Hikaru no Go: I taught you Go, and you made the Kisei cry?

Hashimoto's eyes flickered, avoiding Ota's gaze.

"Oh... I see... Then you should go to the toilet quickly, don't hold it in."

Ota asked with concern.

"No need, no need, it doesn't hurt that much now. I want to watch you finish this game before I go to the toilet."

Ok?

After hearing this explanation, Ota felt that something was amiss. After thinking about it for a long time, he finally realized what it meant:

"Wait a minute? This game of chess of mine will take at least an hour or two to play, right? Are you sure you can hold out?"

Upon hearing this, Hashimoto chuckled:

"It won't take an hour or two. With your skill level, it should only take forty minutes at most. I believe in you!"

"That's true, most new first-dan players aren't very strong, so I'll take your good wishes!"

Ota, unsuspecting, confidently walked towards Su Ran.

Thirty minutes later.

"Hashimoto! I curse your ancestors!"

In a fit of anger, Ota, who had studied in China for a period of time, blurted out a sentence in authentic southwestern Chinese dialect.

With a sullen face, Ota left the players' bench and, with a spectator's mentality, silently stood behind Su Ran.

Time passed by, second by second.

More and more Yingzhou chess players stood behind Su Ran.

These people all share two common characteristics.

First, they all lost to Su Ran.

Secondly, each losing player tacitly kept quiet, waiting for the next unlucky one to arrive.

Soon, the competition entered the quarterfinals, and there were thirteen players standing behind Su Ran.

If you didn't know better, you'd think these chess players were all Su Ran's friends and family!

"Now, I will announce the list of players who have entered the quarterfinals."

The host held up a piece of paper and read aloud:

"The first player, the holder of the Meijin, Oza, Tengen, and Kisei titles—Touya Kouyo 10-dan!"

"The second contestant is the current Honinbo title holder—Kuwamoto Honinbo 10-dan!"

"The third contestant holds the Judan Throne title—Zama Judan!"

"The fourth player is Ogata Seiji, 9-dan, who is the Executive Chairman of the Yingzhou Go Academy!"

"The fifth player is Kato Masao 9-dan, the executive director of the Yingzhou Go Academy!"

"The sixth player, Mr. YUAN, the newly crowned Go Saint on the World Go Network!"

"The seventh player, the holder of a 99-game winning streak on the World Go Network—YIXING!"

"The eighth player, Su Ran, a first-year student from Kawai Middle School, is a 5-dan player!"

Wow!

As the host finished his introduction, the chess players who hadn't lost to Su Ran erupted in excitement.

"Fifth, fifth dan? Wasn't he just a newly promoted first dan? How... how did he become a fifth dan in the blink of an eye!?"

"Um, is it possible... that this kid named Su Ran was already ranked at the fifth dan right from the start?"

"What? According to the Go Association's rules, the highest dan title awarded in the ranking tournament is only 3 dan. When can we directly rank up to 5 dan?"

"You've probably forgotten about the Young Lions Tournament, haven't you? I've heard that if a player wins the Young Lions Tournament, the Go Association will exceptionally award them the title of intermediate-rank player."

"Young Lions Tournament? Ah! I remember now, I did hear that two instigators did quite well in the Young Lions Tournament this year. Now it seems that this child in front of me must be the one who won the championship..."

"Su Ran... this name does indeed seem to belong to that student who stole the show in the Young Lions competition..."

While those chess players who had never lost to Su Ran were discussing the matter,

On the other side of the field, Su Ran's defeated opponents were also exchanging knowing glances.

If you look closely, you can see that the eyes of these thirteen people all reveal a gloating look.

Clearly, they were all waiting for Su Ran to thoroughly humiliate those "short-sighted" chess players.

It's as if this makes losing to middle school students less shameful...

He took in every glance exchanged between his defeated opponents.

Su Ran couldn't help but laugh.

Has it come to the point where we have to compete to see who is the worst?

Just as Su Ran was secretly smiling, she suddenly felt several pairs of eyes sweeping towards her from the contestants who had already advanced.

Su Ran turned around and looked back one by one. First was Touya Kouyo, whose face was ashen. Behind him was Kuwamoto Inbo, who looked drowsy, and Mr. Ogata, who had changed to a brand new pair of glasses.

All these seniors had given her guidance, so Su Ran politely bowed to them.

Just as Su Ran was about to raise his head, he glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw a middle-aged man in the crowd, whose entire body was covered by a black robe, seemingly scrutinizing him with a complicated expression.

Unfortunately, the person was wrapped up so tightly that his face was completely obscured.

"Are you YUAN or YIXING?"

……

No matter what, please... defeat him!

