A week later, in Donghai City.
Inside a hotel room, Yu Shao sat silently, eyes fixed on the board in front of him. After a mont, he finally reached into the Go bowl, picked up a stone, and placed it gently on the board.
He was reviewing the ga he'd played earlier against Li You. Although that ga might not rank among the most impressive he'd ever played, it was the first match where he had completely lost control of the board.
"Still so shortcomings..."
Yu Shao stared at the board, sinking into thought.
"In the past, I’d let the current flow, not fighting for the lead. But this ti around, I've tried to seize initiative at every turn. And yet, even after gaining the upper hand, I still subconsciously tried to control the board."
"If I had connected on the top, the variations would’ve beco more intense. White definitely had counterattack options—we might have ended up with a mutual destruction."
"Precisely because I was worried about that, I didn’t connect on the top but instead connected below."
"But it was because I didn’t connect on the top that I overlooked White’s counterattack. I also failed to spot the move where White rooted the elephant shape... That’s when I completely lost control of the board..."
Yu Shao frowned slightly, reflecting on his weaknesses.
"But now... it’s finally getting interesting."
He exhaled slowly, eyes locked on the ga board.
He had been winning all his matches up to this point, but honestly, they felt... dull.
Even if not every move went exactly as he expected, the general direction always did. He could grasp the flow of the ga.
And that kind of match—even when he won—didn’t feel aningful.
The true charm of Go lies in its complexity. A board full of infinite possibilities. If a player could fully dominate a ga and never find a worthy opponent, then Go would truly lose its aning.
But now... though most people hadn’t realized it yet, the nature of the ga was quietly undergoing a drastic transformation.
And it wasn’t just Go that was evolving. In this world, aside from Su Yiming, there was also a prodigy like Li You.
Even though this last ga exposed his shortcomings, it was exactly this kind of challenge that would allow his skill to rise even higher.
"It’s said that more than a hundred years ago, Shen Yi, after mastering the ga and finding no rivals, beca so disheartened he faded away into obscurity..."
The story of Shen Yi flashed through Yu Shao’s mind, and a faint smile tugged at his lips. "If that's the case... then maybe I’m a bit like Shen Yi?"
Now that he thought about it, there was so truth to that.
In his previous life, just a few years after reaching the pinnacle of the Go world, Go AIs burst onto the scene and swept through the entire community.
He had spiraled into a slump for a long ti. Eventually, he pulled himself out of it and started studying Go anew. When he climbed back into the world’s top five... he ended up in this world.
Now, the players in this world were finally beginning to change their understanding of Go. Not just in theory—there were also several truly powerful players out there.
"The main stage of the National Master Tournant uses a double-elimination format. Players fight their way through until the champions of both the winners' and losers' brackets et to battle for a spot in the title match."
"If you make it into the title match challenge, then you play a series. So title matches are one ga, so go up to ten gas. But for the National Master Tournant, it’s an eight-ga series."
"In that best-of-eight series, if you win two gas, you claim the National Master title..."
Wei Peng shifted his gaze away from the board, stood up, walked over to his computer, turned it on, and logged into the Go Academy’s website.
The entire title series progressed at a very slow pace, and so did the main tournant. Only one match was scheduled per day—never played simultaneously—and each match was spaced out by a few days.
Today happened to be the final match of the first round of the title tournant: Zhuang Weisheng, the Tengen titleholder, versus Feng He, 9-dan. Once this match finished, the first round of the main tournant would officially end.
Judging by the ti, the ga between Zhuang Weisheng and Feng He should have already ended.
Just as Yu Shao had anticipated, the mont he logged onto the Go Academy’s site, he saw a new announcent posted just over twenty minutes ago:
[The First Round of the National Master Tournant Has Concluded!]
Yu Shao scrolled down and clicked the announcent link. The page loaded quickly, and he opened the match results for the first round.
Winners' Bracket: Yu Shao, Chen Shan, Zhuang Weisheng, Zhu Xinyuan, Le Yankun...
Losers' Bracket: Li You, Feng He...
Seeing Zhuang Weisheng’s na in the winners' bracket, Yu Shao’s eyes flickered thoughtfully.
“So Zhuang Weisheng won today’s match.”
He hadn’t watched the livestream—he hadn’t even woken up until nearly noon. So he had planned to wait for the ga to finish and then review the ga record.
