shao’s match ended?”
Zheng Qin nodded silently.
Everyone began doing the math. It had been only forty minutes since Yu Shao’s ga ended. Which ant the match between Su Yiming and Zheng Qin must’ve been a blitz ga.
“So?” soone asked. “What was the result?”
Zheng Qin went quiet for a mont... then whispered: “I lost.”
Seeing Zheng Qin so downcast, no one was exactly shocked by the result—but they also didn’t know how to comfort him.
Even though Zheng Qin was only a 3-dan, his current level was already on par with most 7-dan pros. Not long ago, he’d even beaten Ke Qingfeng, a 9-dan!
Although Ke Qingfeng was older and no longer in peak form, he was still a top-tier player.
And Zheng Qin had only been a professional for under two years—his talent could be called otherworldly.
There were peers stronger than him, sure. But most of them had turned pro at 11 or 12. It wasn’t really a fair comparison.
Still...
“Hey now, don’t compare yourself to them. Compare yourself to . We’re the sa age, and I’m 6-dan. But recently I only beat you once!” the curly-haired youth said with a smile. “You’re already amazing.”
“I didn’t think I could win,” Zheng Qin said, shaking his head. “I just wanted to experience his level with my own hands.”
“I saw that Hero’s Pride Cup ga. I know I couldn’t play like that—not yet.”
“Then why look so down?” the curly-haired youth chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. “Chin up. The stronger your level, the harder it is to improve. Guys like us? We still have lots of room to grow! One day we’ll catch up!”
Zheng Qin leaned on the railing, looking down at the ground. His mind replayed their earlier ga. He fell silent again.
Everyone exchanged glances.
Zheng Qin was known for being the bounce-back type—tenacious, never backing down. Even if he lost, he usually didn’t take it this hard.
“Zheng... Zheng Qin?” the curly-haired guy called out.
But Zheng Qin stayed leaning over the railing, lost in thought. In his mind’s eye, each of White’s moves from that match replayed like a film reel.
“But still...”
After a long silence, Zheng Qin finally spoke:
“It was only seventy-sothing moves... and I lost.”
Silence.
A deathly silence.
When they heard that, everyone froze in place—completely stunned. Then, one by one, shock climbed up their faces.
“How many?”
“Seventy... seventy moves and you lost?!”
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