The Way of the Blind Girl Chess Saint

"Because I'm afraid of being beaten by my dad, I don't dare go back to the dormitory. I don't even know if my mom has betrayed me," Luo Zhuyu said worriedly. She could only escape for a while, not forever. As long as she wanted to continue taking the professional exam, her dad would eventually catch her.

Hua Shenxi's excuse was the same as Luo Zhuyu's: she was just upset and didn't want to see her parents. In short, she wanted to run away from home to make a name for herself. After all, Hua Shenxi was also accompanied by her parents to take the professional exam.

"Never mind, let them sleep here tonight," Ji Yingting said, trying to put in a good word for the two of them, which drew a look of disdain from Ye Xiaomi. She had clearly benefited from their kindness; they had brought her milkshakes and massaged her back, yet they didn't even know to show her any respect as her senior.

"Alright, alright, here you go drink this." Ji Yingting handed the half-finished iced milkshake to Ye Xiaomi. Anyway, she couldn't drink something so cold by herself, or her tummy would get sore.

"By the way, do you do life and death problems every day, Sister Sakuraba?" Hanako asked curiously. The life and death problems on the chessboard were read out to her by her senior sister Ye Xiaomi.

Ji Yingting shook her head, her long, bluish-green hair swaying. "No...it's only occasionally. Who could stand doing life-and-death problems every day?"

“That makes sense,” Ye Xiaomi nodded in agreement. Although solving life-and-death problems is the easiest way to improve one’s chess skills, it is also very tedious.

At the Celebrity Chess Academy, they usually only agreed to do a few life-and-death problems after being threatened with suicide by their teachers. Ye Xiaomi explained this to Ji Yingting.

"No... no matter what, threatening suicide is going too far... apologize to your teacher right now!" Ji Yingting said speechlessly. Just how much do these people hate life-or-death questions?

"If we don't practice more often... we might be in trouble when it comes to a real battle, right?"

If it's a life-and-death problem... anyone with an amateur 3-dan or higher skill level can independently study high-difficulty life-and-death problems, and even solve them correctly, since they already know that the problem can definitely be solved by killing or making the game live.

However, in actual games, even professional players often struggle with a simple life-and-death problem.

Life and death problems consider local points, while real-world life and death problems require consideration of the entire situation.

"This life-and-death problem should be solved here..." Hua Shenxi glanced at the chessboard and placed the white piece in a peculiar position before slowly withdrawing her slender arm.

"Oh!" Ji Yingting, who had just been deep in thought, suddenly stood up with a bluish-green ahoge sticking up. After pondering for a while, she realized that Hua Shenxi's move was indeed the right one.

"How did you get it right so quickly? Did you guess?" Ji Yingting asked in confusion.

“Yeah…we usually just guess…” Hua Shenxi nodded casually, swaying her pink pear-shaped hair. For a problem girl like her, guessing the answers to life-or-death questions was just a regular occurrence.

"However... if the teacher finds out by accident, you might get slapped. Of course... after I became a professional Go player, the teacher hasn't hit me anymore. It's Xiaoyu and the others who often get scolded by the teacher," Ye Xiaomi explained for Hua Shenxi.

No... I think you'd get slapped by the teacher if you tried to solve a life-and-death problem at any chess academy... But I still think the teacher threatening suicide is even more outrageous. Isn't that illegal?

Ji Yingting thought helplessly.

Guessing life-and-death problems may seem harmless... but it is actually a very serious issue. For amateur children, guessing randomly is considered a lack of sportsmanship, and it doesn't help improve their skills at all.

"Go to sleep...you guys should go to sleep early too." Ji Yingting suddenly lay down on the soft bed and covered herself with the blanket. Hmm? Her light green eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Speaking of life-and-death problems, she suddenly remembered a friend who was involved in them. She wondered how that friend was doing now. That little girl who never did life-and-death problems... She probably wasn't much older than Luo Zhuyu and the others.

Just as Ye Xiaomi was about to go to sleep, her phone suddenly rang. She stared at the text message that had been sent and was momentarily stunned.

"Team competition?"

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Moon King City, the Capital Chess Academy... Even late at night, the place is still brightly lit because it is the venue for a professional exam.

Inside the conference room, a cute young woman with long, silver, curly hair gently opened her light blue eyes. She was wearing a silver-white Taoist robe, and her eyes exuded a sharp aura.