Ever since his loss in the Ten-Dan Title Match, Zhuang Weisheng’s performance had been a bit shaky. Many people believed Feng He had the better odds going into this match.
After all, Feng He was a seasoned veteran—already in his fifties—and more experienced than Zhuang Weisheng. A true senior.
Though older, Feng He’s style had always been one of hidden sharpness in softness—ticulous and steady, with no clear weaknesses—so his strength hadn’t waned much.
In fact, with age had co greater thoughtfulness. His endga and ability to fight for even the smallest gains showed a tenacious unwillingness to yield. Few could match his closing skill.
Many even thought he was stronger now than during his peak in his forties.
But contrary to everyone’s expectations, Zhuang Weisheng—whose recent form had seed off—managed to beat Feng He today.
Yu Shao pondered briefly, then found their ga record and began studying it attentively.
“Diagonal Small Point against Star-Small Point...”
“And then... Zhuang Weisheng played a High Knight’s Jump to defend the corner?”
Seeing that Zhuang Weisheng responded to the Diagonal Small Point with a High Knight’s Jump corner defense, Yu Shao was slightly surprised.
He had used that layout before, but not often. Even though his gas had been dissected by countless players, sparking plenty of research into his patterns—like the 3-3 Point corner defense growing more popular because of him—
Still, the Small Point - High Knight’s Corner Defense was rarely used. No matter how you looked at it, it always felt a bit off—not exactly bad, but definitely odd.
Against the Small Point, AI recomnds three main defenses: High Knight’s Jump, Single-Space Extension, and Large Knight’s Move. Among them, Yu Shao preferred the Large Knight’s Move.
Later, against the Large Point, humans traditionally favored the Unassailable Corner, but AI abandoned it completely.
Why? Because AI redefined the balance between the whole board and efficiency. The old belief that “secure the corner and you win” was overturned. AI argued that inner influence and speed mattered more in the opening.
Though solid, the Unassailable Corner lacked potential influence and developnt—slightly inefficient, in AI’s eyes.
Still, AI didn’t completely dismiss it. The win rate only drops by about 1%—a margin imperceptible to human players.
Wei Peng never thought of the Unassailable Corner as unplayable. In fact, he himself used it frequently.
At the end of the day, even sothing as powerful as AI couldn’t prove it was always right. Perhaps, with further evolution, the Unassailable Corner would rise again.
So, when playing against the Small Point, Yu Shao had used the High Knight’s Jump, High Jump, and Single-Space Extension to show others these were playable options.
Still, most players in this world preferred the Unassailable Corner. And Yu Shao had no intention of changing that. After all, even AI couldn’t convince him it was a mistake.
But then... Zhuang Weisheng used the Small Point - High Knight’s Corner Defense in a pivotal match in the National Master Tournant.
Yu Shao’s expression grew more serious as he kept reading.
Minute by minute, the ti ticked by.
Finally, Yu Shao finished reviewing the entire ga.
“This ga...”
He stared at the tangled, complex ga record on the screen. His expression turned a shade more solemn. But in the end, he gave his verdict in his heart:
“...Brilliant!”
Even he had to admit it—it was an exceptional ga.
Zhuang Weisheng had barely made any mistakes. He even played several moves that made Yu Shao’s eyes light up. Most importantly, the way he played was completely different from before.
Not in playing style—Zhuang Weisheng still played with heavy, expansive flow, mastering the balance of territory and influence. He excelled at pressuring opponents with subtle force, and his long-ga endurance was formidable.
He had keen intuition, used sacrifices efficiently, and relied on thickness and pressure to secure victory.
But... his understanding had changed.
In this match, Zhuang Weisheng’s grasp of the board was clearly different from before.
That shift in perception, even without a change in style, made his entire ga feel reborn—like a completely different player.
Watching that change gave Yu Shao a sudden sense of urgency!
After reviewing the ga a second ti from beginning to end, Yu Shao finally closed the ga record. He moved his mouse to check the matchup for his next match in the second round of the title tournant.
With the first round finished, the second-round schedule should already be up.
Sure enough, he found his opponent quickly:
[Yu Shao, 3-dan, vs. Zhu Xinyuan, 9-dan!]
“Zhu Xinyuan, 9-dan?”
Seeing the familiar na, Yu Shao blinked.
“My next opponent in the National Master Tournant is... Jiang Xiahua’s teacher.”
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