Chapter 447: Chapter 447

In this game, Su Yiming held Black while his opponent held White. Yu Shao quickly assessed the situation.

"Black holds a slight advantage, White is at a slight disadvantage."

Although Black had the advantage, White still had many moves available, making the outcome unpredictable.

However, this assessment was purely based on the board position. In terms of time, Su Yiming's advantage was enormous—he had barely used any time, while White had already consumed most of his allotted time.

And now, with the board position extremely complex, requiring extensive calculation and deep thought, White simply didn't have sufficient time to think.

Yu Shao stood watching from the side. Besides Yu Shao, several amateur players were also gathered around, observing this game.

Just as Yu Shao had predicted, with the board position incredibly complex and time running out, the man sitting across from Su Yiming panicked and played several slack moves, which Su Yiming immediately seized upon.

What had been an evenly matched situation moments ago suddenly turned completely one-sided. White became utterly passive, constantly on the defensive, showing clear signs of collapse.

"But... he's not weak either."

Despite falling into a losing position, the man didn't collapse completely. Instead, he played several locally strongest responses, even launching counterattacks that inflicted damage on Black, surprising Yu Shao.

"Seems I underestimated him. Any player qualified for the World Championship is anything but simple."

Yu Shao watched the game, thinking silently: "This kind of close combat requires extreme precision and thorough consideration. Against anyone else, White might have unexpectedly turned the tables with a sudden assault."

"But unfortunately, his opponent is Su Yiming. He probably won't give White that opportunity..."

Just then, some commotion arose not far away. Though it quickly subsided, Yu Shao instinctively turned to look at its source.

Not far off, at table 207, Kudou Yano slowly rose from his chair. The amateur players watching around instinctively made way for him.

As Kudou Yano passed through the crowd, his eyes met Yu Shao's across the room.

Yu Shao blinked in surprise, then quickly spotted Zheng Qin still sitting at table 207.

Frowning slightly, Yu Shao thought for a moment before turning and walking toward table 207.

Soon, Yu Shao stood behind Zheng Qin and looked at the board.

When he saw the board position, Yu Shao was utterly stunned.

On the board, Black and White stones were tightly entangled, but they only occupied the right half of the board. The left half, aside from a few scattered opening stones, was almost completely empty!

The right side, completely filled with stones, showed Black and White engaged in battles involving eight or more groups. The situation was chaotic and complex, with dead stones, weak stones, and strong stones intricately mixed together, creating a dazzling spectacle!

For most games, even if Yu Shao hadn't watched from the beginning, he could roughly guess the move order just by looking at the midgame position.

But this game—even he couldn't fully reconstruct the sequence of moves!

It was almost impossible to imagine what kind of intense fighting had occurred on this board to reach such a position.

"The nine white stones in the left corner are already captured in Black's territory. Even if White tries to exploit Black's thinness, it's useless. Black's jump is a tight, strong move that counter-encloses White. If it works, Black might kill one of White's groups."

"If the nine white stones in the corner come back to life, Black obviously can't accept that. So White's only chance is to find weaknesses in Black's sealing line, but Black has cutting techniques ready. White can't have it both ways!"

Yu Shao's frown deepened, his surprise growing.

Even though the game had ended, the board still radiated sharpness and killing intent that made even him feel astonished!

"But how did it come to this?"

"Why did White capture two of Black's vital stones? With no stones on the right side, no player would ever allow such a leaky shape on both sides!"

"Black probably intended to sacrifice stones initially, then turn back to attack White's vital stones in the black triangle area. But why did that end up becoming a foolish shape?"

Yu Shao looked at the amateur players watching around. They seemed dazed, faces still wearing expressions of disbelief as they stared blankly at the board.

Yu Shao then turned to Zheng Qin, who sat silent, pale-faced, gazing vacantly at the board before him.

Single-elimination format—only one chance. Losing this game meant Zheng Qin had been brutally eliminated in the first round! Thıs content belongs to novel⦿fire.net

Although given Zheng Qin's current strength, he wasn't destined to go far in the World Championship, being eliminated in the first round completely exceeded Yu Shao's expectations.

After all, he had been playing constantly with Zheng Qin recently, and Zheng Qin's improvement was visibly remarkable. Even against some top players, if they became careless, Zheng Qin stood a chance of winning.

But this game... Zheng Qin had been...

Yu Shao collected himself and gently patted Zheng Qin's shoulder.

Only then did Zheng Qin seem to wake from a dream. He looked up, saw Yu Shao behind him, his lips moving slightly as if wanting to say something, but ultimately remaining silent.

"Need to step outside and clear your head?"

Yu Shao glanced again at the board before Zheng Qin and spoke softly.

Zheng Qin hesitated for a moment, then finally took a deep breath and stood up, walking with Yu Shao toward the exit of the competition hall.

Soon, they reached the main entrance outside the competition hall and stopped.

Outside the venue, Zheng Qin seemed to finally fully return to himself from the game, slowly exhaling a long breath.

Even though the game had ended, the board still radiated sharpness and killing intent that made even him feel astonished!

Yu Shao looked at Zheng Qin and asked with a smile: "Was it because your opponent was Teacher Kudou Yano? Did the pressure get to you, making you play poorly?"

Hearing this, Zheng Qin fell silent.

Yu Shao was puzzled, thinking Zheng Qin was still upset about being eliminated in the first round. Just as he was about to speak, Zheng Qin shook his head and finally said: "No, I didn't."

This answer surprised Yu Shao.

If Zheng Qin hadn't underperformed, why was the final board position so strange? And Black wasn't just completely defeated—it was practically shattered!

Zheng Qin fell silent again.