"Xiao Xi... the Chess Academy has decided to send you to compete. Soon, you will be the team leader for the Moon in the 5V5 Junior Low-Rank Team Tournament of the Eastern Empire," said a woman in a black suit.

"Of course...because my position in the game gives me an absolutely overwhelming advantage in team competitions."

Liu Chongxi shook her long, silvery-white hair and said triumphantly, her light blue eyes gleaming with an unusual light.

"By the way, who are my teammates? There don't seem to be many underage professional Go players below 3 dan anymore, right? And it seems like there aren't many particularly outstanding prodigies in Moon King City this year either."

The black-haired woman in a black suit glanced at her phone and continued, "The only confirmed member so far is Ye Xiaomi from Crescent Moon Province... The remaining spots will likely be selected from those who become professional Go players this year, probably based on their performance in the Tiger Girls Tournament."

"A newcomer?" Liu Chongxi paused slightly, then turned and asked, "Are there any strong newcomers recently? What about Ji Yingting? Is she taking the professional exam?"

"Ji Yingting? Are you talking about the little girl who achieved ten consecutive victories in the Crescent Moon Province tournament this year? She is indeed currently taking the Crescent Moon Province professional exam... Her chances of competing in the team competition are very high."

"Of course... Lu Kuangmei and the three Ji sisters [Ji Bingyuan, Ji Qiuyao, and Ji Xuehu] from Manyue Province also have a good chance of participating in the team competition. Of course, the prerequisite is... that they can successfully become professional chess players. After all... becoming a professional is extremely difficult... this path to the heavens is not so easy to climb," the black-haired woman said calmly...

Chapter 172: In the blink of an eye

"Shh... Sister Sakuraba, could you keep an eye on what's in front of us..." Wearing a large green hat and a white mask, Luo Zhuyu carefully hid behind Ji Sakuraba.

Even if she really wanted to find him, she couldn't just block the entrance to the professional exam venue; that would disrupt the order.

"Even if I really wanted to help you... there's nothing I could do, I'm blind."

Ji Yingting said helplessly, she almost couldn't help but give Luo Zhuyu a good beating with a storm of forgiveness, knowing that he was blind and still making such an unreasonable request.

"Ah... I'm sorry, then I'll hide behind you and go in." Luo Zhuyu looked around warily, her small hand gently tugging at Ji Yingting's water lily-colored Taoist robe.

Luo Zhuyu slowly walked into the examination room and finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that her father hadn't come to arrest her.

"See you later, Sister Sakuraba!" Luo Zhuyu waved to Ji Sakuraba, and Ji Sakuraba nodded silently, her long, light green hair swaying.

After the first two days of matches, she had pretty much gotten used to the rhythm of the game. Who her opponent was... didn't matter at all; as long as she could win every game, that was enough.

She had already experienced a job that would be incredibly difficult for others... that tense feeling didn't suit her.

Ji Yingting once witnessed a veteran Go player who, despite having enough wins, ultimately had to leave the professional Go world due to a lack of points. That player never became a professional Go player in his lifetime.

Of course... the rules on the moon are very different from those on Earth, especially since the rules for calculating sub-scores have been abolished in professional exams.

According to her match schedule... her first well-known, slightly stronger opponent is in the seventh round, and that is Luo Zhuyu, whom she is most familiar with.

With a soft "huff," Ji Yingting sat down on the sofa next to the jade chessboard, her pale purple starry eyes narrowed, and gently placed her water lily-colored Taoist robe on her lap.

"Hello"

"Hello"

Ji Yingting gently swayed her long, light green hair and nodded. Her opponent in the third round was a boy with a black spiky hairstyle who looked to be about the same age as her.

"Oh no... it's that Ji Yingting." A bead of sweat trickled down the face of the black-haired, spiky-haired boy. It was really unlucky to encounter such a strong opponent in the third round.

"However, even if they are stronger, we are still amateur fifth dan, and I still have a chance to win." The boy with the spiky hair waved his hand slightly and wiped the sweat from his cheeks. Unlike the provincial competition, every player in the professional exam has extremely strong chess skills.

After the Go Association abolished the amateur 6-dan and amateur 7-dan ranks, they became the young generation of players standing at the top of the amateur player pyramid... amateur 5-dan.

Of course... because there are no amateur 6-dan and amateur 7-dan players, the skill gap between amateur 5-dan players is also huge.

Well then... let's begin.