After announcing the basic information of the top eight contestants, the next step was to draw lots.

The results came out quickly:

"First match: Kuwamoto Inbo vs. Ogata 9-dan!"

"Second group, Yixing vs. Kato 9-dan!"

"Third group, YUAN vs. Zama Judan!"

"Group Four: Su Ran vs. Touya Kouyo!"

Wow!

As soon as the result was announced, it sparked a heated discussion among all the viewers:

"My God! Ogata 9-dan has actually faced Kuwabara-sensei's Honinbo title ahead of schedule. This is truly a fateful battle... I heard that not long ago, the news broke that Ogata 9-dan was going to challenge Kuwabara-sensei's Honinbo title in the Yugen no Mujo. I never expected that this great battle would come so soon!"

"As a disciple of Touya Meijin, Ogata 9-dan has made great progress in recent years. I'm afraid Kuwabara-sensei is in trouble this time."

"Is that so? But Mr. Kuwabara has dominated the Go world for so many years, and even the Meijin has suffered many losses at his hands. I still favor Mr. Kuwabara in this match."

"Speaking of which, those two online players are really good, especially the one named YUAN. Last week, he even forced SAI to resign in the middle game. Judging from their record, they should have a skill level that is no less than that of a 9-dan player, right?"

"SAI is no ordinary player. It is said that many 8-dan players have been defeated by him, but YUAN still defeated him easily. I wonder if Kato-senpai can withstand the onslaught of this rising star?"

"Kato-sensei is getting on in years, and if things continue until the very end, he probably won't be a match for Yuan... As for Yixing, although his record is impressive, he doesn't seem to have any particularly memorable matches. Facing Zama-sensei, he's likely in serious trouble..."

"Haha, instead of worrying about Yixing, you should pay more attention to our new first-dan player, that kid named Su Ran. He looks only twelve or thirteen years old, right? On his very first day as a professional player, he has to face the Meijin in a ten-game match. This will probably leave him with a lifelong psychological trauma, won't it?"

"Sigh, you're right. This rising star, who made a name for himself in the Young Lions tournament, had a good chance of reaching the high-ranking level in the next two years. But unexpectedly, he faced the strongest player, the Meijin, in his very first match. If it were me, I probably would have already mentally collapsed the moment the draw results were announced..."

"You can't say that. Playing against a master like Meijin Touya can at least teach you a lot of experience. If you really love Go, it's a rare opportunity."

"Well, it depends on how well this child can handle it. Anyway, it's definitely impossible for him to win... As long as he doesn't lose too badly, his fame will at least skyrocket."

Listening to the heated discussion among the audience, a slight smile involuntarily appeared on Longchuan Xiangyi's lips.

"Is defeat inevitable?"

"If Su Ran really only has the strength of a fifth-dan player, then the result might indeed be as you guessed, but..."

"As the first top player on the internet to achieve a 100-game winning streak, how could THESAI be so easily intimidated by a celebrity?"

"I believe this child will bring me even more...surprises!"

Just as Long Chuanxiang was staring at Su Ran in a daze, on the other side, the eight players whose groups had been decided also came to their respective chess tables.

"Su Ran...you really didn't disappoint me."

Touya Kouhiro stared intently at the boy before him, a hint of satisfaction appearing in his usually composed eyes:

"I heard from Xiao Liang that your skills in Go have improved quite a bit recently. Today... it's time for me to test them out."

Upon hearing this, Su Ran bowed respectfully.

"Senior, thanks to your guidance, I am finally standing before you today."

"Three years ago, my father lost to you here. I hope that this time, I can help my father fulfill his unfulfilled wish."

"Please give me more advice."

As he spoke, Su Ran bowed his head to Touya Kouyo again before grabbing a handful of chess pieces and holding them in his hand, his eyes filled with a challenging look.

"Please give me more advice."

Touya Kouyo spread his hands, and white chess pieces peeked out from between his fingers, dripping onto the chessboard like the sound of drums falling to the ground, heralding the start of the battle between the two armies.

"One, three, five, seven, eight..."

Su Ran released her grip, and the three chess pieces gleamed under the lamplight.

In the first game of the ten-game match, Touya Kouhiro played black, and Su Hou responded with the second move!

After exchanging game boxes, the two sides didn't waste any words and immediately began a merciless battle.

Hey.

Touya Kouyo made his first move, placing it directly in the lower right corner. Su Ran's eyes twitched, and she stared blankly at the chessboard in front of her, speechless for a long time.

Black's first move: third row, third column, 3-3!

"San San... So, Touya-senpai also watches Go online?"

Without a doubt, this 3-3 move is exactly the kind of opening move that he often used online under the name THESAI.