After a moment, he nodded and said: "No. Or to be frank, precisely because my opponent was Teacher Kudou Yano, I actually didn't feel much pressure."

Before Yu Shao could respond, Zheng Qin continued: "Ten years ago, Teacher Kudou Yano was indeed every player's goal. Maybe this sounds disrespectful, but..."

"After all, Teacher Kudou Yano hasn't competed for ten years. Not just me—everyone was surprised by his return to competition, but no one really considered him a serious opponent."

"So when I learned my first-round opponent was Teacher Kudou Yano, I actually felt relieved."

Zheng Qin lowered his head, looking at the ground, and said softly: "I thought this was my chance to show Teacher Kudou Yano—that legendary player from ten years ago—what I'm capable of. But..."

He seemed unable to continue.

Yu Shao silently watched Zheng Qin. Even without hearing the rest, having seen the final position, he already knew the outcome.

"Was it like... meeting Teacher Kudou Yano from ten years ago?" Yu Shao asked with a frown.

Yu Shao expected Zheng Qin to agree, but after a moment of silence, Zheng Qin gave an answer completely opposite to his expectation.

Zheng Qin gently shook his head: "During this time, I've constantly improved my skills and studied games thoroughly. Even if I faced Teacher Kudou Yano from ten years ago, I'd have confidence to compete with him."

"This game—I played well. Not only did I not underperform, I might even say I exceeded myself..."

Zheng Qin's voice grew softer as he spoke: "If I had to describe it... it was just like... when I first met you at Mountain Sea Go Club..."

Hearing this, Yu Shao froze in place.

Just like back at Mountain Sea Go Club?

Though he had played many games in this world, if asked which game left the deepest impression, his first game with Zheng Qin at Mountain Sea Go Club would definitely be on the list.

That game wasn't particularly spectacular—he had been playing casually then, and Zheng Qin's strength was far below what it was now, barely at professional 1-dan level.

Compared to games from the High School Go League, Yingjiao Cup, National Hand Championship, and other competitions, that game really wasn't much to look at.

But what made that game special was that it was the first game of Go he played after coming to this world.

It was also the first time AI-style moves appeared in this world without Go AIs.

"Just like back then."

Zheng Qin's eyes looked dazed, his voice barely audible: "I once again tasted... the feeling of being completely helpless..."

Yu Shao looked at Zheng Qin, momentarily speechless.

Inside the competition hall.

At table 71, the amateur players watching the game stood stunned, completely dumbfounded by what they had witnessed.

Kimura Go's slightly plump face was covered in fine sweat as he gazed at the spectacular killing game before him, falling into prolonged silence.

After a moment, Kimura Go finally looked away from the board and at the student he had raised since childhood, then slowly said: "I lost."

Across from him, Higashiyama Kaoru was breathing heavily. Though it was just a game, he looked as if he had run a marathon, his face showing visible exhaustion along with sweat.

The outcome was decided!

This game's winner was Higashiyama Kaoru, the loser Kimura Go!

This astonishing game of eight dragons dancing, four isolated groups surrounding and killing thick positions—this civil war between teacher and student—had finally concluded!

This meant that Kimura Go, 10-dan, representing one of Japan's top Go strengths, would be eliminated in the first round by his own student—something completely beyond everyone's imagination!

At this moment, the surroundings were filled with shocking silence and dead quiet!

Finally, after recovering for a long time, Higashiyama Kaoru took a deep breath, bowed to his teacher, and said: "Thank you for the game."

Kimura Go wordlessly stared at the board before him. Over so many years, he had come to regard Higashiyama Kaoru as his own son, always looking forward to the day when Higashiyama Kaoru could defeat him in competition.

Seeing Higashiyama Kaoru never quite measuring up, he sometimes felt frustrated at his lack of progress.

But when Higashiyama Kaoru actually defeated him on the board, when this day finally arrived—

Facing this student he had raised from childhood, facing his most brilliant student who defeated him with moves filled with genius inspiration and cold, lethal techniques, eliminating him from this World Championship at this moment!

His heart remained unsettled for a long time, his emotions exceptionally complex, extremely complicated. The feelings that first emerged in his heart were truly difficult to put into words.

Finally, after another moment, Kimura Go slightly bowed to his student and said softly: "Thank you for the game."

The surroundings remained completely silent.

Han Xiu stared blankly at this scene. As someone who had watched this game from beginning to end without missing a single move, his heart also remained unsettled for a long time, still shaken by White's miraculous attacks and kills in the latter half of the game!

That was undeniable talent and inspiration! That was fearsome calculation and judgment!

Under the dance of eight dragons, four isolated groups surrounding and killing thick positions—it was absolutely astonishing!

He could tell that throughout this game, Kimura Go hadn't held back at all. In fact, every move was merciless, truly displaying the level expected of the name "Kimura Go"!

This meant that the outcome of this game had nothing to do with anything else. Higashiyama Kaoru won simply because every move he played in this game ultimately deserved victory—no one could dispute that!

Though the game had ended, both Kimura Go and Higashiyama Kaoru seemed to have countless thoughts on their minds. They remained seated, neither getting up to leave nor clearing the stones.

Only after the game had been over for a while did news of the outcome finally begin to spread.

"What? 10-dan Kimura Go lost?"

"How is that possible? How could 10-dan Kimura Go lose? That's Kimura Go! A 10-dan!"

"My God, Kimura Go lost to Higashiyama Kaoru? By how many points? Did he go easy? But he wouldn't go easy in the first round of the World Championship!"

"He got dragon slayed? Really? Are you joking? How did he lose?"

"No way? Teacher Kimura Go got eliminated in the first round by his own student?"

More and more players rushed toward table 71. Even after hearing the news, they couldn't believe their ears and had to see it with their own eyes.