Ji Yingting blinked her light green crescent-shaped eyebrows a few times. She had never thought that she would not become a professional Go player, especially since her condition was becoming more and more perfect... A strand of black hair gently fell down her cheek.

Snap... Holding a black chess piece, Ji Yingting's slender hand gently landed on the chessboard outside the checkpoint.

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“Ah…” With her long, snow-white hair combed, Luo Qiu’er had just spread her snow-white Taoist robe on the sofa when her bright blue eyes widened suddenly, and her white eyebrows trembled wildly.

As an amateur Go player who frequently follows Go tournaments, Luo Qiu'er is very familiar with some well-known Go players.

She has a little trick: to prevent herself from losing confidence before a match, Luo Qiu'er never checks who her opponent is for the day, in order to maintain a perfect state of mind.

"Are you kidding me...?" Luo Qiu'er's blue pupils suddenly contracted, and her snow-white eyebrows twitched uncontrollably.

Sitting opposite her, a young man with a light yellow spiky hairstyle gently closed his eyes. He was wearing a gray men's Taoist robe.

Having also come from Mingyue City, Luo Qiu'er naturally understood how powerful her opponent was in chess... an enemy she could never hope to defeat.

"Hoo..." Luo Qiu'er closed her eyes and gently exhaled, trying her best to calm her agitated mood.

"I'm playing white... If I play white and hold my ground a bit in the opening, there's still hope of dragging the game into the endgame. I've been practicing endgame patterns these past few days... I hope it will help my skills a little."

Luo Qiu'er gritted her teeth calmly. Since the day before yesterday... all her efforts had been completely crushed by her opponent.

Ji Yingting… Luo Zhuyu, and Cui Jinlie in the third round… Why do I subconsciously feel afraid when facing these famous opponents? Is my chess skill really that bad?

With her fair right hand holding a white chess piece, Luo Qiu'er's heart was in turmoil.

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"The game begins..." the referee announced softly, and at the same moment, timers on many chessboards started running.

Boom! In an instant, a bolt of lightning flashed across her vision, like a golden thunderbolt shaped like an arrow, and a black chess piece suddenly appeared on the chessboard in front of Luo Qiu'er.

Tick, tick, tick.

In a daze, Luo Qiu'er's timer had already started spinning.

Huh? Has he already made his move?

With a slight surprise in her sapphire blue pupils, Luo Qiu'er looked at her opponent's timer: 2:00:00.

In an instant, Luo Qiu'er's blue eyes widened in shock. How could this be! What kind of move speed could possibly prevent the timer from running out of 1:59:59?

The boy with the light yellow spiky hair gently opened his golden eyes. His gaze was not on Luo Qiu'er, but focused intently on the chessboard.

With a "thud," a white chess piece landed in the upper right corner of the chessboard. Luo Qiu'er slowly withdrew her slender right hand and gently tapped her timer.

Boom! In the next instant, another golden bolt of lightning flashed, and another black piece appeared on the chessboard. He had placed another piece!

Luo Qiu'er swallowed hard. His timer hadn't changed... She had clearly pressed the button. Luo Qiu'er's long, snow-white hair swayed slightly as she thought to herself.

Although his moves were meaningless in a slow chess game... but, was the opponent sitting in front of her the legendary strongest amateur chess player in Mingyue City...? [Lightning Flash] Choi Jin-ryeol.

Chapter 173: Beautiful Girl Picking Her Feet

With a "click," Ji Yingting silently stared at the chessboard in front of her, her light green eyebrows slightly raised.

In actual combat, life or death... although this is just a very simple change.

After blinking her pale purple starry eyes, Ji Yingting gently withdrew her slender arm, which was about to fall, and placed it back on her knees, which were covered by her water lily-colored Taoist robe.

No... this shape can be made to live by the first move, but... it's like a self-inflicted injury strategy, requiring a significant loss of points to gain the initiative here.

Should we aim to seize the initiative? Or, to put it simply, play it safe and make our move later?

The game has only just begun... There's still plenty of empty space outside the board, and if I can get the first move, I'll have a good chance to gain points from other areas.

Well... to be honest, it doesn't matter whether I go first or second, as long as I can win. With that thought, Ji Yingting gently rubbed her light green hair with her left hand.

"pat"

"Huh?" The black-haired, spiky boy suddenly froze, staring intently at the white chess piece that Ji Yingting had placed with his right hand for a while.

"Going first...damn it."